Browsing Magister Scientiae - MSc (Biotechnology) by Author "Cowan, Don A."
Now showing items 1-10 of 10
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Analysis of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria associated with the roots of Proteaceae plant species in soils of Fynbos ecosystem
Lako, Joseph (University of the Western Cape, 2005)The major objective of this study was to investigate soil ammonia-oxidizing bacterial diversity and composition associated with plant roots of Proteaceae plants and to compare it with non-plant associated soil. -
Cloning, expression and characterisation of Amidase Genes from a psychrotolerant Nesterenkonia isolate
Kwon, Hanna (University of the Western Cape, 2009)A nitrile and amide hydrolysing Nesterenkonia sp. was isolated from Antarctic soil and was characterised as a psychrotolerant, halotolerant and alkaliphilic extremophile. Amidases are widely distributed in both prokaryotic ... -
Engineering homoaromatic substrate specificity into aliphatic-specific Geobacillus pallidus RAPc8 nitrile hydratase
Kowlessur, Parikshant (University of the Western Cape, 2007)Geobacillus pallidus RAPc8 is a thermophilic nitrile-degrading isolate, obtained from thermal sediment samples of a New Zealand hot spring. The G. pallidus RAPc8 NHase gene has been cloned and expressed in E. coli. The ... -
Identification and characterisation of novel cellulolytic genes using metagenomics
Hu, Xiao Ping (University of the Western Cape, 2010)Metagenomics has been successfully used to discover novel enzymes from uncultured microorganisms in the environment. In this study, metagenomic DNA from a Malawian hot spring soil sample was used to construct a fosmid ... -
Investigation of South African estuarine microbial species and genome diversity
Kaambo, Eveline (University of the Western Cape, 2006)A study of the microbial diversity in sediments of the Great Berg River estuary is carried out using modern molecular phylogenetic methods. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of (pollution by) the effluents ... -
Isolation and characterisation of esterases from thermophilic Actinomyces
Oldale, Megan (University of the Western Cape, 2010)Alternative sources of fuel are required worldwide, and bio-ethanol is the leading candidate. Lignocellulosic biomass, a waste component of the agricultural industry, is a promising renewable source. Due to its complex ... -
Microbiology of fly ash-acid mine drainage co-disposal processes
Kuhn, Eloise M. R. (University of the Western Cape, 2005)The waste products acid mine drainage formed during coal mining and fly ash from coal burning power generation, pose substantial environmental and economic problems for South Africa. Eskom has developed a remediation system ... -
Phylogenetic diversity of nifH genes in Marion Island soil
Rapley, Joanne (University of the Western Cape, 2006)The microbial life of sub-Antarctic islands plays a key role in the islands ecosystem, with microbial activities providing the majority of nutrients available for primary production. Knowledge of microbial diversity is ... -
Screening for subtate tolerant Geobacillus pallidus RAPc8 nitrile hydratase
Mketsu, Moses Clive Masisange (University of the Western Cape, 2009)In this study G. pallidus RAPc8 NHase mutants were screened for reduced substrate inhibition compared to the wild type enzyme. Wild type and mutant enzymes were expressed and purified using hydrophobic interaction ... -
Spartial distribution of cyanobacterial phylotypes in Antarctic Dry Valley soil biotopes
Keyster, Marshall (University of the Western Cape, 2007)Recent advances in moleculr methods have enabled the analysis of cyanobacterial diversity using PCR- based approaches. Snap-shot techniques such as 16S rDNA library construction and DGGE have allowed for increased access ...