Oily bilge water treatment using indigenous soil bacteria: Implications for recycling the treated sludge in vegetable farming.

Hydrocarbon contamination from motorized vessels operating on seas threaten marine ecosystems and need to treated efficiently. A bilge wastewater treatment using indigenous bacteria isolated from oil contaminated soil was studied. Five bacterial isolates (Acinetobacter baumanni, Klebsiella aerogenes, Pseudomonas fluorescence, Bacillus subtilis and Brevibacterium linens) were isolated from port soil and used in the bilge water treatment.

Marine fungi showing multifunctional activity against human pathogenic microbes and cancer.

Multifunctional drugs have shown great promise in biomedicine. Organisms with antimicrobial and anticancer activity in combination with antioxidant activity need further research. The Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf coasts were randomly sampled to find fungi with multifunctional activity.

Treatment of heavy metal-polluted sewage sludge using biochar amendments and vermistabilization.

Heavy metal contamination of sewage sludge hampers its recycling. Contaminated sewage sludge was amended with different proportions of biochar and vermistabilized. Biochar produced from wheat straw was added at four proportions (0%, 2%, 4%, and 6%).

Biomonitoring coastal pollution on the Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Aden using macroalgae: A review.

The transporting of oil via the Arabian Gulf for centuries has resulted in the pollution of the coasts by heavy metals, and therefore, remediation actions are needed. In this review, we first evaluated heavy metal pollution on the coasts by assembling the research on published metal concentrations in sediments and water bodies surrounding the Arabian Peninsula. Research revealed uneven pollution of heavy metals, meaning that before remediation, the most polluted sites should be found.

Improving the efficiency of vermicomposting of polluted organic food wastes by adding biochar and mangrove fungi.

Vermicomposting of food waste amended with biochar and cow dung was studied during a 90-day composting period. The improvement of the vermicomposting process by adding three mangrove fungal species as additional amendments were studied. The use of mangrove fungi Acrophialophora jodhpurensis as a bio-catalytic actor during vermicomposting proved to be beneficial in terms of final compost quality (available N, P and K) and the shortening of the composting period.

Bioremediation of ossein effluents using the filamentous marine cyanobacterium Cylindrospermum stagnale.

Wastewater containg proteinaceous ossein effluents are problematic to be treated. We studied the possibility to treat ossein effluents with the marine cyanobacterium strain Cylindrospermum stagnale. After optimizing the culture conditions of the bacterium, three different types of ossein effluents were tested: dicalcium phosphate (DCP), high total dissolved solids (HTDS) and low total dissolved (LTDS).

Marine microorganisms as an untapped source of bioactive compounds.

The search for novel biologically active molecules has extended to the screening of organisms associated with less explored environments. In this sense, Oceans, which cover nearly the 67% of the globe, are interesting ecosystems characterized by a high biodiversity that is worth being explored. As such, marine microorganisms are highly interesting as promising sources of new bioactive compounds of potential value to humans.

Effect of sampling time on the heavy metal concentrations of brown algae: A bioindicator study on the Arabian Gulf coast.

Macroalgae have often been studied as bioindicators for heavy metal pollution on sea coasts including the Arabian Gulf. On the Arabian Gulf coasts, heavy metals are continuously being released by industrial activities and therefore, pollution monitoring is needed. Biomonitoring studies using macroalgae has given highly different assessments due to the variability in algal species and sampling time points.

Accumulation of heavy metals in a macrophyte Phragmites australis: implications to phytoremediation in the Arabian Peninsula wadis.

Heavy metal-polluted wetlands could be remediated by harvesting metal accumulating plants, i.e., using phytoextraction.

Potential use of green algae as a biosorbent for hexavalent chromium removal from aqueous solutions.

The hexavalent chromium Cr(VI) poses a threat as a hazardous metal and its removal from aquatic environments through biosorption has gained attention as a viable technology of bioremediation. We evaluated the potential use of three green algae (, and ) dry biomass as a biosorbent to remove Cr(VI) from aqueous solutions. The adsorption capacity of the biomass was determined using batch experiments.

Adsorptive removal of cadmium ions by Spirulina platensis dry biomass.

Cadmium is one of the most toxic substances found in aquatic ecosystems. This metal tends to accumulate in photosynthetic plants and fish and is transferred to humans causing many diseases. It has to be removed from our environment to reduce any health risks.

Lead removal by Spirulina platensis biomass.

In this investigation, we report on the biosorption of Pb (II) from aqueous solutions by the nonliving biomass of the micro-alga (cyanobacterium) Spirulina platensis. Propagation of the micro-alga was carried out in outside oblong raceway ponds. The biomass was cleaned, dried and used for the investigation.

Assessment of antioxidant activities in roots of Miswak (Salvadora persica) plants grown at two different locations in Saudi Arabia.

Traditionally, in Middle Eastern countries, many cultures use chewing sticks of arak for medicinal purposes especially, for oral cleanliness care. It was used by Muslims for treatment of teeth and highly recommended to be used by Muslims during the whole day. Therefore, the present work aimed to determine the total phenolic content and total flavonoids in two Miswak extracts obtained from arak roots collected from two different localities in Saudi Arabia.

DNA marker technology for wildlife conservation.

Use of molecular markers for identification of protected species offers a greater promise in the field of conservation biology. The information on genetic diversity of wildlife is necessary to ascertain the genetically deteriorated populations so that better management plans can be established for their conservation. Accurate classification of these threatened species allows understanding of the species biology and identification of distinct populations that should be managed with utmost care.

Application of mitochondrial genes sequences for measuring the genetic diversity of Arabian oryx.

Arabian oryx (Oryx leucoryx) had faced extinction in the wild more than three decades ago and was saved by the prudent efforts of captive breeding programs. A clear understanding of the molecular diversity of contemporary Arabian oryx population is important for the long term success of captive breeding and reintroduction of this potentially endangered species. We have sequenced the segments of mitochondrial DNA including12S rRNA, 16S rRNA, cytochrome b (Cyt-b) and control region (CR) genes of 24 captive-bred and reintroduced animals.

A simple method for DNA extraction from mature date palm leaves: impact of sand grinding and composition of lysis buffer.

Molecular marker techniques have been widely used for cultivar identification of inbred date palms (Phoenix dactylifera L.; Arecaceae) and biodiversity conservation. Isolation of highly pure DNA is the prerequisite for PCR amplification and subsequent use such as DNA fingerprinting and sequencing of genes that have recently been developed for barcoding.

A brief review of molecular techniques to assess plant diversity.

Massive loss of valuable plant species in the past centuries and its adverse impact on environmental and socioeconomic values has triggered the conservation of plant resources. Appropriate identification and characterization of plant materials is essential for the successful conservation of plant resources and to ensure their sustainable use. Molecular tools developed in the past few years provide easy, less laborious means for assigning known and unknown plant taxa.

Measuring the genetic diversity of Arabian Oryx using microsatellite markers: implication for captive breeding.

Arabian oryx (Oryx leucoryx) is an endangered antelope that is being protected by captive breeding programs. However, the long term success of these programs mainly depends on the prudent use of molecular information for conservation management. We have used an array of seven microsatellite loci to examine the molecular diversity in a representative population of 24 captive-bred and reintroduced Arabian oryx.

Application of simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers for molecular diversity and heterozygosity analysis in maize inbred lines.

There is an important role of understanding the genetic diversity among and within inbred lines at the molecular level for maize improvement in different breeding programs. The present study was devoted to estimate the level of genetic diversity among the inbred lines of maize using the simple sequence repeat analysis (SSR). The application of six different SSR markers successfully provided the information on similarity or diversity as well as the heterozygosity of the allelic loci for all the eight inbred line of maize.

Bayesian, maximum parsimony and UPGMA models for inferring the phylogenies of antelopes using mitochondrial markers.

This investigation was aimed to compare the inference of antelope phylogenies resulting from the 16S rRNA, cytochrome-b (cyt-b) and d-loop segments of mitochondrial DNA using three different computational models including Bayesian (BA), maximum parsimony (MP) and unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA). The respective nucleotide sequences of three Oryx species (Oryx leucoryx, Oryx dammah and Oryx gazella) and an out-group (Addax nasomaculatus) were aligned and subjected to BA, MP and UPGMA models for comparing the topologies of respective phylogenetic trees. The 16S rRNA region possessed the highest frequency of conserved sequences (97.