June 2021

Effect of VIUSID-Agro™ on the conversion of somatic embryos of coffee (Coffea arabica L.) cv. Red Caturra rojo-884

A critical factor in the in vitro propagation protocol via somatic embryogenesis of coffee is the survival and growth of plants under ex vitro conditions. The objective of this work was to determine the effect of VIUSID Agro™ during the conversion of somatic embryos of coffee cv. Red Caturra rojo-884 in semi-controlled culture conditions. Two solutions (0.5 and 0.8 mL L-1) of the biostimulant were evaluated on in...

Author(s): Laisyn Posada-Pérez, Raúl Barbón Rodríguez, Alina Capote Pérez, Anabel Pérez Pérez, Yenny Padrón Montesino, Bulent Kukurtcu, Dion D. Daniels, Guillermo Reyes and Rafael Gómez-Kosky

June 2021

CRISPR/Cas genome editing: A frontier for transforming precision cassava breeding

Improved agricultural production of essential crops through advanced breeding is important for increasing access to nutritious food for the world's rapidly growing population, which is expected to reach 9.8 billion by 2050. Recent advancements in the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/CRISPR-associated protein9 (CRISPR/Cas9) genome editing process, which uses single-guide RNA for genome...

Author(s): Bicko Steve Juma, Cecilia Mweu, Mathew Piero and Wilton Mbinda,

June 2021

Antimicrobial potentials of idiolites of endophytic fungi isolated from the leaves of Dacryodes edulis

The growing levels of antimicrobial resistance have triggered interest in the search for alternative compounds to wage the war against it. Plants have been shown to harbor endophytic fungi that produce bioactive idiolites, which have potential lead compounds in the development of new drugs. This study evaluated the antimicrobial activity of endophytic fungi isolated from leaves of Dacryodes edulis. Endophytic fungi...

Author(s): Malachy C. Ugwu, Dave E. Ochiaja, David C. Nwobodo, Collins Chimezie and Chiamaka B. Ugwu

June 2021

Efficacy of thymol and eugenol against bacterial wilt bacterium Ralstonia solanacearum

Bacterial wilt caused by Ralstonia solanacearum is a major constraint to production of potatoes (Solanum tuberosum L). To date, there are no known conventional bactericides which provide effective control of this soil borne pathogen. This study aimed at investigating the antibacterial activity of eugenol and thymol which are the major components of thyme and clove essential oils, respectively against R. solanacearum....

Author(s): George Oluoch, Edward George Mamati, Viviene Matiru and Moses Nyongesa

June 2021

Imaging from anatomic to molecular and atomic resolution scales: A review

Imaging may be referred to as the ‘eyes of science’ as it provides scientists with highly informative multi-dimensional and multi-parameter data usually invisible to the naked eye. As instrumentation technologies and genetic engineering advances, it’s possible in modern times to observe and image highly dynamic biochemistry processes. This paper reviews positron emission tomography (PET), magnetic...

Author(s): Kamweru, Paul Kuria

June 2021

Vigna radiata (mung bean) acid phosphatase is difficult to purify and may have a role as a vegetative Storage protein

Acid phosphatase from mung bean (Vigna radiata) germinated seeds was partially purified via ammonium sulfate precipitation and fully purified via gel excision and heat denaturation, yielding a 29 kDa protein. Using 4-nitrophenylphosphate as a substrate, Vmax and Km values of 0.10 µmol/min and 0.27 mM, respectively, were obtained. The acid phosphatase was heat resistant, enhanced by the presence of Fe2+ and Mn2+...

Author(s): Hailey Elizabeth Lightle, Sarah Anne Fosco, Rachel Nicole Giles, Jordyn Marie Meekma, Nicole Marie Moore, Megan Vawn Palacio and Suzanne Elisabet Williams