Genetic structure of the snakehead murrel, Channa striata (channidae) based on the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene: Influence of historical and geomorphological factors

Nucleotide sequences of a partial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene were used to assess the manner in which historical processes and geomorphological effects may have influenced genetic structuring and phylogeographic patterns in Channa striata. Assaying was based on individuals from twelve populations in four river systems, which were separated into two regions, the eastern and western, of the biodiversely rich state of Perak in central Peninsular Malaysia. In 238 specimens, a total of 368-bp sequences with ten polymorphic sites and eleven unique haplotypes were detected. Data on all the twelve populations revealed incomplete divergence due to past historical coalescence and the short period of separation. Nevertheless, SAMOVA and FST revealed geographical structuring existed to a certain extent in both regions. For the eastern region, the data also showed that the upstream populations were genetically significantly different compared to the mid- and downstream ones. It is inferred that physical barriers and historical processes played a dominant role in structuring the genetic dispersal of the species. A further inference is that the Grik, Tanjung Rambutan and Sungkai are potential candidates for conservation and aquaculture programmes since they contained most of the total diversity in this area

The complete mitochondrial genome of the snakeskin gourami, Trichopodus pectoralis (Regan 1910) (Teleostei: Osphronemidae)

We sequenced and assembled three whole mitogenome sequences of the commercially important snakeskin gourami Trichopodus pectoralis isolated from Malaysia (introduced), Viet Nam (native) and Thailand (native). The mitogenome length range from 16,397 to 16,420 bp. The final partitioned nucleotide alignment consists of 14,002 bp and supports the monophyly of the genus Trichopodus (95% ultrafast bootstrap support) with T. trichopterus forming a sister group with the members of T. pectoralis

Construction and Analysis of Metagenome Library from Bacterial Community Associated with Toxic Dinoflagellate <em>Alexandrium tamiyavanichii</em>

Previous studies have suggested that a specific community of bacteria coexists within the phycosphere of marine dinoflagellates. In order to better understand the dinoflagellate-bacteria relationships, a fosmid clone library was constructed from the metagenome DNA and analyzed. Some of the fosmid clones were end-sequenced. A total of 1501 fosmid clones with insert sizes of 30–40 Kbp were produced. End sequencing of 238 clones showed that 55% of the genes had known functions, 11% were of putative function and 34% were genes of unknown function or had no match in Genbank. There were approximately 14% sequences with no classification and could potentially represent novel genes. Analysis of these partial sequences also revealed some promising enzymes that possess various potential industrial applications such as chitinases, kinases, agarases and oxygenases. The results also showed that the bacterial flora of the Alexandrium tamiyavanichii culture was dominated by the Alpha-proteobacteria, followed by Bacteroidetes and Gamma-proteobacteria. The findings in this study suggested that the bacterial community may play various role in the association with dinoflagellate. This study had also shown that dinoflagellate-associated bacterial community is a valuable source for discovery of novel genes and gene products

Applications of next-generation sequencing technologies and computational tools in molecular evolution and aquatic animals conservation studies : a short review

Aquatic ecosystems that form major biodiversity hotspots are critically threatened due to environmental and anthropogenic stressors. We believe that, in this genomic era, computational methods can be applied to promote aquatic biodiversity conservation by addressing questions related to the evolutionary history of aquatic organisms at the molecular level. However, huge amounts of genomics data generated can only be discerned through the use of bioinformatics. Here, we examine the applications of next-generation sequencing technologies and bioinformatics tools to study the molecular evolution of aquatic animals and discuss the current challenges and future perspectives of using bioinformatics toward aquatic animal conservation efforts

Some reproductive biological aspects of gray-eel catfish, Plotosus canius Hamilton, 1822 spawner in Pattani Bay, Thailand

Reproductive biology of gray-eel catfish, Plotosus canius was studied at Pattani Bay by determining its year round changes of gonadosomatic index (GSI). Results show that the GSI was maximum in October (8.4 %), and minimum in April (0.24 %). The sampled size of sexually matured female fishes ranged from 40.9 to 60.5 cm in total length, and between 367.56 to 1,159.37 g in body weight. The average total length of the female fish is 51.9 cm, with an average body weight of 788.8 g. The average fecundity was 1,842.14 egg/fish. The average GSI was 10.87 % (n=14).The fish total length (TL) and body weight (BW) of the matured fish were linearly related, and could be represented by the linear regression as: BW = 32.295 TL – 887.52. The relationship between body weight (BW) and fecundity (Fe) could also be represented by the linear regression as Fe = 398.67+1.83BW. The eggs were adhesive demersal egg type, and rounded. The distribution of egg’s diameter could be categorized into five groups i.e. group1 (3.3%), group2 (6.9%), group3 (11.0%), group4 (54.1 %), and group5 (24.6 %), with values of 2.89± 0.19 mm, 3.44±0.36 mm, 4.65±0.28 mm, 5.65±0.26 mm, and 6.38±0.25 mm respectively. The spawning ground is made of silty clay soil, with sediment’s pH of 7.16±0.47and water salinity of 12.06 ± 0.78 ppt. We also found that the sperms activity was most active in the 0.9 % sodium chloride’s concentration level

AIMS Students Mobility Programme in Thailand: Empirical Evidence on the Wider Sphere of Students’ Perceptions

The number of students participating in Asian International Mobility for Students (AIMS) programs has increased enormously over the years. The reasons are diverse and may range from personal growth to better employability prospects, together with improvement in foreign language skills and intercultural awareness. AIMS programs receive generous funding from Bahagian Education Malaysia (BEM) of the Ministry of Education, Malaysia, therefore their outcomes should be measured and evaluated. This paper focuses on students’ experiences and their lesson learned as an alumnus of AIMS program. Reports submitted by the students were analysed using Leximancer and Spider-web Configuration. The content analysis done using Leximancer shows nine variables that are “orientation”, “Thailand”, “internship”, “training”, “water”, “people”, “food”, “excursions” and “important” that according to the students are of important in terms of their experiences and satisfaction of the AIMS program. While the Spider-web Configuration shows five items that make the AIMS program worth it and pays off for students to participate. In particular, the students’ international experiences caused them to reflect deeply on matters of different styles of education, gain valuable knowledge in their major and develop communication skills. In addition, they could live independently in another culture for an extended period, develop confidence and self-understanding, learn another language, gain a unique cultural experience and make new lifelong friends. The students’ reflections also offer the university sector some points to consider with respect to student mobility programs, particularly in how participants are supported in interpreting their overseas experience

Seagrass genomes reveal ancient polyploidy and adaptations to the marine environment

DATA AVAILABILITY : The DNA sequencing data for the C. nodosa genome assembly have been deposited in the NCBI database under BioProject PRJNA1041560 via the link https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bioproject/?term=PRJNA1041560. All assemblies and annotations for all seagrass species discussed in the current paper can be found at https://bioinformatics.psb.ugent.be/gdb/seagrasses/. The transcriptome data (including raw data and clean data) and sequencing QC reports for C. nodosa can be found at https://genome.jgi.doe.gov/portal/pages/dynamicOrganismDownload.jsf?organism=Cymnodnscriptome_2, the transcriptome data and sequencing QC reports for P. oceanica can be found at https://genome.jgi.doe.gov/portal/pages/dynamicOrganismDownload.jsf?organism=Posocenscriptome_2, the transcriptome data and sequencing QC reports for T. testudinum can be found at https://genome.jgi.doe.gov/portal/pages/dynamicOrganismDownload.jsf?organism=Thatesnscriptome_4 and the transcriptome data for Z. marina are from ref. 15. For the public databases, the RFAM database v.14.7 can be downloaded at https://ftp.ebi.ac.uk/pub/databases/Rfam/14.7/, the UniProt database can be accessed from the web at http://www.uniprot.org and downloaded from http://www.uniprot.org/downloads and the NCBI nucleotide database can be accessed via https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/.We present chromosome-level genome assemblies from representative species of three independently evolved seagrass lineages: Posidonia oceanica, Cymodocea nodosa, Thalassia testudinum and Zostera marina. We also include a draft genome of Potamogeton acutifolius, belonging to a freshwater sister lineage to Zosteraceae. All seagrass species share an ancient whole-genome triplication, while additional whole-genome duplications were uncovered for C. nodosa, Z. marina and P. acutifolius. Comparative analysis of selected gene families suggests that the transition from submerged-freshwater to submerged-marine environments mainly involved fine-tuning of multiple processes (such as osmoregulation, salinity, light capture, carbon acquisition and temperature) that all had to happen in parallel, probably explaining why adaptation to a marine lifestyle has been exceedingly rare. Major gene losses related to stomata, volatiles, defence and lignification are probably a consequence of the return to the sea rather than the cause of it. These new genomes will accelerate functional studies and solutions, as continuing losses of the ‘savannahs of the sea’ are of major concern in times of climate change and loss of biodiversity.The DOE, JGI, Berkeley, California, USA, under the Community Sequencing Program 2018; the European Research Council under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme ; Ghent University (Methusalem funding); the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation); the Helmholtz School for Marine Data Science; partially supported by the project Marine Hazard, PON03PE_00203_1 (MUR, Italian Ministry of University and Research) and by the National Biodiversity Future Centre Program, Italian Ministry of University and Research, PNRR, Missione 4 Componente 2 Investimento 1.4; and Universiti Malaysia Terengganu.https://www.nature.com/nplants2024-07-26hj2024BiochemistryGeneticsMicrobiology and Plant PathologySDG-14:Life below wate

New genetic loci link adipose and insulin biology to body fat distribution.

Body fat distribution is a heritable trait and a well-established predictor of adverse metabolic outcomes, independent of overall adiposity. To increase our understanding of the genetic basis of body fat distribution and its molecular links to cardiometabolic traits, here we conduct genome-wide association meta-analyses of traits related to waist and hip circumferences in up to 224,459 individuals. We identify 49 loci (33 new) associated with waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index (BMI), and an additional 19 loci newly associated with related waist and hip circumference measures (P < 5 × 10(-8)). In total, 20 of the 49 waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI loci show significant sexual dimorphism, 19 of which display a stronger effect in women. The identified loci were enriched for genes expressed in adipose tissue and for putative regulatory elements in adipocytes. Pathway analyses implicated adipogenesis, angiogenesis, transcriptional regulation and insulin resistance as processes affecting fat distribution, providing insight into potential pathophysiological mechanisms

The green effect : the influence of indoor plants on economic decision making

This research explores the potential benefits of the presence of a plant in an indoor setting on an individual's decision making through a random laboratory experiment. More specifically, our paper presents various findings on the effect of greenery on an individual’s decision-making and cognitive performance, thus demonstrating the importance of natural elements in the physical environment. Several tasks in the area of decision-making and cognitive abilities were conducted using the Qualtrics platform on 81 undergraduates who were randomly assigned under one of the two conditions: (i) an office setting with a desk plant, or (ii) an office setting with a stationary pot to act as a control for the desk plant. Our result provides convergent evidence that exposure to greenery resulted in the subjects being more patient when making their decisions.Bachelor of Arts in Economic

Isolation and multiplex genotyping of polymorphic microsatellite DNA markers in the snakehead murrel, Channa striata

Seven polymorphic microsatellite loci were isolated and characterized for the snakehead murrel, Channa striata (Channidae), a valuable tropical freshwater fish species. Among 25 specimens collected from Kedah state in Malaysia, the number of alleles per locus ranged from 2 to 7. Observed and expected heterozygosities ranged from 0.120 to 0.880 and 0.117 to 0.698, respectively. A single locus (CS1-C07) was significantly deviated from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium after Bonferroni correction. These novel markers would be useful for population genetic studies of the C. striata