November 2013
Biological degradation of oil sludge: A review of the current state of development
Oil sludge is a thick viscous mixture of sediments, water, oil and hydrocarbons, encountered during crude oil refining, cleaning of oil storage vessels and waste treatment. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are components of crude oil sludge, constitute serious environmental concerns, as many of them are cytotoxic, mutagenic and potentially carcinogenic. Improper management and disposal of oil sludge causes...
November 2013
Molecular characterization of ten mango cultivars using simple sequences repeat (SSR) markers
Simple sequence repeats (SSRs) which is an efficient genetic markers for comparative genome mapping can be helpful in the classification of genotypes, germplasm resource utilization and breeding programmes. Therefore, the present study was conducted to show genetic variation and investigate inter-relationship between ten mango genotypes. Twenty (20) SSR markers were tested with 10 genotypes: Kalepad, Neelum,...
November 2013
A comparative genetic diversity analysis in mungbean (Vigna radiata L.) using inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) and amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP)
Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) and inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers were used to study the DNA polymorphism in elite mungbean genotypes. A total of nine AFLP primer combination and 22 ISSR primers were used. Amplification of genomic DNA of the 30 genotypes, using AFLP analysis, yielded 300 fragments that could be scored, of which 192 were polymorphic, with an average of 21.3 polymorphic...
November 2013
Tracking the expression of photosensitive genic male sterility genes in rice
Photoperiod sensitive genic male sterile rice lines contain genes that induce complete sterility in high temperature and long day light length period, and revert to fertility in optimum low temperature and short day light length period. These lines are good candidates for hybrid rice seed production. The main challenge limiting their use in production of hybrid rice seeds is that of determining the exact time of their...
November 2013
Response of cowpea genotypes to Alectra vogelii parasitism in Kenya
Cowpea is popular in Eastern Kenya where it is attractive to farmers because of its high economic value and the belief that it does not require many external inputs. Farmers are however discouraged to grow the crop in this region due to massive attack by a parasitic weed Alectra vogelii (Benth). Yield losses due to A. vogelii have being estimated to range from 50 to 100% in Mbeere, Kitui and Makueni districts. No single...
November 2013
Growth, phytochemicals and antifungal activity of Bryophyllum pinnatum L. subjected to water deficit stress
The impact of water stress on the growth, concentration of phytochemicals and antifungal potency of Bryophyllum pinnatum L. was investigated. Three weeks old seedlings were subjected to 3, 7 and 10 days water deficit regimes and a control (watered daily). Plant height, number of leaves, whole plant dry weight, net assimilation rate, leaf area ratio and relative growth rate were reduced by 6 to 50% as intervals of water...
November 2013
Estimation of heterosis for yield and quality components in chilli (Capsicum annuum L.)
Ten genotypes including five lines (Kashi Anmol, Pant C-1, Japani Longi, Kashi Sinduri and Pusa Jwala) and five testers (R-Line, VR-339, AKC-89/38, DC-16 and Punjab Lal) of chilli were crossed to derive 25 F1 hybrids. The 35 genotypes (10 parents and 25 F1 hybrids) were evaluated for yield and quality (capsaicin and oleoresin) traits. Highly significant correlation was observed between fruit yield per plant and average...
November 2013
Micropropagation of Dioscorea alata L. through nodal segments
Yams (Dioscorea) are well known for their medicinal use as well as nutritional values. Dioscorea plants are rapidly vanishing from nature due to their over-exploitation by human beings. In order to conserve Dioscorea plants, the present investigation was carried out with a view to regenerate plantlet of Dioscorea alata L. through in vitro culture using full strength Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium and indole-3-acetic...
November 2013
Bioconversion of ferulic acid to vanillin by combined action of Aspergillus niger K8 and Phanerochaete crysosporium ATCC 24725
Ability of 10 fungi strains for the degradation of ferulic acid and production of vanillic acid was examined. The findings suggested that all the fungi were able to degrade ferulic acid via different pathways producing variety of products. Vanillic acid was the main bioconversion product for all the fungi strains. Aspergillus niger K8 was chosen as a more suitable fungus for conversion of ferulic acid to vanillic acid,...
November 2013
Hydrolytic and synthetic activities of esterases produced by Bacillus sp. A60 isolated from an oil contaminated soil
A novel esterase producer strain named Bacillus sp. A60 was isolated from a soil sample contaminated with hydrocarbons. It was found to belong to Bacillus subtilis species through morphological, biochemical and 16S rRNA gene sequence analyses. This strain which can tolerate 15% (w/v) NaCl and growth at 55°C, produced an interesting esterase activity in Luria-Bertani medium. Two different molecular weight esterase...
November 2013
Degradation of cyclohexane and cyclohexanone by Bacillus lentus strain LP32
A Gram-positive bacterium, Bacillus lentus LP32, originally isolated on the basis of its ability to utilise pyrene as sole source of carbon was found to be able to grow luxuriantly on alicyclic compounds as sole substrates. It showed poor growth on anthracene, naphthalene, 1-naphthol and phenanthrene. Growth rate on cyclohexane was 1.32 d-1, while doubling time was 0.76 d. The corresponding values for growth on...
November 2013
Textile azo dye degradation by Candida rugosa INCQS 71011 isolated from a non-impacted area in Semi-Arid Region of Brazilian Northeast
The yeast Candida rugosa, deposited in the Collection of Reference Microorganisms on Health Surveillance from Oswaldo Cruz Foundation under accession number INCQS 71011, was isolated from a sediment sample from Caldeirão Escuridão, a pristine water reservoir in the surroundings of Serra da Capivara National Park, and was identified based on molecular, physiological and morphological characterization. In...
November 2013
Phenolic components, antioxidant activity, and mineral analysis of Capparis spinosa L
In addition to being consumed as food, caper (Capparis spinosa L.) fruits are also used in folk medicine to treat inflammatory disorders, such as rheumatism. C. spinosa L. is rich in phenolic compounds, making it increasingly popular because of its components’ potential benefits to human health. We analyzed a number of individual phenolic compounds and investigated in vitro biological activities of C. spinosa L....
November 2013
Synthesis and characterization of cupric oxide (CuO) nanoparticles and their application for the removal of dyes
In the present work, cupric oxide (CuO) nanoparticles (NPs) were prepared by adopting aqueous precipitation method using copper sulphate 5-hydrate as a precursor and NaOH as a stabilizing agent. This gives a large scale production of CuO-NPs which are utilized for the removal of methylene blue (MB) dye. The CuO NPs were characterized for the studying of their structure and composition from XRD which reveals the single...
November 2013
Preliminary spectroscopic characterization of PEGylated mucin, a novel polymeric drug delivery system
The objective of this study was to evaluate, spectrophotometrically, the compatibility of non-mucinated polyethylene glycol (PEG) 4000 and non-PEGylated mucin in a PEGylated mucin matrices for drug delivery application. Mucin was extracted from the giant African land snails (Archachatina maginata) using chilled acetone and characterized in terms of qualitative properties and solubility profile. Polymeric matrices...
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