ABSTRACT Maize (Zea mays L.) is the most important cereal food crop in many tropical and subtropical regions. Though the demand is steadily increasing, the productivity of maize has been declining due to several production factors over the past years. Statistics have shown that the world population is expected to double by 2050. With this population growth, food insecurity in the tropics is expected to increase. Therefore, reliable technologies that ensure enhanced production of food crops, ...
ABSTRACT Conventional medications are expensive, not easily available and arguably associated with various severe adverse effects hence the need to develop herbal agents that are effective as a complement. Carissa edulis (Forssk.)Vahl is the herb that has previously made thousands of people flock to a remote Loliondo village in Northern Tanzania, for its cure said to apply to all diseases such as cancer, HIV/AIDS, ulcers, hypertension, and diabetes. Although C. edulis (Forssk.)Vahl is widely...
ABSTRACT Striga species are parasitic weeds, one of the most devastating biological constraint threatening agriculture especially production of cereals in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), causing approximately 30% to near crop failure, thus endangering the livelihood of more than 300 million poor smallholder famers. One way of combating Striga is having natural host resistance which is cost effective and efficient for tolerance to phytopathogenic damages. Such resistance can either be due to failur...
ABSTRACT Banana Xanthomonas wilt (BXW) caused by Xanthomonas campestris pv. musacearum (Xcm) is the most devastating diseases of banana (Musa spp.) in East Africa. There are no effective control measures for this disease. All cultivars of bananas are susceptible for BXW disease. Most cultivated cultivars are triploids and difficult to improve through conventional breeding due to sterility and long generation life cycle. Genetic engineering offers an alternative and effective approach to cont...
ABSTRACT Striga hermonthica is an obligate hemi-parasite that belongs to the family Orobanchaceae. Crop infestations by this parasitic weed pose a great threat to agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa. The most commonly affected crops include cereals such as sorghum, maize, and rice, which are important to subsistent livelihoods in the region through food production. Some of the control measures currently used include weeding and herbicide seed dressing using Imazapyr (StrigAway®) maize and crop...
ABSTRACT Theileriosis or East Coast Fever (ECF), a leukemia-like disease of cattle that is endemic in East, Central and Southern Africa, is caused by the protozoan parasite Theileria parva (T. parva), which is transmitted by the brown ear tick vector Rhipicephalus appendiculatus. In an infective tick bite, the sporozoite parasites preferentially infect bovine lymphocytes and develop into intra-cytoplasmic, multinucleated schizonts. Schizont-infected host cells proliferate and exhibit several ...
ABSTRACT Indigenous chickens show extensive physical diversity. However, industrialization and globalization of chicken in the 21st century has affected and limited their genetic resources to industrial breeds. Continuous selection for rapid growth and more egg production has resulted in the loss of disease resistance and overall immuno-competence hence a projected increase in disease-related costs in the future. Genetic control of disease resistance is one of the most important targets of br...
ABSTRACT Honeybees, Apis mellifera, are key contributors to the global economy, nutrition, food security and ecological biodiversity. Despite their robust benefits, declines in honeybee populations have been reported owing to a number of factors. Such include pests and diseases, climate change, poor management practices, change in land usage and low ge-netic diversity. High intra-colonial genetic diversity is associated with resilience and re-sistance to pest and diseases as well as increased...
ABSTRACT Root knot nematodes (RKNs) of (Meloidogyne spp.) are among the most devastating soil-borne plant parasitic pests infecting many food crops. They have been shown to result in over 50% loss of crop yield in tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill). Various control measures including agronomic practices and nematicides have been employed in the past to manage the parasite with only modest gains. These are also costly to small-scale farmers especially in developing countries. There is need ...
ABSTRACT Despite having a lot of resources, Lake Victoria Basin has had an increase in population and land degradation and a reduction in agricultural production due to poor soil fertility. This has necessitated the use of inorganic fertilizers to boost food production. Inorganic fertilizers production contributes to emission of greenhouse gases. Use of inorganic fertilizer in Lake Victoria basin may have led to eutrophication of Lake Victoria leading to social, economic and ecological proble...
ABSTRACT Developing countries experience diarrheal disease at a higher rate than industrialized nations. A key contributor to increased morbidity and mortality from diarrheal disease is the lack of efficient diagnosis methods. In Kenya diagnosis of enteric pathogens is mainly performed using manual methods which involves colony morphology, gram stain and biochemical tests. Although these methods are generally reliable they are labour intensive, have a long turn-around time and they occasiona...
ABSTRACT Over the last decade cholera outbreaks have become common in some parts of Kenya. A number of recent studies have described the epidemiology of cholera in Kenya but there has been little information regarding the phenotypic and molecular characteristics of Vibrio cholerae in these outbreaks. The aim of this study was therefore to characterize Vibrio cholerae isolates from Kenya. A total of 168 Vibrio cholerae O1, biotype El Tor isolates collected between 2007 and 2010 from various ch...
ABSTRACT Understanding the interrelationships between injury, infection and diversity of Theileria in a zebra population may illuminate the mechanisms by which injuries influence the course of latent infections, and may be an important factor to be considered during therapy of injured animals. Currently, the molecular diversity of Theileria species that are circulating in Kenyan free living common zebras is unknown and the effect of anthropogenic induced injuries on Theileria diversity and in...
ABSTRACT Staphylococcus aureus is a clinically important pathogen in Kenya and globally owing to its widespread occurrence, virulence potential and multidrug resistance. Adequate surveillance is required to track the emergence and spread of hypervirulent and multidrug resistant strains such as methicillin and vancomycin resistant S. aureus (MRSA and VRSA). Conventional methods for S. aureus characterization include Staphylococcal protein A (spa) gene typing, multi-locus sequence typing (MLST)...
ABSTRACT Pyrexia and inflammation cause discomfort, suffering and lower productivity of the victims. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs which are highly prescribed in medication of pyrexia and inflammation have been reported to possess adverse effects. Herbal medicines may possess bioactive compounds that are safer and efficient in the management of various diseases and disorders. Kigelia africana and Acacia hockii are traditionally used to manage pyrexia and inflammation among the Embu a...