Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is a life-threatening inherited disease that particularly affects the airways and digestive systems, which is caused by mutations in the Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator (CFTR) gene. CF is considered as the most common autosomal recessive disorder in the Caucasian population. However, the prevalence of this disease amongst Asians is considered to be low, hence the lack of awareness of this disease amongst geneticists and physicians in Malaysia. This review will describe the features of CF, its molecular genetics, the current classification of CFTR mutation classes, the genotype-phenotype correlations, the effects of modifier genes, and the discourse of the disease pathogenesis, in the hope of raising public awareness of the condition and ultimately to improve the clinical and social care of those affected by CF in Malaysia.
Quality of planting materials determines future successes of plantations and subsequent endeavours in the life cycle. Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) breeding triggered an industry in Malaysia through “Plant Introduction” with the establishment of the first oil palm plantation. At the wake of the oil palm industry, plantations utilised the dura planting material. The hallmark discovery of the single gene inheritance for shell thickness led to the prolific dura x pisifera (DxP) derived tenera planting material. Subsequent parental inbred lines developed in recurrent selections, crossed and progeny tested exploiting heterosis had boosted yields. Further improvements were foresighted and executed in the widening of the genetic pool and collections of germplasm in centres of origin/diversity in Africa and Latin America. Field Genebank of the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) forms the world’s largest ex situ oil palm conservation programme. This programme enabled the developments of elite breeding populations harbouring specialty oils and products. Meanwhile, opening of large oil palm areas by the Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) set the momentum in rapid expansion of the industry. Felda is an exemplary in wealth creation and quality of life (QOL). Resettlements of landless farmers into Felda schemes, employing modern farming, mainly in oil palm has helped eradicate poverty and uplifting QOL among settlers, employees and their families. Impacts of the success in wealth creation and its distribution leading to better QOL, rooted from breeding through the supply of quality planting materials. Phenotypic expressions of the planting materials were realised through genotypic and environment interactions; the former through breeding, the latter through agronomic practices. Efforts in oil palm breeding helped paved the way to a mammoth industry, contributing to the nation economic growths, impacting livelihood of the people. Further progress in yield is expected from clones, where breeding has a role in the supply of quality ortets. Genetic potential of planting materials can be further exploited through interdisciplinary approach in breeding, biotechnology and genomics. With continuing wealth creation, the oil palm saga continues. Once wealth is created, QOL will follow.
Malaysia, experienced two epidemic waves of HPAI; its fi rst outbreak of HP H5N1 in August 2004 that occurred in the state of Kelantan and the second and subsequent outbreaks in February–March 2006 in three states on the west coast of Malaysia namely Wilayah Persekutuan
Kuala Lumpur, Perak and Penang. Five outbreaks occurred in village chickens and one in a multi-species enclosure of birds in a bird park resort facility. Molecular epidemiological studies by genomic sequencing and phylogenetic analyses of the viruses isolated showed that the
virus isolated from WP Kuala Lumpur is of the V-genotype and it originated from Hunan China, two viruses were found to be similar to the Fujian/Hunan strains and other viruses were similar to the Vietnam/ Thailand strains.
Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML) is a clonal disorder thought to originate in a single abnormal haematopoietic stem cell. This myeloproliferative fatal stem cell disorder comprises
approximately 14% of all leukemias. In most cases, CML runs a triphasic course, which includes an initial chronic phase that transforms eventually into a blastic phase resembling acute leukemia. In 60%- 80% of patients, an intermediate or accelerated phase precedes the terminal blastic phase. Accelerated phase and blastic phase sometimes are lumped together and considered to be
advanced phase CML. The entire continuum from chronic phase to blastic phase lasts a median of 3 to 5 years . This time period can be broken down in to the chronic phase which if untreated,
lasts for 2 to 5 years and finally the fatal blastic phase, which lasts from 3 to 6 months. A patient can present in any of these 3 stages.
Down Syndrome (DS), is a complex genetic disease resulting from the presence of 3 copies of chromosome 21. It is the most common autosomal abnormality among live births and the most commonly recognized genetic cause of mental retardation. The only well established risk factor for DS is advanced maternal age. The Human Genome Center , University Sains Malaysia, Kelantan has been carrying out cytogenetic studies in DS patients. Here we, report the karyotype pattern of Down Syndrome patients in correlation with maternal age, among referral cases to our Center.
The Gamma Green House (GGH) is a chronic irradiation facility located at MINT Tech Park, Nuclear Malaysia, Jalan Dengkil. GGH is used for induction of mutation in plants and other biological samples with low dose radiation over period of time depending on the nature and sensitivity of the plant species. Gamma Greenhouse facility at Malaysian Nuclear Agency comprises an open topped
irradiation area consisting of circular green house with 30 meters radius, control room and irradiator with interlock system. The irradiation source is a REVISS RSL6050 double encapsulated 800 Ci 137Cs (half-life 30.1 years for 137Cs) pencils and allowed to be exposed only when the entire 300 m diameter site is free from personnel. The irradiator system is secured by a sophisticated interlock system, which only allows the source to be exposed when all the prerequisite safety conditions are met, and automatically returns the source to the safe
storage position if any safety device is compromised.
Microsatellites or simple sequence repeats (SSRs) are tandem repeats of DNA of 1-6 bp long. They ubiquitously occur in both eukaryotic and prokaryotic genomes. Because of their abundance,
they have widespread applications in both animal and plant sciences; such as varietal identification, genetic mapping, QTL mapping, phylogenetic and diversity studies. Thus, SSRs have become valuable DNA markers for molecular biologists and geneticists. Microsatellites are markers
of choice for many molecular geneticists because of their hypervariability, codominant
inheritance, multi-allelism and PCR-based assaying of variations that are amenable to automation and high throughput assay. However, the utilization of microsatellite markers in the past was
hampered by its laborious de novo isolations and species-specific nature.
Animal species identification is one of the important fields in forensic science. Unlike human forensics which makes use of DNA fingerprinting techniques to identify individuals of the same species - humans, animal forensic species identification is much more complicated as it involves the ability to identify and distinguish between hundreds to thousands of species when the material evidence is only a trace of animal tissue without the presence of any visual physical morphology. It is even more difficult when the specimen is an unknown and no reference material is available. Animal species identification is not only important for the prevention of wildlife crimes for the purpose of wildlife protection and conservation but it is also becoming more and more significant in food safety issues especially for the meat industry. Owing to the demand and the necessity of providing such services for regulation and enforcement in the context of environmental protection, food safety and biosafety, the Department of Chemistry (DOC)
Malaysia has initiated the use of DNA techniques employing the most widely used genetic markers as part of its scientific solution for animal species identification.
This paper reports on a preliminary genetic investigation of two commercially cultured oyster species, white and black scar oysters, Crassostrea belcheri and C. iredalei, respectively. A total
of 68 individuals from three different areas in Malaysia namely a C. belcheri sample from Semporna (Sabah) and two populations of C. iredalei from Trai (Sabah) and Setiu (Terengganu) were
collected and analysed based on sequence analysis of cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI). Alignment of COI gene was done using Alignment Explorer/CLUSTAL in Mega4.1. Genetic distances
within and between populations were calculated using Kimura 2-parameter. Phylogenetic dendograms were generated by Neighbour-Joining (NJ) and Maximum Parsimony (MP) methods.
The ingroup taxa were divided into two main clusters separating C. iredalei and C. belcheri with 99% bootstrap value. The two C. iredalei populations were homogeneous suggesting high
connectivity in the South China Sea for this species. The common central haplotype in the minimum spanning networks programme is believed to be the ancestral variant for the two species. The
findings from this study provides important baseline data for the aquaculture, management and monitoring of cultured populations of the oyster species.
The need to detect genetic variation has fueled the development of novel marker systems in fisheries biology. In this study, a simple, fast and cost effective method was used to differentiate between species of freshwater fishes focusing on Malaysian freshwater fishes by employing
Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphisms (RFLPs) analysis of a 470-bp cytochrome b mtDNA segment. RFLP analysis using six restriction enzymes (AluI, BamHI, BsuRI, Csp61, HpaII and SalI) found variations in the digestion profile among most of the fish samples analyzed. Diagnostic digestion profiles were observed among the Hampala fishes, especially between H. macrolepidota and the other Hampala species/forms (using BsuRI and Csp61). Diagnostic digestion profiles were also detected between H.
bimaculata Type A and Type B (using AluI, BamHI, BsuRI and SalI), supporting their status as distinct species. Additionally, unique digestion profiles were observed in other species such as Leptobarbus hosii (Csp61), Osteocheilus hasseltii (Csp61), Osteocheilus sp. (Csp61), Puntioplites bulu (Csp61), Puntius bramoides (AluI), P. sealei (AluI) and Helostoma temmincki (AluI and Csp61), which can be used as genetic markers for discriminating these species. Overall, the RFLP analysis of the cytochrome
b mtDNA segment has proven to be a considerably effective, fast and non-expensive technique to discriminate among several freshwater fish species in Malaysia.
Targeted therapies for cancer are designed to inhibit speci c cellular changes or signals required for tumour cells to proliferate, survive, promote angiogenesis and metastasize. Examples include trastuzumab (a monoclonal antibody that targets the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 [HER2]), imatinib ( a small molecule inhibitor of bcl-abr, an oncogenic kinase) and cetuximab ( a monoclonal antibody that binds to the extracellular domain of the epidermal growth factor receptor [EGFR]).
Sanger sequencing has been the major method in directly sequencing DNA, and has dominated the DNA sequencing market for nearly past 30 years (Varshney et al., 2009). Along with PCR, we cannot underestimate how important this technology has been to research in various elds of molecular biology. It has revolutionized genetics by allowing us to gain unprecedented insights into the
workings of different organisms.
Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.) from Malvaceae family is an annual crop with potential for use by many industries including food, animal feed, neutraceutical, cosmeticeutical and pharmaceutical industries. Its origin is not fully known but it is believed to be from West Africa, although the plant is found native from India to Southeast Asia. The calyxes, stems and leaves are acid in flavour. The juice is produced from the calyces, and it is claimed to be a prohealth drink due to its high contents of ascorbic acid, anthocyanins and other antioxidants.
Basal stem rot (BSR) caused by species Ganoderma, is one of the most serious disease of oil palm in Malaysia. As far as the disease problem to oil palm in Malaysia is concerned, BSR is the only disease requiring urgent solution. The BSR is not new to Malaysia, it has been known to attack oil palm since the early years when the crop was introduced into this country. There is an indication that there are differences in susceptibility to basal stem rot between germplasm materials from different genetic origin [2]. This provides hope in generating oil palm varieties with reduced level of susceptibility using existing genetic materials. There is also interest in developing diagnostic tools such as using PCR primers for detection of the pathogen in oil palms [1]. Altered expression of several classes of genes was observed in plants in response to fungal infection. These include genes associated with cell maintenance and development, genes involved in biosynthesis of lignin and phenolics and genes implicated in oxidative burst, programmed cell death or hypersensitive response [5].
Population growth and rise in per capital income have influenced the demand for convenience foods and a meat protein-rich diet. The per capital consumption of beef which had increased from 3.89 kg in 1980 to 5.49 kg in 2006 (DVS, 2006/2007) had resulted in an increased in demand for beef at the rate of 6.2% annually. The local beef production although recorded a 2.5% increased over the last 10 years, is still unable to meat the increasing national demand for beef. In 2008, local production of beef is about 38,250 mt. could only meet about 26.7% of the national demand (DVS, 2008). The gap between supply and demand for beef is expected to widen in the next decades unless efforts is been made to accelerate local production. The lack of number of quality breeding stocks and unorganized breeding system had been the major factors that contribute to the slow growth of the local beef industry.
Geographically isolated populations of endemic orchids have evolved and adapted to an existence within specifi c ecological niches. These populations are highly susceptible to anthropogenic
infl uences on their microhabitats. The primary objective of conservation programs is the restoration of endangered populations to their ecologically sustainable levels, and the fi rst stage in the process of conservation involves estimation of molecular diversity at the level of the population. The approach described in this article involves the application of RAPD, Microsatellites and Chloroplast DNA markers for the characterization of the genetic structure of Paphiopedilum rothschildianum and Phalaenopsis gigantea, two endangered and endemic orchids of Sabah. This study has isolated a total of 96 microsatellite loci in P. rothschildianum and P. gigantea, 42 specifi c primer pairs have been designed for amplifi cation of microsatellite loci and are currently being applied to screen the breeding pools. The Chloroplast DNA regions amplifi ed by the primer pairs trnH-psbA and trnL-trnF exhibit distinct polymorphisms and can be used to establish phylogenetic
relationships. The ability of microsatellite loci to cross-amplify selected varieties of orchids has been determined. The molecular markers developed will be applied to estimate population diversity
levels and to formulate long-term management strategies for the conservation of endangered species of orchids of Sabah.
Known as ‘belangkas’ in Malaysia, horseshoe crabs have been used by locals for food, bait and as fertilizer. Currently, these ancient mariners are gaining a lot of attention as the amoebocyte from their blood are harvested by the biomedical industry for use to detect human pathogens in patients, injectable drugs and intravenous devices.
Basal stem rot disease caused by the basidiomycete fungus, Ganoderma boninense is the most serious disease of oil palm in Malaysia. The disease can be identified by dry rotting of internal parts of the stem with fruiting bodies or basidiomata of the fungus occurring at the oil palm stem base. The stem lesion allows the basal stem rot disease to be distinguished from the other root diseases
(Turner, 1981).
Termitomyces are delicious edible mushrooms found in Africa and South-East Asia including Malaysia. These mushrooms were found to grow symbiotically with termites around termite nests. Numerous efforts have been made worldwide to develop a cultivation method for these mushrooms. Unfortunately, none of those attempts were successful. The main obstacles encountered were the difficulty to identify and isolate pure termitomyces culture. The problem became prevalent as the culture gets contaminated by other fungi. Termitomyces can easily be identified by its mushroom fruiting body eventually but certainly not at the mycelium and hyphea stages. In this study a simple PCR-based genetic marker detection method for confirmation of termitomyces at any culture stage was developed. Using this method, four distinctive PCR assays
were developed using specific PCR primers designed based on the DNA sequence of the termitomyces mushroom. The PCR results showed that the PCR assays using intact termitomyces
DNA as template was not suitable for this purpose. However, PCR using BamHI and EcoRI predigested termitomyces DNA as template showed identical polymorphism pattern for both
termitomyces mushroom DNA and termitomyces culture DNA. Thus, the method reported here can be used for the identific.
There is a need to set up a germplasm resource centre or gene bank in Sabah to keep the collections of varieties of locally cultivated crops, especially rice. This is necessary to prevent genetic loss caused by the infrastructure development in the state of Sabah especially when Sabah is known for her rich genetic resources for food and agriculture. This gene bank will play an important role in the conservation of genetic resources especially for future rice crop improvement and development. These collections are known to carry useful gene(s) for crop improvement such as aroma, taste, resistance to insect pests and diseases, and tolerance to abiotic stress. Decades ago, a set of local landrace rice collection were made and conserved at International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and Malaysia Agriculture Research and Development Institute (MARDI). Besides IRRI and MARDI, local farmers also play an important role as conservationist. Therefore, this study has been carried out to re ne the status of the current genetic diversity in local rice farming. From January 2009 to February 2010, 108 samples were collected from Tuaran and Kota Belud districts. Preliminary observation of 19 samples found that
there is a high genetic diversity based on seed morphology alone. Variations in the characteristics were detected in awn, apiculus, lemma and palea, sterile lemma and seed coat. Length and width of seeds were measured and calculated for ratio to estimate the shapes of the seeds. The weight of 100 grains ranged from 1.42 to 3.19 g. However, further studies on morphology evaluation, disease screening, and molecular evaluation are needed to be compared with the existing data. In addition, genetic erosion, migration, and drift also need to be studied due to high seed exchanges among the local farmers.