Basal stem rot (BSR) is a devastating disease to Malaysian oil palm. Current techniques employed for BSR disease detection on oil palm are laborious, time consuming, costly, and subjected to accuracy limitations. An ergosterol detection method was developed, whereby it correlated well with the degree of infection in oil palm. This current study was designed to study the relationship between Ganoderma biomass, ergosterol concentration, BSR disease progress and to validate the efficiency of microwave assisted extraction (MAE) method for extraction of ergosterol compound. In addition, testing on the sensitivity of thin layer chromatography (TLC) analysis for detection of ergosterol was also the aim of this study. The optimised procedure involved extracting a small amount of Ganoderma-infected oil palm root tissues suspended in low volumes of solvent followed by irradiation in a conventional microwave oven at 70°C and medium high power for 30 s, resulting in simultaneous extraction and saponification. Based on the results obtained, MAE method may be effective in extracting low to high yields of ergosterol from infected oil palm roots demonstrating disease scale 2, 3 and 4. Positive relationship was observed between ergosterol content and inoculation period starting day 3 in the inoculated oil palm seedlings and hour 6 in germinated seeds. TLC analysis demonstrated a good correlation with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) quantification. Therefore, a semi-quantitative TLC analysis may be applied for handling a large amount of samples during onset field survey.
The yellow tetrazolium salt 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) is widely used to determine cell viability in cell proliferation and cytotoxic assays. MTT is reduced by metabolically active cells to form an insoluble purple formazan product that is quantifiable by spectrophotometry. It is the most common and direct assay for cell viability. However, in this present study, we demonstrated that the vitamin E isomers α-β-γ-δ-tocotrienols and α-tocopherol were able to reduce MTT into a formazan product, despite the absence of living cells. For comparison, a second method for determining cell viability, which is the neutral red uptake assay, was used in parallel with the MTT assay. The results showed that neutral red did not interact with the vitamin E isomers. Our findings suggest that the MTT assay is not suitable for studying the proliferative effects of vitamin E isomers on cell growth.
In Drosophila, the Glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (Gpdh) enzyme plays an active role in many pathways, including the glycerol metabolic pathway and the alphaglycerophosphate cycle. It is also important for ethanol metabolism, as well as flight muscle development. Recent years have exposed small RNAs as a major posttranscriptional regulator of multiple metabolic-pathway genes. Of the many kinds of these RNAs at work, micro RNAs (miRNAs) are the most widely implicated and well understood. However, the roles they may play in regulating Gpdh has never been shown in any model organism. In this study, a pasha-mutant D. melanogaster strain was found to express only 25% of the Gpdh levels typical of their wild type counterparts. Such mutants lack the ability to produce pasha, a protein integral during miRNA-processing, and as a consequence do not produce mature miRNAs. As miRNA-centric regulation often culminates in the depletion of their targets, the concurrent downregulation of Gpdh observed in their absence here therefore alludes to two possibilities: one, that rather than being explicitly bound and repressed by miRNAs, Gpdh expression relies on their action upon an upstream Gpdh-antagonist; or two, that Gpdh may come under the regulation of another class of miRNA-like elements called mirtrons, which do not require pasha to be processed into their functional form. The preliminary findings in this study further highlights the imperative nature of miRNAs in regulating metabolic processes and subsequently, ensuring proper organismal development and its continued survival.
Chironomus javanus (Kieffer) and Chironomus kiiensis Tokunaga were redescribed from materials collected from a rice field in Pulau Pinang, Malaysia. The larvae can only be distinguished after careful preparation and examination using a compound microscope, but the pupae were not useful to differentiate C. javanus from C. kiiensis. The adult specimens showed clear body and wing characteristics for rapid and accurate identification.
Chironomus javanus (Kieffer) and Chironomus kiiensis Tokunaga were redescribed from materials collected from a rice field in Pulau Pinang, Malaysia. The larvae can only be distinguished after careful preparation and examination using a compound microscope, but the pupae were not useful to differentiate C. javanus from C. kiiensis. The adult specimens showed clear body and wing characteristics for rapid and accurate identification.
Rattans (subfamily Calamoideae) are an important component of the forests of the Old World. However, few studies have been conducted on the distribution of these abundant palms within different habitats, specifically in Peninsular Malaysia. This study was aimed at assessing rattan diversity, abundance and biomass change across two different habitat types, namely, dipterocarp forests and fresh-water swamps within the Segari Melintang Forest Reserve, Perak, within two years. All rattan stems within five 100 m × 100 m sized study plots (A-E) of the two habitat types were counted in 2011 and 2013, and Shannon-Wiener diversity indices (H') and Bray-Curtis dissimilarity indices were calculated. A total of 11 species from 5 genera (161 stems ha(-1)) were sampled. Rattan abundance was higher in all swamp plots; however, rattan diversity (H') was highest in the dipterocarp plot (D: H' (2011)1.79; H' (2013)1.84). Bray-Curtis indices of rattan abundance (highest similarity in swamp: plot BC(2011) 0.484, BC(2013) 0.262) and biomass were highest for study plots with the same vegetation types in both years. For rattan biomass, the most similar plot pairs changed during the years: dipterocarp plots A and D were most similar in 2011 (0.509), and swamp plots B and C were most similar in 2013 (0.282). This study helped contribute information regarding the distribution and dynamics of rattans in a primary rainforest of Peninsular Malaysia.
Studies of habitat suitability (HS) are essential when animals' habitats have been altered or when animals migrate to a habitat different from their natural habitat. This study assessed HS and used an integrated geographic information system in the assessment of Rattus norvegicus in a highly developed urban environment. Using data from the Campbell market and the police quarters of George Town, Malaysia, home range (through the use of 100% Minimum Convex Polygon [MCP], 95% MCP and 95% Harmonic Mean [HM]) was estimated. Home range for male rats at Campbell market reached an asymptote, with a slight increase, at 96 radio fixes (home range = 133.52 m(2); core area = 29.39 m(2)). Female rats reached an asymptote at 62 radio fixes (home range = 13.38 m(2); core area = 9.17 m(2)). At Campbell market, male rats emerged at 1900 hours every day, whereas females emerged at 2000 hours; at police quarters, the most common time of emergence for males was 2000 hours and for females was 2200. Raster charts of R. norvegicus showed that rat hot spots can be grouped into 4 zones (market, shop houses, settlement and general places). The standardised raster chart isolated the market as the major rallying points of the rats (hot spots) by producing the highest rats frequencies of 255. All of the habitat suitability thresholds, including the built-up points, skip bins, water source and nature of the site explored in this study, produced a structural pattern (monotonic increase or decrease) of habitat suitability.
A lipase producer psychrophilic microorganism isolated from Arctic sample was
studied. The genomic DNA of the isolate was extracted using modified CTAB method.
Identification of the isolate by morphological and 16S rRNA sequence analysis revealed
that the isolate is closely related to Arthrobacter gangotriensis (97% similarity).
A. gangotriensis was determined as positive lipase producer based on the plate screening
using specific and sensitive plate assay of Rhodamine B. The PCR result using
Arthrobacter sp.’s full lipase gene sequence as the template primers emphasised a
possible lipase gene at 900 bp band size. The gene is further cloned in a suitable vector
system for expression of lipase.
Nowadays the exploration and utilisation of food and feed from marine origin is becoming more important with the increase of human population. Macroalgae are rich in nutritious compounds, which can directly be used in human and animal feed industries. The current study presents the screening of chemical components of eight macroalgae species, Sargassum boveanum, Sirophysalis trinodis, Hypnea caroides, Palisda perforata, Galaxaura rugosa, Caulerpa racemose, Caulerpa sertularioides and Bryopsis corticolans from the Persian Gulf. The results revealed that the eight studied algal species possess high protein (14.46% to 38.20%), lipid (1.27% to 9.13%) and ash (15.50% to 49.14%) contents. The fatty acids and amino acids profile showed the presence of essential fatty acids and amino acids with high nutritional value. Phaeophyta species, S. boveanum and S. trinodis, showed the highest value of ash content and polyunsaturated fatty acids while Chlorophyta species, C. racemose, C. sertularioides and B. corticolans, showed the highest level of lipid and protein contents. Rhodophyta species, G. rugosa and P. perforata, showed the highest essential amino acid content. In conclusion, this study demonstrates the potential of the studied marine species as a nutritional source for human and animal uses.
Sarcosporidiosis is a disease caused by intracellular protozoan parasites, namely, Sarcocystis spp. In pigs, three species of Sarcocystis spp. have been recognised, including Sarcocystis meischeriana, Sarcocystis porcifelis and Sarcocystis suihominis. The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of muscular sarcosporidiosis in pigs using the pepsin digestion technique. A total of 150 fresh heart, oesophagus and thigh muscle samples from 50 Yorkshire and Landrace pigs were collected from two local abattoirs in Perak from May to August 2014. All the fresh muscle samples were thoroughly examined for macrocyst-forming Sarcocystis spp. and processed using the peptic digestion technique to detect bradyzoites. The results from the muscle samples showed that 58% (29 out of 50) of the pigs were positive for Sarcocystis spp. These findings highlight the importance of implementing stringent measures for screening pigs in abattoirs for Sarcocystis spp. infection because this infection in pigs is a public health concern.
Fusarium wilt disease is one of the most problematic and destructive disease in cucumber production. The causative agents are Fusarium oxysporum and F. solani. These pathogens are soil borne and transmitted through infested soil and water. A field survey was conducted to study the disease prevalence in the major growing areas of cucumber in Peninsular Malaysia. Field study revealed that the disease was highly prevalence in the field with the disease incidence was in the range of 10%-60%. The morphological properties of F. oxysporum are microconidia (3.8-15.7 μm × 2.9-4.9 μm), macroconidia (14.8-38.5 μm × 2.4-5.7 μm) and number of septate was 1-4. While for F. solani are microconidia (3.39-14.63 μm × 2.36-4.44 μm), macroconidia (7.22-50.46 μm × 2.43-6.14 μm) and number of septate was 1-5. Based on molecular identification had confirmed that the disease is caused by F. oxysporum and F. solani with similarity index of 99%-100% based on internal transcribed spacer (ITS) gene sequences. The pathogenicity test showed that the symptoms of Fusarium wilt disease was firstly appeared as yellowing of old leaves. Progressively, the infected plant will be wilted and finally died. The outputs of this study are highly important to establish an effective disease management programme to reduce disease prevalence and yield loss in the field.
Kelantan is a chiefly agrarian state with abundant small-holder ruminant farms in the East Coast economic Region of Malaysia. Ectoparasitism affects small ruminant production in Malaysia. It often causes reduction in meat quality and milk production which affect the farmers' income. To date, no report for the prevalence of ectoparasitism on small ruminant in Kelantan compared to other state in Malaysia. This study aims to determine the prevalence and associated risk factor of ruminant ectoparasitism in Kelantan. Ectoparasites were collected by manual picking and skin scrapping from 462 sheep and goats in Kelantan between April and September 2017 (during dry season). 60% of the sampled animals were infested with at least one species of the ectoparasites. In this study, lice and ticks were the most prevalent ectoparasites on small ruminant, which were 43.64% and 22.98%, respectively. The high biotic potential of lice population on host might be one of the factors they become the most prevalent species found on the animals. There was no significant relationship between ectoparasitism prevalence and species of small ruminants (χ2 = 1.12, p = 0.293). However, there was significant variations in prevalence between the regions where the animals were sampled from (χ2 = 30.25, p = 0.002) and farm management system for both species. This present study provides baseline epidemiological data on the prevalence of ectoparasitism in small ruminant. This information is useful for the formulation of prevention and control measures in order to enhance ruminant productivity in Kelantan.
Bovine fascioliasis is an important zoonotic parasitic disease that causes significant economic losses to the livestock industry. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and risk factors of bovine fascioliasis in Kelantan. In this cross-sectional study, a total of 308 stool and blood samples of farmed cattle were collected from December 2017 to June 2018. The stool samples were examined microscopically for the presence of Fasciola spp. eggs following a formalin-ether sedimentation process. The blood samples were subjected to a commercial ELISA kit (Bio-X-Diagnostic, Rochefort, Belgium) for the detection of anti-Fasciola IgG antibody. The association between coprological findings and risk factors was determined using Pearson's chi-square (χ2). The coproprevalence and seroprevalence of bovine fascioliasis was 14.6% and 37.3%, respectively. There were significant (P < 0.05) associations between the risk of infections and the sex, type of feedings, anthelmintic treatment and farm hygiene. Female cattle (OR: 3.104; 95% CI: 1.265, 7.615), feeding by grazing (OR: 4.458; 95% CI: 1.823, 10.90), untreated cattle (OR: 3.833; 95% CI: 1.620, 9.071), non-schedule anthelminthic treatment (OR: 3.927; 95% CI: 1.685, 9.152) and farm that have never been cleaned (OR: 2.829; 95% CI: 1.428, 5.608) showed higher odds of Fasciola spp. infection. These findings suggested bovine fascioliasis is a serious veterinary disease in Kelantan. Thus, appropriate control, prevention and monitoring strategies of this parasitic infection are urgently needed to reduce the burden of the disease.
A herpetological survey was conducted at Pulau Besar, Melaka from 10 to 12 June 2008, resulting in the discovery of five species of amphibians, nine species of lizards (including one new species of the gekkonid Cyrtodactylus) and one snake species. This report constitutes the first checklist of the herpetofauna of Pulau Besar and the Water Islands Archipelago.
Like many other countries, reservoirs in Malaysia are primarily built for various
functions such as hydroelectric power generation, drinking water supply, flood mitigation
and irrigation for agricultural purposes. Artisanal fisheries activities were also performed in
these reservoirs. The freshwater fish are a requisite source of protein for the rural
population. Consequently, the fish resources in reservoirs should be carefully maintained
at sustainable level. Present study elucidates the preliminary assessment on autecological
studies of beardless barb, Cyclocheilichthys apogon as a model of fish biota in Muda
Reservoir. This research investigates the growth pattern of C. apogon using length-weight
relationship and their condition factor. A total of 307 specimens were captured using cast
net for six consecutive months from March 2014 until August 2014. The growth coefficient
(b) from the length-weight equation (W = aLb
) for male and female of C. apogon were
3.150 and 3.185, respectively, indicating positive allometric growth. The condition factor
values of male and female of C. apogon were 1.023 ± 0.111 and 1.026 ± 0.100,
respectively, suggesting that C. apogon is in good condition in Muda Reservoir. The
paucity of research on the autecological study in the Muda Reservoir contributes to the
main reason of performing this research. The findings will serve as baseline information of
this species in Muda Reservoir, as well as for comparative study in the future.
Hibiscus rosa sinensis, a member of the Malvaceae family, is widely cultivated in the tropics as an ornamental plant. It is often planted as a fence or hedge plant, and has several forms of flowers with varying colours. It is also used in traditional medicine to induce abortion, ease menstrual cramps, assist in childbirth and relieve headache, fever and inflammation. In this study, we evaluated the antibacterial activity of H. rosa sinesis extract using a disc diffusion method. Crude petroleum ether extract, ethyl acetate extract and methanol extract from the leaves, stems and flowers of the plant were prepared using a cold extraction technique. These extracts were tested at concentrations ranging from 4 mg/disc to 0.017 mg/disc against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumonia. The petroleum ether extract from the leaves, stems and flowers and methanol extract from the leaves showed inhibition zones with diameters > 12 mm against MRSA. Overall, the petroleum ether extract from flowers at concentrations of 4 mg/disc and 2 mg/disc displayed the strongest inhibition zones of 18.6 ± 2.85 mm and 18.5 ± 0.29 mm, respectively, as compared to vancomycin (30 μg/ml), which did not differ significantly from the 18.0 ± 0.10 mm size of the vancomycin (30 μg/ml) inhibition zone (p < 0.05). In conclusion, H. rosa sinensis extract is a potential antibacterial agent for treating MRSA infection.
Doxorubicin (DOX) adalah salah satu ubat kemoterapi yang paling berkesan untuk merawat pelbagai neoplasma seperti leukemia, limfoma dan kanser payudara. Walau bagaimanapun, ia sering dikaitkan dengan kardiomiopati. Pada masa ini, tiada rawatan yang sesuai untuk mengurangkan kesan kardiomiopati tanpa kesan sampingan yang ketara. Oleh itu, kajian ini bertujuan untuk mengkaji kesan-kesan perlindungan potensi ekstrak benih padi (RSE) terhadap kesitotoksikan yang disebabkan oleh DOX menggunakan kajian kultur sel vitro. Keupayaan antioksidan RSE dinilai, dan hasilnya menunjukkan jumlah kandungan fenolik yang lebih rendah (TPC), tetapi jumlah kandungan flavonoid total (TFC) dan kapasiti antioksidan yang setara trolox (TEAC), dibandingkan dengan ekstrak benih wheatgrass. Satu siri eksperimen spektroskopi penyerapan dan pendarfluor menunjukkan bahawa RSE boleh menghalang pembentukan kompleks DOX-DNA pada kepekatan yang diuji. Tambahan pula, daya maju sel kardiomiosit sel, H9c2 (2-1), telah diuji selepas 24, 48 dan 72 jam rawatan DOX terhadap RSE menggunakan ujian proliferasi sel berdasarkan garam tetrazolium (MTS reagent). Hasilnya menunjukkan kesan perlindungan yang signifikan terhadap RSE terhadap kesitotoksikan yang disebabkan oleh DOX. Jalur sel karsinoma nasofarinks, HK1, digunakan sebagai kawalan untuk menentukan sama ada keberkesanan DOX terjejas oleh pentadbiran bersama RSE. Hasilnya tidak menunjukkan kesan negatif terhadap keberkesanan dadah. Pelbagai sifat berfaedah RSE menunjukkan potensi kuatnya untuk membangunkan agen kardioprotektif untuk melengkapi rawatan DOX dalam tetapan klinikal.
Identifying potential food sources in mangrove ecosystems is complex because of the multifarious inputs from both land and sea. This study, which was conducted in the Manko mangrove ecosystem of Okinawa, Japan, determined the composition of the stable isotopes δ(13)C and δ(15)N in primary producers and macrozoobenthos to estimate the potential food sources assimilated and to elucidate the target trophic levels of the macrozoobenthos. We measured the two stable isotope signatures of three gastropods (Cerithidea sp., Cassidula mustelina, Peronia verruculata), two crabs (Grapsidae sp., Uca sp.), mangrove tree (Kandelia candel) leaves, and sediment from the mangrove ecosystem. The respective carbon and nitrogen isotope signature results were as follows: -22.4‰ and 8.6‰ for Cerithidea sp., -25.06‰ and 8‰ for C. mustelina, -22.58‰ and 8‰ for P. verruculata, -24.3‰ and 10.6‰ for unidentified Grapsidae, -21.87 ‰ and 11.5 ‰ for Uca sp., -29.81‰ and 11‰ for K. candel, and -24.23‰ and 7.2‰ for the sediment. The stable isotope assimilation signatures of the macrozoobenthos indicated sediment as their food source. Considering the trophic levels, the stable isotope values may also indicate that the five macrozoobenthos species were secondary or higher consumers.
Ornate threadfin bream (Nemipterus hexodon) is an economically important fishery species in Southeast Asia. In Thailand, N. hexodon decreased dramatically due to overexploitation for commercial purposes. To construct an effective sustainable management plan, genetic information is necessary. Thus, in our study, the population genetic structure and demographic history of N. hexodon were investigated using 419 bp of the mitochondrial DNA sequence in cytochrome oxidase subunit I gene (mtDNA COI). A total of 142 samples was collected from nine localities in the Gulf of Thailand (Chonburi, Samut Songkhram, Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Songkhla), and the Andaman Sea (Satun, Trang, Krabi, Phang Nga). Fourteen polymorphic sites defined 18 haplotypes, revealing a high haplotype diversity and low nucleotide diversity among nine localities. The analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) analysis, pairwise F ST , and minimum spanning network result revealed that the genetic structure of N. hexodon was separated into two populations: the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea population. The genetic structure of N. hexodon can be explained by a disruption of gene flow from the geographic barrier and the Pleistocene isolation of the marine basin hypothesis. Neutrality tests, Bayesian skyline analysis, mismatch distribution, and the estimated values of population growth suggested that N. hexodon had experienced a population expansion. The genetic information would certainly help us gain insight into the population genetic structure of N. hexodon living on the coast of Thailand.
The genera of stingless bees play an important role as pollinators of plants. These bees are actively involved in the pollination of agricultural crops and known to have preferences in selecting flowers to pollinate. The aims of this study were to analyse the pollen load and flower constancy in Tetragonula laeviceps, Lepidotrigona terminata, and Heterotrigona itama. Each individual of species stingless bees collected and was put in a 1.5 mL micro-tube contain 0.5 mL 70% ethanol:glycerol (4:1). Pollen loads on each individual of stingless bees was counted by hemocytometer. Flower constancy of stingless bees was measured based on percentage of pollen type loaded on the body. Results showed that the pollen loads of H. itama was the highest (31392 pollen grains) followed by L. terminata (23017 pollen grains) and T. laeviceps (8015 pollen grains). These species also demonstrated different flower constancy, T. laeviceps on Poaceae flowers (76.49%), L. terminata on Euphorbiaceae flowers (80.46%), and H. itama on Solanaceae flowers (83.33%).