¹Department of Biotechnology, ²Department of Food Science, Faculty of Food Science and Biotechnol
ogy, University Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor Malaysia.

(Received 24 March 2001 / Accepted 5 July 2001)

Abstract.
A total of 27 isolates of S. enteritidis from poultry and one isolate from human source were investigated by RAPD PCR, BOX PCR, plasmid profile and antibiotic resistance patterns. All isolates were (100%) resistant to penicillin, bacitracin, clindamycin and carbenicillin; and all isolates can be separated into five antibiotic resistant patterns. All the isolates showed high multiple antibiotic resistance index, indicating that all strains tested were originated from high risk sources. All the isolates carry at least one plasmid ranging from 1.9 to 37 MDa and enabled the S. enteritidis to be grouped into eight plasmid profiles. RAPD PCR with primers Genl 50 03 and Gen 1 50 09 and BOX PCR with primer BOXA21R differentiated the isolates into 22, 16 and 14 distinct DNA patterns respectively. RAPD results showed that isolates were genetically very heterogeneous, while BOX PCR results reflect the distribution of the BOX element in the genome among the isolates. RAPD PCR showed the highest discriminating power among all the techniques, while BOX PCR indicated a good potential for use in epidemiological investigations. Although antibiotic resistance and plasmid profiles were found to be less sensitive than the PCR based techniques tested, nevertheless, the PCR based techniques provided additional evidence for determination of the relatedness of the isolates of S. enteritidis.

Keywords: Salmonella enteritidis, antibiotic resistance, plasmid, BOX PCR, RAPD

Abstract.
The regeneration capacity of banana meristem in vitro was compared between single meristem and scalp methods. Scalps were induced on p4 media containing MS (Murashige and Skoog, 1962) components supplemented with coconut water and high concentration of benzyl amino purine (BAP) (75µM). The number of regenerated shoots produced from scalps was six-fold higher than that generated from single meristems. A comparison of the growth response upon gibberelic acid (GA₃) treatment was made between plantlets derived from both methods to detect dwarf off-types. The difference in height and the number of leaves between plantlets from both sources was statistically insignificant. On the other hand, RAPD analysis using 40 random primers displayed approximately 26% variation in single meristem while naked meristem exhibited 74% variation.

Keywords: Micropropagation, somaclonal variation, RAPD analysis, banana, tissue culture

^*Author for Correspondence.
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(Received 22 January 2001 / Accepted 30 March 2001)

Abstract.
The biggest challenge scientists are facing in this post genomic era is to define the hidden messages in the strings of genetic codes. The best and easiest route to achieve this is to compare the genomic contents of various species and methodically sieve through the information to correlate what is "common" and what is "unique". The tool of comparative genomics has allowed us to explore various disciplines in life sciences, ranging from the basic understanding of evolution and systematics, developmental and cell biology, protein function, to the applications of development in drug discovery and pharmacogenomics as well as environmental protection. This review will highlight a few key areas where such applications are now being pursued with good promises and reinforces the need to develop comparative genomics as a multi disciplinary tool.

Keywords: biotechnology, comparative genomics, evolution, pharmacogenomics, proteins

(Received I February 200I / Accepted 30 April 2001)

Abstract.
Considerable advances have been made in understanding the components of the virion particles of equine herpesvirus type I (EHV 1). Many functions of related glycoproteins in virus pathogenicity and their molecular interactions with the immune system have been revealed. There is a great challenge of understanding their roles and the complexities underlying protective immune mechanism, but the increasingly widespread application of molecular biological approaches is leading to rapid advances of this area.

Keywords: Equine herpesvirus type 1, molecular biology, immunology