Candidiasis is the most common fungal infection associated with high morbidity and mortality among immunocompromised patients. The ability to form biofilm is essential for Candida albicans pathogenesis and drug resistance. In this study, the planktonic cell and biofilm proteomes of C. albicans SC5314 strain analyzed using Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS) were compared. In total, 280 and 449 proteins are annotated from the planktonic cell and biofilm proteomes, respectively. The biofilm proteome demonstrated significantly higher proportion of proteins associated with the endomembrane system, mitochondrion and cytoplasm than planktonic proteome. Among proteins detected, 143 and 207 biological processes are annotated, of which, 38 and 102 are specific to the planktonic cell and biofilm proteomes, respectively, while 105 are common biological processes. The specific biological processes of C. albicans planktonic cell proteome are associated with cell polarity, energy metabolism and nucleotide (purine) metabolism, oxido-reduction coenzyme metabolic process, monosaccharide and amino acid (methionine) biosynthesis, regulation of anatomical structure morphogenesis and cell cycling, and single organism reproduction. Meanwhile, regulation of cellular macromolecule biosynthesis and metabolism, transcription and gene expression are major biological processes specifically associated with C. albicans biofilm proteome. Biosynthesis of leucine, isoleucine, and thiocysteine are highlighted as planktonic-related pathways, whereas folate metabolism, fatty acid metabolism and biosynthesis of amino acids (lysine, serine and glycine) are highlighted as biofilm-related pathways. In summary, LC-MS-based proteomic analysis reveals different adaptative strategies of C. albicans via specific biological and metabolic processes for planktonic cell and biofilm lifestyles. The mass spectrometry data are available via ProteomeXchange with identifiers PXD007830 (for biofilm proteome) and PXD007831 (for planktonic cell proteome).
Males of certain species belonging to the Bactrocera dorsalis complex are strongly attracted to, and readily feed on methyl eugenol (ME), a plant secondary compound that is found in over 480 plant species worldwide. Amongst those species is one of the world's most severe fruit pests the Oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis s.s., and the former taxonomic species Bactrocera invadens, Bactrocera papayae and Bactrocera philippinensis. The latter species have been recently synonymised with Bactrocera dorsalis based on their very similar morphology, mating compatibility, molecular genetics and identical sex pheromones following consumption of ME. Previous studies have shown that male fruit fly responsiveness to lures is a unique phenomenon that is dose species-specific, besides showing a close correlation to sexual maturity attainment. This led us to use ME sensitivity as a behavioural parameter to test if Bactrocera dorsalis and the three former taxonomic species had similar sensitivity towards odours of ME. Using Probit analysis, we estimated the median dose of ME required to elicit species' positive response in 50% of each population tested (ED50). ED50 values were compared between Bactrocera dorsalis and the former species. Our results showed no significant differences between Bactrocera dorsalis s.s., and the former Bactrocera invadens, Bactrocera papayae and Bactrocera philippinensis in their response to ME. We consider that the Bactrocera males' sensitivity to ME may be a useful behavioural parameter for species delimitation and, in addition to other integrative taxonomic tools used, provides further supportive evidence that the four taxa belong to one and the same biological species, Bactrocera dorsalis.
Etroplus suratensis, a southern Asian cichlid, has established populations in Singapore. The fish, which was first collected in 1995, was probably introduced via the aquarium trade or through the Johor River in Malaysia. The growth, feeding and reproductive characteristics were found to follow its ecology in its native range in southern Asia, and its establishment in Singapore could be due to the similarity in environment and availability of food. Changes in intestinal length indicated diet shifts from a predominantly herbivorous to an omnivorous one as it matured. Stomach contents did not provide comparable evidence. Diet similarity to two other introduced cichlids may imply that interspecies resource competition exists. Closer monitoring is needed to determine its effects on the local environment.
Vermicomposting is commonly adopted for the treatment of livestock organic wastes. In the present study, two types of livestock manure were used for culturing of the earthworm, Eisenia foetida. Each treatment group consisted of six replicates and worm vermicasts were examined after 5 weeks. The concentrations of total C, P and K in goat manure vermicasts were higher than those in cattle manure vermicasts. Cattle vermicasts had a higher N content than goat vermicasts but the C:N ratio of fresh manure was higher than that of vermicasts for both materials. Earthworm biomass and reproductive performance, in terms of number of worms after 5 weeks of experiment, were higher in cattle manure than in goat manure. The cocoon production per worm in cattle manure was higher than in goat manure. However, the hatchability of cocoons was not affected by manure treatments. In conclusion, cattle manure provided a more nutritious and friendly environment to the earthworms than goat manure.
Menstruation is arguably the first stage in a woman's reproductive cycle. Among the Temiar, as in many other traditional societies, menstruation represents a time during which a woman is considered to be vulnerable or polluted and there may be food or behavior avoidances and restrictions. The Temiar is one of the eighteen indigenous sub-ethnic groups in Peninsular Malaysia. The objective of this study was to examine the food restrictions and taboos imposed on menstruating Temiar women. A total of 38 participants from four different locations took part in five focus group discussions which represents different lifestyle experiences of the Temiar sub-ethnic group. The findings unfolds many practices: foods to be avoided and spirit in the landscape in order to protect the menstruating woman; isolating the menstruating woman in order to protect the community; consequences of not observing the menstruation food taboos and maintenance of the menstrual taboos. The menstruating women in all locations were prohibited from consuming salt, cooking oils, wild or domesticated animals, and Monosodium glutamate to protect themselves from the excessive flow of menstrual blood and future ill-health. They must eat separately from others because they are deemed polluted and dangerous to the community. The study concludes that the taboos directed towards the menstruating women often do have a caring and protective intention. Menstrual restrictions function not only to protect the menstruating women and the community but also to keep intact the symbolic boundary between human and the non-human world from which disease and weakness comes.
Blastocystis hominis has been regarded as an enigmatic parasite as many aspects of its basic biology remain uncertain. Many reproductive processes have been suggested for the organism; however, to date, only the binary fission has been proven. Plasmotomy is one of the modes of reproduction previously suggested to be seen in in vitro cultures. The present study provides trichrome and acridine orange staining evidence for the existence of nucleic acid suggestive of division of nucleus into multinucleate forms with the respective cytoplasm dividing giving rise to two or three progeny B. hominis. Transmission electron micrographs further confirmed that these daughter cells had respective surrounding surface coat, mitochondria, and vacuoles.
COVID-19 is an emerging and rapidly evolving pandemic around the world, which causes severe acute respiratory syndrome and results in substantial morbidity and mortality. To examine the transmission dynamics of COVID-19, we investigate the spread of this pandemic using Malaysia as a case study and scrutinise its interactions with some exogenous factors such as limited medical resources and false detection problems. To do this, we employ a simple epidemiological model and analyse this system using modelling and dynamical systems techniques. We discover some contrasting findings with respect to the observations of basic reproduction number: while it is observed that R0 seems to provide a good description of transmission dynamics in simple outbreak scenarios, this quantity might mislead the assessment on the severity of pandemic when certain complexities such as limited medical resources and false detection problems are incorporated into the model. In particular, we observe the possibility of a COVID-19 outbreak through bistable behaviour, even when the basic reproduction number is less than unity. Based on these findings, we caution policy makers not to make their decisions solely based on the guidance of the basic reproduction number only, which clearly could cause trouble.
KEY MESSAGE: Morphological and transcriptomic evidences provide us strong support for the function of ANAC019 in reproductive development under drought stress. Plants are sensitive to drought conditions, particularly at the reproductive stage. Several studies have reported drought effects on crop reproductive development, but the molecular mechanism underlying drought response during reproduction is still unclear. A recent study showed that drought induces in Arabidopsis inflorescence increased expression of many genes, including ANAC019. However, the function of ANAC019 in drought response during reproductive development has not been characterized. Here, we report an investigation of the ANAC019 function in the response to drought during reproduction. ANAC019 is preferentially expressed in the inflorescence compared with the leaf, suggesting possible roles in regulating both stress response and flower development. The anac019 mutant was more sensitive to drought than WT plant, and exhibited a delay in recovery of floral organ development under prolonged drought stress. Moreover, many fewer genes were differentially expressed in the anac019 inflorescence under drought than that of WT, suggesting that the mutant was impaired in drought-induced gene expression. The genes affected by ANAC019 were associated with stress and hormone responses as well as floral development. In particular, the expression levels of several key drought-induced genes, DREB2A, DREB2B, ARF2, MYB21 and MYB24, were dramatically reduced in the absence of ANAC019, suggesting that ANAC019 is an upstream regulator these genes for drought response and flower development. These results provide strong support for the potential function of ANAC019 in reproductive development under drought stress.
Ovitrap surveillance was conducted in four dengue endemic areas in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor, Malaysia to determine the distribution and percentage of mixed breeding of both Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. The percentage of mixed breeding in all study sites both indoors and outdoors accounted for 10 to 32 % from the total ovitraps collected. Ae. aegypti was found at a higher frequency than Ae. albopictus in these ovitraps. This study again indicates that ovitrap is a sensitive tool to attract gravid females of more than one mosquito species to oviposit in the container.
A canonical/lognormal model for human demography is established, specifying the net maternity function and the age distribution for mothers of new-borns using a single macroscopic parameter vector of dimension five. The age distribution of mothers is canonical, while the net maternity function normalizes to a lognormal density. Comparison of an actual population with the model serves to identify anomalies in the population which may be indicative of phase transitions or influences from levels outside the demographic. Tracking the time development of the parameter vector may be used to predict the future state of a population, or to interpolate for data missing from the record. In accordance with classical theoretical considerations of Backman, Prigogine, et al., it emerges that the logarithm of a mother's age is the most fundamental time variable for demographic purposes.
Danio rerio or commonly known as zebrafish are a very popular fish among scientists and also a well-known vertebrate model species widely used in research. Zebrafish, are also a popular species among aquarists and have been put in aquariums all around the world as ornamental fish. The acid rain phenomenon has lowered the pH level of the wild habitat of zebrafish by shifting it to a more acidic pH level. This study was carried out to observe the effect of low pH level on the reproductive performance of zebrafish. The zebrafish were quarantined for a week to make sure they were healthy to be used in the experiment. The zebrafish were reared continuously for 14 days in three different pH treatments T1 (pH 2-4), T2 (pH 4-6), T3 (pH 6-8)). T3 (pH 6-8) was used as the control treatment. Hydrochloric acid (HCl) was used to control the pH level of treatments T1 (pH 2-4), T2 (pH 4-6), T3 (pH 6-8) with three replicates of each treatment. The male chasing female frequency was significant (p: 0.0001) and the data showed the highest frequency (2568.000±140.6272) at treatment 3 (pH 6-8). For the spawning frequency of zebrafish, treatment 3 (pH 6-8) showed the highest value (4.000±0.5774) followed by treatment 2 and treatment 1 and the data was significant (p: 0.0004). The fertilisation rate of the zebrafish was significant (p: 0.0001) and the highest was shown at T2 (pH 4-6) with 89.8018±0.3782, followed by T3 and treatment T1. For the hatching rate of the zebrafish, the data collected were significant (p: 0.0002) and the highest value of 2.9350±0.4070 was shown at T3 (pH 6-8), followed by T2 (pH 4-6) and T1 (pH 2-4). The overall result showed that pH 2-4 had the worst effect on the reproductive performance of zebrafish. Therefore, low pH has a significant effect on reducing the reproductive performance of zebrafish. The local fish population can be affected by the decrease of pH level due to acid rains and chemical waste pollution.
Numerous nutraceutical products containing the powdered or extracted parts of Labisia pumila (Myrsinaceae) have been widely available for years in Malaysia, aimed at women of reproductive age. However, there is scarce of information concerning the effects of this plant on the reproductive function of nulliparous females prior to the present study. The toxicity potential of Labisia pumila var. alata (LPA) on oestrous cycle and reproductive parameters was evaluated in groups of 40 virgin rats. They were administered with LPA at the doses of 0 (control), 20, 200 or 1000 mg/kg/day for duration of three weeks. The results obtained indicated that the administration of LPA at all dose levels did not cause mortality nor show noticeably any treatment-related signs of toxicity on the physical appearance, behaviour and body weight of all the rats studied. The pattern and length of oestrous cyclicity as well as the changes in reproductive hormones were statistically comparable among groups. No indications of abnormalities in the histology of uterus and vagina were observed. However, the presence of ovarian follicular cysts has raised apprehension that requires further investigation. The current findings suggested that oral treatment of LPA were associated with toxicity concerns
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of different doses of Malaysian honey on male reproductive parameters in adult rats. Thirty-two healthy adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into four groups (eight rats per group). Group 1 (control group) was given 0.5 ml of distilled water. Groups 2, 3 and 4 were given 0.2, 1.2 and 2.4 g kg(-1) body weight of honey respectively. The rats were treated orally by gavage once daily for 4 weeks. Honey did not significantly alter body and male reproductive organs weights. The rats in Group 3 which received honey at 1.2 g kg(-1) had significantly higher epididymal sperm count than those in Groups 1, 2 and 4. No significant differences were found for the percentage of abnormal sperm, elongated spermatid count, reproductive hormonal levels as well as the histology of the testis among the groups. In conclusion, Malaysian honey at a dose of 1.2 g kg(-1) daily significantly increased epididymal sperm count without affecting spermatid count and reproductive hormones. These findings might suggest that oral administration of honey at this dose for 4 weeks may enhance spermiogenesis in adult rats.
The freshwater fish, Probarbus jullieni (Sauvage), locally referred to as "Temoleh", is a high-valued freshwater fish in Malaysia and has both cultural and conservational significance. It is widely distributed in the North-east Asian countries such as Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Malaysia. During the recent past, the natural stocks of P. jullieni have been decreased severely due to habitat degradation and man-induced hazards in aquatic ecosystem. Despite the vast research that has been conducted on various carp species, little attention has been given to P. jullieni. This study reviewed the published information on the status, distribution, reproduction and biodiversity of this commercially important fish species. The findings would greatly be helpful towards the species conservation and aquaculture development of the highly endangered P. jullieni.
Leptin, an adipocyte-derived hormone, serves numerous physiological functions in the body, particularly during puberty and reproduction. The exact mechanism by which leptin activates the gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons to trigger puberty and reproduction remains unclear. Given the widespread distribution of leptin receptors in the body, both central and peripheral mechanisms involving the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis have been hypothesized. Leptin is necessary for normal reproductive function, but when present in excess, it can have detrimental effects on the male reproductive system. Human and animal studies point to leptin as a link between infertility and obesity, a suggestion that is corroborated by findings of low sperm count, increased sperm abnormalities, oxidative stress, and increased leptin levels in obese men. In addition, daily leptin administration to normal-weight rats has been shown to result in similar abnormalities in sperm parameters. The major pathways causing these abnormalities remain unidentified; however, these adverse effects have been attributed to leptin-induced increased oxidative stress because they are prevented by concurrently administering melatonin. Studies on leptin and its impact on sperm function are highly relevant in understanding and managing male infertility, particularly in overweight and obese men.