Many members of the genus Artemisia are important for medicinal purposes with multiple pharmacological properties. Often, these herbal plants sold on the markets are in processed forms so it is difficult to authenticate. Routine testing and identification of these herbal materials should be performed to ensure that the raw materials used in pharmaceutical products are suitable for their intended use. In this study, five commonly used Artemisia species included Artemisia argyi, Artemisia annua, Artemisia lavandulaefolia, Artemisia indica, and Artemisia atrovirens were analyzed using high resolution melting (HRM) analysis based on the internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) sequences. The melting profiles of the ITS2 amplicons of the five closely related herbal species are clearly separated so that they can be differentiated by HRM method. The method was further applied to authenticate commercial products in powdered. HRM curves of all the commercial samples tested are similar to the botanical species as labeled. These congeneric medicinal products were also clearly separated using the neighbor-joining (NJ) tree. Therefore, HRM method could provide an efficient and reliable authentication system to distinguish these commonly used Artemisia herbal products on the markets and offer a technical reference for medicines quality control in the drug supply chain.

Correct identification of medicinal plant ingredients is essential for their safe use and for the regulation of herbal drug supply chain. Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) is a recently developed approach to identify herbal medicine species. This novel molecular biology technique enables timely and accurate testing, especially in settings where infrastructures to support polymerase chain reaction facilities are lacking. Studies that used this method have altered our view on the extent and complexity of herbal medicine identification. In this review, we give an introduction into LAMP analysis, covers the basic principles and important aspects in the development of LAMP analysis method. Then we presented a critical review of the application of LAMP-based methods in detecting and identifying raw medicinal plant materials and their processed products. We also provide a practical standard operating procedure (SOP) for the utilization of the LAMP protocol in herbal authentication, and consider the prospects of LAMP technology in the future developments of herbal medicine identification and the challenges associated with its application.

Bermudagrass ( Cynodon spp.) is a common turfgrass found in parks, landscapes, sports fields, and golf courses. It is also grown as a forage crop for animal production in many countries. Consequently, bermudagrass has significant ecological, environmental, and economic importance. Like many other food crops, bermudagrass production also faces challenges from various abiotic and biotic stresses. In this review we will focus on abiotic stresses and their impacts on turfgrass quality and yield. Among the abiotic stresses, drought, salinity and cold stress are known to be the most damaging stresses that can directly affect the production of turfgrass worldwide. In this review, we also discuss the impacts of nutrient supply, cadmium, waterlogging, shade and wear stresses on bermudagrass growth and development. Detailed discussions on abiotic stress effects on bermudagrass morphology, physiology, and gene expressions should benefit our current understanding on molecular mechanisms controlling bermudagrass tolerance against various abiotic stresses. We believe that the rapid development of transcriptomics and proteomics, as well as bermudagrass stable transformation technologies will promote the production of new bermudagrass cultivars with desirable tolerance against abiotic stresses.

IntroductionPlants have to endure various abiotic and biotic stresses as they cannot move to favorable environments. Stresses, including salt, drought, cold, low nutrition, viruses, and other pathogen attacks, have a great impact on seed germination, seedling growth, photosynthesis, and biomass accumulation (Zhou et al., 2014). Fortunately, plants have acquired the ability to sense, deliver, and respond to stresses at the molecular, cellular, and physiological levels during evolution (Li et al., 2009). External stimuli could change the concentration of calcium ion (Ca 2+ ), an acknowledged ubiquitous second messenger, which can be perceived by sensor proteins. Following sensing, a series of molecular, physiological, and biochemical reactions are triggered to cope with the stimuli. There are mainly three Ca 2+ sensor protein families: calmodulins (CaMs), calcineurin B-like proteins (CBLs), and calcium-dependent protein kinases (CDPKs) (Snedden and Fromm, 2001). CBLs interact and activate CBL-interacting protein kinases (CIPKs), forming the CBL-CIPK complex, which could help plants cope with different stresses. Moreover, the CBL-CIPK module plays an important role in plant growth and development (Pandey, 2014;.Comparative analyses have provided detailed information of the structure and function of the CBL/ CIPK family in various plants. Recent studies identified 10

Bermudagrass is widely distributed as a warm-season turf and forage grass in the temperate and tropical zones around the world. Its strong vegetative reproduction and ability to withstand drought make it an ideal species as a most used warm-season forage grass and turfgrass. Genetic transformation is an important tool for the study of gene function and for germplasm improvement in bermudagrass. This paper attempts to present a recent review on genetic resources, plant regeneration and genetic transformation in bermudagrass. We first review the various genetic resources and collection of bermudagrass. Then the explants, basal medium and the effect of different cultivars and plant growth regulators on plant regeneration in bermudagrass are also summarized. Last, we outline the main areas of progress in genetic transformation with either the biolistic or Agrobacterium-mediated method in bermudagrass, and discuss various factors that influence Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. However, the question that still remains is why there have been no genetic modification reports on bermudagrass for 10 years.