Genetic diversity of kampung chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus) from selected areas in East Coast Peninsular Malaysia inferred from partial control region of mitochondrial DNA

After the 2014 Malaysia massive flood, genetic variation of the kampung chicken Gallus gallus domesticus in East Coast Peninsular Malaysia (ECPM) was investigated for a better understanding of their genetic diversity for its conservation. A total of fifty-nine samples were collected from three states; Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang for mitochondrial DNA analysis. Partial mtDNA control regions were amplified, sequenced, and analyzed to determine the genetic variation among the states. Eleven haplotypes were detected among all the samples. Hap-1 was the most widespread haplotype among the three states and comprised of 45.8% of all samples. Genetic variation was the highest in Pahang (Pi = 0.01037, Hd = 0.8676), followed by Terengganu (Pi = 0.00938, Hd = 0.7316) and Kelantan (Pi = 0.00363, Hd = 0.5579). Low nucleotide diversity in Kelantan indicated the loss of genetic resources, which might be due to the population bottleneck phenomenon. Both the non-significant values of Tajima’s D and Fu’s FS in Pahang and Terengganu, suggested that they were at genetic equilibrium. Significant deviation from Tajima’s D neutrality test (P<0.05) in Kelantan indicated the possibility of population expansion, which might be a result of population recovery from the population bottleneck due to the massive flood in December 2014

Prevalence and genetic characterization of carbapenem- and polymyxin-resistant acinetobacter baumanniiIsolated from a tertiary hospital in Terengganu, Malaysia

Nosocomial infection caused by Acinetobacter baumannii is of great concern due to its increasing resistance to most antimicrobials. In this study, 54 nonrepeat isolates of A. baumannii from the main tertiary hospital in Terengganu, Malaysia, were analyzed for their antibiograms and genotypes. Out of the 54 isolates, 39 (72.2%) were multidrug resistant (MDR) and resistant to carbapenems whereas 14 (25.9%) were categorized as extensive drug resistant (XDR) with additional resistance to polymyxin B, the drug of “last resort.” Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis analyses showed that the polymyxin-resistant isolates were genetically diverse while the carbapenem-resistant isolates were clonally related. The 14 XDR isolates were further investigated for mutations in genes known to mediate polymyxin resistance, namely, pmrCAB, and the lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis genes, lpxA, lpxC, lpxD, and lpsB. All 14 isolates had a P102H mutation in pmrA with no mutation detected in pmrC and pmrB. No mutation was detected in lpxA but each polymyxin-resistant isolate had 2–4 amino acid substitutions in lpxD and 1-2 substitutions in lpxC. Eight resistant isolates also displayed a unique H181Y mutation in lpsB. The extent of polymyxin resistance is of concern and the novel mutations discovered here warrant further investigations