Charles Kimwele

A molecular Genetic Analysis Of the Communal Nesting Of the Ostrich (Struthio Camelus)

The ostrich breeding system is complex and unique; communal clutches are laid by several females, although only one female, the major female, and the resident territorial male provide parental care. More eggs are laid in the nest than can be incubated and the major female ejects surplus eggs from the incubated central clutch. Microsatellite markers were used to analyse the parentage of communal nests in Nairobi National Park. This revealed that major females contributed a disproportionate number of fertile eggs to the central, incubated clutch and that multiple paternity and maternity within a nest were common; 68.9% of all incubated eggs on a nest were not parented by both the resident territorial male and the major female of that nest. All the males fertilized eggs on the clutches of neighbouring males. Unexpectedly, every major female with her own nest was also simultaneously a minor female with incubated eggs on neighbouring clutches. The relatedness between females laying in the same nest was not significantly different from the population average and significantly less than that between chicks hatched from the same nest.

Medicinal plants used in treatment and management of cancer in Kakamega County, Kenya

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE Traditional medicine plays a critical role in treatment of chronic debilitating and life threatening conditions and diseases. Cancer is one such condition whose therapeutic intervention is commonly through inexpensive traditional herbal remedies. Increasingly industrialised societies are developing drugs and chemotherapeutics from these traditional herbal plants. Plant biogeography determines the abundance and availability of medicinal plants which in turn determine their use by local communities. The present study was carried out in Kakamega County of Kenya to identify and document medicinal plants used for treatment and management of cancer states by communities living adjacent to Kakamega Tropical rainforest of Kakamega County, Kenya. MATERIALS AND METHODS An ethnobotanical survey was done using semi-structured questionnaires administered to 32 randomly selected herbalists from Kakamega County. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Sixty five (65) plants of 59 genera and 32 families were identified as candidates in therapeutic intervention against cancer states. Most commonly cited plant species were Spathodea campanulata P. Beauv. ssp. nilotica (Seem), Microglossa pyrifolia (Lam.) Kuntze, Harungana madagascariensis Lam. ex poir, Prunus africana (Hook. f.) kalkman, Cyphostemma serpens (A. Rich), Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don and Aloe volkensii Engl. The following were documented for the first time; Aeschynomene abyssinica (A. Rich.) Vatke, Synsepalum cerasiferum (welw.) T. D penn., Albizia coriaria Welw. ex Oliv., Aloe volkensii Engl. Bridelia micrantha (Hochst.) Baill, Croton macrostachyus Delile, Cyphostemma serpens (A. Rich), Dicliptera laxata C.B. Clarke, Ekebergia capensis Sparrm., Gardenia volkensii K. schum. ssp. volkensii, Glycine wightii (wight & Arn.), Ocimum gratissimum Suave, Olea hotcsh spp. hochstetteri, Pavetta abyssinica Fresen., Phyllanthus fischeri Pax, Psydrax schimperiana (A. Rich), Rhus vulgaris Meikle, Senna didymobotyra (Fresen.) Irwin and Barneby, Solanecio nandensis (S. Moore) C. Jeffrey, Solanum mauritianum Scop, Spathodea campanulata P. Beauv. ssp. nilotica (Seem), Spermacoce princea (K. Schum.) Verdc., Tabernaemontana stapfiana Britten, Tragia brevipes Pax and Zanthoxylum gilletii (De Wild.) P.G.Waterman. The most frequently used plant parts were fresh or dried leaves and stem barks. Administration to patients was almost exclusively oral, with the exceptions being topical application especially for breast cancer and skin sarcomas. CONCLUSIONS This study identified diverse medicinal plants used in therapeutic and management intervention against cancer by communities living adjacent to Kakamega Tropical Rainforest. The primary mode of administration was oral.

Trypanotolerance in N’Dama x Boran crosses under natural trypanosome challenge: effect of test-year environment, gender, and breed composition

BackgroundTrypanosomosis, a protozoal disease affecting livestock, transmitted by Glossina (tsetse) flies is a major constraint to agricultural production in Sub-Saharan Africa. It is accepted that utilization of the native trypanotolerance exhibited in some of the African cattle breeds to improve trypanotolerance of more productive but susceptible breeds, will offer a cost effective and sustainable solution to the problem. The success of this approach is based on the premise that quantitative trait loci previously identified under relatively controlled situations confer useful trypanotolerance under natural field situations. As part of a study to authenticate this hypothesis, a population of 192 cattle, consisting of six batches of N’Dama and Kenya-Boran backcross animals [(N’Dama x Kenya-Boran) x Kenya-Boran] born over the period 2002 to 2006 was constructed. Some of the batches also included pure Kenya-Boran cattle, or N’Dama x Kenya- Boran F1 animals. Each batch was exposed as yearlings to natural field trypanosomosis challenge over a period of about one year; the entire challenge period extending from December 2003 to June 2007. Performance of the animals was evaluated by weekly or biweekly measurements of body weight, packed blood cell volume (PCV), parasitemia score, and number of trypanocide treatments. From these basic data, 49 phenotypes were constructed reflecting dynamics of body weight, packed cell volume (PCV) and parasitemia under challenge.ResultsFemales were distinctly more trypanotolerant than males. F1, backcross and pure Kenya- Boran animals ranked in that order with respect to trypanotolerance. Overall batch effects were highly significant (p<0.001) for most traits, and were generally more significant than the gender or genetic type effects. The superior trypanotolerance of the F1 animals was expressed in all three components of animal defense strategies against pathogens: Avoidance resistance, and tolerance.ConclusionsThe results show that trypanotolerance derived from the N’Dama is expressed under field conditions; and that the trait is primarily additive in nature, being expressed in heterozygous condition and in a three-quarters Boran genetic background. The results further, underscore the complexity of the trait in the field manifesting all three host disease-control strategies, and show the importance of gender and local environmental conditions in determining response to challenge.

Expression of trypanotolerance in N’Dama x Boran crosses under field challenge in relation to N’Dama genome content

BackgroundAnimal trypanosomosis in sub-Saharan Africa is a major obstacle to livestock based agriculture. Control relies on drugs with increasing incidence of multiple-drug resistance. A previous mapping experiment in an F2 population derived from the indigenous trypanotolerant N’Dama cattle crossed to susceptible (Kenya)-Boran cattle under controlled challenge, uncovered a number of trypanotolerance QTL (T-QTL). The present study was to determine expression of N’Dama trypanotolerance in a backcross to the Boran under conditions of field challenge, and whether chromosomal regions associated with trypanotolerance in the F2 experiment showed similar effects in the BC population.Methods192 backcross animals to the Boran were produced in six batches from June 2001 to December 2006. At one year of age animals were moved to the field and exposed to natural challenge over about one year in Southwest Kenya (Narok). The animals were individually recorded weekly for body weight, packed cell volume, parasitaemia score, and drug treatments, and were genotyped using 35 microsatellite markers spanning 5 chromosomes found in the F2 study to harbour T-QTL.ResultsThe F1 were most trypanotolerant, Boran least, and BC intermediate. Females showed distinctly higher trypanotolerance than males. There was a positive correlation in the BC population between trypanotolerance and number of N’Dama origin marker alleles. QTL mapping revealed T-QTL distributed among all five targeted chromosomes, corresponding in part to the results obtained in the F2 experiment.ConclusionsN’Dama origin trypanotolerance is expressed in a BC population under field conditions in proportion to N’Dama origin marker alleles. Consequently, marker assisted selection in such populations may be a means of increasing trypanotolerance, while retaining the desirable productive qualities of the recurrent parent.

Effects of recombinant human growth hormone on anorexic nile crocodiles (Crocodylus niloticus)

1. Eleven-month-old Nile crocodiles with poor appetite and retarded growth were injected with 0.325 micrograms/g recombinant human growth hormone (hGH) twice a week for 4 weeks. 2. The treated animals had a mean intake per meal of 29.8 g/kg, while the controls ate only 2.8 g/kg. 3. The treated group gained 8.1% of their initial body weight, while the controls lost 6.3%. 4. During 4 weeks of treatment the body and head length increased by 3.93 and 1.29%, respectively, while no linear growth took place in the controls. 5. The treated group had higher contents of skeletal muscle protein and liver glycogen than the control group. 6. In conclusion, recombinant hGH induces appetite and growth in anorexic crocodiles.

Effects of recombinant human growth hormone in juvenile nile crocodiles (Crocodylus niloticus)

1. Recombinant human growth hormone (hGH) showed somatotropic activity in juvenile Nile crocodiles (Crocodylus niloticus). 2. Body weight of crocodiles receiving 3.25 micrograms hGH/g body weight twice a week was increased by 49% after five weeks of treatment, compared to 31% increase in controls. 3. Total length was increased by 15 and 5%, respectively, in the two groups. 4. Food conversion efficiency increased from 28% in the controls to 36% in the hormone injected animals. 5. Cessation of hormone treatment was followed by reduced appetite and decreasing body growth.

Phytochemical Screening of Medicinal Plants of the Kakamega Country,Kenya Commonly Used against Cancer

Phytochemical constituents of 35 selected anticancer medicinal plant extracts were analyzed by thin layer chromatography (TLC) for alkaloids, anthraquinones, xanthines, valepotriates, cardiac glycosides, flavonoids, essential oils, coumarins, lignans, saponins and arbutin compounds. These plants sourced from Kakamega tropical rain forest have been previously reported to be used for cancer treatment in the Kakamega County, Kenya. The medicinal plants investigated were Harungana madagascariensis Lam. ex poir, Fuerstia africana T.C.E. Fr., Sida rhombifolia L., Zanthoxylum rubescens Hook. f, Bridelia micrantha (Hochst.) Baill, Juniperus procera Endl., Tragia brevipes Pax, Phyllanthus sapialis, Conyza sumatrensis, Momordica foetida Schumach., Synsepalum cerasiferum Synonym: Afrosersalisia cerasifera (Welw.) Aubrev, Aloe volkensii Engl, Aeschynomene abyssinica (A. Rich.) Vatke, Futumia africana Benth. Cyphostemma serpens (A. Rich), Ipomoea cairica (L.), Spathodea campanulata P. Beauv. ssp. nilotica (Seem), Abrus precatorius L. ssp africanus Verdc., Triumfetta rhomboidea Jacq., Psydrax schimperiana (A.Rich), Ficus thonningii, Rotheca myricoides (Hochst. Steane and Mabb), Croton macrostachyus Delile, Vernonia lasiopus O Hoffin, Albizia gummifera (J.F. Gmel.), Zanthoxylum gilletii (De Wild.) P.G. Waterman, Microglossa pyrifolia (Lam.)Kuntze, Senna didymobotyra (Fresen.) Irwinand Barneby, Trichilia emetica Vahl, Entada abyssinica Steud.ex A.Rich., Shirakiopsis elliptica (Hochst.)Esser Synonym: Sapium ellipticum (Hochst.kraus) Pax, Ocimum gratissimum L.Suave wiild O.tomentosum oliv., Prunus africana (Hook.f.) Kalkman, Phyllanthus fischeri Pax and Olea hotch spp. Hochstetteri. The phytochemical distribution in the 35 plants included:71.4% alkaloids, 57.1% anthraquinones, 94.2% xanthines, 82.8% valepotriates, 94.2% cardioactive glycosides, 82.8% flavonoids, 77.1% essential oils, 85.7% coumarin drugs, 68.5% lignans, 80% saponins and 62.85% arbutin drugs. Our findings provided evidence that crude organic and inorganic solvent extracts of these tested plants contain medicinally important bioactive compounds and provide a rational basis for their use in traditional medicine.

The selection of a standard STR panel for DNA profiling of the African elephant (Loxodonta africana) in Kenya

Abstract The African elephant (Loxodonta africana) population in Kenya is declining at an alarming rate due to habitat destruction, human-elephant conflicts and the current escalation of poaching for ivory. This study established a standard protocol for forensic analysis of L. africana and their products such as ivory. Three multiplex PCR panels consisting of 17 Short Tandem Repeat markers were selected from 40 markers using bioinformatics tools, amplification and polymorphism. Genotyping was successful and reproducible. This method is efficient, accurate and cost effective and has potential for application in conservation of L. africana.

DNA species surveillance: Monitoring bushmeat poaching and trading in Kenya using partial cytochrome b gene

DNA species identification has applications in such areas as forensic science, systematics, conservation genetics and agriculture. One key anthropogenic activity threatening large wildlife fauna is illegal exploitation. In Kenya, species identification of raw and processed meat products remains a constraint to effective enforcement of illegal trade in game meat (bushmeat) and products. We tested the reliability of a 321 bp mitochondrial cytochrome b (cyt b) region as a species identification tool for application in wildlife forensics. Query sequences were generated from known specimens of 14 Eastern African wildlife species, 13 representing commonly poached ungulates, and three domesticated species. These were compared, using Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) algorithm, with NCBI GenBank reference sequences for species identity. These query sequences were subsequently deposited on Genbank. They represent a contribution to a diagnostic internal East African Wildlife reference cyt b database. The test species comprised: Cape buffalo, bushbuck, Guenther’s dik-dik, common duiker, common eland, Grant’s gazelle, hartebeest, impala, lesser kudu, plains zebra, Thomson’s gazelle, common warthog, wildebeest, Maasai ostrich, cattle, goat and sheep. Additionally, cooked beef and pork samples were analyzed. The results show that, when conspecific sequences were available in the database, species discrimination was 100%. Phylogeny clustering of the species by maximum likelihood supported the species determination by BLAST. The second part of the study carried out a preliminary survey of the prevalence of illegal game meat sold in the dispersal area of Tsavo National Park, Kenya. Sixty two raw meat samples were randomly collected from small roadside retail outlets along the Nairobi-Mombasa highway (A109), a major transnational highway that transverses Tsavo National Park. The results indicate a 9.7% (n = 6) illegal game meat sale, comprising five Guenther’s dik-diks and a Beisa oryx. A 2 km radius hotspot, with 83% (n = 5) of the bushmeat sales was identified just south of Tsavo East National Park. Key words: East Africa, Kenya, bushmeat, poaching, wildlife conservation, species identification, mitochondrial cytochrome b gene.

Influence of recombinant bovine growth hormone on growth and feed intake in juvenile Nile crocodiles (Crocodylus niloticus)

Abstract 1. 1. Slow-growing juvenile Nile crocodiles were injected with recombinant bovine growth hormone (rbGH) once a week for 6 weeks and then re-treated after 4 weeks. 2. 2. The feed intake of the treated crocodiles was 26 g/kg/meal during the three periods, while the intakes of the controls were 15, 20 and 2 g/kg. 3. 3. The treated gained 2.3 and 0.9%/week in weight during the first and second injection period and the feed conversion efficiencies were 28 and 13%. The controls lost weight. 4. 4. The treated animals grew at rates of 0.98 and 0.43%/week during the first and the second injection period. 5. 5. Bovine GH enhances growth in juvenile crocodiles and seems to have less adverse effects than human GH.