In Asia, S. globosa was the prevalent species. The low diversity of S. globosa suggested a recent divergence with a founder effect of low variability from the variable ancestral species, S. schenckii.

Two new species in the Fusarium fujikuroi species complex (FFSC) are introduced. One of these, represented by strain CBS 454.97 was isolated from plant debris (Striga hermonthica) in the Sudan, while the second, represented by strains CBS 119850 and CBS 483.94, which originated from soil in Australia. Molecular analyses were performed including TEF1 spanning 576 bp region, 860 bp region of rPB2, and 500 bp BT2 region. Phylogenetic trees based on these regions showed that the two species are clearly distinct from all known taxa in the F. fujikuroi species complex. Based on phenotypic, physiological characters and molecular data, we introduce Fusarium sudanense and Fusarium terricola as novel species in the complex.

The opportunistic black yeast are particularly known through the genus Exophiala, characterised by annellidic budding cells. However, this phenotype is polyphyletic within the order Chaetothyriales. Seventeen generic names are available in the family Herpotrichiellaceae, one of which is Exophiala. Future taxonomy will be based on molecular phylogeny; each multi-species clade may qualify for one of these names. This paper focuses on the genus Nadsoniella, which is the oldest valid name in the Herpotrichiellaceae. Despite its exophiala-like phenotype, the type species of Nadsoniella clusters in the jeanselmei-clade, competing with the sympodial genus Rhinocladiella. In contrast, Exophiala competes with morphologically pronounced genera Thysanorea and Veronaea. Replacing the current phenotypic system for phylogenetic nomenclature requires highly stable phylogenies, which currently are not available.

Summary Total lipids, fatty acids and triacylglycerols in seeds of the four Saudi Arabian date cultivars ‘Anbra’, ‘Megadwel’, ‘Sacai’ and ‘Sfwai’ were analysed. Total lipid contents ranged between 7.3 and 8.6%. Oleic, lauric and myristic acid represented the most abundant fatty acids in date seed oil. HPLC‐DAD‐ESI‐MSn analysis enabled the identification of 40 triacylglycerols with equivalent carbon number (ECN) 36–54, of which 17 were detected for the first time. Triacylglycerols mainly comprised LaOL, LaLaL, LaML, MML/LaPL and LaOO. ‘Anbra’ oil was characterised by highest proportions of saturated fatty acids and triacylglycerols with ECN 36 and 48–54. Unsaturated fatty acids prevailed in the three remaining varieties. Elevated proportions of triacylglycerols with medium ECNs were found in ‘Megadwel’ and ‘Sfwai’ oils. Aside from highest total lipid contents, ‘Sacai’ seeds predominantly contained triacylglycerols with low ECNs. Multivariate statistical analyses elucidated varietal influences on the fatty acid and triacylglycerol composition of date seed oil.

This work aimed to study the influence of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs) on Cadmium (Cd) toxicity on germination of Faba bean (Vicia faba L.). The results indicated that, the levels of Zn and Cd significantly increased in shoot and root in a correlation with their dose. The levels of shoot and root Cd decreased in plants treated with the increasing of ZnONPs dose. ZnONPs and/ or Cd increased the shoot length, shoot fresh weight and shoot dry weight and whereas decreased root length, root length /shoot length and root dry weight in comparison with the control. ZnONPs and/ or Cd decreased the Mean Daily Germination MDG, Germination Index GI, Coefficient of Velocity of Germination CVG, Promptness index PI, Germination stress tolerance index GSI, Seedling vigor index SVI and Root length stress tolerance index RLSI whereas increased Mean Germination Time MGT in comparison with control. ZnONPs at 250 mg L-1 with Cd 50 mg L-1 showed the highest decrease in MDG, GI, CVG, PI and GSI whereas MGT recorded highest values. The highest decreased in SVI was shown in ZnONPs at 500 mg L-1 with Cd 25 mg L-1. Meanwhile, the highest decreased in RLSI was shown in ZnONPs at 1000 mg L-1 with Cd 50 mg L-1. It can be concluded that, ZnONPs decreased Cd level in the seedling of Faba bean, as well as germination parameters whereas increased some growth parameters.

Salinity is the main influencing factor in the productivity of most agricultural crops. Salinity has a negative effect on potato plants and yield. Previous research work shows that the transfer of the Na+/H+ antiporter gene to field crops improves the tolerance of plants to high salt concentrations. In this study, a vacuolar-type Na+/H+ antiporter gene from a halophytic plant, Atriplex gmelinii (AgNHX1) was transferred into potato via Agrobacterium. Leaf explants induced callus on Murashige & Skoog's (MS) medium accompanied by NAA (2.00 mg l-1) and BAP (0.25 mg l-1). The in-vitro leaf generated the callus which was transferred to the regeneration medium containing ZR (2.00 mg l-1) and NAA (0.25 mg l-1). The stable integration of the AgNHX1 gene in genetically modified potato plants was confirmed by PCR analysis. RT-PCR and northern blot hybridization indicated that AgNHX1expressed highly in transgenic potato plants. Our results indicated that the expression of AgNHX1 enhanced the salt tolerance in transgenic potato plants with good growth. This happened because, under salt stress, the accumulation of Na+ content and proline was more in shoots as compared to control. It showed that the expression of AgNHX1 activity in genetically modified potato plants was four-fold higher than in unmodified potato plants. Thus, it can be said that AgNHX1 gene expression could increase salt tolerance in potato plants.

The drought tolerance of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) is a trait needing urgent improvement due to recent climate changes and limited water availability. We therefore conducted a greenhouse screening experiment to identify tomato cultivars with improved drought tolerance. Several sensitivity and tolerance indices were computed based on morphological markers. With the aim of establishing a correlation to these markers, a total of 16 inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) primers were used, the genetic diversity among cultivars was elucidated and clustering the cultivars into groups based on their molecular profiles was performed. The obtained results indicated that selection indices, such as geometric mean productivity (GMP), mean productivity (MP), tolerance index (TOL),and stress tolerance index (STI), represented suitable indices for screening the drought tolerance of tomato cultivars. An interesting correlation of the ISSR analyses to these morphological findings was established according to 83 detectable fragments derived from 10 primers. The highest value of the effective multiplex ratio (EMR) and marker index (MI) was detected for primer INC7 followed by INC1. Based on Jaccard's similarity coefficients, the genetic distance of the genotypes varied from 0.702 to 0.942 with a mean value of 0.882. The results showed a clear-cut separation of the 15 tomato cultivars due to their genetic variability, making them a valuable genetic source for their incorporation into potential breeding programs. Molecular data were in good agreement with the results as regards selection indices, and both will be useful tools for improvement of the tomato germplasm.

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