Tanda-tanda genetik Orang Asli dan Bangsa-Bangsa Bumiputera Sabah, Sarawak dan Brunei. Kumpulan-kumpulan darah dalam tiga bangsa terbesar di Malaysia dan Singapura: suatu penyusunan data

Suatu senarai data berkenaan dengan kumpulan-kumpulan darah untuk orang-orang Melayu, China dan India (tiga bangsa terbesar di Malaysia dan Singapura) dan juga untuk Orang Asli dari Semenanjung Malaysia dan Bangsa-Bangsa Bumiputera dari Sabah, Sarawak dan Brunei, telah disusun dari sastera sains. Data untuk tanda-tanda genetik biokimia dalam Orang Asli dari Semenanjung Malaysia dan Bangsa-Bangsa Bumiputera dari Sabah, Sarawak dan Brunei pun telah disusun. Taraf adanya data genetik untuk bangsabangsa tersebut dan prospek untuk pengkajian pada masa hadapan telah dibincangkan. Kertas ini menyempurnakan suatu percubaan (dalam dua bahagian) untuk menyusun semua data yang ada pada masa sekarang berkenaan dengan tanda-tanda genetik dalam penduduk-penduduk Malaysia dan Singapura

Biodiversity characterization in Malaysia through biology and genetics.

It is often the case that every significant break through in agriculture was preceded by the discovery of some basic biological information. For example, the current widespread practice of planting the tenera type of oil palm in commercial plantations which significantly raised palm oil production was preceded by the discovery of the gene controlling the oil palm fruit shell thickness by Beirnaert and Vanderweyen in 1941 during the course of their research work in the Belgian Congo, Africa (now the Democratic Republic of Congo) (Corley and Tinker, 2003.).Hence, fundamental biological research is important and needs to continue to be supported with adequate and meaningful funding so that Malaysia’s rich biological resources can be well characterized and understood. This will enable them to be utilized economically for the benefit of humankind at their optimal sustainable levels that allow them to continue to thrive in our unique species rich tropical ecosystem. In this regard it is gratifying to note that in the effort to utilize the much touted marker assisted selection (MAS) approach to improve the production of our economic plants and animals, funding had been made available to develop molecular markers for species like oil palm (Singh et al., 2007,2008), Asian river catfish, Mystus nemurus, (Usmani et al., 2003) sea bass, Lates calcarifer, (Chong 2004, Hoh 2008) and the Malaysian giant freshwater prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii,(Bhassu et al., 2008) so that high density genetic maps can be generated for them. Such a map is essential before the MAS approach can be effectively applied in the breeding program of any one species (Liu and Cordes, 2004). A Malaysian company, Asiatic Center for Genome Technology (ACGT) is collaborating with the US based Synthetic Genomics Inc. (GSI) on a genome sequencing programme to analyze the entire oil palm genome with a view towards increasing its yield as well as to improve its oil composition to meet the growing market demands (ACGT2006). The Bio Nexus Project and the National Biotechnology Policy launched in May 2005 both aim to explore and utilize in a sustainable manner our rich biodiversity commercially. It is hoped that this policy together with the government’s current aim of revitalizing the nation’s agricultural sector would be accompanied by concrete measures such as the recruitment and retention of competent scientific human resources and increased research and development expenditure in the biological sciences. Then we, the biologists, should respond enthusiastically to our leaders’ clarion call for us to help achieve this noble aim. These actions would, in turn, rekindle interest among young Malaysians in the biological sciences. However, there is the danger that while careers and research in biotechnology, proteomics, genomics and molecular biology are becoming attractive, it must be borne in mind that to manage and utilize our bioresources responsibly, basic knowledge of their taxonomy, physiology, genetics and ecology are just as essential and the good health of our various ecosystems must be maintained. Therefore, biology in Malaysia is a diverse science but with a unity of purpose to enable us to be good trustees of the treasure trove of natural resources that our country has been richly endowed with

Changes of Allozymes (GOT, EST and ME) of Perna viridis Subjected to Zinc Stress: A Laboratory Study

It had been documented through electrophoretic studies that allozyme polymorphisms of bivalve populations are affected by heavy metal stress. In the present laboratory study, by using P. viridis as a test organism, the results indicated that changes in the enzymes GOT, EST and ME were due to Zn stress which are complemented by reductions of filtration rate and condition index. However, it is not yet known for sure whether the enzymes GOT, EST and ME are inducing behavioural and other changes in P. viridis. This is because of the possible subtle interactions could occur between different environmental stresses

Liver esterase polymorphisms in sepat Siam (Trichogaster pectoralis)

Esterase D and general esterases (which use a- or J3-naphthyl acetate as substrates) were investigated electrophoretically in the paddy field fish, Trichogaster pectoralis. Variants were observed for these enzymes. It is hypothesized that esterase D phenotypes are due to two codominant alleles at an autosomal locus, and that four loci are involved in the control of the general esterases

A baseline study on mercury concentrations in the surface sediments of the Straits of Malacca collected during four sampling cruises conducted between 1998-200

Total elemental mercury (Hg) levels in the surface sediments along the Straits of Malacca were analysed by using a Hg Analyzer Model MA-1S. Based on four sampling cruises conducted between 1998- 2000, the Hg levels in more than 95% of the sampling sites were lower than 100 μg/kg dry weight while the Hg range was between 9.86-202 μg/kg dry weight with the northern part of the Strait recorded higher concentration of Hg when compared to central and southern parts. In comparison to other regional results and established sediment quality guidelines for Hg, Hg contamination in the Straits is not serious but regular monitoring of this hazardous element is necessary

Byssus of the green-lipped mussel Perna viridis (Linnaeus) as a biomonitoring material for Zn

Recently, Yap et al. (2003) suggested that the byssus of the green-lipped mussel Perna viridis can be a biomonitoring material for Zn although further validation is required. In this work, we did a simple correlation study between Zn concentrations in the byssus (and soft tissue) and in different geochemical fractions of the sediment. A significant (P<0.01) Pearson’s correlation coefficient (R=0.84) between the Zn concentrations in the byssus and soft tissue indicated that the Zn level in the byssus is highly correlated to its level in the soft tissue and that the byssus could act as an excretion route for Zn. Higher R-values were found between the byssus–easily or freely, leachable and exchangeable, byssus–acid-reducible, byssus–oxidizable-organic and byssus–nonresistant fractions of the sediment, and the byssus–Zn concentration in the total sediment when compared to those found between the soft tissue and the same geochemical fractions. This indicated that the byssus was more reflective of Zn contamination in the field environment than the soft tissue. Therefore, the data further support the use of the byssus as a biomonitoring material for Zn as was originally suggested by Yap et al

The identification of point sources in a river receiving industrial metal effluents at the Serdang industrial area, Selangor.

Surface sediments from three sampling sites, namely Kuyoh River Industrial Area, Kuyoh River Residential Area and Sri Serdang Lake at the Sri Serdang Area were collected and determined for the concentrations of Cu and Zn. The mean total Cu concentrations in the sediment of the three sites were 347.64, 32.04 and 21.71 nig dry weight, respectively, while those for Zn were 219.75, 140.64 and 85.10 p,g/g dry weight, respectively. The geochemical distributions of the 'non-resistant' (non-lithogenous) and the 'resistant' fractions for Cu in the three sites were 99.6% and 0.4% for the Kuyoh River Industrial Area, 99.19% and 0.81% for the Kuyoh River Residential Area while for the Sri Serdang Lake they were 97.74% and 2.26%, respectively. For Zn, the geochemical distributions of the 'non-resistant' and the 'resistant' fractions in the three sites were 61.2% and 38.3% for the Kuyoh River Industrial Area, 56.2% and 43.8% for the Kuyoh River Residential Area while for the Sri Serdang Lake they were 52.65 % and 47.35%, respectively. These results showed that the site at the Kuyoh River Industrial Area had the highest concentrations of Cu and Zn. These levels greatly exceeded the natural background levels and so this was considered to be seriously polluted. The topography of the Kuyoh River shows that the sampling site at the Kuyoh River Residential Area is located after the Sri Serdang Lake while the sampling site at the Kuyoh River Industrial Area is located on another branch of Kuyoh River but it is located right after a metal factory which later joins the branch running through the Kuyoh River Residential Area at the downstream. The exact location of the point source and the river flow are two major factors contributing to the elevated levels of Cu and Zn at a particular sampling site. The elevation of the Cu and Zn levels suggest that the regulations on untreated effluents should be strictly implemented by the local authorities in order to remedy the situation