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It is necessary to reduce the amount of sulfur in fossil fuels due to direct impact of the quality of these fuels on the environment. In this research, a novel fungus strain of Exophiala spinifera, namely FM, was used to desulfurize dibenzothiophene (DBT) as a model cyclic sulfur compounds in oil and fossil fuels. HPLC analysis indicated that the fungus was capable of reducing 99% of DBT concentration in BSM medium after seven days. This fungus utilized DBT as a sulfur source by co-metabolism reaction with other carbon sources such as glucose. Exophiala spinifera was inoculated in BSM medium containing DBT with various carbon sources including ethanol, glucose, succinate, and glycerol. This fungus had the highest growth and desulfurization capability on glucose as a carbon source after 96 h. E. spinifera had best growth and desulfurization rates in 0.3mM DBT. Optimum DBT desulfurization and growth rate of this fungus was observed at 26-30 ^oC. Suitable pH for the optimum growth and desulfurization activity of E. spinifera strain FM ranged 4-5.

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Nepeta binaloudensis Jamzad is a medicinal plant endemic to Iran. It is an endangered plant due to habitat destruction and intensive harvest. We investigated the effect of antioxidants and different concentrations of BAP and NAA on in vitro stem and root formation of N. binaloudensis. Stem explants were cultured in ½ MS medium supplemented with BAP (0.5 mg/L) and different concentrations of ascorbic acid and reduced glutathione. The effect of different concentrations of BAP on the regeneration of this plant was then evaluated. Moreover, root formation of regenerated stems was investigated in the ½ MS medium supplemented with different concentrations of NAA. The results showed that the combination of antioxidants in ½ MS medium supplemented with BAP (0.5 mg/L) had a significant effect on regeneration in vitro culture. The reduced-glutathione (2 μM/ L) in comparison with other antioxidant treatments increased the stem regeneration in explants. The levels of BAP hormone (1 and 1.5 mg/L) had a significant (p-value<0.05) effect on the stem regeneration rate and the number of produced branches. The NAA (2 mg/L) increased root formation and root height average. We recommend the use of these treatments for in vitro propagation of this endangered plant.