August 2011
Rabbit defensin (NP-1) genetic engineering of plant
Defensin is a small, cysteine-rich, cationic peptides family with antimicrobial and cytotoxic properties. Among all known defensins, neutrophil peptide-1 (NP-1), which is expressed mainly in rabbit neutrophils, has a broad resistance spectrum to pathogens such as Treponema pallidum, many Gram-positive bacteria, Gram-negative bacteria, fungi, viruses. Besides, it has the same striking inhibition or toxic effect on...
August 2011
Expression of a SK2-type dehydrin gene from Populus euphratica in a Populus tremula × Populus alba hybrid increased drought tolerance
A dehydrin gene, isolated from cDNA library established from the root of Populus euphratica, was determined from sequence analysis to be an SK2-type dehydrin (Pedhn). To investigate the function of Pedhn, it was expressed via the CaMV 35S promoter in transgenic Populus tremula × Populus alba. The Pedhn transgenic lines demonstrated higher water retention capacities in excised leaves of...
August 2011
Cloning and characterization of the 5' flanking region of microRNA let-7a-1/let-7f-1 gene cluster in human lung cancer cell
In order to elucidate the molecular basis of microRNA let-7a-1/let-7f-1 gene cluster, the transcription initiation site which was determined by 5’ rapid amplification of cDNA ends (5’RACE) and 2.1 kb of the 5' flanking region proximal to the pre-let-7a-1was isolated and characterized. The promoter activity of the 2.1 kb fragment was analyzed by a firefly luciferase-encoding gene expression...
August 2011
Cloning and characterization of cDNA encoding xyloglucan endotransglucosylase in Pennisetum glaucum L.
Biomass production in plant is directly related to the amount of intercepted solar radiation by the canopy and available water to the plant. Growth and development of leaves, especially under drought condition, is therefore major determinant of crop productivity. Xyloglucan endotransglucosylase (XET) plays important role in growth and development of plants. XETs are a family of enzymes that mediate construction and...
August 2011
Use of random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) in differentiation of selected species of Cucumis grown in Southern India
Cucumis sativus (Cucumber), Cucumis melo var. acidulus (Vellari) and C. melo var. momordica (Snapmelon) are three species which are widely cultivated in India as vegetable crops. These species are distinguished based on leaf, hypanthium and fruit characteristics; however, large variation in morphological and fruit traits has been observed in different populations. A combination of...
August 2011
Performance of yam microtubers from temporary immersion system in field conditions
The yam clones ´Pacala Duclos´ and ´Belep´ of Dioscorea alata were used to evaluate the performance of microtubers formed in temporary immersion systems (TIS) in field conditions. Previously sprouted microtubers with a fresh weight higher than 3.0 gFW were used while in vitro plants and tuber crowns from conventional propagation methods served as control. In both clones there...
August 2011
Laser light on the mycoflora content in maize seeds
Laser light has many applications in agriculture, but there is still much work to provide scientific evidence of its potential use as an alternative for the control of diseases originating in the seed, especially for fungi that are internal. In this study, we investigated the effects of low intensity laser irradiation on the mycoflora content in maize seeds. Five irradiation times (30, 60, 180, 300 and 600 s) and two...
August 2011
Optimization of ultrasound-assisted extraction of total phenol from betel (Areca catechu L.) nut seed and evaluation of antioxidant activity in vitro
Optimization of the ultrasound-assisted extraction technology for total phenol from betel (Areca catechu L.) nut seed was carried out. On the basis of one factor tests, the method of response surface analysis with 3 factors including extracting temperature, time and solvent-material ratio on the content of total phenol was adopted. The optimal extracting conditions are as follows: extraction temperature...
August 2011
Effects of animal’s rumen juice on seed germination of Vicia angustifolia with different seed size
To help understand the effects of grazing on seed germination characteristics ofVicia angustifolia L., we conducted a laboratory germination experiment of V. angustifolia L., which is a main companion species of Leguminosae family in alpine grassland of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, using Yak and Tibetan sheep rumen juices along three seed size categories. Results show...
August 2011
Efficient in vitro regeneration of Zingiber zerumbet Smith (a valuable medicinal plant) plantlets from rhizome bud explants
This study was conducted to develop an efficient protocol for mass propagation ofZingiber zerumbet Smith. Explants from rhizome buds were cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 6-Benzylaminopurine (BAP) alone (0 to 5 mg/l) or a combination of BAP (0 to 5 mg/l) and indole 3-acetic acid (IAA) (0 to 2 mg/l). MS medium supplemented with a combination of 5.0 mg/l BAP and 2.0 mg/l IAA or 3.0...
August 2011
Yield and yield components of six canola (Brassica napus L.) cultivars affected by planting date and water deficit stress
In order to study the effect of planting dates and different irrigation regimes on yield and yield components of six canola cultivars, an experiment was conducted in two growing seasons; 2008 to 2009 and 2009 to 2010. Six canola cultivars (Zarfam, GKH1103, GKH1605, GKH2005, GKH305 and GKH3705) were cultivated in two different dates (October 7th and November 6th) with two levels of irrigation regimes (irrigation after 60...
August 2011
Genetics and combining ability of fertility restoration of 'wild abortive' cytoplasmic male sterility in rice
Information on the genetics of fertility restoration facilitates breeding and/or selection of restorer lines used in hybrid breeding program in a cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) system. Inheritance of fertility restoration of WA type CMS in rice, (Oryza sativa L.) was studied utilizing IR58025A, IR62829A and IR68899A CMS lines and three restorers viz., Amol-2, IR50 and Poya. The F1s showed pollen and spikelet...
August 2011
The using of gibberellic acid hormone on cotton mature embryo resulted by crossing between wild and commercial species on artificial medium
The wild species of cotton have important role in cotton breeding due to their favorable traits, which include pest and disease resistance, drought tolerance, fiber quality and male cytoplasmic sterility. Transferring these favorable genes from wild species to commercial cultivars of cotton by the traditional methods or classical plant breeding procedure will be very difficult and impossible. This is due to the...
August 2011
In vitro shoot multiplication and conservation of Caralluma bhupenderiana Sarkaria - an endangered medicinal plant from South India
An efficient protocol was described for the rapid in vitro multiplication of an endangered medicinal plant, Caralluma bhupenderiana Sarkaria, via enhanced axillary bud proliferation from nodal explants collected from young shoots of six-months-old plant. The physiological effects of growth regulators [6-Benzyladenine (BA), kinetin (Kn), 2-Isopentyl adenine (2iP), zeatin (Zn),...
August 2011
Evaluation of sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) somaclonal variants tolerance to salinity in vitro and in vivo cultures
Tissue culture technique was used to obtain salt tolerant variants from embryogenic calli of sugarcane (Saccharum sp. Var. CP48-103) that were cultured on a selective medium containing different levels of NaCl (0, 33, 66, 99 and 132 mM). A total of four plants which regenerated from the tolerant calli were selected but the best in vigor were grown in in vitro and hydroponic systems under salinity...
August 2011
Micropropagation of rose cultivar ‘Pareo’
A protocol was developed for micropropagation of rose cv. ‘Pareo’. Nodal segments were surface sterilized with 0.1% solution of mercuric chloride for 10 min and these disinfected explants were inoculated aseptically on culture medium. The, axillary shoots were regenerated from nodal explants on agar-gelled Murashige and Skoog medium supplemented with 1.5 mg/l BAP. In vitro rooting was obtained when...
August 2011
Assessment of the efficiency of a yeast biofilter in the treatment of abattoir wastewater
A yeast biofilter consisting of Candida krusei, Candida morbosa, Torulopsis dattila, Torulopsis glabrata, and Saccharomyces chevalieri was constructed to bioremediate abattoir wastewater. Potato peels were used as filter bed for the growth of the yeasts. Wastewater samples were collected from three different points in Sokoto (Nigeria) abattoir and the physiochemical as well as the...
August 2011
Selection of pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) in south-eastern Tunisia
Tunisia is one of the main producers and exporters of pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) in the world. Due to its international importance, the selection of both quantitative and qualitative most desirable varieties has become a necessity. To select new cultivars that are most appropriate for commercial use, 21 accessions were collected from different regions of south-east Tunisia. 24 morphological...
August 2011
Effects of extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields on growth, cytogenetic, protein content and antioxidant system of Zea mays L.
Electromagnetic fields are an important environmental factor that can influence the growth and development of plants. Exposure to EMFs was performed by a locally designed EMF generator. Our investigations were focused on plants grown from wet pretreated seeds with 3 and 10 mT for a 4 h exposure time and compared with the control plants. Different treatments differed significantly in morphological characters....
August 2011
Production of milk-clotting enzyme by Bacillus subtilis B1 from wheat bran
Three strains, Bacillus subtilis B1, B. subtilis B18 and Bacillus thuringiensis B12,were screened from wheat bran to produce milk-clotting enzyme. Among them, B. subtilis B1 exhibited considerable milk-clotting activity with low proteolytic activity. After response surface methodology optimization, milk-clotting activity wasimproved...
August 2011
Qualitative analysis of meat and meat products by multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique
Multiplex polymerase chain reaction (M-PCR) assay was applied to processed and raw meats for the identification of the most used species in foodstuffs such as, ruminant, poultry, fish and pork materials. Specific-species primers, designed according to the conservative regions of 16S rRNA, were used after alignment of the available sequences in the GenBank database. The primers generated specific DNA fragments of...
August 2011
The application of polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) method in microbial screening
A rapid microbial screening method was developed based on denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). To evaluate the repeatability and reliability of this system, three DGGE markers were used. Then, the feasibility of DGGE method was verified by microbial screenings in viili (a traditional fermented dairy productoriginated from Scandinavia) and sourdoughs. The results suggested that, this method could...
August 2011
Effect of 2,4-D, explants type and cultivar on the callogenesis expression of cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) in Ghana
Modern biotechnological applications in breeding programmes for economically-important crops like cassava begins with successful establishment of stable and active callus cultures for somatic embryos which can be genetically manipulated and induced into planting materials. We have investigated the effects of explants (leaves, stem petiole and axillary buds), auxin (2, 4-D) concentrations (8, 12 and 15 mg/l) and cultivar...
August 2011
Factors affecting endoglucanase production by Trichoderma reesei RUT C-30 from solid state fermentation of oil palm empty fruit bunches using Plackett-Burman design
A study was conducted to screen parameters affecting the production of endoglucanase by Trichoderma reesei RUT C-30 on solid state fermentation of oil palm empty fruit bunch using the Plackett-Burman design. Factors involved in the screening process were peptone concentration, urea concentration, ammonium sulfate concentration, calcium nitrate concentration, yeast extract concentration, tween 80...
August 2011
Interleukin 6, interleukin 1b, estradiol and testosterone concentrations in serum and follicular fluid of females with stimulated and non-stimulated ovaries
The ovarian physiology is regulated by some complex factors such as hormones and growth factors. The hormones and growth factors are synthesized by follicular and ovarian cells during follicular maturation stage and cytokines are synthesized by the immune system. Interaction between immune and endocrine systems modulates ovarian function through the secretion of regulatory soluble factors, especially...
August 2011
Glucose and triglyceride lowering activity of Pterocarpus santaniloides leaf extracts against dexamethasone induced hyperlipidemia and insulin resistance in rats
The triglyceride and glucose lowering potential of the leaf extracts of Pterocarpus santalinoides was investigated in dexamethasone induced hyperlipidemia and insulin resistance in rats. Acute toxicity test was performed according to standard methods. An oral glucose tolerance test was carried out in the presence of the extracts in normal rats. Then, graded doses of aqueous and methanol extracts...
August 2011
Applications of response surface methodology approach to determine the effect of temperature, time of incubation and light conditions on germination and germ tube growth of Puccinia coronata f.sp. avenae urediosopores
Crown rust caused by Puccinia coronata f.sp. avenae is the most damaging disease on oat. This work analyzed the effects of temperature and illumination regime during different time of incubation on both spore germination and germ tube growth, using both analysis of variance (ANOVA) and response surface methodology (RSM). This study reveals that the maximum of germination approached 95% under...
August 2011
The extraction, identification and quantification of hypoglycemic active ingredients from stinging nettle (Urtica angustifolia)
Urtica angustifolia is a traditional medicinal material which has hypoglycemic function. The objectives of this study were to isolate and identify hypoglycemic active ingredients from it. Three groups of mice were gavaged with the decoction ofUrtica root, stem and leaf for 14 days at a dose of 20 mg/(kg·d). Area under the curve (AUC) values were 24.62±5.24, 24.33±4.66 and...
August 2011
Antioxidant, antibacterial and α-glucosidase inhibitory activities of different extracts of Cortex Moutan
Different extracts of Cortex Moutan (CM) were investigated for their antioxidant, antibacterial and α-glucosidase inhibitory activities. The content of paeonol was quantified by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The results show that the yield of acetone extract (57.14%) was significantly higher than those of other solvents. The ethyl-acetate extract exhibited maximum...
August 2011
Ethanol extract of Hedyotis diffusa willd. induction of apoptosis via PI3K/Akt and XIAP pathways in human leukemic THP-1 cells
Hedyotis diffusa (H. diffusa) Willd. is known to induce apoptosis in cancer cells. However, the molecular mechanism of its anti-cancer activity has not been fully elucidated. In this study, we found that the ethanol extract of H. diffusa Willd. (EEHDW) reduced cell viability and induced apoptosis in a dose- and time-dependent manner in human leukemic THP-1 cells. The induction of apoptosis was also...
August 2011
Molecular detection of TEM broad spectrum β-lactamase in clinical isolates of Escherichia coli
Resistance to β-lactam antibiotics, along with clinical isolates, frequently results to production of β-lactamase enzymes. In recent years, the production of extended spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs) among clinical isolates, especially Escherichia coli has greatly increased. On the other hand, β lactamase genes have several subfamilies, and designing universal primers could be valuable to detect all of...
August 2011
Review of the biotechnology research and development (R and D) in OECD countries concerning biological drugs
The pharmaceutical industry is among high technology industries that needs considerable attention in research and development. Overall, the processes that a drug must go through from its production in the laboratory, to clinical trials on certain groups, to the drug being licensed and finally planning for its marketing makes it different to any other product. Boosting research and development capability in...
August 2011
Molecular and biological characterization of Trichogramma turkestanica (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) which inhabits Taif governorate at the west of Saudi Arabia
Parasitoids of Trichogramma (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) parasitize the eggs of many species of Lepidoptera and have been used for the biological control of numerous pest species. We collected this parasitoid from Taif governorate, KSA in summer of 2009. It is difficult to differentiate between Trichogramma species because of their small size and lack of differences in morphological characters....
August 2011
Evaluation of yeast single cell protein (SCP) diets on growth performance, feed conversion and carcass composition of Tilapia Oreochromis niloticus (L.) fingerlings
An investigation was carried out on the possibility of replacing fishmeal with graded levels of yeast single cell protein (SCP; 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50%) in isonitrogenous feed formulations (30% protein) in the diet of Oreochromis niloticus fingerlings for a period of 12 weeks. The control diet had fishmeal as the primary protein source. There were six treatments and four replicates. The result indicates that...
August 2011
The effect of feeding frequency on growth performance and body composition in juvenile rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) reared in cold seawater
This study was done to investigate the effects of different feeding frequencies on the growth, feed efficiency and specific growth rate (%) of juvenile of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss, weight 16.44±0.22 g) rearing in cold sea water conditions (5.8 to 9.3°C; 17 to 18 ppt). Fish were fed on a commercial feed to the apparent satiation twice a day (Control), six times every day (TD6), four...
August 2011
Phenotype and genotype differentiation between flathead grey mullet [Mugil cephalus] and thinlip grey mullet [Liza ramada (Pisces: Mugilidae)]
This study aimed to study the phenotype and genotype differentiation and to compare the amount of differences in phenotype based on morphometric character indices and meristic counts with the amount of differences in genotype based on random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) fingerprinting between two Mugilidae, Flathead grey mullet (Mugil cephalus) and Thinlip grey mullet (Liza ramada). The results...
August 2011
In vitro differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells into functional hepatocytes by sodium butyrate, hepatocyte growth factor and dexamethasone under chemically defined conditions
Studies have shown that embryonic stem (ES) cells can be successfully differentiated into liver cells, which offer the potential unlimited cell source for a variety of end-stage liver disease. In our study, in order to induce mouse ES cells to differentiate into hepatocyte-like cells under chemically defined conditions, ES cells were induced by sodium butyrate as inducer for 7 days in the first phase, followed by the...
August 2011
Genetic analysis of wild apple resources in Shandong province based on inter-simple sequence repeats (ISSR) and sequence-specific amplification polymorphism (S-SAP) markers
Apple (malus domestica Borkh.), which is a widely cultivated, important and economic fruit crop with nutritive and medicinal importance, has emerged as a model horticultural crop in this post-genomic era. Wild apple resources are important and they develop gradually in apple industry and genetic diversity. In this study, two molecular markers (inter-simple sequence repeats, ISSR and sequence-specific amplification...
August 2011
Extension of the shelf-life of fresh oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus) by modified atmosphere packaging with chemical treatments
The objective of this study was to improve the preservation of fresh oyster mushrooms by modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) and chemical treatments. The MAP effects and treatments on organoleptic quality, weight loss, cell permeability, texture changes and polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activity were studied. In addition, three packaging materials were used for MAP mushroom storage. Low-density polyethylene (LDPE) proved to...
August 2011
A simple and rapid plate assay for screening of inulin-degrading microorganisms using Lugol’s iodine solution
In this report, a simple and rapid agar plate assay was established for screening of halophilic, inulin-degrading microorganisms. Two strains considered inulinolytic with this method were chosen and the inulinolytic activities in their culture supernatant were measured with the Somogyi-Nelson method, while their hydrolysis products of inulin were detected with TLC chromatogram. Key words: Screening,...
August 2011
DNA topoisomerase II enzyme activity appears in mouse sperm heads after fertilization
Sperm suspensions of 4 male mice (A, B, C and D), having an initial motility grade of 3.5 were used to examine the presence of DNA topoisomerase II (top 2) activity in sperm heads. The initial percentage motile of male A was 75%, male B was 80%, male C was 70% and male D was 60%. Top 2 activity was examined by testing the effect of etoposide (ETO), a specific top 2 blocker, on sperm motility, fertilizing ability and...
August 2011
Cellular immune response of infectious bursal disease and Newcastle disease vaccinations in broilers exposed to monochromatic lights
To investigate the effects of various monochromatic lights on T lymphocytes proliferation and serum nitric oxide production in chicken vaccinated with infectious bursal disease and newcastle disease vaccines, a total of 60 one-day-old broilers were exposed to red, green, blue, white and yellow light by using a light-emitting diode system for 6 weeks. The results indicated that the proliferation of peripheral...
Advertisement
Advertisement
