Isolation and characterization of repetitive DNA in Perna viridis

Abstrac

Characterization of the chicken genomic growth hormone gene (Wai Chow strain)

This journal suppl. entitled: Abstracts of Papers Presented at the 89th Annual Meeting of the Poultry Science Association, Inc.Genomic chicken growth hormone gene (cGH), similar to that of mammalian GH, has been reported to consist of five exons and four introns. However, the introns of the cGH gene are significantly larger than those reported in mammalian growth hormone genes, and the 5’-flanking region where regulatory sequences are located also shares only little homology with other mammalian GH genes. Therefore, the present study investigates the genomic structure of a Chinese strain chicken GH gene and the cis-regulatory elements located in the promoter region. Genomic DNA clones containing the cGH gene and its promoter have been isolated from a genomic library constructed from a Chinese strain chicken, Wai Chow. The cGH gene was subcloned and subjected to PCR sequence analysis. There are 8 additions and 26 substitutions found in intron regions of the cGH gene as compared to previous published data, whereas there is only 1 silent substitution (CTC, Leu to CTG, Leu) found at position 2338bp in exon 4. In addition, a 500 base pairs fragment upstream from the transcription start site has also been cloned and sequenced. Result shows that there is a single base pair deletion located at 5 base pairs upstream from a proposed TATA box. Deletion analysis on the 500 base pairs fragment will be carried out using a reporter gene system to study the cis-regulatory elements at the promoter region. Characterization of the promoter region will elicit the molecular regulation of GH gene expression in chicken

Multicomponent antimicrobial transparent polymer coatings

Transparent poly vinyl alcohol (PVA) based coatings with antimicrobial activity against a wide range of microorganisms have been prepared. The films have been prepared by spincoating a mixture of PVA, ammonium dichromate and metal (zinc or silver) precursor from water solutions, and then rendered insoluble by crosslinking under UV illumination. Antimicrobial activity has been tested against different bacteria and fungi, such as Bacillus atrophaeus, Bacillus megaterium, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecium, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella enterica, Escherichia coli, Neurospora crassa, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. It was found that combining the zinc and silver precursors resulted in films which had excellent antimicrobial activity and at the same time exhibited superior environmental stability compared to films containing prepared with single metal precursor. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.link_to_subscribed_fulltex

Electrodeposition for antibacterial nickel-oxide-based coatings

Nickel-oxide-based films exhibiting antibacterial activity against both Gram-negative (Escherichia coli) and Gram-positive bacteria (Bacillus atrophaeus) have been fabricated by electrodeposition from aqueous solutions. However, after annealing of the films, no antibacterial activity has been observed. As-deposited films were found to consist of a mixture of nickel-oxide hydroxide and nickel hydroxide, while annealing resulted in the conversion of the films into pure NiO. Also, annealed films exhibited no production of H2O2, unlike as-deposited films. Thus, antibacterial activity of as-deposited films is related to the presence of nickel-oxide hydroxide/nickel hydroxide which results in the production of reactive oxygen species and antibacterial activity. © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.link_to_subscribed_fulltex

Corrigendum to: "Electrodeposition for antibacterial nickel-oxide-based coatings" [Thin Solid Films 517 (2009) 6527-6530] (DOI:10.1016/j.tsf.2009.04.018)

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Antibacterial activity of ZnO nanorods prepared by a hydrothermal method

We investigated antibacterial activity of ZnO nanorods prepared by a hydrothermal method against a gram-negative bacterium Escherichia coli and a gram-positive bacterium Bacillus atrophaeus. Antibacterial activity of ZnO nanorod coatings was studied on solid substrates covered with nutrient agar, as well as in liquid nutrient broth for different concentrations of ZnO nanorods, nanoparticles, and powder. ZnO exhibited antibacterial activity against both E. coli and B. atrophaeus, but it was considerably more effective in the latter case (at 15 mM vs. 5 mM concentration, respectively, showing zero viable cell count). For both organisms, damage of the cell membranes was found, and the effect was more pronounced for B. atrophaeus. Chemiluminescence analysis has been used to detect the release of hydrogen peroxide from ZnO structures, and the effect of H2O2 on the E. coli and B. atrophaeus was studied. Since significant differences were observed in the effect of ZnO nanostructures and H2O2 on B. atrophaeus, it can be concluded that there are other mechanisms contributing to the antibacterial activity of ZnO nanostructures. © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.link_to_subscribed_fulltex

Antibacterial and photocatalytic activity of TiO2 and ZnO nanomaterials in phosphate buffer and saline solution

We studied antibacterial and photocatalytic activity of anatase TiO 2 and ZnO in phosphate buffer and saline solution. We found that the different anions in the suspension medium (chloride and phosphate) significantly affected the following suspension properties: the stability of nanoparticle suspension, the release of metal ions from the nanoparticles, and the production of the reactive oxygen species by the nanoparticles. As a result, antibacterial activity and photocatalytic dye degradation were also affected. However, the effect of the suspension medium was different for ZnO and TiO2. Obtained results are discussed. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.link_to_subscribed_fulltex