Malaysians of Malay, Chinese, and Indian ancestries were electrophoretically phenotyped for Amy1 and saliva esterase region 1 (Set-1) from saliva, Amy2 from plasma, soluble and mitochondrial GOT and PGM3 from leukocyte and placenta. Kadazans and Bajaus, the indigenous people of Sabah, East Malaysia were surveyed for Amy2. Three types of variants were observed for Amy1, one type for Amy2. Only Indians were found to be polymorphic for Amy1. Two GOTs 2-1 and three GOTm 2-1 variants were found among 281 Chinese while three GOTm 2-1 variants were found among 311 Malays. Malaysian Malays, Chinese, and Indians were found to be polymorphic for Set-1 and PGM3. The gene frequencies in Malays are Set-1F=0.601 +/- 0.021, Set-1S = 0.399 +/- 0.021; PGM13 = 0.788 +/- 0.020, PGM23 = 0.212 +/- 0.020; in Chinese Set-1F = 0.497 +/- 0.028, Set-1S = 0.503 +/- 0.028; PGM13 = 0.745 +/- 0.24, PGM23 = 0.255 +/- 0.024; in Indians, Set-1F = 0.449 +/- 0.031, Set-1S = 0.551 +/- 0.031; PGM13 = 0.755 +/- 0.029, PGM23 = 0.245 +/- 0.029.
Kadazans, the largest indigenous group in Sabah, northern Borneo, were surveyed for glyoxalase I, phosphoglucomutase I, red cell acid phosphatase, esterase D, adenosine deaminase, soluble glutamate pyruvate transaminase, soluble glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase, 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase, uridine monophosphate kinase, adenylate kinase, peptidase B and D, superoxide dismutase, C5, group specific component, haptoglobin and transferrin. Kadazans were found to be polymorphic for GLO I, PGM I, RCAP, esterase D, ADA, s-Gpt, 6PGD, UMPK, Gc, C5, haptoglobin and peptidase B. Rare variants were found for transferrin and peptidase D. No variant was found for s-Got, SOD and AK.
A total of 640 Malaysians, 355 of Malay, 155 of Chinese, and 130 of Indian ancestries have been examined for saliva acid phosphatases. The three ethnic groups were polymorphic for saliva acid phosphatase A (Sap-A) and saliva acid phosphatase (B (Sap-B). The gene frequencies were: Sap-A, Malays: A = 0.469, A' = 0.001, A degrees = 0.530; Chinese: A = 0.436, A' = 0.010, A degrees = 0.555; Indians: A = 0.533, A' = 0.012, A degrees = 0.456. For Sap-B, Malays: B = 0.925, B degrees = 0.075; Chinese: B = 0.797, B1 = 0.016, B degrees = 0.187; Indians: B 0.752, B degrees = 0.248. Phenotype ABB1 is described.
Acid alpha-glucosidase from the placenta was electrophoretically surveyed in a total of 633 Malaysians, 236 of Malay, 261 of Chinese and 136 of Indian ancestries. A new variant, alpha-glucosidase 3-1 was observed in 1 Malay and 3 Indians. A polymorphism for this enzyme was observed among Indians, but in Chinese and Malays variants are rare. Phenotype 2-1 was observed once in a Chinese and once in a Malay.
Three human saliva genetic markers, namely, salivary peroxidase (SAPX), Pm, and Ph proteins, were investigated in the three major ethnic groups of Malaysia: Malays, Chinese, and Indians. For Pm, the allelic frequencies of Pm+ for Malays, Chinese, and Indians are 0.385 +/- 0.030, 0.282 +/- 0.026, and 0.289 +/- 0.026 respectively. For Ph, the allelic frequencies of Ph+ are 0.082 +/- 0.016 for Malays, 0.109 +/- 0.017 for Chinese, and 0.062 +/- 0.013 for Indians. For SAPX, the allelic frequencies of SAPX1 in Malays, Chinese, and Indians are 0.762 +/- 0.027, 0.755 +/- 0.027, and 0.723 +/- 0.026 respectively.
Malays, Chinese and Indians from peninsular Malaysia; Ibans and Bidayuh from Sarawak state, Northern Borneo; and Bataks, Minangkabau and Javanese from North Sumatra, Indonesia, were subtyped for Gc (group-specific component) by polyacrylamide gel isoelectric focusing. All eight populations investigated were found to be polymorphic for three common alleles, Gc1F, Gc1S and Gc2.
Malays, Chinese, and Indians from Peninsular Malaysia; Ibans and Bidayuh from Sarawak State; Kadazans from Sabah State, Northern Borneo; and Bataks, Minangkabau, and Javanese from North Sumatra, Indonesia, were subtyped for transferrin C by polyacrylamide gel isoelectric focusing. All nine populations studied are polymorphic for two alleles, TfCl and TfC2, TfC3 was polymorphic in six populations and present as a rare variant in the other three. The frequency of TfC1 ranged from 0.855 in Bidayuh to 0.711 in Javanese, that of TfC2 from 0.231 in Indians to 0.113 in Bidayuh, and that of TfC3 from 0.030 in Javanese and Chinese to 0.008 in Bidayuh. TfDchi is polymorphic in all the populations that we studied except in Minangkabau, in whom it is present as a rare variant, and in Indians, in whom it is absent.
Three genetic markers, red-cell UMPK, PGP and serum AMY2 were investigated in Malaysians of Malay, Chinese and Indian ancestries using starch-gel and agarose-gel electrophoresis. UMPK was found to be polymorphic in all three races. Variants were observed for PGP in Malays; in Indians it is a polymorphic marker whereas it is monomorphic in Chinese. AMY2 was polymorphic only in Indians. The UMPK1 frequencies in Malays, Chinese and Indians, respectively, are 0.851, 0.880 and 0.942. The PGP1 frequencies are 0.991, 1.000, 0.962, and the AMY1(2) frequencies are 1.000, 1.000 and 0.983.
During the intermonsoon period from mid-September to mid-October 1986, wild-caught Anopheles balabacensis Baisas females were marked and released in a host-choice experiment. Association between capture and recapture of marked mosquitoes from human and bovid hosts and blood meal host identification of recaptured females were determined on a daily basis. Although the mark-recapture and blood meal data indicated behavioral heterogeneity between buffalo and human biters, restriction endonuclease fragment length polymorphism analysis revealed no differences in repeat sequence profiles. Doubly-marked recaptures strongly indicated a "learning" component involved in a separate host preference experiment. In a "habitat loyalty" experiment conducted in January 1987, females of An. balabacensis preferentially returned to the resting sites (indoor surfaces and exit traps) where they were first caught. Of nine isozyme loci found to be polymorphic, the genotypic frequencies of Esterase-3 and Isocitrate dehydrogenase-3 were different in "faithfully" endophilic and exophilic subpopulations. Genetic heterozygosity, as determined by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, was greater in exophilic than endophilic population components. These results confirm that genetic and learning components can significantly influence house resting and host seeking behavior and may contribute to local epidemiological patterns of malaria transmission observed in Sabah, Malaysia.
We have developed the methodologies for typing and family studies to establish the modes of inheritance of water buffalo red cell acid phosphatase (Acp), protease inhibitor (Pi), and group-specific component (Gc) on isoelectric focusing and albumin (Alb), red cell alpha-esterase-3 (Est-3), and catalase (Cat) on polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Family studies showed that Pi, Gc, Alb, and Cat are coded by autosomal genes with two codominant alleles, while Est-3 is autosomal with two codominant alleles and a recessive null allele and Acp exhibits three codominant alleles.
Isozymes of 23 cultures of the anaerobic rumen fungi and seven cultures of aerobic chytridiomycete fungi were analysed by PAGE. A total of 14 isozyme loci were successfully typed by PAGE. They were peptidase A & C-1, peptidase A & C-2, peptidase D-1, peptidase D-2, malate dehydrogenase-1, malate dehydrogenase-2, esterase-1, esterase-2, malic enzyme-1, malic enzyme-2, isocitrate dehydrogenase, shikimate dehydrogenase, phosphoglucomutase and 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase. Isozyme analysis can be used for studying the genetic relationships among the different anaerobic rumen fungi and the aerobic chytridiomycete fungi and the isozyme characteristics can serve as additional taxonomic criteria in the classification of the anaerobic rumen fungi. A dendrogram based on the isozyme data demonstrated that the anaerobic rumen fungi formed a cluster, indicating a monophyletic group, distinctly separated from the aerobic chytridiomycete fungi. Piromyces communis and P. minutus showed a close relationship but P. spiralis showed a more distant relationship to both P. communis and P. minutus. Piromyces as a whole was more related to Caecomyces than to Neocallimastix. Orpinomyces was also found to be more related to Piromyces and Caecomyces than to Neocallimastix. Orpinomyces intercalaris C 70 from cattle showed large genetic variation from O. joyonii, indicating that it is a different species.
Nine populations of three species of Nephotettix (Insecta: Hemiptera) from Peninsular Malaysia were analysed for nine enzymes comprising 11 loci. Nei's (Genetics 89, 583, 1978) genetic distance, D, between N. virescens and N. malayanus was 0.181, that between N. virescens and N. nigropictus was 0.283, and that between N. malayanus and N. nigropictus was 0.203. The genetic distance between N. nigropictus from rice plant and from the weed-grass L. hexandra at Universiti Pertanian Malaysia was 0.004 and their genetic identity was 0.996, thus indicating that this insect species fees on both host plants. The proportion of polymorphic loci and the observed heterozygosities were higher in N. nigropictus, with a wider range of host plants, than in N. virescens and N. malayanus, restricted to rice and L. hexandra, respectively.
Laboratories intending to adopt cycle sequencing of PCR products in their routine analysis often face a confusing range of methods and kits. Through the study of mitochondrial cytochrome b, we have shown that clean and highly reproducible sequences could be obtained by using a combination of existing simple and economical methods in the preparation of DNA templates, PCR, purification of PCR products and sequencing. Our protocol is useful in itself or as a standard in typing other PCR-amplified DNA at the population level.
Isolates of anaerobic fungi obtained from the rumen, duodenum and faeces of sheep were identified as Piromyces mae based on their morphological characteristics observed using light microscopy. There was no significant morphological variation among the isolates of P. mae from the rumen, duodenum and faeces. Isozymes of 12 isolates of P. mae (one each from the rumen, duodenum and faeces from 4 different sheep) were analysed by PAGE. A total of 12 isozymes were studied and 5 isozyme loci were successfully typed. They were malic enzyme, malate dehydrogenase, shikimate dehydrogenase, alpha-esterase and beta-esterase. All the isolates of P. mae regardless of whether they were from the rumen, duodenum or faeces or from different animals produced very similar isozyme banding patterns for each of the enzyme systems. The similar isozyme profiles of the isolates indicate that they are of the same species although they exist in different regions of the alimentary tract.
Swamp and river buffalo mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) was sequenced for 303 bp of the cytochrome b gene for 54 animals from 14 populations, and for 158 bp of the D-loop region for 80 animals from 11 populations. Only one cytochrome b haplotype was found in river buffalo. Of the four haplotypes identified in swamp buffalo, one found in all populations is apparently ancestral both to the other swamp haplotypes and to the river haplotype. The phylogenetic relationships among the 33 D-loop haplotypes, with a cluster of 11 found in swamp buffalo only, also support the evolution of domesticated swamp and river buffalo from an ancestral swamp-like animal, most likely represented today by the wild Asian buffalo (Bubalus arnee). The time of divergence of the swamp and river types, estimated from the D-loop data, is 28,000 to 87,000 years ago. We hypothesise that the species originated in mainland south-east Asia, and that it spread north to China and west to the Indian subcontinent, where the rive type evolved and was domesticated. Following domestication in China, the domesticated swamp buffalo spread through two separate routes, through Taiwan and the Philippines to the eastern islands of Borneo and Sulawesi, and south through mainland south-east Asia and then to the western islands of Indonesia.