ANTIOXIDATIVE DEFENSE RESPONSE TO APHID-INDUCED OXIDATIVE STRESS IN Glycine max (L.) Merr. cv. “Nam Dan”

Infestation of cowpea aphid (Aphis craccivora Koch) induced oxidative stress in leaves of soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr. cv. “Nam Dan”) with a burst in generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) products such as superoxide anion radical (O2.-) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) recorded around 24 hours after aphid feeding. An increase in content of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) in lipid peroxidation and a defined percentage of injury in aphid-infested leaves were resulted from the cellular oxidative damage. The enhanced activity of the antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase (SOD, EC 1.15.1.1) and catalase (CAT, EC 1.11.1.6) in leaves of soybean “Nam Dan” functions as the antioxidative response that controlled both ROS-generation to be enough levels to play as defensive element and ROS-detoxifying to reduce aphid-induced oxidative damage. The enhancement of SOD and CAT also can improve the tolerance of soybean “Nam Dan” to impact from A. craccivora

Hematological parameters of red tilapia (Oreochromis sp.) fed lemongrass essential oil (Cymbopogon citratus) after challenge with Streptococcus agalactiae

The study involved feeding lemongrass essential oil (LEO) supplements to red tilapia (Oreochromis sp.) at concentrations including Control - 0 mg, T1 – 200 mg, T2 – 300 mg, and T3 – 400 mg per kg of feed. The research investigated changes in hematological (HCT, Hb, RBC, WBC & thrombocytes) and erythrocyte’s morphological (major/minor axis; perimeter, and area of erythrocyte) parameters before infection, 5- and 10-days post-infection (DPI). According to analytical findings, a diet containing LEO enhanced the synthesis of both erythrocytes and leukocytes in the peripheral blood of red tilapia after 20 days of being used. Therefore, the indicators of this group of fish showed better performance than those that did not use LEO supplement five days after bacterial infection. Fish fed 200 mg/kg of LEO after being challenged with S. agalactiae for ten days showed an improved effect on red blood cell production. White blood cells decreased at all concentrations because of citral’s immunomodulatory properties

Comparison of several secondary metabolite and elemental ion contents of leaves from Kandelia obovata and Sonneratia caseolaris forests located in the Red River Delta

The two mangrove species Kandelia obovata and Sonneratia caseolaris were widely planted in the Red River delta. Both K. obovata and S. caseolaris forests play an important role in the economic development and environmental protection of the delta. However, chemical responses of the common mangrove forests to different ecological conditions in the delta have not yet been described. In this study, we evaluated chemical responses of K. obovata and S. caseolaris through comparisons of the content of metabolites and element ions in leaves of mangrove plants located under different ecological conditions in the Red River delta. In the low salinity area (Thuy Truong), specific leaf areas of K. obovata and S. caseolaris were much lower while the succulent index was higher compared to those in the high salinity area (Kim Trung). In Kim Trung, both species had a lower ratio of chlorophyll a/chlorophyll b. K. obvata in lower light (under the S. caseolaris canopy) had lower levels of chlorophyll b, resulting in a higher Chla/chlb ratio. There was no difference in the Mg content of leaves between two areas. An increase in Na content in leaves of mangrove plants in the higher salinity area was evident. The high K/Na ratio in leaves were eveluated for both species in high salinity areas. Our results also showed better uptake of K in leaves of S. caseolaris growing in the low salinity conditions (Thuy Truong), i.e. Thuy Truong has more favourable ecological conditions for S. caseolaris. Carotenoid contents in leaves of both species growing in the higher salinity were lower.

TÀI NGUYÊN VỊ THẾ CỤM ĐẢO THỔ CHU, PHÍA NAM VIỆT NAM

Located near center of the Gulf of Thailand, the Tho Chu island group is approximately far 160 km from Ca Mau southwestwards, and 100 km from Phu Quoc island northwestwards. This group consists of 8 islands, of which the largest Tho Chu island is of 12.15 km2 wide and 167 m high, and composes of clastic sedimentary rocks. Despite the greatest distance from the coast, this coastal island group has the characteristics of geological structure, morphology, spatial structure, area, height, ecological landscape, dynamics and stability of natural processes that create the great value of geo-natural position resources and favorable residential environment. Regarding value of geo-economic position resources, the island group belongs to Phu Quoc district, but it meets the good conditions to become a district-level administrative unit belonging to Kien Giang province. This is a priority site for sea-island economic development, the island group has a great potential to develop the marine economic sectors such as fisheries, natural conservation, tourism and other important services such as oil and gas extraction, navigation and search-rescue at sea. In terms of value of geo-political position resources, this island group includes Hon Nhan islet as the basic point of A1, so has the great value for Vietnam’s sovereignty, sovereign rights and interests in the Gulf of Thailand. Situating in the politically high sensitive region, the island group possesses the high value on the defense, could develop into a firmly military outpost contributing to national defense and security at sea.Nằm ở gần trung tâm vịnh Thái Lan, cụm đảo Thổ Chu cách mũi Cà Mau khoảng 160 km về phía tây nam, cách đảo Phú Quốc khoảng 100 km về phía tây bắc. Cụm đảo gồm 8 hòn, lớn nhất là đảo Thổ Chu rộng 12,15 km2, cao 167 m, cấu tạo từ đá trầm tích vụn thô. Mặc dù là cụm đảo ven bờ xa bờ nhất của Việt Nam ở vịnh Thái Lan, nhưng các đặc điểm về cấu tạo địa chất, hình thể và cấu trúc không gian, diện tích, độ cao và cảnh quan sinh thái; động lực và tính ổn định của các quá trình tự nhiên,… đã tạo ra giá trị lớn về tài nguyên địa-tự nhiên và môi trường sinh cư thuận lợi cho cụm đảo. Về giá trị tài nguyên vị thế địa-kinh tế, cụm đảo thuộc huyện Phú Quốc, nhưng hội tụ đủ các điều kiện trở thành đơn vị hành chính cấp huyện, thuộc tỉnh Kiên Giang. Đây là vị trí ưu tiên đối với phát triển kinh tế biển-đảo của đất nước, là địa bàn tiềm năng lớn phát triển các lĩnh vực kinh tế biển như thủy sản, bảo tồn thiên nhiên, du lịch và các dịch vụ quan trọng khác như khai thác dầu khí, hàng hải và tìm kiến-cứu nạn trên biển. Về giá trị tài nguyên vị thế địa-chính trị, cụm đảo có Hòn Nhạn là điểm cơ sở A1 có giá trị vô cùng to lớn về chủ quyền, quyền chủ quyền và lợi ích quốc gia trên vịnh Thái Lan. Nằm trong vùng địa-chính trị nhạy cảm cao, cụm đảo có giá trị lớn về phòng thủ, có thể phát triển thành một cụm cứ điểm quân sự vững chắc, góp phần bảo vệ Tổ quốc và đảm bảo an ninh trên biển

Morphological Traits and Nuclear Genetic Diversity of Coptis sp. in Hoang Lien National Park, Lao Cai Province, Vietnam

Coptis is a medicinal plant genus in the Ranunculaceae family, and is also known as “Hoang Lien” in Vietnamese. It is a perennial herb that grows in some regions of the world. However, Coptis is endangered and faces global threats. This study aimed to characterize some main morphological characteristics and performed a phylogenetic analysis of 11 samples of Coptis sp. collected from Hoang Lien National Park using nuclear DNA sequence analyses. All sample species have unique morphological traits with distinct yellow rhizomes and basal leaves with five segments. The petiole measures 13-25 cm and is smooth, while the leaf blade is ovate, ranging from 7 to 15.5 cm in length and 5.5 to 14 cm in width. The leaves are subleathery, glabrous on the underside, and sparsely puberulous on the veins on the upper side. The molecular characterization of Coptis sp. genotypes was determined by ITS markers. The length of the ITS1-ITS2 sequences varied from 363 to 371 nucleotides. The average nucleotide composition was 17.11% A, 31.25% C, 32.247% G and 19.41% T, respectively. The comparison with the GenBank database showed that the samples had 95.71- 96.37% similarity with the species Coptis quinquesecta. The genetic distance among the 11 Coptis samples fluctuated from 0.00 to 0.017. A neighbor-joining tree was constructed to show the genetic relationships among Coptis samples. The results indicated that this endangered species had low levels of genetic diversity. The study has provided valuable information for genetic-based conservation of this rare endemic species and suggested some conservation strategies

Complete mitochondrial genome of Dong Tao chicken breed (Gallus gallus domesticus) of Vietnam

The complete mitochondrial genome of Dong Tao chicken breed (Gallus gallus domesticus, Dong Tao) was obtained by PCR and sequencing. The complete mitogenome was 16,783 bp in length, with the nucleotide composition for A, T, C, G was 30.29%, 23.75%, 32.48%, and 13.48%, respectively. The mitogenome of Dong Tao chicken contained a non-coding control region (D-loop), 2 rRNA genes, 13 protein-coding genes, and 22 tRNA genes. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that breed Dong Tao chicken breed was sister-close to G. gallus breed Guangxi, and paraphyletic to G. spadiceus, S. jabouillei, and a range of Chinese indigenous, ie. breeds Rugao and Taoyuan