Browsing by Author "Dept. of Biotechnology"
Now showing items 1-20 of 55
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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. -
Characterisation of eight non-codis Ministrs in four South African populations to aid the analysis of degraded DNA
Ismail, Aneesah (University of the Western Cape, 2009)In many forensic cases, such as mass disasters reconstruction cases, the recovered DNA is highly degraded. In such incidences, typing of STR loci has become one of the most powerful tools for retrieving information from ... -
Characterisation of microbial communities associated with hypolithic environments in Antarctic Dry Valley soils
Khan, Nuraan (University of the Western Cape, 2008)The Eastern Antarctic Dry Valley region is a polar desert, where conditions of extreme aridity, high temperature fluctuations and high irradiation levels make it one of the most extreme environments on earth. Despite the ... -
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 ... -
Developing a generic hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP) system for the wheat milling industry
Gillion, Lauren (University of the Western Cape, 2005)In South Africa there is a need within the milling industry for controlling food safety especially due to customer's demands and government's regulations. The best way to ensure food safety is with the implementation of a ... -
Development and validation of Non-CODIS miniSTR genotyping systems suitable for forensic case work in South Africa
Abrahams, Zainonesa (University of the Western Cape, 2010)The objective of this study was to develop and validate a six Non-CODIS miniSTR genotyping system and to determine its suitability for forensic casework in South Africa. In Non-CODIS miniSTR genotyping systems, smaller PCR ... -
Development of Y-STR genotyping systems suitable for sexual assault cases in South Africa
Cloete, Kevin Wesley (University of the Western Cape, 2010)Sexual assault is a significant problem facing the South African society. In this context, efficient but also affordable genotyping systems are needed for positive identification of criminals in incidences of sexual violence. ... -
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 ... -
The evaluation of Y-STR loci for use in forensics
Ehrenreich, Liezle Suzette (University of the Western Cape, 2005)The aim of this study was to investigate the forensic usefulness of various Y-chromosome short tandem repeat loci among South African sub-populations. Three different sets of Y-chromosome short tandem repeat loci were ... -
Exploring diversity and ecology of nonarchaea in hydrothermal biotopes
Galada, Ncebakazi (University of the Western Cape, 2005)The Nanoarchaeota were proposed as the fourth archaeal sub-division in 2002, and the only fully characterized nanoarchaeon was found to exist in a symbiotic association with the crenarchaeote, Ignicoccus sp. This nanoarchaeote, ... -
Forensic identification of six of Tanzanian populations using the extended haplotype markers
Mwema, Hadija Saidi (University of the Western Cape, 2011)The aim of the present study was to evaluate the power of discrimination and genetic (diversity) parameters in the Y chromosome extended haploytpe markers in populations of Tanzania for forensic and populations studies. ... -
Gene Discovery in Antarctic Dry Valley Soils
Anderson, Dominique Elizabeth (University of the Western Cape, 2008)The metagenomic approach to gene discovery circumvents conventional gene and gene product acquisition by exploiting the uncultured majority of microorganisms in the environment. It was demonstrated in this study that ... -
The genease activity of mung bean nuclease: fact or fiction?
Kula, Nothemba (University of the Western Cape, 2004)The action of Mung Bean Nuclease (MBN) on DNA makes it possible to clone intact gene fragments from genes of the malaria parasite, Plasmodium. This “genease” activity has provided a foundation for further ... -
Genetic analysis of resistance to apple scab (Venturia inaequalis) in apple (Malus x domestica Borkh)
Maharaj, Ramsey (University of the Western Cape, 2007)Amongst the many problems facing the apple industry, apple scab is one of the most challenging experienced by producers. This disease is caused by Venturia inaequalis, which causes lesions to develop on both the fruit and ... -
Genetic diversity of the Organic Cation Transporter 1 gene within the Cape Coloured Population
Pearce, Brendon (University of the Western Cape, 2012)The aim of this study was to investigate the genetic diversity of the SLC22A1 gene and to deduce its possible pharmacogenetic implications within the Cape Coloured population of South Africa; a uniquely admixed population ... -
Human testis angiotensin-converting enzyme: crystal structure of a glycosylation mutant and investigation of a putative hinge-mechanism by normal mode analysis
Watermeyer, Jean Margaret (University of the Western Cape, 2004)Human angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) is a key enzyme in the regulation of blood pressure via the renin-angiotensin and kallikrein-kinin systems. A number of orally active drugs have been developed over the years ... -
Identification and characterisation of a novel gene, DWNN, isolated from promoter-trapped Chinese hamster ovary cells
Skepu, Amanda (University of the Western Cape, 2005)The process of cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) killing involves the recognition and destruction of foreign antigens by cytotoxic T cells and is of crucial importance to the defence of the organism against viral infections. ... -
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 ... -
Identification of a transducin (beta)-like 3 protein as a potential biomarker of prediabetes from rat urine using proteomics
Mofokeng, Henrietta Refiloe (University of the Western Cape, 2010)Obesity is a globally increasing disease particularly in developing countries and among children. It is mainly caused by intake of diets high in fat and the lack of physical activity. Obesity is a risk factor for diseases ... -
The identification of candidate genes using cDNA microarray and the analysis of two SNPs of the reelin gene in a South African austistic population
Gameeldien, Hajirah (University of the Western Cape, 2009)Autism is a pervasive developmental disorder (PDD) that's incidence is approximately 1 in 158. It is four times more prevalent in males than females and is believed to be caused by both genetic and environmental factors. ...