Biotechnology and genetics
Mohammad Ramezani Kaporchali; Mohammad Reza Safarnejad; Abolghasem Ghasemi; Naser Farrokhi
Abstract
Burkholderia gladioli pv. gladioli (Bgg) is the causative agent of saffron bacterial rot. Accurate identification methods will play an important role in disease control management. Flagellum is the main commodity of the bacteria that facilitates its movement. Furthermore, it is of particular importance ...
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Burkholderia gladioli pv. gladioli (Bgg) is the causative agent of saffron bacterial rot. Accurate identification methods will play an important role in disease control management. Flagellum is the main commodity of the bacteria that facilitates its movement. Furthermore, it is of particular importance in colonization and pathogenicity. The fliC gene is one among five other genes encoding flagellin, the protein that makes the flagella in bacteria. In this study, the flagellin genes of 11 bacterial species were selected and the phylogenetic tree analysis divided them into plant and animal bacteria groups. Electron microscope images were taken from the bacterial flagella and its length was up to nine microns with 400-600 nm in diameter; as observed in both Lophotrichous and Monotrichous forms. fliC was amplified and analyzed for the first time by polymerase chain reaction for the two isolates of bacterial pathogen of saffron. Specific primers were designed and used that managed to separate Bgg from other bacteria, and helped in distinguishing the infected saffron corms from the healthy. Electron microscopy of the flagellum was illustrative of different types of Bgg. Investigating and studying the fliC gene can be useful in diagnosis of the causative agent of saffron corm rot disease.
Economics and Marketing
Sara Baghban Haghighi; Alireza Sani Heidary; Hamed Rafiee; Milad Aminizadeh
Abstract
Agriculture plays a pivotal role in Iran’s economy by increasing production, exports, and employment and supplying food needs. Therefore, according to the country’s strategic goals to develop non-oil exports, saffron has been paid attention as one of the most important agricultural products ...
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Agriculture plays a pivotal role in Iran’s economy by increasing production, exports, and employment and supplying food needs. Therefore, according to the country’s strategic goals to develop non-oil exports, saffron has been paid attention as one of the most important agricultural products due to its high income and currency earnings. However, the exports of this product to target markets have been reduced in recent years. On the other hand, the complexities of the global trade network have led the countries operating in this network to increase their specialization. Import specialization improves the supply chain to provide the food needs of importing countries, which play a key role in trade. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the specialization pattern of saffron importing countries and analyse its impact on Iran’s exports using the Poisson pseudo-maximum likelihood method over 2001-2017. According to the results, the coefficient of the variable relative import advantage (RMA), as a proxy of import specialization, is positive and significant, thus having a significant effect on Iranian saffron exports. In addition, per capita GDP and population affect Iran’s saffron exports positively and significantly, while the coefficients of geographical distance and food crisis are negative and statistically significant. Therefore, due to the increasing specialization of saffron-importing countries and its significant effect on Iran’s exports, exporters are suggested to focus on close target markets with high per capita income and a high degree of specialization.
