Cassava mosaic geminiviruses (CMGs) and Cassava brown streak virus (CBSV) cause diseases of major economic significance to cassava in Kenya. The Western region of Kenya contributes about 60% of cassava production in the country. Currently CBSD distribution is being newly reported in the Western region where over 90% CMD incidences have been observed. Transmission studies have confirmed that B. tabaci transmits both CMGs and CBSV. The co-occurrence of the vector, CMGs and the newly reported CB...
Cassava (Manihot esculanta Crantz) is a perennial shrub grown mainly for its tuberous roots and provides food for over 500 million people in developing countries. The crop is affected by various biotic and abiotic stresses such as diseases, low protein content and presence of cyanogenic glycosides that result in low production. Management strategies against these stresses rely upon conventional improvement programs, but these are not effective owing to vast limitations inherent to such breedi...
Cancer is referred to as uncontrolled abnormal proliferation of body cells. It is a leading cause of death in developed world and second leading cause of death in developing world. Currently cancer treatment and management is a challenge due to complexity of the disease, toxicity of chemotherapy and unaffordability of treatment. Therefore, it is imperative to investigate complementary and alternative medicine for leads and development of anticancer drugs. Cassia abbreviata has traditionally b...
Malaria is a global life-threatening disease in human beings caused by four species of Plasmodium parasites, P.vivax, P.ovale, P. malariae and P. falciparum. Among these, P. falciparum is the most deadly form affecting about 240 million people worldwide every year, with 1 million deaths annually, 85% of which occur in children below 5 years of age. Malaria is a health problem in more than 90 countries and each year, between 300 and 500 million new cases are reported worldwide. Over 80 c...
ABSTRACT Many species in the genus Populus and their hybrids are economically valuable, fast growing, short rotation woody trees for producing wood, fiber, and biofuels, as well as sequestering atmospheric carbon in large plantations and agroforestry settings. Industrial facilities to produce liquid transportation fuels from Poplar feedstock are currently being built in the USA. Populus ilicifolia locally known as Tana River Poplar is the only species in the Populus genus that falls within t...
ABSTRACT Banana and plantain (Musa spp.) are important staple food crops for rural and urban consumers and provide a source of income for resource poor farmers in the humid tropics of sub-Saharan Africa. However, banana production is severely limited by both biotic and abiotic factors. Application of conventional breeding for both disease and pest resistance has resulted only in limited success due to the long generation times and the high sterility and triploidy of most cultivated bananas a...
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the single largest cause of severe respiratory illness in infants and children globally. Worldwide, RSV pneumonia is the second biggest cause of post neonatal infant mortality, after malaria, causing an estimated 137,000 deaths/year (6.7% of all deaths in infants). There are currently no licensed vaccines against RSV infection as well as specific treatments for RSV pneumonia. The immunological correlates of severe disease following primary or repeat infect...
The stem borer (Chilo partellus) is one of the major constraints in maize and sorghum production worldwide. Control of Chilo partellus is mainly done through synthetic insecticides which are very expensive and have negative effects to environment and non-target organisms. Farmers in Mbeere use Carphalea glaucescens and Gnidia glauca in control of Chilo partellus because of the high cost of conventional insecticides. However, there is lack of scientific information on the their mode of a...
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...