Found 292 Articles for Biotechnology

Keywords BLAST, bioinformatics, heuristic algorithm, program, biological sequence, proteins, nucleotides, database sequences, maximal segment pair, alignments, DNA and RNA sequences. Introduction BLAST (basic local alignment search tool) in bioinformatics, is an algorithm and program for comparing primary biological sequence information, such as the amino acid sequences of proteins or the nucleotides of DNA and RNA sequences. BLAST search enables a researcher to compare a subject protein or nucleotide sequence with a library or database of sequences and identify database sequences that resemble alphabet above a certain threshold. The heuristic algorithm it uses is much faster than other approaches, such as ... Read More

Keywords Beneficial microorganisms, rhizosphere, biofertilizers, soil fertility, crop production, sustainable agriculture, integrated plant production, evaluation, crops, inorganic fertilizers, soil fertility, organic fertilizers, fertilizer application, nutrients, organic matter, plant nutrition, cropping systems. Introduction Biofertilizer is a substance which contains living micro-organisms which, when applied to seeds, plant surfaces, or soil, colonize the rhizosphere or the interior of the plant and promotes growth by increasing the supply or availability of primary nutrients to the host plant. Biofertilizers add nutrients through the natural processes of nitrogen fixation, solubilizing phosphorus, and stimulating plant growth through the synthesis of growth-promoting substances producing healthy plants. Biofertilizers ... Read More

Keywords Microarrays, biosensors, genomic analyses, clinical trials, microreactor. Introduction Biochip is a set of diminished microarrays that are placed on a strong substrate that allows many experiments to be executed at the same time to obtain a high throughput in less time. This device contains millions of sensor elements or biosensors. These are not electronic devices. Biochip can be considered as a microreactor that can detect a particular analyte like an enzyme, protein, DNA, biological molecule, or antibody. Biochip, a bio-microarray device, has been extensively studied and developed to enable large-scale genomic, proteomic, and functional genomic analyses. Due to the ... Read More

Introduction Molecular markers are also known as genetic markers. They are the DNA within a known locus on a chromosome and can be used as an identification tool. Inside a chromosome, these molecular markers help in the identification of specific DNA of interest. A variable number of tandem repeats are locations on a DNA where short nucleotide sequences have been repeated many times in tandem. Variable Number of Tandem Repeats VNTRs are short tandem sequences that are repeated a number of times in a particular location. These VNTRs are always found in groups and are always present in the same ... Read More

Introduction Microorganisms are organisms that cannot be seen through the naked eye and require a special aid to observe them. They are cosmopolitan in nature that is are found everywhere. Most of the microorganisms are harmless to us but some cause serious diseases. The microorganisms that cause diseases are called pathogens and the etiology and progression of the disease is known as pathogenesis. Pathogens cause diseases due to certain factors produced by them these factors are known as virulence factors which can be certain chemicals, enzymes, toxins, etc. in this section we will be briefing about virulence factors that are ... Read More

Introduction Occasional inheritable mutation yields organisms that are suited for better survival in an ecological niche and progeny that are preferentially selected. This process of mutation and selection is the basis for the Darwinian evolution that led from the first cell to all modern organisms and explains the fundamental similarity of all living organisms. The remarkable similarity of metabolic pathways and gene sequences across phyla argues strongly that all modern organisms are derived from a common evolutionary progenitor by a series of small changes, each of which conferred a selective advantage over others. Evolution by Gene Duplication and Subfunctionalization Sometimes ... Read More

Introduction Sterilization is a process of complete removal of all types of living organisms from certain surfaces, objects, or liquids to avoid the chances of contamination and spoilage. It is either done by physical methods like ultraviolet radiations, autoclaving, etc., or by chemical methods like using ethanol. It is different from disinfection in the fact that disinfection kills many types of microorganisms but not all. Sterilization is more effective as compared to disinfection. Need of Sterilization There are some microorganisms that are very dangerous and a person who is working in close vicinity with such microorganisms is likely to fall ... Read More

Introduction The rearrangement of genetic information within and among DNA molecules encompasses a variety of processes, collectively placed under the heading of genetic recombination. Genetic events fall into three classes- Homologous Genetic Recombination - It involves the exchange of genetic information between two DNA molecules. Site-Specific Recombination - exchange of genetic information occurs only at a particular DNA sequence. DNA Transposition - It is different from the other two classes in the fact that it usually involves a short segment of DNA molecule that has a unique capacity to move from one location on the chromosome ... Read More

Introduction Each human differs from the next by about 1 base pair in every 1000 base pairs. From these small genetic variations arises the human variety we are all aware of – differences in hair color, eyesight, allergies to medications, and even behavior. These variations are due to changes in the single nucleotide. Therefore, single nucleotide polymorphism can be defined as the variation that arises due to the alteration of a single nucleotide (adenine, thymine, cytosine, and guanine) and prevails in at least 1% of the population. These SNPs act as molecular markers and help in the diagnosis of certain ... Read More

Introduction Molecular markers also called genetic markers can be defined as the part of DNA that provide specific information about a certain location in the genome. In a pool of unknown DNA, they are used to locate the sequence of interest. Molecular markers are used in the field of genetics for linkage analysis and also diagnosis of certain diseases. There are many types of molecular markers of which simple sequence length polymorphism is a type that uses polymerase chain reaction. Polymorphism refers to the condition in which two or more variants of a particular DNA sequence are present in different ... Read More