African Journal of
Biotechnology

  • Abbreviation: Afr. J. Biotechnol.
  • Language: English
  • ISSN: 1684-5315
  • DOI: 10.5897/AJB
  • Start Year: 2002
  • Published Articles: 12496

Table of Content: 13 February 2013; 12(7)

February 2013

Biotechnology of humified materials obtained from vermicomposts for sustainable agroecological purposes

  The application of humic substances (HS) to plants stimulates their biochemical-physiological mechanisms, growth and development. Humified materials exhibit structural characteristics that allow interactions with heavy metal cations dissolved in aqueous environments. Due to their high availability, agriculture-derived vermicomposts (VC) (agro-materials) are excellent raw materials for obtaining HS. Based on...

Author(s): Andrés Calderín García, Fernando Guridi Izquierdo, Orlando Lázaro Hernández González, Maria Margarita Diaz de Armas, Rafael Huelva López, Saturnina Mesa Rebato, Dariellys Martínez Balmori and Ricardo Luis Louro Berbara

February 2013

Review on postharvest technology of banana fruit

  The aim of this review is in threefold: First, to explore the effect of different preharvest treatments on postharvest quality of fruits and vegetables. Second, the principles of biological, chemical and biochemical changes in banana during development, maturation, ripening and storage were reviewed. Third, postharvest handling and factors affecting quality of banana were examined. These include...

Author(s):    M. Hailu, T. S. Workneh and D. Belew   

February 2013

Genetic diversity of natural Tunisian Lavandula multifida L. (Lamiaceae) populations assessed by allozymes and random amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD)

  We compared the genetic diversity estimated from allozymes and from random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPDs) in a sample of seven Lavandula multifida L. populations from three bioclimates in Tunisia. Seven isozymes coding for 14 putative loci and 97 RAPD markers, amplified by seven decamer random primers, were used. A high genetic diversity within populations was detected both by isozymes (P...

Author(s): Chograni Hnia, Zaouali Yosr and Boussaid Mohamed

February 2013

Genetic diversity of important rice cultivars of Kashmir valley using microsatellite markers

  In the present investigation, five microsatellite (SSR) markers namely RM-2,RM-27,RM-72, RM-107 and RM-154 were used to estimate the genetic diversity of eightindica rice cultivars significant for rice breeding programme in the temperate Kashmir Province of India. The SSR primers used, specific to five different chromosomes, revealed distinct polymorphism among the cultivars studied indicating the robust...

Author(s): M. Habib, K. A. Bhat, M. A. Bhat, G. A. Parray, Z. A. Dar, Gul Zaffar and A. Sabina

February 2013

Inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers in the evaluation of genetic polymorphism of Egyptian Capsicum L. hybrids

  DNA samples of six hybrids of Capsicum annuum and Capsicum frutescens were analyzed with ten inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) primers, which produced 52 polymorphic bands out of 87 bands with polymorphism average of 60%. ISSR patterns scored five distinguishable species-specific bands; two for C. frutescens and three for C. annuum and 16 unique bands for hybrids...

Author(s): Shawkat Mahmoud Ahmed

February 2013

In vitro clonal propagation of Fuchsia magellanica Lam.

  Fuchsia magellanica Lam. is a famous ornamental plant which is rarely found in Pakistan. Its beauty and uniqueness made it an important candidate for tissue culture studies especially for regeneration and multiplication purposes. Here, for the very first time we report a rapid and reliable method for the regeneration of F. magellanica in vitro. Axillary buds explants from one year old F....

Author(s): Anjum Parveen and Sadia Rasheed

February 2013

Color image segmentation using perceptual spaces through applets for determining and preventing diseases in chili peppers

  Plant pathogens cause disease in plants. Chili peppers are one of the most important crops in the world. There are currently disease detection techniques classified as: biochemical, microscopy, immunology, nucleic acid hybridization, identification by visual inspection in vitro or in situ but these have the following disadvantages: they require several days, their implementation is costly and highly...

Author(s): J. L. González-Pérez , M. C. Espino-Gudiño, J. Gudiño-Bazaldúa, J. L. Rojas-Rentería, V. Rodríguez-Hernández and V.M. Castaño

February 2013

Effect of 1-methylcyclopropene (1- MCP) treatment on antioxidant enzymes of postharvest Japanese apricot

  ‘Longyan Mei’, a Japanese apricot species, was used to investigate the effect of 1-methylcyclopropene treatment on the browning index, soluble solid content (SSC), titratable acidity (TA) and enzyme activity of active oxygen-related metabolism of post-harvest Japanese apricot. The results show that 1-MCP inhibited the browning rate, maintained a high content of SSC and TA, controlled the increase...

Author(s): Ting Shi, Zhiqiang Li, Zhen Zhang, Chunchun Zhang and Zhihong Gao

February 2013

Micropropagation of Vaccinium bracteatum Thunb.

  Vaccinium bracteatum Thunb. is a vigorous plant that is easy to grow, can adapt to various acid soil species and has good resistance to drought. It has fewer pest problems than most other blueberry cultivars, offering an advantage rootstock for various blueberry cultivars to resist pest and disease. However, it is relatively difficult to propagate and the cuttings can be difficult to root. The present...

Author(s): Kunyi Han#, Hengkang Hu#, Shunfu Li, Huawei Xv, Haiying Lin and Qixiang Zhang

February 2013

Foliar application of macro- and micronutrients on the yield and quality of Rosa hybrida cvs. Cardinal and Whisky Mac

  The quality and flower yield of roses are directly dependent on the balanced application of macro and micronutrients. In the present study, foliar application of macro- and micronutrients was done after every 15 days when new emerging leaves had sprouted after pruning. The results reveal that plants treated with foliar application of micronutrients along with NPK showed significant increase in the growth...

Author(s): Adnan Younis, Atif Riaz, Muhammad Sajid, Nouman Mushtaq, Muhammad Ahsan, Mansoor Hameed, Usman Tariq and Muhammad Nadeem

February 2013

Effect of different combinations of 6-benzyl amino purine and naphthalene acetic acid on multiple shoot proliferation of plantain (Musa spp.) cv. Matoke from meristem derived explants

  This study was conducted at the Amhara Region Agricultural Research Institute Tissue culture Laboratory, Ethiopia from April to June 2012 to investigate the effect of different concentrations of 6-benzyl amino purine (BAP) and naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) on virus free plant regeneration and shoot multiplication. The culture meristem grew into callus after 28 days then adventitious plantlets were...

Author(s): Adane Gebeyehu

February 2013

Physicochemical composition and antioxidant properties of a sweetpotato variety (Ipomoea batatas L) commercially sold in South Eastern Nigeria

  The physicochemical composition, functional properties, inhibitory actions and energy value of the flour of a cream fleshed sweetpotato variety (TIS/87/0087) that is high yielding and commercially sold in South Eastern Nigeria were investigated using standard techniques. The flour was observed to have good functional properties with a pH of 5.32±0.01, high percentage moisture content, indicative of...

Author(s): Eleazu C. O. and Ironua C.

February 2013

Effect of Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation on the colorants of heated red beetroot extracts

  The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of the inoculation of the heated aqueous red beetroot extracts (30, 50 and 60°C) by different concentrations ofSaccharomyces cerevisiae (0.50, 0.75 and 1.00%). The optimum experimental temperature value and S. cerevisiae concentration were found to be 50°C and 0.50% for both sugar consumption and pigment preservation. The...

Author(s): Hayet Ben Haj Koubaier, Ismahen Essaidi, Ahmed Snoussi, Slim Zgoulli, Mohamed Moncef Chaabouni, Phillipe Thonart and Nabiha Bouzouita,

February 2013

Chemical evaluation of protein quality and phenolic compound levels of some Cucurbitaceae oilseeds from Cameroon

  This work studies the chemical evaluation of protein quality and phenolic compound contents of some Cucurbitaceae (egusi) oilseeds from different areas in Cameroon. These seeds are Cucumeropsis mannii, Cucurbita maxima, Cucurbita moschata,Lagenaria siceraria and Cucumis sativus. The seeds were cleaned, dried, ground and part of the powder was defatted. The defatted...

Author(s): Mercy Bih Achu, Elie Fokou, Germain Kansci and Martin Fotso

February 2013

Effects of zinc exposure on the accumulation, haematology and immunology of Mozambique tilapia, Oreochromis mossambicus

  Changes in the haematological and innate immune parameters and accumulation in the liver, gill and muscle tissues were investigated in Mozambique tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus, L.1758), which were semi-statically exposed to several zinc concentrations in vivo. The fish were exposed to low (1 mg L-1), medium (2.5 mg L-1) and high (5 mg L-1) concentrations of zinc for 14 days. In this study,...

Author(s):   Ekrem Åžanver Çelik, Hasan Kaya, Sevdan Yilmaz, Mehmet Akbulut and Arınç Tulgar