June 2012
Soil quality and microbes in organic and conventional farming systems
Compared to conventional farming practices, organic farming practices have an advantage over improving soil quality and gain worldwide acceptance. Here we summarize soil properties, microbial biomass, abundance and diversity of microbes between organic and conventional soil, as well as advantages and disadvantages of various molecular approaches for assessing the diversity of microbial communities. The...
June 2012
L-cysteine desulfhydrase-an enzyme which can be assayed in soil but is unlikely to function in the environment
An assay was developed to measure the activity of the enzyme L-cysteine desulfhydrase (CDA) in an agricultural loam soil. The optimum temperature for CDA in this soil was 60°C and the optimum pH for CDA in the soil was 8.5. CDA in the soil required the addition of pyridoxal phosphate to exhibit its maximum activity. However since no pyridoxal phosphate was found in this soil it is likely that activity of...
June 2012
Multi-drug resistant pattern and plasmid profile of Escherichia coli and other gram-negative bacteria isolates from clinical specimen in Benin City, Nigeria
Escherichia coli (E. coli) belonging to the family Enterobacteriaceae has been implicated as the causal agent to many gastro-intestinal disorders in man and animal. Seventy samples of clinical origins were collected randomly from patients at Lahour Public Health Research centre, Benin City in Edo state. E. coli were found in 4/70 (25%) of the samples;...
June 2012
Fermentation of Cucumeropsis seeds, an uncommon substrate for ogiri production
An investigation of the microbes responsible for the traditional fermentation of climbing melon (Cucumeropsis mannii Naud) seeds for ogiri production was undertaken over a period of 96 h. Seven bacterial genera identified as Bacillus, Klebsiella, Pseudomonas, Pediococcus, Lactobacillus, Serratia, and Staphylococcus were recovered from...
June 2012
Combined effect of NPK levels and foliar nutritional compounds on growth and yield parameters of potato plants (Solanum tuberosum L.)
Field experiment was conducted to study the effect of NPK levels and foliar nutritional compounds on growth yield, chemical constituents and nutrients content of potato plants grown in newly reclaimed soil. The obtained results could be summarized as follows: Increasing the NPK levels significantly increased all the growth, and yield parameters (except for number of aerial stem, plant), photosynthetic...
June 2012
Antimicrobial properties of skin mucus from four freshwater cultivable Fishes (Catla catla, Hypophthalmichthys molitrix, Labeo rohita and Ctenopharyngodon idella)
The fishes are living in the medium rich in pathogenic microbes. The mucus secreted by the skin of fish showed more antimicrobial properties. The mucus collected from the two exotic fishes and two indigenous fishes were tested against the five pathogenic bacteria (Klebsiella pneumonia, Vibrio cholerae, Salmonella typhi, Escherichia coli andPseudomonas aeruginosa) and five pathogenic fungi namely...
June 2012
Evaluation of oxidative stress in patients with tularemia
Tularemia, a zoonotic acute febrile invasive disease with rapid intracellular replication resulting in high bacterial densities, accumulation of phagocytes, and extensive tissue necrosis; may be related to increased free radical production and antioxidant depletion and; oxidative stress. The aim of this study was to investigate serum malondialdehyde (MDA) level and superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione...
June 2012
Introducing a novel facultative nitrifying bacterium, "Nitrobacteria hamadaniensis"
A new nitrifying bacterium has been identified as "Nitrobacteria hamadaniensis", from a potato farm in Hamadan, Iran. Its morphological and molecular characteristics were examined by electron microscopy, protein purification, SDS-PAGE and 16S rRNA analysis. It was cultured at the different conditions to determine the optimum pH and the generation time. The cells are rod shaped, ...
June 2012
Muhammad Idrees Zaidi1, Feroza Hamid Wattoo2*, Muhammad Hamid Sarwar Wattoo3, Syed Ahmed Tirmizi3 and Saad Salman4
Nicotine, isolated from leaves of Nicotiana tabacum was complexed with zinc and studied for their antibacterial activities against ten different strains of Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria. Results showed that zinc (II) complex of nicotine is more active against different types of bacterial strains as compared to zinc metal salt used for complexation and nicotine...
June 2012
Comparison of the Cepheid Xpert FluA/H1N1 screening test with real time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in detection of 2009 H1N1 Influenza A Pandemic
Although infections with the novel pandemic 2009 influenza A (H1N1) virus (A/H1N1/2009) appear to be relatively mild during the summer months of circulation ('off season'), there has been significant morbidity and hospitalization and several fatal cases. Thus, rapid detection of A/H1N1/2009 is crucial. In contrast to seasonal influenza, where point-of-care (POC) rapid antigen tests and direct...
June 2012
An in-vitro model for studying the adhesion of Lactobacillus bulgaricus in soyghurt and enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) on HEp-2 Cells
Attachment or adhesion of Lactobacillus bulgaricus in soyghurt and enteropathogenicEscherichia coli (EPEC) with HEp-2 cells has been done. This research was aimed atfinding out the adhesion ability of L. bulgaricus and EPEC on HEp-2 cells experimentally in vitro. The results showed that L. bulgaricus in soyghurt could carry...
June 2012
The occurrence of Bacillus thuringiensis strains in chemical intensive rice growing ecosystem
Sustainable crop production is largely dependent on the efficient crop protection measures. Use of synthetic chemicals though seemed to be effective; in long run it proved to be detrimental to the biosphere. Rice being the major stable food of Asians received much attention on improving the productivity. In the present investigation, native Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) isolates were isolated in the...
June 2012
Development of a DNA-dosimeter system as biomarker to monitor the effects of pulsed ultraviolet radiation
To report the effects of pulsed ultraviolet (PUV) radiation, we have developed a reliable biological monitoring system based on two approaches. Firstly, a conventional method was used to measure the number of colonies by the estimation of viable and cultivable bacteria before, and after each exposure to PUV radiation. The second method was a DNA-dosimeter system based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR)...
June 2012
A survey of Enterobacteriaceae in hospital and community acquired infections among adults in a tertiary health institution in Southwestern Nigeria
Hospital and community acquired infections, continue to be a threat to public health, causing morbidities and mortalities. This survey was carried out to determine the prevalence of Enterobacteriaceae in nosocomial and community acquired infections among adults in LAUTECH Teaching Hospital in Osogbo southwestern Nigeria. Two hundred and forty isolates from General Out Patient Department (GOPD) and two hundred...
June 2012
Investigation of genetic variability among different isolates of Fusarium solani
Fusarium solani (Mart). Sacc. is an important wilt causing pathogenic fungi. Plant diseases have caused severe losses to human beings. In the present investigation five different isolates of F. solani were subjected to genetic variability analysis in terms of DNA-polymorphism using RAPD-PCR. F. solani isolate V3 (Lycopersicum esculentumMill.) and V5 (Solanum...
June 2012
Stenotrophomonas koreensis a novel biosurfactant producer for abatement of heavy metals from the environment
The removal of heavy metal contaminants from the environment is one of the potential areas in which the usefulness of biosurfactants has not been thoroughly explored. The molecular nature of biosurfactants offers the possibility of interaction with the metals in solution, aiding in their subsequent removal and/or recovery. In the present research work, a systematic isolation and screening program was...
June 2012
Combining biocontrol agent and high oxygen atmosphere, to reduce postharvest decay of strawberries
The use of Lactobacillus pentosus, in combination with high oxygen packaging modified atmosphere (O2MAP) for the preservation of the good quality of strawberries to control fruit decay, was investigated for 4 storage days at 4°C. Fruits without bacterial treatment and high O2 modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) decreases water loss (82.15%) and fruit decay (66.7%). However,...
June 2012
Expression, purification and antigenic evaluation of toxin-coregulated pilus B protein of Vibrio cholera
The toxin co-regulated pilus B (TcpB) as well as tcpA has been verified as a critical colonization factor for Vibrio cholera O1. TcpB is a candidate for making subunit vaccine against cholera; this study aims to produce an oral vaccine by expressing recombinant toxin co-regulated pilus B in Escherichia coli (E. coli). The toxin co-regulated pilus B (tcpB) gene was amplified by polymerase...
June 2012
Repellent and fumigant activity of Alpinia officinarum rhizome extract against Tribolium castaneum (Herbst)
The plant extract was prepared by Soxhlet method with anhydrous diethyl ether fromAlpinia officinarum rhizome, a traditional Chinese herbal plant, and its repellent and fumigant activity was investigated against Tribolium castaneum (Herbst) adults. The A. officinarum rhizome extract had potent repellent activity against T. castaneum adults with over 80% repellency...
June 2012
Detection of QnrB alleles in Enterobacteriaceae and quinolone-resistance expression
Plasmid-mediated resistance to quinolones in clinical isolates has been found. We have recently identified the types of the plasmid-mediated qnrB genes in Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli and Citrobacter freundii. Through BLASTn analysis of qnrB alleles’ characteristics, we had obtained qnrB5 gene and qnrB31 gene (GenBank accession number HQ418999) in plasmids of isolates...
June 2012
Analysis of bacteria associated with Acropora solitaryensis by culture-dependent and -independent methods
Diversity of bacteria associated with Acropora solitaryensis, the main species in Hermatypic corals of XiSha Island, was investigated using culture-dependent and culture-independent methods (denature gradient gel electrophoresis, DGGE). It shows rich diversity of coral-associated bacteria with abundant novel species or genus. However, the diversity gained by the two methods was different. Among the...
June 2012
Simple and rapid detection of Salmonella sp. from cattle feces using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in Iran
The aim of this study was to employ biochemical and molecular assays to detect and diagnose Salmonella in cattle. For this reason, 1124 fecal samples were collected from cattle in Markazi provinces of Iran. Selective specific culture media for Salmonella were used to grow a number of isolates from the cattle samples. Salmonella bacteria were identified with biochemical...
June 2012
A molecular genetic study on fruiting-body formation of Cordyceps militaris
In the fungal genus Cordyceps, the type species C. militaris produces bioactive ingredients and exhibits medicinal effects as a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Currently, the fruiting-body of C. militaris has been artificially mass-produced as functional food and medicine in China. The unstable variation in forming fruiting-body is however a restriction in the...
June 2012
Cloning and prokaryotic expression of ghrelin gene in crucian carp (Carassius auratus)
To make up the flaw that there is no available information about ghrelin gene in crucian carp. The ghrelin gene was amplified by reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) using total RNA extracted from intestine of crucian carp. PCR product was cloned into the pMD®19-T vector to construct pMD®19-T-ghrlein for sequencing. Then the cDNA was subcloned into the prokaryotic expressing...
June 2012
Insight into microevolution of Streptomyces rimosus based on analysis of zwf and rex genes
Streptomyces rimosus has greatly influenced human history as a producer of many important secondary polyketide metabolites, such as oxytetracycline (OTC). The traditional screen and mutation program has resulted in a dramatic increase in OTC production. The availability of multiple semi-complete genome sequences of S. rimosusfacilitates attempts to systematically address basic questions in genome...
June 2012
Molecular characterization of hepatitis B virus (HBV) genotypes in HBsAg positive individuals of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a crucial health problem with up to 350 million people infected globally. The epidemiological significance of HBV genotypes has been well established however, no such large scale data available for HBV genotypes and much little is known about the mixed infection with more than one HBV genotypes. The main aim of the present study was to determine the molecular characterization of HBV...
June 2012
Fatigue-alleviating effect of polysaccharides from Cyclocarya paliurus (Batal) Iljinskaja in mice
In this study, the fatigue-alleviating effect of polysaccharides from Cyclocarya paliurus(Batal) Iljinskaja (PCP) in mice were evaluated using a weight-loaded swimming test and some biochemical parameters related to fatigue, including serum urea nitrogen (SUN), blood lactic acid (BLA), hemoglobin (Hb) and hepatic glycogen were measured. Male Kunming mice were administered PCP at...
June 2012
Aggressiveness, diversity and distribution of Alternaria brassicae isolates infecting oilseed Brassica in India
Alternaria brassicae (Berk.) Sacc., a necrotrophic fungus devastating oilseed Brassicacrops in India, causes up to 47% reduction in seed yield. Morphological characteristics of different isolates revealed variation in growth, shape and pigmentation of colony, conidial measurements and number of septa. Conidial length varied from 106.7 to 285.9 µm, width 33.5 to 57.0 µm and beak length...
June 2012
Heterogeneity of aminoglycoside resistance genes profile in clinical Staphylococcus aureus isolates
One hundred clinical Staphylococcus aureus including 57 methicillin-resistant (MRSA) and 43 methicllin-sensitive (MSSA) isolates were analyzed for susceptibility to three aminoglycosides and for the presence of genes encoding aminoglycoside modifying enzymes (AMEs). 52% of these isolates were resistant to 1-3 aminoglycosides, which included 65% MRSA and 35% MSSA isolates. The...
June 2012
Evaluating the effect of acetic acid, furfural and catechol on the growth and lipid accumulation of Trichosporon fermentans by response surface methodology
The effect of combination of acetic acid, furfural and catechol on the growth and lipid accumulation of oleaginous yeast Trichosporon fermentans was systematically studied by response surface methodology (RSM). A 5-level 3-factor central composite design (CCD) was used to build the statistical model. The results measured by RSM showed that each inhibitor exhibited significant negative effect on the...
June 2012
Purification and characterization of Aspergillus niger α-L-rhamnosidase for the biotransformation of naringin to prunin
An α-L-rhamnosidase, which was extracted from the fermented broth of Aspergillus nigerwas purified, characterized and confirmed via biotransformation of naringin to prunin. After being purified to homogeneity by ammonium sulphate fractionation and chromatography on diethylaminoethanol (DEAE) Sepharose and Sephacryl S-200 HR columns, the enzyme was determined by the exclusive gel chromatography and...
June 2012
Prevalence of Hepatitis B and C among hemodialysis and thalassemic patients in a special medical center in East Tehran in 2011
The blood born transmitted viral hepatitis occurs after frequent blood infusions among patients with thalassaemia and hemodialysis disease, and in a large number of these patients severe and chronic liver disease developed. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of hepatitis B and C serology among hemodialysis and thalassemic patients in a special medical center in East of Tehran in 2011. This...
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