New Frontier of Plant Breeding Using Gamma Irradiation and Biotechnology

Mutation is an underlying cause of evolution as a mutant, either natural or artificial, with a novel trait may be preferentially selected for nature because of its superior survival adaptive features. Because of the desirability of the novelty, mutation is the heritable change to an individual’s genetic makeup, which is passed on from parent to offspring and thereby, drives evolution. In nature, mutations are spontaneously caused by errors in the DNA replication. Gamma radiation induced mutation in plant breeding is the one effective method that can cause DNA changes via direct and indirect actions. Many crop varieties have been created using gamma irradiation mutagenesis technology for trait improvement that enhance the characteristic or increase the abiotic and biotic stress tolerance. Plant breeding and genetics procedure usually start from mutation induction by gamma irradiation and work with the other modern enabling technologies, such as tissue culture or molecular genetics. Tissue culture and bioreactor techniques are used for synthesizing new plant varieties, while the molecular genetic technique is used for genetic analysis of the new varieties. The irradiation coupled with new modern tissue culture and molecular genetic technology is widely used to induce plant mutation breeding for creating new commercial plant varieties

Experimental investigation on biodiesel production through simultaneous esterification and transesterification using mixed rare earth catalysts

In this study, biodiesel production through simultaneous esterification and transesterification of palm oil with 10 wt% of oleic acid using the mixed rare earth catalyst was investigated. The mixed rare earth catalysts were prepared via the co-precipitation method. The effects of the precipitating parameters such as temperature, stirring speed and pH on the physicochemical and morphology of the catalysts were studied. All catalysts were thoroughly characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectrometer (SEM-EDS), fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), N2adsorption/desorption, CO2 temperature programmed desorption (CO2-TPD) and NH3 temperature programmed desorption. (NH3-TPD). The results indicated that the mixed rare earth catalyst prepared under the precipitation conditions: at pH 9, a stirring of 400 rpm and temperature of 30 °C showed the highest catalytic of 90% FAME content. High surface area of the catalyst, a significant larger amount of Ce and La contents in the catalyst and an appropriate amount of acid and basic sites on the catalyst led to the high catalytic activity. The catalyst could also accelerate the initial reaction rate to achieve the high FAME content of 50% within 30 min