Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) in Vector Systems Played Sense Role of Epigenetic in Plants

The green fluorescent protein (GFP) of jellyfish (_Aequorea victoria_) has significant advantages over other reporter genes, because expression can be detected in living cells without any substrates. Recently, epigenetic phenomena are important to consider in plant biotechnology experiments for elucidate unknown mechanism. Therefore, soybean immature cotyledons were generated embryogenesis cells and engineered with two different gene constructs (pHV and pHVS) using gene gun method. Both constructs contain a gene conferring resistance to hygromycin (_hpt_) as a selective marker and a modified glycinin (11S globulin) gene (_V3-1_) as a target. However, sGFP(_S65T_) as a reporter gene was used only in pHVS as a reporter gene for study the relation between using sGFP(_S65T_) and gene silencing phenomena. Fluorescence microscopic was used for screening after the selection of hygromycin, identified clearly the expression of sGFP(_S65T_) in the transformed soybean embryos bombarded with the pHVS construct. Protein analysis was used to detect gene expression overall seeds using SDS-PAGE. Percentage of gene down regulation was highly in pHV construct compared with pHVS. Thus, sGFP(_S65T_) as a reporter gene in vector system may be play useful role for transgenic evaluation and avoid gene silencing in plants for the benefit of plant transformation system

Acetic Acid Adsorption onto Activated Carbon Derived from Pods of Acacia nilotica var astringens (Sunt tree) by Chemical Activation with ZnCl2

The purpose of this study is to prepare and investigate the adsorption behavior of acetic acid onto two samples of activated carbon prepared from Acacia nilotica var astringens, Sunt tree,( SUNT-C1 and SUNT-C2). Applicability Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin and Dubinin-Radushkevitch models of adsorptions isotherm have been tested, while acetic acid initial concentration varied between (0.010 – 0.300) mol/dm3. A comparative study of adsorption capacities of these samples was performed. The obtained data were compared and fitted well with the four models; there exist a correlation between physico- chemical properties of the activated carbons and the sorption processes. The maximum monolayer coverage (Qo) from Langmuir isotherm model was determined to be 1.016mg/g. Also from Freundlich Isotherm model, the sorption intensity (n) which indicates favourable sorption and the correlation value are 1.11 and 1.09 respectively. Keywords: Adsorption, Acacia nilotica var astringens, activated carbon, FTI

Langmuir, Freundlich Adsorption Isotherms and Kinetics for the Removal of Methylene Blue Dye from Aqueous Solution using Activated Carbon Derived from Pods of Acacia nilotica var astringens (Sunt tree) by Chemical Activation with ZnCl2

Adsorption of Methylene Blue dye from aqueous solution onto Activated carbon derived from   Acacia nilotica (Sunt tree) by chemical activation with ZnCl2, (SUNT-C2) has been studied using batch-adsorption techniques. This study was carried out to examine the adsorption capacity of the low-cost adsorbent (SUNT-C2) for the removal of Methylene Blue dye from aqueous solution. The influence of pH, initial dye concentration, adsorbent particle size, adsorbent dose and contact time on the adsorption process were also studied. Results revealed that adsorption rate initially increased rapidly, and the optimal removal efficiency was reached within about 100 mins. Further increase in contact time did not show significant change in equilibrium concentration; that is, the adsorption phase reached equilibrium. The adsorption isotherms could be fitted well by the Langmuir and Freundlich models. Also the adsorption process followed pseudo first order rate kinetics. Results indicate that, a new, environment friendly, freely abundant, locally available, lw-cost adsorbent, (SUNT-C2) was an attractive candidate for the removal of cationic dyes from dye wastewater. Keywords: Adsorption, Acacia nilotica, (SUNT-C2) activated carbon, Methylene Blue dye, pseudo first order rate kinetics, FTIR

Hubungan Konsentrasi Klorofil terhadap Konsentrasi Oksigen Terlarut di Perairan Pantai Cilacap

Klorofil dalam fitoplankton diketahui berperan penting sebagai penghasil oksigen, sehingga konsentrasi oksigen terlarut di perairan Cilacap di pengaruhi oleh konsentrasi klorofil. Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah menganalisis konsentrasi klorofil, konsentrasi oksigen terlarut dan hubungan keduanya. Metode survei ini mengukur konsentrasi klorofil dengan metode spektrofotometri dan pengukuran konsentrasi oksigen terlarut secara langsung menggunakan DO meter. Di perairan Cilacap konsentrasi klorofil, dengan tertinggi 30,94 μg/l dan terendah 0,018 μg/l. Di perairan Cilacap konsentrasi oksigen terlarut tertinggi 5,71 mg/l, dan yang terendah 3,92 mg/l. Hubungan konsentrasi klorofil terhadap oksigen terlarut berdasarkan lokasi adalah lemah untuk perairan Cilacap bagian barat dan hubungan yang kuat untuk perairan Cilacap bagian tengah dan timur. Hubungan konsentrasi klorofil terhadap konsentrasi oksigen terlarut berdasarkan jarak diperoleh hubungan yang lemah pada jarak 2 mil dari pantai dan cukup kuat pada jarak 1 dan 3 mil dari pantai. Kesuburan perairan berdasarkan lokasi diperoleh kesuburan rendah pada bagian barat dan tinggi pada bagian tengah dan timur

The Use of Talc Powder in Bleaching Cotton Fibers

It is known that the use of sodium silicate (Na2 Si2 O3) in bleaching has some disadvantages such as its high cost, harsh handle of the bleached fabric, and the reduction of the tensile strength of the fabric.Talc Powder is used in the bleaching of woven cotton fabrics as a stabilizer for hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) instead of using sodium silicate. Many experiments were carried out using talc powder at variable condi-tions such as temperature and pH. The same experiments were carried out using sodium silicate stabilizer. Several experiments were carried out on fabrics without a stabilizer.The bleached samples were tested for whiteness, absorbence, and tensile strength. The untreated samples were tested for comparison. The results of the tested samples were recorded and analysed using statistical methods.The study proved that very good whiteness and higher absorbence were obtained when using talc powder, besides that the loss in tensile strength is relatively low. Also it was observed that the softness and handle of fabrics were improved

Achalasia: unusual cause of chronic cough in children

Achalasia is a rare motility disorder of the esophagus which results from lack of enervation of the lower esophageal sphincter muscles and leads to dilatation of proximal esophagus. Patients with achalasia presents typically with dysphagia, vomiting of undigested food and failure to thrive. Cough can be present in achalasia patients due to aspiration of food or due to airway compression by the dilated esophagus. We report two cases of achalasia presenting primarily with prolonged cough. Diagnosis of achalasia in both cases was delayed due to this atypical presentation. This highlights the importance of recognizing achalasia as a potential cause of chronic cough in order to avoid delayed diagnosis and mismanagement

Callus Formation and Organogenesis of Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) Cultivar Almera

A procedure for plant regeneration from callus culture of potato, Solanum tuberosum L. is described. Calli were induced from 1.0 cm2 tuber segment of potato cultivar Almera on Murashige and Skoog's medium (MS) supplemented with different levels (1.0-5.0 mg/l) of 2, 4-dichlorophenoxy acetic acid (2, 4-D). The highest degree of callus formation (3.0) and hundred percent (100%) of explants produced nodular calli on MS medium within 7-12 days when supplemented with 2.0-5.0 mg/l of 2, 4-D. Calli were differentiated into shoot-primordia when subcultured on MS medium supplemented with 1.5 -5.0 mg/l of thidiazuron (TDZ) and 2.0-5.0 mg/l of benzyladenine (BA).  The best result for number of shoot per callus (3.3 ± 0.3) and longest shoot (0.8 ± 0.1) were obtained by using TDZ at 5.0 mg/l. Callus derived shoots were rooted most effectively in full-strength MS medium containing 1.0 mg L-1 IBA. The success of plant tissue culture for in vitro culture of potato was encouraged by acclimatization of the plantlets in the greenhouse conditions. Regenerated plants were morphologically uniform with normal leaf shape and growth pattern

Effect of Growth Regulators on In Vitro Morphogenic Response of Boscia senegalensis (Pers.) Lam. Poir. Using Mature Zygotic Embryos Explants

The percent study describes the in vitro responses of mature zygotic embryos of Boscia senegalensis to different concentrations (0.0–5.0 mg/L) of 6-benzyladnine (BA), Thidiazuron (TDZ), α-Naphthalene acetic acid (NAA), and 2, 4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2, 4-D) supplemented on Murashige and Skoog medium (MS). The plant growth regulators (PGRs) were considerably affected the morphogenetic responses. BA produced adventitious shoots through two ways: direct organogenesis and auxiliary shoot formation. Both 2, 4-D and TDZ tend to produce callus, whereas NAA improve the development of embryos to seedlings. Maximum number of shoots/explant (14.8 ± 0.6) was obtained on MS medium supplemented with 3.0 mg/L BA. 67.0% of excised shoots were rooted either on 1/2 MS medium augmented with or without 0.25 mg/L IBA. The highest number of roots (1.2 ± 0.4) and root length (0.5 ± 0.2 cm) was produced on 0.25 mg/L IBA-containing medium. Regenerated plants were successfully acclimatized and transferred to the green house with 70% survival rate. All the plants appeared morphologically uniform with normal growth pattern. A rapid (30 days), efficient and without subculturing protocol for in vitro regeneration of B. senegalensis was developed

Recovery of herbicide-resistant Azuki bean [Vigna angularis (Wild.), Ohwi & Ohashi] plants via Agrobacterium-mediated transformation

Transgenic azuki bean [Vigna angularis (Willd.) Ohwi & Ohashi] plants expressing the hygromycin phosphotransferase (hpt), green fluorescent protein (sgfp) and phosphinothricin acetyltransferase (bar) genes were obtained by Agrobacterium- tumefacients - mediated transformation. A total of 210 epicotyl explants were inoculated with A. tumefaciens strain EHA105, harboring the binary plasmid pZHBG on MS co-cultivation medium supplemented with 100 mM acetosyringone and 10 mg/l of BA. Following selection on MS medium with 15 mg/l of hygromycin, the regenerated adventitious shoots that formed on the induced calli were further screened for sgfp expression before transferred to rooting medium. 31 transgenic plants were obtained with transformation frequency of 14%. The presence of transgenes in transformed azuki bean plants was confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and southern blot analysis. Transcription of the bar and hpt genes was assessed by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis. sgfp- positive transgenic plants exhibited functional expression of the bar gene as determined by assaying for resistance to bialaphos applied directly to leaves. This result demonstrates the feasibility of introducing potentially useful agronomic traits into azuki bean through genetic engineering. Key Words: Agrobacterium tumefaciens, bar gene, bialaphos, transgenic, Vigna angulazris. African Journal of Biotechnology Vol.4(1) 2005: 61-6