Genotyping of vibrio cholerae non-O1 isolates using enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus-polymerase chain reaction (eric-pcr)

A total of 30 V. cholerae non-O 1 isolates from river and shrimp pond were identified based on biochemical tests, followed by species-specific Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) targeting the outer membrane protein W (ompW) gene for molecular confirmation. All 30 V. cholerae non-01 isolates produced amplified products of 588 base pair (bp). Next, one set of primers (ERIC-R and ERIC-F) were used to assess the genetic relatedness among the 30 V. cholerae non-O 1 isolated using Enterobacterial Repetitive Intergenic ConsensusPolymerase Chain Reaction (ERIC-PCR). A total of27 fingerprint patterns (FPs) with bands ranging in sizes from 0.3 kbp to 5.0 kbp were generated in all the V. cholerae non-01 isolates. The ERIC profiles were further analyzed to establish the genetic relationship between the isolates through the construction of a dendrogram. The dendrogram is comprised of four sub-clonal clusters where it was observed that isolates from different origin tended to group together in the same clusters. Different genetic patterns that were produced among the isolates showed that ERIC-PCR is able to identify the genetic variations of the V. cholerae isolates up to subspecies level. Based on these results, ERIC-PCR had proven to be a rapid and reliable method to study the genetic relatedness of V. cholerae isolates from different location

New and Emerging Disease Threats to Forest Plantations in Sarawak Borneo, Malaysia

The planted forest area in Sarawak is the largest planted forest in Malaysia, which has been developed since 1997 to sustain the decline in the production of natural forests. As of December 2021, the total area of plantation forests reached 551,704 hectares (ha), dominated by fast-growing exotic species mainly Acacia species (55%), Falcataria moluccana (15%) and Eucalyptus (14%). The study showed Acacia was infected with red root rot disease of Ganoderma philippii and brown root rot of Phellinus noxius, Ceratocystis wilt disease caused by Ceratocystis. fimbriata sensu stricto (s.s) complex and pink disease caused by Erythricium salmonicolor, while F. moluccana was infected by gall disease namely Uromycladium falcatarium. Eucalyptus pellita diseases were infected namely by G. philippii red root rot disease, stem canker disease caused by Botryosphaeriaceae pathogen and bacterial wild disease caused by Ralstonia solanacearum. Ceratocystis wilt disease of Acacia mangium shows disease incidence (DI) accounted at 68% (serious) as compared with other diseases observed in this study. This will be the first baseline study that is conducted to observe and assess the diversity of the present, new and emerging pathogens and the damage they cause to exotic planted species of Sarawak

Pest and disease incidence of coniferous species in Taman Saujana Hijau, Putrajaya urban park, Malaysia

Taman Saujana Hijau (TSH), Putrajaya is a 41-ha urban park planted with various coniferous species from around the world. Insect pests and disease incidences of this park are unknown and there is a need for an evaluation of the health status of this urban park. This study assessed the level of pest and disease incidents of coniferous species in 12 plots of 7 species (Araucaria bidwilii, Araucaria haterophylla, Araucaria cunninghamii, Pinus caribaea, Pinus merkusii, Podocarpus polystachyus, and Podocarpus costalis). Termites, canker disease, and foliar disease are three major problems. The highest pest and disease incidence (PnDI) was foliar disease with a 0.49 coefficient correlation between the total number of trees and the PnDI, followed by canker disease with 0.40, and termites with 0.36. Of the seven conifers, A. haterophylla was the most infected followed by A. bidwilii and A.cunninghamii. It was concluded that the incidence of pests and diseases in TSH was moderate. To our knowledge, this may be the first baseline inventory of pests and diseases of coniferous species in Malaysia