Gene pyramiding-A broad spectrum technique for developing durable stress resistance in crops
August 2010
The development of molecular genetics and associated technology like MAS has led to the emergence of a new field in plant breeding-Gene pyramiding. Pyramiding entails stacking multiple genes leading to the simultaneous expression of more than one gene in a variety to develop durable resistance expression. Gene pyramiding is gaining considerable importance as it would improve the efficiency of plant breeding leading to...
Kojic acid: Applications and development of fermentation process for production
April 2010
Kojic acid, 5-hydroxy-2-hydroxymethyl-g-pyrone, has many potential industrial applications. In this review, the properties and diverse applications of kojic acid in industries are described. The review also discusses the advance in kojic acid fermentation, focusing on the process development in micro-organisms and strain selection, medium and culture optimization, as well as fermentation modes for commercially viable...
Transition metal complexes as potential therapeutic agents
April 2010
Transition metals have important place within medicinal biochemistry. Research has shown significant progress in utilization of transition metal complexes as drugs to treat several human diseases like carcinomas, lymphomas, infection control, anti-inflammatory, diabetes, and neurological disorders. Transition metals exhibit different oxidation states and can interact with number of negatively charged molecules. This...
Emerging trends in nanobiotechnology
February 2010
Nanobiotechnology, an exciting interdisciplinary field of science, is making rapid progress in recent years with the development of new kinds of materials with all the desired physico-chemical properties needed for their successful application in various fields, in particular, medicine. Nanomaterials find applications in different thrust areas of medicine like therapeutics, diagnostics, surgical devices/implants, novel...
Biotechnology and food security in developing countries
February 2010
Food security is a necessity for every individual, home, community and nation. In developing countries, food security could be substantially improved by increased investment and policy reforms. Biotechnology’s ability to eliminate malnutrition and hunger through production of crops resistant to pests and diseases, having longer shelf-lives, refined textures and flavours, higher yields per units of land and...
Transgenic plants: Successes and controversies
December 2009
Applications of herbicides, pesticides, and fertilizers have greatly increased crop yields in the past. More recently, however, crop yields are barely keeping up with world growth, hence the need for new approaches. Agricultural biotechnology may likely play a key role in the race to feed the world’s expanding population with fewer inputs and on less and less available land. Genetic engineering of plants...
Statistical analysis of the application of Wilcoxon and Mann-Whitney U test in medical research studies
December 2009
Although non-normal data are widespread in biomedical research, parametric tests unnecessarily, predominate in statistical analyses. Five biomedical journals were surveyed and for all studies which contain at least the unpaired t-test or the non-parametric Wilcoxon and Mann-Whitney U test - investigated the relationship between the choice of a statistical test and other variables such as type of journal, sample size,...
The development of the pitcher plant Sarracenia purpurea into a potentially valuable recombinant protein production system
October 2009
The unique inducible system of protein secretion by the carnivorous pitcher plantSarracenia purpurea may be an ideal system for recombinant protein farming. S. purpurea is relatively uncommon and difficult to grow in vitro, so it has not been explored as a potential source of recombinant proteins. However, it naturally secretes large amounts of proteins into a liquid found in the leaf pitchers, so it...
An investigation for potential development on biosurfactants
October 2009
Biosurfactants are surface-active metabolites produced by microorganisms. The applications of these biological compounds in the field of enhanced oil recovery and bioremediation proved effective. Besides their environmental applications; biosurfactants have shown interesting properties in several processes. Thus, this article attempts to organize this Information for ease of reference and further stimulates those that...
The HIV-based host derived R7V epitope; functionality of antibodies directed at it and the predicted implications for prognosis, therapy or vaccine development
August 2009
Host protein beta-2 microglobulin (β2m) is incorporated into the HIV-1 coat during budding. Individuals not progressing to AIDS produce antibodies directed to an epitope contained in β2m which is designated R7V. These antibodies increased with duration of HIV-infection in non-progressor patients and protected against HIV replication. Purified R7V antibodies neutralized different HIV-1 isolates and did not bind...
Mechanisms and molecular genetic bases of rapid speciation in African cichlids
August 2009
African cichlid fishes are a textbook model of evolution in motion but the molecular genetic bases and mechanisms involved in their rapid speciation largely remain elusive. Emerging experimental evidence now suggests that African cichlids have undergone rapid speciation due to a combination of their molecular genetic potential and the influences of the environment on this potential. The genetic potential of the cichlids...
RNAi as a novel therapeutic platform technology for oncological solutions
June 2009
RNA interference (RNAi) is a process in which double-stranded RNA triggers the degradation of a homologous messenger RNA (sharing sequence-specific homology). RNAi has been observed in all eukaryotes, from yeast to mammals. The power and utility of RNAi for specifically silencing the expression of any gene for which sequence is available has driven its incredibly rapid adoption as a tool for reverse genetics in...
Metagenomics - An advanced approach for noncultivable micro-organisms
June 2009
It is known that only 0.1 - 10% of all microorganisms observed in nature can be cultured under conventional laboratory conditions. This leaves researchers unable to study more than 99% of microorganisms in some environments - microorganisms that sometimes have unique and potentially very useful abilities such as waste degradation or synthesis of compounds that could find use as drugs or antibiotics....
Toward a comprehensive description of microbial processes through mechanistic and intelligent approaches
April 2009
Microbial processes functioning in bioreactors under realistic conditions are subject to incomplete dispersion and the presence of noise from the environment and within the cells. These factors complicate the development of good quantitative descriptions of microbial reactors. Most analyses have therefore focused on either the intra-cellular or the extra-cellular processes, ignoring or simplifying the other facet. The...
Review on application of biomimetics in the design of agricultural implements
April 2009
This paper aims at reviewing the application of biomimetics in design of agricultural implements. Most of the biomimetic works done were aimed at investigating the effect of non-smooth surfaces on soil resistance based on soil burrowing animals. The characteristics of soil-burrowing animals for improved soil scouring and their mechanism for reducing soil adhesion and friction are discussed. From...
Microtubers in yam germplasm conservation and propagation: The status, the prospects and the constraints
February 2009
The conservation of yam genetic resources using field genebanks, in vitro plantlets, pollen and seed storage are constrained by high losses and space requirements, maintenance cost and an irregular flowering, respectively. Microtubers produced from in vitro plantlets are proposed for conservation and propagation, as they have a longer shelf-life due to dormancy, and are also hardier and less bulky...
Emerging trends in enhancement of cotton fiber productivity and quality using functional genomics tools
February 2009
Cotton, the most preferred natural fiber in the world, is the mainstay of global economy for severalcenturies. However, the fiber productivity has reached its plateau in the past decade which forced the research community to develop high-yielding and high quality cotton cultivars. In this genomics era, cotton researches focussed on two aspects: identification of genes for important agronomic traits...
Biodiversity and conservation of medicinal and aromatic plants in Africa
December 2008
Medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPS) represent a consistent part of the natural biodiversity endowment of many countries in Africa. The role and contributions of medicinal plants to healthcare, local economies, cultural integrity and ultimately the well-being of people, particularly the rural poor, have been increasingly acknowledged over the last decade. The demands of the majority of the populace for medicinal plants...
The role of vaccine derived polioviruses in the global eradication of polio-the Nigeria experience as a case study
December 2008
This review reports the role of vaccine derived poliovirus (VDPV) in the global eradication of poliomyelitis. A vaccine derived poliovirus (VDPV) is a rare strain of poliovirus, genetically mutated from the strain contained in OPV. The OPV contains a weakened or attenuated version of poliovirus, activating an immune response in the body. A vaccinated person transmits the weakened virus to others, who also...
Taxoids: Biosynthesis and in vitro production
August 2008
Taxoids viz. paclitaxel and docetaxel are of commercial importance since these are shown to have anti-cancerous activity. These taxoids have been isolated from the bark of Taxus species. There is an important gymnosperm, Taxus wallichiana(common name, ‘yew’) used for the isolation of taxoids. Due to cutting of the trees for its bark, population of the plant species are threatened to be...
Biotechnology a key tool to breakthrough in medical and veterinary research
August 2008
The elucidation of the structure, function and metabolism of Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) has led to the current global revolution in the recombinant DNA technology, with the possibility to modify these molecules in many ways for the benefit of man and animals. In this review, we considered the basic principles of genetic engineering (gene cloning), bioinformatics, and its applications in medical...
New targets for antibacterial agents
June 2008
The alarming increase and spread of resistance among emerging and re-emerging bacterial pathogens to all clinically useful antibiotics is one of the most serious public health problems of the last decade. Thus, the search for new antibacterials directed toward new targets is not only a continuous process but also, at this time, an urgent necessity. Recent advances in molecular biological technologies have significantly...
Urokinase - A strong plasminogen activator
June 2008
Urokinase (UK) is a serine protease, which specifically cleaves the proenzyme/zymogen plasminogen to form the active enzyme plasmin. It specifically catalyzes the cleavage of the Arg-Val bond in plasminogen. The active plasmin is then able to break down the fibrin polymers of blood clots. Clinically, UK is given to patients suffering from thrombolytic disorders. Among the plasminogen activators, UK provides a...
Mechanistic links between maternal bacterial infection and cerebral palsy
April 2008
Maternal bacterial infection is known as a causal factor for preterm labor and neonatal morbidity. In recent years, both epidemiological and experimental studies have identified maternal bacterial infection as one of the causal factors for the development of cerebral palsy (CP) in the offspring. This review examines accumulating evidence that as critical mediators of the host’s response to fighting...
The retinoblastoma binding protein 6 is a potential target for therapeutic drugs
April 2008
The retinoblastoma binding protein 6 (RBBP6) proteins (also called P-53 Associated Cell Testis Derived (PACT)) are highly upregulated in esophageal cancer and enhance the activity of MDM2, a p53 inhibitor with ubiquitin ligase activity that is over expressed in many human cancers. Mammalian RBBP6 binds the tumour suppressor proteins p53 and the retinoblastoma protein (Rb). The invertebrate orthologues, on the...
Molecular marker technology in cotton
April 2008
Molecular markers have been a valuable tool in cotton breeding investigations. Various marker techniques used in cotton include Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP), Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD), Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP), Simple Sequence Repeats (SSR), Inter Simple Sequence Repeats (ISSR) and Sequence Related Amplified Polymorphism (SRAP).They have large...
Plant terpenoids: applications and future potentials
February 2008
The importance of terpenes in both nature and human application is difficult to overstate. Basic knowledge of terpene and isoprene biosynthesis and chemistry has accelerated the pace at which scientists have come to understand many plant biochemical and metabolic processes. The abundance and diversity of terpene compounds in nature can have ecosystem-wide influences. Although terpenes have permeated human civilization...
Recent advances in salt stress biology – a review
February 2008
Soil salinity is one of the major abiotic stresses that adversely affects crop productivity and quality. Hence developing salt tolerant crops is essential for sustaining food production. Understanding of the molecular basis of salt stress signaling and tolerance mechanisms are essential for breeding and genetic engineering of salt tolerance in crop plants. The modern approaches being used to impart...
Current trends in molecular epidemiology studies of Mycobacterium tuberculosis
December 2007
Mycobacterium tuberculosis is one of the most harmful human pathogens worldwide, and there are mass efforts for controlling this pathogen. One of the powerful tools to find out and control this pathogen is molecular epidemiology techniques. Currently, wide ranges of techniques are available to type mycobacterium tuberculosis, and choosing the correct technique as a portable and standard method is...
Genetic aspects of ameloblastoma: a brief review
December 2007
Ameloblastomas are defined as aggressive neoplasms arising from the odontogenic epithelium which exhibit a locally invasive behavior with a high rate of recurrence. If left untreated, they often lead to extensive tissue destruction and deformity. Due to the fact that these tumors emerge from remnants of normal odontogenic apparatus, which is strictly regulated through several genes, studies have...
Computational aspects of thematics: application to protein tyrosine phosphatase role in diabetes mellitus
December 2007
Computation plays an important role in functional genomics and proteomics. Theoretical Microscopic Titration Curves (Thematics) are being employed to predict active binding sites of enzymes. The principal reasons are that the pace of discovery of new proteins is increasing, outpacing the ability to characterize them in conventional biochemical and structural techniques; in addition, advances...
Phytochemical antioxidants for health and medicine – A move towards nature
September 2007
Oxidants or reactive oxygen species are produced in our body during aerobic metabolism leading to many diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases etc. Antioxidants are the chemicals that neutralize these oxidants. Natural antioxidants are the secondary metabolites of phytochemicals and are preferred over synthetic antioxidants, which are found to impose side effects. A review has been done on the effect of...
Proof of Evidence: PPAR-induced ANGPTL4 in Lipid and Glucose Metabolism
September 2007
Angiopoietin-like protein 4 (ANGPTL4) was identified as a peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-induced gene. The genetic finding that mutation in ANGPTL3 causes hypolipidemia in mice moved us to test whether ANGPTL4 could also regulate lipid metabolism in vivo. We successfully proved that the introduction of ANGPTL4 as well as ANGPTL3 protein into mice rapidly induced hyperlipidemia. This suggests that...
Plant protease inhibitors: a defense strategy in plants
August 2007
Proteases, though essentially indispensable to the maintenance and survival of their host organisms, can be potentially damaging when overexpressed or present in higher concentrations, and their activities need to be correctly regulated. An important means of regulation involves modulation of their activities through interaction with substances, mostly proteins, called protease inhibitors. Some insects and many of the...
Analysis and manipulation of the genome dynamic structure
August 2007
After the genomic era, during which DNA sequencing revealed genes and the post-genomic era, in which their functional analysis was implemented, the notion of a dynamic genome has become convincing. Indeed, since the early days of DNA transposition, new evidence has accumulated indicating a high level of intrinsic structural plasticity characterizing the genome. An ensemble of gross chromosomal rearrangements...
Cationic lipids used in non-viral gene delivery systems
August 2007
To perform gene transfer two types of vectors are available, (i) viral vectors (ii) nonviral vectors. Among the vectors, nonviral vectors have proved less toxic and safe compare to viral vectors through clinical trials. No single vector is proved suitable for every gene transfection experiment. Cationic lipids are experimentally established as non-viral vector with higher transfection efficiency....
Cold-active microbial Lipases: a versatile tool for industrial applications
June 2007
Lipases are a class of enzymes which catalyze the hydrolysis of long chain triglycerides and constitute the most important group of biocatalysts for biotechnological applications. Cold active lipases have lately attracted attention as a result of their increasing use in the organic synthesis of chiral intermediates. Due to their low optimum temperature and high activity at very low temperatures, which are favorable...
Non-rhizobial nodulation in legumes
June 2007
Legume - Rhizobium associations are undoubtedly form the most important N2-fixing symbiosis and play a subtle role in contributing nitrogen and maintaining/improving soil fertility. A great diversity in the rhizobial species nodulating legumes has been recog-nized, which belongs to a subgroup of proteobacteria covering the genera, Rhizobium, Sinorhizobium (renamed...
Anti-malarials from marine sponges.
May 2007
Malaria, which is caused by multiplication of the protozoan parasite Plasmodium falciparum in erythrocytes, is a major health problem in many southern countries. There is an urgent need to discover new antimalarials, due to the spread of chloroquinine resistance and the limited number of available drugs. Among marine invertebrates, Porifera (sponges) are potential source of novel bioactive compounds to...
Molecular strategies of microbia adaptation to xenobiotics in natural environment
February 2007
The unprecedented population increase and industrial development during the twentieth century has increased conventional solid and liquid waste pollutants to critical levels as well as produced a range of previously unknown strange synthetic chemicals for which society was unprepared. Increasing pollution of the environment by xenobiotic compounds has provoked the need for understanding the impact of toxic...
Economics and environmental impact of bioethanol production technologies: an appraisal
February 2007
Contemporary industrial developments and rapid pace of urbanization have called for an environmentally sustainable energy sources. Ethanol made from biomass provides unique environmental, economic strategic benefits and can be considered as a safe and cleanest liquid fuel alternative to fossil fuels. There is a copious amount of lignocellulosic biomass worldwide that can be exploited for fuel ethanol production....
RNAi in medicine: current and future perspectives
December 2006
The discovery of 21 – 23 nucleotide RNA duplexes, called small interference RNA (siRNA) may well be one of the transforming events in biology in the past decade. RNAi can result in gene silencing or even in the expulsion of sequences from the genome. Efforts to understand its mode of action have revealed a central role in gene regulation and host defense. The specificity, efficiency and potency of...
Lacasses in the textile industry
December 2006
The search for efficient and green oxidation technologies has increased the interest in the use of enzymes to replace the conventional non-biological methods. Among the different existing oxidant enzymes, laccases (benzenediol: oxygen oxidoreductases; EC 1.10.3.2) have been subject of intensive research in the last decades due to their low substrate specificity. The use of laccases in the...
External, extrinsic and intrinsic noise in cellular systems: analogies and implications for protein synthesis
December 2006
Multicellular systems, typically in bioreactors with one or more feed streams, are under the influences of intrinsic (intra-cellular), extrinsic (inter-cellular) and external (environmental) noise. Of these, intrinsic noise is relatively less important in determining protein synthesis and reactor behavior. Although extrinsic noise and external noise have different origins and controls, they have similarities and...
Cellulose-hemicellulose networks as target for in planta modification of the properties of natural fibres
September 2006
Plant cell wall polysaccharides are predominant components of fibres. Natural fibres have a wide range of industrial applications, such as in paper and textile industries. Furthermore, their demand for use as bio-composites in building and automotive applications is also increasing. For the various applications, a gain of control over fibre characteristics is important. Inherent fibre characteristics are largely...
Genetic engineering, ecosystem change, and agriculture: an update
September 2006
Genetically modified organisms (GMOs), alternatively called biotech crops, dominate soybean and cotton production and are rapidly increasing their fraction of market share for maize and rice in the U.S. Engineered canola is important in Canada, soybeans are dominant in Argentina and Brazil, and cotton is prominent in China and India. Adoption is much slower elsewhere, in large part due to...
Biodegradation alternative in the cleanup of petroleum hydrocarbon pollutants
June 2006
Extensive petroleum hydrocarbon exploration activities often result in the pollution of the environment, which could lead to disastrous consequences for the biotic and abiotic components of the ecosystem if not restored. Remediation of petroleum-contaminated system could be achieved by either physicochemical or biological methods. However, the attendant negative consequences of the physicochemical approach are currently...
The Challenge of Mosquito Control Strategies: from Primordial to Molecular Approaches
June 2006
Mosquito control programs worldwide have been evaluating the feasibility to implement biological control strategies by using Bacillus sphaericus (Bs) and/or B. thuringiensis serovar israelensis (Bti). A comprehensive review is presented here to assess the potentiality of biological control agents in mosquito control operation. Vector control is primordial and very essential means for...
Molecular Chaperones involved in Heterologous Protein Folding in Escherichia coli
June 2006
The Gram-negative bacterium Escherichia coli is one of the most attractive host employed in the heterologous production of proteins. However, these target proteins are deposited as insoluble aggregates known as inclusion bodies (IBs) and hence are biologically inactive. The ubiquitous molecular chaperones, a group of unrelated classes of polypeptides help in the mediation of proper folding of the...
Editorial Note
April 2006
There is a current global effort to promote industrial biotechnology as a central feature of the sustainable livelihoods in modern industrialized societies. Since there could be no modern biotechnology without molecular biology and the former is limited by the latter, the developed world is pumping billions of dollars towards basic research in molecular biology of organisms with view of harnessing...
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