Displaying publications 1 - 20 of 84 in total

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  1. Lim MC, Singh S, Lai CH, Gill BS, Kamarudin MK, Md Zamri ASS, et al.
    Epidemiol Health, 2023;45:e2023093.
    PMID: 37905314 DOI: 10.4178/epih.e2023093
    OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to develop susceptible-exposed-infectious-recovered-vaccinated (SEIRV) models to examine the effects of vaccination on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) case trends in Malaysia during Phase 3 of the National COVID-19 Immunization Program amidst the Delta outbreak.

    METHODS: SEIRV models were developed and validated using COVID-19 case and vaccination data from the Ministry of Health, Malaysia, from June 21, 2021 to July 21, 2021 to generate forecasts of COVID-19 cases from July 22, 2021 to December 31, 2021. Three scenarios were examined to measure the effects of vaccination on COVID-19 case trends. Scenarios 1 and 2 represented the trends taking into account the earliest and latest possible times of achieving full vaccination for 80% of the adult population by October 31, 2021 and December 31, 2021, respectively. Scenario 3 described a scenario without vaccination for comparison.

    RESULTS: In scenario 1, forecasted cases peaked on August 28, 2021, which was close to the peak of observed cases on August 26, 2021. The observed peak was 20.27% higher than in scenario 1 and 10.37% lower than in scenario 2. The cumulative observed cases from July 22, 2021 to December 31, 2021 were 13.29% higher than in scenario 1 and 55.19% lower than in scenario 2. The daily COVID-19 case trends closely mirrored the forecast of COVID-19 cases in scenario 1 (best-case scenario).

    CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrated that COVID-19 vaccination reduced COVID-19 case trends during the Delta outbreak. The compartmental models developed assisted in the management and control of the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia.

  2. Chan KG, Yong D, Ee R, Lim YL, Yu CY, Tee KK, et al.
    J Biotechnol, 2016 Feb 10;219:124-5.
    PMID: 26742625 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbiotec.2015.12.037
    Pandoraea oxalativorans DSM 23570(T) is an oxalate-degrading bacterium that was originally isolated from soil litter near to oxalate-producing plant of the genus Oxalis. Here, we report the first complete genome of P. oxalativorans DSM 23570(T) which would allow its potential biotechnological applications to be unravelled.
  3. Raihan R, Akbar SMF, Al Mahtab M, Takahashi K, Masumoto J, Tabassum S, et al.
    PLoS One, 2019;14(6):e0218744.
    PMID: 31251754 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0218744
    The direct cytopathic effects of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) on subsequent liver damage are not fully understood in HBV-infected patients. However, associations between the prevalence of various HBV genotypes and the extent of liver damage have been reported from different parts of the world. The purpose of this study was to determine the distribution of HBV genotypes in patients with chronic HBV infection in Bangladesh, a country of 160 million people, of which approximately 3-6 million are chronically infected HBV patients. In addition, whole and partial genome sequencing of HBV was performed to evaluate the relationship between HBV mutations and genotypes. We found that 42% of the patients with low HBV DNA and normal levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) had HBV genotype D. In contrast, the HBV genotype C was dominant among patients with high HBV DNA levels (>2000 IU/ml) and elevated ALT and in patients with liver cirrhosis (LC) and hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC). Whole and partial genome sequences of HBV revealed that most patients with LC and HCC had HBV genotype C with mutations at the T1762/A1764 positions. It seems that Bangladesh represents a borderline country, situated within East Asia, which mainly consists of individuals with HBV genotypes B and C, whereas in the western parts of Asia, HBV genotypes A and D are prevalent. Bangladesh is, therefore, an excellent model for the comparison of the pathophysiology of three major HBV genotypes in a single population. The findings of this study suggest a possible association between HBV viral factors and the extent of liver damage in chronic HBV-infected patients.
  4. Chen JW, Chin S, Tee KK, Yin WF, Choo YM, Chan KG
    Sensors (Basel), 2013;13(10):13192-203.
    PMID: 24084113 DOI: 10.3390/s131013192
    Bacterial cell-to-cell communication (quorum sensing) refers to the regulation of bacterial gene expression in response to changes in microbial population density. Quorum sensing bacteria produce, release and respond to chemical signal molecules called autoinducers. Bacteria use two types of autoinducers, namely autoinducer-1 (AI-1) and autoinducer-2 (AI-2) where the former are N-acylhomoserine lactones and the latter is a product of the luxS gene. Most of the reported literatures show that the majority of oral bacteria use AI-2 for quorum sensing but rarely the AI-1 system. Here we report the isolation of Pseudomonas putida strain T2-2 from the oral cavity. Using high resolution mass spectrometry, it is shown that this isolate produced N-octanoylhomoserine lactone (C8-HSL) and N-dodecanoylhomoserine lactone (C12-HSL) molecules. This is the first report of the finding of quorum sensing of P. putida strain T2-2 isolated from the human tongue surface and their quorum sensing molecules were identified.
  5. Lim YL, Ee R, How KY, Lee SK, Yong D, Tee KK, et al.
    PeerJ, 2015;3:e1225.
    PMID: 26336650 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.1225
    In this study, we sequenced the genome of Pandoraea pnomenusa RB38 using Pacific Biosciences RSII (PacBio) Single Molecule Real Time (SMRT) sequencing technology. A pair of cognate luxI/R homologs was identified where the luxI homolog, ppnI, was found adjacent to a luxR homolog, ppnR1. An additional orphan luxR homolog, ppnR2, was also discovered. Multiple sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis revealed that ppnI is an N-acyl homoserine lactone (AHL) synthase gene that is distinct from those of the nearest phylogenetic neighbor viz. Burkholderia spp. High resolution tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis showed that Escherichia coli BL21 harboring ppnI produced a similar AHL profile (N-octanoylhomoserine lactone, C8-HSL) as P. pnomenusa RB38, the wild-type donor strain, confirming that PpnI directed the synthesis of AHL in P. pnomenusa RB38. To our knowledge, this is the first documentation of the luxI/R homologs of the genus Pandoraea.
  6. Zainal N, Ser HL, Yin WF, Tee KK, Lee LH, Chan KG
    Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek, 2016 Mar;109(3):467-74.
    PMID: 26786500 DOI: 10.1007/s10482-016-0653-1
    A novel Streptomyces strain, MUSC 119(T), was isolated from a soil collected from a mangrove forest. Cells of MUSC 119(T) stained Gram-positive and formed light brownish grey aerial mycelium and grayish yellowish brown substrate mycelium on ISP 2 medium. A polyphasic approach was used to determine the taxonomic status of strain MUSC 119(T), which shows a range of phylogenetic and chemotaxonomic properties consistent with those of the genus Streptomyces. The cell wall peptidoglycan consisted of LL-diaminopimelic acid. The predominant menaquinones were identified as MK-9(H8), MK-9(H6) and MK-9(H4). The polar lipid profile consisted of phosphatidylinositol, phosphatidylethanolamine, glycolipids, diphosphatidylglycerol and four phospholipids. The predominant cellular fatty acids were anteiso-C15:0, iso-C16:0, and anteiso-C17:0. The cell wall sugars were glucose, mannose, ribose and rhamnose. The phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity showed that strain MUSC119(T) to be closely related to Streptomyces rhizophilus JR-41(T) (99.0 % sequence similarity), S. panaciradicis 1MR-8(T) (98.9 %), S. gramineus JR-43(T) (98.8 %) and S. graminisoli JR-19(T) (98.7 %). These results suggest that MUSC 119(T) should be placed within the genus Streptomyces. DNA-DNA relatedness values between MUSC 119(T) to closely related strains ranged from 14.5 ± 1.3 to 27.5 ± 0.7 %. The G+C content was determined to be 72.6 mol  %. The polyphasic study of MUSC 119(T) showed that this strain represents a novel species, for which the name Streptomyces humi sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain of S. humi is MUSC 119(T) (=DSM 42174(T) = MCCC 1K00505(T)).
  7. Goh SY, Khan SA, Tee KK, Abu Kasim NH, Yin WF, Chan KG
    Sci Rep, 2016;6:20702.
    PMID: 26860259 DOI: 10.1038/srep20702
    Cell-cell communication is also known as quorum sensing (QS) that happens in the bacterial cells with the aim to regulate their genes expression in response to increased cell density. In this study, a bacterium (L8A) isolated from dental plaque biofilm was identified as Citrobacter amalonaticus by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry (MS). Its N-acylhomoserine-lactone (AHL) production was screened by using two types of AHL biosensors namely Chromobacterium violaceum CV026 and Escherichia coli [pSB401]. Citrobacter amalonaticus strain L8A was identified and confirmed producing numerous types of AHL namely N-butyryl-L-homoserine lactone (C4-HSL), N-hexanoyl-L-homoserine lactone (C6-HSL), N-octanoyl-L-homoserine lactone (C8-HSL) and N-hexadecanoyl-L-homoserine lactone (C16-HSL). We performed the whole genome sequence analysis of this oral isolate where its genome sequence reveals the presence of QS signal synthase gene and our work will pave the ways to study the function of the related QS genes in this bacterium.
  8. Chan XY, Chang CY, Hong KW, Tee KK, Yin WF, Chan KG
    Gut Pathog, 2013;5(1):29.
    PMID: 24148830 DOI: 10.1186/1757-4749-5-29
    Serratia marcescens is an opportunistic bacterial pathogen with broad range of host ranging from vertebrates, invertebrates and plants. S. marcescens strain W2.3 was isolated from a diseased tilapia fish and it was suspected to be the causal agent for the fish disease as virulence genes were found within its genome. In this study, for the first time, the genome sequences of S. marcescens strain W2.3 were sequenced using the Illumina MiSeq platform.
  9. Ng CK, How KY, Tee KK, Chan KG
    Genes (Basel), 2019 04 08;10(4).
    PMID: 30965610 DOI: 10.3390/genes10040282
    Quorum sensing (QS) is a cell-to-cell communication system that uses autoinducers as signaling molecules to enable inter-species and intra-species interactions in response to external stimuli according to the population density. QS allows bacteria such as Acinetobacter baumannii to react rapidly in response to environmental changes and hence, increase the chances of survival. A. baumannii is one of the causative agents in hospital-acquired infections and the number of cases has increased remarkably in the past decade. In this study, A. baumannii strain 863, a multidrug-resistant pathogen, was found to exhibit QS activity by producing N-acyl homoserine lactone. We identified the autoinducer synthase gene, which we named abaI, by performing whole genome sequencing analysis of A. baumannii strain 863. Using high resolution tandem triple quadrupole mass spectrometry, we reported that abaI of A. baumannii strain 863 produced 3-hydroxy-dodecanoyl-homoserine lactone. A gene deletion mutant was constructed, which confirmed the functionality of abaI. A growth defect was observed in the QS-deficient mutant strain. Transcriptome profiling was performed to determine the possible genes regulated by QS. Four groups of genes that showed differential expression were discovered, namely those involved in carbon source metabolism, energy production, stress response and the translation process.
  10. Hong KW, Tee KK, Yin WF, Roberts RJ, Chan KG
    Microbiol Resour Announc, 2019 Oct 24;8(43).
    PMID: 31649075 DOI: 10.1128/MRA.00898-19
    Burkholderia pseudomallei is the etiological agent of melioidosis, which has been studied by transcriptome and secretome analyses. However, little is known about the methylome of this pathogen. Here, we present the complete genome and methylome of melioidosis-causing B. pseudomallei strain 982.
  11. Yong D, Ee R, Lim YL, Yu CY, Ang GY, How KY, et al.
    J Biotechnol, 2016 Jan 10;217:51-2.
    PMID: 26603120 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbiotec.2015.11.009
    Pandoraea thiooxydans DSM 25325(T) is a thiosulfate-oxidizing bacterium isolated from rhizosphere soils of a sesame plant. Here, we present the first complete genome of P. thiooxydans DSM 25325(T). Several genes involved in thiosulfate oxidation and biodegradation of aromatic compounds were identified.
  12. Lim YL, Ee R, Yong D, Tee KK, Yin WF, Chan KG
    J Biotechnol, 2015 Nov 20;214:83-4.
    PMID: 26393955 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbiotec.2015.09.018
    Pandoraea pnomenusa RB-38 is a bacterium isolated from a former sanitary landfill site. Here, we present the complete genome of P. pnomenusa RB38 in which an oxalate utilization pathway was identified. The genome analysis suggested the potential of this strain as an effective biocontrol agent against oxalate-producing phytopathogens.
  13. Lim YL, Yong D, Ee R, Krishnan T, Tee KK, Yin WF, et al.
    J Biotechnol, 2015 Nov 20;214:43-4.
    PMID: 26376471 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbiotec.2015.09.005
    Here, we present the first complete genome sequence of Serratia fonticola DSM 4576(T), a potential plant growth promoting (PGP) bacterium which confers solubilization of inorganic phosphate, indole-3-acetic acid production, hydrogen cyanideproduction, siderophore production and assimilation of ammonia through the glutamate synthase (GS/GOGAT) pathway. This genome sequence is valuable for functional genomics and ecological studies which are related to PGP and biocontrol activities.
  14. Lim YL, Yong D, Ee R, Tee KK, Yin WF, Chan KG
    J Biotechnol, 2015 Aug 10;207:32-3.
    PMID: 25975625 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbiotec.2015.04.027
    Serratia multitudinisentens RB-25(T) (=DSM 28811(T) =LMG 28304(T)) is a newly proposed type strain in the genus of Serratia isolated from a municipal landfill site. Here, we present the complete genome of S. multitudinisentens RB-25(T) which contains a complete chitinase operon and other chitin and N-acetylglucosamine utilisation enzymes. To our knowledge, this is the first report of the complete genome sequence of this novel isolate and its chitinase gene discovery.
  15. Hong KW, Asmah Hani AW, Nurul Aina Murni CA, Pusparani RR, Chong CK, Verasahib K, et al.
    Infect Genet Evol, 2017 Oct;54:263-270.
    PMID: 28711373 DOI: 10.1016/j.meegid.2017.07.015
    In this study, we report the comparative genomics and phylogenetic analysis of Corynebacterium diphtheriae strain B-D-16-78 that was isolated from a clinical specimen in 2016. The complete genome of C. diphtheriae strain B-D-16-78 was sequenced using PacBio Single Molecule, Real-Time sequencing technology and consists of a 2,474,151-bp circular chromosome with an average GC content of 53.56%. The core genome of C. diphtheriae was also deduced from a total of 74 strains with complete or draft genome sequences and the core genome-based phylogenetic analysis revealed close genetic relationship among strains that shared the same MLST allelic profile. In the context of CRISPR-Cas system, which confers adaptive immunity against re-invading DNA, 73 out of 86 spacer sequences were found to be unique to Malaysian strains which harboured only type-II-C and/or type-I-E-a systems. A total of 48 tox genes which code for the diphtheria toxin were retrieved from the 74 genomes and with the exception of one truncated gene, only nucleotide substitutions were detected when compared to the tox gene sequence of PW8. More than half were synonymous substitution and only two were nonsynonymous substitutions whereby H24Y was predicted to have a damaging effect on the protein function whilst T262V was predicted to be tolerated. Both toxigenic and non-toxigenic toxin-gene bearing strains have been isolated in Malaysia but the repeated isolation of toxigenic strains with the same MLST profile suggests the possibility of some of these strains may be circulating in the population. Hence, efforts to increase herd immunity should be continued and supported by an effective monitoring and surveillance system to track, manage and control outbreak of cases.
  16. Yong D, Tee KK, Yin WF, Chan KG
    Front Microbiol, 2016;7:1606.
    PMID: 27790203
    To date, information on plasmid analysis in Pandoraea spp. is scarce. To address the gap of knowledge on this, the complete sequences of eight plasmids from Pandoraea spp. namely Pandoraea faecigallinarum DSM 23572(T) (pPF72-1, pPF72-2), Pandoraea oxalativorans DSM 23570(T) (pPO70-1, pPO70-2, pPO70-3, pPO70-4), Pandoraea vervacti NS15 (pPV15) and Pandoraea apista DSM 16535(T) (pPA35) were studied for the first time in this study. The information on plasmid sequences in Pandoraea spp. is useful as the sequences did not match any known plasmid sequence deposited in public databases. Replication genes were not identified in some plasmids, a situation that has led to the possibility of host interaction involvement. Some plasmids were also void of par genes and intriguingly, repA gene was also not discovered in these plasmids. This further leads to the hypothesis of host-plasmid interaction. Plasmid stabilization/stability protein-encoding genes were observed in some plasmids but were not established for participating in plasmid segregation. Toxin-antitoxin systems MazEF, VapBC, RelBE, YgiT-MqsR, HigBA, and ParDE were identified across the plasmids and their presence would improve plasmid maintenance. Conjugation genes were identified portraying the conjugation ability amongst Pandoraea plasmids. Additionally, we found a shared region amongst some of the plasmids that consists of conjugation genes. The identification of genes involved in replication, segregation, toxin-antitoxin systems and conjugation, would aid the design of drugs to prevent the survival or transmission of plasmids carrying pathogenic properties. Additionally, genes conferring virulence and antibiotic resistance were identified amongst the plasmids. The observed features in the plasmids shed light on the Pandoraea spp. as opportunistic pathogens.
  17. Kher HL, Krishnan T, Letchumanan V, Hong KW, How KY, Lee LH, et al.
    Gene, 2019 Feb 05;684:58-69.
    PMID: 30321658 DOI: 10.1016/j.gene.2018.10.031
    In the phylum of Proteobacteria, quorum sensing (QS) system is widely driven by synthesis and response of N-acyl homoserine lactone (AHL) signalling molecules. AHL is synthesized by LuxI homologue and sensed by LuxR homologue. Once the AHL concentration achieves a threshold level, it triggers the regulation of target genes. In this study, QS activity of Citrobacter amalonaticus strain YG6 which was isolated from clams was investigated. In order to characterise luxI/R homologues, the genome of C. amalonaticus strain YG6 (4.95 Mbp in size) was sequenced using Illumina MiSeq sequencer. Through in silico analysis, a pair of canonical luxI/R homologues and an orphan luxR homologue were identified and designated as camI, camR, and camR2, respectively. A putative lux box was identified at the upstream of camI. The camI gene was cloned and overexpressed in E. coli BL21 (DE3)pLysS. High-resolution triple quadrupole liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis verified that the CamI is a functional AHL synthase which produced multiple AHL species, namely N‑butyryl‑l‑homoserine lactone (C4-HSL), N‑hexanoyl‑l‑homoserine lactone (C6-HSL), N‑octanoyl‑l‑homoserine lactone (C8-HSL), N‑tetradecanoyl‑l‑homoserine lactone (C14-HSL) and N‑hexadecanoyl‑l‑homoserine lactone (C16-HSL) in C. amalonaticus strain YG6 and camI gene in recombinant E. coli BL21(DE3)pLysS. To our best knowledge, this is the first functional study report of camI as well as the first report describing the production of C14-HSL by C. amalonaticus.
  18. Ee R, Lim YL, Tee KK, Yin WF, Chan KG
    Sensors (Basel), 2014 Mar 12;14(3):5136-46.
    PMID: 24625739 DOI: 10.3390/s140305136
    Quorum sensing is a unique bacterial communication system which permits bacteria to synchronize their behaviour in accordance with the population density. The operation of this communication network involves the use of diffusible autoinducer molecules, termed N-acylhomoserine lactones (AHLs). Serratia spp. are well known for their use of quorum sensing to regulate the expression of various genes. In this study, we aimed to characterized the AHL production of a bacterium designated as strain RB-25 isolated from a former domestic waste landfill site. It was identified as Serratia fonticola using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry analysis and this was confirmed by 16S ribosomal DNA sequencing. High resolution triple quadrupole liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis of S. fonticola strain RB-25 spent culture supernatant indicated the existence of three AHLs namely: N-butyryl-L-homoserine lactone (C4-HSL), N-hexanoyl-L-homoserine lactone (C6-HSL) and N-(3-oxohexanoyl) homoserine-lactone (3-oxo-C6 HSL). This is the first report of the production of these AHLs in S. fonticola.
  19. Chan KG, Chen JW, Tee KK, Chang CY, Yin WF, Chan XY
    Genome Announc, 2015;3(2).
    PMID: 25745000 DOI: 10.1128/genomeA.00063-15
    Burkholderia spp. rely on N-acyl homoserine lactone as quorum-sensing signal molecules which coordinate their phenotype at the population level. In this work, we present the whole genome of Burkholderia sp. strain A9, which enables the discovery of its N-acyl homoserine lactone synthase gene.
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