Analisis pengkategorian spesis haiwan menerusi Kitab Kifāyah Al-Muhtadī Karya Syeikh Muhammad Nur Al-Faṭānī: perspektif Halal dan Zoologi

Karya Melayu klasik yang dikarang oleh para ilmuwan Islam terdahulu merupakan khazanah bernilai yang merangkumi pelbagai disiplin ilmu seperti tauhid, ibadat, muamalat, jinayat dan munakahat. Kitab Kifayah al-Muhtadi yang dikarang oleh Syeikh Muhammad Nur al-Fathani menjadi antara sumber rujukan para ilmuwan kontemporari dalam mengetahui hukum makanan, termasuklah status haiwan yang halal dan haram. Walau bagaimanapun, masih terdapat beberapa istilah yang kurang jelas maksudnya disebabkan oleh penggunaan istilah klasik, serta sesetengahnya jarang didengari oleh masyarakat kini. Justeru, objektif kajian ini adalah untuk mengenalpasti kaedah pengkategorian haiwan halal dan haram yang terdapat di dalam kitab Kifayah al-Muhtadi, menganalisis istilah-istilah haiwan yang terdapat dalam karya tersebut dan menterjemahkannya ke dalam istilah moden yang bertepatan dengan ilmu sains haiwan dan zoologi. Metodologi kajian ini berbentuk kualitatif menggunakan kaedah dokumentasi dan dianalisis secara tekstual/kandungan terhadap setiap spesies haiwan yang telah dinyatakan dalam karya tersebut. Hasil kajian mendapati bahawa terdapat 66 spesies haiwan halal dan haram yang dinyatakan di dalam kitab tersebut, merangkumi empat kategori haiwan seperti: 1) binatang laut, 2) binatang darat 3) burung, dan 4) lain-lain kategori. Antara ruang penambah baikan yang perlu dilakukan adalah mencari definisi atau istilah yang lebih tepat bagi setiap spesis haiwan yang dinyatakan

New Insights on the Evolution of the Sweet Taste Receptor of Primates Adapted to Harsh Environments

Taste perception is an essential function that provides valuable dietary and sensoryinformation, which is crucial for the survival of animals. Studies into the evolution of the sweet tastereceptor gene (TAS1R2) are scarce, especially for Bornean endemic primates such asNasalis larvatus(proboscis monkey),Pongo pygmaeus(Bornean orangutan), andHylobates muelleri(Muller’s Borneangibbon). Primates are the perfect taxa to study as they are diverse dietary feeders, comprising specialistfolivores, frugivores, gummivores, herbivores, and omnivores. We constructed phylogenetic trees oftheTAS1R2gene for 20 species of anthropoid primates using four different methods (neighbor-joining,maximum parsimony, maximum-likelihood, and Bayesian) and also established the time divergenceof the phylogeny. The phylogeny successfully separated the primates into their taxonomic groupsas well as by their dietary preferences. Of note, the reviewed time of divergence estimation for theprimate speciation pattern in this study was more recent than the previously published estimates. It isbelieved that this difference may be due to environmental changes, such as food scarcity and climate change, during the late Miocene epoch, which forced primates to change their dietary preferences.These findings provide a starting point for further investigation

Bird Survey At Sungai Dusun Wildlife Reserve, Perak, Malaysia

A survey on birds was conducted at Sungai Dusun Wildlife Reserve on the 26th until 31th of October 2009. Ten mist nets were deployed throughout the four days sampling period. A total of 27 individuals representing 16 species from 10 families of birds were recorded. The most common species recorded is the Arachnothera longirostra that was represented by six individuals

New Insights on the Evolution of the Sweet Taste Receptor of Primates Adapted to Harsh Environments

Taste perception is an essential function that provides valuable dietary and sensory information, which is crucial for the survival of animals. Studies into the evolution of the sweet taste receptor gene (TAS1R2) are scarce, especially for Bornean endemic primates such as Nasalis larvatus (proboscis monkey), Pongo pygmaeus (Bornean orangutan), and Hylobates muelleri (Muller’s Bornean gibbon). Primates are the perfect taxa to study as they are diverse dietary feeders, comprising specialist folivores, frugivores, gummivores, herbivores, and omnivores. We constructed phylogenetic trees of the TAS1R2 gene for 20 species of anthropoid primates using four different methods (neighbor-joining, maximum parsimony, maximum-likelihood, and Bayesian) and also established the time divergence of the phylogeny. The phylogeny successfully separated the primates into their taxonomic groups as well as by their dietary preferences. Of note, the reviewed time of divergence estimation for the primate speciation pattern in this study was more recent than the previously published estimates. It is believed that this difference may be due to environmental changes, such as food scarcity and climate change, during the late Miocene epoch, which forced primates to change their dietary preferences. These findings provide a starting point for further investigation

Phylogenetics of subfamily murin Ea (Rodentia : Muridae) In Malaysia inferred from mitochondrial and nuclear genes

ITraditionally, taxonomic status of Murinae was based on morphological characteristics. The classification was always outdated due to the variation of morphological traits caused by rapid adaptation towards ecological habitats and high rate of evolution in Murinae. The variation of external features sometimes does not indicate the species to be in distinct taxa, at least not in Genetic Species Concept. As closely related species in the subfamily Murinae are morphologically similar to each other, the taxonomic status of Murinae is poorly resolved up until recent. Many studies have been done using genetic data, morphology, immunology, albumin and karyotypic analyses but the information of Murinae in Malaysia is still lacking)Phylogenetic relationship of Murinae were reviewed in this study inferred by mitochondrial gene (mtDNA) of cytochrome oxidase I (COI) and cytochrome b (cyt b) as well as one nuclear gene (nucDNA) of recombination activating gene (RAG2). The evolutionary, interspecific and intraspecific relationship between selected species in the Murinae and their divergence time were investigated during this study. The phylogenetic trees were reconstructed using four methods for each gene, namely, neighbour joining (NJ), maximum parsimony (MP), maximum-likelihood (ML) and Bayesian methods. From this study, six monophyletic lineages were observed, namely, Rattus, Beiylmys, Maxomys, Sundamys, Leopoldamys and Niviventer. The interrelationship of Murinae was incongruent between the genes analyses and some of the species were unresolved in the groupings. This study also found that there were cryptic species within M. whiteheadi and M. ochraceiventer population with external morphology similar to M. whiteheadi but separated with high genetic divergence whilst closely related by genetic distance to M ochraceiventer. Genetically, two types (Type A and Type B) of M rajah, R. rattus and S. muelleri were also found in this study by observing the phylogenetic trees. NJ and Bayesian methods gave the most resolved topologies. MP and ML methods might give better resolution if more data were added. Cyt b was observed to be the best gene to study the evolution of Murinae

Molecular phylogenetics and systematics of five genera of Malaysianmurine rodents (Maxomys, Sundamys, Leopoldamys, Niviventer and Rattus) inferred from partial mitochondrial cytochrome coxidase subunit I (COI) gene

We genetically analysed 50 specimens of Murinae from Peninsular Malaysia and Sarawak, assigned to 12 species. Phylogenetic analyses of partial mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (476 base pairs) using four methods, namely, neighbour-joining (NJ), maximum parsimony (MP), maximum likelihood (ML) and Bayesian method resulted in similar statistically supported clades with minimal change in branching order. The analyses discovered that there were intermediate form of Maxomys species within M. whiteheadi and M. ochraceiventer populations. They display same external morphology as M. whiteheadi but genetically closer to M. ochraceiventer. Craniodental measurements showed significant differences between the three populations. Rattus and Sundamys appeared not fully resolved while Leopoldamys and Niviventer were steadily clustered. The intraspecific geographic variation in some species agrees with previous studies on the vicariance scenario and diversification of flora and fauna in Malaysia and Borneo

Impact of feeding postbiotics and paraprobiotics produced from Lactiplantibacillus plantarum on colon mucosa microbiota in broiler chickens

This study was conducted to evaluate the impact of feeding postbiotics and paraprobiotics produced from Lactiplantibacillus plantarum on colon mucosa microbiota in broiler chickens. In this study, 336 one-day-old COBB 500 chicks were randomly allotted to eight treatment groups and replicated six times with seven birds per replicate. The treatment included T1 (Negative control) = Basal diet, T2 (Positive control) = Basal diet + 0.01% oxytetracycline, T3 = Basal diet + 0.2% postbiotic TL1, T4 = Basal diet + 0.2% postbiotic RS5, T5 = Basal diet + 0.2% paraprobiotic RG11, T6 = Basal diet + 0.2%postbiotic RI11, T7 = Basal diet + 0.2%paraprobiotic RG14, and T8 = Basal diet + 0.2% paraprobiotic RI11. There were reported changes in the bacterial community using 16S rRNA sequencing of the colon mucosa. The results of the sequencing of 16S rRNA genes in the colon mucosa samples indicated that compared to birds fed the negative control diet, birds fed paraprobiotic RI11 diets were recorded to have a lower relative abundance of Proteobacteria, while those fed the positive control were recorded to have a higher proportion of Firmicutes. Also, lower Enterococcus was reported in paraprobiotic RI11, while the most abundant genus was Bacteroides in postbiotic TL1. This study revealed that supplementation of postbiotics and paraprobiotics in the diets of broilers demonstrated positive effects on the microbiota by supporting the increase of beneficial microbes like the Firmicutes while decreasing harmful microbes like the Proteobacteria. Therefore, this study has provided knowledge on the modification of chicken mucosa microbiota through the feeding of postbiotics and paraprobiotics

Effects of postbiotics and paraprobiotics as replacements for antibiotics on growth performance, carcass characteristics, small intestine histomorphology, immune status and hepatic growth gene expression in broiler chickens

Background: This experiment was designed to investigate how replacing antibiotics with postbiotics and paraprobiotics could affect growth performance, small intestine morphology, immune status, and hepatic growth gene expression in broiler chickens. Methods: The experiment followed a completely randomized design (CRD) in which eight treatments were replicated six times with seven birds per replicate. A total of 336, one-day-old (COBB 500) chicks were fed with the eight treatment diets, which include T1 = negative control (Basal diet), T2 = positive control (Basal diet + 0.01% (w/w) Oxytetracycline), T3 = Basal diet + 0.2% (v/w) postbiotic TL1, T4 = Basal diet + 0.2% (v/w) postbiotic RS5, T5 = Basal diet + 0.2% (v/w) paraprobiotic RG11, T6 = Basal diet + 0.2% (v/w) postbiotic RI11, T7 = Basal diet + 0.2% (v/w) paraprobiotic RG14, T8 = Basal diet + 0.2% (v/w) paraprobiotic RI11, for 35 days in a closed house system. Results: The growth performance indicators (final body weight, cumulative weight gain, and feed conversion ratio) were not significantly (p > 0.05) affected by the dietary treatments. However, feed intake recorded a significant (p < 0.05) change in the starter and finisher phases across the dietary treatments. Paraprobiotic RG14 had significantly (p < 0.05) lower abdominal fat and intestines. Villi heights were significantly (p < 0.05) increased, while the crypt depth decreased significantly due to dietary treatments. The dietary treatments significantly influenced colon mucosa sIgA (p < 0.05). Similarly, plasma immunoglobulin IgM level recorded significant (p < 0.05) changes at the finisher phase. In this current study, the hepatic GHR and IGF-1 expressions were significantly (p < 0.05) increased by postbiotics and paraprobiotics supplementation. Conclusions: Therefore, it was concluded that postbiotics and paraprobiotics differ in their effect on broiler chickens. However, they can replace antibiotics without compromising the growth performance, carcass yield, and immune status of broiler chickens