Abstract Human pathogens can survive and grow in hot springs. For water quality assessment, Escherichia coli or Enterococci are the main thermotolerant enteric bacteria commonly used to estimate the load of pathogenic bacteria in water. However, most of the environmental bacteria are unculturable thus culture methods may cause bias in detection of most pathogens. Illumina sequencing can provide a more comprehensive and accurate insight into environmental bacterial pathogens, which can be use...
Abstract Background: Drugs are an important tool for control of malaria. However, drug resistance is likely to compromise available antimalarial drugs with time. As a result, efforts are being directed towards discovery and development of novel and affordable malaria drug molecules including those from medicinal plants. Objectives: To investigate suppressive, curative, prophylactic and acute toxicity properties of hexane and chloroform extracts of Clausena anisata against murine malaria. Met...
Abstract Stem borers (Chilo partellus) are important field insect pests of maize (Zea mays L.) and sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.) in Africa. They account for more than 30% yield losses depending on the composition of the pest community. C. partellus larvicide like Bacillus thuringiensis have been widely and effectively used in C. partellus control programs, but the industrial production of theses bacilli is expensive. Here we have attempted to develop three cost-effective media, based on legum...
Abstract Bean rust (Uromyces appendiculatus (Pers.:Pers.) Unger var. appendiculatus) is one of the most devastating and variable pathogens of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) worldwide that can cause total crop loss. Characterization of bean rust races can help in screening resistant materials during gene pyramiding. The aims of the present research were first, to characterize bean rust isolates collected from snap bean growing areas in Kenya. Secondly, to identify which of the available ...
Abstract The current operational setup in Kenya’s Universities is a turbulent one and highly competitive market condition. To ensure survival and sustainability, public universities require to adopt and implement competitive strategies. Many scholars have investigated sustainability efforts by universities in pursuit of performance, however, it is still not clear how sustainable strategies have the greatest influence on the performance of Public Universities. Thus, the study set to establi...
Abstract Background Grains of important food and export crops in Africa are susceptible to contamination by toxin-producing moulds. Aflatoxins are mycotoxins associated with liver damage and cancer in humans and animals. These toxic substances are produced by fungi (such as Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus) in food and feed exposed to poor conditions during crop cultivation, storage or processing of harvest. The presence of aflatoxins in especially maize and peanuts in Kenya is...
Abstract Bacillus thuringiensis strains are widely used in many larvicidal pest control programs. However, the large-scale production of these biolarvicides is very expensive due to the high cost of the production synthetic medium. In this study, we developed cost-effective media, based on locally available raw materials namely legumes, potato, and whey. The optical density, protein concentration yield, sporulation and Chilo partellus larvicidal action were studied by growing bacterial strai...
Abstract Lake Elmenteita is one of the alkaline saline lakes within the Kenyan Rift valley. The lake is situated on the floor of the Kenyan Rift Valley at 1,776 m above sea level and has no direct outlet. The microbial diversity of the lake was investigated using a culture-independent approach. Five different sampling points were selected randomly within the lake. Wet sediments and water samples were collected from each sampling point. In addition, dry mud cake was collected from three point...
Abstract Greywater (GW) is household wastewater effluent originating from baths, showers, kitchen and hand wash basins and laundry and constitutes 50-80% of indoor household water use. It represents water that can potentially be intercepted at the household level for use. In Kenya, GW use is practiced on an informal basis to supplement irrigation water, either in urban gardens in middle to upper income suburbs or in food gardens in lower income informal, periurban and rural areas. However, t...
Abstract The breeding programmes of many crops use diallel analyses because of the genetic information they offer to breeders. Six morphological and agronomic traits of Snap bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) were studied to investigate their gene action, and to estimate the general combining abilities (GCA) and specific combining abilities (SCA) of parents and crosses. Three snap bean varieties - Amy, Monel and Morlane and two dry bean varieties - GLP 20 and GLPX 92 were used as parents in a comp...
Abstract Aims: Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is a crop with largely unexplored and unexplained potentially valuable genetic variability. The knowledge and understanding of the extent of genetic variation of cassava germplasm is important for conservation and improvement. Objective: The current study was to investigate the genetic divergence of cassava mutants, hybrids and landraces using simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. Methodology: Genetic diversity of ten cassava genotypes was de...
Abstract Development and deployment of genetically engineered crops requires effective environmental and food safety assessment capacity. In-country expertise is needed to make locally appropriate decisions. In April 2007, biosafety and biotechnology scientists, regulators, educators, and communicators from Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, met to examine the status and needs of biosafety training and educational programs in East Africa. Workshop participants emphasized the importance of developi...
Abstract Meloidogyne incognita causes huge yield losses in rice which is the third most important cereal crop in Kenya. The aim of this study was to identify M. incognita-resistant rice cultivars from Kenya and relate the responses to known resistance pathways with OsPR1a, OsPAL1, and OsJAMYB as marker genes in rice. Five rice cultivars BW 196, Basmati 217 (Pishori), Sindano, IR 2793-80-1 (grown in lowland irrigated fields), and NERICA 4 (grown in upland rainfed fields) were evaluated for re...
Abstract Thermophiles are excellent sources of enzymes that can withstand and carry out reactions efficiently under high temperatures. This study isolated and characterised thermotolerant bacteria that produce enzymes of potential industrial value from five hot springs in Eritrea. A total of 65 bacterial isolates were obtained from the five hot springs. Out of the 65 isolates; 19 isolates produced a positive reaction for amylases, 36 for carboxymethyl cellulases, eight for proteases, 10 for ...
Abstract: A system which comprises intercropping between rows of maize with plants that repel stem borers and attract natural enemies, and which also dramatically reduce the level of striga infestation, combined with a surrounding crop of plants that trap out pests, has been developed for use by resource-poor farmers in sub-Saharan Africa.The intercrop and trap crops provide forage for cattle and goats. The technology is called “push-pull”. It is knowledge-intensive and there are lessons...