Spawning induction and larval rearing of the sea cucumber Holothuria scabra in Malaysia

The sea cucumber Holothuria scabra was induced to spawn by the methods of thermal and algal stimulation. Thermal stimulation proved to be the better method. The larvae were given a mix of microalgal diet, the concentration of which was based on the larval growth. Doliolaria larvae appeared 11 days after fertilisation, and then became pentactula 18 days after fertilisation. A survival rate of 4.2% was recorded from three successful spawning

Phylogeny of sea cucumber (echinodermata: holothuroidea) as inferred from 16s mitochondrial rRNa gene sequences

This study aimed to determine phylogenetic relationship between and among selected species of sea cucumbers (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea) using 16S mitochondrial ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene. Phylogenetic analyses of 37 partial sequences of 16S mitochondrial rRNA gene using three main methods namely neighbour joining (NJ), maximum parsimony (MP) and maximum likelihood (ML) showed the presence of five main genera of sea cucumbers: Molpadia from order Molpadiida and four genera of order Aspidochirotida namely Holothuria, Stichopus, Bohadschia and Actinopyga. All of the 17 species obtained from Malaysia distributed among the main genera except within Actinopyga. Interestingly, Holothuria excellens was out of Holothuria group causing Holothuria to be paraphyletic. High bootstrap value and consistent clustering made Molpadia, Stichopus, Bohadschia and Actinopyga monophyletic. The relationship of Actinopyga with the other genera was unclarified and Stichopus was sister to Molpadia. The latter finding caused the resolution at order level unclear. The pairwise genetic distance calculated using Kimura 2-parameter model further supported and verified findings from the phylogenetic trees. Further studies with more samples and different mitochondrial DNA genes need to be done to get a better view and verification on the molecular phylogeny of sea cucumber

Collagen in food and beverage industries

This paper reviews the structure, function and applications of collagens in food industry. Collagen is the most abundant protein in animal origin. It helps maintaining the structure of various tissues and organs. It is a modern foodstuff and widely used in food and beverage industries to improve the elasticity, consistency and stability of products. Furthermore, it also enhances the quality, nutritional and health value of the products. Collagen has been applied as protein dietary supplements, carriers, food additive, edible film and coatings. Therefore, this paper will review the functions and applications of collagen in the food and beverage industries. The structure and composition of collagen are also included

Phylogeny of sea cucumber (echinodermata: holothuroidea) as inferred from 16s mitochondrial rRNa gene sequences

This study aimed to determine phylogenetic relationship between and among selected species of sea cucumbers (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea) using 16S mitochondrial ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene. Phylogenetic analyses of 37 partial sequences of 16S mitochondrial rRNA gene using three main methods namely neighbour joining (NJ), maximum parsimony (MP) and maximum likelihood (ML) showed the presence of five main genera of sea cucumbers: Molpadia from order Molpadiida and four genera of order Aspidochirotida namely Holothuria, Stichopus, Bohadschia and Actinopyga. All of the 17 species obtained from Malaysia distributed among the main genera except within Actinopyga. Interestingly, Holothuria excellens was out of Holothuria group causing Holothuria to be paraphyletic. High bootstrap value and consistent clustering made Molpadia, Stichopus, Bohadschia and Actinopyga monophyletic. The relationship of Actinopyga with the other genera was unclarified and Stichopus was sister to Molpadia. The latter finding caused the resolution at order level unclear. The pairwise genetic distance calculated using Kimura 2-parameter model further supported and verified findings from the phylogenetic trees. Further studies with more samples and different mitochondrial DNA genes need to be done to get a better view and verification on the molecular phylogeny of sea cucumber

Evaluation of the antibacterial activities of skin mucus from Asian swamp eel (Monopterusalbus)

1855-1859The water covers more than two-thirds of the Earth's surface, and almost 90 % of the world's species are found in the water environment. Therefore, it is necessary to explore drugs from marine and freshwater organisms. The skin of marine and freshwater animals are covered with a mucus layer, which acts as a biochemical and mechanical barrier for their skin. This study aimed to investigate the potential antibacterial activity of Asian swamp eel(Monopterusalbus) skin mucus. Aqueous and methanol extracts were prepared to detect the antimicrobial activities with different extract concentrations from 0.49 to 1000 μg/mL against various pathogens, i.e. Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. The antibacterial activities were determined by measuring the diameter of inhibition zone, minimal inhibitory concentration, minimal bactericidal concentration, inhibition percentage, and survival percentage. The results showed inhibition in bacterial growth, which was treated with both methanol extract and the aqueous extract. However, methanol extract has significantly higher antibacterial activities than the aqueous one. At 100 µl/disc, the inhibition zone of methanol extract against E. coli was10.7 ± 0.17 mm while 9.9 ± 0.06 mm against S. aureus. The percentage of bacterial inhibition for eel skin mucus (ESM) methanol extract against E. coli showed higher inhibition (72.46 %) than against S. aureus(68.45 %) at 1000 µl/mL. ESM aqueous extract showed the highest bacterial survival rate against S. aureus at 7.81 µg/mL, which was 71.11 %, whereas the methanol extract was 58.25 %. The results were statistically significant, with p < 0.001. In conclusion, the current study revealed that eel skin mucus might be considered as a promising source for antibacterial activities

Enhancement of i-Learn : course information checker system / Muhammad Anuar Ridzwan Hashim

This project is prepared for I-learn Center (i-LeC) that operates under the Academic Affair Division. The "Course Information Checker System" is created to reduce the burden that i-leam system administrator face in order to manage and maintain the content in the database used for i-learn portal. There are around 8000 course codes in database that covered all the courses taught by all faculties in UiTM. There are also around 8000 course information in the database because the number of course information is based on the number of course code available. By using this system, system administrator can reduce their time to check either the course information is complete or not by referring to the statistical data that the system generates. System administrator will also get accurate overview and understanding about the overview of the database content from the graph representations that are generated from the statistical data. With the use of internet programming method and combination of software such as Apache, MySQL, and PHP as a programming language, a module to check into the course info content has been build to check and categorize the course information based on their level of completion. The result then will be represented using graph form that was built using JpGraph. JpGraph is an Object-Oriented graph library that is fully coded using PHP language and provides a tool to generate and render graph and can be used with database

Sea cucumber (echinodermata: holothuroidea) species richness at selected localities in Malaysia

This study aimed at documenting species richness and distribution of sea cucumbers (Phylum Echinodermata: Class Holothuroidea) in Malaysia. Sea cucumber collections were conducted from August 2004 until November 2011 from several study sites in Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah. A total of fifty two morphospecies of sea cucumbers from four orders comprising of 12 genera were documented. Thirty eight species were recorded for Sabah, followed by 24 species for Peninsular Malaysia, and 10 species were recorded in both regions. However, nine species required further taxonomic works for their identification. Of the 15 Actinopyga species recorded, 14 species were from Sabah and one species was from Peninsular Malaysia. The order Aspidochirotida in general, and genus Holothuria in particular were the dominant taxa. Holothuria (Mertensiothuria) leucospilota (Brandt, 1835) is the dominant species in Malaysia as it was observed and documented at all collection sites. Future studies on the species richness of sea cucumbers are required in Sarawak marine waters and the molecular phylogeny of the sea cucumbers in order to obtain a better understanding of the evolutionary relationships between the sea cucumbers of Malaysia

An update on diversity of sea cucumber (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea) in Malaysia

Sea cucumbers (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea) are regarded as an important part of Malaysia’s marine heritage due to their diversity and commercial value. Several ecological studies have been conducted aimed at documenting the distribution of sea cucumbers in Malaysia. It is estimated that more than 80 species of sea cucumber are present in Malaysia. Nevertheless, a large number of undetermined species have been recorded, thus requiring further research to update the species identification. Molecular approaches are capable of providing insights into the phylogeny of sea cucumbers and can support the outcomes of traditional morphological approaches, and a number of molecular ecological studies have been recorded in Malaysia since 1999

Phylogenetic relationships within the genus holothuria inferred from 16s mitochondiral rRNA gene sequences

This study aimed to resolve the taxonomic status of a morphologically undetermined sea cucumber species of order Apodida from Malaysia (GenBank accession no.: FJ223867) using partial 16S mitochondrial rRNA gene sequences and subsequently to determine the validity of morphological taxonomy of Holothuria species into its current subgenera. The undetermined species clustered with all taxa of Holothuria in previous study. Phylogenetic analyses using maximum parsimony and Bayesian methods suggest that the undetermined species was genetically closer to Holothuria (Lessonothuria) pardalis and Holothuria (Acanthotrapeza) coluber; and its position in both phylogenetic trees further suggests its status as a Holothuria taxon. Subgenera of Holothuria, Merthensiothuria and Metriatyla are monophyletic with strong bootstrap supports and posterior probabilities of clades, thus strengthening their morphological taxonomies. Nonetheless, the non-monophyly of subgenera of Halodeima, Microthele and Platyperona suggests a requirement for their taxonomic revisions using integrative taxonomy. The status of Holothuria (Halodeima) edulis subgroups in the maximum parsimony and Bayesian trees is indistinct and further taxonomic revisions are necessary. In terms of sister relationship, both phylogenetic trees suggest that subgenus Holothuria is a sister taxon of subgenus Roweothuria while the other sister relationships were unclear due to the undetermined species, paraphyly and polyphyly of a number of subgenera. Further studies with more specimens of genus Holothuria from broader geographical locations and various mtDNA genes along with morphological approaches may facilitate to provide better insights into the molecular phylogeny of subgenera of Holothuria

Fatty acid, mineral and heavy metal contents of different Malaysia fish species

Fish are popularly recognized as an excellent source of lipids that are composed of a wide range of important fatty acids. Fish also contain good quality protein and are an adequate source of many vitamins (e.g. fat soluble A, D, E and the water soluble B-complex), in addition to important minerals such as calcium and phosphorous. We recently investigated the fatty acid (FA) profiles, mineral and heavy metal contents of 13 different species of commonly consumed, wild marine fin-fish found off Langkawi Island, a popular Malaysian tourist destination. The fish species were “jenahak” (Lutjanus agentimaculatus), “kebasi” (Anadontostoma chacunda), “duri” (Arius umatranus), “tenggiri batang” (Scomberomorus commersonii), “kembong” (Rastrelliger kanagurta), “kintan” (Psettodes crumei), “kerisi” (Pristipomoides typus), “kerapu” (Epinephelus sexfasciatus), “gelama keling” (Sciaena dussumieri),“malong” (Congresax talabon), “laban” (Cynoglossus lingua), “yu 9” (Scolidon sorrakowah) and “bagi” (Aacnthurs nigrosis). The overall findings reveal that all fish showed a considerable amount of unsaturated fatty acids particularly those with 4, 5 and 6 double bonds. Two physiologically important n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), i.e. eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docasahaexaenoic acid (DHA), made up more than 50% of the total PUFAs. It can be concluded that fin fish found in Langkawi Island coastal areas are beneficial for human health as they have considerable amounts of PUFAs, especially AA and DHA fatty acids. In the case of heavy metal analysis, the result reveals the safety of the consumption of fish from the human health point of vie