Displaying publications 981 - 1000 of 1902 in total

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  1. Amelia TSM, Lau NS, Amirul AA, Bhubalan K
    Data Brief, 2020 Aug;31:105971.
    PMID: 32685631 DOI: 10.1016/j.dib.2020.105971
    Marine sponges are acknowledged as a bacterial hotspot and resource of novel natural products or genetic material with industrial or commercial potential. However, sponge-associated bacteria are difficult to be cultivated and the production of their desirable metabolites is inadequate in terms of rate and quantity, yet bioinformatics and metagenomics tools are steadily progressing. Bacterial diversity profiles of high-microbial-abundance wild tropical marine sponges Aaptos aaptos and Xestospongia muta were obtained by sample collection at Pulau Bidong and Pulau Redang islands, 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing on Illumina HiSeq2500 platform (250 bp paired-end) and metagenomics analysis using Ribosomal Database Project (RDP) classifier. Raw sequencing data in fastq format and relative abundance histograms of the dominant 10 species are available in the public repository Discover Mendeley Data (http://dx.doi.org/10.17632/zrcks5s8xp). Filtered sequencing data of operational taxonomic unit (OTU) with chimera removed is available in NCBI accession numbers from MT464469 to MT465036.
    Matched MeSH terms: RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
  2. Lo RKS, Chong KP
    Data Brief, 2020 Aug;31:106030.
    PMID: 32743032 DOI: 10.1016/j.dib.2020.106030
    The oil palm industry, especially in Indonesia and Malaysia is being threatened by Basal Stem Rot (BSR) disease caused by Ganoderma boninense. There is no conclusive remedy in handling this disease effectively. In this study, metagenomics analysis of soil were analyzed for a better understanding of the microbial diversity in relation to BSR disease. Study was conducted in three plantation sites of Sabah, Malaysia which incorporated different disease management and agronomic practices. The estates are located at Sandakan (Kam Cheong Plantation), Lahad Datu (FGV Ladang Sahabat) and Tawau (Warisan Gagah). Soil samples were collected from disease free, high and low BSR incidence plots. Illumina MiSeq metagenomic analysis using V3-V4 region of 16S rRNA gene was employed to study the microbial diversity. Bacteria (97.4%) and Archaea (0.2%) were found majority in kingdom taxonomy level. The most abundant phyla were Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Verrucomicrobia. Higher alpha diversity of all species was observed among all tested soil from each estates. Beta analysis was analyzed using non phylogenetic UnifRac matrix and visualized using Principal Coordinates Analysis (PCoA). The tested soil samples in Kam Cheong Plantation were found to have similar bacterial communities. The data provided is useful as an indicator in developing biology controls against Ganoderma boninense.
    Matched MeSH terms: RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
  3. Kamal DAM, Ibrahim SF, Mokhtar MH
    In Vivo, 2020 7 2;34(4):1863-1870.
    PMID: 32606156 DOI: 10.21873/invivo.11981
    BACKGROUND/AIM: It was hypothesized that testosterone could affect the distribution and expression of connexin 26 and connexin 43 in the uterus. Thus, the effects of testosterone on these parameters in the uterus during the uterine receptivity period were investigated.

    MATERIALS AND METHODS: Intact pregnant rats were administered 1 mg/kg/day testosterone alone or in combination with flutamide, finasteride or anastrozole, subcutaneously on day-1 of pregnancy till day 3. The rats were sacrificed at day 4 of pregnancy, which was considered as the uterine receptivity period for determining the expression and distribution of connexin 26 and connexion 43 by immunohistochemistry and quantitative polymerase chain reaction, respectively.

    RESULTS: Treatment with 1 mg/kg/day testosterone increased connexin 26 and decreased connexin 43 mRNA expression and protein distribution in the uterus of early pregnancy rats.

    CONCLUSION: Changes in the uterine connexin 26 and connexin 43 expression by testosterone could disrupt embryo implantation, resulting in early pregnancy loss.

    Matched MeSH terms: RNA, Messenger
  4. Emrizal R, Nor Muhammad NA
    PeerJ, 2020;8:e9019.
    PMID: 32617187 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.9019
    Porphyromonas gingivalis is one of the major bacteria that causes periodontitis. Chronic periodontitis is a severe form of periodontal disease that ultimately leads to tooth loss. Virulence factors that contribute to periodontitis are secreted by Type IX Secretion System (T9SS). There are aspects of T9SS protein components that have yet to be characterised. Thus, the aim of this study is to investigate the phylogenetic relationship between members of 20 T9SS component protein families. The Bayesian Inference (BI) trees for 19 T9SS protein components exhibit monophyletic clades for all major classes under Bacteroidetes with strong support for the monophyletic clades or its subclades that is consistent with phylogeny exhibited by the constructed BI tree of 16S rRNA. The BI tree of PorR is different from the 19 BI trees of T9SS protein components as it does not exhibit monophyletic clades for all major classes under Bacteroidetes. There is strong support for the phylogeny exhibited by the BI tree of PorR which deviates from the phylogeny based on 16S rRNA. Hence, it is possible that the porR gene is subjected to horizontal transfer as it is known that virulence factor genes could be horizontally transferred. Seven genes (porR included) that are involved in the biosynthesis of A-LPS are found to be flanked by insertion sequences (IS5 family transposons). Therefore, the intervening DNA segment that contains the porR gene might be transposed and subjected to conjugative transfer. Thus, the seven genes can be co-transferred via horizontal gene transfer. The BI tree of UgdA does not exhibit monophyletic clades for all major classes under Bacteroidetes which is similar to the BI tree of PorR (both are a part of the seven genes). Both BI trees also exhibit similar topology as the four identified clusters with strong support and have similar relative positions to each other in both BI trees. This reinforces the possibility that porR and the other six genes might be horizontally transferred. Other than the BI tree of PorR, the 19 other BI trees of T9SS protein components also exhibit evidence of horizontal gene transfer. However, their genes might undergo horizontal gene transfer less frequently compared to porR because the intervening DNA segment that contains porR is easily exchanged between bacteria under Bacteroidetes due to the presence of insertion sequences (IS5 family transposons) that flank it. In conclusion, this study can provide a better understanding about the phylogeny of T9SS protein components.
    Matched MeSH terms: RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
  5. Voon WW, Rukayadi Y, Meor Hussin AS
    Lett Appl Microbiol, 2016 May;62(5):428-33.
    PMID: 27002476 DOI: 10.1111/lam.12568
    Biocellulose (BC) is pure extracellular cellulose produced by several species of micro-organisms that has numerous applications in the food, biomedical and paper industries. However, the existing biocellulose-producing bacterial strain with high yield was limited. The aim of this study was to isolate and identify the potential biocellulose-producing bacterial isolates from Malaysian acidic fruits. One hundred and ninety-three bacterial isolates were obtained from 19 local acidic fruits collected in Malaysia and screened for their ability to produce BC. A total of 15 potential bacterial isolates were then cultured in standard Hestrin-Schramm (HS) medium statically at 30°C for 2 weeks to determine the BC production. The most potent bacterial isolates were identified using 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, morphological and biochemical characteristics. Three new and potent biocellulose-producing bacterial strains were isolated from soursop fruit and identified as Stenotrophomonas maltophilia WAUPM42, Pantoea vagans WAUPM45 and Beijerinckia fluminensis WAUPM53. Stenotrophomonas maltophilia WAUPM42 was the most potent biocellulose-producing bacterial strain that produced the highest amount of BC 0·58 g l(-1) in standard HS medium. Whereas, the isolates P. vagans WAUPM45 and B. fluminensis WAUPM53 showed 0·50 and 0·52 g l(-1) of BC production, respectively.
    Matched MeSH terms: RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
  6. Omoregie AI, Ong DEL, Nissom PM
    Lett Appl Microbiol, 2019 Feb;68(2):173-181.
    PMID: 30537001 DOI: 10.1111/lam.13103
    Biocalcification through the use of ureolytic bacteria and biochemical activities has evolved in recent decades into a fervent resourceful effective technology suitable for soil stabilization, crack repair and bioremediation. Extensive studies have been carried out on numerous ureolytic bacterial species isolated from soils and sewage samples. However, very limited attention has been given to limestone caves with natural calcite formations as a possible source for isolation of ureolytic bacteria. In this study, bacterial isolates were recovered from limestone cave samples to determine their suitability for biocalcification. Twenty-seven morphologically distinct bacterial isolates were identified by partial 16S rRNA gene sequencing and their various genetic diversity was characterized according to their phylogenetic affiliations. Based on the molecular identification, Sporosarcina was the most abundant genus among all the ureolytic isolates, while the rest belonged to Pseudogracilibacillus and Bacillus genera. Analytical analysis on urease measurement showed that urease activities for the isolates ranged from 1·130 to 21·513 mol urea hydrolysed per minute, with isolate NB33 achieving the highest value and TSB4 achieving the lowest value. The estimated CaCO3 precipitates for the isolates ranged from 4·04 to 17·26 mg ml-1 , with isolate NB30 achieving the highest value and TSB20 achieving the lowest value. The findings in this study demonstrated that the ureolytic bacteria from limestone caves are promising bio-calcifying agents. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: Ureolytic bacteria continues to play an important role as microbial tools used in geotechnical engineering for soil biocalcification. Microbial strains with the ability to produce urease enzyme and induce calcium carbonate mineral are often isolated from soil, water and sludge samples. However, screening for these essential microbes from extreme regions such as caves are rarely investigated. In this study, native bacteria which were isolated from limestone cave samples are identified and characterized. The findings suggested that these ureolytic bacterial isolates have the potential to serve as suitable alternative microbial agents for soil strengthening and stabilization.
    Matched MeSH terms: RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
  7. Takahashi JI, Tingek S, Okuyama H
    Mitochondrial DNA B Resour, 2017 Sep 05;2(2):585-586.
    PMID: 33473910 DOI: 10.1080/23802359.2017.1372714
    The cavity-nesting honeybee Apis nuluensis inhabits only the highlands of Mount Kinabalu of Sabah, Borneo Island. The mitochondrial genome is a circular molecule of approximately 1.6 kb that includes 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNA genes, two rRNA genes, and one AT-rich control region. The average AT content was 84.5%. The start codons ATC, ATG, and ATT were found in one, three, and nine genes, respectively, whereas the stop codon TAA was observed in all genes. The phylogenetic relationship, inferred using 13 PCGs, was consistent with that reported in previous studies that predicted a sister taxon relationship between A. nuluensis and A. cerana.
    Matched MeSH terms: RNA, Transfer
  8. Riazalhosseini B, Mohamed Z, Apalasamy YD, Eng HS, Mohamed R
    Pharmacogenet Genomics, 2016 Feb;26(2):74-9.
    PMID: 26529280 DOI: 10.1097/FPC.0000000000000187
    MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding RNAs that have been implicated in mechanisms underlying various types of cancers including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Reports have indicated that single nucleotide polymorphisms in miRNA-196A2 and miRNA-146A genes may contribute to the risk of progression of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection to cirrhosis and HCC. This study aimed to examine the effect of miRNA-196A2 and miRNA-146A polymorphisms on the progression of HBV infection to cirrhosis and/or HCC in HBV patients in the Malaysian population.
    Matched MeSH terms: RNA, Small Untranslated
  9. Tamadoni Jahromi S, Othman AS, Rosazlina R
    Biochem Genet, 2018 Aug 12.
    PMID: 30099639 DOI: 10.1007/s10528-018-9884-3
    There are two morphotypes of Penaeus semisulcatus described hitherto in the Persian Gulf, namely the banded and non-banded antennae morphotypes. In this study, we used morphometric measurements and two mitochondrial genes (16S rRNA and cytochrome oxidase subunit I-COI) to assess relationships between the two morphotypes of P. semisulcatus. Out of 25 morphological characters examined, 10 characters were found significantly different between the two morphotypes when tested against separate sexes or both sexes combined. Results from the 16S rRNA and COI sequence analysis of two morphotypes of P. semisulcatus morphotype showed up to 6% and 17% sequence divergence, respectively. The 16S rDNA and COI sequences of the non-banding morphotype were not only very different to those of the banding morphotype but was also very different to all other Penaeus species (i.e., P. monodon, P. merguiensis, and P. indicus) included in the study. Both parsimony and Neighbor-Joining trees based on 16S rDNA and COI sequences provide similar tree topology that clearly separated the two morphotypes into two distinct groups. Based on these findings, we propose the two morphotypes of P. semisulcatus to be relegated as two sympatric species.
    Matched MeSH terms: RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
  10. Chiu YW, Gan YC, Kuo PH, Hsu KC, Tan MS, Ju YM, et al.
    Biochem Genet, 2018 Oct 26.
    PMID: 30367289 DOI: 10.1007/s10528-018-9892-3
    According to geological history, Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo formed at different times and were once connected during Quaternary glaciations. To determine how this history has influenced phylogeography, our study examined the population genetic structure of the tropical freshwater gastropod Melanoides tuberculata across Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo using the sequences from mitochondrial DNA 16S rRNA and cytochrome oxidase subunit I genes (1168 bp). In total, 104 specimens were collected from seventeen populations. All mtDNA haplotypes were identified as belonging to two highly divergent lineages, and these lineages were almost allopatric in their distributions. Our study found that the freshwater fauna in Malaysia might be divided into four regions: northeast Peninsular Malaysia, northwest Peninsular Malaysia, south Peninsular Malaysia, and Borneo. The phylogeography of M. tuberculata in Malaysia was shaped by the landforms of Peninsular Malaysia and by the paleo-river systems in the Sunda continental shelf. In addition, our study found that these two lineages in Malaysia have invaded the globe. These results suggest that Malaysia is located in important shipping lanes throughout the world, and the populations of M. tuberculate might be widely distributed throughout the world by shipping.
    Matched MeSH terms: RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
  11. Samad AFA, Sajad M, Nazaruddin N, Fauzi IA, Murad AMA, Zainal Z, et al.
    Front Plant Sci, 2017;8:565.
    PMID: 28446918 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2017.00565
    Recent achievements in plant microRNA (miRNA), a large class of small and non-coding RNAs, are very exciting. A wide array of techniques involving forward genetic, molecular cloning, bioinformatic analysis, and the latest technology, deep sequencing have greatly advanced miRNA discovery. A tiny miRNA sequence has the ability to target single/multiple mRNA targets. Most of the miRNA targets are transcription factors (TFs) which have paramount importance in regulating the plant growth and development. Various families of TFs, which have regulated a range of regulatory networks, may assist plants to grow under normal and stress environmental conditions. This present review focuses on the regulatory relationships between miRNAs and different families of TFs like; NF-Y, MYB, AP2, TCP, WRKY, NAC, GRF, and SPL. For instance NF-Y play important role during drought tolerance and flower development, MYB are involved in signal transduction and biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, AP2 regulate the floral development and nodule formation, TCP direct leaf development and growth hormones signaling. WRKY have known roles in multiple stress tolerances, NAC regulate lateral root formation, GRF are involved in root growth, flower, and seed development, and SPL regulate plant transition from juvenile to adult. We also studied the relation between miRNAs and TFs by consolidating the research findings from different plant species which will help plant scientists in understanding the mechanism of action and interaction between these regulators in the plant growth and development under normal and stress environmental conditions.
    Matched MeSH terms: RNA, Messenger
  12. Lo SG, Wong SF, Mak JW, Choo KK, Ng KP
    Med Mycol, 2020 Apr 01;58(3):333-340.
    PMID: 31309220 DOI: 10.1093/mmy/myz061
    Cladosporium is one of the most abundant spore. Fungi of this genus can cause respiratory allergy and intrabronchial lesion. We studied the differential expression of host genes after the interaction of Cladosporium sphaerospermum conidia with Human Bronchial Epithelial Cells (BEAS-2B) and Human Pulmonary Alveolar Epithelial Cells (HPAEpiC). C. sphaerospermum conidia were harvested and co-cultured with BEAS-2B cells or HPAEpiC cells for 48 hours respectively. This culture duration was chosen as it was associated with high germination rate. RNA was extracted from two biological replicates per treatment. RNA of BEAS-2B cells was used to assess changes in gene expression using AffymetrixGeneChip® Human Transcriptome Array 2.0. After co-culture with Cladosporium spores, 68 individual genes were found differentially expressed (P ≤ 0.05) and up-regulated ≥ 1.5 folds while 75 genes were found differentially expressed at ≤ -1.5 folds compared with controls. Reverse transcription and qPCR were performed on the RNA collected from both BEAS-2B cells and HPAEpiC cells to validate the microarray results with 7 genes. Based on the findings, infected pulmonary epithelial cells exhibited an increase in cell death-related genes and genes associated with innate immunity.
    Matched MeSH terms: RNA
  13. Wang JH, Zhao KK, Zhu ZX, Wang HF
    Mitochondrial DNA B Resour, 2018 Oct 03;3(2):1145-1146.
    PMID: 33490565 DOI: 10.1080/23802359.2018.1522977
    Vatica mangachapoi is a tree up to 20 m tall with white resinous. It is distributed in China (Hainan province), Indonesia, Malaysia (N Borneo), Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. It grows in forests on hills and mountain slopes below 700 metres. Its durable wood is used for making boats and building bridges and houses. It has been ranked as a VU (Vulnerable) species in China. Here we report and characterize the complete plastid genome sequence of V. mangachapoi in an effort to provide genomic resources useful for promoting its conservation and phylogenetic research. The complete plastome is 151,538 bp in length and contains the typical structure and gene content of angiosperm plastome, including two Inverted Repeat (IR) regions of 23,921 bp, a Large Single-Copy (LSC) region of 83,587 bp and a Small Single-Copy (SSC) region of 20,109 bp. The plastome contains 114 genes, consisting of 80 unique protein-coding genes, 30 unique tRNA gene, and 4 unique rRNA genes. The overall A/T content in the plastome of V. mangachapoi is 62.80%. The phylogenetic analysis indicated that V. mangachapoi and V. odorata is closely related and as an independent branch in Malvales in our study. The complete plastome sequence of V. mangachapoi will provide a useful resource for the conservation genetics of this species and for the phylogenetic studies for Vatica.
    Matched MeSH terms: RNA, Transfer
  14. Jahari PNS, Mohd Azman S, Munian K, M Fauzi NF, Shamsir MS, Richter SR, et al.
    Mitochondrial DNA B Resour, 2020 Sep 01;5(3):3262-3264.
    PMID: 33458132 DOI: 10.1080/23802359.2020.1812449
    The increasing interest in understanding the evolutionary relationship between members of the Pteropodidae family has been greatly aided by genomic data from the Old World fruit bats. Here we present the complete mitogenome of Geoffroy's rousette, Rousettus amplexicaudatus found in Peninsular Malaysia . The mitogenome constructed is 16,511bp in length containing 37 genes; 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 tRNA genes, two rRNA genes, and a D-loop region. The overall base composition is estimated to be 32.28% for A, 25.64% for T, 14.09% for G and 27.98% for C, indicating a slightly AT rich feature (57.93%). A phylogenetic and BLASTn analysis against other available mitogenomes showed Malaysian R. amplexicaudatus matched 98% similarity to the same species in Cambodia and Vietnam. However, it differed considerably (92.53% similarity) with the same species in the Philippines. This suggests flexibility in Rousettus sp. with regards to adapting to mesic and dry habitats, ability for long-distance dispersal and remarkably precise lingual echolocation thus supporting its wide-range distribution and colonization. Further taxonomical and mitogenomic comparatives are required in resolving the evolutionary relationship between Rousettus spp.
    Matched MeSH terms: RNA, Transfer
  15. Tao L, Shi ZG, Long QY
    Mitochondrial DNA B Resour, 2020 Oct 09;5(3):3549-3550.
    PMID: 33458237 DOI: 10.1080/23802359.2020.1829132
    Syzygium malaccense is native to Malaysia. It is sometimes called the malay apple, malay rose-apple, mountain rose-apple, mountain apple, water apple, or French cashew. The tree is very popular in many tropical and subtropical regions for its fruit and traditional medicine. The first complete chloroplast genome of Syzygium malaccense has been reported in this study. The complete chloroplast genome of Syzygium malaccense is 158,954 bp, composed of four regions: a large single-copy region with a size of 87,991 bp, a small single copy region with a size of 18,793 bp, and two inverted repeat regions with a size of 26,085 bp. The GC content is 36.97%. A total of 132 genes were annotated, including 84 encoding proteins, eight encoding rRNA genes, 37 encoding tRNA genes, and three encoding pseudo genes. Phylogenetic analysis showed that Syzygium aromaticum, Syzygium cumini, and Syzygium forrestii are closely related to Syzygium malaccense.
    Matched MeSH terms: RNA, Transfer
  16. Kok SY, Namasivayam P, Ee GC, Ong-Abdullah M
    J Proteomics, 2021 02 10;232:104052.
    PMID: 33262095 DOI: 10.1016/j.jprot.2020.104052
    To gain insights on protein changes in fruit setting and growth in oil palm, a comparative proteomic approach was undertaken to study proteome changes during its early development. The variations in the proteome at five early developmental stages were investigated via a gel-based proteomic technique. A total of 129 variant proteins were determined using mass spectrometric analysis, resulting in 80 identifications. The majority of the identified protein species were classified as energy and metabolism, stress response/defence and cell structure during early oil palm development representing potential candidates for the control of final fruit size and composition. Seven prominent protein species were then characterised using real-time polymerase chain reaction to validate the mRNA expression against the protein abundant profiles. Transcript and protein profiles were parallel across the developmental stages, but divergent expression was observed in one protein spot, indicative of possible post-transcriptional events. Our results revealed protein changes in early oil palm fruit development provide valuable information in the understanding of fruit growth and metabolism during early stages that may contribute towards improving agronomic traits. BIOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis coupled with mass spectrometry approach was used in this study to identify differentially expressed proteins during early oil palm fruit development. A total of 80 protein spots with significant change in abundance were successfully identified and selected genes were analysed using real time PCR to validate their expression. The dynamic changes in oil palm fruit proteome during early development were mostly active in primary and energy metabolism, stress responses, cell structure and protein metabolism. This study reveals the physiological processes during early oil palm fruit development and provides a reference proteome for further improvements in fruit quality traits.
    Matched MeSH terms: RNA, Messenger
  17. Nur Aisyah Atikah Alizan, Sarah S. Zakaria
    MyJurnal
    Bacteria of the genus Komagataeibacter are described to be the most noteworthy for having several of its species being efficient and strong cellulose producers. The 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene analysis is often used for the identification and taxonomic classification of these bacteria species. In order to observe the phylogenetic relationship among Komagataeibacter sp., twelve sequences of the 16S rRNA gene with three sequences each for species namely Komagataeibacter europaeus, Komagataeibacter hansenii, Komagataeibacter intermedius and Komagataeibacter xylinus were retrieved from NCBI GenBank database. The sequences were aligned and analysed using PAUP, OrthoANI and BLAST, followed by the phylogenetic tree construction using a Maximum Likelihood method. The parsimony character diagnostic analysis showed very few numbers of parsimony- informative characters present in the aligned sequences which is only 1.5% of the total characters. The inferred phylogenetic relationships demonstrated the unexpected positioning of K. xylinus (GQ240638: Gluconacetobacter xylinus strain) and K. xylinus (KC11853: G. xylinus strain) into the clades of K. europaeus and K. hansenii respectively. The also very low bootstrap values of the branch points linking the K. europaeus species indicated low support for the produced topologies. The findings of this study indicate that more phylogenies information can be attained by increasing the taxon sampling. In addition, more robust molecular data are needed to infer the phylogenetic relationships between the Komagataeibacter species more accurately.
    Matched MeSH terms: RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
  18. Drinkwater R, Jucker T, Potter JHT, Swinfield T, Coomes DA, Slade EM, et al.
    Mol Ecol, 2021 07;30(13):3299-3312.
    PMID: 33171014 DOI: 10.1111/mec.15724
    The application of metabarcoding to environmental and invertebrate-derived DNA (eDNA and iDNA) is a new and increasingly applied method for monitoring biodiversity across a diverse range of habitats. This approach is particularly promising for sampling in the biodiverse humid tropics, where rapid land-use change for agriculture means there is a growing need to understand the conservation value of the remaining mosaic and degraded landscapes. Here we use iDNA from blood-feeding leeches (Haemadipsa picta) to assess differences in mammalian diversity across a gradient of forest degradation in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. We screened 557 individual leeches for mammal DNA by targeting fragments of the 16S rRNA gene and detected 14 mammalian genera. We recorded lower mammal diversity in the most heavily degraded forest compared to higher quality twice logged forest. Although the accumulation curves of diversity estimates were comparable across these habitat types, diversity was higher in twice logged forest, with more taxa of conservation concern. In addition, our analysis revealed differences between the community recorded in the heavily logged forest and that of the twice logged forest. By revealing differences in mammal diversity across a human-modified tropical landscape, our study demonstrates the value of iDNA as a noninvasive biomonitoring approach in conservation assessments.
    Matched MeSH terms: RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
  19. Chai CA, Yeoh WS, Rajandram R, Aung KP, Ong TA, Kuppusamy S, et al.
    Front Surg, 2021;8:659292.
    PMID: 34055868 DOI: 10.3389/fsurg.2021.659292
    Purpose: Guidelines advocate cystoscopy surveillance (CS) for non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) post-resection. However, cystoscopy is operator dependent and may miss upper tract lesions or carcinoma in-situ (CIS). Urine cytology is a common adjunct but lacks sensitivity and specificity in detecting recurrence. A new mRNA biomarker (CxBladder) was compared with urine cytology as an adjunct to cystoscopy in detecting a positive cystoscopy findings during surveillance cystoscopy in our center. Materials and Methods: Consented patients older than 18, undergoing CS for NMIBC, provide paired urine samples for cytology and CxBladder test. Patients with positive cystoscopy findings would undergo re-Trans Urethral Resection of Bladder Tumor (TURBT). Results: Thirty-five patients were enrolled from April to June 2019. Seven contaminated urine samples were excluded. The remaining cohort of 23 (82%) and 5 (18%) females had a mean age of 66.69 (36-89). Eight (29%) patients with positive cystoscopy finding underwent TURBT. All 8 patients also had positive CxBladder result. This shows that CxBladder has a sensitivity and negative predictive value (NPV) of 100%, specificity of 75% and positive predictive value (PPV) of 62% in predicting a positive cystoscopy finding. TURBT Histo-pathological findings showed Low-grade Ta NMIBC in one patient (4%), and 7 (25%) patients had inflammatory changes. Urine cytology was only positive in one patient with a positive cystoscopy finding. This led to a sensitivity of merely 13% and NPV of 74%, while specificity and PPV was 100% in predicting a positive cystoscopy finding. Conclusion: CxBladder had high NPV and sensitivity which accurately predicted suspicious cystoscopy findings leading to further investigation. It has great potential for use as adjunct to cystoscopy for surveillance of NMIBC.
    Matched MeSH terms: RNA, Messenger
  20. Lau WM, Subramaniam M, Goh HH, Lim YM
    Mol Omics, 2021 04 19;17(2):252-259.
    PMID: 33346776 DOI: 10.1039/d0mo00168f
    Maslinic acid is a novel phytochemical reported to target multiple signaling pathways. A complete gene expression profile was therefore constructed to illustrate the anti-tumourigenesis effects of maslinic acid in Raji cells across five time-points. Microarray analysis was used to identify genes that were differentially expressed in maslinic acid treated Raji cells at 0, 4, 8, 12, 24 and 48 h. Extracted RNA was hybridized using the AffymetrixGeneChip to obtain expression profiles. A total of 109 genes were found to be significantly expressed over a period of 48 hours. By 12 hours, maslinic acid regulates the majority of genes involved in the cell cycle, p53 and NF-κB signaling pathways. At the same time, XAF1, APAF1, SESN3, and TP53BP2 were evidently up-regulated, while oncogenes, FAIM, CD27, and RRM2B, were down-regulated by at least 2-fold. In conclusion, maslinic acid shows an hourly progression of gene expression in Raji cells.
    Matched MeSH terms: RNA
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