Conference Book of Abstracts - Taita Taveta University College

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Climate change is real as it has been manifested by the many environmental challenges thathumanity has been experiencing. Kenya is still wondering what appropriate mitigation andadaptive mechanisms to undertake against the adverse effects of climate change. As the countryis grappling with the socio-economic challenges, the effects of climate change have alwaysskipped our minds, while it is a fact that the socio-economic challenges have been exacerbatedby these effects. At the same time, the poor resource use management, unemployment, increasedpopulation growth and the high poverty levels have enhanced the effects of climate change.Literature review and observations conclude that the coastal regional has not been spared either.The coastal and marine ecosystems have been adversely affected by climate change. The coralbleaching and the extinction of marine organisms have been identified as some of the effects ofclimate change that have adverse effects on the tourism sector. The encroachment of the semiaridconditions to the previously arable land has had an effect on food sufficiency and security.The rainfall variability has seen pastoralists move to areas of reliable rainfall and pasture,causing inter-clan and resource use conflicts, especially in the lower Tana delta. The governmentefforts in enacting legislation and regulations have provided a basis for finding sustainablemitigation and adaptation measures to climate change effects. Indigenous conservation measuressuch as the protection of the Kaya shrines should be adopted to curb rainfall variability andprovide carbon sink systems. Innovative seaweed farming has been introduced to communities asa source of livelihood and a measure to conserve the marine environment by reducing thedestruction of the mangrove ecosystem. Alternative sources of energy including the energysaving Jikos are being adopted at the community level to reduce on wood fuel usage. The manywoodlots of Casuarinas and eucalyptus are adaptive strategies that need support.There is need to devise integrated mitigation measures that will address the causes andconsequences of the effects of climate change in the coastal region. Mitigation and adaptivemechanisms should be integrated in the country‟s governance systems to address wide range ofissues on climate change and that more resources should be allocated to combating andadaptating to climate change effects as they affect all sectors of the economy.Microbial enzymes: industrial applications and current status in KenyaSuhaila Omar HashimPwani University College P.O. Box 195-80108,Kilifi, Kenya, sohashim@yahoo.comMicroorganisms are able to grow in unique environments such as hot springs, geysers, deep sea,hydrothermal vents, highly saline and alkaline lakes, which man considers as “extreme”. Thisimplies that they are capable of producing enzymes that are active and stable in these “extreme”environments. Such biocatalysts are of great interest due to their potential applications inindustrial processes.
Kenya and the Eastern African region isendowed with unique ecological niches such as the hotsprings and soda lakes.Several enzymes have been reported from microbes isolated from suchlakes such as alkaline active thermostableamylase [1], lipases [2],pectinaseand catalase [3],notably from Bacillus halodurans species, one of the common species found in soda lakes [4,5].These microbes were isolated from soil and water samples collectedfrom Lake Bogoria, Kenya,using classic screening techniques [2, 5]. This has its own limitations due to the fact that over 99% of the microbes present in many environments are not readily culturable by conventionalmethods. There is thus need to apply metagenome-based approaches in order to tap the vastresource of genes coding for novel biocatalysts and chemicals from the unique environmentswithin the region.The enzymes reported from Bacillus halodurans exhibit remarkable activity and stability at highpH and high temperature and thus have potential application in various industries such as thedetergent, food, leather, pulp and paper industries, to mention a few. Currently, within the EastAfrican region, substantial quantities of enzymes are imported for use in the brewing, leathertanning and textile industries. However, many other industries have not adopted the use ofenzymes in their industrial processes due to the high cost of enzymes. Thus, commercializationof industrial enzymes at affordable prices will encourage more local industries to take upenzymes for application in industrial processes. Furthermore, a lot of industrial processescontribute to environmental pollution due to the toxic/harsh chemicals used, which are releasedto the environment. Thus, application of novel enzymes to replace the toxic chemicals inindustrial processes will greatly reduce environmental pollution. Proper legislation andguidelines on commercial production of industrial enzymes, intellectual property issues also needto be addressed.References[1]Hashim, S.O., Delgado, O., Martinez, A., Hatti-Kaul, R., Mulaa, F.J. and Mattiasson, B., (2005). Alkaline activemaltohexaose forming α-amylase from Bacillus halodurans LBK 34.Enzyme and MicrobialTechnology 36: 139-146[2] Vargas, V.A., Delgado, O.D., Hatti-Kaul, R. and Mattiasson, B.,(2004).Lipase-producing microorganisms from aKenyan alkaline soda lake.Biotechnology Letters 26: 81-86[3] Oluoch, K.R., Wilander, U., Andersson, M., Mulaa, F.J., Matiasson, B. andHatti-Kaul, R., (2006). Hydrogenperoxide degradation by immobilized cells of alkaliphilicBacillus halodurans.Biocatalysis and Biotransformation,24.(3): 215-222[4] Duckworth, A.W., Grant, S. Grant, W.D., Jones, B.E. and van Steenbergen, R., (2006). Phylogenetic diversity ofsoda lake alkaliphiles. FEMS Microbiol. Ecol. 19: 181-191[5] Hashim, S.O., Delgado, O., Hatti-Kaul, R., Mulaa, F.J. and Mattiasson, B., (2004). Starch hydrolyzing Bacillushalodurans isolates from a Kenyan soda lake. Biotechnology Letters 26: 823-828Plant species richness alters the emission of volatile organic compoundsRose N. Kigathi 1,2,3 , Sybille B. Unsicker 2 , Jonathan Gershenzon 2 , & Wolfgang W. Weisser 1,31 Institute of Ecology, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Dornburgerstraße 169, 07743 Jena, Germany2 Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Department of Biochemistry, Hans-Knöll-Straße 8, 07745 Jena,Germany3 Current address; Department of Ecology and Ecosystem Management, Technische Universität München, Hans-Carl-von-Carlowitz-Platz 2, 85354 Freising, Germany
Page 1: HUMBOLDT-KOLLEGon“The Future of B
Page 4 and 5: Climate Change Mitigation and Adapt
Page 6 and 7: Director, KWS11:00-11.30 Microbial
Page 8 and 9: Rapporteur: Dr Eunice Githae, SEUCO
Page 10 and 11: The Soda Lakes of Kenya have attrac
Page 13 and 14: Development and Assessment of Techn
Page 15 and 16: Random stratified sampling techniqu
Page 17 and 18: while from Kisii had the lowest cya
Page 19 and 20: Klingner, DE (2000). The Role of Pr
Page 21 and 22: ased study of archaeal community st
Page 23 and 24: embryos failed in transient GUS exp
Page 25: Davet Pierre and Rouxel Francis, 20
Page 29 and 30: emarkable substrate diversity and s
Page 31: Establishing a “Microbial-Plant
Page 34 and 35: Notably though, the Kenya coastal f
Page 36 and 37: have high micronutrient content and
Page 38 and 39: Bioprospecting for microorganisms s
Page 40 and 41: selection of new plant species, var
Page 42 and 43: web presence through sharing of res
Page 44 and 45: Key words: globalisation of researc
Page 46 and 47: establishment in relation to other
Page 48 and 49: Are mangroves sustainable as peri-u
Page 50 and 51: The eastern Africa biodiversity for
Page 52 and 53: These results can be used to better
Page 54: List of Participants

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