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: 22 March 2012; 11(24)

March 2012

Micropropagation and in vitro germplasm conservation of endangered Musa balbisiana ‘Kluai Hin’ (BBB group)

  Multiple shoot formation of edible bananas (Musa balbisiana, BBB group) ‘Kluai Hin’was achieved through organogenesis in bud culture. Excised apical and lateral buds were cultured on a modified Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with22 µM BA and 15% (v/v) coconut water (CW). For mass multiplication, the proliferated shoots were subcultured to MS media containing...

Author(s):   Kamnoon Kanchanapoomand Nararatn Promsorn        

March 2012

Simplified extraction of good quality genomic DNA from a variety of plant materials

  Depending on the nature and complexity of plant material, proper method needs to be employed for extraction of genomic DNA, along with its performance evaluation by different molecular techniques. Here, we optimized and employed a simple genomic DNA isolation protocol suitable for a variety of plant materials covering in vitro grown tender plantlets to relatively complex plant tissues such as field...

Author(s):   Vijay Kumari, Anshu Bansal, Raghavendra Aminedi, Dhakshi Taneja and Niranjan Das        

March 2012

Simplified extraction of good quality genomic DNA from a variety of plant materials

  Depending on the nature and complexity of plant material, proper method needs to be employed for extraction of genomic DNA, along with its performance evaluation by different molecular techniques. Here, we optimized and employed a simple genomic DNA isolation protocol suitable for a variety of plant materials covering in vitro grown tender plantlets to relatively complex plant tissues such as field...

Author(s):   Vijay Kumari, Anshu Bansal, Raghavendra Aminedi, Dhakshi Taneja and Niranjan Das        

March 2012

Cloning and analysis of the ascorbate peroxidase gene promoter from Brassica napus

  Ascorbate peroxidase (APX) is known to catalyze the reduction of H2O2 to water and enhance plants’ tolerance in stress environment. An ascorbate peroxidase protein (BnAPX) was previously isolated from Brassica napus in our laboratory and it was located in the chloroplast. In order to clarify the physiological function of BnAPX in plant response to photooxidative...

Author(s):   Junbei Xiang, Zhibin Liu, Yi Yang and Xufeng Li      

March 2012

Molecular cloning and expression analysis of a WRKY transcription factor in sugarcane

  The WRKY proteins comprise a superfamily of transcription factors which are unique in plants. In the present study, a WRKY gene of sugarcane was isolated. This gene is 1 003 bp in full length, which includes 93 bp 5’ untranslated region (UTR) and 172 bp 3’ UTR. The open reading frame (ORF) of this gene is 738 bp which encodes 245 amino acids, with a typical WRKY DNA-binding domain...

Author(s):   Jinxian Liu, Youxiong Que, Jinlong Guo, Liping Xu, Jiayun Wu, Rukai Chen         

March 2012

Disruption of the 37-kDa/67-kDa laminin receptor gene in bovine fetal fibroblasts

  The 37-kDa/67-kDa laminin receptor (LRP/LR), also known as ribosomal protein SA (RPSA), acts as a cell surface receptor for prions and plays an important role in internalization of cellular prion protein. In this study, we knocked out the part of prion binding sites (aa 161-205) by gene targeting in the bovine fetal fibroblasts (BFF). This is the first report about disrupting the gene encoding...

Author(s):   Fushan Shi#, Lifeng Yang#, Jiaxin Chang, Zesheng Li, Xiaomin Yin, Xiangmei Zhou and Deming Zhao        

March 2012

Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of watermelon (Citrullus lanatus)

  Transformation of watermelon (Citrullus lanatus cv. Zaojia) using Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain EHA105 containing the plasmid pRD400 carrying Pti4 gene was studied in this work. Proximal cotyledons as explants were pre-cultivated for two day in the dark and it was found that the best condition for transformation of watermelon was the use of bacteria at a concentration of OD600 0.3,...

Author(s):   Juan Li, Yi Tang, Yaoguo Qin, Xiaomei Li and Huanxiu Li        

March 2012

Cloning, Localization and Phylogenetic Analysis of Barley Putative AP2/EREBP genes

  Eight putative barley AP2/EREBP genes were cloned based on the barley HarvEST database. The introns in the translated regions of these genes were all located at the front of the conserved AP2 domain. Among the eight genes, DNA sequences of hv.18885 and hv.17070 were the same between Steptoe and Morex. Of the other six genes, there was very high ratio of ‘G’ and ‘C’ bases in the variant...

Author(s):   Wei-Tao Li, Ya-Xi Liu, Guo-Yue Chen, Chun-Ji Liu, Shou-Fen Dai, Xiu-Jin Lan, Zhi-En Pu, You-Liang Zheng, Yu-Ming Wei      

March 2012

Micropropagation and in vitro germplasm conservation of endangered Musa balbisiana ‘Kluai Hin’ (BBB group)

  Multiple shoot formation of edible bananas (Musa balbisiana, BBB group) ‘Kluai Hin’was achieved through organogenesis in bud culture. Excised apical and lateral buds were cultured on a modified Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with22 µM BA and 15% (v/v) coconut water (CW). For mass multiplication, the proliferated shoots were subcultured to MS media containing...

Author(s):   Kamnoon Kanchanapoomand Nararatn Promsorn        

March 2012

The effects of mineral and liquid organic fertilizers on some nutritional characteristics of bell pepper

  The economical effect of liquid organic fertilizer on agriculture may be a factor in the extension of its practice in larger areas. The rates of compost required to supply sufficient N requirements might be economically challenging for farmers. Therefore, the organic liquid fertilizers might help in reducing the need of high rates of compost to maintain proper N amount and in reducing the expenses. The...

Author(s):   Sureyya Altintas and Funda Eryilmaz Acikgoz

March 2012

Salinity induced changes in cell membrane stability, protein and RNA contents

  Seedlings of sugar beet (Beta vulgarus L.) were used at salinity levels of 0 (control), 4.7, 9.4 and 14.1 dS m-1 to determine the effect of salt on vegetative growth, relative water content, cell membrane stability, protein and RNA contents in sand culture experiment. Fresh and dry weights of plants, shoots and roots decreased significantly with increasing salt concentration. Salinity...

Author(s):   Muhammad Jamil, Muhammad Ashraf, Shafiq ur Rehman, Mushtaq Ahmad  and Eui Shik Rha      

March 2012

Effect of indole butyric acid on micrografting of cactus

  Grafting is a common technique to propagate cacti species. Gymnocalycium mihanovichii is an ornamental plant and they should be grafted to root stock containing chlorophyll. In this research, exogenous auxin treatments were applied for grafting improvement. G. mihanovichii and Trichocereus spachianus were used as a scion and root stock, respectively. Indole butyric acid (IBA) was...

Author(s):   Ali Reza Ladan Moghadam, Zahra Oraghi Ardebili and Lotfolah Rezaie      

March 2012

Microbial diversity in a full-scale anaerobic reactor treating high concentration organic cassava wastewater

  Microbial characteristics in the up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor (UASB) of a full-scale high concentration cassava alcohol wastewater plant capable of anaerobic hydrocarbon removal were analyzed using cultivation-independent molecular methods. Forty-five bacterial operational taxonomic units (OTUs) and 24 archaeal OTUs were identified by building 16S rRNA gene of bacterial and archaeal clone...

Author(s):   Ruifang Gao, Yanzhuan Cao#, Xufeng Yuan, Wanbin Zhu, Xiaofen Wang, Zongjun Cui.            

March 2012

Effect of pre-storage salicylic acid, calcium chloride and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid dipping on chilling injury and quality of ‘Taify’ cactus pear fruit during cold storage

  The effects of pre-storage salicylic acid (SA) calcium chloride (CaCl2) and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) treatments on chilling injury (CI) and quality of cactus pear fruit during storage were investigated. The results showed that SA application at 2.0, 3.0 or 4.0 mM significantly decreased CI index compared to all the other treatments. Increasing SA rate to 3.0 or 4.0 mM did not result in a further...

Author(s):   Adel D. Al-Qurashi      

March 2012

Impact of regulated deficit irrigation on the physiological characteristics of two rapeseed varieties as affected by different potassium rates

  A field trial was conducted at experimental field of Qazvin region, Iran (36° 18´ N and 49° 57´ E) in 2008/2009 and 2009/2010 growing seasons to determine the physiological properties of rapeseed varieties (Zarfam and Opera) subjected to drought stress condition under different potassium sulphate levels. The trial was laid out in a factorial experiment based on a randomized...

Author(s):   Hassan Ghasemyan Ardestani and Amir Hossein Shirani Rad        

March 2012

Impact intensities of climatic changes on grassland ecosystems in headwater areas

  Rainfall and temperature are the direct driving factors that affect grassland ecosystem evolution. The study constructed the assessment model of the driving factors, temperature and rainfall, that exerted influence on the primary productivities of the grassland ecosystems in headwater areas, and used the model to quantitatively analyze the primary productivity variations of the grassland ecosystems in the...

Author(s):   Yongzhong Feng, Xiaowei Qin, Xuemin Ren, and Gaihe Yang,        

March 2012

Ammonia-nitrogen and orthophosphate removal by immobilized Chlorella sp. isolated from municipal wastewater for potential use in tertiary treatment

  Chlorella sp. isolated from municipal wastewater and entrapped in calcium alginate as algal sheets was employed to remove inorganic nutrients from domestic secondary effluents in parallel-plate bioreactor after starvation. The key factors affecting the nutrient removal efficiency, system stability and reuse efficiency of screens were discussed. The results show that cell density and starvation time...

Author(s):   Endong Zhang, Bing Wang, Shuxiang Ning, Huichao Sun, Baoling Yang, Mei Jin and Lin Hou        

March 2012

Effects of over-expression of allene oxide cyclase on camptothecin production by cell cultures of Camptotheca acuminata

  Camptothecin (CPT) is an anticancer and antiviral monoterpene-derived indole alkaloid which can be induced by plant hormone, jasmonates. To improve the production of the pharmaceuticals, the jasmonate biosynthesis related gene allene oxide cyclase from Camptotheca acuminate was transferred back into C. acuminateusing the method of Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation and over...

Author(s):   Yan Pi, Keji Jiang, Juan Lin, Ying Cao, Qian Wang, Ji Yang, Xiaofen Sunand Kexuan Tang,      

March 2012

Antitumor effect of the ethanol extract of Scutellaria baicalensis on the mice bearing U14 cervical cancer

  Scutellaria baicalensis which is a traditional plant amedica in China possesses a wide anti-cancer effect. However, the inhibition effect and mechanism of S. baicalensis on cervical cancer is not clear up to now. In our study, two kinds of ethanol extract of S. baicalensis were used in U14 cervical cancer mice. The rate of tumor inhibition was detected, and the tumor cell morphology was...

Author(s):   Yong Peng, Man Sun, Ya Di, Xinlong Huo, Zhanzhao Fu, Qingwang Li, Zhe Liu,Bin Jiang , Yingjie Liu and Yanxia Zhang      

March 2012

Construction and analysis of subtractive hybridization library of differentially expressed genes in spleen of C57BL/6 and A/J mice with Streptococcus suis serotype 2 infection

  Streptococcus suis is an important swine and human pathogen, and it has presented a considerable challenge to the global public health community. Domínguez-Punaro et al. (2007) showed that two strains of mice were differentially susceptible to S. suis. The attainment of information on the differential expression of host response genes following S. suis infection is...

Author(s):   Zheng-Lu Xie, Hai-tian Ma, Hong-Jie Fan and Si-Xiang Zou        

March 2012

Protective role of Aspergillus fumigatus melanin against ultraviolet (UV) irradiation and Bjerkandera adusta melanin as a candidate vaccine against systemic candidiasis

  Melanin protects pigmented cells from physical and biological stresses which are associated with virulence in several important human pathogens, but little is known about the immune response to this ubiquitous biologic compound. Melanin content increased in Aspergillus fumigatus mycelium exposed to ultraviolet for 10 min but gradually decreased after 60 min of UV exposure. So,...

Author(s):   Nanis G. Allam and Eman H. F. Abd El-Zaher        

March 2012

Toxicity of copaiba extracts to armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda)

  The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of methanolic extracts from leaves, peels, seeds and pulps from fruits of Copaifera langsdorffii on Spodoptera frugiperda. Extracts derived from leaves and fruit peels were more toxic to S. frugiperda than the others. Hence, they were added to the artificial diet and used in further experiments with the second instar larvae...

Author(s):   Dejane Santos Alves, Geraldo Andrade Carvalho, Denilson Ferreira Oliveira, Rafaella Ribeiro Sâmia, Matheus Alvarenga Villas-Boas, Gislaine Aparecida Carvalho and Angelita Duarte Côrrea        

March 2012

Nutritive potential and utilization of super worm (Zophobas morio) meal in the diet of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) juvenile

  Super worm meal (SWM) was evaluated to investigate the effect of partial or total replacement of fish meal (FM) in diets for tilapia juvenile, Oreochromis niloticus. Triplicate groups of fish with average initial body weight (5.57 ± 0.15 g) were fed each with 5 isonitrogeneous (32% crude protein) diets formulated to include 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% (diets 1 – 5, respectively) of FM substituted...

Author(s):   M. D. Abd Rahman Jabir⊃, S. A. Razak⊃ and S. Vikineswary⊃        

March 2012

Effect of storage media and time on fin explants culture in the goldfish, Carassius auratus

DMEM,Dulbecco’s modified Eagles medium; PBS, phosphate buffered saline.

Author(s):   Casiano H. Choresca Jr., Jung Taek Kang, Jee Eun Han, Ji Hyung Kim, Sang Phil Shin, Jin Woo Jun, Byeong Chun Lee and Se Chang Park      

March 2012

Decolorization of dyes by recombinase CotA from Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) and characterization of the purified enzyme

  Dyes are usually difficult to be decolorized due to their complex chemical structures. In this work, recombinant CotA laccase was purified from Escherichia coli to evaluate its application in dye decolorization. Factors influencing laccase expression, such as induction temperature, phosphate buffer (pH), copper concentration and isopropyl β-D-1-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG) concentration,...

Author(s):   Ning Zhang, Min Zhao, ChunLei Wang and Guangyinghui Du      

March 2012

Callus induction, regeneration and transformation of sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) with chitinase gene using particle bombardment

  This study was carried out to optimize the conditions for introducing a chitinase gene into the sugarcane cv. Phil 66-07 calli by particle bombardment. Young leaves were cultured on the modified Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with varied concentrations of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), naphthalene acetic acid (NAA), yeast extract and coconut water (CW). The...

Author(s):   Rattana Khamrit, Prasit Jaisil and Sumontip Bunnag        

March 2012

Profiling of major fatty acids in different raw and roasted sesame seeds cultivars

  The aim of this study was to investigate the fatty acids profile of five sesame cultivars including Branching Naz, Darab, Karaj, Dezful and Black sesame and the effect of time and temperature roasting procedure. The seeds oil content varied from 43±0.28 to 47±0.41% with the average content of 44.4±1.87%. Darab and Black sesame cultivar had the highest and lowest oil content...

Author(s):   Mahmood Biglar, Ghazaleh Moghaddam, Naficeh Sadeghi, Mohammad Reza Oveisi, Behrooz Jannat, Zahra Kaboli, Shokoufeh Hassani and Mannan Hajimahmoodi      

March 2012

Effects of elevated ambient temperature on embryo implantation in rats

  Implantation is a crucial step in mammalian reproduction as it is a gateway to further embryonic development and successful pregnancy. Changes in the environmental factors, such as temperature have adverse effects on reproduction. However, the impact of elevated temperature on the implantation process is not well defined. The objective of this study was to investigate the possible effect of elevated...

Author(s):   Huda Yahia Hamid ,), Md Zuki Abu Bakar Zakaria ), Nurhusien Yimer ), Goh Yong Meng ), Abd. Wahid Haron ) and Noordin Mohamed Mustapha )    

March 2012

Effect of dietary betaine supplementation on mRNA level of lipogenesis genes and on promoter CpG methylation of fatty acid synthase (FAS) gene in laying hens

  Our aims are to determine the effects of dietary betaine supplementation on growth performance, percentage of abdominal fat, ratio of liver to body weight, mRNA expression levels of acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC), fat acid synthase (FAS) and adipose differentiation-related protein (ADRP) genes in the abdominal fat of hens. In addition, promoter DNA methylation patterns of FAS gene were also analyzed...

Author(s):   Jinyi Xing and Yunliang Jiang        

March 2012

Efficiency of random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and inter-simple sequence repeats (ISSR) markers for genotype fingerprinting and genetic diversity studies in canola (Brassica napus)

Genetic diversity evaluations among 10 canola (Brassica napus) genotypes were determined using RAPD and ISSR markers. The RAPD and ISSR primers with the highest degree of polymorphism were selected. A total of 67 bands of polymorphic RAPD bands were detected out of 77 bands, with an average of 13.4 polymorphic fragments per primer. The number of amplified fragments with RAPD primers ranged from 8 to 21,...

Author(s): Hala M. Abdelmigid,