Ali Akbar Ghasemi Soluklui; Ahmad Ershadi; Zia eldin Tabatabaee; Esmaeil Fallahi
Abstract
Freezing injury is an important limiting factor in the production of pomegranate in Iran.The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of paclobutrazol (PBZ) on cold hardiness of pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) cv. ‘Malas Saveh’. Different concentrations of PBZ including 0 (control), ...
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Freezing injury is an important limiting factor in the production of pomegranate in Iran.The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of paclobutrazol (PBZ) on cold hardiness of pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) cv. ‘Malas Saveh’. Different concentrations of PBZ including 0 (control), 31, 62, 125 or 250 mg L–1 were sprayed on one-year-old plants in August and the electrolyte leakage of their stems was measured at three acclimation stages (November, January, and March). PBZ treatments, especially at 125 and 250 mg L–1 concentrations increased cold hardiness, and corresponding soluble carbohydrates and proline contents. The highest variation in freezing tolerance was observed between control and PBZ-treated plants in January, and the lowest found in November. Irrespective of PBZ treatment, correlations between cold hardiness and soluble carbohydrate concentrations were stronger, compared to proline. Soluble carbohydrates were higher in January, associated with deep dormancy, whereas the maximum proline content was detected in March, at deacclimation stage. Results suggest that PBZ application can reduce low temperature-induced dysfunction of cell membrane through increasing soluble carbohydrates and proline contents.
Babak Valizadeh Kaji; Ahmad Ershadi; Masoud Tohidfar
Abstract
In this study, an efficient Agrobacterium-mediated transformation method was developed forpomegranate (Punica granatum L.), a difficult-to-transform plant. In vitro shoot segments wereinoculated with Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain LBA4404 harboring the binary vectorpBI121 carrying the neomycin phosphotransferase ...
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In this study, an efficient Agrobacterium-mediated transformation method was developed forpomegranate (Punica granatum L.), a difficult-to-transform plant. In vitro shoot segments wereinoculated with Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain LBA4404 harboring the binary vectorpBI121 carrying the neomycin phosphotransferase (nptII) gene as a selectable marker and β-glucuronidase (gus) gene as a reporter. After 28 d in WPM selection medium containing 50 mgL-1 kanamycin, 59 new shoots proliferated. gus analysis was performed on these putativetransgenic shoots, of which 32 stained positive. Positive staining shoots were cut and culturedin selection medium for 2 subsequent subcultures until final gus analysis. After three months ofthe selection period, 6 putative transgenic shoots were obtained. Presence of the gus and nptIIgenes was confirmed by polymerase chain reaction. Southern blot analysis confirmed that TDNAwas stably integrated into the genome of three out of six PCR-positive plants. Thetransgenic plants were rooted and successfully acclimatized.
