Browsing by Author "Farda, Beatrice"

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Evaluation of Funneliformis Mosseae Inoculation Effects on Growth, Nutrient Uptake, and Essential Oil Content in Turkish Oregano Under Drought Stress
(Peerj inc, 2025) Najafi, Mina; Cokuysal, Burcin; Danesh, Younes Rezaee; Farda, Beatrice; Mignini, Amedeo; Pellegrini, Marika
Background. Turkish oregano (Origanum onites L.) is a perennial herb widely recognized for its medicinal, cosmetic, and culinary uses due to its antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. Drought is a significant stressor for crops, particularly affecting O. onites quality and yield. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) establish symbiotic relationships with plant roots, enhance plant growth, and improve tolerance to abiotic stresses such as drought. Methods. This study investigates the effects of Funneliformis mosseae inoculation on O. onites growth, nutrient content, and essential oil yield under varying drought conditions. A factorial experiment was conducted with eight treatments, consisting of two factors: irrigation levels (100%, 75%, 50%, and 25%) and AMF inoculation (with and without). The experimental design was completely randomized with three replicates. Results. Results demonstrated that AMF inoculation significantly improved the fresh and dry weight of O. onites compared to non-inoculated controls (+11% and +16%, respectively). Moreover, AMF-inoculated plants showed notable increases in potassium (+7%) and nitrogen (+12%) contents. The essential oil yield was also significantly higher in AMF-inoculated plants (+3%). Increasing water stress levels significantly decreased the number of AMF spores (-47%) and the percentage of fungal colonization (-57%). Nevertheless, under drought stress mycorrhizal inoculation significantly maintained plant biomass and nutrient uptake comparable to full irrigation. The AMF drought tolerance effects were confirmed at 75%, 50%, and 25% irrigation rates.
Genetic Diversity of Trichoderma Harzianum Isolates in Sunflower Rhizosphere: the Application of the Urp Molecular Marker
(Mdpi, 2022) Danesh, Younes Rezaee; Pellegrini, Marika; Kariman, Khalil; Boyno, Gokhan; Djebaili, Rihab; Farda, Beatrice; Najafi, Solmaz
The genetic diversity of 77 Trichoderma harzianum isolates collected from sunflower rhizosphere soils in Urmia, Khoy, and Salmas in West Azerbaijan province, Iran, was evaluated by using the Universal Rice Primer (URP) molecular marker. The DNA band pattern of the isolates was developed using seven primers of this marker. These primers produced 186 gene loci, out of which 182 loci were polymorphic. Accordingly, the genetic diversity of the isolates was calculated, and their kinship relations were determined by cluster analysis using the NTSYS software package. URP-6R had the highest marker index among the studied primers, followed by URP-1F, URP-4R, and URP-25F, implying their higher efficiency in discriminating between the isolates. The results showed that the URP marker could discriminate between isolates using macroscopic morphological characteristics, such as color and colony type, potential of pigment production in the culture medium, and colony growth rate. Furthermore, there was no significant relationship between the geographical distribution of the isolates and the band patterns generated by the primers except for a few cases. The results generally revealed that the URP marker was an efficient tool for determining the genetic diversity of T. harzianum.
A New Technique for the Extraction of Arbuscular Mycorrhizae Fungal Spores From Rhizosphere
(Mdpi, 2023) Boyno, Gokhan; Demir, Semra; Danesh, Younes Rezaee; Durak, Emre Demirer; Cevik, Rojbin; Farda, Beatrice; Pellegrini, Marika
Monitoring the dynamics of the spore bank of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) is essential for the sustainable management and protection of agroecosystems. The most common method for extracting AMF spores from soil is the wet-sieving technique (WST). However, this method has many disadvantages. In this study, we modified the WST using new approaches: the ultrasound wet-sieving technique (UWST) and the ultrasound centrifuge technique (UCT). We enumerated and compared the numbers and quality of spores obtained from WST, UWST, and UCT to validate the new modified techniques. We extracted AMF spores from the rhizospheres of different plants, including wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.), pepper (Piper nigrum L.), parsley (Petroselinum crispum Mill.), and turfgrass (Lolium perenne L.) collected from the Van Lake basin, Turkey. The highest and lowest AMF spore numbers were observed in wheat and turfgrass rhizospheres. The UCT allowed for the extraction of the highest number of spores from all rhizospheres, followed by the UWST and WST. The UWST and WST allowed for the extraction of similar spore numbers from wheat, pepper, parsley, and turfgrass rhizospheres. Beyond the high extracted spore number, UCT was shown to be a fast and low-material-consuming approach. These findings demonstrate that the UCT can be used to efficiently extract AMF spores in future research.
Onion Fusarium Basal Rot Disease Control by Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi and Trichoderma Harzianum
(Mdpi, 2024) Yagmur, Abdulaziz; Demir, Semra; Canpolat, Sirel; Rezaee Danesh, Younes; Farda, Beatrice; Djebaili, Rihab; Pellegrini, Marika
Soilborne pathogens reduce 60% of the yield of onion crops. A common fungal pathogen causing wilt disease and severe losses is Fusarium basal rot (FBR). In this study, the combination of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF) with Trichoderma harzianum was investigated against FBR. Onion samples were collected from the Ankara-Polatl & imath; region. Among the isolates, isolate S6 was identified as F. oxysporum f. sp. cepae (FOC) using morphological and molecular methods and pathogenicity tests. Different combinations of AMF (Funneliformis mosseae pure strain and the commercial AMF) and T. harzianum were inoculated on susceptible onion cultivars (Se & ccedil;, Gence, and & Scedil;ampiyon). The effects of the treatments on FOC biocontrol were studied under growth chamber conditions. The results showed that & Scedil;ampiyon was the most resistant, while Gence was the most susceptible to basal rot disease. Different colonization rates (8.91-24%), spore densities (16.4-50.4 spore/10 g soil), and the extent to which a plant needs mycorrhizal conditions to grow to its maximum potential (i.e., mycorrhizal dependencies-18.3-51.9%) were recorded by treatment. Both single and combined applications of AMF and Trichoderma applications suppressed FOC. Suppressive effects were more pronounced when the F. mosseae pure strain was used alone (when F. mosseae was used, disease severity decreased from 90 to 68%, p < 0.05). The F. mosseae pure strain also showed the best plant growth promotion and phosphorus content release. The results indicate an interesting potential use of F. mosseae and the combination of AMF with T. harzianum in the management of FOC in onions.
Plant-Fungus Synergy Against Soil Salinity: The Cellular and Molecular Role of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi
(Elsevier Inc., 2025) Boyno, Gökhan; Rezaee Danesh, Younes; Çevik, Rojbin; Teniz, Necmettin; Demir, Semra; Calayır, Oktay; Farda, Beatrice
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) play a crucial role in disease control by establishing symbiotic relationships with plant roots. AMF improve salinity tolerance in plants by regulating the Na+/K+ ratio through selective ion transport and mediate osmotic regulation by inducing the accumulation of osmotic-compatible solutes such as glycine betaine and proline to enable plant cells to maintain water content and the metabolic balance. AMF can also activate antioxidant defense responses by stimulating enzymes that protect plant cells from harmful oxidation and pathological infections. Plant salinity tolerance induced by AMF depends on abscisic acid (ABA)-dependent signaling mechanisms, calcium-calmodulin-dependent pathways, and reactive oxygen species (ROS)-modulated mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades. Therefore, future research should focus on optimizing the production and field efficacy of AMF-based inoculants, including their combined use with microbial biostimulants, to support the implementation of sustainable agricultural practices. © 2025 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
Using Chromosomal Abnormalities and Germination Traits for the Assessment of Tritipyrum Amphiploid Lines Under Seed-Aging and Germination Priming Treatments
(Mdpi, 2023) Taghvaei, Mansour; Maleki, Hamideh; Najafi, Solmaz; Hassani, Hossein Shahsavand; Danesh, Younes Rezaee; Farda, Beatrice; Pace, Loretta
Primary Trans Chromosomal Tritipyrum (PTCT) amphiploid is a new cereal grown in saline soil and brackish water for grain and forage production. We evaluated the tolerance to seed deterioration in 13 promising PTCT lines, assessing accelerated aging (AA) tests by using AA boxes with 100% relative humidity at 40 & DEG;C for 72 h. The (Ma/b)(Cr/b)F4 and (St/b)(Cr/b)F4) PTCT lines, more sensitive to seed aging, were primed with NaCl, Salicylic Acid (SA), and Polyethylene Glycol (PEG) to increase the seed vigor of artificially aged seeds. Germination and emergence traits, biochemical parameters, and chromosomal abnormalities induced by artificial aging were measured in deteriorated and not-deteriorated seeds. The highest reduction percentages related to seed vigor were observed in (Ka/b)(Cr/b)F2 (34.52) and La(4B,4D)/b (28.15) lines, while the lowest was found in (Ma/b)(Cr/b)F4 (7.65) and (St/b)(Cr/b)F4 (7.46) lines. Seed aging also increases electrolytes, potassium, and protein leakages. Chromosomal abnormalities are caused by seed aging that interferes with chromosome behaviors during cell division. Seed priming on aged seeds revealed an increase in the germination percentage (GP) with PEG treatment, while the priming by SA showed an increase in seedling traits, such as the seedling length (SL2). In conclusion, we highlighted the potential use of different PTCT lines and the effective use of seed priming on deteriorated seed to enhance seed viability and seedling vigor as a useful tool for sustainable agriculture.