Heat shock proteins gene expression and physiological responses in durum wheat (Triticum durum) under salt stress.

Salt stress is a major abiotic stress causing adverse effects on plant growth and development. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of NaCl stress on growth, stress indicator parameters (lipid peroxidation, chlorophyll content and proline content), yield, and the expression of heat shock proteins genes (Hsp17.8, Hsp26.3, Hsp70 and Hsp101) of five Jordanian durum wheat (Triticum durum) landraces. Plants were irrigated with tap water as control or 200 mM NaCl. Significant differences among the 5 Triticum durum landraces in terms of growth parameters, stress indicator parameters, and expression of heat shock proteins genes were observed. Salt stressed landraces demonstrated decreased growth, increased levels of stress indicator parameters, and upregulation in Hsp17.8, Hsp26.3, Hsp70 and Hsp101 expression. Landraces T11 and M23 showed the highest growth, lowest levels of stress indicator parameters, and high expression of heat shock protein genes under NaCl stress. Whereas, J2 and A8 landraces showed the lowest growth, highest levels of stress indicator parameters and low expression of heat shock protein genes under NaCl stress. In conclusion, NaCl stress caused significant reduction in growth parameters, increased level of lipid peroxidation and proline content and upregulation in heat shock proteins gene expression levels. Growth, stress indicator parameters and gene expression results suggest that T11 and M23 landraces are the most NaCl stress tolerant landraces and could be used to enhance the gene pool in wheat breeding programs.

Anti-proliferative, Anti-angiogenic and Anti-inflammatory Effects of Moringa peregrina Leaf Extracts on Testosterone- Induced Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia in Rats.

AIM: To investigate the potential anti-inflammatory and biochemical effects of Moringa peregrina leaf extracts on testosterone-induced benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) in rats. METHODS: Six groups of rats (each group included 5 rats) were included in this study. The groups included: 1) the control group, 2) the testosterone-induced BPH group, 3) with 50 mg/kg bwt (bodyweight) oil-treated BPH, 4) with 100 mg/kg bwt. oil-treated BPH, 5) with 500mg/kg bwt. ethanol treated BPH and 6) with 1,000 mg/kg bwt. aqueous treated BPH group. Biochemical markers were measured to evaluate the effect of M. peregrina leaf extracts. RESULTS: Our results showed a significant improvement in the thickness of epithelial cells of the BPH glandular tissues when treated with different M. peregrina extracts (p < 0.05). In addition, M. peregrina extracts showed anti-inflammatory, anti-proliferative and anti-angiogenesis effects on the BPH tissues by reduction of IL-6, PCNA and VEGF-A, respectively. CONCLUSION: Our preclinical study concluded that M. peregrina leaf extracts showed a significant effect on BPH by reducing inflammation, proliferation, and angiogenic processes with no signs of toxicity.

Integrating morphological characters, molecular markers, and distribution patterns to assess the identity of Blepharis species from Jordan.

BACKGROUND: Blepharis constitutes an important part of the vegetation of the Jordanian arid and semi-arid regions, yet whether one or more species of this genus occurs in the Jordanian area is uncertain. We addressed this question by assessing morphological characters and testing Inter-Simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR) markers from three populations of Blepharis: two northern (lower slopes of Kufranjah valley and the Dead Sea region) and one southern (Wadi al Yutm). RESULTS: Shoots from randomly chosen Blepharis plants were harvested from each of the three populations for morphological and molecular analyses. In the northern populations, spikes were lax and bract width was significantly shorter than length of the longest lateral spine compared to the southern population. A multivariate linear discriminant analysis distinguished the northern populations from the southern one by internode length, bract width, longest lateral spine length, and bract width to spine length ratio. The ISSR analysis revealed that 44 markers across eight primers were polymorphic with major allele frequency of 83.6% and an average of 5.5 polymorphic markers per primer. The genetic resemblance among individuals ranged from 0.27 to 0.96. The three Blepharis populations were accordingly clustered into two distinct groups, similar to the analysis of morphological differences and corresponding with the "northern" and "southern" population designations. CONCLUSIONS: Our results strongly indicate the occurrence of two discrete Blepharis species in Jordan and reject the hypothesis that the genus is represented by only one species. We propose that the Blepharis species in Jordan are B. attenutata Napper (represented by the northern populations) and B. ciliaris (L.) B. L. Burtt (represented by the southern population). These findings are important for informing and revising floristic work within the region and an updated key has been included in our findings.