Mutasim Khalafalla | Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia (original) (raw)

Papers by Mutasim Khalafalla

African Journal of Biotechnology, Nov 2, 2009

Fast-growing normal root culture of Vernonia amygdalina, a potent African medicinal plant was est... more Fast-growing normal root culture of Vernonia amygdalina, a potent African medicinal plant was established from leaf explants of in vitro raised shoot induced from the stem nodal segments on murashige and skoog (MS) medium containing 0.5 mg l-1 6-benzylaminopurine (BA) in combination with 0.5 mg l-1 naphthalene acetic acid (NAA). In vitro raised plantlets were maintained on MS agar medium and sub cultured at 4 weeks interval and used as leaf explant source. Explants were cultured on halfstrength MS medium supplemented with different concentrations of Indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), indole-3butyric acid (IBA) and NAA. Basal medium supplemented with IBA at 0.25 and 2.0 mg l-1 and under 16 photoperiod condition favoured induction of the longest root (2.7 ± 1.1 cm) and highest number of roots/explant (38.3 ± 1.1) respectively. After 6 weeks well established roots were separated. Fresh root tissue, in amount of a 100 mg were cultured in 50 ml full-strength MS liquid medium supplemented with 2.0 mg l-1 IBA and under continuous agitation (80 rpm). The biomass of root culture was increased to 2.1949 g after 5 weeks of culture. The root culture was maintained up to 6 weeks. The protocol developed in this study provides a basis for adventitious root induction and for further investigation of medicinally active constituents of this elite medicinal plant.

African Journal of Biotechnology, Sep 12, 2011

Fermentation yeast was isolated from a Thai traditional alcoholic beverage called Thai ou, which ... more Fermentation yeast was isolated from a Thai traditional alcoholic beverage called Thai ou, which is drunk through bamboo tubes. The isolated yeast was identified as a strain of the genus Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The alcoholic beverage made with the isolated yeast designated as S. cerevisiae NP01 from black rice grains had an ethanol concentration of 12.4 to 13.1% (v/v) and a large amount of phenolic compounds. The resulting alcoholic beverages made from black rice grains were red in color, especially those made from uncooked black rice, which had a brilliant red hue similar to that of red or rosé wine. The amount of anthocyanin in the beverages made from uncooked black rice with NP01 and industrial wine yeast W-4 was 118 and 131 μg/ml, respectively. The anthocyanin content of beverages made from uncooked black rice was higher than that of the beverages made from the cooked black rice. The antioxidative activity of alcoholic beverages made from uncooked black rice was also higher than that of beverages made from cooked black rice. In the course of this study, the use of NP01 yeast produced black rice wine that was red in color and exhibited antioxidative activity.

African Journal of Biotechnology, Jun 3, 2009

The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of different concentrations and combin... more The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of different concentrations and combinations of growth regulators on callus induction and plant regeneration of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) cultivar Diamant. The tuber segments were used as explants and cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with different concentrations of α-naphthalene acetic acid (NAA), 2,4-Dichlorophenoxy acetic acid (2,4-D), benzyl adenine (BA) and thidiazeron (TDZ) alone and 2,4-D in combinations with BA for callus induction. The best degree for callus formation (6.0) was obtained on MS medium supplemented with 2,4-D alone at 3.0 mg/l or 2,4-D in combination with BA both at 2.0 mg/l. MS media supplemented with different levels of BA and TDZ were employed for shoot regeneration. MS medium containing 5.0 mg/l TDZ was the best for days to shoot initiation, the highest percentage of callus with shoot (81%) and highest number of shoot per callus (3.4). Callus derived shoots were rooted most effectively in half-strength MS medium containing 0.5 mg/l IBA. The success of plant tissue culture for in vitro culture of potato was encouraged by acclimatization of the plantlets in the greenhouse conditions. Regenerated plants were morphologically uniform with normal leaf shape and growth pattern.

Breeding Science, 2005

In an attempt to increase the efficiency of soybean transformation by particle bombardment, we ex... more In an attempt to increase the efficiency of soybean transformation by particle bombardment, we examined the effects of bombardment parameters such as gold particle size, target distance, acceleration pressure, amount of DNA per bombardment, and number of bombardments. Transgene delivery to embryogenic tissue grown in suspension culture was evaluated by monitoring the transient expression of a gene for a modified form of jellyfish green fluorescent protein [sGFP(S65T)]. Optimal transient expression of sGFP(S65T) was obtained when the tissue was bombarded twice at an acceleration pressure of 7.6 MPa (1,100 psi) and a distance of 6 cm with gold particles that were 0.6 µm in diameter and coated with 0.8 µg of DNA. Application of these optimized conditions proved effective for the generation of stable transgenic soybean plants. Stable transgene integration in the transformants was confirmed by Southern blot analysis. The average transformation efficiency achieved with the optimized protocol was siginificantly higher than that with the conventional protocol.

American-Eurasian Journal of Sustainable Agriculture, 2008

The Journal of Phytology, Feb 27, 2010

Ethylene produced by tissue, callus and plantlets in closed vessels may lead to abnormal plantlet... more Ethylene produced by tissue, callus and plantlets in closed vessels may lead to abnormal plantlet growth and branching in vitro . Silver nitrate (AgNO 3 ) and Cobalt chloride (CoCl 2 ) are known as ethylene inhibitors. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the in vitro regeneration capacity of sesame cultivar Promo KY when exposed to culture media containing ethylene inhibitors. A protocol is presented for direct adventitious shoot organogenesis and complete plant regeneration. MS medium enriched with 1.0 mg/L Benzyl adenine (BA) induced adventitious shoot in axenic seedling-derived shoot tips. Addition of ethylene inhibitors AgNO 3 (0.5- 5.0 mg/L) enhanced number of shoots from 2.7 to 3.7 shoot/explant as well as shoot length from 1.3 to 2.9 cm . In the case of a medium comprising of MS salts with Naphthyl-Acetic Acid (NAA) 0.05 mg/L, 63 root/explant was observed and root emergence occur after 25 days of culture. Addition of 3.0 mg/L AgNO 3 improved root initiation to 79 root/explants and root emerged after 14 days. Addition of 5.0 mg/L CoCl 2 increase the root length from 3.5 cm to 17 cm. These promotive effects may result from a reduction in ethylene concentration or inhibition of ethylene action. The results found in this study may be used to improve the multiple shoot and rooting efficiency of Sesame cultivars and possibly of other plant species.

The Journal of Phytology, Aug 31, 2010

A procedure for plant regeneration from callus culture of potato, Solanum tuberosum L. is describ... more A procedure for plant regeneration from callus culture of potato, Solanum tuberosum L. is described. Calli were induced from 1.0 cm 2 tuber segment of potato cultivar Almera on Murashige and Skoog's medium (MS) supplemented with different levels (1.0-5.0 mg/l) of 2, 4-dichlorophenoxy acetic acid (2, 4-D). The highest degree of callus formation (3.0) and hundred percent (100%) of explants produced nodular calli on MS medium within 7-12 days when supplemented with 2.0-5.0 mg/l of 2, 4-D. Calli were differentiated into shoot-primordia when subcultured on MS medium supplemented with 1.5-5.0 mg/l of thidiazuron (TDZ) and 2.0-5.0 mg/l of benzyladenine (BA). The best result for number of shoot per callus (3.3 ± 0.3) and longest shoot (0.8 ± 0.1) were obtained by using TDZ at 5.0 mg/l. Callus derived shoots were rooted most effectively in full-strength MS medium containing 1.0 mg L-1 IBA. The success of plant tissue culture for in vitro culture of potato was encouraged by acclimatization of the plantlets in the greenhouse conditions. Regenerated plants were morphologically uniform with normal leaf shape and growth pattern.

Applied Ecology and Environmental Research, 2019

Khalafalla et al.: Effect of hot-water treatment and bulb storage temperature on propagation of N... more Khalafalla et al.: Effect of hot-water treatment and bulb storage temperature on propagation of Narcissus tazetta by the chipping and twin-scaling techniques-10293

Polish Journal of Environmental Studies

Benzene exposure in humans has significant negative health consequences and may be linked to an i... more Benzene exposure in humans has significant negative health consequences and may be linked to an increased risk of blood biochemical changes. Therefore, the goal of this study was to determine the level of lead in blood of fuel station workers at various petroleum stations in holly Makkah city and look into its effects on specific blood biochemical parameters. Blood samples were collected from 63 individuals, including 44 samples from gasoline station workers (exposed group) and 19 samples from women who were not subjected to any kind of benzene exposure (nonexposed group). Socio-demographic data were collected using a structured questionnaire and 10 ml of venous blood was collected for the determination of lead and biochemical parameters. Data obtained were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). The median (range) of blood lead level among exposed group 40.5 (4.0-90.0) 5µg/dL was significantly higher (P = 0.00) than non-exposed group 3.2 (2.7-15.0) µg/dL). Exposed workers had decreased level in albumin, glucose, total protein, and hemoglobin when compared with normal level in human blood (p<0.0001). The results also confirmed that, there was significant relation between exposure to benzene and increase in blood cholesterol (p<0.01). The correlation between benzene exposure and the blood lead level was confirmed by comparing with the non-exposed group (p<0.01).

Journal of Multidisciplinary Sciences, 2021

Ready-to-eat foods (RTEs) are items prepared in advance and ready for consumption only after heat... more Ready-to-eat foods (RTEs) are items prepared in advance and ready for consumption only after heating without further processing or preparations. This study aimed to assess the microbiological incidence of ready-to-eat (RTE) foods served in some cafeterias located in Makkah city. A total of 108 samples of six different types of ready-to-eat food (foul, falafel, boiled egg, fried egg, shakshuka, and sheep liver slices) were collected randomly from six different cafeterias located in Makkah city. Samples were taken in sterile containers and transmitted immediately to the microbiology lab for analysis. Different media types were used to isolate and identify bacterial and fungal species. The results revealed that the highest aerobic plate counts were detected in sheep liver slices samples with the value of 8.4 × 10 3 CFU/mL, while the lowest was found in foul samples with a value of 0.5 × 10 3 CFU/mL. The highest count of Staphylococcus aureus was found in shakshuka samples with a value of 9.8 × 10 3 CFU/mL, and the lowest count was observed in falafel samples with a count of 1.2 × 10 3 CFU/mL. The current study's findings revealed that the total aerobic counts for S. aureus were high, and 42% of the samples were contaminated with Escherichia coli and exceeded the acceptable limit (0-10 3 CFU) ready-to-eat foods.

Journal of Herbs, Spices & Medicinal Plants, 2019

Callus induction was established on internodal and leaf explants of Grewia tenax cultured on Mura... more Callus induction was established on internodal and leaf explants of Grewia tenax cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) solid medium supplied with indole-3-butyric acid (IBA), 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2, 4-D) or naphthalene acetic acid (NAA). Yellow and friable callus was obtained from internodal explant on 2.0 mg L −1 NAA supplemented medium with fresh weight (FW) 0.428 g/explant after 28 d of culture. The fresh biomass further improved up to 13 g when callus was sub-cultured on a combination medium of 2.0 mg L −1 NAA + 1.5 mg L −1 benzyladenine (BA). Growth curve was established based on total fresh weight. By the end of stationary phase, the total FW accumulated was 12.09 g in 10 weeks on NAA + BA, and 10.79 g in 14 weeks on NAA cultures. The results from the callus growth kinetics indicated that subculture must be performed by the end of 11 th and 9 th week for NAA and NAA+BA cultures, respectively. Three cell lines were selected depending on callus color. Yellow-brown line (YB) showed faster growth with a total of 14.06 g FW after 160 d of culture. This indicated that YB line may be able to maintain in culture with high cell viability.

African Journal of Biotechnology, Jul 31, 2010

Underutilized plant species are defined by their unexploited economic potential, making them an a... more Underutilized plant species are defined by their unexploited economic potential, making them an appropriate focus for commercialization. The physiochemical composition and antioxidant activities of underutilized Mangifera pajang Kosterm fruit pulp and fruit juice powder were studied. The average kernel weight and length of M. pajang fruits was higher compared to Mangifera india. Chemical composition revealed that M. pajang juice powder (MPJP) was high in protein, carbohydrate, ascorbic acid, and ash whereas M. pajang pulp (MPP) was rich in fiber, gross energy, phenolic and β-carotene content. Additionally, MPJP extract exhibited the highest free radical scavenging activities by 1,1diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) methods. The antioxidant capacity of MPP and MPJP extracts were significantly correlated with the ascorbic acid and β-carotene but not with phenolic content. The high antioxidant activity with high ascorbic acid, proteins and carbohydrate content suggested that the MPJP can be used as a good source for preparation of health drink.

Pertanika Journal of Tropical Agricultural Science

Three types of culture systems, solid medium system, liquid shake flask system, and temporary imm... more Three types of culture systems, solid medium system, liquid shake flask system, and temporary immersion system (TIS) were used for testing their efficiency in propagating Curcuma zedoaria plantlets. The proliferation medium used in shoot multiplication was the Murashige and Skoog medium supplemented with 0.5 mg/L 6-benzylaminopurine (BA) and 0.5 mg/L Indole-3-butyric acid (IBA). Among the three systems used, the liquid shake flask system significantly induced more shoot formation and larger shoots from the shoot explants of C. zedoaria. Meanwhile, divided shoot explants produced significantly higher number of shoots than the undivided shoot explants. The in vitro plantlets derived from the three different culture systems produced healthy and morphologically similar to the mother plants after acclimatization and being transferred to the field.

Plant Tissue Cult, 2004

Department of Plant Biology and Plant Biotechnology, St. Joseph's College (Autonomous), Tiru... more Department of Plant Biology and Plant Biotechnology, St. Joseph's College (Autonomous), Tiruchirappalli-620 002, Tamilnadu, India E.mail: jeyachandran02@yahoo.com/anand_srs@ yahoo.co.in. ... Key words : Zehneria scabra, Nodal explants, Multiple shoot

International Journal of Agricultural Technology, 2014

This study was conducted to develop an optimized embryogenesis and plantlet regeneration protocol... more This study was conducted to develop an optimized embryogenesis and plantlet regeneration protocol for wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivar Khaleefa. The effects of sucrose concentrations, activated charcoal, potassium phosphate, ammonium nitrate, potassium nitrate, chelated iron, different concentrations of benzyladenine (BAP), kinetin (KN) and 5phenylcarbamoylamino (TDZ) in combination with indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and different concentrations of silver nitrate were evaluated. Results showed that adding sucrose at (6%), activated charcoal (AC) at 0.5 g -1 and the normal concentrations of potassium phosphate, ammonium nitrate, potassium nitrate and chelated iron in Murashige and Skoog basal medium (MS) salt were the best for promoting embryogenesis. Adding 2.0 mg -1 BA in combination with 1.0 mg -1 IAA gave the highest value of somatic embryos formation compared with other concentrations tested and addition of 20.0 mg -1 silver nitrate to regeneration medium encouraged shoot rege...

In Vitro Cellular & Developmental Biology - Plant, 1999

... MOHANJEET S. BRAR, MISTY J. MOORE, JAMEEL M. AL-KHAYRI, TEDDY E. MORELOCK, AND EDWIN J. ANDER... more ... MOHANJEET S. BRAR, MISTY J. MOORE, JAMEEL M. AL-KHAYRI, TEDDY E. MORELOCK, AND EDWIN J. ANDERSON ... The initiation medium also contained 66.5 pM BA, whereas the regeneration medium contained only 4.4 laM (1 rag/l) BA. ...

African Journal of Biotechnology, Sep 18, 2006

The present study was designed to evaluate the transformation efficiency and proof the capability... more The present study was designed to evaluate the transformation efficiency and proof the capability of whisker supersonic (WSS) method as an alternative option for soybean (Glycine max [L] Merrill) transformation. We compared soybean transformation efficiency obtained by WSS-mediated with that of particle bombardment transformation by carrying out molecular analysis of the T 0 plants in two independent experiments. For this, we used for both transformation techniques the same genotype, the same plasmid and the same selection method. To assess the efficiency of soybean genetic transformation, we evaluated the efficiency of multi gene transformation by the selection with hygromycin and the expression of green fluorescent protein [sGFP (S65T)] resulted from both techniques. Regenerable embryogenic cells were induced from immature cotyledons of soybean c.v Jack on MSD40 media within 3 weeks then proliferated on FN lite liquid media and engineered with pUHG gene construct through both WSS and particle bombardment-mediated transformation. The pUHG was constructed with pUC 19 and contain the hpt gene conferring resistance to hygromycin as a selective marker and sGFP(S65T) as a reporter gene. Fluorescence microscopy screening after the selection of hygromycin, identified the clearly expression of sGFP(S65T) in the transformed soybean embryos. Stable integration of the transgenes was confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and Southern blot analysis. The average transformation efficiency achieved with WSS was higher than that obtained by particle bombardment and hence it may represent an alternative method for soybean transformation.

The present investigation was carried out aiming to develop a technique for rapid in vitro microp... more The present investigation was carried out aiming to develop a technique for rapid in vitro micropropagation of potato (Solanum tuberosum L) plants. Nodal explants prepared from proliferating shoots of established axenic cultures of four potato cultivars viz Diamant, Alpha, Almera and Agria were used. Explants were incubated on agar solidified (0.8% g) Murashige and Skoog’s (MS) medium containing 3% sucrose and supplemented with different concentrations of thiadizuron (TDZ) and benzylaminopurine (BA) alone or in combinations with a-naphthalene acetic acid (NAA).Cultivars studied showed wide variation in their response to the plant growth regulators, best results being obtained for the cultivar Almera. Nodal explants responses to BA and TDZ were cultivar-dependent for number of shoot per explant. The highest number (5.4 shoots/explant) of shoots per explant was obtained for Almera explant cultured on MS medium supplemented with 3.0 mg/l TDZ in combination with 0.1 mg/l NAA. Regenerate...