Mutation is a change in the genetic make-up (or DNA) of an organism.It is an inheritable alteration in the nucleotide sequence (or genome base sequence) of a living organism. Mutation can occur in both plant and animal cells, and it can be spontaneous (i.e. natural), prompted (or artificial), or adaptive in nature. When mutation occurs, […]
Gene therapy techniques are an emerging field of experimental medicine and therapy for treating or preventing hereditary diseases and some infectious diseases. It works by altering the genetic instructions within an individual’s cells or genes by replacing the abnormal genes (responsible for the disease) with normal/healthy genes. In gene therapy, a gene that is missing
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Gene Therapy Notes
Genes are made of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) molecules – which are the main genetic material of living cells. It is in the gene that the genetic information that directs the activities of a cell is located; and this genetic information also direct the production of malfunctioned proteins or activities that result in genetic disorder in
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Gene Therapy Notes
Gentamicin is an aminoglycoside antibiotic. Aminoglycosides are antibiotics that inhibit protein synthesis like the tetracyclines, and they also bind to the 30S ribosomal subunit of the bacterial ribosome. Other examples of aminoglycosides include kanamycin, tobramycin, netilmicin, spectinomycin, amikacin, neomycin and streptomycin. Streptomycin (which is naturally synthesized by the actinomycetes bacterium, Streptomyces griseus)is a unique aminoglycoside
Ciprofloxacin is a fluoroquinolone antibiotic that is derived from the earlier quinolones. Nalidixic acid is a typical example of a quinolone; and both the quinolones and fluoroquinolones are bacterial DNA replication inhibitors. But antibiotics in the fluoroquinolone family have broader activity than the quinolones. Other examples of fluoroquinolones include ofloxacin, norfloxacin, sparfloxacin, lomefloxacin and levofloxacin.
Antimicrobial susceptibility tests are used to determine which specific antibiotics or antimicrobial agents a particular pathogenic bacterium or fungus is sensitive to; and susceptibility tests can guide the physician in drug choice and dosage especially for difficult-to-treat infections. The results of antimicrobial susceptibility tests or studies are commonly reported as the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC),
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Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (AST) & Antibiogram, Pharmaceutical Microbiology
The determination of the antimicrobial susceptibility of a given pathogen to a particular antimicrobial agent can be performed or undertaken by one of two basic methods, viz: Agar Disk Diffusion Method Agar disk diffusion technique of antimicrobial susceptibility testing provides a basis for the classification of a pathogenic strain as susceptible, intermediate or resistant to
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Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (AST) & Antibiogram, Pharmaceutical Microbiology
Soil is simply defined as the mixture of minerals, organic matter, gases, liquids, and the countless macroscopic and microscopic organisms that together support life on the earth’s crust (lithosphere). It is the most abundant ecosystem on earth. Soil develops as a result of the weathering of geological rock formations in the earth’s crust. Soil usually
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Environmental & Soil Microbiology
Filtration is simply defined as the separation of particles from fluid or liquids by the use of a porous material that allows the passage of the fluid but stops or holdback unwanted particles from passing through it. Filtration can be used to separate microorganisms from a liquid or gas in which they are dispersed. It
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Environmental & Soil Microbiology, Microbe Lab, Techniques in Microbiology Lab
In the microbiology laboratory, pure cultures of microorganisms (e.g., bacteria) are critical to the success of the next stages of the experiment to be undertaken. Thus, selective isolation of bacteria from samples (especially those suspected to contain mix bacteria) is usually performed in two steps: The discovery of selenite F broth as an enrichment medium
