Abstract Anthocyanins add significant nutritional value to the plant-derived foods that contain them because of their health-promoting effects. In tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.), anthocyanins are normally synthesized only in vegetative tissues. Atroviolacium (atv) is a mutant characterized by intense anthocyanin pigmentation in the vegetative tissues. In this study, we investigated the anthocyanin biosynthetic pathway in this mutant and in its genetic background (Ailsa Craig, AC) in order to reveal the molecular regulation of anthocyanin biosynthesis in this line, and to find out where the anthocyanin biosynthesis is intensified. To our knowledge, this is the first report showing the sucrose-induced accumulation of anthocyanins in vegetative tissues of tomato, and demonstrating the molecular regulation of anthocyanin biosynthesis in atv mutant.

Abstract Petroleum polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are health risks to human, as they can be toxic, mutagenic and carcinogenic. As the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is one of the major petroleum-producing countries, they inevitably suffer from worsening this environmental problem. Therefore, removal of these compounds from the environment is a necessity for ensuring human health. In this study, 54 bacterial isolates were obtained by enrichment techniques from oil-contaminated soil samples. Out of them, seven gram-negative bacterial strains, KKU-J1, KKU-J2, KKU-J4, KKU-J7, KKU-J9, KKU-J14 and KKU-J17, exhibiting ability for petroleum PAHs degradation were selected. The isolates showing the highest growth during screening as demonstrated by the increase in their optical densities (OD600) and a concentration-dependent growth in all examined PAH compounds that grew in it, with strains KKU-J2, KKU-J7 and KKU-J17 were the best. The highest optimum growth rate of 0.333±0.0,0.364±0.0160.333±0.0,0.364±0.016 and 0.357±0.004(OD600)0.357±0.004(OD600) was recorded for the strains KKU-J2, KKU-J7 and KKU-J17, respectively, when the level of phenanthrene was 100 mg/l. On the other hand, strain KKU-J2 was found to be the best one ( 0.413±0.00.413±0.0 ) when the level of naphthalene was 100 mg/l. Molecular identification of the selected isolates was detected based on 16S rRNA gene amplification and partial sequence determination. Alignment results and the comparison of 16S rRNA gene sequences of the isolates to the 16S rRNA gene sequences available in GenBank database, as well as the phylogenetic analysis, confirmed the accurate position of the isolates as Sphingomonas paucimobilis KKU-J1, Pseudomonas alcaligenes KKU-J2, Micrococcus antarcticus KKU-J4, Arthrobacter oxydans KKU-J7, Stenotrophomonas rhizophila KKU-J9, Kocuria rhizophila KKU-J14 and Shinella zoogloeoides KKU-J17. RAPD–PCR fingerprinting was carried out for the seven isolates, and the DNA patterns revealed that there is no correlation between the RAPD profile and geographic origin sites where these isolates were collected from. This study indicates that the contaminated soil samples contain a diverse population of PAH-degrading bacteria, and the use of soil-associated microorganisms could be recommended for PAHs bioremediation in the environment.

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Abstract In the present study, thirty five bacterial isolates were obtained from hydrocarbon-contaminated soil samples using an enrichment method. These isolates were tested to grow on mineral salt medium containing anthracene or phenanthrene as sole carbon source. Only five isolates showed the ability to degrade these compounds. RAPD-PCR fingerprinting was carried out for the five isolates, and the DNA patterns revealed that there was no similarity among the examined bacteria whenever the RFLP using four restriction enzymes HaeIII, Msp1, Hinf1 and Taq1 failed to differentiate among them. Five bacterial isolates were grown in high concentration of anthracene and phenanthrene (4% w/v). Two bacterial isolates were selected due to their high ability to grow in the presence of high concentrations of anthracene and phenanthrene. The isolates were identified as Bacillus flexus and Ochrobactrum anthropi, based on DNA sequencing of amplified 16S rRNA gene and phylogenetic analysis. Finally, the ability of these bacterial strains to tolerate and remove different PAHs looked promising for application in bioremediation technologies. PMID: 26930863

Abstract Nowadays,most of the pathogenic bacteria become resistant to antibiotics. Therefore,the pharmaceutical properties of the natural plant extracts have become of interest to researchers as alternative antimicrobial agents. In this study,antibacterial activities of extract gained from Acacia etbaica, Acacia laeta, Acacia origena and Acacia pycnantha have been evaluated against isolated pathogenic bacteria (Strains MFM-01, MFM-10 and AH-09) using agar well diffusion methods.The bacterial strains were isolated from infected individuals,and their exact identification was detected on the basis of 16S rRNA gene amplification and sequence determination. Alignment results and the comparison of 16 SrRN A gene sequences of the isolates to 16 SrRN A gene sequences available in Gen Bank data base as well as the phylogenetic analysis confirmed the accurate position of the isolates as Klebsiella oxytoca strain MFM-01, Staphylococcus aureus strain MFM-10 and Klebsiella pneumoniae strain AH-09. Except for cold water, all tested solvents (Chloroform, petroleum ether, methanol, diethyl ether, and acetone) showed variation in their activity against studied bacteria. GC-MS analysis of ethanol extracts showed that four investigated Acacia species have different phyto components. Eight important pharmaceutical components were found in the legume of Acacia etbaica, seven in the legume of Acacia laeta, fifteen in the legume of Acacia origena and nine in the leaves of Acacia pycnantha. A dendrogram was constructed based on chemical composition, revealed that Acacia laeta is more closely related to Acacia etbaica forming on eclade, whereas Acacia origena less similar to other species. Our results demonstrated that, investigated plants and chemical compounds present could be used as promising antibacterial agents

ABSTRACT. The quinazolinone compounds (1 and 2) in this work were examined for their in vitro antibacterial activities against gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) and gram-negative bacteria (Klebsiella pneumonia, Proteus bacilli and Shigella flexneri). Compared to the reference antibiotic chloramphenicol, these compounds showed high antibacterial activities against studied strains with inhibition zones observation. The ground state geometries have been optimized by using density functional theory (DFT) at B3LYP/6-31G* level of theory. The absorption spectra have been calculated by using time dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) with and without solvent. The effect of different functionals (B3LYP, MPW1PW91, and PBE1PBE) on the absorption wavelengths has been studied. The ionization potential (IP), electron affinity (EA), energy gap (Egap), electronegativity (χ), hardness (η), electrophilicity (ω), softness (S) and electrophilicity index (ωi) were computed and discussed. The nonlinear optical (NLO) properties vary by changing the theory (DFT to HF) or functional (B3LYP to CAM-B3LYP). The physicochemical parameters have been studied by quantitative structure–activity relationship (QSAR). The computed properties of investigated compounds have been compared with the Chloramphenicol as well as available experimental data.

Abstract Altitudinal gradient-defined specific environmental conditions could lead to genetics and chemical variations among individuals of the same species. By using RAPD, ISSR, GC–MS and HPLC analysis, the genetic and chemical diversity of Ziziphus spina-christi plants at various altitudinal gradient namely; Abha (2227.86 m), Dala Valley (1424 m), Rakhma Valley (1000 m), Raheb Valley (505 m) and Al-Marbh (147 m) were estimated. RAPD markers revealed that the highest similarity value (40.22%) was between Raheb Valley and Al-Marbh while the lowest similarity (10.08%) was between Abha and Raheb Valley. Based on ISSR markers the highest similarity value (61.54%) was also between Raheb Valley and Al-Marbh, while the lowest similarity (26.84%) was between Abha and Rakhma Valley. GC–MS results showed the presence of various phytochemical constituents in each population. The dendrogram based on chemical compounds separated the Z. spina-christi grown at the highest elevations (Abha) from the populations in lower elevations. HPLC analysis showed that the leaves of Z. spina-christi plant contain considerable amount of vitamins including B1, B12, B2 and folic acid. In conclusion, there is a close relation between altitudinal gradients, genetic diversity and chemical constituents of the leaves of Z. spina-christi plants.

In this study, we present the response of spinach to different amendment rates of sewage sludge (0, 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 g kg−1) in a greenhouse pot experiment, where plant growth, biomass and heavy metal uptake were measured. The results showed that sewage sludge application increased soil electric conductivity (EC), organic matter, chromium and zinc concentrations and decreased soil pH. All heavy metal concentrations of the sewage sludge were below the permissible limits for land application of sewage sludge recommended by the Council of the European Communities. Biomass and all growth parameters (except the shoot/root ratio) of spinach showed a positive response to sewage sludge applications up to 40 g kg−1 compared to the control soil. Increasing the sewage sludge amendment rate caused an increase in all heavy metal concentrations (except lead) in spinach root and shoot. However, all heavy metal concentrations (except chromium and iron) were in the normal range and did not reach the phytotoxic levels. The spinach was characterized by a bioaccumulation factor 1.0 for all heavy metals. The translocation factor (TF) varied among the heavy metals as well as among the sewage sludge amendment rates. Spinach translocation mechanisms clearly restricted heavy metal transport to the edible parts (shoot) because the TFs for all heavy metals (except zinc) were 1.0. In conclusion, sewage sludge used in the present study can be considered for use as a fertilizer in spinach production systems in Saudi Arabia, and the results can serve as a management method for sewage sludge.

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تستهدف التنمية الزراعية تحقيق الاستغلال الآمثل لعناصر الانتاج والموارد المتاحة وزيادة قيمة الدخل الناتج من القطاع الزراعي، والذي يؤدي بدوره إلي زيادة قيمة الدخل القومي وبالتإلي تحسين مستوي المعيشة لافراد المجتمع، ونظراً لمحدودية الرقعة الزراعية وزيادة السكان بصورة مستمرة كان لابد من السعي إلي الإستفادة من المخلفات الزراعية الناتجة من القطاع الزراعي والتي تعتبر احدى المشكلات الهامة التى تواجه الدول النامية من ناحية، واستغلالها وتدويرها إلي منتجات ذات عائد إقتصادي من ناحية أخري. وهذه المخلفات عبارة عن المخلفات المتبقية بعد حصاد المحاصيل الحقلية والبستانية، ومخلفات الحيوانات المزرعية والدواجن و التي تمثل كماً كبيراً من المخلفات بمصر، الأمر الذي يؤدى إلى مشاكل بيئية كبيرة من خلال تلوث الهواء عن طريق ارتفاع نسبة ثاني أكسيد الكربون وغيره من الغازات السامة والتي تعمل على زيادة الاحتباس الحراري وارتفاع درجة الحرارة بالإضافة إلى تلوث التربة الزراعية. ويوضح هذا البحث بعض طرق الإستفادة من تدوير المخلفات الزراعية لحماية البيئة من التلوث بتلك المخلفات من خلال إمكانية الحصول على سماد عضوي تام التحلل وومن ثم توفير تكإليف شراء الأسمدة الكيماوية وزيادة خصوبة التربة، بالاضافة إلي زيادة كل من الإنتاجية من وحدة المساحة، دخل المزارع من ناحية وتخفيف الأضرار الصحية على الإنسان والحيوان للتخلص من المخلفات الزراعية بطريقة صحية آمنة من ناحية آخرى.