Shame and respectability : a narrative inquiry into Cape Town’s ‘coloured’ families through photographs, cultural practices and oral histories (c. 1950 to 2016)

This study investigates the notion of ‘colouredness’ in South Africa by thinking through representation and attendant ideas of shame and respectability. The family photograph offers a lens through which we may view what it meant to live through apartheid, occupying an intermediate space in terms of race, colour, language, religion and social and cultural status, and how these impact on a sense of belonging in a post-apartheid South Africa, in particular, Cape Town. As such, the study responds to a need to understand what it means to be part of this diverse group of South Africans who continue to occupy peripheral spaces in the larger South African landscape and is an attempt to provide insight into the long reach of an oppressive past. The issue of representation and history is central to the research and the thesis suggests that the very act of dressing up – performance – and sitting for photographs was a site of resistance against the way ‘coloured’ people were portrayed through the continuum of slavery, colonialism and apartheid. Family photographs serve as memory aids and help us to access stories, revealing a way of life that disturbs the conventional representation that oppression dictated (Hirsch, 1999). The question of self-representation, cultural and social practices is understood to be deeply political and has particular meaning in a contemporary South Africa that still bears the scars of a past where ‘black’ bodies were legislated as being less than human. As a creative writer, I frame my research in terms of narrative in order to better understand how the stories are structured, who produces them, and how they are consumed. Narrative research focuses on the lives of individuals as told through their own stories, giving them the opportunity to define who they are and where they come from. The stories of those who have been marginalised or oppressed bear witness to a life under apartheid. I acknowledge the difficulty of being an objective researcher while examining these photographs, stories, and memories which I filter through the lens which I am using. This is therefore, in part, an auto-ethnographic study; my own attempt to find meaning for what it means to be named and understood as ‘coloured’ in a democratic South Africa. Shame is a principal source of identity for minorities, and the idea of respectability is a historically important mode of structuring unequal social relations in the African and ‘coloured’ worlds (Kaufman, 1996; Ross, 2015). The desire to prove respectability, I argue, is central to the experience of ‘colouredness’, tightly bound to a legacy of slavery and the ‘civilising’ mission of the church and Christian National Education. This study therefore starts with an examination of the genealogy of ‘coloured’ and examines the lived experiences of ordinary people against a background of dehumanising legislation and narratives of subjugation. The thesis re-presents the lives of ‘coloured’ people by offering a platform for the expression of multiple narratives through which the past may be acknowledged and legitimised, leading to the dismantling of racial identities. I hope that it may serve both a cathartic and a restorative function and ultimately contribute to further dialogue which will assist in the healing and integration of our society so that we may transcend race and view each other as human.Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2018.Historical and Heritage StudiesPhDUnrestricte

A proteomic approach to investigate the response of tef (Eragrostis tef) to drought

Includes bibliographical referencesEragrostis tef, commonly known as tef, is an important staple food and forage crop indigenous to Ethiopia. Tef plants are highly adaptable to abiotic stress conditions and are able to grow and produce grain yields under a wide range of environmental conditions, particularly under drought stress. In this study, tef plants were subjected to controlled dehydration stress treatment and physiologically characterised using relative water content (RWC), electrolyte leakage and chlorophyll fluorescence measurements, to establish critical water content stages for investigation of changes to the tef proteome in response to dehydration stress. Physiological testing showed tef viability to be retained to 30% RWC, however, further water loss to below 30% RWC, resulted in total loss of viability. Physiological characterisation with dehydration treatment showed a maximum leakage rate of 780 μS.min-¹.gdw-¹ and complete photosynthetic disruption with Fv/Fm and ɸPSII values decreasing to 0.2, below 30% RWC. Additionally, ultra-structural analysis using transmission electron microscopy showed extensive damage to the subcellular organisation of tef plant cells at water contents below 30% RWC. Based on these physiological data, it was decided to investigate the proteome of tef leaf dehydrated tissues at 50% RWC, as a non-lethal dehydration stress, as compared to hydrated tissues at 80% RWC. Proteomic analyses using iTRAQ mass spectrometry coupled to peptide OFFGEL fractionation and appropriate database searching with the Tef Extended and Liliopsida databases enabled the generation of three dataset results. These datasets, each contained a substantial amount of database matched proteins, where 5727 proteins for the Tef Extended (TE), 2656 proteins for the Tef Extended unique (TEU) and 4328 proteins for the Monocot unique (MU) datasets, were identified. Statistical analyses on peptide relative quantification values showed differential regulation of 211 proteins for the TE dataset, 111 proteins for the TEU dataset and 174 proteins for the MU dataset, in response to dehydration stress. A reciprocal BLAST search through the use of OrthoMCL with all three differentially regulated datasets (foregrounds) showed the TE foreground to provide the most comprehensive total protein coverage for further bioinformatics inference. Bioinformatics analysis using the programs Mercator, MapMan and Blast 2GO showed a diverse range of biological processes, where functional enrichment of GO-terms involved in biotic and abiotic stress response, signalling, transport, cellular homeostasis and pentose metabolic processes were enriched in tef high-abundance proteins. GO-terms linked to ROS producing processes such as photosynthetic reactions, cell wall catabolism, manganese transport and homeostasis, the synthesis of sugars and cell wall modification were enriched in tef low-abundance proteins. Additionally, KEGG analysis was used to observe tef proteins mapped to various biological pathways, of which the stress-responsive pathways, glutathione metabolism and ascorbate and aldarate metabolism were analysed in depth. Furthermore, biological validation of a few high-abundance proteins generated from iTRAQ analysis in the form of western blotting and relevant enzyme assays were conducted. The results showed the proteins fructose-bisphosphate aldolase (FBA), glutamine synthetase (GLN), functioning in plant maintenance 2 processes as well as the stress-protective antioxidant proteins, monodehydroascorbate reductase (MDHAR), peroxidase (POX) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) to be accumulated and further support iTRAQ findings. To date, this is the first study that has investigated the proteome profile of tef in response to dehydration

Technology generation to dissemination:lessons learned from the tef improvement project

Indigenous crops also known as orphan crops are key contributors to food security, which is becoming increasingly vulnerable with the current trend of population growth and climate change. They have the major advantage that they fit well into the general socio-economic and ecological context of developing world agriculture. However, most indigenous crops did not benefit from the Green Revolution, which dramatically increased the yield of major crops such as wheat and rice. Here, we describe the Tef Improvement Project, which employs both conventional- and molecular-breeding techniques to improve tef\u2014an orphan crop important to the food security in the Horn of Africa, a region of the world with recurring devastating famines. We have established an efficient pipeline to bring improved tef lines from the laboratory to the farmers of Ethiopia. Of critical importance to the long-term success of this project is the cooperation among participants in Ethiopia and Switzerland, including donors, policy makers, research institutions, and farmers. Together, European and African scientists have developed a pipeline using breeding and genomic tools to improve the orphan crop tef and bring new cultivars to the farmers in Ethiopia. We highlight a new variety, Tesfa, developed in this pipeline and possessing a novel and desirable combination of traits. Tesfa\u2019s recent approval for release illustrates the success of the project and marks a milestone as it is the first variety (of many in the pipeline) to be released

Genetic diversity in tef [Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter]

Tef [Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter] is a cereal crop resilient to adverse climatic and soil conditions, and possessing desirable storage properties. Although tef provides high quality food and grows under marginal conditions unsuitable for other cereals, it is considered to be an orphan crop because it has benefited little from genetic improvement. Hence, unlike other cereals such as maize and wheat, the productivity of tef is extremely low. In spite of the low productivity, tef is widely cultivated by over six million small-scale farmers in Ethiopia where it is annually grown on more than three million hectares of land, accounting for over 30% of the total cereal acreage. Tef, a tetraploid with 40 chromosomes (2n = 4x = 40), belongs to the family Poaceae and, together with finger millet (Eleusine coracana Gaerth.), to the subfamily Chloridoideae. It was originated and domesticated in Ethiopia. There are about 350 Eragrostis species of which E. tef is the only species cultivated for human consumption. At the present time, the gene bank in Ethiopia holds over five thousand tef accessions collected from geographical regions diverse in terms of climate and elevation. These germplasm accessions appear to have huge variability with regard to key agronomic and nutritional traits. In order to properly utilize the variability in developing new tef cultivars, various techniques have been implemented to catalog the extent and unravel the patterns of genetic diversity. In this review, we show some recent initiatives investigating the diversity of tef using genomics, transcriptomics and proteomics and discuss the prospect of these efforts in providing molecular resources that can aid modern tef breeding

Crossing borders: conscious journeys with my family

Includes bibliographical references.This work of creative non-fiction encompasses episodes of travel motivated by the author’s desire to expose her children to different cultures and philosophies as an antidote to her own experiences of growing up during apartheid. The journeys are undertaken over a period of 18 years, starting in 1993, just before the birth of a democratic South Africa. Crossing borders refers to both personal and physical expansion, juxtaposing the isolation of apartheid with the freedom to explore that which was foreign. The main theme is that of leaving home to extend one’s view of self in relation to the world, inculcating the possibility of a global community of mutual respect. Minor themes are identity and searching for roots and a sense of belonging; religious tolerance, equality, respect, climate change and children’s rights are some of the issues grappled with in countries as diverse as Cuba, Greenland and Sweden. Although each chapter focuses on a different country, themes of dispossession, discrimination, colonialism and struggle run throughout. The author uses travel as the vehicle to educate her children beyond the borders of a family and a country emerging from a repressive past , teaching them to challenge stereotypes and showing them that people are not that different on the other side o f a man -made divide. Underpinning this family memoir is the joy of travel and discovery of a wealth of culture, history and mythology through the children’s eyes. The children’s development is traced from infancy through adolescence to early adulthood and concludes with the hope that the foundation has been laid to make a constructive contribution to a more empathetic society

A methodological investigation into the roots of the resurrection plant, Xerophyta viscosa, for further proteomic analyses

In order to conduct proteomic analysis on the hydrated root tissues of the resurrection plant, Xerophyta viscosa Baker, aeroponically grown plant roots were subjected to various proteomic techniques. Three protein extraction methods were investigated, of which one method, was the most suited in isolating total protein from the root tissues of X. viscosa

Advances of single-cell genomics and epigenomics in human disease: Where are we now?

Cellular heterogeneity is revolutionizing the way to study, monitor and dissect complex diseases. This has been possible with the technological and computational advances associated to single-cell genomics and epigenomics. Deeper understanding of cell-to-cell variation and its impact on tissue function will open new avenues for early disease detection, accurate diagnosis and personalized treatments, all together leading to the next generation of health care. This review focuses on the recent discoveries that single-cell genomics and epigenomics have facilitated in the context of human health. It highlights the potential of single-cell omics to further advance the development of personalized treatments and precision medicine in cancer, diabetes and chronic age-related diseases. The promise of single-cell technologies to generate new insights about the differences in function between individual cells is just emerging, and it is paving the way for identifying biomarkers and novel therapeutic targets to tackle age, complex diseases and understand the effect of life style interventions and environmental factors

The use of aeroponics to investigate antioxidant activity in the roots of Xerophyta viscosa

Abstract In order to ultimately understand the whole plant mechanism of attaining desiccation tolerance, we undertook to investigate the root tissues of the resurrection plant Xerophyta viscosa, as previous work has only been conducted on the leaf tissues of resurrection plants. An aeroponic plant growth system was designed and optimised to observe the root's response to desiccation without the restrictions of a soil medium, allowing easy access to roots. Successful culture of both X.viscosa and the control, Zea mays, was achieved and dehydration stress was implemented through reduction of nutrient solution spraying of the roots. After drying to the air dry state (achieved after 7 days for roots and 10 days for shoots), rehydration was achieved by resumption of root spraying. X.viscosa plants survived desiccation and recovered but Z. mays did not. The activity of the antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase, catalase, ascorbate peroxidase and glutathione reductase and quantities of ascorbate and glutathione were determined during root desiccation. There was an initial decline in activity in all enzymes upon drying to 80% RWC, but activity thereafter remained constant, at rates indicative of potential metabolic activity, to the air-dry state. This data suggests that these enzymes are not denatured by desiccation of the root tissue. Ascorbate and glutathione content remained constant at concentrations of 70 and 100 lM, respectively during drying. Thus root tissues appear to retain antioxidant potential during drying, for use in recovery upon rehydration, as has been reported for leaf tissues of this and other resurrection plants

A Proteomic Approach to Investigate the Drought Response in the Orphan Crop Eragrostis tef

The orphan crop, Eragrostis tef, was subjected to controlled drought conditions to observe the physiological parameters and proteins changing in response to dehydration stress. Physiological measurements involving electrolyte leakage, chlorophyll fluorescence and ultra-structural analysis showed tef plants tolerated water loss to 50% relative water content (RWC) before adverse effects in leaf tissues were observed. Proteomic analysis using isobaric tag for relative and absolute quantification (iTRAQ) mass spectrometry and appropriate database searching enabled the detection of 5727 proteins, of which 211 proteins, including a number of spliced variants, were found to be differentially regulated with the imposed stress conditions. Validation of the iTRAQ dataset was done with selected stress-related proteins, fructose-bisphosphate aldolase (FBA) and the protective antioxidant proteins, monodehydroascorbate reductase (MDHAR) and peroxidase (POX). Western blot analyses confirmed protein presence and showed increased protein abundance levels during water deficit while enzymatic activity for FBA, MDHAR and POX increased at selected RWC points. Gene ontology (GO)-term enrichment and analysis revealed terms involved in biotic and abiotic stress response, signaling, transport, cellular homeostasis and pentose metabolic processes, to be enriched in tef upregulated proteins, while terms linked to reactive oxygen species (ROS)-producing processes under water-deficit, such as photosynthesis and associated light harvesting reactions, manganese transport and homeostasis, the synthesis of sugars and cell wall catabolism and modification, to be enriched in tef downregulated proteins