Quantitative trait loci analysis of flowering time related traits identified in recombinant inbred lines of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata).

Flowering time is a major adaptive trait in plants and an important selection criterion in the breeding for genetic improvement of crop species. QTLs for the time of flower opening and days to flower were identified in a cross between a short duration domesticated cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.

Divergent pattern of nuclear genetic diversity across the range of the Afromontane Prunus africana mirrors variable climate of African highlands.

Background And Aims: Afromontane forest ecosystems share a high similarity of plant and animal biodiversity, although they occur mainly on isolated mountain massifs throughout the continent. This resemblance has long provoked questions on former wider distribution of Afromontane forests. In this study Prunus africana (one of the character trees of Afromontane forests) is used as a model for understanding the biogeography of this vegetation zone.

Genetic structure and mating system of wild cowpea populations in West Africa.

Background: Cowpea is a highly inbred crop. It is part of a crop-weed complex, whose origin and dynamics is unknown, which is distributed across the African continent. This study examined outcrossing rates and genetic structures in 35 wild cowpea (Vigna unguiculata ssp.

Bioactive constituents in Prunus africana: geographical variation throughout Africa and associations with environmental and genetic parameters.

Prunus africana--an evergreen tree found in Afromontane forests--is used in traditional medicine to cure benign prostate hyperplasia. Different bioactive constituents derived from bark extracts from 20 tree populations sampled throughout the species' natural range in Africa were studied by means of GC-MSD. The average concentration [mg/kgw/w] in increasing order was: lauric acid (18), myristic acid (22), n-docosanol (25), ferulic acid (49), β-sitostenone (198), β-sitosterol (490), and ursolic acid (743).

Phylogeography of the Afromontane Prunus africana reveals a former migration corridor between East and West African highlands.

Scattered populations of the same tree species in montane forests through Africa have led to speculations on the origins of distributions. Here, we inferred the colonization history of the Afromontane tree Prunus africana using seven chloroplast DNA loci to study 582 individuals from 32 populations sampled in a range-wide survey from across Africa, revealing 22 haplotypes. The predominant haplotype, HT1a, occurred in 13 populations of eastern and southern Africa, while a second common haplotype, HT1m, occurred in populations of western Uganda and western Africa.

Antibiotic resistant salmonella and Escherichia coli isolated from indigenous Gallus domesticus in Nairobi, Kenya.

Objective: To characterise and investigate antimicrobial resistance of Esherichia coli and salmonella strains isolated from indigenous Gallus gallus in a leading slaughterhouse/market outlet in Nairobi-Kenya.

Design: A repeated cross sectional study and based on random sampling was used.

Setting: The study was carried out in a leading market outlet in Nairobi, Kenya.

Microsatellite typing reveals strong genetic structure of Schistosoma mansoni from localities in Kenya.

Genetic diversity and population structure of seven populations of Schistosoma mansoni sampled in Kenya were assessed using five microsatellite markers. The mean number of alleles per locus, expected heterozygosity in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium and pairwise F(ST) values ranged from 5.2 to 10.

Glossina proteolytic lectin does not require a carbohydrate moiety for enzymatic or trypanosome-transforming activities.

The developmental cycle of the cyclically transmitted African trypanosome involves an obligatory passage through the tsetse fly, Glossina spp. This intricate relationship requires the presence of molecules within the insect vector, including a midgut lectin, that interact with the trypanosome. Recently, a gene encoding for a proteolytic lectin, with trypanosome-transforming activity, was isolated from a midgut cDNA library of Glossina fuscipes fuscipes Austen in our laboratory.

Detection of trypanosomes in small ruminants and pigs in western Kenya: important reservoirs in the epidemiology of sleeping sickness?

Background: Trypanosomosis is a major impediment to livestock farming in sub-Saharan Africa and limits the full potential of agricultural development in the 36 countries where it is endemic. In man, sleeping sickness is fatal if untreated and causes severe morbidity. This study was undertaken in western Kenya, an area that is endemic for both human and livestock trypanosomosis.

Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) analysis of genetic variation in Moringa oleifera Lam.

Moringa oleifera is an important multipurpose tree introduced to Africa from India at the turn of this century. Despite limited knowledge of the levels of genetic diversity and relatedness of introduced populations, their utilization as a source of seed for planting is widespread. In order to facilitate reasoned scientific decisions on its management and conservation and prepare for a selective breeding programme, genetic analysis of seven populations was performed using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers.