El proceso aplicado en las poblaciones de Megathyrsus maximus (Pm21) e híbridos interespecíficos de Urochloa sp. (Br19) consistió en la colecta de hojas, extracción, purificación, cualificación, cuantificación y preparación del ADN para ser enviado al International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) en Kenia y el Earlham Institute (EI) en Reino Un...
An active microbial community of nitrifying and denitrifying bacteria is needed for efficient utilization of nitrogenous compounds from wastewater. In this study, we explored the bacterial community diversity and structure within rivers, treated and untreated wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) discharging into Lake Victoria. Water samples were col...
CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats)/Cas (CRISPR-associated) system was initially discovered as an underlying mechanism for conferring adaptive immunity to bacteria and archaea against viruses. Over the past decade, this has been repurposed as a genome-editing tool. Numerous gene editing-based crop improvement technolo...
Celebrating International Youth Day 2022, Rita explains how her interest in fighting hunger and malnutrition has led to her involvement in a research study that would help solve these problems that have plagued Africa's agriculture.
Published in Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950)
Upon recognition of aberrantly located DNA, the innate immune sensor cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS) activates stimulator of IFN genes (STING)/IFN regulatory factor (IRF)3-driven antiviral responses. In this study, we characterized the ability of a specific variant of the human cGAS-encoding gene MB21D1, rs610913, to alter cGAS-mediated DNA sensing ...
Published in PLoS Pathogens
Self-replicating alphasatellites are frequently associated with plant ssDNA viruses. Their origin and costs versus benefits for helper virus replication, antiviral defense evasion and transmission by insect vectors are poorly understood. Here we describe identification in Africa and in depth molecular and biological characterization of a newly emer...
The exploitation of the genetic diversity of crops is essential for breeding purposes, as the identification of useful/beneficial alleles for target traits within plant genetic resources allows the development of new varieties capable of responding to the challenges of global agriculture (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 201...
