Aim: The aim of present study is to investigate the antimicrobial activity of Cenchrus ciliaris (CAZRI-358) and Cenchrus setigerus (CAZRI-76) extracts in order to use it as a possible source for new antimicrobial substances against important human pathogens. Methods and Results: Crude extracts of different parts of both species of Cenchrus were evaluated against three medically important bacter...

Cenchrus is an important component of major grass cover of world. Similar to the other major tropical grasses most of the species in genus Cenchrus are also apomictic in nature hence correct and precise identification of accessions and species are problematic and dubious. In the present study 187 decamer oligonucleotide primers were tested for PCR-based DNA amplification of six prominent specie...

Apomixis, or clonal propagation through seed, is a trait identified within multiple species of the grass family (Poaceae). The genetic locus controlling apomixis in Pennisetum squamulatum (syn Cenchrus squamulatus) and Cenchrus ciliaris (syn Pennisetum ciliare, buffelgrass) is the apospory-specific genomic region (ASGR). Previously, the ASGR was shown to be highly conserved but inverted in mark...

Cenchrus longispinus (Hack.) Fernald (Poaceae), as a weed, is native of America, but has also been introduced in other countries including Iran in the recent years. In this study, karyotypic features in one population of this species was studied. As such, microscopic slides of root tip meristem cells were prepared using the classical squash technique and aceto-iron-hematoxylene staining. The ch...

K ikuyu grass ( Pennisetum clandestinum ) is a perennial pasture species with a spring to autumn growth habit. Although it is usually grazed without ill effect, spasmodic incidents of poisoning in cattle 1 and, to a much lesser extent, sheep 2 and goats, 3 have been encountered. The aetiology and pathogenesis of kikuyu poisoning remains poorly understood. Outbreaks are characteristically acute ...

Grass growth has been encouraged in arid communities globally to improve grazing. Often exotic species are planted, subsequently spreading beyond their plantings to drastically alter cover and negatively impact native species. We evaluated the effects of the invasive, perennial grass Cenchrus ciliaris on the native woody species Cercidium microphyllum over two growing seasons: 2002 and 2003. To...

Naturalized populations of buffelgrass (Cencchrus ciliaris L.) grow wild in some range areas and around farms in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. However, no attempt was made to study forage yield potential of these populations for use in range improvement or as a forage crop with low water requirement. This study was conducted to evaluate 24 seed sources collected from different places in the Riya...

The Buffelgrass (Cenchrus ciliaris L., Poaceae) is one of the most important pasturage grasses due to its high productivity and good forage qualities. This species possess a high adaptability to bioclimatic constraints of arid zones and may be used for the restoration of degraded arid ecosystems. Tunisian populations present three ploidy levels (4x, 5x and 6x) with a basic chromosome number x=9...