Arif Ipek

Influence of different co-cultivation temperatures, periods and media on Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated gene transfer

Tobacco leaf disc explants were inoculated with Agrobacterum tumefaciens strain GV2260 carrying p35S GUS-INT to determine the influence of different co-cultivation temperatures (18 – 26 °C), periods (24 – 96 h) and media (solid and liquid) on transformation efficiency. Kanamycin-resistant shoots developed on leaf discs inoculated with Agrobacterium after 4 weeks of culture initiation. Regenerated shoots were excised and rooted in the basal medium supplemented with 100 mg dm −3 kanamycin and 250 mg dm −3 augmentin. The rooted plantlets were finally transferred to compost and confirmed by GUS assay and PCR analysis. The highest transformation frequency was achieved from the explants co-cultivated with A. tumefaciens in liquid medium for 48 h at 22 or 24 °C.

Chemical compositions and antibacterial activities of the essential oils from aerial parts and corollas of Origanum acutidens (Hand.-Mazz.) Ietswaart, an endemic species to Turkey.

Essential oils extracted by hydrodistillation from the aerial parts and corollas of Origanum acutidens (Hand.-Mazz.) Ietswaart, an endemic Turkish flora species, were analyzed by GC-MS. The amounts of essential oil obtained from the aerial parts and the corollas were 0.73% and 0.93%, respectively. Twenty-five components in both the aerial parts oil and the corolla oil, representing 95.11% and 93.88%, respectively, were identified. The aerial parts and corolla oils were characterized by the predominance of two components: p-cymene (9.43% and 17.51%) and carvacrol (67.51% and 52.33%), respectively. The essential oils were also evaluated for their antimicrobial activity against ten bacteria by the disc diffusion assay. Our findings showed the following order in the sensitivity to the essential oils, as indicated by the corresponding inhibition zones: Proteus vulgaris > Salmonella typhimurium > Enterobacter cloacae > Klebsiella pneumonia > Escherichia coli > Serratia marcescens > Pseudomonas aeruginosa for the aerial parts essential oil, and Salmonella typhimurium > Proteus vulgaris > Enterobacter cloacae > Escherichia coli > Klebsiella pneumoniae > Serratia marcescens > Pseudomonas aeruginosa for the corolla essential oil. The studied essential oils thus exhibited a broad-spectrum of activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, whereas the tested Gram-positive bacteria were more susceptible to the essential oil samples.

Adventitious Shoot Regeneration and Micropropagation in Calendula officinalis L.

Hypocotyl, cotyledon and cotyledonary node explants of Calendula officinalis L were cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) media supplemented with various concentrations of thidiazuron (TDZ), kinetin (KIN), α-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) and indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) to induce adventitious shoot regeneration and micropropagation. The highest frequency of adventitious shoot regeneration was achieved from hypocotyl and cotyledon explants on MS media supplemented with 0.75 mg dm−3 TDZ and either 0.25 or 0.50 mg dm−3 IBA. Efficient in vitro clonal propagation was also induced from cotyledonary nodes on a range of media supplemented with 0.75 mg dm−3 TDZ and 0.05 mg dm−3 NAA or 2 mg dm−3 KIN and 1 mg dm−3 NAA. Regenerated shoots were excised and rooted in MS medium supplemented with 1 mg dm−3 NAA. The rooted plantlets were finally transferred to pots.

Fatty Acid Compositions of Linseed (Linum Usitatissimum L.) Genotypes of Different Origin Cultivated in Turkey

ABSTRACT The study assessed the levels of variation in oil content and fatty acid composition among the linseed cultivars, lines and populations of different origins grown in Turkey. The oil content ranged from 23.28 to 40.36% in the experimental materials. Three saturated (C16:0, C18:0 and C20:0) and four unsaturated (C18:1, C18:2, C18:3 and C20:1) fatty acids, identified by GC represented 10.02% and 89.91% of the total oil, respectively. The C18:3 acid content ranged 48.08% to 57.58%. The contents of the C18:1, C18:2, C16:0, and C18:0, acids were 15.81 to 27.99, 11.18 to 16.13, 4.07 to 7.02 and 3.21 to 6.70%, respectively. The C20:0 and C20:1, acids were minor fatty acids in these materials and ranged 0.11 to 0.24 and 0.10 to 0.24%, respectively.

Effect of different developing stages on some agronomical characteristics and essential oil composition of Oregano (Origanum onites)

Abstract This study reports effects of three plant development stages (pre‐flowering, full flowering, and post‐flowering) of Oregano (Origanum onites) on plant height, fresh herbage yield, dry herbage yield, dry leaf yield, essential oil content, and essential oil yield. The results showed that the highest fresh, dry herbage, and dry leaf yield were obtained at the post‐flowering stage. However, dry leaf and essential oil yield showed a variation between 4.45–5.68 t ha−1 and 119.3–190.1 litre ha−1, respectively. Essential oil content was significantly affected by plant development stages and the highest oil content (3.65%) was obtained at the full flowering stage. The major components of essential oil were determined as carvacrol (42.12–57.0%), thymol (13.21–21.88%), and linalool (8.23–20.28%).

Blooming stages of Turkish hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis L.) affect essential oil composition

Abstract Hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis L.), native to the Caucasus, North Western Iran, Turkish North Eastern Black Sea region, and Southern Anatolia, is a highly valued medicinal plant. The experiment was conducted to find the effect of harvesting at different blooming stages of the plant on fresh and dry herbage yield, dry leaf yield, essential oil content, and essential oil components. In total, twenty-nine components were identified in hyssop essential oil by GC/MS. Isopinocamphone was the dominating component (47.9–51.4%) in the all analysed oil samples. The results clearly demonstrated that oil contents are seriously affected by the environmental conditions and stage of blooming, with the highest oil yield and oil contents at the post-blooming stage.

Some agronomical characteristics and essential oil content of oregano (Origanum onites L.) as influenced by planting densities.

Abstract Oregano (Origanum onites L.) a highly valued medicinal plant, is rich in essential oil. The objective of the experiment was to determine the relative importance of planting densities on yield components and essential oil components of O. onites under semi arid rain fed conditions of South East Anatolian Turkey. Plant densities and environmental conditions affected growth components, essential oil percentage and essential oil yield variabilty. The results suggested variation among fresh and dry herb yield, dry leaf yield and essential oil composition in O. onites during two years of experimentation. Totally twenty-six components were identified in the oregano essential oil by GC-MS. Carvacrol (39.6 - 52.2 %) dominated all components identified in the essential oils. 45 x 20 cm plant density showed economical optimum herbage and oil yield on the non-calcareous arid soils of Diyarbakir in the Southeastern Anatolian Turkey.