Background: Drought response in plants at molecular level, aiding them to overcome the adverse effects of drought, remarkably depends on the expression of a few regulator genes and signal transduction. For reducing the drought stress, nanoparticles show great promise compared to other commonly used methods, even though the underlying mechanisms are still unknown. Objectives: This study was performed to investigate the expression analysis of genes involved in drought tolerance and the use of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) to mitigate the undesirable effects of thought stress in wheat. Materials and Methods: A factorial experiment based on completely randomized design (CRD) was performed with three replicates. The experiment was carried out in the greenhouse of Mohaghegh Aniabili University, Ardabil, Iran in 2017. The factorial combination of stress levels of water supply (including 85%, 60%, and 35% field capacity) and ZnO NPs (0, 0.5, and 1.0 g. L-1) were used on flute wheat cultivars (Mihan, Heidari, and Gascogne). Three days after spraying the ZnO NPs in the three-leaf stage, drought stress was applied for ten days and physio-biochemical traits and gene expression of wheat cultivars were investigated. The expression of Wdhn13, DREB2, P5CS, and CAT1 genes in leaves were analyzed by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Results: Generally. drought stress significantly enhanced total protein and lysine. soluble sugars, chlorophyll. carotenoid contents, antioxidant enzymes activities, and proline accumulation in plants treated with ZnO NPs. Moreover, the ZnO NPs increased the expression of the genes involved in proline biosynthesis (i.e., P5CS), catalase activity (i.e.. CATO, and dehydration-responsive genes DREB2 and Wdhn13, which are known as drought-tolerance parameters. Conclusions: According to our results, ZnO NP-treated wheat induced drought-tolerance genes and effectively facilitated deficiency tolerance. Therefore, under drought stress, we recommend spraying bread wheat with ZnO NPs (1 g L-1) in the growing season, which can improve wheat grain yield under dry conditions.

Background: Barley (Hordeum vulgar L.) is a valuable platform for producing recombinant proteins. Before using different barley cultivars as an efficient platform for molecular farming, optimization of cultural conditions and studying the effective factors on the tissue culture are critical. Objectives: In this study, we evaluated callus induction, plant regeneration and changes in the levels of total antioxidant, total phenol and endogenous hormones of three Iranian barley cultivars (Reyhan, Yousef and Bahman) and Golden Promise cultivar. Materials and Methods: We used immature embryos as explants on MS-based medium containing 3 mg.L-1 2,4-D for callus induction. Calluses were transferred to regeneration media with 2 mg.L-1 BAP. The levels of endogenous hormones were measured using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography system and total antioxidant and total phenols were determined using a spectrophotometer. Results: We demonstrated that callus formation was very high in all cultivars (about 91%) and all immature embryo explants had the potential to produce embryogenic calluses. The present study also showed that the regeneration rates among the studied cultivars were very different and the Iranian cultivars showed lower regeneration percentages (about 1.4%) compared to Golden Promise cultivar (about 72.5%). The levels of endogenous hormones in Iranian cultivars and Golden Promise varied distinctly and significant differences in terms of total antioxidants and total phenols were found in the two groups. Conclusions: Accumulated evidence suggests that for successful regeneration of recalcitrant cultivars, external treatments should be done in a way to reduce the inhibitory effects of internal factors.

The development of methods increasing plant water use efficiency (WUE) would enhance the ability to grow wild aromatic and medicinally important species. The aim of this research was to determine the effect of plant growth regulators (PGRs) applied by spraying on stress resistance and WUE of fennel subjected to water stress. Plants in the generative stage were more drought tolerant than those in the vegetative stage. Water stress at vegetative stage decreased plant biomass and grain yield by 60% and 61%, respectively. Severe water stress in vegetative stage reduced grain production by 56%, and grains had 43% lower mass than those from non-stressed plants. Application of PGRs at both stages of growth increased grain yield and biomass, but the magnitude of increase depended on the type and application time of PGRs. Plants grown in well-watered conditions and sprayed with methyl jasmonate during the vegetative stage had the highest grain production (2.7 g plant⁻¹), whereas under moderate water stress, plants yielded the best (2.1 g plant⁻¹) when sprayed with epibrassinolide. The maximum WUE for grain (0.91 g L⁻¹) and essential oil production (20 mg L⁻¹) was noted in plants exposed to moderate stress and treated with methyl jasmonate during the vegetative stage.

Water deficit is one of the most important environmental stresses that adversely affect crop growth and production and mycorrhizal fungi and symbiotic bacteria have important role in resistance to drought stress. The effect of biofertilizers on alfalfa stress tolerance was studied at the greenhouse condition. Treatments comprised three water-deficit stresses (35%, 55% and 75% of field capacity) and four seeds inoculations (Glomus mosseae, Sinorhizobium meliloti, G. mosseae + S. meliloti and non-inoculated). Water-deficit stress decrease cell membrane stability (39%), total Chl (24.05%), carotenoid (35.55%), quantum yield (50.64%) and forage yield (28.20%), while increased the proline and soluble sugars content (68.55 and 46.53% respectively) and osmotic potential (45.84%). The inoculation of seeds increased the capability of the plants in counteracting the stress, so that the production of compatible solutes was increased and the photosynthetic indices, proline, osmotic potential, membrane stability and forage yield were improved by seed inoculation. Mycorrhiza improved photosynthetic indexes and proline, but bacteria had more efficacy on membrane stability and forage yield. However, double inoculation due to the synergistic effect of mycorrhiza and Sinorhizobium, had the greatest effect than Solitary inoculation. Our results suggest that biofertilized alfalfa plants were better adapted than non- biofertilized ones to cope with water deficit.

In recent years, the rising occurrence of cancer, particularly breast cancer, has led to a growing interest in utilizing nanotechnology for treatment. As a result of the significant side effects of chemical drugs, researchers have explored the potential of plants with antioxidant properties as an alternative option. Foeniculum vulgare is one of the potent plants for cancer therapy due to its rich anticancer compounds such as anethole, quercetin, kaempferol, and rutin found in its essential oil and ethanolic extract. This study was conducted to investigate the antitumor properties of F. vulgare, along with the application of copolymers for their targeted delivery to Hs578T and SUM159 cancer cells. First, the ethanolic extract was derived from aerial parts and calluses of F. vulgare through the percolation technique, while the plant's essential oil extraction was carried out according to the Bettaieb et al method. Second, polymer nanoparticles composed of PLA–chitosan were synthesized, and their characteristics were investigated using various techniques such as Hydrogen nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-NMR), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and thermogravimetric analysis. The preparation of PLA–PEG–HA/PLA–chitosan nanoparticles was accomplished via a solvent diffusion method and the physicochemical properties of these nanoparticles including their size, zeta potential, morphology, size distribution, and magnetic features were evaluated. The encapsulation efficiency of copolymers with F. vulgare ethanolic extract, essential oil, anethole, and pure quercetin was analyzed. After that, the drug release kinetics (at pH = 5 and 7.4), in vitro cytotoxicity evaluation, and analysis of cell apoptosis to evaluate the efficacy of drug delivery to Hs578T and SUM159 triple-negative breast cancer cell lines were evaluated. The results of the study indicated that PLA–PEG–HA/PLA–chitosan nanoparticles possess a spherical shape with an average size of 240 nm and a zeta potential of -10.8 mV. Moreover, the drug release pattern illustrated a higher release rate from synthesized nanoparticles under acidic conditions (pH = 5). The WST-1 assay revealed the biocompatibility of the drug-free nanocarriers and their minimal toxicity. Additionally, the cell apoptosis results indicated a higher proportion of pre- and post-apoptotic cells in Hs578T cells compared to SUM-159 cells. Particularly, the Hs578T cell line treated with PLA–PEG–HA/chitosan–PLA/quercetin nanoparticles exhibited the highest percentages of pre- and post-apoptotic cells (34.06% and 8.19%, respectively). The PLA–chitosan and PLA–PEG–HA/chitosan–PLA copolymer nanoparticles exhibit a noteworthy capacity for the targeted delivery of quercetin, anethole, and other anticancer compounds present in the ethanolic extract and essential oil of F. vulgare toward cancerous cells.