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Dehydration response element binding factors (DREBs) are one of the principal plant transcription factor subfamilies that regulate the expression of many abiotic stress-inducible genes. This sub-family belongs to AP2 transcription factor family and plays a considerable role in improving abiotic stresses tolerance in plants. Therefore, it is of interest to identify critical cis-acting elements involved in abiotic stress responses. In this study, we survey promoter cis-elements for ATDREBs genes (Arabidopsis thaliana DREBs). Regulatory networks based on ATDREB candidate genes were also generated to find other genes that are functionally similar to DREBs. The study was conducted on all 20 Arabidopsis thaliana non redundant DREB genes stored in RefSeq database. Promoter analysis and regulatory network prediction was accomplished by use of Plant CARE program and GeneMANIA web tool, respectively. The results indicated that among all genes, DREB1A, DREB1C, DREB2C, DREB2G and DEAR3 have the most type of diverse motifs involved in abiotic stress responses. It is implied that co-operation of abscisic acid, ethylene, salicylic acid and methyl jasmonate signaling is crucial for the regulation of the expression of drought and cold responses through DREB transcription factors. Gene network analysis showed different co-expressed but functionally similar genes that had physical and functional interactions with candidate DREB genes.

Chronic wounds have become a major health problem worldwide. Curcumin (Cur), with strong anti-inflammatory and anti-infective properties, is introduced as a unique molecule for wound dressing applications. In the present study, Cur-loaded chitosan/poly­(ethylene oxide)/collagen (Cho/PEO/Col) nanofibers were developed for wound dressing applications by the blend–electrospinning process. Structural, mechanical, and biological properties of nanofibers were evaluated using SEM, FTIR, tensile testing, in vitro release study, Alamar blue cytotoxicity assay, and in vivo study in a rat model. According to the results, Cur was successfully released up to 3 days without any significant cytotoxicity of the above hybrid to human dermal fibroblasts. In vivo studies on full-thickness wounds in the rat model indicated significant improvement in the mean wound area closure by applying Cur-loaded Cho/PEO/Col nanofibers. The electrospun Cho/PEO/Col nanofibers loaded with Cur could be considered as a promising type of wound dressing in the wound-healing process.

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Ferula (Ferula asafoetida L.) and Dorema (Dorema aucheri Bioss.) both from Apiaceae family were tested for their anti-quorum sensing (QS) activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Both essential oils exhibited anti-QS activity at 25 μg/ml of concenteration. At this concenteration Ferula fully abolished and Dorema reduced the violacein production by C. violaceum. Pyocyanin, pyoverdine, elastase and biofilm production were decreased in Ferula oil treatments. Dorema oil reduced pyoverdine and elastase production, while pyocyanin and biofilm production were not affacted. Expresion analysis of QS-dependent genes confirmed our phenotypic data. Our data introduced native Dorema and Ferula plants as novel QS and virulence inhibitors.

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Lactoferrin is the most dominant protein in milk after casein. This protein plays a crucial role in many biological processes including the regulation of iron metabolism, induction and modulation of the immune system, the primary defense against microorganisms, inhibiting lipid peroxidation and presenting antimicrobial activity against various pathogens such as parasites, fungi, bacteria, and viruses. The major antimicrobial effect of lactoferrin is related to its N-terminal tail where different peptides for instance lactoferricin and lactoferrampin which are important for their antimicrobial abilities are present. The growth rate of bacterial cells in camel milk is lower than that of the cow milk due to having more antimicrobial compounds. In this study, we have fused a codon-optimized partial camel lactoferrcin and lactoferrampin DNA sequences in order to construct a fused peptide via a lysine. This chimeric 42-mer peptide consists of complete and partial amino acid sequence of camel lactoferrampin and lactoferricin, respectively. Human embryonic kidney 293 (HEK-293) cells were used for synthesizing this recombinant peptide. Finally, the antibacterial activities of this constructed peptide were investigated under in vitro condition. The result showed that, all construction, cloning and expression processes were successfully performed in HEK-293. One His-tag tail was added to the chimera in order to optimize the isolation and purification processes and also reduce the cost of production. Additionally, His-tag retained the antimicrobial activity of the chimera. The antimicrobial tests showed that the growth rate in the majority of bacterial plant pathogens, including gram negative and positive bacteria, was inhibited by recombinant chimera as the level of MIC values were evaluated between 0.39 and 25.07 μg/ml for different bacterial isolates.