Transposable elements contribute to the size, structure, variation, and diversity of the genome and have major effects on gene function. Sequencing projects have revealed the diversity of transposable elements in many organisms and have shown that they constitute a high percentage of the genome. PCR-based techniques using degenerate primers designed from conserved enzyme domains of transposable...

Natural microbial consortia from hot spring samples were used to developed thermophilic mixed cultures for biohydrogen production from cassava starch processing wastewater (CSPW). Significant hydrogen production potentials were obtained from three thermophilic mixedculturesnamelyPK,SWandPRwithmaximumhydrogenproductionyieldsof249.3, 180 and 124.9 mL H2/g starch, respectively from raw cassava sta...

Cassava (Manihot esculenta) is the most important root crop in the tropics, but rapid postharvest physiological deterioration (PPD) of the root is a major constraint to commercial cassava production. We established a reliable method for image-based PPD symptom quantification and used label-free quantitative proteomics to generate an extensive cassava root and PPD proteome. Over 2600 unique prot...

Early storage root bulking (ESRB) in cassava has increasingly become important in the national cassava breeding programmes in Africa. To assess farmers' perceptions on ESRB in cassava and identify their cultivar selection criteria, a study was conducted in east and central Uganda. One hundred and twenty cassava farmers were sampled and interviewed following structured questionnaires, and their ...

In Mozambique, epidemics of the cassava-associated paralytic disease, konzo, have been reported in association with drought or war: over 1100 cases in 1981, over 600 cases in 1992-1993, and over 100 cases in 2005. Smaller epidemics and sporadic cases have also been reported. Large epidemics have occurred at times of agricultural crisis, during the cassava harvest, when the population has been d...

Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) play central roles in plant developmental processes, hormone signaling transduction, and responses to abiotic stress. However, no data are currently available about the MAPK family in cassava, an important tropical crop. Herein, 21 MeMAPK genes were identified from cassava. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that MeMAPKs could be classified into four subfa...

The study assessed the entrepreneurial behaviour of smallholder cassava farmers in Ebonyi State, Nigeria. Multistage sampling technique was employed in the selection of 108 cassava farmers across the agricultural zones in Ebonyi state using pretested and structured questionnaire from which data and information were elicited. Analytically, the study employed entrepreneurial behavioural index (EB...

High-quality cassava starch (HQCS) produced from high-yielding low-cyanide improved cassava variety, TMS 30572, was mixed with durum wheat semolina (DWS) on a replacement basis to produce flour samples containing 0, 20, 30, 50, 70, and 100% cassava starch. They were analyzed for chemical composition (proximate, amylose, free sugars, starch, wet gluten, and cyanide) and functional properties (pa...

A preliminary study on statistical modelling of a process for depolymerisation of cassava non-starch carbohydrate using halide salt assisted phosphoric and pyruvic acids were accomplished. The effects of three independent variables namely; acid concentration, potassium iodide salt and duration were studied using the central composite rotatable design on hydrolysis of the cassava non-starch carb...

Cassava is a major tropical food crop in the Euphorbiaceae family that has high carbohydrate production potential and adaptability to diverse environments. Here we present the draft genome sequences of a wild ancestor and a domesticated variety of cassava and comparative analyses with a partial inbred line. We identify 1,584 and 1,678 gene models specific to the wild and domesticated varieties,...