In plants, an increasing interest for the comet assay was shown in the last decade. This versatile technique appears to be promising to detect the genotoxic effect of pollutants and to monitor the environment. However, the lack of a standardised protocol and the low throughput of the assay limit its use in plants. The aims of this paper are to identify key factors affecting comet assay performa...

The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of soil contamination by selected metals (cadmium, copper, nickel, lead or zinc) on the antioxidant response of Vicia faba plants. The levels of the antioxidants: glutathione, proline, non-protein thiols, as well as guaiacol peroxidase and catalase activities were measured in the upper parts of plants. Additionally, the potential bioavailabil...

Faba bean (Vicia faba L.) is one of the earliest domesticated food legumes in Ethiopia and is now cultivated on large areas in many countries. Production of the crop is, however, constrained by several disease infections including fungal diseases. The objectives of this work was to find out natural prevalence of Bacillus isolates on faba bean leaves in Amhara Regional state of Ethiopia; and to ...

Herbivores can ingest and store plant-synthesized toxic compounds in their bodies, and sequester those compounds for their own benefits. The broad bean, Vicia faba L., contains a high quantity of L-DOPA (L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine), which is toxic to many insects. However, the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum, can feed on V. faba normally, whereas many other aphid species could not. In this stu...

Feeding experim ents using l3C-labelled sodium acetate precursors in CuCl2-treated broad bean (Vicia faba) cotyledons have demonstrated that the furanoacetylene phytoalexin wyerone is biosynthetically derived from seven intact acetate units. A further experiment using sodium [2H 3]acetate indicated the head of the chain, and showed the chain is analogous to that of a fatty acid precursor, any c...

The effect of 93 field crop and pasture cultivars on the end-of-season population densities of Pratylenchus thornei in soil was determined in the field in southeastern Australia. Wheat and barley cultivars had different effects on the population densities of P. thornei. Most commercial wheat cultivars that are grown in southeastern Australia were susceptible, while the barley cultivars were res...

Faba bean (Vicia faba L.) as the most cultivated leguminous species in the world, is an excellent source of protein, dietary fiber, micronutrients and phytochemicals. A field experiment was conducted at Ghazala, Zagazig University, Sharkia Governorate during 2015, to study the effect of plant Growth Regulator such as; Gibberellic acid (GA3) and Inidol acetic acid (IAA) on antioxidant contents o...