Lipase enzyme has attracted a lot of attention in recent years because of its diverse biotechnological applications. The present study was conducted to screen germinated seeds of four crops, namely sunflower (Helianthus annuus), flaxor linseed (Linum usitatissimum ), peanut (Arachis hypogaea ) and castor bean (Ricinus communis), for the activity of their lipases. to the study also included the extraction and purification of lipase from the seeds of the most promising crop using different solvents. The results indicated that the maximum enzymatic activity (0.669 U/ml) was obtained when 0.1 M Tris-HCl buffer extract was used after 3 days of seed germination of all the tested species, as compared to the other test solvents (acetone and water). Sunflower germinated seeds showed the highest lipase activity, which was higher by 159.67, 185.32, and 285.90 % over the activities of castor bean, flax, and peanut seeds, respectively. Among the used ranges of saturation of ammonium sulfate, the ratio of 70% was the best in precipitating the crude enzyme, showing a highest specific activity of 2.576 U/ mg protein. The first stage of gel filtration chromatography column by Sephadex G-200 indicated the presence of two non-identical peaks, one for protein and another for lipase activity, between the fractions of 18 to 23. The active fractions were pooled and loaded again in the Sephadex G-200 column and the eluted fractions showed two identical peaks, one for protein and another for lipase activity, between the fractions of 19 to 23. The final purification step by gel filtration showed a specific activity of 6.482 U/mg proteins with a yield of 38.75 % and 11.33 folds of time of purification. The study revealed that sunflower seeds are a better source of lipase as compared to the other used plant seeds, which can be used in different industries.
Mushrooms have bioactive compounds that have antimicrobial, anti-cancer and antioxidant activities among other medicinal benefits. In the present study, we examined the anti-cell proliferation activities of mushrooms from eight genera obtained from the wild in Nigeria. Saccharomyces cerevisiae was used as a model organism to screen mushroom extracts for anti-cell proliferation activity. Polyphenols, high molecular weight polysaccharides and low molecular weight compounds from aqueous extracts were obtained from the test mushrooms using methanol and water respectively. The extracts were screened in vitro at different concentrations of extracts with the CyQuant cell proliferation assay. The high molecular
... Show MoreA total of 352 freshwater fishes, belonging to three species of the family Cyprinidae were collected from the Greater Zab river in north of Iraq during the period from November 2000 to the end of November 2001. The inspection of their gills revealed the infection of these fishes with three species of monogenetic trematodes belonging to the genus Dogielius. These species included D. mokhayeri from Aspius vorax with a percentage incidence of 37.5%; D. molnari from Cyprinion macrostomum (33.3%) and D. persicus from Barbus luteus (41.2%). The record of this genus and its three above-named species of the present study are considered as the first record on fishes of Iraq.
The aim of this study was the discrimination of Salmonella isolated from chicken and their feed and drinking water for the epidemiological control of salmonellosis. Totally, 289 samples, including 217 chicken cloaca swabs, 46 water, and 26 feed samples were collected from five different farms in Karbala governorate, Iraq. Conventional bacteriology tests, API 20E, Vitek 2, and serology were used for bacterial identification. Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD)-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was applied to analyze the genetic relationships among Salmonella isolates. The isolation rate of Salmonella spp. was 21.1% (61/289). While the water samples constituted the highest rate (30.4%), a rate of
... Show MoreKeratinases are enzymes belonging to the serine hydrolases group which are capable of degradation of keratin, an insoluble and fibrous structural protein widely cross-linked with hydrogen, disulfide, and hydrophobic bonds. Attempts to find new sources of enzymes and amino acids for fundamental knowledge of enzyme evolution, structure‐function relationships, catalysis mechanisms of enzymes, and even for the identification of novel protein folds. In this study, seventy-nine samples were collected from different places in the University of Baghdad, and the best isolate for amino acid production by feathers degradation was by using Streptomyces venezuelae AZ15. The best fermentation system and the optimum culture condit
... Show MoreThe present study aims to detect CTX-M-type ESBL from Escherichia coli clinical isolates and to analyze their antibotic susceptibility patterns. One hundred of E. coli isolates were collected from different clinical samples from a tertiary hospital. ESBL positivity was determined by the disk diffusion method. PCR used for amplification of CTX-M-type ESBL produced by E. coli. Out of 100 E. coli isolates, twenty-four isolates (24%) were ESBL-producers. E. coli isolated from pus was the most frequent clinical specimen that produced ESBL (41.66%) followed by urine (34.21%), respiratory (22.23%), and blood (19.05%). After PCR amplification of these 24 isolates, 10 (41.66%) isolates were found to possess CTX-M genes. The CTX-M type ESBL
... Show MoreSome types of the fungus Aspergillus were isolated from some hospitals in the city of Baghdad (Imam Ali Hospital and Sadr General Hospital). The samples were taken by Transport media at a rate of three replicates of each place isolated from samples from different places within the hospital (waste, baths, the sick beds, corridors and room floors) for the purpose of isolating and diagnosing the fungus on the Czapeck Dox Agar media. It was noticed that the spread rate of fungus Aspergillus was 70% compared to other species that have emerged during the isolation process of the Sabouraud's Dextrose Agar media. The species A.niger (56.25%) was considered the most common type of fungus visible during the isolation process of the Imam Ali Hospit
... Show MoreThe Plerion nebula is characterized by its pulsar that fills the center of the supernova remnant with radio and X-ray frequencies. In our galaxy there are nine naked plerionic systems known, of which the Crab Nebula is the best-known example. It has been studied this instance in order to investigate how the pulsar energy affect on the distribution and evolution of the remnant as well as study the pulsar kick velocity and its influence on the remnant. From the obtained results it's found that, the pulsar of the Crab Nebula injects about (2−3)𝑥 1047 erg of energy to the remnant, although this energy is small compared to the supernova explosion energy which is about 1051 erg but still plays a significant role in the distribution and the m
... Show MoreA survey of entomopathogenic and other opportunistic fungi isolated from soil samples collected from insect hibernation sites in different habitats in Kurdistan region of Iraq was carried out during October to December 2009. By using dilution plate method, two entomopathogenic species (Beauveria bassiana (Bals.) Vuill.and Isaria javanica (Friedrichs & Bally) Samson & Hywel-Jones) were detected with isolation percentage (38.46%) each. Other opportunistic fungi such as Alternaria alternata, Aspergillus flavus, A.niger, Penicillium glabrum, P. digitatum, Rhizopus stolonifer and Syncephalastratum racemosum