3rd Year BSc. Biotechnology Students 2024 with Prof. John Muoma at KALRO research Station, Kakamega.
MMUST has stepped up efforts to provide practical and research training in line with the memorandum of understanding between MMUST and KALRO. On Wednesday 13 march 2024, 3 year biotechnology students from MMUST visited KALRO laboratories as part of their practical training towards molecular science skill acquisition of genetically modified crops.
This is among the series of visits in the semester that the students were taken through, including level 2 laboratory working procedures which is a series of projects dealing with bean diseases. This was done by Dr. Shammer Misango, a molecular pathologist who is a MMUST Alumni working on a regional project supported by Kirk-house foundation founded by Edwin Southern. Edwin Southern is a molecular scientist with a revolutionizing technique known as SOUTHERN BLOT.
The plan is to have the students visit the Level 2 laboratory for the next 3 weeks and have hands -on experience in common bean research. The activities will involve a reagent preparation, extraction using both prepared regents and DNA kit, amplification of DNA for the various bean diseases, visualization and finally sequencing with partners in Prof. Sir Edwin Southern laboratory through his Kirk-house foundation.
3rd Year B.Sc. Biotechnology Students 2024 @ KALRO research Cassava Greenhouse under construction in the field.
The 3rd year group is pretty excited about this venture and hopefully get an opportunity to interact with scientists in the project based in the partner laboratory in the UK.
The students also visited the transgenic cassava farm which is known to be resistant to Cassava Mosaic Virus (CMV) and Brown streak virus. The transgenic cassava has been developed through the VIRCA plus project which started in 2016 and has worked on developing the disease resistant varieties and nutritionally enhanced cassava varieties that will empower African smallholder farmers and improve the health status of consumers.
Notably, the transgenic cassava developed is robust and a durable variety which has been validated over multiple cropping cycles in several locations in Kenya and Uganda with Kakamega being one of the sites. The transgenic cassava apart from being resistant to diseases, it was found to have 10 times more iron and zinc than the comparable local varieties.
The two research projects are major milestones in disease identification and mitigation in KALROs and partners quest to increase of food production in line with the big 4 agenda and related SDGs.
By Dr. Lydia Anyonje and Prof. John Muoma
Photos by Shiundu Masafu
