Biotechnology and In Vitro Culture as an Alternative System for Secondary Metabolite Production

Medicinal plants are rich sources of bioactive compounds widely used as medicaments, food additives, perfumes, and agrochemicals. These secondary compounds are produced under stress conditions to carry out physiological tasks in plants. Secondary metabolites have a complex chemical structure with pharmacological properties. The widespread use of these metabolites in a lot of industrial sectors has raised the need to increase the production of secondary metabolites. Biotechnological methods of cell culture allow the conservation of plants, as well as the improvement of metabolite biosynthesis and the possibility to modify the synthesis pathways. The objective of this review is to outline the applications of different in vitro culture systems with previously reported relevant examples for the optimal production of plant-derived secondary metabolites.

Assessment of genetic diversity among wild rose in Morocco using ISSR and DAMD markers

Background

Morocco is considered one of the main biodiversity hotspots in the Mediterranean region and contains various plant species including wild and domestic Rosa. This genus is the most important among cultivated ornamental plants in the world, with a high economic value in cosmetics, pharmaceutical industries, and floriculture. In the present study, genetic diversity among the collected accessions of wild Rosa species in Morocco was assessed using Inter-Simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR) and Directed Amplification of Minisatellites DNA (DAMD) markers.

Results

Results confirmed that both markers used have a good efficiency to assess genetic diversity in wild roses. Ten ISSR and eight DAMD primers amplified 276 and 203 loci, with an average of 27.4 and 25 polymorphic alleles per primer, respectively. The polymorphic information content (PIC) values were 0.34 with ISSR and 0.31 with DAMD. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) showed that genetic variation in wild rose occurs mainly within populations (86%) rather than between populations (14%). The region of Azrou (Middle Atlas of Morocco) is the area that registered the highest genetic diversity in the present study with He = 0.21. The 39 rose accessions were divided into three main groups with among-group similarity of 30%. Principal component analysis and the hierarchical classification were consistent with genetic relationships derived by structure analysis.

Conclusion

The findings revealed that the patterns of grouping are weakly correlated with geographical origin. ISSR and DAMD markers showed that the accessions have a good genetic diversity.

SELECTION OF TOLERANT WHEAT VARIETIES DURING THE GERMINATION PHASE

In Morocco, wheat is an indispensable and important crop for the population. Its production in areas affected by salinity is a major problem. The salinity-tolerant variety factor is one of the ways to ensure good productivity. Germination is considered a critical step in the plant's development cycle. Consequently, this study aimed to screen the tolerance to salinity of five varieties of wheat at the germination stage. The experiment was carried out under laboratory conditions, using five concentrations of NaCl 0, 3, 6, 9, and 12g/L. Several parameters were used: the germination rate, the corrected germination, the reduction percentage in germination, the final percentage of germination, the mean daily germination, the germination index, the vigor index of germination, the germination rate index, the velocity coefficient, the average time of germination, the length of coleoptiles and roots. Intraspecific variability of wheat toward salinity was relatively large. The daily germination rate, the final germination, the reduction percentage in germination, the germination rate index, and the mean daily germination proved to be the most appropriate criteria to study the salinity effect on seed germination. Also, an equal hierarchy of sensitivity/tolerance levels during the subsequent development of the coleoptiles and the roots has been adversely affected by increasing salinity. All these parameters describing the germination wheat seeds showed that Rajae variety performs better (relatively tolerant) while; Radia and Kanz varieties are the most affected by salt stress. The results showed that the salt reduces germination by delaying its speed except for Rajae and Amal.