Musaceae

Feed intake, in vivo nutrient digestibility and nitrogen utilization were evaluated in male sheep fed different fractions (leaf, pseudostem, corm, whole plant) of enset, untreated or 2% urea- and 3% calcium oxide- (CaO or lime) treated wheat straw and Desmodium intortum hay as sole diets. All feeds, except D. intortum hay and enset leaf had low crude protein (CP) content. Non-fiber carbohydrate contents were higher in enset fractions, especially in pseudostem and corm relative to other feeds. Enset leaf and pseudostem had high calcium, phosphorus and manganese contents. Corm, whole enset and D. intortum hay were rich sources of zinc. Daily dry matter and CP intakes were higher (p < 0.05) in sheep fed D. intortum hay (830 and 133 g, respectively) than those fed pseudostem (92 and 7.8 g, respectively). Organic matter digestibilities were highest for corm (0.780) and whole enset (0.776) and lowest for D. intortum hay (0.534) and untreated wheat straw (0.522). The CP digestibility ranged from 0.636 in D. intortum hay to 0.408 in corm. Nitrogen (N) balance was highest (p < 0.05) in D. intortum hay (10.4 g/day) and lowest in corm (−1.3 g/day). Enset leaf could be a useful protein supplement whereas the pseudostem and corm could be good sources of energy.

Pollen viability on bananas (Musa L.) both wild species and cultivated varieties/cultivars is a basic information for further banana breeding program. The objective of this study was to evaluate the viability of pollen grains of 2 wild species (M. acuminata ssp. rutilifes and M. balbisiana) and 17 banana cultivars collection of Purwodadi Botanic Garden – Indonesian Institute of Sciences. Pollen viability analysis was conducted by staining test using 1% solution of 2,3,5-Triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC), then observed with light microscope Olympus CX31 at 40 magnification. Red-stained pollen grains were considered viable/fertile. Percentage of pollen stainability was calculated to determine the level of pollen viability of each banana sample. Clustering analysis was also conducted using PAST software to determine the pollen viability pattern among bananas. Results showed that pollen viability of bananas were varies, differed between genomic groups but clustered within genomic groups, so that pollen viability may utilised in the banana taxonomy. Among wild species, M. acuminata ssp. rutilifes (AAw) has higher pollen viability than M. balbisiana (BBw) i.e. 99.75% and 46.36% respectively. Banana cultivars with genomic group AA, AAA, and AAB has pollen viability of more than 60%, i.e. Mas, Raja Molo, Ambon Hong, Seribu, Nangka, Morosebo, Raja Kenanga and Cebol. Pisang Mas (AA) and Raja Molo (AAA) have high pollen viability i.e. 94.83% and 94.33%, respectively. Pisang Jambe (AA) was an outlier with low pollen viability (19.51%), and need further observation. Whilst, banana cultivars with genomic group ABB has pollen viability less than 30%; with only 2 banana cultivars i.e. Kepok Putih and Sri that has viable pollen (>30%). This preliminary result suggests that in addition to wild banana species, banana cultivars with two or more A genomes also might be useful as male parents with high viability of pollen grains.

Pisang Raja is well-known banana cultivars in Indonesia. Particularly in Java, there are not less than 40 local cultivars of Pisang Raja were recorded which needs to be clearly classified and identified. Genomic group identifications were conducted both morphology and molecular to thirteen local cultivars of Pisang Raja originated from Yogyakarta, Central Java and East Java collection of Purwodadi Botanic Garden – Indonesian Institute of Sciences. Morphological identification was using taxonomic scoring of fifteen dianogstic characters between M. acuminata and M. balbisiana wild species as their ancestral parents, whereas molecular identification was using Polymerase Chain Reaction-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism/PCR-RFLP of Internal Transcribed Spacer/ITS method. Result showed that genomic group of 13 Pisang Raja local cultivars based on morphology consists of 8 AAB, 3 ABB, and 2 AAA; whereas molecular result consists of 4 AAB, 3 ABB, and 6 AAA. About 4 out of 8 banana cultivars which identified as AAB morphologically were revealed as AAA molecularly. Molecular approach using PCR-RFLP of ITS to identify genomic group of Pisang Raja local cultivars provide more objective, consistent and reliable result, also less time-consuming than morphology. Nonetheles morphological description of bananas is still necessary to conduct as part of a longer-term systematic evaluation and selection basis for further utilization and development. Genomic group result of Pisang Raja local cultivars examined are as follows: Raja Bandung (ABB), Raja Siem (ABB), Raja Prentel (ABB), Raja Gintung (AAB), Raja Temen (AAB), Raja Lingi (AAB), Raja Marto (AAB), Raja Kenanga (AAA), Raja Ketan (AAA), Raja Nangka (AAA), Raja Pendek (AAA), Raja Talun (AAA) and Raja Warangan (AAA).

Urolithiasis is a common worldwide problem with high recurrence. This review covers thirty six (36) families starting from alphabet M to R. It includes Rubiaceae (17); Phyllanthaceae and Rutaceae (09); Polygonaceae (08); Pinaceae and Piperaceae (06) (01) plant used globally in different countries. Hopefully, this review will not only be useful for the general public but also attract the scientific world for antiurolithiatic drug discovery.

False banana /Ensete ventricosum [Welw.] Cheesman/ is exploited as a food crop in Ethiopia where it represents an important staple food. The plant is harvested and large amounts of biomass residues are originated, mainly from the pseudo stem (i.e., fiber bundles obtained from the leaf sheaths after being scrapped to produce starchy food) and the inflorescence stalk. These materials were studied in relation to their summative chemical composition, composition of lignin, lipophilic and polar extracts. Moreover, their structural characteristics, in view of their valorization, were scrutinized. The analytical studies were performed with the aid of FTIR, GC/MS, Py-GC/MS and SEM. The fiber bundles are aggregates of mainly long and slender fibers with low ash, extractives and lignin contents (3.8%. 4.4% and 10.5% respectively) and high holocellulose and α-cellulose contents (87.5% and 59.6% respectively). The hemicelluloses in the fibers are mostly highly acetylated xylans and the lignin i...

Background The classification of the Musaceae (banana) family species and their phylogenetic inter-relationships remain controversial, in part due to limited nucleotide information to complement the morphological and physiological characters. In this work the evolutionary relationships within the Musaceae family were studied using 13 species and DNA sequences obtained from a set of 19 unlinked nuclear genes. Results The 19 gene sequences represented a sample of ~16 kb of genome sequence (~73% intronic). The sequence data were also used to obtain estimates for the divergence times of the Musaceae genera and Musa sections. Nucleotide variation within the sample confirmed the close relationship of Australimusa and Callimusa sections and showed that Eumusa and Rhodochlamys sections are not reciprocally monophyletic, which supports the previous claims for the merger between the two latter sections. Divergence time analysis supported the previous dating of the Musaceae crown age to the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary (~ 69 Mya), and the evolution of Musa to ~50 Mya. The first estimates for the divergence times of the four Musa sections were also obtained. Conclusions The gene sequence-based phylogeny presented here provides a substantial insight into the course of speciation within the Musaceae. An understanding of the main phylogenetic relationships between banana species will help to fine-tune the taxonomy of Musaceae.

Genes coding for 45S ribosomal RNA are organized in tandem arrays of up to several thousand copies and contain 18S, 5.8S and 26S rRNA units separated by internal transcribed spacers ITS1 and ITS2. While the rRNA units are evolutionary conserved, ITS show high level of interspecific divergence and have been used frequently in genetic diversity and phylogenetic studies. In this work we report on the structure and diversity of the ITS region in 87 representatives of the family Musaceae. We provide the first detailed information on ITS sequence diversity in the genus Musa and describe the presence of more than one type of ITS sequence within individual species. Both Sanger sequencing of amplified ITS regions and whole genome 454 sequencing lead to similar phylogenetic inferences. We show that it is necessary to identify putative pseudogenic ITS sequences, which may have negative effect on phylogenetic reconstruction at lower taxonomic levels. Phylogenetic reconstruction based on ITS seq...