The main aim of this study was to evaluate the yield and compliance of selected Iranian garlic (Allium sativum L.) cultivars, including Tuyserkan (TSN), Heydareh (HDH), Mouien (MUN), and Taroom (TRM), during two growing seasons. The TRM cultivar germination rate is higher than the other cultivars studied. The TRM cultivars have quite remarkable values for the dry weight, fresh weight, stem diameter, and the number of leaves present. The fresh weight and dry weight of the TRM cultivar for the second year are 33.8 t/ha and 16.7 t/ha, respectively. However, on average, the HDH cultivar is the tallest plant in the experiments. Average pyruvic acid content in fresh samples of the TRM and HDH cultivars is 78 µm/gfw and 69.3 µm/gfw, respectively. It is observed that there are remarkable differences in the level of pyruvic acid between the different cultivars. The growth, development, and yield of plants are highly dependent on their genetic characteristics; in this experiment, the TRM cultivar shows a good yield (16.7 t/ha), and the evaluated characteristics improve compared to the other cultivars studied, which could be due to the high compatibility of this cultivar to the environmental conditions of the study. The excellent performance on the yield of TRM makes this cultivar more appreciable on a commercial level.

Folk medicine such as herbal and natural products have been used for centuries in every culture throughout the world. The Chenopodiaceae family with more than 1500 species is dispersed worldwide. The Iranian wild spinach (Blitum virgatum L.) is an important traditional medicinal plant used for antiviral diseases such as pneumonia and other respiratory track infections. This plant is a mountainous herb and is growing upper than 3000 m. We performed a mass selection plant breeding program on wild populations of this Iranian wild spinach during 2013–2020. Based on experimental and field characteristics this plant was identified as B. virgatum, |abbaricum|, and related characteristics were prepared with reference to the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV). Mass selection program resulted from an adapted population named as medicinal spinach (MSP) population. To compare the mineral content of the mass-selected population with cultivated spinach (Spinacia oleracea L. |Varamin 88|), both plants were planted in pots and fields under similar conditions. In five leaves stage, plant samples were taken from both leaf and crown sections and used for experimental analysis. Atomic absorption spectroscopy was used to determine the mineral content including iron (Fe), zinc (Z), manganese (Mn), and copper (Cu). Our results showed the selected medicinal spinach population (MSP) with about 509 ppm iron was an important iron-rich population with about 3.5–4 times more than the amount of iron in cultivated spinach in the same conditions. Because iron is an important essential element for blood production, respiration process, energy metabolisms, synthesis of collagen, and some neurotransmitters are needed for proper immune function, so the supply of absorbable adequate iron is very important. The reasons such as the prevalence of the COVID-19 pandemic, which affects the amount of exchangeable oxygen in the lungs and historical local evidences of the use of this plant (MSP) for pneumonia, could open new horizons for focusing on studies related to the use of ancestral human experiences in addition to scientifically modern research.

A group of natural poisons from various animals, plants and microorganic sources can be extracted, produced and processed. Following ten years of field and laboratory research and studies, resulted from the creation of the first live collection of Iranian nettle ecotypes (LCINs) at the University of Zanjan, the feasibility of fresh and live extraction of nettle poison in pristine and untouched conditions was examined. In this study, the ability of tree tissues to absorb, hunt and sink nettle hairs, including styrofoam, nanofabric and sponge of the same length (15 cm) and same diameter (4 cm) having the same size of pores, was studied in four selected nettle ecotypes, including ecotypes of Mashhad, Mazandaran, Gilan and Zanjan provinces, Iran. For all four ecotypes on the three studied surfaces, the mean number of fully stuck and sunken needles, broken and sunken needles on the surface tissue, pores torn by plant needles and pores containing pale green liquid were counted and fully scrutinized. The results showed that sponges can be a suitable texture for hunting nettle hairs for extracting fresh and raw live venom of approximately 5 ml on a sponge source for 5 min. Based on GCMS analysis of total venom extraction resulting profile from the studied protocols had more than 10 compounds including some important sulfur containing such as: 2,2-dimethyl-propyl 2,2-dimethylpropanesulfinyl sulfone and 2-ethylthiolane, S,S-dioxide, etc. In this method, there is no need to remove the plant and stem. Its unique advantage is in continuous poison harvests during the 6-month growing season. Based on published research, this is the first report of live extraction of nettle medicinal poison.

The special mixed reproductive system, i.e., the ability of an individual plant to develop both open, chasmogamous (CH) flowers adapted to cross-pollination and closed, cleistogamous (CL) flowers with obligate self-pollinating, is a common phenomenon in Viola L. In most sections of Northern Hemisphere violets, cleistogamy is seasonal, and CH and CL flowers develop sequentially in the season. Non-seasonal cleistogamy (simultaneous) is a rare phenomenon in rostrate violets. In the current study, we focused on modification of the CH/CL mating system in V. caspia by environmental conditions, resulting in a gradual switch from temporal cleistogamy, occurring in nature, to simultaneous cleistogamy under greenhouse conditions. V. reichenbachiana with seasonal cleistogamy was the control for V. caspia with the labile seasonal/simultaneous cleistogamy system. In simultaneous cleistogamy, the CH and CL flowers, fruits and seeds developed on an individual plant at the same time on the same branch. The typical difference between CH and CL flowers’ pistils is a straight style ending with a head-like stigma in CH and a curved style in CL adapted to self-pollination. This trait persists in the fruit and seed stages, allowing for easy recognition of fruit of CL and CH flowers in simultaneous cleistogamy. Floral meristems of CH flowers of V. reichenbachiana developed on the rhizome at the end of the growing season under short-day conditions and remained dormant until the following season. The CL floral meristems formed under long-day conditions on elongating lateral branches in the upper leaf axils. The daily temperature influenced the variable CH/CL ratio of V. caspia in nature and greenhouse conditions. Regulation of the CL/CH flower ratio by modifying environmental factors is important for basic research on genetic/epigenetic regulation of cleistogamy and for practical use to produce genetically stable lines of economically important species via CL seeds.

Pungency of garlic (Allium sativum L.) is generated from breakdown of the alk(en)yl cysteine sulphoxide (CSO), alliin and its subsequent breakdown to allicin under the activity of alliinase (All). Based on recent evidence, two other important genes including Sulfite reductase (SiR) and Superoxide dismutase (SOD) are thought to be related to sulfur metabolism. These three gene functions are in sulfate assimilation pathway. However, whether it is involved in stress response in crops is largely unknown. In this research, the order and priority of simultaneous expression of three genes including All, SiR and SOD were measured on some garlic ecotypes of Iran, collected from Zanjan, Hamedan and Gilan, provinces under sulfur concentrations (0, 6, 12, 24 and 60 g/ per experimental unit: pot) using real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) analysis. For understanding the network interactions between studied genes and other related genes, in silico gene network analysis was constructed to investigate various mechanisms underlying stimulation of A. sativum L. to cope with imposed sulfur. Complicated network including TF-TF, miRNA-TF, and miRNA-TF-gene, was split into sub-networks to have a deeper insight. Analysis of q-RT-PCR data revealed the highest expression in All and SiR genes respectively. To distinguish and select significant pathways in sulfur metabolism, RESNET Plant database of Pathway Studio software v.10 (Elsevier), and other relative data such as chemical reactions, TFs, miRNAs, enzymes, and small molecules were extracted. Complex sub-network exhibited plenty of routes between stress response and sulfate assimilation pathway. Even though Alliinase did not display any connectivity with other stress response genes, it showed binding relation with lectin functional class, as a result of which connected to leucine zipper, exocellulase, peroxidase and ARF functional class indirectly. Integration network of these genes revealed their involvement in various biological processes such as, RNA splicing, stress response, gene silencing by miRNAs, and epigenetic. The findings of this research can be used to extend further research on the garlic metabolic engineering, garlic stress related genes, and also reducing or enhancing the activity of the responsible genes for garlic pungency for health benefits and industry demands.