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Typically, supporting the DME synthesis reactor by hydrogen and H2O permselective membrane modules and optimization of operating condition are practical solutions to shift the equilibrium conversion of reactions toward DME production and increasing CO2 conversion in the direct synthesis route. In this regard, the main object of this research is calculating the optimal condition of the dual membrane reactor to enhance DME productivity. In the first step, the considered dual membrane reactor is heterogeneously modeled based on the mass and energy governing equations. Since the reactions are intraparticle mass transfer control, the effectiveness factor is calculated and applied in the model. In the second step, a single objective optimization problem is formulated considering process limitations and constraints to calculate the optimal condition of the dual membrane process. Then, the performance of the dual membrane and conventional processes are compared at steady state condition. Based on the simulation results, DME production rate in the optimized dual membrane and conventional reactors are 0.0211 and 0.0262 mole s-1, respectively. Applying the optimal condition on the system increases DME production about 24.17% compared to the conventional process.

Objective The first step in understanding a species’ genome is to study the number and shape of its chromosomes. Determining the relationship between species of a genus, traits such as chromosome morphology, absolute chromosome size, diversity in coloring, centromere position chromosome base number, and numbers of satellites must be considered. This study aimed to investigate cytogenetic diversity and to determine the relationship between native garlic ecotypes of Iran (Shahroud, Bojnurd, Mashhad, Birjand, Talish) with foreign specimens (originated from Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan) and to prepare genome analysis based on chromosomal information. Materials and methods From the mitotic cells in the metaphase stage, which were prepared from the terminal meristem of the root and stained with acetoorcein, five suitable metaphase cells were selected and the length of short and long arms and the total length of chromosomes were measured using Karyotype Analysis Software (ver.1.5). Data were analyzed by JMP8 statistical software in an unbalanced completely randomized design. Mean comparisons were performed by Duncan test. To classify ecotypes, based on all chromosomal parameters, cluster analysis was performed using the Ward method. Results The results showed that the basic number of chromosomes in Turkmenistan and Bojnurd ecotypes was x=7, 2n=2x=14, and in other ecotypes x=8, 2n=2x=16. Short arm length, long arm length, and total chromosome length were significantly different (P≤0.01) between ecotypes. Cluster analysis divided the ecotypes into two groups. Minimum Euclidean distance observed between Azerbaijan and Talish ecotypes, the smallest chromosome belonged to Mashhad and the largest chromosome belonged to Shahroud. The most symmetric karyotype was Azerbaijan and the most asymmetric karyotype was the Shahroud ecotype. Conclusions The results showed that the differences in the number of chromosomes could be explained by Robertsonian translocations. It seems that the ecotypes with 2n=2x=14 chromosomes had more antiquity, and the ecotypes with 16 chromosomes originated from them. Considering that the Bojnourd ecotype with 14 chromosomes this region could be possibly introduced as the oldest origin or nuclear center of variation for garlic in Iran. Chromosomes also differ in the size and location of the centromere, which is due to chromosomal breakdown and the formation of a new structure in their reconnections. This study revealed which ecotypes are distant among the studied ecotypes, and also showed to produce possible future hybrids, in which direction will be more successful.

Abstract In this study, rheological properties of the Wood Cellulose NanoFibers (WCNF), Bacterial Cellulose NanoFibers (BCNF), and Chitin NanoFibers (ChNF) as well as physical properties of films prepared from each nano‐hydrogel were investigated. Each nano‐hydrogel was prepared in 2 concentrations of 0.5 and 1 wt% for rheological study. Rheological properties were measured using a rotational rheometer. The flow behaviour data were fitted with rheological models. Apparent viscosity was higher in higher concentrations of nano‐hydrogels. Herschel‐Bulkley model was the best model for flow behaviour data fitting. BCNF nano‐hydrogels had the highest hysteresis loop while WCNF nano‐hydrogels had the best structure recovery and lowest hysteresis loop. At LVE (Linear Viscoelastic Region), G′ (storage modulus) and G″ (loss modulus) had a constant value, but as strain increased their values decreased. Storage modulus was found to be greater than loss modulus in all samples during frequency sweep test. BCNF nano‐hydrogel showed the lowest frequency dependency. Chitin nanofilms had the highest elongation and stress value.

Vast numbers of studies on tomato breeding have been performed for resistance to environmental stresses and pests. In genetic investigation and breeding of tomato, it is tried to use tomato lines with the most variance on morphological and agronomical traits to obtain better results, like maximum heterosis on F1 hybrids. In this survey combining ability and heterosis of 7 inbred lines (ME, KaLN3, Fla, CT6, LA3770, R2-05, and DB) of tomato and their F1 hybrids were investigated for salinity tolerance during the seedling stage using the diallel-cross. Therefore, seed germination percentage, seedling emergence percent and rate under salt-stress, tested in a complete randomized design with four replications. Results show that the reciprocal effects and SCA were significant for all traits on the probability of 1 %. Analysis of Wr-Vr regression also shown that seed germination percentage and seedling emergence percentage and rate under salt stress controlled by over-dominance effects. The best line for resistance to salt stress in juvenility was R205, which has the most GCA for all three traits connected to salt resistance. It may be beneficial to combine this line as a parental line in breeding programs for increasing salinity tolerance of tomato during the seedling stage.

Polyploidy induction can be used as a method to improve forage quality and crop yield. Additionally, autopolyploidy may play a key role in tolerance pathways of biotic and abiotic stresses, such as nutrient deficiency, drought, extreme temperatures, pests, and pathogens. Colchicine is widely used as a polyploidy inducer in plant species. To examine this ability in forage sorghum, the shoot meristems of four-day-old seedlings of “Omid-Bakhsh” sorghum cultivar were treated with colchicine. Three levels of colchicine concentration (0, 0.01, 0.1, and 0.2) and four-time periods (4, 8, 16, and 24 hours) were used. Morphological and cytological properties of treated and non-treated plants were assessed. Results showed that the polyploidy plants had a lesser height, leaf length and number of stomata compared to the normal plants; however, leaf width and thickness, stem diameter, pollen diameter, as well as stomatal length and width were significantly higher in polyploidy plants. On the other hand, there was no significant difference between treated plants and control in regards to the number of leaves. Furthermore, the highest probability of polyploidy induction rate in “Omid-Bakhsh” cultivar was observed at 0.2% colchicine concentration and eight hours treatment as revealed by flow cytometry data. Protein analysis results showed a significant increase in protein content of polyploidy plants compared to control.

Sparse code multiple access (SCMA) is a non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) uplink solution that overloads resource elements (RE's) with more than one user. Given the success of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) systems, SCMA will likely be deployed as a multiple access scheme over OFDM, called an SCMA-OFDM system. One of the major challenges with OFDM systems is the high peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) problem, which is typically studied through the PAPR statistics for a system with a large number of independently modulated sub-carriers (SCs). In the context of SCMA systems, the PAPR problem has been studied before through the SCMA codebook design for certain narrowband scenarios, applicable more for low-rate users. However, we show that for high-rate users in wideband systems, it is more meaningful to study the PAPR statistics. In this paper, we highlight some novel aspects to the PAPR statistics for SCMA-OFDM systems that is different from the vast body of existing PAPR literature in the context of traditional OFDM systems. The main difference lies in the fact that the SCs are not independently modulated in SCMA-OFDM systems. Instead, the SCMA codebook uses multi-dimensional constellations, leading to a statistical dependency between the data carrying SCs. Further, the SCMA codebook dictates that an UL user can only transmit on a subset of the available SCs. We highlight the joint effect of the two major factors that influence the PAPR statistics - the phase bias in the multi-dimensional constellation design along with the resource allocation strategy. The choice of modulation scheme and SC allocation strategy are static configuration options, thus allowing for PAPR reduction opportunities in SCMA-OFDM systems through the setting of static configuration parameters. Compared to the class of PAPR reduction techniques in the OFDM literature that rely on multiple signalling and probabilistic techniques, these gains come with no computational overhead. In this paper, we also examine these PAPR reduction techniques and their applicability to SCMA-OFDM systems.

Salinity stress is one of the major plant growth-limiting factors in agriculture. It causes ionic imbalance, thus decrease the growth and yield attributes of crops especially wheat. Seedling stage is considered as one of the most sensitive stages under salinity stress. Survival of seeds at seedling stage can overcome the adverse impacts of salinity stress to some extent. Selection of salt tolerant varieties in seedling stage is considered as an effective strategy. Hence, current study was conducted to examine the seed germination responses of four wheat varieties under different levels of salinity. The wheat varieties such as ‘Rakhshan’, ‘Sirvan’, ‘Pishgam’ and ‘Heidari’ were grown and four salinity levels of 0, 4, 8 and 12 dS/m were applied under completely randomized design. The varieties such as ‘Sirvan’, ‘Rakhshan’ and ‘Heidari’ showed significant response for germination compared to ‘Pishgam’ at 12 dS/m salinity. Furthermore, the variety ‘Rakhshan’ showed significantly higher germination rate (20.3%), higher root length (33.4%) and higher shoot length (84.3%) than ‘Pishgam’, ‘Sirvan’ and ‘Sirvan’ respectively. However, contrasting results were obtained for dry weight of seedlings where 12.2% increase was observed in ‘Pishgam’ over ‘Rakhshan’ at 12 dS/m salinity that might be due to higher capability to uptake of Na and Cl ions. In conclusion, ‘Rakhshan’ wheat variety proved to be the most salinity tolerant as it grew better under saline soil conditions. More investigations at field level are recommended to declare ‘Rakhshan’ as salinity tolerant cultivar.

Salinity stress is one of the major plant growth-limiting factors in agriculture. It causes ionic imbalance, thus decrease the growth and yield attributes of crops especially wheat. Seedling stage is considered as one of the most sensitive stages under salinity stress. Survival of seeds at seedling stage can overcome the adverse impacts of salinity stress to some extent. Selection of salt tolerant varieties in seedling stage is considered as an effective strategy. Hence, current study was conducted to examine the seed germination responses of four wheat varieties under different levels of salinity. The wheat varieties such as 'Rakhshan', 'Sirvan', 'Pishgam' and 'Heidari' were grown and four salinity levels of 0, 4, 8 and 12 dS/m were applied under completely randomized design. The varieties such as 'Sirvan', 'Rakhshan' and 'Heidari' showed significant response for germination compared to 'Pishgam' at 12 dS/m salinity. Furthermore, the variety 'Rakhshan' showed significantly higher germination rate (20.3%), higher root length (33.4%) and higher shoot length (84.3%) than 'Pishgam', 'Sirvan' and 'Sirvan' respectively. However, contrasting results were obtained for dry weight of seedlings where 12.2% increase was observed in 'Pishgam' over 'Rakhshan' at 12 dS/m salinity that might be due to higher capability to uptake of Na and Cl ions. In conclusion, 'Rakhshan' wheat variety proved to be the most salinity tolerant as it grew better under saline soil conditions. More investigations at field level are recommended to declare 'Rakhshan' as salinity tolerant cultivar.

Introduction: King oyster mushroom (Pleurotus eryngii) belongs to Basidiomycota division, Agaricomycetes class and Pleurotaceae family. This mushroom generally grows on wood wastes of Apiaceae family. The Pleurotus eryngii is found in pastures, meadows, gardens and seldom in grassy forest clearings and hilly areas. The Pleurotus of the Umbellifers occupy an area in the Northern hemisphere between the 30 and 50º N. These species are mainly found in the subtropical regions of the Mediterranean, Central Europe, Russia, Ukraine, Central Asia and Iran. The P. eryngii sensulato is the only taxon within the genus, which grows in association with plants. P. eryngii has distinguishable characteristics such as coherent texture, unique form, favorable taste and high durability. Mushroom cultivation represents the only current economically viable biotechnology process for the conversion of waste plant residues from forests and agriculture. The species of these genera show much diversity in their adaptation the varying agro-climatic condition which makes more cultivated species than other mushrooms. Special ability of Pleurotus family is growing in lingocellulosic plant or agricultural wastes without needing to prepared compost and casing soil. Pleurotus is an efficient lignin- degrading mushroom and can grow and yield well on different types of lignocellulolosic materials. Type of substrates for mushroom growing depends on available plant or agricultural wastes. In Europe, wheat straw is used for mushroom growing; whereas in Asian South-East countries sawdust is more popular. Different materials for cultivating of P. eryngii have been suggested in different regions of the world; but a few studies have been done on suitability of various lignocellulosic affordable wastes for P. eryngii production in Iran. Therefore, the current study aims to evaluate effects of various locally available agro wastes on the growth characteristics of King oyster mushroom (P. eryngii). Materials and Methods: Sawdust was utilized as the main substrate obtained from beech and populous trees (1:1). After being rinsed off in water and supplemented with calcium sulfate (3%) and calcium carbonate (3%), the substrate was filled in 20 × 40 cm polyethylene bags weighted to 800 grams. Sterilization was performed at 121 °C under pressure of 1.5 bars for two hours. A cultivated P. eryngii strain was then inoculated in the cooled material at a rate of 3% of dry/fresh substrate. The experiments were conducted based on a completely randomized design with five treatments and four replications, measuring mycelial growth (MG), number of fruiting bodies (NFB), mushroom weight, and biological efficiency (BE). AMG was measured in both test tubes and in petri plates in different pH levels (5.5, 7, and 8.5). Data were analyzed by JAMP 4.0, while graphs were drawn by Microsoft Excel 2007 and SigmaPlot 12.0 software. Results and Discussion: The pH of 7 was found to be the best for obtaining maximal MG under all treatments after seven days. The highest amount of MG was obtained with substrate No. 1, while the least was observed in the culture of substrate No. 5. The substrates No. 1 and No. 5 generated the highest and lowest NFBs (p≤0.05). However, there was no significant difference (p≥0.05) in NFB between substrates No. 1 and 3 or between substrates No. 2, 4 and 5. The BE percentages obtained from experimental treatments No. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 were 64.81, 49.74, 59.22, 28.72, and 19.8, respectively. The comparison of means of different growth characteristics revealed that there was no significant difference between substrates No. 1 and 3 or between substrates No. 4 and 5 (p≥0.05). Conclusion: In this time, only two species (Agaricus bisporus and P. ostreatus) are producing in Iran, whereas at least 10 species of edible mushrooms are cultivating in the world. King oyster mushroom has low cost of production and distinguishable characteristics. Therefore, this mushroom can be use as alternative for button mushroom (A. bisporus). Many kind of agricultural wastes are in use for mushroom cultivation. Understanding the effects of substrate materials on mushroom production will be very valuable. The average number of fruits and biological efficiency of treatment No.1 showed significant difference with other treatments. Hence, the treatment No. 1 could be used for commercial production of King oyster mushrooms in Iran. Growth rate of P. eryngii was very diverse, in respect to the determinate values of the environmental factors. On the basis of the average growth rate of the strains, we could conclude what are the optimum ecological values of the species, though these conclusions did not always coincide with the optimum values of the certain strains. However, more research needs to be done to obtain regular and homogeneous supply of this mushroom.

Introduction: Edible white button mushroom (Agaricusbisporus) is the most common edible mushroom in Iran and the world. The yield of this mushroom is less than the average of yield in the world because of strain degeneration and using strains with low yield. Most of the current hybrids are either identical or very similar to the first hybrids. Ongoing breeding programs are exploiting the variability in Agaricus germplasm to produce new varieties with better traits including higher yield and resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. One of the breeding programs is F1 production from parental homokaryons crossing. These homokaryonsis were isolated among germinated basidiospores on the culture media. During the last decades, various molecular markers based on nucleic acid polymorphisms (such as Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism, Random Amplification of Polymorphic DNA, Amplified fragment of Length Polymorphism, Inter Simple Sequence Repeat, Simple Sequence Repeat markers) have been used to differentiate homokaryons and heterokaryons. Microsatellites consist of short tandem repeat motifs distributed throughout the genome. Microsatellites are usually highly polymorphic due to a high degree of variation in the number of repeats among individuals. Microsatellite markers are multiallelic and co-dominant and thus tend to be more informative than other marker systems. Microsatellite markers have been widely developed in animals and plants and more recently in fungal species. The presence of microsatellites in the genome of A. bisporus was previously reported. Materials and Methods: In this research, 160 germinated basidiospores were collected from commercially cultivated strain A15 and they were grown on compost extract agar (CEA). The mycelial growth rate of these160 isolates was evaluated at 25°C on CEA medium. 18 isolates with slow growing rate were selected from 160 isolates. In the next step, co-dominant SSR markers were used to homokaryons detection. Ten SSR primers showed polymorphism in parental control samples that were used to this experiment. The isolates were divided into two general homoallelic and heteroallelic groups and seven isolates from homoallellic group, which showed one-band pattern, characterized as putative homokaryon. Genetic similarity was calculated by NTSYSpc software version 2.02 e using UPGMA method. In the next step of experiment, the isolates (4 and 8) had minimum genetic similarity that was crossed to produce hybrid. In order to confirm the hybrid formation, PCR-SSR reaction with a primer (AbSSR 45) was performed. Results and Discussions: Basidiospores were collected and allowed to germinate on CEA medium. Putative homokaryons were different in colony morphology and growth rate compared to the original heterokaryons. Mycelium samples showed different colony morphology including tomentose, apprised and strandy mycelium. Different growth rate can be affected by genetic factors in nucleus and mitoconderia. After four weeks, mycelium browning was appeared in liquid compost extract medium and created a disturbance in DNA extraction. To solve this problem, DNA was extracted from three-week old mycelium. Mycelium browning may cause by phenolic compounds produced by mycelium and enzymes that catalyze melanin biosynthesis reactions. Ten primers were used to homokaryon isolation. These primers were situated on the 9 linkage groups of 13 haploid chromosomes. Seven isolates were distinguished as putative homokaryon that showed one-band in all primers on the gel electrophoresis. The results of genetic similarity calculation showed that this index was variable between 0.17 to 0.67in 7 homokaryon isolates and the minimum genetic similarity (0.17) was observed between isolates 4 and 8. These two isolates were crossed and the result of this crossing was N1 hybrid. Also, other homokaryon isolates were crossed and mating incompatibility was observed in some of them. According to these observations, it is suggested that in future studies, in addition to genetic similarity, sexual incompatibility should also be considered. Hybrid N1 produced aerial mycelium and had higher growth rate in comparison to parental homokaryons and similar to heterokaryon control, had two-bands pattern. This two bands pattern indicates the presence of two non-sister nucleuse in each cells. Finally, the results showed that SSR marker can result to accurate detection of homokaryons. Conclusions: The aim of the present study was screening homokaryon isolates of A.bisporus using SSR markers to obtain hybrid. Results showed that growth rate of homokaryon isolates were lower than the heterokaryons. Since, SSR markers were able to show high polymorphism in the isolates, thus it can be said that these markers are suitable to homokaryon screening. Final result of this study is N1 hybrid that can compare to commercially cultivated strains.

Introduction: The white button mushroom does not produce remarkable yield in the third flash. Nutritional deficiency and the inability of this mushroom to efficient use of compost are mentioned as its reasons. Basically, compost includes two major food components, lignocellulose and microbial biomass. But this microbial biomass provides just 10% of button mushroom food needs. According to research studies, differentenzymes in both white button mushroom and oyster mushroom are responsible for decomposition of lignin compounds in compost media, from begin of mycelium grows to the end of fruiting. Lacasse, manganese peroxidase, lignin peroxidase, glyoxal oxidase enzymes contribute to degradation of lignin compounds in degradation mushroom has proven by researchers however itis dependent on mushroom types. Manganese peroxidase enzyme (EC. 1.11.1.13) is an extracellular parser lignin enzyme that has a central peroxidase core. Manganese peroxidase enzyme oxidizesMn2+ to Mn3+ and then Mn3+ oxidizes phenolic structure to fonoxile radical. Produced Mn3+ is very active and makes complex by chelating organic acids that is produced by mushrooms such as oxalate or malate. Mn3+ ions become stable by helping of these chelates and it can penetrate through materials such as wood. On the other hand, in recent years, plant biotechnology provides new solutions for old problems such as use of microorganisms, particularly using bacteria for gene transfer and improvement of superlatives. For a sample of this method, Agrobacterium-mediated transformation system can be noted. In addition, the use of suitable promoters for heterologous genes expression in suitable hosts is an important strategy in functional biotechnology that has been raised in edible mushroom genetic engineering. The lack of efficient and sufficient use of compost, low power of white button mushroom in competition with other rivals, lack of yield per area unit due to production costs, pests and diseases, low flexibility and adaptability with environmental conditions changes are some of the problems that the mushroom reformers are faced. Unlike the great efforts made by researchers, conventional breeding techniques to produce the A. bisporus mushroom only have been led to produce a few new races. Therefore, todays some problems associated with traditional methods of breeding of edible mushrooms, including the need to provide races that have desired characteristics, the traditional method performance tests and low chances of success in the transfer of important agronomic characteristics such as functionality and disease resistance. So, they almost have been replaced with new biotechnology methods. Anexample of this method is to manipulateproperties transformation for the particular purpose. Modification of both expression or type of lignin degrading enzyme are possible solutions to deal with this problem, but these are not applicable or are difficult to be done with traditional breeding programs. In recent years, gene transformation mediated with Agrobacterium routinely is used for gene transformation to mushrooms and is proposed as a method for removing limitations of white button mushroom breeding. Materials and Methods: In this research, the oyster mushroom strain Florida was used as the source of manganese peroxidase (mnp) gene and white button mushroom strain 737 gill and cap tissue were used as transformation host. Agrobacterium strain LBA4404 harbors p133H88-FM plasmid thatcontainsmnp gene of oyster mushroom and also hph gene under control of gpdII promoter of the button white mushroom strain IM008 was used as a transformer. Selection medium containing 30 mg/ml Hygromycin B and was used for selecting transformed explants. To confirm transformation, PCR with specific primers of mnp and hph genes was performed on genomic DNA of selected colonies. Results and Discussion: Results showed the gill tissue explants, with transformation rate 5%, have a better response to applied transformation method than cap tissue explants, with transformation rate zero percent. As expected, polymerase chain reaction with specific primers ofhph and mnp genes amplified 1049 and 1086 bp fragments and verified the transformation of mycelium's grown on selection medium. It seems that Bacterial strain and also used plasmid were one of the responses for observed low rate transformation which is in accordance with leach and co-workers study. Finally, we could propose that cap tissue is more suitable for further gene transformation of this mushroombecause of high transformation rate of cap tissue.

Introduction: Among edible mushrooms, white button mushroom is the most cultivated one around the world. Mono-spores diversity in terms of growth rate, colony type, yield and etc. is used for intra strain genetic improvement. High yielding isolates with filamentous mycelium type are screened and used for spawn production (Farsi and Gordan, 2002). Success in mushroom production largely depends on the quality of spawn produced in sterile conditions (Sanchez, 2010). Farsi and Gordan, (2004) reported that colony shape and mycelium growth type are very important factors in screening isolates in terms of mycelium growth rate and yield. To screen isolates based on their mycelium growth, solid media are among the most suitable ones (Griffin, 1994). In a study conducted to evaluate mycelium growth rate of six Morchella species on different media, PDA and MEA were known as the best ones (Kalmis and Kalyoncu, 2008). The present study was conducted in order to evaluate mycelium growth rate and yield of white button mushroom isolates in solid medium, spawn and compost media. Materials and methods: Eighteen isolates of white button mushroom were compared on PDA (Potato Dextrose Agar), CYM (Complete Yeast Medium), spawn and compost media based on mycelium growth rate, type and class growth and yield at the mushroom research center of Faculty of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, in 2014. A piece of mycelium of each isolate was placed in the center of each petri dish and was kept in 23±1°C, and the radial growth rate of mycelium was measured as two perpendicular diameters in three consecutive weeks. Mycelium growth rate on spawn and compost media was measured based on the percentage of surface coverage during the 15 consecutive days. Yield of each isolate was measured by daily harvesting of mushrooms during 35 days of experiment. Analysis of variance and means comparison of the variables were carried out using SAS software. Means analysis was performed using LSD test at 5% significance level. Results and discussion: There were significant differences among isolates based on mycelium growth rate and yield. In PDA medium, 2200 isolate showed the fastest mycelium growth rate with 1.9 mm.day-1 and final colony diameter of 8.1 cm. were This isolate also showed the fastest mycelium growth rate on CYM medium and covering the spawn and compost media surfaces, and produced the highest yield along with A15a isolate (A15a and 2200 with 22.1 and 19.4 kg.m-2, respectively). Magnum d with mycelium growth rate of 0.7 mm.day-1 and final colony diameter of 3.1 cm showed the slowest mycelium growth rate. On average, 75% of isolates were grouped in slow mycelium growth rate class and 25% were placed in fast mycelium growth rate class. Isolates A15a, 2200, A15, M7219 and F64d showed fast mycelium growth rate. All of the isolates showed filamentous mycelium growth type and no abnormal mycelium growth type was observed. Isolate A15a with 50% coverage of compost surface during the first 5 days and 90% during the 15 days showed the fastest mycelium growth rate on this medium, followed by isolates F64d, 2200 and A15a. Normal mycelium growth rate on compost medium varied from 6-8 to sometimes 10-12 mm.day-1 (Farsi and Pooyanfar, 2011). There was a high positive correlation between mycelium growth rate and the yield component, so that isolates with faster mycelium growth rate produced higher yield. Farsi and Gordan, (2001) also reported significant positive correlation between filamentous mycelium type and yield, so that isolates with filamentous mycelium growth type and high mycelium growth rate produced higher yield. Faster mycelium growth rate is considered as a desire characteristic in mushroom cultivation due to the reduction of contamination risk of other micro-organisms (Oie, 2003). Conclusion: There was a high significant difference among white button mushroom isolates in terms of mycelium growth rate and yield. Isolates with faster mycelium growth rate on solid medium produced higher yield. A high positive correlation was observed between mycelium growth rate on CYM and compost media, so it could be used as an appropriate medium for comparison of mycelium growth rate in vitro. As comparison of strain yield is time consuming and difficult, screening based on their growth rate on CYM is recommended.

Introduction: Homozygous doubled haploid lines production through induction of androgenesis is a promising method to accelerate the classical breeding program. However, this technology is relatively under - developed in tomato so that improvements in methodology are required. Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill) is one of the most important vegetables which in addition of it is importance as a food, is utilized as a model plant for cytological and cytogenetic studies. Tomato breeding programs are often based on the production and selection of hybrid plants. To produce hybrid plants and application of features that is needed to breed pure lines with high specific combining abilities, new technologies such as doubled haploid production through induction of androgenesis can be an effective strategy to provide pure lines in tomato. One of the critical factors for induction of androgenesis in tomato is to use of microspores being in appropriate developmental stage. Cytological examination is one of the most accurate methods for determining the correct stage of microspore development. In this study, a number of characteristics were evaluated including the cytological properties of normal microspores development and pollen grains as well as the relationship between length of flower bud and anther length. Materials and Methods: In this study, four varieties of tomato including Mobil - Netherlands, Baker, U. S. Agriseed and Khoram were chosen. To determine the appropriate stage of microspore development for Anther culture, cytologycal studies were accomplished at different size length of flower buds (2. 0 - 7. 9 mm). Collection of flower buds to conduct experiments was done during 10 - 40 days after flowering for each cultivar. Flower buds collected early in the morning hours and within the containers closed - door ice were transported to the laboratory. To investigate the correlation between the length of flower bud and anther length, randomly selected from within each group of three flower buds, and their length was measurement. Then anthers were removed and anther length was measured for each flower buds. A total of 240 anthers, sixty anthers from each cultivar, were examined by microscope. In order to examine the development stage of microspores and pollen grains, flower buds at different length (5 - 10 mm) were calculated. Flower buds were incubated at 4 oC for 15 minutes and stained in acetocarmin %4 solution and squashed. In order to determine the relative frequency of each stage of the development of microspore and pollen, microspores at least 100 randomly in different parts of prepared slides were counted. Average relative frequency of different stages, meiosis, tetrads, microspores young and old and young and mature pollen grains with a standard deviation was calculated. Cytological studies were accomplished by microscopy research Olympus B X 51 and photographed by a digital camera D P 70. All analysis was conducted using statistical software JMP 8. Results and Discussion: The time of anthers collection for the induction of haploid is very crucial. In order to determine the appropriate steps to carry out pre - treatment induced changes in the normal development of microspores embryogenesis and cytological properties in various stages of division and development should be monitored. The results showed that there was a significant correlation between the length of flower bud and the anther length (r = 0.8, P

The impact of montmorillonite (nanoclay) addition on the mechanical and morphological properties of paper made from neutral sulfite semichemical (NSSC) and old corrugated container (OCC) pulps was evaluated in systems utilizing cationic starch for dry-strength. The nanoclay amount was considered at five levels, and cationic starch was applied at a 1% level. In OCC pulp, by increasing the nanoclay up to 4%, the tensile index and corrugating medium test (CMT) were increased; however, there was a decrease when the nanoclay was increased to 8%. By increasing the nanoclay to 2%, the tear and burst indexes and ring crush test (RCT) increased, but there was a reduction when the nanoclay was increased to 8%. Average air resistance tended to increase as the nanoclay was increased to 8%. In the case of NSSC pulp, by increasing the nanoclay amount from 0 to 8%, the average tensile, tear, and burst indexes decreased, while the air resistance increased. The CMT amount increased with increasing nanoclay content to 2%, but a reduction was seen for other levels. The RCT exhibited an increase with increasing nanoclay up to 4%, after which it decreased. Results suggest that the proportion of nanoclay added with cationic starch needs to be optimized, depending on furnish conditions.

Different enzymes in oyster mushroom (pleurotus oatreatus), can degradate the lignin compounds from the beginning of mycelium growth up to the end of fruiting period in the environment of compost and straw. Wood, plant residue and most of plant wastes in the nature are called lignocelluloses compounds. Lignocelluloses is mainly composed of cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin. Magnesium peroxides enzyme (EC:1:11:1:13) is one the most common peroxides destroying lignin which produced by most wood decomposing mushrooms as well as many compost decomposing mushrooms. In order to cloning of mnp gene, RNA was extracted from oyster edible mushroom (P.ostreatus var.florida) and cDNA was synthesized and then the primers was designed based on the sequence of the mnp gene using Primer Premier (V.5.0) software and was amplified by PCR. First, the gene was inserted to pTG-19T plasmid and was confirmed using sequencing. In continue, mnp gene was cloned in to the p13H88 plasmid. Then it was transferred to Ecoli (DH5a) using ice-melt method and its presence was confirmed by enzymatic digestion. The results showed that mnp gene is cloned in p13H88 plasmid and the recombinant plasmid was named as p13H88-FM.

Herein, we describe the fabrication of NiO decorated single wall carbon nanotubes (NiO-SWCNTs) nanocomposites using the precipitation method. The synthesized NiO-SWCNTs nanocomposites were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Remarkably, NiO-SWCNTs and 1-butylpyridinium hexafluorophosphate modified carbon paste electrode (CPE/NiO-SWCNTs/BPrPF6) were employed for the electrochemical detection of vanillin. The vanillin sensor showed an ultra-high sensitivity of 0.3594 μA/μM and a low detection limit of 0.007 μM. In the final step, the NiO-SWCNTs/BPrPF6 was used as the suitable tool for food analysis.

Transformed hairy root cultures of Valeriana officinalis were established by infection with Agrobacterium rhizogenes strain ATCC 15834. To determine the effect of different media on the growth of V. officinalis hairy roots, MS, B5 media (1.0X and 0.5X strength), N6 medium and a modified MS medium without phytohormones were used. In addition, different NH4+ to NO3- ratios in MS medium were studied. The effects of these treatments were evaluated after 21 days of culture in relation to hairy root growth. B5 and ½ B5 media were the best basal media for hairy root growth. MS medium supplemented with a 20:20 ratio (mM) of NH4+ to NO3- displayed highest growth rates and biomass yield in hairy root cultures. The present study demonstrated that the composition of culture medium and the ratio of different nitrogen sources have significant impact on the growth of V. officinalis hairy roots.

Persian ironwood (Parrotia persica) is native species from Iran and covers 10,54% of the commercial volume. Its wood structure and its chemical composition are affected by growth conditions. The aim of the study was to assess the variation of mineral content (Ni, Fe, Cu, Zn, Pb, Cd), wood density and chemical properties (cellulose, lignin, ash and extractive) of ironwood in relation to altitude above sea level (100, 500 and 700 meter) and pith distance within stem (near to pith and bark and middle point). In addition was investigate the relationship between mineral content with oven-dried density and chemical properties. Results showed that Cd, Cu, Fe, Ni and Zn content (except Pb concentration) increased by increasing of altitude and decreased along radial position within stem from the pith to the bark. Lignin, ash and extractive content increased by increasing altitudes from 100 to 700 meter while cellulose decreased. Radial position had not significant impact on the chemical properties. There are significant relationships between mineral content–chemical properties and between mineral content-wood density (except Cu - density). Forward stepwise regression showed that ash and lignin content had important role on the variation of all of mineral content except on Cd.