Strategies to combat the problem of yam anthracnose disease: Status and prospects.

Yam (Dioscorea spp.) anthracnose, caused by Colletotrichum alatae, is the most devastating fungal disease of yam in West Africa, leading to 50%-90% of tuber yield losses in severe cases. In some instances, plants die without producing any tubers or each shoot may produce several small tubers before it dies if the disease strikes early.

Microsatellite fingerprinting and analysis of intra-population divergence in morphotaxonomic traits in a large (AAB genome) germplasm.

Plantain ( spp. AAB genome) is a major staple with an incredibly enormous potential for domestic and global trade that can serve as a vital source of income for many developing countries. The fruits are extraordinarily significant, providing an important and cheap source of dietary energy, vitamins, and several essential minerals to millions of consumers within the humid and sub-humid tropics.

Ploidy level and nucleotide variations in inflorescence dichotomous cultivars of plantain (Musa spp. AAB genome).

Background: Inflorescence dichotomy in Musa species is a rare developmental event which leads to the production of multiple bunches on a single pseudostem at fruiting. In spite of its fascinating attraction and seductive appeal, little is known about the cytogenetic basis and molecular mechanisms that could be ascribed to this phenomenon. To bridge this gap in information, an integrative approach using cytological fingerprinting and DNA ploidy level profiling (based on chromosome counting and flow cytometry) were assayed on five inflorescence dichotomous plantain varieties and a single-bunching cultivar that served as control.

Protective capacity of Artemisia annua as a potent antioxidant remedy against free radical damage.

Objective: To evaluate the antioxidant capacity of four leaf-derived solvent extracts of Artemisia annua (A. annua), a medicinal plant widely touted for its vast phyto-therapeutic potential.

Methods: A.

A safety assessment of the antimalarial herb Artemisia annua during pregnancy in Wistar rats.

Artemisia annua is a Chinese antimalarial herb that has been used for more than 2000 years. The maternal and foetal safety of the ethanolic leaf extract of therapeutically active Artemisia annua (EAA), with previously determined artemisinin yield of 1.098% was evaluated in Wistar rats.

Biochemical and haematological evaluation of repeated dose exposure of male Wistar rats to an ethanolic extract of Artemisia annua.

Artemisia annua is widely used for the treatment of malaria and other disorders. In a previous study, the artemisinin concentration in the dry leaves of A. annua grown under humid tropical conditions was determined to be 1.

Effects of ethanol extract of Artemisia annua L. against monogenean parasites of Heterobranchus longifilis.

Ethanol extract of Artemisia annua was effective in the dislodgement and mortality of monogenean parasites of juvenile Heterobranchus longifilis at concentrations ranging from 50 to 200 mg/l. Five hundred 1-week-old juvenile fish were stocked in hapa in earthen pond for 7 days to accumulate parasites. The approximate number of parasites per fish was confirmed by counting the number of parasites attached to body surfaces and the gills with a stereo-microscope before being exposed to the extract under in vivo conditions.

HIV-1 nef suppression by virally encoded microRNA.

Background: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are 21 to approximately 25-nucleotides (nt) long and interact with mRNAs to trigger either translational repression or RNA cleavage through RNA interference (RNAi), depending on the degree of complementarity with the target mRNAs. Our recent study has shown that HIV-1 nef dsRNA from AIDS patients who are long-term non-progressors (LTNPs) inhibited the transcription of HIV-1.

Results: Here, we show the possibility that nef-derived miRNAs are produced in HIV-1 persistently infected cells.

Feline foamy virus Tas protein is a DNA-binding transactivator.

Foamy viruses (FVs) harbour a transcriptional transactivator (Tas) and two Tas-responsive promoter regions, one in the 5' long terminal repeat (LTR) and the other an internal promoter (IP) in the envelope gene. To analyse the mechanism of transactivation of the FVs, the specificity of feline FV (FFV) Tas protein, which is more distantly related to the respective proteins of non-human primate origin, were investigated. FFV Tas has been shown specifically to activate gene expression from the cognate promoters.

RNA interference: potentials for the prevention of HIV infections and the challenges ahead.

Presently, Phase III efficacy trials with subunit immune antigens against the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection are occurring in both the USA and some Southeast Asian countries. However, there is no feeling of dèja vu within the scientific community that these studies will demonstrate meaningful protection against HIV infection, perhaps because the immune responses crucial for containment of the virus might not be elicited by this approach. Under this prevailing gloomy setting for international acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) therapy, RNA interference has been identified as a likely strategy in the understanding that inhibition of HIV replication can be mediated by post-transcriptional gene silencing through the production of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) nucleotide intermediates.