Browsing Philosophiae Doctor - PhD (Biotechnology) by Title
Now showing items 50-69 of 98
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Investigating the antimicrobial potential of Thalassomonas actiniarum
(University of Western Cape, 2020)The World Health Organisation predicts that by the year 2050, 10 million people could die annually as a result of infections caused by multidrug resistant bacteria. Individuals with compromised immune systems, caused by ... -
An investigation into the antimicrobial and immune modulatory effects of Sutherlandia frutescens and Salvia africana-lutea extracts and their respective biogenic nanoparticles
(University of the Western Cape, 2020)The prevalence of cancer and antibiotic-resistant microbes has led to the necessity of affordable, efficacious, non-toxic and easily accessible therapeutic approaches. There is numerous anecdotal evidence that African ... -
Investigation of Guayule's Agronomic Performance and Agro-processing in South Africa
(University of the Western Cape, 2017)Guayule (Parthenium argentatum) is grown for its high quality hypoallergenic natural rubber latex production. The plant is native to the Chihuahua desert of North America and successful trials have been done in Europe, the ... -
Investigation of the interactions of retinoblastoma binding protein-6 with transcription factors p53 and Y-Box Binding Protein-1
(2011)Retinoblastoma Binding Protein 6 (RBBP6) is a 250 kDa multi-domain protein that has been implicated in diverse cellular processes including apoptosis, mRNA processing and cell cycle regulation. Many of these functions are ... -
Isolation, identification and characterisation of novel actinobacteria from Zambian hot-springs
(2011)Actinomycetes are ubiquitous in many environments such as soil, activated sludge and water.Besides the genus Streptomyces, which has been extensively exploited, members of other genera including Micromonospora have been ... -
Manipulating biotic and abiotic factors to enhance the remediation of agri-industrial wastewater in pilot-scale constructed wetlands
(University of the Western Cape, 2012)As a consequence of various cellar activities the wine industry produces copious volumes of potentially hazardous wastewater each year. South Africa is one of the top ten wine-producing countries, making the successful ... -
Mapping and identification of disease resistance candidate genes in three Malus populations using SSRs, DArT and Infinium SNP markers and Illumina sequencing technology
(University of the Western Cape, 2014)Apple scab, powdery mildew and woolly apple aphid are a major concern for apple breeders and producers. Control of these diseases is a significant economic and marketing priority for the South African apple industry. ... -
Massively-Parallel Computational Identification of Novel Broad Spectrum Antivirals to Combat Coronavirus Infection
(University of the Western Cape, 2015)Given the significant disease burden caused by human coronaviruses, the discovery of an effective antiviral strategy is paramount, however there is still no effective therapy to combat infection. This thesis details the ... -
Metagenomic approaches to gene discovery
(University of the Western Cape, 2006)The classical approach to gene discovery has been to culture micro-organisms demonstrating a specific enzyme activity and then to recover the gene of interest through shotgun cloning. The realization that these standard ... -
Microbial diversity and gene mining in Antarctic Dry Valley mineral soils
(University of the Western Cape, 2006)Soil communities are regarded as among the most complex and diverse assemblages of microorganisms with estimated bacterial numbers in the order of 109-1 cells.g. Studies on extreme soils however, have reported lower cell ... -
Microbial ecology of hot and cold desert edaphic communities
(University of the Western Cape, 2012)This thesis presents significant advances into the microbial ecology of hypolithic communities in two hyperarid deserts. Deserts account for one fifth of the Earths total surface area. These zones differ substantially in ... -
MicroRNAs as predictive biomarkers for diagnosis and prognosis of colorectal cancer using in silico approaches
(University of the Western Cape, 2019)Colorectal cancer (CRC) is referred to as cancers that arise in the colon or rectum. Rectal cancer is most often defined as cancers originating within 15 cm from the anal verge. The crude incidence of CRC in sub-Sahara ... -
Mining a Chinese hyperthermophilic metagenome
(University of the Western Cape, 2007)Metagenomic sequencing of environmental samples provide direct access to genomic information of organisms within the respective environments. This sequence information represents a significant resource for the identification ... -
Mitigation of salinity stress using exogenously applied molybdenum in sorghum bicolor
(University of the Western Cape, 2022)The agricultural sector is the main producer of food throughout the world. However, the constant changes in environmental conditions, such as extreme weather, droughts, and salinity have impacted this sector negatively ... -
Modulation of soybean and maize antioxidant activities by Caffeic acid and nitric oxide under salt stress
(University of the Western Cape, 2012)This study explores the roles of exogenously applied nitric oxide, exogenously applied caffeic acid and salt stress on the ontioxidant system in cereal (exemplified by maize) and legume (using soybean as an example) plants ... -
Modulation of soybean and maize antioxidant activities by caffeic acid and nitric oxide under salt stress
(University of Western Cape, 2012) -
Molecular analysis of red colouration in 'Bon Rouge' pear (Pyrus communis L.)
(University of the Western Cape, 2018)The 'Bon Rouge' pear cultivar was developed from a bud mutation on a 'Bon Chretien' pear tree. The latter is characterised by green fruit skin and leaves, while 'Bon Rouge' is characterised by red leaves and red fruit skin ... -
Molecular Characterisation of the Brassinosteroid, Phytosulfokine and cGMP-dependent Responses in Arabidopsis thaliana
(University of the Western Cape, 2010)In this thesis, we have firstly cloned and expressed the domains that harbours the putative catalytic GC domain in these receptor molecules and demonstrate that these molecules can convert GTP to cGMP in vitro. Secondly, ... -
The molecular characterization of trichoplusia ni single nucleocapsid nucleopolyhedrovirus: a study on early regulatory features
(University of the Western Cape, 2003)With the development of biological insecticides, many research efforts have been made in baculoviruses to investigate fundamental molecular aspects of these viruses, such as the function and regulation of genes, genome ... -
Molecular detection and characterisation of RNA viruses of honeybees
(University of the Western Cape, 2009)Propagation methods for honeybee viruses have not changed since these viruses were discovered. There are no suitable cell lines or cell culture techniques available for honeybee viruses. Honeybee viruses have to be manually ...