1. Introduction.
1.1 A Rich Inheritance – Traditional Rice Varieties of Sri Lanka.
Rice belongs to the larger family of grasses, Graminae, and the genus Oryza. The genus Oryza has twenty wild species and two cultivated species – Oryza sativa and Oryza glaberrima. O. glaberrima is mainly cultivated in the West African region, whereas O. Sativa is found in Asia where it is a popular variety for cultivation. Globally, O. Sativa is cultivated in over 112 countries (Chang, 2000). The cultivation of rice was initiated in the Asian region, particularly in China, and later on became popular in nearby countries such as India and subsequently Sri Lanka (Chang, 2000). Rice has been an important food source since 2500 BC and is a staple food for approximately half of the world’s population (Chang, 2000). The varieties of rice possess different nutritional qualities, which are determined by factors such as genetics, environment, fertilizers, milling, storage conditions, thickness of anatomical layers, size and shape of the grains and their resistance breakage and abrasion (Houston, 1972; Luh et al 1991). The terms paddy grain or rough rice denotes freshly harvested rice. The rough rice consists of a hull and the caryopsis (Figure 1). Beneath the hull lies the bran, germ and endosperm (Juliano and Bechtel, 1985). Rice is broadly categorised in to two varieties: brown rice and white rice. Brown rice is produced by removing the hull. This technique preserves the nutritional qualities of the rice. Removal of the bran and most of the germ layer in further milling leads to an excessive loss of nutrients, as in the production of white rice (Fernando, 2011). Rice is processed by grinding further according to several milling grades to obtain differen...
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...es of rice.
The traditional varieties of rice used for this study are as follows –
- Madatawaalu
- Suwandel
- Kuruluthuda
- Sudu heenati
- Pachchaperumal
Commercial varieties of rice was also tested as a part of this study, they are –
- Sudu kekulu
- Rathu kekulu
1.2 Bacterial Strains.
1.2.1 Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB)
Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) is a group of bacteria that is characterised by the production of lactic acid during the fermentation process of carbohydrates. They are further characterised as anaerobic, Gram positive bacteria that are also catalase negative and non-motile. In terms of morphology they are either rod-shaped (bacilli) or spherical (cocci). In addition, they all ferment carbohydrates and hydrolyse arginine. This group consists of six genera of bacteria – Enterococcus, Lactococcus, Streptococcus,
bile tolerance and ph tolerance test.
The purpose of this study is to identify an unknown bacterium from a mixed culture, by conducting different biochemical tests. Bacteria are an integral part of our ecosystem. They can be found anywhere and identifying them becomes crucial to understanding their characteristics and their effects on other living things, especially humans. Biochemical testing helps us identify the microorganism present with great accuracy. The tests used in this experiment are rudimentary but are fundamental starting points for tests used in medical labs and helps students attain a better understanding of how tests are conducted in a real lab setting. The first step in this process is to use gram-staining technique to narrow down the unknown bacteria into one of the two big domains; gram-negative and gram-positive. Once the gram type is identified, biochemical tests are conducted to narrow down the specific bacterial species. These biochemical tests are process of elimination that relies on the bacteria’s ability to breakdown certain kinds of food sources, their respiratory abilities and other biochemical conditions found in nature.
In the first chapter of the book the author discusses a brief world history and evolution of rice crops. It is interesting to see that even though parts of Africa had their own rice crop variety, the globalization of rice crop Oryza Sativa has been slowly replacing the African variety. The author also starts
Both 1984 and The Handmaid’s Tale are dystopian novels, however, these books are a lot more complex than mere portrayals of dystopia, it can be argued that they are explorations of dystopia rather than mere portrayals. In order to explore dystopia, many themes must be considered, such as; feminism, love and repression. Nonetheless, it is apparent that human characteristics are the driving point of the two novels, predominantly, the depiction of human resilience. In an imperfect world, it is important to have certain qualities which, if plentiful, it can mean success, whereas if it lacks, it can mean failure, this characteristic is resilience. The protagonists in each novel, Winston in 1984 and Offred in The Handmaid’s Tale face situations which leave them both in disarray, and both even consider suicide. The authors tentatively highlight human resilience, its limits and most importantly its strengths into the two novels.
“Daisy! Daisy! Daisy! I’ll say it whenever I want to! Daisy! Dai–” (37). Daisy, a flower, feminine, white, pure, and yet yellow– the color of corruption. Daisy Buchanan is an indulgent, manipulative, and corrupt character that seeks out the weak in others for her personal gain. She dresses in lavender to show her indulgence in life, and her attitude that since she has money she can do whatever she wants. She murders a woman while driving a yellow car, because she knows none of the consequences will affect her because she can retreat back into her money. Daisy wears white to look angelic, but like a demon stepping on holy ground, it burns her because it’s all fake. Daisy Buchanan; a mother, a wife, a lover, a friend, an adulterer, and a murderer.
At the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, scientists created golden rice by inserting three genes into a certain rice variety which will in turn produce a greater amount of beta-carotene. This rice has a sort of yellowish hue, which has given the rice its name, golden rice. The rice is still under research and testing before it will reach the markets, which is guessed to be around 2003. If this rice is found to be safe and effective it will be a tool in providing these rice dependent countries with the nutrients they need.
13)"Golden Rice and Beyond.", This article contains arguments supporting Golden Rice research and the importance of technology transfer.
Throughout the short stories, “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. and “Examination Day” by Henry Slesar, the authors explore the themes of total equality in a futuristic setting. Dickie and Dianna Moon are disparate personalities who live in dysfunctional and dystopian societies. In the short stories, government control creates an illusion of an egalitarian society.
Bacterial cells, like plant cells, are surrounded by a cell wall. However, bacterial cell walls are made up of polysaccharide chains linked to amino acids, while plant cell walls are made up of cellulose, which contains no amino acids. Many bacteria secrete a slimy capsule around the outside of the cell wall. The capsule provides additional protection for the cell. Many of the bacteria that cause diseases in animals are surrounded by a capsule. The capsule prevents the white blood cells and antibodies from destroying the invading bacterium. Inside the capsule and the cell wall is the cell membrane. In aerobic bacteria, the reactions of cellular respiration take place on fingerlike infoldings of the cell membrane. Ribosomes are scattered throughout the cytoplasm, and the DNA is generally found in the center of the cell. Many bacilli and spirilla have flagella, which are used for locomotion in water. A few types of bacteria that lack flagella move by gliding on a surface. However, the mechanism of this gliding motion is unknown. Most bacteria are aerobic, they require free oxygen to carry on cellular respiration. Some bacteria, called facultatibe anaerobes can live in either the presence or absence of free oxygen. They obtain energy either by aerobic respiration when oxygen is present or by fermentation when oxygen is absent. Still other bacteria cannot live in the presence of oxygen. These are called obligate anaerobes. Such bacteria obtain energy only fermentation. Through fermentation, different groups of bacteria produce a wide variety of organic compounds. Besides ethyl alcohol and lactic acid, bacterial fermentation can produce acetic acid, acetone, butyl alcohol, glycol, butyric acid, propionic acid, and methane, the main component of natural gas. Most bacteria are heterotrophic bacteria are either saprophytes or parasites. Saprophytes feed on the remains of dead plants and animals, and ordinarily do not cause disease. They release digestive enzymes onto the organic matter. The enzymes breakdown the large food molecules into smaller molecules, which are absorbed by the bacterial cells. Parasites live on or in living organisms, and may cause disease. A few types of bacteria are Autotrophic, they can synthesize the organic nutrients they require from inorganic substances. Autotrophic bacteria are either photosynthetic or Chemosynthetic. The photosynthetic bacteria contain chlorophyll that are different from the plant chlorophyll. In bacterial photosynthesis, hydrogen is obtained by the splitting of compounds other than water.
The growing population worldwide posts many issues, problems and challenges. One of the problems that the society is facing is the unavailability of food supply. Rice being the staple food served on the table of Asian and other people is already scare that sometimes, other people may not eat rice anymore due to its high cost and the production of this commodity is declining. It is a must to implement or adopt better strategies to increase the production of rice if not, many people will be suffering from starvation.
Throughout the history of the human race there have been a great number of crops that were discovered, planted, and over time domesticated. Wheat in the Middle East, rice in Asia, and rye in Eastern Europe are all some of today’s staple crops that feed millions every day. Crops like these make up over 50% of the world’s total food supply. However, the third most eaten crop in the world is maize, or corn, which provides 21% of human nutrition. Today maize feeds millions across the world, but its history is different from the others.
The lime treated samples had the highest protein content compared to the untreated maize varieties, ranging from 12.72 to 12.63g/100g in CO1 maize and from 12.27 to 12.15g/100g in HQPM 7 maize respectively. Gupta (2001) found that the protein content of normal maize, processed defatted maize germ cake and maize germ were 12.63, 23.94 and 23.41 per cent respectively. Sharma et al. (2002) reported that the five maize genotypes had the protein content ranged from 8.6 to 10.23 per cent. Paes and Maga (2004) reported protein content of four maize cultivars ranged from 6.99 to 9.20 per cent. Guria (2006) reported that protein content of three maize varieties viz., QPM, S.A. Tall andDHM-2 were 10.15, 8.90 and 10.29 per cent respectively. Significant increase in protein content during lime treatment of sorghum has been reported by Bonface and Gladys (2011). The protein content of sorghum was increased from 19.77 to 21.69
Rice is classified as a cereal and shares equal importance as a leading food source with wheat. Rice is a staple food for more than half the world’s population. Rice grows on every continent in the world with the exception of Antarctica. There 21 different known wild varieties and three distinct cultivated species. Oryza sativa japonica, is believed to have been domesticated in what is today central China around 7,000 BC (Hirst). This crop has been grown in more than 100 countries, spanning an area from a latitude of 53° north to 35° south. Around 95 percent of the rice in the world is grown and consumed in Asia. The highest level of per capita rice consumption (130 to 180 kilograms [kg] per year, 55 to 80 percent of total caloric source) takes place in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, and Vietnam (Kiple and Ornelas).
Katz, Solomon H., and William W. Weaver. “Rice” Encyclopedia of Food and Culture. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 2003. 190-205. Print.
For decades rice production has expanded more rapidly than the global population, doubling between 1961 and 2001 (Harriss-White, 2005). The grain is grown in 112 countries world-wide and is a fundamental crop in the global commodity market (Food and Agricultural Organization, 2004). Given its global presence and relatively cheap production costs, rice has come to flourish in a wide spectrum of cultural contexts.
Rice is inevitably an important staple food crop supporting half of the world population. Rice cultivation has gained importance worldwide not only as a source of dietary constituents, but also play a major role in socio economic development, providing food security, poverty alleviation, employment, sustainable development and maintenance of cultural heritage etc., (Nguyen and Ferrero, 2006). It is also a favorable model crop plant among cereals for genetic improvement studies and functional genomics due to its small genome size and availability of full genome sequence. The main concern over rice cultivation is the increasing demand over supply while there is remarkable depletion in cultivable land area. Many challenges lie ahead of cultivars to achieve the required target/need in coming years and rice diseases are among one of the major challenges.