February 2012
Flow cytometric classification of oil palm cultivars
Efficiencie in each nuclear lysis buffer on flow cytometric analysis (FCM) of oil palm were compared for cultivar classification. Embryos and unopened leaves of one to twelve months-old seedlings were used as initial materials with five nuclear lysis buffers, including LB01, WPB, Otto’s, Tris.MgCl2 and Galbraith. Although these buffers showed distinct peaks of propidium idodide (PI) fluorescence for oil palm...
February 2012
Dexamethasone resisted podocyte injury
CD2AP and TRPC6, the key proteins of podocyte slit diaphragm (SD), together form a signal transduction complex by interacting with other SD molecules and also play an important role in maintaining SD structural and functional integrity. Data suggest thatpodocyte injury or SD structural damage will inevitably result in proteinuria. Proteinuria is a hallmark of loss of the glomerulus’...
February 2012
Isolation of a novel MYB transcription factor OsMyb1R from rice and analysis of the response of this gene to abiotic stresses
To understand mechanisms underlying stress responses and discover new stress-tolerance genes in rice (Oryza sativa L.), we analyzed a global genome expression profiling of the indica cultivar Pei’ai 64S subjected to cold, drought, or heat stresses. Expression profiles were obtained for leaf and panicle tissues at seedling, booting and heading stages from plants under no stress, or cold, drought or...
February 2012
Population genetic structure and phylogeography of the mud-flat crabs Helice tientsinensis and Helice latimera along the coast of China seas based on mitochondrial DNA
Genetic structure and evolutionary demography of the mud-flat crabs (Helice tientsinensis and H. latimera) were investigated using sequence data of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) gene. Samples of 213 individuals were collected from nine localities over most of the species’ range along the coast of China seas. There were 38 variable sites defining 42 haplotypes. Two distinct...
February 2012
An efficient marker-free vector for clean gene transfer into plants
A marker-free vector, pBINMF, for clean gene transfer was constructed based on the binary vector pBINPLUS. Vector pBINMF, carrying only a multiple cloning site (MCS) between the left and the right T-DNA border, was suitable to directly generate marker-free transgenic plants (MFTPs) without any vector sequences inserted into plant genomes. Transformation efficiency of pBINMF was tested by transferring gusA...
February 2012
Effects of rhizobia and plant growth promoting bacteria inoculation on germination and seedling vigor of lowland rice
Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) stimulate plant growth by producing phytohormone which enhances the growth and physiological activities of the host plant. Recently, legume bacteria (Rhizobium spp.) have been considered as a PGPR for legume as well as non-legumes and have the potential for growth stimulation. A laboratory experiment was conducted to observe the effect of PGPR and...
February 2012
Root-nodule bacteria isolated from native Amphithalea ericifolia and four indigenous Aspalathus species from the acidic soils of the South African fynbos are tolerant to very low pH
Indigenous root-nodule bacteria isolated from the acid sands of the Cape usingAspalathus linearis, Aspalathus hispida, Aspalathus carnosa, Aspalathus capensisand Amphithalea ericifolia as trap hosts showed considerable tolerance to low pH. Isolates from A. ericifolia and A. carnosa could even grow in YMB medium at pH 3. Although, all strains grew well at pH 4, 5 and 6,...
February 2012
Effects of stress induced by post-emergence application of metribuzin herbicide on wheat
Environmental contaminants such as heavy metals and organic pollutants such as herbicides may cause a variety of physiological or oxidative stresses in plants. Metribuzin is a triazinone herbicide that interferes with photosynthetic electron transport between the primary and secondary acceptors of photosystem II (PSII). In this study, the effects of metribuzin on the activities of certain...
February 2012
Subcellular localization of cadmium in hyperaccumulator Populus × canescens
In this study, subcellular localization of cadmium in hyperaccumulator grey poplar (Populus × canescens) was investigated by the transmission electron microscopy (TEM) method. Young Populus × canescens were grown and hydroponic experiments were conducted under four Cd2+ concentrations (10, 30, 50, and 70 μM) in contrast to the control (non-Cd) for 28 day(s). Results indicate that Cd stress...
February 2012
Bioactivity of two extracts from Alpinia officinarum rhizome against Tribolium castaneum (Herbst) adults
The bioactivities of two solvent plant extracts prepared from Alpinia officinarum Hance rhizome, a traditional Chinese herbal plant were investigated against Tribolium castaneum (Herbst) adults in the laboratory. The rhizome extracts were prepared byn-hexane and methylene chloride extraction. Both extracts had significant repellent activity against T....
February 2012
Establishment of an efficient callus induction and plant regeneration system in some wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars grown in Sudan
A procedure for callus induction and plant regeneration was developed for wheat (Triticum aestivum) cultivars grown in Sudan. Mature embryos of cultivar Khaleefa removed from surface sterilized seeds were used as explants. For callus induction, explants were cultured on Murashige and Skoog medium (MS) supplemented with different levels (1.5 to 4.0 mg/l) of 2,4-dichlorophenoxy acetic acid...
February 2012
Effects of pulsing solution, packaging material and passive refrigeration storage system on vase life and quality of cut rose flowers
The experiment consisted of four pulsing solutions (silver thiosulfate + Chrysal clear solution (RVB), silver thiosulfate + 8-hydroxyquinoline sulphate, silver thiosulfate + Chrysal clear solution + hydroxyquinoline sulphate and H2O), two packaging types (cardboard box and box with polyethylene bag) and four storage period intervals (0, 2, 3 and 4 weeks) under passive...
February 2012
Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy for identification of Chlorella vulgaris Beijerinck 1890 and Scenedesmus obliquus (Turpin) Kützing 1833
Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy was used in this study to identify and determine spectral features of Chlorella vulgaris Beijerinck 1890 and Scenedesmus obliquus (Turpin) Kützing 1833. Two cultures were grown in a chemically-defined media under photoautotrophic culture conditions isolated from eutrophic freshwater lake in Ankara. For FTIR analyses, a...
February 2012
Phosphorus removal from wastewater by fly ash ceramsite in constructed wetland
Fly ash ceramsite-assisted phosphorus (P) removal from wastewater was investigated in this paper. First, the basic physical and chemical properties of two types of fly ash ceramsites were outlined. The adsorption capacity of P in wastewater was then examined by static interval experiments, in which the influence of temperature and contact time was investigated. The maximum adsorption capacity of the fly ash ceramsite of...
February 2012
Hexavalent chromium reduction by novel chromate resistant alkaliphilic Bacillus sp. strain KSUCr9a
Alkaliphilic bacterial strain termed KSUCr9a was isolated from soil and water samples collected from various soda lakes located in northern Egypt. KSUCr9a was tolerance up to 75 mM Cr (VI), with minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) value of 80 mM, in alkaline medium (pH 10.5) containing 10% NaCl. Analysis of 16S rDNA of strain KSUCr9a identified this bacterial strain as Bacillus sp., with sequence...
February 2012
The effects of chemical and physical mutagens on morphological and cytological characters of barley (Iranian cv. Nosrat)
Induced mutations are highly effective in enhancing natural genetic resources and have been used in developing beneficial variations for practical plant breeding. In the current study, dry grains of barley (Hordeum vulgaris L., cv. Nosrat, 2n = 2x = 14) were exposed to physical and chemical mutagens. The results of Duncan multiple rang test showed that treatments of gamma ray (control (0), 200 and 320 Gy)...
February 2012
Proteolytic activity of alkaliphilic, salt-tolerant actinomycetes from various regions in Saudi Arabia
Actinomycetes were isolated from various desert soil samples of Saudi Arabia using alkaline and normal pH media. A total of 42 akaliphilic actinomycetes isolated from yeast extract-soluble starch (YS) agar media (pH 11.0 ± 1) and 102 actinomycetes were isolated from tap water agar media (pH 7.0 ± 1) for comparison. Aerial mycelium colours of actinomycetes were observed for the...
February 2012
Chemical, sensory and microbiological characteristics of Sremska sausage (traditional dry-fermented Serbian sausage) as affected by pig breed
Sremska sausage is a traditional dry-fermented sausage from Serbia made from the meat of local, late maturing pigs of the Mangalica breed, which had almost disappeared. Sremska sausage is today produced from the meat of modern pig breeds. Three variants were made from the meat and fatty tissue of 12-month-old white pigs (Swedish Landrace), Moravka pigs and Mangalica pigs. At the end of the production process, all...
February 2012
DNA methylation of PTEN gene promoter region is not correlated with urocystic tumorigenesis
Tumor suppressor gene PTEN plays an important role in cell cycle. Disorder of PTEN protein can cause cell growth and division in an uncontrolled way, which can lead to the formation of tumors. It has been proven that epigenetic mechanisms, such as promoter hypermethylation, may account for inactivation of PTEN in a subset of tumors. PTEN promoter hypermethylation has been found to be...
February 2012
Evaluation of anti-bacterial properties of ethanol extract of Ficus exasperata leaf
This study evaluated the antibacterial effect of ethanolic extract of Ficus exasperateleaf. Clinical isolates of Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphyllococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumoniae were incubated in agar plates after serial dilutions of the extract were added in wells made in the agar and incubated for 24 h at 37°C. Thereafter, zones of inhibition (in mm) around the...
February 2012
Stability of Spodoptera litura nucleopolyhedrovirus in sodium dodecyl sulphate
Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) is a foaming agent used to extract occlusion bodies (OBs) of baculoviruses from infected cells or tissues of an insect. However, these OBs may be damaged by SDS at certain concentrations. In this study, the impact of different concentrations of SDS on OBs of Spodoptera litura nucleopolyhedrovirus (SpltNPV) was determined. Even though the number of OBs harvested increased with the...
February 2012
Molt disruption and mortality of Locusta migratoria var. manilensis (Meyen) (Orthoptera: Acrididae) caused by insect growth regulators
The acute toxicity effects of topical applications of five insect growth regulators (IGRs) on the oriental migratory locust Locusta migratoria var. manilensis were assessed. Under laboratory conditions, at the highest tested dose rate of 300 ppm, the percent mortality and molt inhibition after two weeks for the five tested compounds were: flufenoxuron (97 and 83%), swallowwort alkaloids (48...
February 2012
Callus induction and adventitious shoot regeneration in Zizyphus jujuba Mill. ‘Huizao’
This study was conducted to develop a protocol for rapid callus induction and subsequent shoot regeneration in Zizyphus jujuba Mill. ‘Huizao’. The best callus induction (95%) was obtained from young expanding leaves between the third and fifth nodes in vitro jujube shoots in MS media supplemented with 0.5 mg/L benzylamino purine (6-BA), 2.0...
February 2012
Postharvest responses of cut Dendrobium orchids to exogenous ethylene
The time to senescence of flowers in Dendrobium hybrids is different and one of the major reasons for this variation in vase life can be related to differences in the level of ethylene sensitivity. This study was conducted to determine the sensitivity of six cutDendrobium hybrids to exogenous ethylene. The cut orchid inflorescences were treated with or without 10 µL/L...
February 2012
Cloning, structural analysis and expression of cardiac troponin C (TNNC1) gene in goat
Cardiac troponin (TNNC1) is the calcium-binding subunit of the myofibril thin filament that regulates excitation-contraction coupling in cardiac muscle. In the study, we cloned TNNC1 gene of goat for the first time (GenBank accession number: HQ640744) and analyzed its tissue expression. Results indicate that TNNC1 was a 161-amino acid polypeptide that had been highly conserved during evolution. Its nucleotide...
February 2012
In vitro propagation of Ethiopian ginger (Zingiber officinale Rosc.) cultivars: Evaluation of explant types and hormone combinations
Ginger (Zingiber officinale Rosc.) is the second most widely cultivated spice in Ethiopia, next to chilies. Recently, there has been huge demand for clean planting material of improved ginger cultivars, though it is difficult to meet the demand of planting materials using the conventional propagation techniques due to production inefficiency and disease transmission. Therefore, the present study was carried out...
February 2012
Inhibition of tobacco axillary bud differentiation by silencing CUP-SHAPED COTYLEDON 3
Desuckering is a time-consuming, laborious and expensive process in tobacco production. To resolve this problem, pCAMBIA1301-RNAi (an RNAi vector) was constructed based on the conservative region of CUP-SHAPED COTYLEDON 3 (CUC3) in Apocynum venetum (AvCUC3), a key gene in the differentiation of axillary bud. Nicotiana tabacum has been transformed using vector pCAMBIA1301-RNAi mediated by AGL0 through the leaf disc...
February 2012
The efficacy of seven ethnobotanicals in the treatment of skin infections in Ibadan, Nigeria
In southwestern Nigeria, ethnobotanical investigation confirmed that Afzelia africana, Alstonia boonei, Azadirachta indica, Ficus exasperata, Senna alata, Tetrapleura tetraptera and Xylopia aethiopica are commonly used in the treatment of skin infections. Therefore, this study examined the in vitro antimicrobial activity of crude methanol extracts of the ethnobotanicals...
February 2012
Isolation, identification and characterization of Leuconostoc mesenteroides as a new probiotic from intestine of snakehead fish (Channa striatus)
The intestinal microflora of snakehead (Channa striatus) fish was studied to isolate and identify lactic acid bacteria as new probiotic. A total of five lactic acid bacteria were isolated from intestine to evaluate with probiotic properties. Leuconostoc mesenteroides sp. mesenteroides with more ability to inhibit growth of Aeromonas hydrophila was selected and identified by conventional and molecular techniques. This...
Advertisement
Advertisement