Rapid plant regeneration, validation of genetic integrity by ISSR markers and conservation of Reseda pentagyna an endemic plant growing in Saudi Arabia

Morphogenesis and Genetic Diversity of Some Virulent Phages Specific for Bacillus velezensis

<b>Background and Objective:</b> Phosphorus (P) is one of the most limiting nutrients for plant growth. Phosphorus deficiency is limiting crop production in many agricultural soils worldwide. The application of phosphorus solubilizing bacteria (PSB) to soils can replace or partially reduce using of inorganic P fertilizers. A bacteriophage, or phage, is a virus that infects a bacterial cell, taking over the host cell's genetic material. The four phages were propagated, purified, studied for the morphological properties, finally studying the genetic diversity. <b>Materials and Methods:</b> Obtained, examined the efficiency and identification of bacteria for solubilizing phosphorus. Isolation, studying the properties and studying genetic diversity. <b>Results:</b> Four virulent phages (Bv<sub>1</sub>, Bv<sub>2</sub>, Bv<sub>3</sub> and Bv<sub>4</sub>) specific for <i>Bacillus velezensis</i> were isolated from the Egyptian soil. The <i>Bacillus</i> phages were purified by alternative low and high-speed centrifugation methods. Electron micrographs showed that phages appeared to be a member of the <i>Siphoviridae </i>family based on their structure and particle morphology (the particles have a head and long non-contractile tail). Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) technique was performed to determine the properties of viral proteins. It was found that the Bv<sub>1</sub> virus had five structural proteins, while Bv<sub>2</sub> and Bv<sub>3</sub> virus had eight structural proteins and finally, the Bv<sub>4</sub> virus had ten structural proteins. The purity and quantity of isolated DNAs were determined spectrophotometrically. Data showed that the concentration of Bv<sub>1</sub> DNA was 0.75 μg, Bv<sub>2</sub> DNA and Bv<sub>3</sub> DNA was 0.60 μg and finally Bv<sub>4</sub> DNA 0.55 μg μL<sup></sup><sup>1</sup>. The analysis of genetic material of <i>B. velezensis</i> phages was determined based on both the ISSR-PCR technique and the effect of restriction enzymes. Data showed different amplification patterns with all phages. <b>Conclusion:</b> The bacteriophages of <i>B. velezensis</i> were isolated from soil, propagated, purified, study some of its properties.

In vitro Regeneration of Hyssopus officinalis L. and Plant Genetic Similarity

Biotechnological methods are an essential component of plant genetic resources investigation that allow both to preserve a rare natural plant and useful selection genotypes, especially essential oil bearing plants used in medicine, perfume, food, etc. In the clonal micropropagation in vitro, the key moment is to retain genetic stability of in vitro material. It is considered that plant regeneration in vitro from meristem or vegetative buds gives identical clones, but the effect of the medium growth regulators on the genetic stability of in vitro plant material is discussed. Therefore, the objective of our work was to evaluate the genetic similarity of ex situ and in vitro plants. Investigation was performed on Hyssopus officinalis L. cv. Nikitskiy Beliy (NBG selection). Regeneration from the shoot single-node segments on the modified Murashige and Skoog culture medium (MS) supplemented with 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) in concentration 0.3-0.9 mg/L and 0.1 mg/L Indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) was carried out. It was established, that application of 0.5 mg/L BAP was sufficient for the organ formation and development without morphological deviations. Genetic analysis based on RAPD and ISSR-PCR had shown full genetic similarity of the investigated ex situ and in vitro plants.

RAPD, ISSR, and SCoT markers based genetic stability assessment of micropropagated Dendrobium fimbriatum Lindl. var. oculatum Hk. f.- an important endangered orchid

Dendrobium fimbriatum is an ornamental and medicinal orchid listed in the Red data book of IUCN. Phytohormones' effect on the in vitro regeneration of the orchid was studied using Mitra medium supplemented with different growth regulators. KN produced effective shoot formation when present alone or in combination with IBA or NAA. The shooting was gradually increased when KN concentration was increased from 0.8 to 4.8 mg L^-1, but the opposite response was observed with BAP at higher concentration (4.8 mg L^-1). IBA either in combination with BAP or KN promoted effective root development and multiplication. Micropropagated orchids grown in the basal medium devoid of any phytohormone showed 100% monomorphism, while low genetic polymorphism of 1.52% (RAPD-Random Amplification of Polymorphic DNA), 1.19% (ISSR-Inter Simple Sequence Repeat) and 3.97% (SCoT-Start Codon Targeted) was exhibited among the regenerants propagated in the hormone enriched medium. UPGMA (Unweighted pair group method using arithmetic averages) dendrograms showed the grouping of mother plant (MP) with the in vitro regenerants. The principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) further confirmed the clustering patterns as determined by the cluster analysis. The study reported for the first time the successful in vitro propagation of Dendrobium fimbriatum and their genetic stability assessment using molecular markers.

Phylogenetic relationships and DNA barcoding of nine endangered medicinal plant species endemic to Saint Katherine protectorate

A high degree of endemism has been recorded for several plant groups collectively in Saint Katherine Protectorate (SKP) in the Sinai Peninsula. Nine endangered endemic plant species in SKP were selected to test the variable abilities of three different DNA barcodes; Riboluse-1,5- Biphosphate Carboxylase/Oxygenase Large subunit (rbcL), Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS), and the two regions of the plastid gene (ycf1) as well as Start Codon Targeted (SCoT) Polymorphism to find the phylogenetic relationships among them. The three barcodes were generally more capable of finding the genetic relationships among the plant species under study, new barcodes were introduced to the National Centre for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) for the first time through our work. The barcode sequences were efficient in finding the genetic relationships between the nine species. However, SCoT polymorphism could only cluster plant species belonging to the same genus together in one group, but it could not cluster plant species belonging to the same families except for some primers solely. RbcL was the most easily amplified and identified barcode in eight out of the nine species at the species level and the ninth barcode to the genus level. ITS identified all the species to the genus level. Finally, ycf1 identified six out of the eight species, but it could not identify two of the eight species to the genus level.

Endemic Plant Species Conservation: Biotechnological Approaches

Endemic plant species are usually more vulnerable to anthropogenic threats and natural changes and, therefore, hold a higher extinction risk. The preservation of these species is a major concern on a worldwide context and in situ protection alone will not guarantee their conservation. Ex situ conservation measures must be undertaken to support the conservation of these species, and seed banking is the more efficient and cost-effective method. However, when seed banking is not an option, alternative approaches should be considered. Biotechnological tools provide new and complementary options for plant conservation including short-, medium-, and long-term strategies, and their application for plant species conservation has increased considerably in the last years. This review provides information about the status of the use biotechnology-based techniques for the conservation of endemic plant species. Particular attention is given to cryopreservation, since is the only long-term ex situ conservation strategy that can complement and support the other conservation measures. The cryopreservation of plant genetic resources is, however, more focused on crop or economically important species and few studies are available for endemic plant species. The plant material used, the cryopreservation methods employed, and the assessment of cryogenic effects are reviewed. The reasons to explain the difficulties in cryopreserving these species are discussed and new strategies are proposed to facilitate and increase the interest on this matter. We expect that further studies on the conservation of endemic plant species will increase in a near future, thus contributing to maintain these valuable genetic resources.