Using pollution indices to develop a risk classification tool for gold mining contaminated soils.

The presence of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in soil and plants is a risk factor to human well-being and the environment. Soil and leaves from a traditional medicinal plant, known as the sweet thorn plant, were assessed to determine the extent of pollution by PTEs from gold mine tailings in a case study area of Matjhabeng Local Municipality, South Africa. A risk classification tool was developed using the different indicators of pollution quantified to describe the pollution risk at each sampling site.

Deciphering the Resistance Mechanism of Tomato Plants Against Whitefly-Mediated Tomato Curly Stunt Virus Infection through Ultra-High-Performance Liquid Chromatography Coupled to Mass Spectrometry (UHPLC-MS)-Based Metabolomics Approaches.

Begomoviruses, such as the (ToCSV), pose serious economic consequences due to severe crop losses. Therefore, the development and screening of possible resistance markers is imperative. While some tomato cultivars exhibit differential resistance to different begomovirus species, in most cases, the mechanism of resistance is not fully understood.

Diversity of dicotyledenous-infecting geminiviruses and their associated DNA molecules in southern Africa, including the South-west Indian ocean islands.

The family Geminiviridae comprises a group of plant-infecting circular ssDNA viruses that severely constrain agricultural production throughout the temperate regions of the world, and are a particularly serious threat to food security in sub-Saharan Africa. While geminiviruses exhibit considerable diversity in terms of their nucleotide sequences, genome structures, host ranges and insect vectors, the best characterised and economically most important of these viruses are those in the genus Begomovirus. Whereas begomoviruses are generally considered to be either monopartite (one ssDNA component) or bipartite (two circular ssDNA components called DNA-A and DNA-B), many apparently monopartite begomoviruses are associated with additional subviral ssDNA satellite components, called alpha- (DNA-αs) or betasatellites (DNA-βs).

Genetic identification of two sweet-potato-infecting begomoviruses in South Africa.

The complete genome sequences of two monopartite begomovirus isolates (genus Begomovirus, family Geminiviridae) that occurred either alone or in mixed infection in sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) plants collected in Waterpoort, South Africa, are presented. One of the isolates corresponds to sweet potato mosaic-associated virus (SPMaV; SPMaV-[ZA:WP:2011]), with which it shared 98.5 % nucleotide identity, whereas the second isolate corresponds to a new variant of sweet potato leaf curl Sao Paulo virus (SPLCSPV; SPLCSPV-[ZA:WP:2011]), with which it shared 91.

Antimicrobial compounds from Coleonema album (Rutaceae).

Coleonema album, a member of the South African fynbos biome, was evaluated for its antimicrobial activity associated with its secondary metabolites. Ethanol- and acetone-based extracts obtained from plants from two different geographical areas were analyzed. A bioassay-guided fractionation methodology was followed for rapid and effective screening for the presence of bioactive compounds.