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Astaxanthin is a precious material and has many favorites for human; it is extracted from some creatures such as Haematococcus lacustris. Researchers try to maximize the production of this material. In this research effects of linoleic acid (LA), TiO2 and SiO2 Nanoparticles (NPs) were investigated on astaxanthin production, and expression of two astaxanthin metabolic pathway genes (CRTO and CRTR). The microalgae was cultured in BBM medium for 19 days autographically. In 3rd day, treatments were added to the cultures and astaxanthin measured in 3 days respectively in logarithmic and stationary phases, also RNA was extracted, Real-time PCR applied and Gene expression investigated in 11th. 30 µM LA and TiO2 NPs (40 mg L-1) induced 3.4 and 1.5 times astaxanthin production compared to the control, furthermore, CRTO and CRTR under 30 µM LA and SiO2 NPs (40 mg L-1) treatments displayed the highest gene expression. It was demonstrated that special concentration of Linoleic acid and TiO2 NPs, as inducers, could be used for astaxanthin production; also, Linoleic acid has a direct relationship with astaxanthin production and CRTO´s gene expression in the microalgae.

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Fungal diseases cause a massive reduction in the production of rosemary plants every year. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) can provide valuable fungal bio-pesticides for practical usage. However, the effect of VOCs on the pathogenic fungi of rosemary is poorly studied. This research characterized some fungal pathogens (Rhizoctonia solani, Fusarium oxysporum, Phytophthora infestans, and Phytophthora citrophthora) isolated from rosemary plants. We studied the inhibitory effect of VOCs, including isovaleric acid, 1-octene-3-ol and 3-octanone on growth and disease incidence of isolated fungi under in vitro and greenhouse conditions. The action of individual VOCs on the growth indices of infected plants was also investigated. 1-octen-3-ol showed the most efficacy percentage and inhibitory effect on mycelial growth at five mg/l concentration. Isovaleric acid decreased fungal growth and disease incidence at 10 mg/l as high as 94.74% and 87.23%, respectively. However, 3-octanone had no significant efficacy percentage and inhibitory effect on mycelial growth. 1-octen-3-ol enhanced the growth of fungal-infected plants to the highest amount, but 3-octanone did not increase the growth of infected plants. The obtained data revealed that the different effects of various VOCs on fungal pathogens are related to different chemical structures and action mechanisms of volatile compounds and the species of fungi involved.