July 2009
Antibody biotechnology
Antibodies are the support of adaptive humoral immunity and they are characterized by their high diversity, clonality and specificity. The extremely diverse fields of application of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) have continuously stimulated the development of antibody engineering especially after the discovery hybridoma byKöhler and Milstein (1975). This review summarize the main antibody...
July 2009
Biodegradation of catechols by micro-organisms - A short review
Many aromatic hydrocarbons and catechols are known to be toxic and carcinogenic for humans, and their contamination of soils and aquifers is of great environmental concern. Soil microorganisms, like Pseudomonas spp. and Mycobacterium, were found to be capable of transforming and degrading toxic catechols to easily absorbable TCA metabolites. These abilities may be useful in removal of toxic...
July 2009
Plant response to alternative matrices for in vitro root induction
The quest for alternative matrices for plant tissue culture is a continuing process. This inquiry has two aspects. One being commercial for low cost tissue culture, and the other obviously is the better root induction vis-à-vis higher percentage of survival, particularly with respect to micropropagation. The advantage of alternative matrices raises the concomitant question of plant intelligence in...
July 2009
Study of BMP-15 gene polymorphism in Iranian goats
Different mutations in the bone morphogenetic protein-15 (BMP-15) and the Growth Differentiation Factor-9 (GDF-9) genes have increased ovulation rate and infertility in a dosage-sensitive manner in sheep. To test the polymorphisms of genes in goat, which have been demonstrated as major genes of fecundity in sheep, the genetic polymorphism of FecXB and FecXG loci in BMP-15 gene...
July 2009
Genetic fidelity in micropropagated plantlets of Ochreinauclea missionis an endemic, threatened and medicinal tree using ISSR markers
Inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers were employed to determine the genetic fidelity of Ochreinauclea missionis plantlets multiplied in vitro by using nodal segments. Thirty two ISSR primers were screened, of which twenty nine primers generated total of 183 clear, distinct and reproducible bands. Among 183 bands, 178 bands were monomorphic (97.2%) and 5 bands were...
July 2009
Complete nucleotide sequencing, SNP identification and characterization of SRY gene in Indian Sangamneri goat
The SRY gene is responsible for testis determination in mammals. It codes for a protein with a DNA binding domain similar to those found in high-mobility group protein (HMG box). Mutation in this gene leads to Gonadal Dysgenesis an abnormal sexual phenotype described in human, cattle, horse, and river buffalo. Here we report PCR-SSCP analysis and sequencing of coding region of SRY gene in Sangamneri goat...
July 2009
Genetic diversity of Santalum album using random amplified polymorphic DNAs
Santalum album is a parasitic, evergreen tree growing primarily in south Central India, in the dry forest of the Decan plateau. Sandalwood is found distributed all over the country with over 90% of the area in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. It is of great economic importance because of its fragrant heartwood and oil. In the present study Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) technique was...
July 2009
Genetic variation within and among fragmented populations of endangered medicinal plant, Withania coagulans (Solanaceae) from Pakistan and its implications for conservation
Withania coagulans is an under-utilized, endangered medicinal plant that can be found scarcely as fragmented populations in South Asia. Theoretically, the fragmented population should show low diversity within population and higher diversity among population with low rate of gene flow. To test this hypothesis, we conducted diversity analysis of 7 populations of W. coagulans from the districts...
July 2009
Expression, purification and kinase activity analysis of maize ZmSPK1, a member of plant SnRK2 subfamily
Kinase activity is essential for a protein kinase to perform its biological function. In previous study we have cloned a novel plant SnRK2 subfamily gene from maize and named it as ZmSPK1. In this study the cDNA of ZmSPK1 with dHA-His6 tag was amplified by PCR and was subcloned into the yeast expression vector p426GAL1. The constructed plasmid named as p426GAL1-SPK1-dHA-His6 was transformed...
July 2009
Rice genetic marker database: An identification of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and quantitative trait loci (QTL) markers
The National Academy of Agricultural Science (NAAS) has developed a web-based genetic marker system to provide information about SNP and QTL markers in rice. The SNP marker database provides 7,227 SNP markers including location information on chromosomes by using genetic map. It allows users to access a detailed characterization table of 12,829 potential SNPs in 3,356 genes. The QTL marker database...
July 2009
Experimental classification of the antioxidant capacity of the leaf, stem and root barks of Magnifera indica and Azadirachta indica
The ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and total phenolic concentration of the leaf, stem and root barks of Magnifera indica and Azadirachta indica growing in Ogbomoso, Nigeria were evaluated in vitro. Only the leaf of A. indica belonged to good FRAP. Both the stem and root bark of A. indica and all the parts of M. indicainvestigated belonged to high...
July 2009
Effects of cold stratification, sulphuric acid, submersion in hot and tap water pretreatments in the greenhouse and open field conditions on germination of bladder-Senna (Colutea armena Boiss. and Huet.) seeds
This study was carried out to determine which pre-treatments should be preferred to overcome dormancy problems of Colutea armena seeds which were collected from three different provenances. Pre-treatments applied to the seeds were submersion in concentrated (98%) sulphuric acid for 30 min, floating in hot water (100°C) followed by continual cooling for 24 h in the same water, soaking in tap...
July 2009
Macrofungal diversity of Nemrut Mount National Park and its environs (Adiyaman–Turkey)
This study is based on the macrofungi collected from Nemrut Mount National Park and its environs. As a result of field and laboratory studies, 101 taxa belonging to 30 families and 66 genera in Ascomycetes and Basidiomycetes classes were identified. Key words: Biodiversity, macrofungi, mushrooms, Adiyaman, Turkey.
July 2009
Landform affects on profile distribution of soil properties in black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) land in loessial gully region of the Chinese Loess Plateau and its implications for vegetation restoration
Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) has been widely planted in the Chinese Loess Plateau and other parts of the world for soil and water conservation as a greening important forest species. The response of soil properties to black locust varies with landforms. This study was conducted to understand the effects of landforms on profile distribution of soil properties in black locust land in the loessial...
July 2009
Current research and development of controlling membrane fouling of MBR
Fouling is a major problem influencing the operational performance, stability and cost of a membrane bioreactor (MBR). The composition of wastewater and biomass grown in the MBR are directly related to fouling. Many factors including operational parameters can affect the fouling process. The extent of fouling can be controlled by employing proper operational strategy, improving membrane materials...
July 2009
Substrate affects growth and yield of shiitake mushroom
Lentinus edodes (Berk.), the shiitake mushroom, is worldwide one of the most widely cultivated mushrooms. Sawdust is the most popular basal ingredient used in synthetic substrate formulations for producing shiitake spawn. However, the best sawdust for this uses needs to be determined. Shiitake mushroom was cultivated on sawdust from the woody plants Babla (Acacia nilotica L.), Champa (Michelia...
July 2009
Antifungal and antibacterial compounds from Streptomyces strains
Sixteen antibiotic-producing Streptomyces sp. isolated from the North Cyprus soils were evaluated for their ability to inhibit in vitro against six filamentous fungi including human and plant pathogens. One promising strain, designed as KEH23 with strong antifungal activity, was selected for further studies. This isolate was identified as Streptomyces sp. based on a great...
July 2009
Production of bio-ethanol from corncobs using Aspergillus niger and Saccharomyces cerevisae in simultaneous saccharification and fermentation
Maize is the most abundant cereal grown in Ghana and is accompanied by enormous amount of agrowastes of which corncobs form 30%. This agrowaste which is currently under utilized was used to produce bio-ethanol. Aspergillus nigerisolated from soil sampled from Ejura farms was used to hydrolyze the corncobs into simple sugars. Filtrate obtained from corncobs broth fermented by A. niger was used...
July 2009
Phytate degradation by Leuconostoc mesenteroides KC51 cultivation in soymilk
The phytate-degrading activity of Leuconostoc mesenteroides KC51 isolated fromKimchi was evaluated. When the phytase activity was measured in cultured broth on Lactobacilli MRS medium, the activity was detected in harvested cell suspension but not in the extracellular medium. The optimum pH was determined to be pH 5.5.L. mesenteroides KC51 cultivation in autoclaved soymilk resulted in a...
July 2009
Sucrose effect on broomrape (Orobanche crenata) development on narbon bean (Vicia narbonensis L.)
The growth and development of broomrapes (Orobanche spp.) fully depends on the nutritional connection established between the parasitic plant and the root of the corresponding host plant. In the present study, narbon bean plants infected withOrobanche crenata were watered with different concentrations of sucrose (0.014, 0.044, 0.088 and 0.146 M) in order to evaluate its effect on the early...
July 2009
Hepatotoxic effects of low dose oral administration of monosodium glutamate in male albino rats
The present study is aimed at investigating the potentials of low concentration administration of monosodium glutamate in inducing hepatotoxic effects in male albino rats. Thus, monosodium glutamate at a dose of 5 mg/kg of body weight was administered to adult male albino rats by oral intubation. Treatment was daily for 28 days. The monosodium glutamate treatment significantly (p<0.05) decreased the serum...
July 2009
Isolation of high quality DNA and RNA from cambium of the East African Greenheart (Warburgia ugandensis)
The genus Warburgia belongs to the Canellaceae, a small family of tropical aromatic tree species important for their antibacterial and antifungal medicinal qualities amongst many other functions. Many published protocols for nucleic acid isolation failed to yield sufficiently good quality amounts for analysis. We have therefore developed a simple and fast CTAB (cetyl-trimethyl ammonium...
July 2009
Effects of additives on cordycepin production using a Cordyceps militaris mutant induced by ion beam irradiation
To obtain a sustainable mutant of the medicinal mushroom Cordyceps militaris with a higher cordycepin production, high-energy ion beam irradiation was applied in the present study. Upon successful irradiation by a proton beam, 30 classes of 8-azaadenine and 28 classes of 8-azaaguanine resistant mutants were obtained of which 7 classes (A63-7, A63-8, A81-2, A81-6, G63-8, G81-3, G82-4) were selected...
July 2009
Effect of dietary substitution with solvent extracted neem seed cake on growth and nitrogen metabolism of albino rats (wistar strain)
A study was conducted with 24 albino rats (wistar strain) ages 3 weeks to determine the effect of substitution of diets with processed neem seed cake on growth, performance and nitrogen metabolism of rats. Group 1 and those of groups II and III were fed experimental diets containing water, 75% methanol and 75% ethanol processed neem seed cake, respectively. Two groups were given standard and commercial diet...
July 2009
Improvement of COD and TOC reactive dyes in textile wastewater by coagulation chemical material
This study was designed to investigate the removal of reactive dyes, Samofix Red V-RBL and Samofix Green V-G from wastewater using a two step Al (III) coagulation/activated carbon adsorption method. The effects of pH and coagulant dosage as well as the effects of contact time and a powdered activated carbon dosage on dye removal were studied. The process was optimized with reasonable consumption of coagulant...
July 2009
The effect of L-carnitine on carbonic anhydrase level in rats exposed to exhaustive exercise and hypothermic stress
L-Carnitine is a quaternary ammonium compound biosynthesized from the amino acids lysine and methionine. It plays an important regulatory role in the mitochondria and is required for the transport of fatty acids from the cytosol into the mitochondriaduring the breakdown of lipids or fats for the generation of metabolic energy. The functions of...
July 2009
Microbial and physico-chemical quality of powdered soymilk samples in Akwa Ibom, South Southern Nigeria
randed and unbranded powdered soymilks were evaluated for microbial quality, physicochemical parameters and aflatoxin level. The total bacterial count ranged from 4×104 to 1.1×105 cfu/g and 2.0 × 104 to 7.2 × 104 cfu/g for branded and unbranded powdered soymilk samples, respectively. Coliform were not detected in the branded and unbranded powdered soymilk samples. The fungal count...
July 2009
Virtual high screening throughput and design of 14α-lanosterol demethylase inhibitors against Mycobacterium tuberculosis
The current treatment against Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent of tuberculosis in humans, requires a drug combination and the last two decades have passed without significant development of novel chemicals for the treatment of tuberculosis. The elucidation of the sequence of genomes for M. tuberculosis has identified a gene that encodes a protein with 34% amino acid sequence...
July 2009
High-density fermentation and functional characterization of a recombinant echistatin mutant
A disintegrin echistatin mutant, R24K-echistatin, was obtained by overlap extension polymerase chain reaction. It was efficiently expressed as a soluble and fusion protein in Escherichia coli at optimized fermentation conditions. The recombinant bacteria had the highest wet weight of 120 g/l in 2´YT medium with IPTG induction. The R24K-echistatin was purified by chitin affinity...
July 2009
Antioxidant activity and quantitative estimation of azadirachtin and nimbin in Azadirachta Indica A. Juss grown in foothills of Nepal
The leaf and bark fraction extracts of Azadirachta indica A. Juss. (neem) grown in the foothills (sub-tropical region) of Nepal were evaluated for their antioxidant activity, total phenolic (TP) and total flavonid (TF) contents. HPLC method was employed to quantify the amount of azadirachtin and nimbin present in the seed, leaf and the bark extracts of neem. The result showed that the highest...
July 2009
Growth performance and feed utilization of Tilapia zillii (Gervais, 1848) fed partial or total replacement of fish meal with poultry by-product meal
The aim of this study was to investigate the growth performance, feed utilization and body composition of Tilapia zillii fed diets where poultry by-product meal replaced fish meal protein at 0, 50 and 100% levels in high energy diets. This is the first research study conducted to evaluate poultry by-product as an alternative feed source for T. zillii. Experimental diets were prepared...
July 2009
Purification of rhamnolipid using colloidal magnetic nanoparticles
Phospholipid-coated colloidal magnetic nanoparticles with mean magnetite core size of 9 nm are shown to be effective ion exchange media for the recovery and purification of Rhaminolipid from culture mixtures. These particles have high adsorption capacity for purification (an order of magnitude larger than the best commercially available adsorbents) and exhibit none of the diffusion resistances offered by...
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