The rumen bacterial strains Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens Hl7c, Fibrobacter succinogenes S8S, Lachnospira multiparus 4°, Ruminococcus albus 7 and R. flavefaciens FD-l were compared individually and as a five-species mixture with a rumen inoculum for their ability to degrade lucerne (Medicago sativa L.) stem cell wall polysaccharides. Two maturity stages oflucerne (bud and full flower) were utilized...

Poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) and glycogen are major carbon storage compounds in Sinorhizobium meliloti. The roles of PHB and glycogen in rhizobia-legume symbiosis are not fully understood. Glycogen synthase mutations were constructed by in-frame deletion (glgA1) or insertion (glgA2). These mutations were combined with a phbC mutation to make all combinations of double and triple mutants. PHB wa...

Biodiversity of the genus Medicago in Iran was studied. Distribution of two perennial species M. sativa and M. lupulina mainly conforms to the mountainous regions of Iran. Among the other annual species of this genus, M. rigidula has the most similar distribution to the distribution of perrenial species in mountainous regions. Most species of Medicago (apart from M. sativa and M. lupulina) are ...

A pot experiment was performed to study the effectiveness of remediation using different plant species and the enzyme response involved in remediating PAH-contaminated soil. The study indicated that species Echinacea purpurea, Festuca arundinacea Schred, Fire Phoenix (a combined F. arundinacea), and Medicago sativa L. possess the potential for remediation in PAH-contaminated soils. The study al...

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play a critical role in post-transcriptional gene regulation that down-regulates target genes by mRNA degradation or translational repression. Evidence is increasing for their crucial roles during plant development. Identification of miRNAs at the global genome-level by high-throughput sequencing is essential to functionally characterize miRNAs in plants. Alfalfa (Medicago sa...

A potential strategy to decrease the levels of self-seed production during the seed increase stages of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) synthetic cultivar development is selection for decreased self-fertility. The underlying genetics of this trait have not been elucidated and, therefore, a study was designed to identify genetic determinants of alfalfa self-fertility. An F1 mapping population develo...