Showing 4 results for Foghi
Volume 10, Issue 1 (Winter 2019)
Abstract
Aims: Calcitonin is a small peptide hormone that is produced by parafollicular thyroid cells in human and regulates the metabolism of calcium and phosphorus. It is therapeutically used in treatment of calcium-related disorders and osteoporosis. Recombinant calcitonin production encounters with several difficulties due to instability and low molecular weight, and also needs further treatment in prokaryotic systems. Microalgae have recently garnered high attention for their potential in expression of recombinant proteins. The aim of present study was to assess the ability of Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii to express recombinant human calcitonin.
Materials & Methods: The optimized calcitonin coding sequence and carbonic anhydrase secretory signal was cloned in Pchlamy_3 and Pchlamy_4 vectors. The recombinant plasmids were transformed to wild type and also a cell wall deficient strain of Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii by electroporation. Transformed strains were screened by colony PCR method and selected strains were cultivated to produce recombinant calcitonin. Culture media have been collected after cells growth and assayed by ELISA method.
Findings: Pchlamy_3 vector could not express the target sequence as desired and all the recombinant strains were resulted from Pchlamy_4 vector. The wild type strain also did not show desired yield and only cell wall deficient strain was successfully transformed. The yield of recombinant calcitonin produced by positive strain was about 1 pg/ml.
Conclusion: The results of this study show that the used strategy for secretory production of recombinant calcitonin was successful and it could be used in further studies.
Volume 10, Issue 2 (Spring 2019)
Abstract
Microalgae are microscopic algae found in a wide range of habitats including freshwater and marine systems. Over the last decades, biotechnological processes based on microalgae have been receiving increasing interest due to their potential to produce large quantities of valuable products used as human food supplements, pharmaceuticals and animal feed. Microalgae have also been proved as an efficient and cost-effective platform for recombinant protein production. Most progress in this field has been achieved using Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, a photosynthetic unicellular alga which has been mostly considered as a model organism in different studies. High growth rate, ease of cultivation, well-established genetics and the ability to perform post-translational modifications are the most beneficial attributes that have made C. reinhardtii an attractive system for the expression of recombinant proteins. In this review, we focus on C. reinhardtii as a novel platform for the development of advanced recombinant products and compare them with other commonly used expression systems. We also present a comprehensive overview of its structure, life cycle, culture systems, and media in detail and then discuss the strategies for engineering its three different genomes to produce recombinant cells. Finally, algal culture collections in the world are introduced.
Volume 20, Issue 2 (3-2018)
Abstract
Cumin (Cuminum cyminum L.) is the second most popular spice in the world and one of the important medicinal plants in Iran. Cumin seed yield is highly affected by water stress, which is one of the most important abiotic stresses affecting seed yield. So far, drought tolerance studies in cumin have been done on limited cumin ecotypes. In the present investigation, forty-nine diverse cumin ecotypes were tested under normal and water stress conditions during 2013 and 2014. The experiment was conducted under two different irrigation regimes of normal irrigation and mid/late season water stress i.e., during flowering. Each of experiments was conducted in a simple lattice design with two replications. The combined analysis of variance showed significant differences among all sources of variation. Twelve drought tolerance indices were calculated based on seed yield under drought and irrigated conditions. Yield under stress and non-stress conditions was significantly and positively correlated with Geometric Mean Productivity Geometric Mean Productivity (GMP), Stress Tolerance Index (STI), Harmonic Mean (HM), Drought Resistance Index (DI), modified Stress Tolerance Index in normal irrigation (K1STI), modified Stress Tolerance Index in stress irrigation (K2STI), Stress Non-stress Production Index (SNPI) and Stress Tolerance Score (STS). PCA and cluster analysis were followed to reveal the relationship among different indices. To visualize the GE interaction effects on cumin seed yield, the data were subjected to GGE-Biplot analysis. Finding superior ecotypes in each environment was done using GGE-Biplot. Regarding mean yield and drought tolerance indices, ecotypes from Maneh (Northern Khorasan), Shahmirzad (Semnan), and Rafsanjan (Kerman) were identified as the most favorable candidates for further research in cumin breeding programs. GC/MS analyses of elite ecotype Kerman (Rafsanjan) was also done for both conditions, the main components of essential oil were found to be γ-terpinene, β-pinene, m-cymene, and cuminic aldehyde.
Volume 23, Issue 2 (3-2021)
Abstract
Ajowan is an important medicinal plant that grows mainly in arid and semi-arid regions of the world. To evaluate salinity tolerance of 25 Iranian ajowan ecotypes, three-step screening was conducted at germination, seedling, and adult plant growth stages using 0, 50, 100 and 150 mM of NaCl. The significant effects of salinity were observed at the three studied growth stages of ajowan ecotypes. Germination percentage, seed vigor, and biomass dry weight of investigated ecotypes decreased with the increase in NaCl levels. Different responses were observed among ajowan ecotypes in terms of activity of antioxidant enzymes of catalase and peroxidase, with the increasing salinity stress levels .Under the salinity stress, the proline content increased in the majority of the investigated ecotypes. Salinity stress had adverse effects on single plant seed yield and yield components. Results of the calculated correlation coefficient and path coefficient analysis showed that activity of catalase antioxidant enzyme and 1,000-seed weight were the most important characteristics that can be suggested as selection criteria for seed yield of ajowan under salinity stress conditions. The overall results suggest that nine Iranian ajowan ecotypes including Arak, Felaverjan, Ghoom, Hamedan, Karaj, Ghaen, Tehran, Yazd, and Shiraz were the salinity-tolerant ecotypes.
