Ethylene, the simplest gaseous plant growth regulator (PGR), controls diverse physiological pathways in plants. Under various stress conditions and during different developmental stages, such as root elongation, leaf and flower senescence, seed germination, tissue differentiation and organ abscission, ethylene biosynthesis is significantly increased. In rice, the internal ethylene concentration is rapidly regulated to a genetically, physiologically and morphologically relevant level under various stresses. Regulation of the ethylene signalling pathway under adverse conditions results in up- and/or down-regulation of the expression of stress-related genes in different families. Transcription factors are proteins that influence and control a number of biological processes under both normal and stress conditions. APETALA 2/ethylene response factor (AP2/ERF) is a transcription factor that is considered to function in stress response pathways in rice. To date, many AP2/ERF genes have been functionally characterised in rice. An understanding of the interactions between the AP2/ERF genes and ethylene-dependent mechanisms may provide new insights to facilitate the enhanced adaptation of rice to stress. In the current review, the structure and function of ethylene in rice under normal and stress conditions are described, and then the general functions of the plant AP2/ERF transcription factors are discussed. In addition, the interactions between the AP2/ERF genes and ethylene pathways under abiotic stresses, including submergence, cold, salinity, drought and heavy metal stresses, as well as those under biotic stresses, are summarised. Although the AP2/ERF genes have been identified, information on the physiological mechanisms of this gene family under stress conditions in rice remains limited. Therefore, further physiological studies must be performed in the future to identify additional features of this crucial gene family

Bioreactors are engineered systems capable of supporting a biologically active situation for conducting aerobic or anaerobic biochemical processes. Stability, operational ease, improved nutrient uptake capacity, time- and cost-effectiveness, and large quantities of biomass production, make bioreactors suitable alternatives to conventional plant tissue and cell culture (PTCC) methods. Bioreactors are employed in a wide range of plant research, and have evolved over time. Such technological progress, has led to remarkable achievements in the field of PTCC. Since the classification of bioreactors has been extensively reviewed in numerous reviews, the current article avoids repeating the same material. Alternatively, it aims to highlight the principal advances in the bioreactor hardware s used in PTCC rather than classical categorization. Furthermore, our review summarizes the most significant steps as well as current state-of-the-art of PTCC carried out in various types of bioreactor.

Catharanthus roseus(L.) known as Madagascar periwinkle (MP) is a legendary medicinal plant mostly because of possessing two invaluable antitumor terpenoid indole alkaloids (TIAs), vincristine and vinblastine. The plant has also high aesthetic value as an evergreen ornamental that yields prolific blooms of splendid colors. The plant possesses yet another unique characteristic as an amiable experimental host for the maintenance of the smallest bacteria found on earth, the phytoplasmas and spiroplasmas, and serves as a model for their study. Botanical information with respect to synonyms, vernacular names, cultivars, floral morphology, and reproduction adds to understanding of the plant while the geography and ecology of periwinkle illustrate the organism’s ubiquity. Good agronomic practices ensure generous propagation of healthy plants that serve as a source of bioactive compounds and multitudinous horticultural applications. The correlation between genetic diversity, variants, and TIA production exists. MP is afflicted with a whole range of diseases that have to be properly managed. The ethnobotanical significance of MP is exemplified by its international usage as a traditional remedy for abundant ailments and not only for cancer. TIAs are present only in micro quantities in the plant and are highly poisonousper serendering a challenge for researchers to increase yield and reduce toxicity.

Germination is a key process in plants′ phenological cycles. Accelerating this process could lead to improvment of the seedling growth as well as the cultivation efficiency. To achieve this, the effect of microwave frequency on the germination of rice seeds was examined. The physiological feedbacks of the MR 219 rice variety in terms of seed germination rate (GR), germination percentage (GP), and mean germination time (MGT) were analyzed by exposing its seeds to 2450 MHz of microwave frequency for one, four, seven, and ten hours. It was revealed that exposing the seeds to the microwave frequency for 10 hours resulted in the highest GP. This treatment led to 100% of germination after three days with a mean germination time of 2.1 days. Although the other exposure times of microwave frequency caused the moderate effects on germination with a GP_a3 ranged from 93% to 98%, they failed to reduce the MGT_a3. The results showed that ten‐hour exposure times of microwave frequency for six days significantly facilitated and improved the germination indices (primary shoot and root length). Therefore, the technique is expected to benefit the improvement of rice seed germination considering its simplicity and efficacy in increasing the germination percentage and rate as well as the primary shoot and root length without causing any environmental toxicity.

Genetic structure and biodiversity of the medicinal plant Ficus deltoidea have rarely been scrutinized. To fill these lacunae, five varieties, consisting of 30 F. deltoidea accessions were collected across the country and studied on the basis of molecular and morphological data. Molecular analysis of the accessions was performed using nine Inter Simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR) markers, seven of which were detected as polymorphic markers. ISSR-based clustering generated four clusters supporting the geographical distribution of the accessions to some extent. The Jaccard’s similarity coefficient implied the existence of low diversity (0.50–0.75) in the studied population. STRUCTURE analysis showed a low differentiation among the sampling sites, while a moderate varietal differentiation was unveiled with two main populations of F. deltoidea. Our observations confirmed the occurrence of gene flow among the accessions; however, the highest degree of this genetic interference was related to the three accessions of FDDJ10, FDTT16 and FDKT25. These three accessions may be the genetic intervarietal fusion points of the plant’s population. Principal Components Analysis (PCA) relying on quantitative morphological characteristics resulted in two principal components with Eigenvalue >1 which made up 89.96% of the total variation. The cluster analysis performed by the eight quantitative characteristics led to grouping the accessions into four clusters with a Euclidean distance ranged between 0.06 and 1.10. Similarly, a four-cluster dendrogram was generated using qualitative traits. The qualitative characteristics were found to be more discriminating in the cluster and PCA analyses, while ISSRs were more informative on the evolution and genetic structure of the population.