Research Interest:
BIOCHEMISTRY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY OF YAMS
Prof. Asemota and her research group are engaged in research activities
directed at the improvement of production, quality and storage of
some tropical crops using biotechnology tools. The current focus
is on some roots and tuber crops of economic importance/potential
such as yams (Dioscorea sp.), dasheen (Colocasia esculenta) and
cocoyam (Xanthosoma sp.). The following areas have been addressed
to varying extent:
- Rapid clonal propagation of yams (Dioscorea spp.) and yam germplasm
conservation using tissue culture techniques. Biochemical, physiological
and environmental factors affecting the Lab to field transfer
of in vitro derived plantlets.
- Study of biodiversity and genetic relatedness among yams (Dioscorea
sp.), dasheen (Colocasia sp.) and cocoyams (Xanthosoma sp) using
PCR-based DNA fingerprinting techniques. Molecular characterization
of the common leaf blight disease in dasheen.
- Molecular changes associated with developmental processes in
yam, focussing on in vitro tuberization and salinity stress.
- Studies on antinutritional factors in tuber crops. Assessment
of some natural products in different yams.
- Studies on the metabolic effects of consumption of extracts
of some tropical tuber crops in rat models under normal and disease
conditions.
- Postharvest biochemistry and physiology of tropical roots and
tuber crops.
Protoplasts culture and transient gene expression studies in yam
and dashseen.
Selected publications:
- Kahl, G., Ramser, J., Terauchi, R., Lopez-Peralta, C.,
Asemota, H. N. and Weising, K. (1997). Combined amplification
and hybridization techniques for genome scanning in vegetatively
propagated crops. In: Use of novel DNA fingerprinting techniques
for the detection and characterization of genetic variation in
vegetatively propagated crops. International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA) IAEA-TECDOC-1047, 21-34pp.
- Grindley, P. B., Felix O. Omoruyi., Helen N. Asemota
and Errol Y. Morrison. Effects of Yam (Dioscorea cayenensis) and
Dasheen ( Colocassia esculenta ) extracts on the kidney of streptozotocin
- induced diabetic rats. International Journal of Food Sciences
and Nutrition 52.5 (2001): 429 -33.
- Grindley, P. B., Felix O. Omoruyi., Helen N. Asemota
and Errol Y. Morrison. Carbohydrate digestion and intestinal ATPases
in streptozotocin - induced diabetic rats feed extract of Yam
( Dioscorea cayenesis ) or Dasheen ( Colocassia esculenta ). Nutrition
Research.. 22.3 (2001): 333 - 41.
- Wheatley, Andrew O., Helen N. Asemota and
Errol Y. Morrison. Glycaemic Index: Not all carbohydrates are
created equal [Abstract]. West Indian Medical Journal 51.Suppl.
1 (2002): 60.
- Marie A. McAnuff, Felix O. Omoruyi, Errol Y. St. A Morrison
and Helen N. Asemota. Plasma and liver lipid distributions in
streptozotocin - induced diabetic rats fed sapogenin extract of
the Jamaican bitter yam ( Dioscorea polygonoides ). Nutrition
Research 22: (13) 1427 -34.(2002)
Postgraduate Students:
- Felix Omoruyi (Research Fellow)
- K. Lobban
- M. McAnuff
- C. Riley
- L. Dilworth
- S. Earle-Barret
- M. Powell
- P. Bahado-Singh
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