African Journal of
Microbiology Research

  • Abbreviation: Afr. J. Microbiol. Res.
  • Language: English
  • ISSN: 1996-0808
  • DOI: 10.5897/AJMR
  • Start Year: 2007
  • Published Articles: 5233

Table of Content: 16 October, 2011; 5(22)

October 2011

Effects of different light treatments on the natural transformation of Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803

  Although many factors that affect the frequency of natural transformation of the unicellular cyanobacterium Synechocystis have been extensively reported, little is known regarding the effects of changes in the spectral quality and intensity of light on its natural transformation. The frequency of natural transformation was significantly enhanced or inhibited by the treatments with low...

Author(s):   Zongjuan Long, Jiaohong Zhao, Jingsong Zhang, Lanzhen Wei, Quanxi Wang and Weimin Ma

October 2011

Media optimization for extra cellular tannase production by Klebsiella pneumoniae MTCC 7162 using response surface methodology

  Klebsiella pneumoniae MTCC 7162, isolated from tannery effluent was used for the production of extracellular tannase. Central composite design (for nutritional parameters) and Box Behnken design (for physicochemical parameters) were used to arrive at conditions for maximal tannase production. Box Behnken design was statistically significant and indicated that pH is a significant factor for tannase...

Author(s): Karthikeyan Sivashanmugam and Gurunathan Jayaraman

October 2011

Seroprevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection in patients suffering from gastric symptoms in the Northwest of Iran

  Helicobacter pylori is a major gastroduodenal pathogen and its seropositivity is associated with increased risk of development of human active chronic gastritis, peptic and duodenal ulcer and gastric cancer. The aim of this study was to determine the seroprevalence of H. pylori infection among subjects with gastrointestinal problems. A total of 339 serum samples collected from 114 male and...

Author(s):   Soheila Montazer-Saheb, Safar Farajnia,, Nazli Saeedi, Rana Yousefzadeh,  Abbas Rafat and Leila Rahbarnia

October 2011

Antimicrobial activity of Mirabilis Jalapa and Dichrotachys cinerea against biofilm and extended spectrum of beta lactamase (ESBL) producing uropathogenic Escherichia coli

  The aim of this study was to evaluate the antimicrobial efficacy of Mirabilis jalapa andDichrotachys cinerea against biofilm and Extended Spectrum of Beta Lactamase (ESBL) producing uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC). M. jalapa and D. cinerea are widespread medicinal plants traditionally used to treat infectious diseases. Aqueous, acetone and ethanol extracts of...

Author(s): P. Poovendran, N. Vidhya and S. Murugan

October 2011

Demonstration of antibiotic resistance genes strA, blaTEM, tetA, tetC and sul2 in Avibacterium paragallinarum

  Avibacterium paragallinarum causes a highly contagious disease in chickens called infectious coryza.  We have previously isolated A. paragallinarum from diseased chickens and demonstrated their virulence in experimental infection in different poultry species. In the present study, the isolates were screened for selected resistance genes for clinically relevant antibiotics. The study...

Author(s): Byarugaba D. K., Minga U. M., Gwakisa P. S., Katunguka-Rwakishaya E., Bisgaard M., Christensen H. and Olsen J. E.

October 2011

Influence of some biotic and abiotic inducers on root rot disease incidence of sweet basil

The authors have requested the retraction of this article.

Author(s):   Saleh A. Al-Sohaibani, Mohamed A. Mahmoud, Monira R. Al-Othman,  Mona M. M. Ragab, M. M. Saber and Abeer R. M. Abd El-Aziz

October 2011

Effect of irrigation intervals and sulphur fertilizer on growth analyses and yield of Brassica juncea

  In order to study of Effect of irrigation intervals and sulphur fertilizer on growth analyses and yield of Indian mustard (B. juncea var. Pusa Jagannath), a field experiment was conducted at Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi during crop season of 2007-2008 and 2008-2009. The experiment was carried out in split plot designed with three replications. The treatments consisted of three levels...

Author(s): Issa Piri, Mohsen Moussavi Nik, AbolfazlTavassoli and Fatemeh Rastegaripour

October 2011

Freshwater fungi isolated from eggs and broodstocks with an emphasis on Saprolegnia in rainbow trout farms in west Iran

  Fungal diseases of fresh water eggs and fishes are known to be a problematic disease. The aim of this study was to investigate the aquatic fungal flora specially oomycete fungi in rainbow trout hatcheries from west part of Iran during fall and winter 2008, an attempt to isolate fungi from the eggs and broodstocks showing fungal infection at the three rainbow trout farms. A total of 150 randomly selected eggs...

Author(s):   Firooz Fadaeifard, Mehdi raissy, Hamidreza Bahrami, Ebrahim Rahimi and Ahmad Najafipoor

October 2011

In vitro activities of Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehnh. and Eucalyptus torelliana F. Muell. against non-tuberculous mycobacteria species

  The extracts of Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehnh. and Eucalyptus torelliana F. Muell. (Myrtaceae) were screened against four non-tuberculous mycobacteria species:Mycobacterium fortuitum ATCC 684, Mycobacterium smegmatis ATCC 19420,Mycobacterium phlei ATCC 19240 and Mycobacterium abscessus. The agar diffusion method was used to investigate the activity of these plants...

Author(s): Temitope O. Lawal, Bolanle A. Adeniyi, Olakunle S. Idowu and Jones O. Moody

October 2011

Antibiotic susceptibility of common bacterial pathogens in urinary tract infections in a Teaching hospital in South-western Nigeria

  Urinary tract infection (UTI) is one of the most common bacterial infections in humans and a major cause of morbidity. However, the aetiology of UTI and their antibiotic sensitivity patterns vary from time to time and across different areas. This study determines the frequently isolated UTI bacteria from in-patients and out-patients of a Teaching hospital in South-western Nigeria and their antibiotic...

Author(s): B. B. Oluremi, A. O. Idowu and J. F. Olaniyi

October 2011

Antimicrobial activity of pomegranate rind peel extracts

  The pomegranate, Punica granatum L., is an ancient, mystical, unique fruit borne on a small, long-living tree cultivated throughout the Mediterranean region. Pomegranate is used in several systems of medicine for a variety of ailments. The synergistic action of the pomegranate constituents appears to be superior to that of single constituents. P. garantum, have been reported to have...

Author(s):   Hany M. Yehia, Manal F. Elkhadragy and Ahmed E. Abdel Moneim

October 2011

Effect of fermentation temperature on chemical composition of mescals made from Agave duranguensis juice with different native yeast genera

  In this study, the fermentation behavior at 18 and 28°C of different native yeast genera on juice from Agave duranguensis was evaluated and the volatile compounds produced in the obtained mescals from these fermentations were identified. The fermentative capacity of Hanseniaspora uvarum, Kluyveromyces marxianus and Saccharomyces cerevisiaeincreased at 28°C; however, the...

Author(s):   Martell Nevárez, María Angélica, Córdova Gurrola, Erica Esthela, López Miranda, Javier, Soto Cruz, Nicolás Oscar, López Pérez, Mercedes Guadalupe, Rutiaga Quiñones and Olga Miriam  

October 2011

Hepatitis C virus infection in uremic patients on maintenance hemodialysis: A follow up study for 150 months

  We aimed to delineate the incidence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and HCV seroconversion (SC) in maintenance hemodialysis (HD) patients and to evaluate the effect of isolation measures on HCV in HD unit. From June 1998 to June 2010, 2465 maintenance HD patients in our HD unit were enrolled in, and the anti-HCV ELISA and HCV nucleic acid testing were consecutively performed every six months. The results...

Author(s):   Chen Yuqiang, Wang Niansong, Sheng Xiaohua, Zhang Xiaoguang, Yan Yan, Yu Gang, Cui Yongping and Tang Lingquan

October 2011

Prevention of emergence of fusidic acid and rifampicin resistance in Staphylococcus aureus using phytochemicals

  Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is one of the major causes of nosocomial and community infections. It has shown resistance to most of the currently available antibiotics and nicknamed ‘super bug’. Anti-staphylococcal activities of tannic acid, quercetin and gallic acid ethyl ester in combination with fusidic acid and rifampicin were determined against five strains...

Author(s):   Bhone Myint Kyaw, Shuchi Arora, Khaing Nwe Win and Lim Chu Sing Daniel  

October 2011

Growth and exopolysaccharide production by Weissella sp. from low-cost substitutes for sucrose

  Homopolysaccharides produced from sucrose by lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are of interest as natural additives to improve textural properties of foods. The production of exopolysaccharide (EPS) by Weissella strains, which had been isolated from a traditional Thai food (plasom), was investigated using sugarcane molasses and white sugar from sugarcane as substrates in comparison to analytical grade...

Author(s): Chintana Tayuan, Gerald W. Tannock and Sureelak Rodtong

October 2011

Epidemiology of entamoeba infection in Sudan

  The epidemiology of Entamoeba histolytica infection in Sudan is poorly understood. This is due to the inability to differentiate E. histolytica from the non pathogenic, Entamoebadispar. Old methods used such as direct microscopy and culturing are insensitive compared to polymerase chain reaction (PCR). In this study, light microscopy and PCR were utilized to study the prevalence of...

Author(s): Amir Saeed, Hadi Abd, Birgitta Evengård and Gunnar Sandström

October 2011

Prevalence and antimicrobial resistance of Escherichia coli O157 isolated from traditional cheese, ice cream and yoghurt in Iran

  Verotoxin-producing of Escherichia coli O157 is an increasingly common cause of severe gastrointestinal illness, enlisted among the most important emerging pathogens.  The present study was conducted to investigate the presence of  E. coli O157 and E. coliO157: H7 strains and to detect the presence of the stx1, stx2, eae and ehxA insolates...

Author(s): Ebrahim Rahimi, Sepehr Shekarchian Chaleshtori and Pouya Parsaei

October 2011

Survey frequency of extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs) in Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae strains isolated from urinary tract infection in Iran

  Extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs) are defined as β-lactamase capable of hydrolyzing third generation cephalosporin's and inhibited by β-lactamase inhibitor. Urinary tract infection (UTI) is a one of the most prevalent infection in worldwide and is the second most common infection. Most of UTI are due to Escherichia coli. Antibiotic resistance in ESBLs strains is one of the...

Author(s): Shila Jalalpour

October 2011

The prevalence of methicillin and vancomycin resistant Staphylococcus aureus nasal carriage in large teaching hospital personnel

  Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most prevalent pathogens in nosocomial infections.We designed this cross-sectional study for evaluation of methicillin and vancomycin resistance in S. aureus strains that have been harbouring in the nasal nars of Shohadaie Ashayers hospital personnel (khorramabad, Iran). Samples were obtained by sterile cotton-wool swab moistenedwith normal saline...

Author(s): Hosain Zadegan, H. and Menati, S.

October 2011

A simple and rapid differentiation method for combating therapeutically challenging planktonic and biofilm-producing Staphylococcus aureus

  The aim of the current study is to establish a simple and fast method that can be easily applied in hospitals for the differentiation of biofilm and planktonic Staphylococcus aureusstrains. To achieve the objective, two reference strains, methicillin resistant S. aureus(MRSA) and methicillin sensitive S. aureus (MSSA) were examined using three types of methods; adhesion capacity of...

Author(s): Salman Sahab Atshan, Mariana Nor Shamsudin, Leslie Than Thian Lung, Zamberi Sekawi and Chong Pei Pei

October 2011

Anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects of IMMUNEPOTENT CRP in Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated human macrophages

  IMMUNEPOTENT CRP is a mixture of low molecular weight substances, some of which have been shown to be clinically effective for a broad spectrum of diseases, maintaining the immune system and increasing the quality of life of the patients. To determine whether IMMUNEPOTENT CRP modulates the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects in LPS-stimulated human macrophages; U-937 cells were differentiated to...

Author(s):   Moisés A. Franco-Molina, Edgar Mendoza-Gamboa, Diana F. Miranda-Hernández, Crystel A. Sierra-Rivera, Pablo Zapata-Benavides, Magda E. Vera-García, Reyes S. Tamez-Guerra and Cristina Rodríguez-Padilla

October 2011

Physicochemical, microbiological and sensory characteristics of Soymilk Kefir

  The physicochemical, microbiological and sensory characterization of kefir samples produced from cow/soy milk mixtures was carried out during storage at refrigerated conditions. Gross composition of samples was very closely related except lactose contents. Tyrosine levels of kefirs were also very similar. Leucine contents were increased with the raised soymilk ratio. Serum separation increased during storage...

Author(s): Harun KESENKAÅž, Nayil DÄ°NKÇÄ°, Kemal SEÇKÄ°N, Özer KINIK, Siddik GÖNÇ, Pelin Günç ERGÖNÜL and Gökhan KAVAS

October 2011

The impact of industrial effluent discharge on physico-chemical and microbial parameters of Orogodo River, Agbor, Nigeria

  The microbiological and physico-chemical analyses of water samples obtained from the Orogodo River, Agbor, at point of industrial effluent discharge (Location 2) and at 100 m before (Location 1) and 100 m after (Location 3), were carried out using standard methods to determine the impact of the discharge on the water quality. While the temperature, conductivity, biological oxygen demand, and coliform counts...

Author(s): Idise, Okiemute Emmanuel and Maduka, Kate

October 2011

Assessment of sensitivity, specificity and species discriminatory power of four culture-based isolation methods of Arcobacter spp

  A total of 142 samples including beef (n = 52), fresh milk (n = 45) and rectal swabs of cattle (n = 45) were collected from various wet markets (beef) and dairy cattle farms (milk and rectal swabs) in the vicinity of Selangor, Malaysia. All samples were examined for the presence of Arcobacter species using four different isolation methods. The organisms were first identified on the basis of...

Author(s): Shah A. H., Saleha A. A., Murugaiyah M. and Zunita Zakaria

August 2011

Antibacterial and phytochemical screening of crude ethanolic extracts of Waltheria indica Linn.

  The antibacterial activity and phytochemical properties of Waltheria indica Linn. was investigated, the result obtained showed that the ethanol extracts from the roots, stem and leaves were active against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative organisms. The qualitative phytochemical screening of these different parts indicated the presence of saponins, alkaloids, anthraquinones, flavonoids, tannins,...

Author(s): O. O. Olajuyigbe, A. E. Babalola and A. J. Afolayan

October 2011

Integron and genotype patterns of quinolones-resistant uropathogenic Escherichia coli

  Uropathogenic Escherichia coli are the most common cause of urinary tract infections,and quinolones-resistant strains cause growing concern in developing countries. This study provides relevant data in relation to the molecular epidemiology of these isolateswith respect to the distribution of integron among them and in doing so, to control the infections and adopt efficient...

Author(s): Mojtaba Anvarinejad, Shohreh Farshad, Abdolvahab Alborzi, Reza Ranjbar, Giovanni M. Giammanco and Aziz Japoni

October 2011

The immune-response enveloped-virus treatment for H22 ascitic tumors in mice

  In addition to the standard therapies of chemotherapies and surgical interventions, viral therapy for tumor treatment has provided a new option for cancer patients. Whether the effects are safe, however, remains to be fully evaluated. Accordingly, we explored the immunological mechanisms of viral action against the H22 ascitic tumor, using both theNewcastle disease virus (NDV) and the parainfluenza...

Author(s):   Mintao Zhong, Min Huang, Lei Liu, Xiaoli Wang, Xingyun Li, Anhong Ning and Jing Cao 

October 2011

Role of autophagy in inhibition of brucella-containing vacuole-lysosome fusion in murine macrophages

  This study aimed to investigate the role of autophagy in the inhibition of Brucella-containing vacuole (BCV) and lysosome fusion in Brucella suis 1330 infected murine macrophage RAW264.7 cells. Autophagosome induction was observed following B. suis 1330 infection. The autophagic pathway was inhibited pharmacologically by 3-methylademine (3-MA) treatment or by RNAi-mediated depletion of the...

Author(s): Fei Guo, Zhen Li, Chuangfu Chen, Yuanzhi Wang, Hui Zhang , Penyan Wang, Jun Qiao, Yong Wang, Ke Zhang and Guoqing Du

October 2011

Synonymous codon usage bias of spike genes of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus

  Synonymous codons are not used randomly. Rather, some codons are used more frequently than others. Investigating codon usage bias is essential to the understanding of viral evolution. However the factors shaping synonymous codon usage bias and nucleotide composition in animal viruses have been studied only to a limited extent. In our study, using the 19 complete CDS sequences of Spike (S) genes of porcine...

Author(s): Cao H. W., Zhang H., Liu, Y. and Li D. S.

October 2011

Identification of thirteen up-expressed sequence tags from Monascus pilosus mutant MK-1

  Monascus pilosus MK-1 is a mutant of M. pilosus IFO4520, which is used to brew the red yeast rice for food industry as functional food additives or food colorants. The obvious phenotypes of the mutant MK-1 showed a high productivity of lovastatin and red pigments, slow growth of the fungal mycelia comparing with the wild...

Author(s):   Mingyong Zhang, Xing Yang, Tsuyoshi Miyake, Yaqing Wang and Kuaifei Xia

October 2011

Survey of extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis XDR-TB) in Iran-Tehran: A retrospective study

  The emergence and spread of multidrug resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR) has raised public health concern about global control of TB. Our objective was to estimate the incidence of XDR-TB as compared to susceptible controls from TB patients in Tehran-Iran between 2006 and 2009.Sputum culture and drug susceptibility testing (DST) was done for patients with known or suspected TB....

Author(s): Hadizadeh Tasbiti A. R., Yari SH, Karimi A., Fateh A., Bahrmand A., Saifi M., Jabarzadeh E., Masomi M., Noor Nematolahi A., Khanipoor S., Ebrahimzadeh N.,Ghazanfari M., Sakhaii F., Blori F., Balmeh H., Vahidi E., Abdolrahimi F. and Poorazar Sh.

October 2011

Contamination level variation of fecal Streptococci (Enterococci) in poultry slaughterhouse premises with hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) method

  Enterococci bacteria category that were previously named fecal streptococcus or group D Lancefield’s streptococcus mostly are in human and animal intestinal tract and are among the most important indicators of fecal contamination of food. In addition, they cause food poisoning and diarrhea in humans (particularly children). In this study after validation of principles of system in poultry slaughter...

Author(s): Javadi A and Farshbaf V

October 2011

Common bacterial isolates associated with semen of men attending the fertility clinic of the university of Benin teaching hospital (U.B.T.H), Benin City, Nigeria

  Fifty seminal samples were studied to determine the microbial influence in male infertility as well as the qualitative and quantitative features of the semen. Among the three bacterial isolates obtained from the sample, Staphylococcus aureus 7(77.8%) was found to be the most predominant isolate, other isolates were Escherichia coli 1(11.1%) and Citrobacterspp. In relation to semen...

Author(s): Ekhaise, F. O. and Richard, F. R.

October 2011

Comparison and evaluation of steroid alkaloid solasodine on in vivo and in vitro cultures of Solanum surattense Burm L.

  Steroid alkaloid solasodine is a nitrogen analogue of diosgenin that is used as a raw material for synthesis of steroid drugs. Plant medicinal Solanum surattense (Solanaceae) is a rich source of solasodine. The purpose of this study was production and maintenance of callus from leaves and comparison of solasodine steroid alkaloid production in outdoor plants and in vitro calli. The...

Author(s): Mahmood Solouki, Hajar Hoshyar, Mahmood Ramroudi and Abolfazl Tavassoli

October 2011

Effect of amino acid requirements on the growth and lactic acid production of Pediococcus acidilactici culture

  The aim of this research was to investigate essential groups of amino acids and effect of amino acid supplementation. P. acidilactici culture was grown in chemically defined medium (CDM) with initial pH 6.35 and at 30°C. To minimize the number of experiments, the experimental design was based on grouping the metabolic amino acid pool. The selected amino acid groups were the following: a)...

Author(s): Wiramsri Sriphochanart, Wanwisa Skolpap, Jeno M. Scharer, Murray Moo-Youngand Peter L. Douglas

October 2011

Characterization of an exopolysaccharide-producing marine bacterium, isolate Pseudoalteromonas sp. AM

  A marine exopolysaccharide (EPS) producing bacterium was isolated from a sponge sample at about 16 m depth in red sea (Huraghada, Egypt). Phenotypic characterization demonstrated that, the bacterium is a gram negative rod motile by means of single polar flagellum, showing wide range of carbohydrate utilization. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S Ribosomal deoxyribonucleic acid (rDNA)...

Author(s): Al-Nahas, M. O., Darwish, M. M., Ali, A. E. and Amin, M. A.

October 2011

In vitro antibacterial effect of a mumijo preparation from Mongolia

  Mumijo is a traditional medicine used in Central Asia thousands of years. Its beneficial effect is exerted on metabolic processes and on the human immune system. It is also used as an antiseptic agent. The in vitro antibacterial activity of a mumijo preparation was investigated with agar diffusion technique against 25 Gram-positive and 6 Gram-negative bacterial isolates representing 13 different...

Author(s): László Galgóczy, Melinda Guba, Tamás Papp, Judit Krisch, Csaba Vágvölgyi and Rentsenkhand Tserennadmid

October 2011

Evaluation of psychiatric morbidity and quality of life in inactive HbsAg carriers

  Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection develops in forms from asymptomatic carrier to cirrhosis. There are several studies examining the quality of life of patients with HBV in literature. However, only two studies have investigated the psychiatric morbidity in hepatitis B patients. In this study, we evaluated psychiatric morbidity and quality of life in inactive HbsAg carriers. This case-controlled study was...

Author(s):   Abdulkadir Küçükbayrak, Fatih Canan, Aytekin Alçelik, Gülali AktaÅŸ, Esra KoçoÄŸlu and Tekin TaÅŸ  

October 2011

Isolation and evaluation of antibacterial activity of bacteriocin produced by Lactobacillus bulgaricus from yogurt

  Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) commonly used in food, as starter cultures are known to produce antimicrobial substances such as bacteriocins and have great potential as food bio-preservatives. Yogurt is a probiotic dairy product having Lactobacillus bulgaricus as natural source for fermentation. The aim of this study was to determine the antimicrobial activity of bacteriocin, produced...

Author(s):   Maria Tufail, Shahzad Hussain, Farnaz Malik, Tahira Mirza, Ghazala Parveen, Shazia Shafaat, Amina Wajid, Rashid Mahmood, Rafique A. Channa and Alia Sadiq

October 2011

Immune and antioxidant defenses in an autogenous Aedes caspius mosquito upon infection with Bacillus thuringiensis kurstaki

  This study investigates the glutathione-immunity interaction upon infection of both larval and adult stages of Aedes caspius with Bacillus thuringiensis kurstaki (Btk). The anti-oxidative stress, in terms of glutathione (GSH) titer, and melanization immune response, in terms of phenoloxidase (PO) titer, was investigated. Data from Btk-infected larvae showed no or significant lower GSH...

Author(s): Ashraf M. Ahmed