the study of genetic variation and phylogenetic relationships is essential for the efficient selection of superior plant material and conducting introgression breeding programs. in iran, despite the wide geographical distribution of grasses no report is available on the genetic diversity and relationships of cool season grass populations. in this study amplified fragment length polymorphism (af...

Heat stress is a detrimental abiotic stress limiting the growth of many plant species and is associated with various cellular and physiological damages. Expansins are a family of proteins which are known to play roles in regulating cell wall elongation and expansion, as well as other growth and developmental processes. The in vitro roles of expansins regulating plant heat tolerance are not well...

Effective population size (N(e)) is the key parameter for predicting genetic drift associated with germplasm regeneration. A major factor reducing N(e) below the census population size (N(c)) is variation in seed production among plants in a given population. The objectives of this study were to estimate N(e)/N(c) associated with variation in seed production in three model wind pollinated, pere...

Blissus occiduus Barber is an important pest of buffalograss, Buchloë dactyloides (Nuttall) Engelmann, turf. No-choice studies documented the susceptibility of selected turfgrasses, crops, and weeds to B. occiduus feeding. Highly to moderately susceptible grasses included buffalograss; yellow Setaria glauca (L.) and green foxtail Setaria viridis (L.); Kentucky bluegrass, Poa pratensis L.; peren...

Phytoremediation is a promising technique for cleaning petroleum contaminated soils. In this study, the effects of two grass species (Festuca arundinacea Schreb. and Festuca pratensis Huds.), infected (E(+)) and non-infected (E(-)) by endophytic fungi (Neotyphodium coenophialum and Neotyphodium uncinatum, respectively) on the degradation of petroleum hydrocarbons in an aged petroleum contaminat...

Chlorophyll levels in l-cm sections of the youngest fully expanded leaves of normal (Y) Festuca pratensis L. declined almost to zero over a period of 6 days after excision. Chlorophyll in a mutant genotype (NY) remained near the initial level for the whole of this period. Abscisic acid promoted pigment loss in Y but had no significant effect on chlorophyll in NY. Kinetin retarded pigment loss i...

The issue of moulds and, thus, contamination with mycotoxins is very topical, particularly in connexion with forages from grass stands used at the end of the growing season. Deoxynivalenol (DON), zearalenone (ZEA), fumonisins (FUM) and aflatoxins (AFL) are among the most common mycotoxins. The aim of the paper was to determine concentrations of mycotoxins in selected grasses (Lolium perenne, Fe...