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: 4 March, 2015; 14(9)

March 2015

Status and implementation of reproductive technologies in goats in emerging countries

In modern cattle breeding, assisted reproductive technologies in small ruminants have been used even out-of-season breeding, but in emerging countries these technologies have been mainly used for estrous synchronization and artificial insemination. However, in the last 30 years, significant progress in the matter of transfers of in vivo derived and in vitro produced embryos has been achieved. Currently, eight donor...

Author(s): Aime J. Garza Arredondo, Adan González Gómez, José Fernando Vázquez-Armijo, Rogelio Alejandro Ledezma-Torres, Hugo Bernal-Barragán and Fernando Sánchez-Dávila

March 2015

The nutritional efficiency of Coffea spp. A review

Reduced soil fertility has been surpassed by the supply of mineral nutrients, which results in increased rates of plant production and costs. In this context, the optimization of plants’ nutritional efficiency is critical to increase productivity and reduce the cost of agricultural production systems. The nutritional efficiency of plants is conditioned by numerous factors and the growing environment. Therefore,...

Author(s): Lima Deleon Martins, Lindomar de Souza Machado, Marcelo Antonio Tomaz and José Francisco Teixeira do Amaral

March 2015

Recent characterization of cowpea aphid-borne mosaic virus (CABMV) in Bahia State, Brazil, suggests potential regional isolation

Woodiness disease is the most important disorder of passion fruit worldwide. The causal agent in Brazil is the Cowpea aphid-borne mosaic virus (CABMV), and despite the economic relevance of passion fruit for agriculture there have been recently very few studies about this virus in Brazil and worldwide. This work reveals the phylogenetic relationships of 10 newly identified CABMV isolates from Bahia State, the region...

Author(s): José Romário Fernandes de Melo, Antonia dos Reis Figueira, Charles Neris Moreira, and Antonio Carlos de Oliveira

March 2015

Validation of a reference gene for transcript analysis in cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) and its application in analysis of linamarase and α-hydroxynitrile lyase expression at different growth stages

Relative real-time reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) is a well-established method for the precise quantification of gene expression. For accurate relative real-time RT-qPCR analysis, validation of the expression of an appropriate reference gene is required. In this study, the expression of six commonly used reference genes, namely 40S ribosomal protein (40S), actin (ACT), cyclophilin...

Author(s): Sukhuman Whankaew, Supajit Sraphet, Ratchadaporn Thaikert, Opas Boonseng, Duncan R. Smith and Kanokporn Triwitayakorn

March 2015

Detection of MspI polymorphism and the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of GH gene in camel breeds reared in Egypt

Growth hormone (GH) is an anabolic hormone synthesized and secreted by the somatotroph cells of the anterior lobe of the pituitary gland in a circadian and pulsatile manner, the pattern of which plays an important role in postnatal longitudinal growth and development, tissue growth, lactation, reproduction as well as protein, lipid and carbohydrate metabolism. The aim of this study was to detect the genetic polymorphism...

Author(s): Sekena H. Abd El-Aziem, Heba A.M. Abd El-Kader, Sally S. Alam and Othman E. Othman

March 2015

Characterization of cathelicidin gene from buffalo (Bubalus bubalis)

Wide spread and indiscriminate use of antibiotics is accompanied by the emergence of microorganism that are resistant to these agents. Therefore, new approaches are required to address the problem of antimicrobial resistance. Epithelial linings of living organisms are the source of various antimicrobial peptides. Keeping this in view, the present experiment was designed to characterize one of the important natural...

Author(s): Dhruba Jyoti Kalita

March 2015

Bacterial mediated amelioration of drought stress in drought tolerant and susceptible cultivars of rice (Oryza sativa L.)

In the present study, plant growth promoting rhizobacterial (PGPR) strains Pseudomonas fluorescence strain P2, Pseudomonas jessenii R62, Pseudomonas synxantha R81, Bacillus cereus BSB 38 (14B), Arthrobacter nitroguajacolicus strainYB3 and strain YB5 were tested for their role in enhancing plant growth and induction of stress related enzymes in Sahbhagi (drought tolerance) and IR-64 (drought sensitive) cultivars of rice...

Author(s): Yogendra Singh Gusain, U. S. Singh and A. K. Sharma

March 2015

The efficacy of four gametocides for induction of pollen sterility in Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter

Effective chemical hybridizing agents (CHAs) or male gametocides enhance cross pollination in plant breeding and genetic analysis of traits. The present study examined the efficacy and optimum concentration of four CHAs, namely: 2-chloroethyl phosphonic acid (Ethrel), ethyl 4'-fluorooxanilate (E4FO), 2, 4-dichlorphenoxy acetic acid (2, 4-D) and Promalin® (1.8% GA47 – gibberellins A4+A7 and 1.8%...

Author(s): Habteab Ghebrehiwot, Richard Burgdorf, Shimelis Hussein and Mark Laing,

March 2015

Genetic diversity of sweet yam “Dioscorea dumetorum “(Kunth) Pax revealed by morphological traits in two agro-ecological zones of Cameroon

Genetic diversity of 43 Dioscorea dumetorum accessions and two of Dioscorea cayenensis Lam as out-group species was evaluated for qualitative and quantitative traits in two different agro-climatic zones Baham (05°20.040' N/010°22.572’ E and 1634±3 masl, agro-ecological zone III with rainfall of 1500 to 2000 mm, and mean annual temperature of 19°C) and Ekona...

Author(s): Christian Siadjeu, Gabriel MahbouSomoToukam, Joseph Martin Bell and S. Nkwate

March 2015

Isolation and characterization of some drought-related ESTs from barley

Drought is one of the main constraints facing crops and affecting their production. In a trial to investigate and understand drought effect, differential display experiments were performed where; about 107 DD-fragments have been isolated from wild barley plants subjected to drought treatment. These fragments were categorized according to their gene expression into four categories: 1) up regulated genes; 2) up and down...

Author(s): Alzahraa Radwan, Rania M. I. Abou Ali, Ahmed Nada, Wardaa Hashem, Shireen Assem and Ebtissam Husein

March 2015

Metabolic and biofungicidal properties of maize rhizobacteria for growth promotion and plant disease resistance

Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) are known to influence plant growing both by direct and/or indirect mechanisms. This study aimed to establish PGPR profile of 15 bacteria isolated from maize (Zea mays L.) rhizosphere in Benin. These rhizobacteria were screened in vitro for the  plant growth promoting traits like production of indole acetic acid (IAA), ammonia (NH3), hydrogen cyanide (HCN), catalase,...

Author(s): Pacôme A. Noumavo, Nadège A. Agbodjato, Emma W. Gachomo, Hafiz A. Salami, Farid Baba-Moussa, Adolphe Adjanohoun, Simeon O. Kotchoni, and Lamine Baba-Moussa

March 2015

High-level lipase production by Aspergillus candidus URM 5611 under solid state fermentation (SSF) using waste from Siagrus coronata (Martius) Becari

The current study evaluated lipase production by Aspergillus candidus URM 5611 through solid state fermentation (SSF) by using almond bran licuri as a new substrate. The microorganism produced high levels of the enzyme (395.105 U gds-1), thus surpassing those previously reported in the literature. The variable moisture content, the inductor concentration, temperature and pH were analyzed. The best production conditions...

Author(s): Cyndy Mary Farias, Odacy Camilo de Souza, Minelli Albuquerque Sousa, Roberta Cruz, Oliane Maria Correia Magalhães, Érika Valente de Medeiros, Keila Aparecida Moreira and Cristina Maria de Souza-Motta

March 2015

Effects of cashew nut shell liquid (CNSL) component upon Aedes aegypti Lin. (Diptera: Culicidae) larvae’s midgut

The cashew nut shell liquid (CNSL) has been associated with a number of biological activities. The aim of this study was to evaluate the insecticidal potential caused by CNSL from Anacardium occidentalle L. (Anacardiaceae) upon Aedes aegypti and verify histomorphological alterations in the larval midgut. The experiments were carried out using third instar A. aegypti larvae, exposed to CNSL at different concentrations....

Author(s): Doroty  Mesquita Dourado, Ana Carolina Rosa, Karla Rejane de Andrade Porto, Antonia Railda Roel, Claudia Andrea Lima Cardoso, Silvio Favero, Jislaine Guilhermino, Rosemary Matias

March 2015

In vitro dilutions of thioridaxine with potential to enhance antibiotic sensitivity in a multidrug resistant Staphylococcus aureus uropathogen

This research effort seeks to use doses of thioridaxine to enhance antibiotic sensitivity in a multidrug resistant (MDR) Staphylococcus aureus strain. Five axenic (pure) strains of S. aureus coded SA1 to SA5 were obtained from five infected midstream urine samples, inoculated on sterile cystine lactose electrolyte deficient (CLED) agar and stocked on sterile nutrient agar slants at 4°C in a refrigerator. Bacteria...

Author(s): Otajevwo, F. D.