September 2009
Plants as sources of antiviral agents
Antivirals are substances other than a virus or virus containing vaccine or specific antibody which can produce either a protective or therapeutic effect to the clear detectable advantage of the virus infected host. The search for antiviral agents began in earnest in the 1950s but this was directed mainly by chance, with little or no scientific basis. It had a turning point in 1964 with a number of narrow spectrum...
September 2009
Molecular approaches for the identification and characterisation of oenological lactic acid bacteria
Together with yeast, lactic acid bacteria are the main microorganisms involved in winemaking. Lactic acid bacteria conduct malolactic fermentation, which is important in wines, since it changes the composition of wine, improving its organoleptic quality. In recent years, a great number of different molecular techniques for the identification and characterisation of lactic acid bacteria of oenological interest has been...
September 2009
Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) in animals: The story so far
Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) are small RNA molecules of between 24 to 31 nucleotides (nts) sequence and interact with Piwi subfamily proteins. These piRNAs play important regulatory roles in germline stem cell maintenance, epigeneticregulation, and transposition. Although the biogenesis pathways of piRNAs are not well understood but recent scientific advances have revealed some important aspects of their synthesis....
September 2009
Control of Huanglongbing (HLB) disease with reference to its occurrence in Malaysia
The center of diversity for citrus was originally found on the northeastern India, eastward through the Malay Archipelago and south to Australia. Today citrus is produced in 140 countries, mainly between the north and south 40º latitudes. Citrus ranked first among fruit crops in the international trade based on value. Citrus production of the world is around 105 million tons per year. Orange (Citrus sinensis)...
September 2009
Study on genetic diversity in Pakistani wheat varieties using simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers
Common wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is a grass species, cultivated world wide. Globally, it is the most important human food grain and ranks second in total production as a cereal crop behind maize. Genetic diversity evaluation of germplasm is the basis of improvement in wheat. In the present study genetic diversity of 10 varieties of wheat (T. aestivum) were analyzed using 14 simple sequence repeat (SSR) primer...
September 2009
A simple, rapid and efficient method for the extraction of genomic DNA from Allium roseum L. (Alliaceae)
The isolation of intact, high-molecular-mass genomic DNA is essential for many molecular biology applications including long range PCR, endonuclease restriction digestion, southern blot analysis, and genomic library construction. Many protocols are available for the extraction of DNA from plant material, but obtain it is difficult in many plants because of metabolites that interfere with DNA isolation procedures and...
September 2009
Proteomics of Marburg and Ebola glycoproteins: Insights into their physicochemical similarities and irregularities
Ebola (EBO) and Marburg (MBG) form the two major genus of a class of negatively stranded RNA viruses responsible for viral hemorrhagic fevers (VHF) in equatorial Africa called filoviridae. Pathogenesis of VHF is thought to be mediated by the envelope glycoproteins (GP). Although both viruses have been found to be closely related, with a side by side alignment of the gene sequences of the Ebola and Marburg viruses and...
September 2009
RAPD analysis for genetic diversity of two populations of Mystus vittatus (Bloch) of Madhya Pradesh, India
The random amplified polymorphic DNA polymerase chain reaction (RAPD-PCR) was applied to analyze the genetic variation of the 2 populations of Mystus vittatus(Bloch) of Madhya Pradesh, India. 10 random 10-mer primers were primarily scored in 3 individuals from each of the 2 locations. Five primers, which gave polymorphism, were selected for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and used in the final RAPD analysis of 20...
September 2009
Agrobacterium-mediated transient expression system in banana immature fruits
Transient expression assays are useful for saving time in studies of gene function, particularly ones expressed in fruit. Transient expression system of a reporter gene in immature fruit of banana was developed. Agrobacterium tumefaciens, whose plasmid contains an intron-containing β-glucuronidase (gusA) gene under regulatory control of the CaMV 35S promoter, was vacuum-infiltrated into sliced fruits and...
September 2009
The feasibility of tetraplex RT-PCR in the determination of PVS, PLRV, PVX and PVY from dormant potato tubers
Dormant potato tubers belonging to cvs., namely, Agria, Granola and Marfona known to be infected with potato viruses (Potato leafroll virus, PLRV; Potato virus S,PVS; Potato virus X, PVX and Potato virus Y, PVY) were tested with uniplex RT-PCR and strong bands specific to each virus were obtained from cultivars. When cDNA synthesized for uniplex RT-PCR was used for tetraplex RT-PCR, the bands...
September 2009
Callus regeneration from stem explants of Pseudarthira viscida (L.) Wight and Arn. – A vulnerable medicinal plant
An in vitro propagation protocol has been developed for Pseudarthira viscida (L.) Wight and Arn. (Papilionaideae), a vulnerable medicinal plant from stem callus was used for axillary shoot multiplication. The plant was standardized by using MS (Murashige and Skoog) medium containing 3% (w/v) sucrose, supplemented with a cytokinin (BAP, KN) maximum number of shoot (29.87±5.34) were observed on...
September 2009
In vitro conservation of Ceropegia intermedia - an endemic plant of south India
The purpose of this study was developing in vitro techniques for conserving wild and endemic species of Ceropegia intermedia by axillary shoot multiplication. Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium with 6.66 µM N6 benzyladenine (BA) was best for axillary bud proliferation inducing a mean of 5.51 shoots per node. Excision and culture of the nodal segments from the in vitro shoots...
September 2009
Saturation mapping of QTL region determining resistance specificity to bacterial leaf blight pathogen in rice with molecular markers, ESTs and genes on sequences in silico
Genetic improvement for biotic resistance in rice involves the quantitative nature of inheritance, which reflects the additive effects of several genetic loci throughout the genome. To in silico identify putative candidate genes involved in defense response, we performed in silico anchoring of the QTL genetic marker data to the rice physical map. The QTLs responsible for resistance was analyzed on CT...
September 2009
Ethnobotanical evaluation of some plant resources in Northern part of Pakistan
An ethnobotanical study on the medicinal and economic plants of Malam Jabba valley, District Swat was conducted with the aims of documenting the inventory of medicinal plants, examinining the current status of the medicinal plants trade and investigating the linkages in the market chain starting from collectors to consumers. The survey reported 50 species of plants belonging to 33 families as ethnobotanically important....
September 2009
Performance of different greenhouse cucumber cultivars (Cucumis sativus L.) in southern Iran
A 2 year trial was conducted with 15 cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) varieties from diverse origins in the greenhouse conditions (southern Iran) to study genetic variation and to identify genetically distant parents to be involved in a hybrid seed production as well as to identify the most effective components of grain yield.However, the potential of identifying genetically distant parents depends on genetic...
September 2009
Clonal variation in growth, flowering and cone production in a seed orchard of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) in Turkey
In this study, observations and measurements were made on five grafts for each of 30 clones in three successive years (2006, 2007 and 2008) on Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) seed orchard established in 1995 by using 2 years-old grafts in Turkey.The examined characters were total height, diameter at base, number of branches, length of terminal shoot, length of lateral shoot, length of longest branch, number of male...
September 2009
Germination of Themeda triandra (Kangaroo grass) as affected by different environmental conditions and storage periods
Low rainfall in range areas restricts germination, growth and development of majority of range grasses. However, germination and establishment potential of forage grasses vary and depends on environmental conditions. Themeda triandra is an excellent known grass to grow under different environmental conditions. T. triandra naturally grows over an extensive geographical range on many soil types....
September 2009
Height suppression of tomato plug seedlings by an environment friendly seed treatment of plant growth retardants
Experiments were conducted to investigate appropriate concentrations of plant growth retardants (PGRs) and duration of seed soaking in order to suppress hypocotyl length and plug seedling height of 2 tomato cultivars (Lycopersicum esculentum Mill. cv. Seogeon and Seokwang). Daminozide (B-9), uniconazole (Sumagic) and ethephon (Florel) were used as PGRs. Seeds were first soaked in 15 ml PGR solutions in an...
September 2009
Sustainable use of winter Durum wheat landraces under Mediterranean conditions
This research expected to determine new durum wheat germplasm resistant to biotic and abiotic stress factors. Eighty durum wheat lines selected from eighteen diverse landraces were tested together with eight durum wheat cultivars under reliable yellow rust epidemic during two successive years. Average infection coefficient of populations and cultivars was 32.44 in 2003 and 26.24 in 2004, showing severe epidemic...
September 2009
Sessile oak (Quercus petraea agg. Ehrendorfer 1967) rare haplotypes appearance in Serbia
Sessile oak (Quercus petraea agg. Ehrendorfer 1967) genetic variability in Serbia was estimated applying cpDNA universal primer pairs. Five different haplotypes were detected in the analyzed sample material from populations in Serbia. The areas in West and Southwest Serbia, with all their specificities, represent an exceptional potential for the conservation of sessile oak variability, which can have a very...
September 2009
Agro-morphological characterization of the Turkish lentil landraces
A collection of lentil landraces comprising 39 genotypes from the south east Anatolia region of Turkey and 7 commercial varieties, were evaluated for 23 (8 qualitative and 15 quantitative) agro-morphological characteristics. A wide range of diversity of almost all of the plant characteristics that were studied was recorded for the lentil genotypes. Principal component analysis (PCA) was performed for 12 quantitative...
September 2009
Effects of artea, a systemic fungicide, on the antioxidant system and the respiratory activity of durum wheat (Triticum durum L.)
The present work aimed at the study of the effects of Artea, a systemic azole fungicide, on durum Wheat (Triticum durum L. cv. GTA dur). Seeds were grown in a medium containing respectively 25, 50, 75 and 100 ppm of Artea under controlled conditions. Roots of eight-day-old plants were used to determine catalase, ascorbate-peroxidase and guaïacol-peroxidase enzymatic activities. Root respiratory activity was...
September 2009
Nutritional analyses of Rumex hastatus D. Don, Rumex dentatus Linn and Rumex nepalensis Spreng
The study shows the presence of moisture, ash, crude fiber, proteins, fats and oils, and carbohydrates in proximate percentage in Rumex hastatus, Rumex dentatusand Rumex nepalensis (Family Polygonaceae). Key words: Rumex hastatus, Rumex dentatus, Rumex nepalensis, nutritional analysis.
September 2009
Utilization of Tephrosia vogelii in controlling ticks in dairy cows by small-scale commercial farmers in Zimbabwe
The study sought to evaluate the effectiveness of Tephrosia vogelii in controlling ticks on dairy cows among small-scale dairy farmers in Mashonaland Central Province of Zimbabwe. T. vogelii treatment concentrations and Triatix D acaricide dip were randomly administered to 40 dairy cows. The experiment was carried out for 5 months in summer when there is high tick challenge. Counting of ticks was...
September 2009
Root anatomical studies on Solanum macrocarpum and Solanum nigrum (Solanaceae)
The anatomical characteristics of the roots of Solanum macrocarpum and Solanum nigrum were investigated to ascertain the relevance of these characters in establishment of interspecific similarities and differences in these two taxa. The results showed that there is concentration of vascular bundles at the central portion of the root cortex hence the endodermis is not well differentiated in both taxa....
September 2009
Sorption of lead from aqueous solution by modified activated carbon prepared from olive stones
Environmental pollution, mainly in the aquatic systems, due to developments in industry, is one of the most significant problems of this century. Many industrial wastewater streams contain heavy metals, which are of great environmental concern and must be removed prior to water discharge or water recycling. The present study aims to develop a simple and rapid procedure for lead (II) removal. Laboratory-scale adsorption...
September 2009
Influence of untreated and bacterial-treated Yamuna water on the plant growth of Zea mays L.
In present study an attempt has been made to study the pollution level of river Yamuna at Agra, by analyzing the physico-chemical parameters of untreated and bacterial-treated water and its effect on the growth of maize plant. Among different concentrations (25, 50, 75 and 100%) of treated water, the 100% concentration of treated water sample showed good effect on the plant growth over untreated sample and...
September 2009
Hormonal responses of the fish, Cyprinus carpio, to environmental lead exposure
The present study reports the acute and sublethal toxicity of lead nitrate on plasma cortisol and prolactin level of a freshwater fish, Cyprinus carpio. The median lethal concentration of lead nitrate to fish for 24 h was found to be 4.10 ppm. 1/10th of the LC50 concentration of the lead nitrate (0.41 ppm) was taken for sublethal concentration. During acute and sublethal treatment the plasma cortisol...
September 2009
Isolation and characterization of actinomycetes in Vellar Estuary, Annagkoil, Tamil Nadu
Vellar Estuary was investigated as a source of actinomycetes to screen for production of novel bioactive compounds. The presence of relatively large populations of Streptomyces in Vellar Estuary soil samples indicates that it is an eminently suitable ecosystem for actinomycetes. Actinomycetes counts ranged 12 x 104 cfu/g of soil. The actinomycetes isolated from these ecosystems are capable...
September 2009
Biosorption characteristics of Aspergillus fumigatus in removal of cadmium from an aqueous solution
Nineteen fungal species were isolated from soil contaminated with industrial wastes of which Aspergillus species were the most dominant. The growth of the isolates was notice by Cd concentration in growth medium, thus about 20% of the isolates can grow up to 50 mg Cd/100 ml medium and only Aspergillus fumigatus andPenicillium chrysogenum can grow at 100 mg Cd with growth decrease of...
September 2009
Rumen derived anaerobic digestion of water hyacinth (Eicchornia crassipes)
Samples of water hyacinth were obtained from Sidi fish farm located in Sokoto metropolis. The samples were chopped, dried and ground into powder. The ground water hyacinth (25 g) was introduced into Buchner flask which served as digesters. The rumen bacteria used in this experiment was isolated from fresh rumen content. The content was pressed into a sterile container and immediately brought to the Laboratory. Serial...
September 2009
Production of lactic acid from corn cobs hydrolysate through fermentation by Lactobaccillus delbrukii
This study describes several essential factors for indirect and effective lactic acid production from food wastes by strains of Lactobaccillus delbrukii using corn cob hydrolysates. The fermentation conditions considered were glucose concentration (1 - 5%), temperature (34 - 40oC), time (0 - 8 days) and pH (5 - 6). After pretreatment of corn cobs by dilute acid, the lignocellulosic residue was used as raw...
September 2009
Cultivation and multiplication of viable axenic Trypanosoma vivax in vitro and in vivo
Trypanosoma vivax was isolated from the blood of an infected laboratory mouse, washed and introduced into the prepared culture media, ME-99 and minimum essential medium (MEM), both containing laboratory prepared (commercial) horse serum and antibiotics (streptomycin and penicillin). The cultures were monitored in vitro for 12 days. There was an initial decline in parasitaemia in the first 48 h in...
September 2009
Evaluation on larvicidal effects of essential oils of some local plants against Anopheles arabiensis Patton and Aedes aegypti Linnaeus (Diptera, Culicidae) in Ethiopia
The concern for environmental safety and increased development of resistance to chemical insecticides by major arthropod vectors is rekindling interest in the search for botanical products that may be used against major vectors. Essential oils of 11 local plants were evaluated for larvicidal activities against laboratory colonies ofAnopheles arabiensis and Aedes aegypti early fourth instar larvae. Those...
September 2009
Microbial synthesis of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-4-hydroxybutyrate) copolymer by Cupriavidus sp. USMAA2-4 through a two step cultivation process
A Gram negative bacterium, Cupriavidus sp. USMAA2-4 was isolated from a soil sample in Northern Peninsular of Malaysia and was able to synthesize polyhydroxyalkanoate containing 4-hydroxybutyrate unit when grown on g-butyrolactone as the sole carbon source. The polyester was purified from freeze-dried cells and analyzed by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. 1H and 13C NMR...
September 2009
Production of protease by Aspergillus sp. using solid-state fermentation
Assessment of six oil seed cakes as substrate for production of protease by solid state fermentation by Aspergillus sp. isolated from leather. The agro-industrial by product (oilseed cakes) namely soybean, groundnut, sesame, linseed, mustard and cotton were evaluated as inducer for production of protease using solid state fermentation (SSF) in the presence of defined diluent as moistening agent was...
September 2009
Microbiological and physicochemical characterization of the natural fermented camel meat sausage
In this study, fermentation of camel meat was followed by microbiological and physicochemical analyses. The sausages were characterized by the presence of lactic acid bacteria that resulted in a product with a final pH of about 5.06. NoListeria monocytogenes, Salmonella spp. and sulfite reducing clostridia were ever isolated from the raw materials or the fermented sausages during the maturation, underlining...
September 2009
Influence of volatile compounds and food preservatives in the management of fumonisins (B1) production by Fusarium moniliforme
Efficacy of volatile compounds and food preservatives in the management of fumonisins B1 production by Fusarium moniliforme was assessed in vitro. The toxin production was analyzed by thin layer chromatographic technique. Among different volatile compounds studied, formic acid and propionic acid inhibited the growth and fumonisins (B1) production by F. moniliforme. Aniline, benzaldehyde, and...
September 2009
Nutrient composition of commonly used complementary foods in North western Nigeria
Studies on the nutrient composition of commonly used complementary foods in North Western Nigeria were carried out using Kaduna, Kebbi and Niger states as case studies. Ready to eat complementary food samples were collected from mothers with children older than 6 months but younger than 24 months and evaluated for its nutrient components using standard procedures. Results obtained showed that guinea corn and millet paps...
September 2009
Detarium microcarpum Guill and Perr fruit proximate chemical analysis and sensory characteristics of concentrated juice and jam
This study was carried out to produce food products mainly concentrated juice and jam from the fruit pulp of Detarium microcarpum (DM), and compare them with a commercial sample as control. The proximate chemical analysis of the dried fruit pulp of DM showed high proportions of carbohydrate (40-42.0%) and protein (29.1-30.9%); samples from Abu Gibaiha (AB) are the highest in both protein and...
September 2009
Influence of starter culture strains, pH adjustment and incubation temperature on exopolysaccharide production and viscosity in whey
There are many functional characteristics of exopolysaccharides (EPS) produced by lactic acid bacteria in fermented dairy products. In this study, 2 EPS-producing strains of Lactobacillus delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus and 2 Streptococcus thermophilus strains were isolated from commercial and rural yoghurts and they were inoculated into whey and their effects on EPS production and viscosity of...
September 2009
Analysis of phytase producing bacteria (Pseudomonas sp.) from poultry faeces and optimization of this enzyme production
Phytase producing bacteria were isolated in media (phytase specific medium) with phytin and glucose as the only sources of phosphate carbon, from soil and poultry faeces. Among the five isolated strains, one identified that Pseudomonas sp. has high phytas activities. The result showed that isolated Pseudomonas produced 23 mm clear zone on solid media and 800 U/ml in phytase specific broth medium. The...
September 2009
Improvement effect of green tea on hepatic dysfunction, lipid peroxidation and antioxidant defence depletion induced by cadmium
We have evaluated the antioxidant effect of green tea on cadmium-induced hepatic dysfunction and stress oxidant in rats. Adult male Wistar rats were administered cadmium by injection with 20 µmoles/Kg bw/3 days for six months. Results revealed a significant (p < 0.05) liver dysfunction, lipid peroxidation and a decline in antioxidant enzymes activities in the liver of cadmium-treated rat compared to control....
September 2009
In vitro activity of certain drugs in combination with plant extracts against Staphylococcus aureus infections
This study has been done to evaluate the interaction between ethanolic extracts ofRhus coriaria (leaf), Psidium guajava (Leaf), Lawsonia inermis (Leaf), andSacropoterium spinosum (seed) and antimicrobial drugs including oxytetracyclin HCl, enrofloxacin, gentamicin sulphate, and sulphadimethoxin against 4 clinical isolates of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). This...
September 2009
Assessment of Aristolochia bracteolata leaf extracts for its biotherapeutic potential
The present study focuses on the antibacterial and antifungal activity of the medicinal plant Aristolochia bracteolata. Aqueous, methanol and chloroform extracts of this plant were evaluated against the bacterial strains Escherichia coli,Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Shigella flexneri, Proteus vulgaris and the fungal...
September 2009
Effects of an aqueous extract of Azadirachta indica on the growth of larvae and development of pupae of Culex quinquefasciatus
The neem tree Azadirachta indica Juss (Meliaceae) is one of the most studied plant species for pest control, including mosquitoes. However, the effect of aqueous neem seed extracts (ANSE) on each of the 4 instars of mosquito Culexquinquefasciatus Say (Diptera: Culicidae) is unknown. In order to determine the effect of applying ANSE on the growth of each of the 4 larval instars and pupal stage...
September 2009
Optimization of critical medium components for higher phycocyanin holo-α subunit production in Escherichia coli using statistical approach
To improve phycocyanin holo-α subunit (cpcA) production from Escherichia coliBL21 (DE3) cells, culture medium was screened and optimized using the statistical experimental designs of Plackett-Burman and response surface methodology. In the first step, one-factor-at-a-time method was used to evaluate the effect of carbon sources and nitrogen sources on the yield of cpcA. A two-level...
September 2009
Relationships between the molecular structure and moisture-absorption and moisture-retention abilities of succinyl chitosan
N-Succinyl chitosan (NSC) with various degrees of deacetylation (DD 6 – 94%) and substitution (DS 0.14 – 0.79) were successfully prepared from N-acetylchitosans in varying reaction time. Infrared spectroscopy (IR), 1H NMR and gel-permeation chromatographic (GPC) techniques were used to characterize their molecular structures. The moisture-absorption (Ra) and -retention (Rh) abilities of NSC are...
September 2009
Antiproliferative and apoptotic effect of Astrodaucus orientalis (L.) drude on T47D human breast cancer cell line: Potential mechanisms of action
Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in women. Here, we report the antiproliferative and the mechanism of cell death exhibited by Astrodaucus orientalisin human breast carcinoma cell line, T47D. The antiproliferative effect determined with MTT assay and the changes in cell cycle pattern were studied with DAPI reagent and Annexin V/PI method used for apoptotic analysis. The p53 and Bcl-2 are believed to...
September 2009
Exogenous cycilc AMP and cycilc GMP influence the metabolism of traces of tritium-labeled glycerol in rabbits
To characterize the dynamic distribution and metabolism of endogenous glycerol in vivo, the exogenous glycerol labeled by radioactivity was mimicked to trace its kinetics in Chinese Haerbin white rabbits. Based on the kinetic alternations, the metabolic equation of 3H-glycerol was formulated. The determining coefficient (R2) was 0.9876 closed to predicted value (p < 0.05). The proposed equation fits well...
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