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: 30 May 2011; 10(22)

May 2011

Ellagic acid: Biological properties and biotechnological development for production processes

Ellagic acid, 2,3,7,8-tetrahydroxy-chromeno[5,4,3-cde]chromene-5,10-dione, is a powerful bioactive compound with many potential pharmacological and industrial applications. In this review, the chemical aspects, biological properties and diverse potential applications of ellagic acid for different industries were described. This review also discussed the advance in ellagitannin biodegradation,...

Author(s): Leonardo Sepúlveda, Alberto Ascacio, Raúl Rodríguez-Herrera, AntonioAguilera-Carbó and Cristóbal N. Aguilar

May 2011

Fluorescent amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) analysis of genetic diversity and relationship of Chinese Rosa rugosa germplasm resources

Rosa rugosa is an excellent ornamental plant with important ecological, economicaland medicinal values in China. Polymorphism amplifications of the genomic DNA of 5 wild R. rugosa accessions and 25 cultivars that originated from China with fluorescent amplified fragment length polymorphism molecular markers were investigated in this study to evaluate their genetic diversity and...

Author(s): Liguo Feng , Lixia Sheng, Dawei Shao, Jun Tao  and Lanyong Zhao 

May 2011

Molecular and morphological characters: An appurtenance for antagonism in Trichoderma spp.

Biocontrol agent Trichoderma has attained importance for substitute of chemical pesticides and hence an attempt was intended to corroborate the positive relatedness of molecular and morphological characters with antagonistic ability. Twelve isolates belonging to Trichoderma harzianum and Trichoderma viride were assessed for their mycoparasitic effect on phytopathogens Pythium...

Author(s): Muthu Kumar A and Pratibha Sharma

May 2011

Analysis of three polymorphisms in Bidayuh ethnic of Sarawak population: A report from Malaysia

Insertion/deletion polymorphism of YAP (DYS287), M96 and M120 polymorphisms in Bidayuh ethnic populations of Sarawak, Malaysia were analyzed in this study. Genomic DNA was extracted from 180 buccal samples and amplified by Hot-Start PCR method. The amplified PCR products were separated by using 2% agarose gel electrophoresis. 26 out of 180 samples (14.44%) have shown insertion (YAP+) polymorphism, while the rest of...

Author(s): R. Vasudevan, C. P. N. Fathihah and I. Patimah

May 2011

A molecular phylogeny of selected species of Genus Prunus L. (Rosaceae) from Pakistan using the TRN-L & TRN-F spacer DNA

The genus Prunus L. is an important plant for fruit production and it includes plums, apricots, cherries, almonds and peaches that are sources of food for the local people. The family Rosaceae is not yet published in Flora of Pakistan and there is a lot of taxonomic work that is yet to be done for the proper classification and placement of different genera under different...

Author(s): Syed Aneel Gilani, Rizwana A. Qureshi, Amir M. Khan, Faizan Ullah, Zarqa Nawaz, Ijaz Ahmad and Dan Potter

May 2011

A highly osmotolerant rhizobial strain confers a better tolerance of nitrogen fixation and enhances protective activities to nodules of Phaseolus vulgaris under drought stress

The effect of water deficiency on nodules of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) inoculated with three rhizobial strains differing in their osmotolerance, was investigated in two different experiments on sterile sand. In the first experiment, the control plants were maintained at 90% field capacity (FC) and water-deficient plants were grown at 35% FC. The nitrogen fixation and growth parameters drastically...

Author(s): Haythem Mhadhbi, Saifallah Chihaoui, Rakia Mhamdi, Bacem Mnasri, Moez Jebara and Ridha Mhamdi

May 2011

An efficient protocol for in vitro propagation of Rosa gruss an teplitz and Rosa centifolia

Rose is a beautiful flower having commercial and ornamental value. In order to establish protocol shoot tips explants of Rosa gruss an teplitz and Rosa centifoliawere proliferated in vitro using MS medium supplemented with different levels of benzylaminopurine (0, 0.5,1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5 and 3.0 mg l-1 ). Maximum numbers of shoots (3.906), shoot length (3.106 cm), fresh weight (178.47 mg)...

Author(s): Mirza Muhammad Qadeer Baig, Ishfaq Ahmad Hafiz, Azhar Hussain, Touqeer Ahmad and Nadeem Akhtar Abbasi

May 2011

Antimicrobial activity analysis of extracts of Acacia modesta, Artimisia absinthium, Nigella sativa and Saussurea lappa against Gram positive and Gram negative microorganisms

Antimicrobial activity of extracts of certain herbs including Acacia modesta (leaf and stem), Artimisia absinthium (leaf and stem), Nigella sativa (seeds) and Saussurea lappa (root) was evaluated against three Gram positive and two Gram negative microorganisms. The Gram positive organisms included Bacillus subtalis (ATCC 6633), Entereococcus faecalis (ATCC...

Author(s): Anwar Khalid, Uzair-ur-Rehman, Ayesha Sethi, Sonia Khilji, Urooj Fatima, Muhammad Imran Khan, Muhammad Khurram Waqas, Qazi Najam-us-Saqib, Muhammad Hassham Hassan Bin Asad, Kalsoom Farzana, Seema Mahmood, Amir Waseem, Tariq Ismail and Ghulam Murtaza

May 2011

The efficiency of mitochondrial DNA markers in constructing genetic relationship among Oryx species

To date, only parts of mitochondrial DNA from cytochrome b, 12S rRNA, 16S rRNA and non-coding D-loop had been sequenced for different species ofOryx. Discrepancy in the genetic relationship among Oryx species was previously revealed when combinations of these sequences were analyzed. In the present study, various combinations of these data sets and different sampling sizes of the closely related...

Author(s): Sayed Amin Mohamed Amer, and Mohammed Shobrak

May 2011

Effects of cold stratification and H2SO4 on seed germination of sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.)

This study was carried out to determine the effects of some pre-treatments including soaking in concentrated (98%) H2SO4 for 1, 2 and 3 min and cold stratification for 30, 45, 60 and 90 days on seed germination and to investigate how to overcome dormancy of Hippophae rhamnoides L. seeds. The seeds were sown at 22 ± 1°C under darkness in laboratory conditions. The...

Author(s): Zafer Olmez

May 2011

Seed yield and oil content of some sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) hybrids irrigated at different growth stages

This research was carried out to determine the effects of irrigation applied at different growth stages on yield, yield components and oil content of sunflower during 2002 and 2003. Sunflower cultivars Sanbro, Tarsan-1018 and Ozdemirbey were used as materials in the experiment which was designed in a split plot of randomized complete blocks with three replications. Seven irrigation schedules; I0 = non-irrigated...

Author(s): Mehmet Demir Kaya and Ozer Kolsarici

May 2011

Defense responses in tomato fruit induced by oligandrin against Botrytis cinerea

Oligandrin is known to induce resistance against a number of plant diseases. However, its effects on postharvest diseases are still unclear. The effects of oligandrin on the control of postharvest diseases in tomato fruit and its underlying mechanisms were investigated in this study. The treatment of tomato fruit with oligandrin (10 μg/ml) significantly reduced the incidence and severity of gray mould (caused...

Author(s): Ai-ying Wang, Bing-gan Lou, Tong Xu and Chai Lin

May 2011

Somatic embryogenesis and plantlet regeneration from protoplast culture of Muscari neglectum Guss

A protocol has been developed for plant regeneration from protoplast culture of Muscari neglectum using regenerable embryogenic calli obtained from bulb culture on Murashige and Skoog medium (MS) plant growth regulators (PGR)-free or containing lower 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) and 6-benzylaminopurine (BA) concentrations and 30 g/l sucrose. Protoplasts were isolated directly from embryogenic calli, embedded in...

Author(s): Roya Karamian and Massoud Ranjbar

May 2011

Cultivation and fruit body production of Lentinus squarrosulus Mont. (Singer) on bark and leaves of fruit trees supplemented with agricultural waste

The mycelia growth of Lentinus squarrosulus culture on the leaves and bark of common fruit trees were investigated. The effect of supplementing these fruit trees with 25% each of rice bran, horse dung, poultry droppings, cow dung, fresh cassava flour and oil palm waste fiber on the mycelia growth of this fungus was also observed. All the substrates supported the growth of the fungus, while supplemented...

Author(s): Adesina, Felicia C., Fasidi, I. O. and Adenipekun, Oyin C.

May 2011

Synergistic effect of Glomus fasciculatum and Trichoderma pseudokoningii on Heliathus annuus to decontaminate tannery sludge from toxic metals

The effect of two soil amendments of tannery sludge (10% and 20%) on growth and metal uptake of Helianthus annuus L. was studied under three treatments of rhizosphere and mycorrhizal fungi. Trichoderma pseudokoningii Rifai was used as rhizosphere fungal inoculum (F) and Glomus fasciculatum (Thax.) Gerd. & Trappe as the mycorrhizal inoculum (M). The third treatment comprised of...

Author(s): Aisha Nazir and Firdaus-e-Bareen

May 2011

Performance and carcass characteristics of Yankasa ram fed with variable levels of biscuit waste and Leucaena leucocephala based diets

Author(s): Eniolorunda, O. O., Apata, E. S., Fajemisin, A. N. , Adeyemi, B.O and Okubanjo, A.O.

May 2011

Isolation, identification and screening of potential cellulase-free xylanase producing fungi

In order to isolate cellulase-free xylanase-producing fungi, screening and isolation of fungi was done using decaying wood, agricultural wastes and other lignocellulosic wastes as microbial source. Thirty (30) fungal species were selected for further analysis based upon clearing zones formation on xylan enriched agar plates. Submerged fermentation was done with 30 fungal isolates to identify strain that...

Author(s): Boddireddy Sridevi and M. A. Singara Charya

May 2011

Alkaline protease production by alkaliphilic marine bacteria isolated from Marsa-Matrouh (Egypt) with special emphasis on Bacillus cereus purified protease

Among the eighteen (18) alkaliphilic marine bacterial isolates studied in ten sampling sites in Marsa-Matrouh beaches, the highest alkaliphilic and proteolytic activities were detected in Bacillus cereus. Alkaline protease from B. cereus was purified by ammonium sulfate precipitation and Sephadex G-200. The molecular mass determined using SDS-PAGE, was nearly 31.0 39 kDa. Some...

Author(s): Gehan M. Abou-Elela, Hassan A. H. Ibrahim, Sahar W. Hassan, Hanan Abd-Elnaby and Nabil M. K. El-Toukhy

May 2011

In vitro evaluation of commercial probiotic products used for marine shrimp cultivation in Thailand

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of 12 commercial probiotic products in Thailand, used in marine shrimp cultivation, based on two criteria namely, accuracy of the information on product labels as regards the number and types of microorganisms and acceptability of the number of probiotic microorganisms at 106 colony forming unit (CFU)/g in the products. Of the 12 products sampled, only...

Author(s): Subuntith Nimrat and Verapong Vuthiphandchai

May 2011

Effect of different concentrations of red palm olein on antioxidant enzymes activity of rat liver

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of different concentrations of red palm olein (RPO) on antioxidant enzymes activity of rat liver. Seventy eight (78)rats were randomly divided into thirteen (13) groups of 6 rats per group and treated with different concentrations of RPO (5, 10 and 15%) for 2, 4 and 8 weeks. Rats in the control group were given normal rat pellet only,...

Author(s): Eqbal Dauqan, Halimah Abdullah Sani, Aminah Abdullah and Zalifah Mohd Kasim

May 2011

Biological efficacy of the ecotoxically favourable insecticides and their mixture in the control of gypsy moth

Forest certification is one of the ways of adapting forestry to modern ideas of “sustainable management“, by meeting demands of Forest Stewardship Council(FSC) standard. By joining this process, Serbia obligated to follow FSC pesticides policy. Almost all insecticides registered in Serbia and applied for control of the most dangerous outbreaking defoliating species in forests, are on the list...

Author(s): Mara Tabaković-Tošić, Miloš Koprivica, Dragutin Tošić and Vesna Golubović-Ćurguz

May 2011

Preliminary investigation of cryopreservation by encapsulation-dehydration technique on Brassidium Shooting Star orchid hybrid

Protocorm-like bodies (PLBs) of Brassidium Shooting Star, a new commercial ornamental orchid hybrid, were cryopreserved by an encapsulation-dehydration technique. The effects of PLB size, various sucrose concentrations in preculture media and sodium alginate concentration for encapsulation were the main parameters assessed. Four-week old PLBs (1 to 2 and 3 to 4 mm) were precultured in half strength semi-solid...

Author(s): Lim Li Yin, Ranjetta Poobathy, Jessica James, Advina Lizah Julkifle and Sreeramanan Subramaniam

May 2011

Influence of environmental factors on birth weight variability of indigenous Serbian breeds of sheep

The present investigation was carried out to study the influence of environmental factors on the birth weight variability of two breeds of sheep. Animals used in this research were taken from the Pirot and Svrljig indigenous sheep breeds. The data were collected from 1999 to 2009 and were analyzed to determine the effect of the year and season, age of the lamb, weight of the lamb, birth type and sex on the birth...

Author(s): Milan P. Petrovic, Dragana Ruzic Muslic, Violeta Caro Petrovic and Nevena Maksimovic