Re-Assessment of Sargassum Beds at Hon Chong Area, Nha Trang Bay, Vietnam

Sargassum beds play an important role in terms of ecology and economic likelihood ("ecosystem services") for coastal communities along the Hon Chong area, in the bay of Nha Trang, Vietnam. It is a matter of concern that the Sargassum beds at Hon Chong, in particular, and Vietnam, in general, have strongly decreased due to anthropogenic perturbations including land reclamation. Our research focused on a reassessment of Sargassum beds including coverage, occupied area, species composition, branch length frequencies and output (production) over the last 30 years. Remotely-obtained (satellite) information and field data processed through GIS software were used during this study. Results show that the area covered by the Sargassum beds was reduced by 49%. In 1980 the coverage of Sargassum was 75% for all the area (30 ha), but now we observed that 75% of the coverage occurred in area of only 2.2 ha. The average length of Sargassum mcclurei and S. serratum branches recorded in 2009 were reduced by 58% and 65%, respectively, compared with data recorded in 1980. Moreover, in 1980 Sargassum crassifolium was very common in this area, however, during this study it was not found

Application of genetic markers for identification of Halophila members and genetic variation of Halophila ovalis from Western Pacific to Eastern Indian Ocean

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Selection of suitable fragment from rbcL gene for DNA barcode analysis of family Halymeniaceae, Rhodophyta

Among the members of Halymeniaceae family, Grateloupia sensu lato occupies the largest composition in species. Classification based on morphological traits is difficult due to the highly variable terete to blade-like thalli among the members of this genus that usually leads to misidentification. Molecular systematics has been applied to classify Grateloupia sensu lato so that the taxonomists acquire a better understanding of the species diversity in general. The plastid gene encoding the large subunit of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate-carboxylase-oxygenase (rbcL) was the focus of numerous marine algal studies concerning phylogeny and molecular evolution. However, using the full length of rbcL showed disadvantages such as cost and time consuming due to two times of sequencing and two times of PCR. In the present study, the shorter sequence, fragment 773 bp at 5’ end and fragment 579 bp at 3’ end of rbcL were applied and compared for the phylogenetic analysis of Halymeniaceae members. The results indicated there are no differences of topological phylogenetic trees, species resolution within genus and genus resolution within the family between fragment 773 bp at 5’ and the full length of rbcL. Therefore, we conclude that fragment 773 bp at 5’ should be used as DNA barcodes for the Halymeniaceae to reduce the cost and time during phylogenetic analysis. Two taxa Grateloupia newly collected in Vietnam were grouped to the known Phyllymenia, a new genus in Vietnam

New record of the seagrass species Halophila major (Zoll.) Miquel in Vietnam: evidence from leaf morphology and ITS analysis

The seagrass Halophila major (Zoll.) Miguel is reported for the first time from Vietnam. It was found growing with other seagrass species nearshore, 4-6 m deep at Tre Island, Nha Trang Bay. Leaf morphology and phylogenetic analysis based on ribosomal internal transcribed spacer sequences confirmed the identification. There was very little sequence differentiation among samples of H. major collected in Vietnam and other countries in the Western Pacific region. A very low evolutionary divergence among H. major populations was found.Leibniz University Hannover,Government of Vietna

Role of GmNAC019 transcription factor in salinity and drought tolerance of transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana

Increasingly severe drought and salinity stress due to global climate change have made these stresses bigger threats to ecosystem and agriculture. Previous studies reported that GmNAC019, a soybean NAC transcription factor - encoding gene, displayed induced expression upon drought treatment in wild-type cultivars. In this study, drought and salinity stresses were applied on GmNAC019-overexpressing Arabidopsis plants to verify the contribution of GmNAC019 in regulating plant response to the stress conditions. Results from the water loss rate and survival rate assays revealed that the transgenic line conferred improved tolerance to drought stress as evidenced by lower leaf water loss and significantly higher rate of survival than seen in the wild-type plants. Similarly, the survival rate assay for testing salinity effects on plants by growing the plants on MS medium supplemented with different NaCl concentrations also indicated that the transgenic plants had a better tolerance to salt stress as they displayed lower rate of root growth inhibition and higher survival rate. Taken these results altogether, it is suggested that GmNAC019 might play important role in aiding plant response to drought and salinity stresses. Specific functions of this gene should be elaborated in future studies to evaluate its potential application for crop improvement

Analysis of rDNA reveals a high genetic diversity of Halophila major in the Wallacea region

The genus Halophila shows the highest species diversity within the seagrass genera. Southeast Asian countries where several boundary lines exist were considered as the origin of seagrasses. We hypothesize that the boundary lines, such as Wallace’s and Lydekker’s Lines, may act as marine geographic barriers to the population structure of Halophila major. Seagrass samples were collected at three islands in Vietnamese waters and analyzed by the molecular maker ITS. These sequences were compared with published ITS sequences from seagrasses collected in the whole region of interest. In this study, we reveal the haplotype and nucleotide diversity, linking population genetics, phylogeography, phylogenetics and estimation of relative divergence times of H. major and other members of the Halophila genus. The morphological characters show variation. The results of the ITS marker analysis reveal smaller groups of H. major from Myanmar, Shoalwater Bay (Australia) and Okinawa (Japan) with high supporting values. The remaining groups including Sri Lanka, Viet Nam, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Two Peoples Bay (Australia) and Tokushima (Japan) showed low supporting values. The Wallacea region shows the highest haplotype and also nucleotide diversity. Non-significant differences were found among regions, but significant differences were presented among populations. The relative divergence times between some members of section Halophila were estimated 2.15–6.64 Mya

Variability of leaf morphology and marker genes of members of the halophila complex collected in Viet Nam

Seagrasses are marine angiosperms and adapted to aquatic life several times independently. In tropical as well as in temperate regions they play an important role in the coastal ecosystem. Classification according to morphology remains difficult due to very similar adaptations to the aquatic lifestyle and small simple flowers which are often not even formed. Especially the Halophila genus (Hydrocharitaceae) forms a complex group with an unresolved taxonomy due to overlapping morphological characters and high plasticity leading to many misidentifications. Hence, this led to the hypothesis that phylogenetic analysis on the molecular level may resolve taxonomic classification. The aim of this study is to identify and unambiguously characterize Halophila species collected in Viet Nam using tree- and character-based analysis of rbcL and matK sequences. Results obtained from molecular data and leaf morphology indicate that there are at least three species found in Viet Nam. Topologies based on single locus or combined datasets were similar but not equal. Analysis of rbcL sequences showed lowest species resolution when only Halophila beccarii Aschers was resolved at the Halophila complex. matK shows better resolution with respect to H. beccarii and H. decipiens Ostenfeld. Combined rbcL and matK consensus trees showed the highest species resolution when all species form three distinct clades representative for three difference species including H. beccarii, H. decipiens, and H. ovalis (R. Br.) Hook. f

MORPHOLOGICAL AWARENESS OF STUDENTS MAJORING IN ENGLISH STUDIES TOWARDS VOCABULARY LEARNING

For those learning a second language, vocabulary plays a vital role in mastering the new one, and possessing a colossal vocabulary is extremely necessary. The paper aims to look into and assess students' awareness of morphology and the effectiveness of this approach through vocabulary learning. The subjects in this study were juniors majoring in English at a university in the south of Vietnam. The test, questionnaire, and interview were the three instruments used in this study to triangulate the results. A total of 49 students majoring in English Studies took the test, 40 students completed the questionnaire, and four students participated in an interview to evaluate their proficiency and morphological knowledge. The results of the study showed that students' awareness levels were average, and they were knowledgeable enough to employ this strategy for acquiring vocabulary. Additionally, it also enables students to comprehend morphology's benefits and drawbacks during their learning vocabulary process.  Article visualizations

LOẠI BỎ XANH METYLEN BẰNG PHƯƠNG PHÁP ĐIỆN DI LẮNG ĐỌNG KẾT HỢP VỚI VẬT LIỆU MnO2/GO

Graphene oxide (GO) was synthesized with the improved Hummer method and chemically modified with manganese dioxide (MnO2) to obtain an MnO2/GO composite. The properties of the composite material were evaluated via infrared spectroscopy, UV-Vis spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy combined with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and image mapping. The parameters studied in the method of electrophoretic deposition (EPD) are pH, electrolysis potential, electrolysis time, sodium chloride concentration, and the mass of the composite. Under suitable experimental conditions, the EPD method provides a rate of colour removal and chemical oxygen demand (COD) of methylene at 99.64 and 85.85%. This result shows the potential of the EPD method coupled with MnO2/GO composite to remove organic pigments in the aqueous medium.Vật liệu graphen oxit (GO) được tổng hợp bằng phương pháp Hummer cải tiến và biến tính với mangan đioxit (MnO2) bằng phương pháp hóa học để thu được vật liệu tổ hợp MnO2/GO. Một số tính chất đặc trưng của vật liệu tổ hợp được đánh giá bằng phổ hồng ngoại, phổ UV-Vis, hiển vi điện tử quét kết hợp với quang phổ tán xạ năng lượng tia X và ảnh mapping. Các thông số trong phương pháp điện di lắng đọng (EPD) như pH, thế điện phân, thời gian điện phân, nồng độ clorua natri và khối lượng vật liệu tổ hợp đã được nghiên cứu. Vật liệu MnO2/GO có khả năng loại màu và nhu cầu oxy hóa học của xanh metylen với hiệu suất 99,64 và 85,85% với phương pháp EPD. Kết quả cho thấy tiềm năng của của phương pháp EPD kết hợp với vật liệu MnO2/GO để loại bỏ chất màu hữu cơ trong môi trường nước

Satellite image analysis reveals changes in seagrass beds at Van Phong Bay, Vietnam during the last 30 years

Seagrass meadows are fragile ecosystems in the coastal zone. Natural disasters, land reclamation and various human activities seem to exert negative impacts on the distribution and biological performance of seagrass beds in Vietnam. In this present study, satellite Landsat TM/OLI image analysis was applied to determine changes in seagrass distribution at Van Phong Bay, Vietnam in the last 30 years. The maximum likelihood decision rule was used to extract seagrass bed distribution data. The error matrix using the in situ reference data for HLM image classification was 81–95% accurate, and Kappa coefficients were between 0.72 and 0.91. The results indicated that 186.2 ha (or 35.8%) of the original seagrass beds were lost in the last three decades at Van Phong Bay, and decline in each specific site may have been due to different causes. Typhoons may have caused the loss of seagrass beds at open-sea sites whereas aquaculture activities, excavation and terrigenous obliteration may have caused such losses in protected sites