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: 24 January 2012; 11(7)

January 2012

Expression, purification and characterization of a peroxidase from Tamarix hispida

  Peroxidase is one of the key enzymes of the cellular antioxidant defense system, which is mostly involved in the reduction of hydrogen peroxide. Here, a peroxidase gene, named ThPOD1 was isolated from a cDNA library, which was generated from root tissue of Tamarix hispida that was exposed to 0.4 M NaCl. The cDNA was subcloned in bacterial expression vector pET28a and expressed as N-terminal...

Author(s):   Xiao-Hong Guo, Yan-Dong Lv, Jing Jiang, Hui-Yu Li and Gui-Feng Liu 

January 2012

Analysis of some conventional ab initio gene finders using human and mouse DNA sequences

  An evaluation of the prediction accuracy of five ab initio gene prediction programs (that is, FGENESH, Genscan, HMMgene, GeneMark.hmm and FGENES) was conducted by the use of 110 human and mouse orthologous sequences. As expected, all programs presented different predictions with various ranges of accuracy. According to our results, FGENESH and Genscan generally had the maximum power to produce more...

Author(s):   Jaber Nasiri#, Aboubakr Moradi#, Somayeh Ahangarian Abhari and Ali Nasiri

January 2012

In vitro cultivation of Anacardium othonianum Rizz.: Effects of growth regulator, explant orientation and lighting

  Anacardium othonianum Rizz. is a Brazilian savannah native species, commonly known as caju-de-árvore-do-cerrado. Its usual reproduction is by seeds or asexually; however, its use in forest programs or for commercial orchards demands continuous and large scale seedling production. This study evaluated the effect of naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) and 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP), the position...

Author(s):   Kerlley Cristina de Assis, Flávia Dionísio Pereira, Paula Sperotto Alberto, Fabiano Guimarães Silva, José Waldemar Silva and Carlos César Evangelista de Menezes  

January 2012

Weed biomass and economic yield of wheat (Triticum aestivum) as influenced by chemical weed control under rainfed conditions

  A study to investigate the efficacy of different herbicides on rainfed wheat was carried out at the experimental farm, of the University of Arid Agriculture, Rawalpindi during 2004 to 2007. Wheat variety GA-2002 was planted as a test crop. The experiment was carried out in randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. Among different treatments, the lowest weed biomass was achieved in hand...

Author(s):   Muhammad Azim Malik, Faisal Zahoor, Muhammad Ramzan Anser, Muhammad Rasheed, Umarah Aslam, Khalid Mehmood, S. H. Raza  

January 2012

Physiological and biochemical relationship under drought stress in wheat (Triticum aestivum)

  Some statistical procedures like correlation, stepwise regression, factor analysis and cluster analysis were used to study the relationship between wheat grain yield and some physiological parameters under drought conditions. Results reveal that the ratio fv/fm of chlorophyll fluorescence is the most effective parameter to select for tolerant genotype with more grain yield in water limited condition. Based on...

Author(s):   R. Naroui Rad, , M. Abdul Kadir , Hawa Z.E. Jaafar  and D.C.Gement

January 2012

The mechanism on rhizosphere phosphorus activation of two wheat genotypes with different phosphorus efficiency

  A short-term greenhouse experiment was carried out with two phosphorus (P) levels of purple soil to investigate P availability and associated processes in the rhizosphere of two different P-efficiency wheat genotypes using a thin slicing technique. Two genotypes with different P efficiencies were grown in a root-compartment experiment under low P (P 10: 10 P mg/kg) and high P (P 100: 100 P mg/kg) treatments....

Author(s):   Zhou Xin-Bin,, Huang Jian-Guo, Zhou Yong-xiang and Shi Wei-Ming  

January 2012

Cytokinin treatment and flower quality in Phalaenopsis orchids: Comparing N-6-benzyladenine, kinetin and 2-isopentenyl adenine

  ower number in Phalaenopsis orchids. To increase options for growers, we tested two additional cytokinins, kinetin (Kin) and 2-iso-pentenyl adenine (2-iP), comparing them with BA. Two key commercial cultivars were used (Phalaenopsis Sogo Yukidian ‘V3’ and Phalaenopsis Tai Lin Redangel ‘V31’). We counted spike number and length, flower number and diameter, time...

Author(s):   Po-Hung Wu and Doris C. N. Chang  

January 2012

Improved irrigation scheduling for pear-jujube trees based on trunk diameter sensing data

  A suitable indicator for scheduling pear-jujube (Ziziphus jujuba Mill.) irrigation in Chinawas developed based on trunk diameter fluctuations (TDF). Parameters derived from TDF responses to variations in soil matrix potential (Ψsoil) were compared under deficit and well irrigation. Maximum daily shrinkage (MDS) increased with higher Ψsoil, whereas daily maximum trunk...

Author(s):   Li-xin Han, You-ke Wang, Xiao-bin Li, and Ping Zhang,  

January 2012

Pathogenicity and reproduction of Meloidogyne incognita (Kofoid and White) chitwood on African yam bean, Sphenostylis stenocarpa (Hochst Ex. A. Rich) Harms accessions

  Studies were carried out to determine the host status of 12 African yam bean (Sphenostylis stenocarpa) accessions to Meloidogyne incognita infection. The experiments were laid out in a completely randomized design (CRD) with six replications. Inoculated plants received 4,000 eggs of M. incognita, while those without eggs served as controls. Data were collected on growth, yield and yield...

Author(s):   C. C. Onyeke and C. O. Akueshi

January 2012

Profound improvements of isolated microspores culture techniques in winter Brassica napus L.

  We studied the effects of sampling stages, physical conditions (like temperature), culture conditions, embryo long-distance transportation methodology and plantlet regeneration on isolated microspores from donor plants in field. Results indicated that if microspores were sampled in bud stage instead of blooming stage to enhance the duration of microspore culture by about 9 days, embryo yield per bud...

Author(s):   Yancheng Wen, Tingdong Fu, Jing Wen, Jinxin Tu, Chaozhi Ma, Jinxiong Shen, Shufen Zhang and Yi Bin  

January 2012

Generality of leaf traits relationships of dominant species along the secondary succession in the Loess Plateau of China

  The study investigated the specific leaf area (SLA), leaf photosynthetic rates (Pn), leaf nitrogen contents (on mass and area bases, Nm and Na, respectively) and nitrogen use efficiencies (PNUE) of 18 dominant species of four secondary succession groups in the Loess Plateau. The leaf SLA, Nm, Pn and PNUE significantly differed among the different secondary succession groups (P<0.05), but the leaf...

Author(s):   Hui An, and Zhouping Shangguan  

January 2012

Assessing genetic variability in male sterile and low fertile citrus cultivars utilizing simple sequence repeat markers (SSRs)

  Understanding phylogenetic relationships and genetic diversity in citrus are important in clarifying genetic relationships, characterizing germplasm and the registration of new cultivars. In this study, the genetic diversity of 28 accessions of citrus including male sterile, sterile, low fertile and fertile cultivars were investigated using eight pairs of simple sequence repeat markers (SSR) markers,...

Author(s):   Behrouz Golein, Masoumeh Nazeryan and Babak Babakhani  

January 2012

Phosphorus removal from aquaculture wastewater and latex by Ceratophyllum demersum

  Water pollution has always been a major problem in the environment. Polluted water is harmful for human health, thus, there is the need to clean water from polluting factors. One of the economical and rapid methods for removing elements is displacement of metals by biosorption. Three treatments in four replications for purifying wastewater by Ceratophyllum demersum were designed. The treatments...

Author(s):   M. Foroughi and S. Toghiani  

January 2012

Evaluation of different densities of auxin and endophytic fungi (Piriformospora indica and Sebacina vermifera) on Mentha piperita and Thymus vulgaris growth

  Mentha piperita and Thymus vulgaris are two important species of the familyLamiaceae. Two distinct experiments were conducted and examined; the first evaluate the effect of different auxin levels on M. piperita and T. vulgaris growth, while the second examined the effect of two fungi Piriformospora indica and Sebacina vermifera on plant height, root...

Author(s):   Hossein Kari Dolatabadi, Ebrahim Mohammadi Goltapeh, Ahmad Moieni andAjit. Varma  

January 2012

Effect of organic and inorganic fertilizers on nutrient concentrations in plantain (Musa spp.) fruit pulp

  The number of fruits per bunch and nutritional quality of the fruits are important horticultural and breeding selection indices in Musa improvement programs. Three plantain hybrids (‘30456-3’, ‘PITA 14’ and ‘29525’) and a landrace genotype, ‘Agbagba’, were evaluated for response to organic and inorganic fertilizers in a 4 x 3 factorial in a randomized...

Author(s):   Ndukwe, O. O., Muoneke, C. O., Baiyeri, K. P. and Tenkouano, A.  

January 2012

Determination of horizontal and vertical distribution of tree species in Turkey via Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) satellite data and geographic information system: the case of Crimean pine (Pinus nigra)

  Forest areas in Turkey are generally spread on rugged terrain and different elevations. Site factors such as location, elevation from sea level, aspect and slope are effective on an ecosystem’s climate, soil characteristics, and hence vegetation. Description of such characteristics will allow for the description of forest ecosystems living on these sites and comparison of such ecosystems to each other....

Author(s):   Hakan Yener

January 2012

Effect of corn cobs concentration on xylanase biosynthesis by Aspergillus niger

  Corn cobs, an indigenous carbon source, were tested as substrate by Aspergillus niger for optimum synthesis of xylanase using the submerged fermentation technique. The trials for xylanase production were conducted at three concentration levels (2.5, 3.0 and 3.5%) of corn cobs, four different fermentation temperatures (25.0, 27.5, 30.0 and 32.5°C) and four various initial pH levels (5.0, 5.5, 6.0...

Author(s):   Zulfiqar Ahmad,Masood Sadiq Butt, Faqir Muhammad Anjum, Muhammad Siddique Awan, Habib Ahmed  Rathore, Muhammad Tahir Nadeem, Anwar Ahmad and Abdul Khaliq  

January 2012

Quality and fatty acid profile of the oil extracted from fish waste (head, intestine and liver) (Euthynnus affinis)

  Marine lipid contains long-chain n-3 (omega-3) polyunsaturated (PUFA), particularly eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) (C20:5 n-3) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) (C22:6 n-3). Consumptions of these PUFAs have been perceived to be important in human nutrition, health and disease prevention. Tuna, the important industrial fish, discharged substantial amount of wastes. These wastes include the head, liver and intestine....

Author(s):   Khoddami, A., Ariffin, A. A., Bakar, J. and Ghazali, H. M.  

January 2012

Anti-Inflammatory molecular mechanisms of Bo-Ye-Niu-Pi-Xiao (Cynanchum taiwanianum Yamazaki)

  Bo-Ye-Niu-Pi-Xiao, Cynanchum taiwanianum Yamazaki (family: Asclepiadaceae) is a well-known and popular herb; its rhizome has been used as a folk medicine in Taiwan. Many therapeutic effects of C. taiwanianum Yamaz. had been studied; however, there is still no anti-inflammatory effect and mechanism of C. taiwanianumYamaz. reported. Besides, it is well-known that the phosphorylation of...

Author(s):   Houi Lee, Tzuching Wang, Tachen Lin, Jiahsin Guo, Chiching Yang and Yingpei Shen,  

January 2012

Biochemical composition of different body parts of Gafrarium tumidum (Roding, 1798) from Mandapam, South East Coast of India

  Due to its abundance in various areas along the Mandapam coast (latitude 9° 17”N;longitude 79° 11”E), Southeast coast of India, the commonly occurring intertidal bivalve Gafrarium tumidum was selected for this study to investigate its nutritive value. Tissues of different body parts such as mantle, viscera and foot were analyzed. Biochemical constituents like...

Author(s):   A. Babu, V. Venkatesan and S. Rajagopal  

January 2012

Cloning and expression of a Trichoderma longibrachiatum β-mannanase gene in Pichia pastoris

  Trichoderma species are among the primary producers of β-mannanase, an enzyme that catalyses the hydrolysis of β-1, 4-glycosidic linkages in mannans and heteromannans. In this study, a Trichoderma species producing high mannanase activity was identified as Trichoderma longibrachiatum based on sequence analysis of its rDNA internal transcribed spacer region. The...

Author(s):   J. L. Lim, , F. D. A. Bakar, H. M. Yusof  and A. M. A. Murad  

January 2012

Isolation of an ATP synthase cDNA from Sinonovacula constricta and its mRNA expression by thermal stress

  ATP synthase is a key enzyme in the cellular energy metabolism. In the present study, cDNA of ATP synthase subunit from Sinonovacula constricta (ScATPase) was isolated and characterized by cDNA library and RACE appraoaches. The full-length cDNA of ScATPase was of 737 bp, consisting of a 5'-untranslated region (UTR) of 48 bp, a 3'-UTR of 248 bp and a complete open-reading frame of...

Author(s):   Chenghua Li, Hui Li, Xiurong Su, Taiwu Li, Zhendong Zhang and Ye Li  

January 2012

Production of extracellular protease in submerged fermentation by Bacillus licheniformis ATCC 12759

  The various nutrients belonging to carbon, nitrogen and amino acid sources, were investigated in terms of their effect on the production of extracellular protease byBacillus licheniformis ATCC 12759. Comparison with the control in media containing all the simple sugars resulted in a decrease in proteolytic activity, while there was significant increase in enzyme yield in the case of the...

Author(s):   Nurullah Akcan

January 2012

Production enhancement of Cyclosporin ‘A’ by Aspergillus terreus through mutation

  Cyclosporin ‘A’ is an important immunosuppresive drug used in organ and bone marrow transplantations. Nine isolates of Aspergillus terreus was used for the production of Cyclosporin ‘A’ by submerged fermentation in this study. The highest drug yielding isolate FCBP-58 was subjected to both physical and chemical mutation to increase the biosynthetic capabilities of Cyclosporin...

Author(s):   Wajiha Irum and Tehmina Anjum  

January 2012

Analysis and visualization of gene expression data using biclustering: A comparative study

  In the last few years the gene expression microarray technology has become a central tool in the field of functional genomics in which the expression levels of thousands of genes in a biological sample are determined in a single experiment. Several clustering and biclustering methods have been introduced to analyze the gene expression data by identifying the similar patterns and grouping genes into subsets...

Author(s):   Fadhl M. Al-Akwaa

January 2012

Identification of quantitative trait locus (QTLs) for g-aminobutyric acid content in grain of barley

  r-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) has not only some physiological functions in plants and animals, but also has been used extensively in pharmaceuticals and functional foods for human health. To realize its genetic basis, in this study, a 192 plants F2 population derived from the cross between Ziguang manluoerling (ZGMLEL) and Schooner was used for quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping for GABA content in...

Author(s):   Yawen Zeng, Chunyan Zhao, Xiaoying Pu, Tao Yang, Juan Du and Shuming Yang  

January 2012

Evaluation of the effect of temperature and time of incubation on complete blood count (CBC) tests

  The complete blood count (CBC) is one of the most common tests requested by physicians. The results of this test are affected by different factors such as temperature and time of incubation. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate changes in CBC results at room temperature (RT). In a cross-sectional study, 32 K2EDTA (dipotassium ethylenediamine-tetraacetate)-anticoagulated blood specimens were...

Author(s):   Narges Obeidi, Eisa Safavi and Habib Emami  

January 2012

Effect of body size on elemental concentration in wild Wallago attu (Bloch and Schneider) from southern Punjab, Pakistan

  In this study, relationships of body size with metals; zinc (Zn), iron (Fe), copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), cobalt (Co), cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) [AI1]in freshwater wild Wallago attu (whole fish) was studied. Mean concentrations (μg g-1 dry weight) of the metals in carcasses of wild W. attu were found to be 23.66 (Cu), 96.33 (Zn), 94.02 (Fe), 0.55 (Ni), 1.05 (Co), 0.31 (Cd)...

Author(s):   Muhammad Yousaf, Abdus Salam, Muhammad Naeem, Muhammad Younas Khokhar  

January 2012

Biodegradation of orange G by a novel isolated bacterial strain Bacillus megaterium ITBHU01 using response surface methodology

  This research article deals with biodegradation of azo dyes by a newly isolated bacterial strain from soil. Azo dyes are recalcitrant to the conventional modes of treatment due to their complex structure. This article reports decolorization of azo dye by, Gram positive, endospore forming and azo reducing, Bacillus megateriumITBHU01. Response surface methodology was used to optimize the important physical...

Author(s):   A. Tripathi and S. K. Srivastava  

January 2012

Inhibition of HIV-1 lentiviral particles infectivity by Gynostemma pentaphyllum extracts in a viral vector-based assay

  Three different extracts of Gynostemma pentaphyllum (Cucurbitaceae), a medicinal plant used for a variety of ailments in complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) including those caused by viral infections with claims of efficacy against HIV-1 infections were screened. These claims motivated the study in which the inhibition of viral vector infectivity of HeLa cells was assessed flow...

Author(s):   Okoye, E. L, Nworu, C. S., Ezeifeka, G. O. and Esimone, C. O.

January 2012

Chemical composition and anti-bacterial activity of essential oil from Cedrela sinensis (A. Juss.) Roem. seed

  This work assesses the chemical compositions and in vitro anti-bacterial activities of seed essential oil from Cedrela sinesis (A. Juss.) Roem. seed. which has abundant mineral elements such as K, Ca, Fe. The fatty acid profiles of seed essential oil are characterized by considerable unsaturated fatty acids (90.39%) including linoleic acid (56.81%), linolenic acid (17.63%) and oleic acid...

Author(s):   Qinxiong Lin#, Mao Li#, Riming Zhou# and Yun Liu

January 2012

Seroprevalence of chlamydial infection in dairy goats in Shaanxi Province, Northwestern China

  The prevalence of chlamydial infection in dairy goats in Shaanxi province, Northwestern China was determined by indirect hemagglutination antibody (IHA) on serum samples from 729 dairy goats (263 Saanen dairy goats and 466 Guanzhong dairy goats). Antibodies to Chlamydophila sp. were detected in 21 (2.88%) serum samples, with antibody titers ranging from 1:16 to 1:64. Seropositive goats were found...

Author(s):   Guang-Hui Zhao,, Chuan-Chuan Shang, Yan-Qing Zhao, Man Gao, Guo-Ying Fan, Ting-Ting Tian, Yun-Liang Yao, De-Kun Chen and Xing-Quan Zhu,  

January 2012

Effects of various levels of rosemary and oregano volatile oil mixture on oxidative stress parameters in quails

  The aim of this study was to determine the possible effects of various levels of rosemary and oregano volatile oil mixture dietary supplementation on oxidative status parameters in the blood and various organs of quails. A total of 880 one-day-old Pharaoh quails (Coturnix coturnix Pharaoh) including both males and females, were divided into four groups containing 220 quails and treated as follows: a...

Author(s):   Bulbul, A., Bulbul, T., Biricik, H., Yesilbag, D. and Gezen, S. S.  

January 2012

Histomorphometric evaluation of small intestinal mucosa of red jungle fowl and commercial broiler from one day to four months of age

  Histomorphometry of the small intestinal mucosa of the red jungle fowl (RJF) and commercial broiler breed (CBC) from day one to four months post-hatch were investigated. For the sake of comparison between these two breeds, the following parameters were included: the number of villi, villus surface area and the intestinal surface area for each small intestinal segment. New procedure for enumerating the...

Author(s):   K. Khalid Kadhim, A. B. Z. Zuki, M. M. Noordin, S. M. A. Babjee and M. Zamri-Saad

January 2012

In vitro anti-trypanosomal activity of Morinda lucida leaves

  Bioassay-guided fractionation of the crude methanol extract of Morinda lucida Benth. (Rubiaceae) was carried out by column chromatography and anti-trypanosomal activity was tested using in vitro cultures of Trypanosoma brucei brucei S427. Three active fractions (ML 13-18, ML 19-28 and ML 33-45) were obtained with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of 6.25, 25 and 12.5...

Author(s):   Nwakaego Ernestina Nweze

January 2012

Evolutio1n of biochemical parameters in post partum cows affected with brucella, in the wilaya of Relizane

  This study was conducted to determine the biochemical parameters of brucella cows during the four months post partum at some farms in Sidi Mhamed Benali (Algeria). We followed and analyzed the blood biochemical profile of 77 dairy cows in year 2009 to 2010. One farm had 26 brucella cows. During the four months, we observed that the cows had brucella serum cholesterol, serum calcium, phosphorus and a normal...

Author(s):   Bouhroum, N., Bensahli, B. and Niar, A.  

January 2012

Genotyping of flavin-containing mono-oxygenase 3 (FMO3) gene by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) and mismatch amplification mutation assay (MAMA-PCR) in chickens

  Fishy smelling off-flavour of chicken meat is caused by a mutation (FMO3 c.985A>T) in exon 7 of flavin-containing mono-oxygenase 3 (FMO3) gene. Comparative analysis of the causative mutation in FMO3 gene in different chickens using two different methods was reported. Polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method was based on general primers, whereas another...

Author(s):   Mohammod Abdul Hamid, Xi Wang, and Xingbo Zhao  

January 2012

Development of fermented milk “Leben” made from spontaneous fermented cow’s milk

  Formation and characterisation of Industrial Leben produced with Traditional Starters (ILTS) was investigated and compared with industrial Leben produced using commercial starters (ILCS). PH and titratable acidity determinations showed that both traditional and commercial starter cultures performed well in Leben fermentation. Physicochemical analysis showed a similarity between ILTS and ILCS with a slightly...

Author(s):   O. Samet-Bali, M. A. Ayadi and  H. Attia