Drought stress is a significant abiotic stressor that has a negative impact on crop production and global food security systems. Drought stress was applied to eggplant seedlings with various field capacities (FC), 80% FC as control, 50% FC, 35% FC, and 20% FC. AgNPs were synthesised from green chemical methods, whereas different concentrations of AgNPs (0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.5 µmol) were applied exogenously on drought-stressed eggplants. Drought stress decreased the growth parameters (plant height, fresh mass, dry mass, leaf area), photosynthetic pigments (Chl a, Chl b, carotenoids), and protein content while increased the proline, hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), malondialdehyde (MDA) content, and activity of the antioxidant enzymes, i.e., superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT). AgNPs restricted proline accumulation and reduced H₂O_2, MDA content by upregulating the antioxidant enzymes. Overall, the current study’s findings indicated that AgNPs are an effective eco-friendly and low-cost application for plant growth under drought stress, with the potential to mitigate the impact of drought on plants.

The rhizosphere microbial community of a plant plays a pivotal role in mediating plant and soil health. This study was conducted to unravel the rhizosphere microbial structure and community of Sukkari date palm trees. The soil collected from the rhizosphere was subjected to metagenomic analysis. The results revealed that most of the sequences (62%) were identified as bacteria: 48% were unknown bacteria, 5% were Actinobacteria, and 9% were Proteobacteria. Microorganisms belonging to eukaryotes were 25% of the microbial community, represented by 21% Streptophyta and 4% Ciliopora and 5% of the sequences were Archaea. These analyses were followed by functional enzyme analysis, which identified microbial metabolism in diverse environments related to nine carbohydrate and energy pathways; seven pathways were associated with degradation, and nine metabolic pathways were associated with amino acid metabolism. The comparison of community analysis with our previous study provided distinct differences even in the same plants with various cultivars.

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Vinca Rosea (Apocynacea) is an important medicinal plant. In this study, tissue culture propagation of vinca using explants from stems and leaves was investigated. Single and combined treatments of different phytohormones were added to Murashige and Skoog (MS) media. The genetic variation between cell lines derived from these explants was evaluated by using protein electrophoresis and determination of nucleic acids concentrations. The analysis of protein patterns showed that the number of protein bands in control was 16 bands, while in all treatments that number ranged between 4-33bands, regardless of explant origin. The polymorphism ratio was high in stem explants treatments through incubation period in comparison to the control, while that ratio decreased in leaves explants treatments. The treatment with Naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) hormone was the closest to the control sample. It was noticed that protein concentrations resulting from stems explants culture were higher than those recorded in leaves explants. Measurements of nucleic acids concentrations showed that the highest significant concentration for DNA and RNA resulted from stems explants treatments. In conclusion, it is recommended to use stem explants and NAA hormone to achieve a generation of plants similar to the origin when using tissue culture technique. ‫و‬ ‫الصانع‬ ‫إبراهيم‬ ‫سمية‬ ‫األحمدي‬ ‫منى‬ ‫و‬ ‫بحيري‬ ‫الدين‬ ‫محي‬ ( . 2020 .) ‫النسيجية‬ ‫الزراعة‬ ‫بواسطة‬ ‫النامية‬ ‫الونكة‬ ‫نبات‬ ‫على‬ ‫النباتية‬ ‫الهرمونات‬ ‫بعض‬ ‫لتأثير‬ ‫جزيئية‬ ‫دراسات‬ . ‫والطبيعية،‬ ‫األساسية‬ ‫العلوم‬ ‫فرع‬ ‫فيصل،‬ ‫امللك‬ ‫لجامعة‬ ‫العلمية‬ ‫املجلة‬ ‫الطباعة)‬ ‫(بانتظار‬ ‫العدد‬ ‫الطباعة)،‬ ‫(بانتظار‬ ‫املجلد‬ ‫و‬ ‫الصانع‬ ‫إبراهيم‬ ‫سمية‬ ‫األحمدي‬ ‫منى‬ ‫و‬ ‫بحيري‬ ‫الدين‬ ‫محي‬ ( . 2020 .) ‫النسيجية‬ ‫الزراعة‬ ‫بواسطة‬ ‫النامية‬ ‫الونكة‬ ‫نبات‬ ‫على‬ ‫النباتية‬ ‫الهرمونات‬ ‫بعض‬ ‫لتأثير‬ ‫جزيئية‬ ‫دراسات‬ . ‫والطبيعية،‬ ‫األساسية‬ ‫العلوم‬ ‫فرع‬ ‫فيصل،‬ ‫امللك‬ ‫لجامعة‬ ‫العلمية‬ ‫املجلة‬ ‫الطباعة)‬ ‫(بانتظار‬ ‫العدد‬ ‫الطباعة)،‬ ‫(بانتظار‬ ‫املجلد‬ ‫و‬ ‫الصانع‬ ‫إبراهيم‬ ‫سمية‬ ‫األحمدي‬ ‫منى‬ ‫و‬ ‫بحيري‬ ‫الدين‬ ‫محي‬ ( . 2020 .) ‫النسيجية‬ ‫الزراعة‬ ‫بواسطة‬ ‫النامية‬ ‫الونكة‬ ‫نبات‬ ‫على‬ ‫النباتية‬ ‫الهرمونات‬ ‫بعض‬ ‫لتأثير‬ ‫جزيئية‬ ‫دراسات‬ . ‫والطبيعية،‬ ‫األساسية‬ ‫العلوم‬ ‫فرع‬ ‫فيصل،‬ ‫امللك‬ ‫لجامعة‬ ‫العلمية‬ ‫املجلة‬ ‫الطباعة)‬ ‫(بانتظار‬ ‫العدد‬ ‫الطباعة)،‬ ‫(بانتظار‬ ‫املجلد‬ ‫و‬ ‫الصانع‬ ‫إبراهيم‬ ‫سمية‬ ‫األحمدي‬ ‫منى‬ ‫و‬ ‫بحيري‬ ‫الدين‬ ‫محي‬ ( . 2020 .) ‫النسيجية‬ ‫الزراعة‬ ‫بواسطة‬ ‫النامية‬ ‫الونكة‬ ‫نبات‬ ‫على‬ ‫النباتية‬ ‫الهرمونات‬ ‫بعض‬ ‫لتأثير‬ ‫جزيئية‬ ‫دراسات‬ . ‫والطبيعية،‬ ‫األساسية‬ ‫العلوم‬ ‫فرع‬ ‫فيصل،‬ ‫امللك‬ ‫لجامعة‬ ‫العلمية‬ ‫املجلة‬ ‫الطباعة)‬ ‫(بانتظار‬ ‫العدد‬ ‫الطباعة)،‬ ‫(بانتظار‬ ‫املجلد‬

In the current study, we tested the feasibility of using three species of imported plants to combat desertification in Saudi Arabia. Delonix regia, Jacaranda mimosifolia, and Simmondsia chinensis were chosen for the evaluation because they have previously been reported to have marked drought and heat tolerance characteristics. To examine the feasibility of using these non-native plants for the mitigation of desertification, we aimed to determine the evolutionary relationships between the imported and local plants. DNA extracted from the non-native plants was compared with that of 45 local taxa. Two genes, Maturase K (matK) and ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase large subunit (rbcL), were sequenced and aligned for all species of imported and local plants analyzed in this study. The two molecular markers are known to be evolutionary conserved. A molecular phylogenetic tree was generated using the local and imported plants, and it showed similarity between Delonix regia and Cassia senna, indicating that they belong to the same family (Leguminosae). Similarly, Jacaranda mimosifolia (a member of Bignoniaceae) was found to be closely related to the local plants Plantago ovata and P. arenaria. Simmondsia chinensis was determined to be distantly related to many taxa of flora found in Saudi Arabia. The results of molecular analysis and the physiological features of Delonix regia and Jacaranda mimosifolia indicate that both species are closely related to Saudi Arabia flora, more so than Simmondsia chinensis.