BIOTROPIA - The Southeast Asian Journal of Tropical Biology
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ESTABLISHMENT OF NEOCHETINA SPP.: THEIR PATTERN OF LOCAL DISPERSAL AND AGE STRUCTURE AT THE RELEASE SITE
Get PDFStudy on the distribution pattern and age structure ofNeochetina spp. (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) at the release site was conducted to know a) the distribution pattern of the weevil, b) its establishment status, c) its survival rate in the field, and d) relationship between the attack of the weevil and the fungus, Altemaria eichhorniae Nag Rag & Ponappa (Hyphomycetes), in causing damage to water hyacinth. This study was conducted at Situ Bagendit lake, Garut, West Java. A release and recapture method was employed to study the mode and rate of dispersal of the weevils under field conditions. Regular sample collection at two-month interval was done to evaluate the pattern of distribution and to assess the age structure under field condition. Another two months regular observation was done to assess damage severity due to adult weevils and the fungus, A. eichhorniae, on water hyacinth. Results showed, that the weevils seem to disperse actively to all directions following the presence of water hyacinth. The data also showed that the dispersal rate of the weevils was about a few meters a week. Under field conditions at Situ Bagendit lake, the weevils were about evenly distributed throughout water hyacinth mass. The density of the weevils fluctuated from time to time, but the trend slightly increased. The survival rate of the weevils at Situ Bagendit lake was estimated not more than 5%. It was suspected that various limiting factors such as various predators have caused the low population increase under field conditions. The population increase through time confirmed that the weevils have established at Situ Bagendit lake. Field data showed that there were no interaction between the damage severity of the weed caused by both weevils and the fungus
MEDICINAL HERBS OF PASIR MAYANG, JAMBI: ETHNOPHARMACY AND TOXICITY SCREENING
Get PDFThis article presents the results of an investigation concerning the use of herbal medicinal plants by the people of Pasir Mayang, sub-District (Municipality) of VII Koto, District of Tebo, Jambi Province, Sumatera. The data collection was based on interviews with the healers and other villagers of Pasir Mayang who possess knowledge of the different plants and their medicinal uses. The study recorded 57 species of medicinal plants used in Pasir Mayang. The detailed uses of the 57 medicinal plants are given. All plant species were subjected to phytochemical analysis and toxicity tests, and the outcome of the analysis on the presence of alkaloids, saponins, steroids/terpenoids, and the level of toxicity against brine shrimp (Anemia salina) are presented. A comparison with other studies reported in the literature seems to indicate that a high frequency of the use of leaves in therapy may be a part of a larger cultural phenomenon among the tropical forest tribes of Southeast Asia. Keywords : Indonesia/Jarabi/Pasir Mayang/medicinal plants/ethuophannacy/toxicity screenin
ISOLATION AND SELECTION OF ALKALINE PROTEOLYTIC BACTERIA FROM LEATHER PROCESSING WASTE AND ENZYME CHARACTERIZATION
Get PDFABSTRACT The aims of this experiment were to isolate alkaline protease producing bacteria from leather processing waste, and to study the biochemical properties of the enzyme produced by the selected bacteria. Nine bacterial isolates incubated at 37"C, revealed proteolytic activity on skim milk containing media. Four isolates were grown at pH 9 and another four isolates at pH 10 and only one isolate at pH 11. However, in further subculture, there were only three isolates that showed proteolytic activity, namely, D2, D7, and Dl l . Among the three isolates, isolate D2 was the highest protease producer. The highest protease production (36.5U/L) was reached after a 36-hr fermentation at pH 9. The optimum activity of D2 protease was observed at pH 8 and 60"C. The enzyme was stable at pH range of 7-10, and at temperature of 52-62"C. In the presence of 5mM EDTA or PMSF, the crude enzyme activity decreased to 7.04% and 23.29% respectively, which indicated that the enzyme might be a metal dependent serine protease. Zymogram analysis revealed the molecular weight of the enzyme was about 42.8kD. Keywords: leather/ waste/protease/alkalin
IN VITRO CONSERVATION OF COCONUT (Cocos nucifera L.) EMBRYOS IN CULTURE MEDIA
No full textThe possibility of delaying the germination of mature coconut embryos in vitro for medium-term conservation of coconut was investigated. Embryos of coconut was stored in sugar free, full-strength and half-strength MS media for 3 months with minimal loss in viability. Germinability of embryos decreased with prolonged storage. At the end of 9-month storage period, embryos kept in full-strength media were all non-germinable, while those stored in half-strength media still gave 15% germination. Addition of mannitol up to 0.3M did show any significant effect on germination of embryos stored for 3 months. However, longer period of storage helps to a certain extent in the preservation of embryo viability. The presence of mannitol in the storage medium also induced morphological abnormalities in seedlings derived subsequently from the stored embryos. Mannitol at 0.4M was totally deleterious to the embryo. Significance of these findings on coconut genetic resources conservation are discussed.  Keywords: In vitro conservation/Coconut embryo
CURRENT MICROBIOLOGICAL ASPECTS IN HIGH MOUNTAIN LAKE RESEARCH
Get PDFRemote and normally unpolluted high mountain lakes provide habitats with no or very limited anthropogenic influences and, therefore, their hydrodynamics are mostly regulated by the natural conditions. Researches in high mountain lakes deal with measuring and modeling the response of the habitats to environmental changes especially correlated to acid deposition, pollutants influx and climatic variability. The microbial world has also become a focus in many studies of these extreme ecosystems. Despite the pressure of harsh and extreme conditions, microbial communities living in these habitats developed flexible strategies and show quick adaptation to climate oscillation. New aspects in microbiological studies in recent high mountain lake research are presented in this paper.Key words : High mountain lake, extreme environment, microbial communities, microbial diversity, psychrotolerant microbe, molecular microb
SOLATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF A NOVEL BENZOATE- UTILIZING Serratia marcescens
Get PDFA new benzoate-utilizing strain, Serratia marcescens DS-8, isolated from the environment was characterized. The strain was enterobacilli, Gram negative, mesophilic, non halophilic, and aerobic bacterium that showed motile ovale-rod shaped cells. The isolate produced extracellular chitinase, protease, and prodigiosin (a red pigment produced by several Serratia strains yielding bright red or pink colonies). A physiological assay using Microbact* test showed that the strain was closely related to Klebsiella ozaenae (49.85%) and Serratia liquefaciens (24.42%), respectively. However, 16S rRNA sequence analysis indicated that the strain was closely related to S. marcescens DSM 30121 with similarity level of 98%. DS-8 strain was able to synthesize its own vitamins. Optimum growth in benzoate was obtained at pH between 7-8.5 and NaCl concentration of 1-1.5% (w/v). The isolate could grow in benzoate-containing medium up to 10 mM. Other carbon sources that could support the growth of DS-8 were casamino acid, glutamate, glucose, acetate, potato starch, and ethanol. Keywords: Serratia marcescens/aromatic degradation/168 rRNA sequenc
POTENCY OF VIBRIO ISOLATES FOR BIOCONTROL OF VIBRIOSIS IN TIGER SHRIMP (PENAEUS MONODON) LARVAE
Get PDFThis study was carried out to obtain Vibrio isolates able to function as biocontrol of vibriosis in shrimp hatchery. Thirty one Vibrio isolates were isolated from tiger shrimp larvae and hatchery environments, i.e. Labuan, Pangandaran, and Lampung, Indonesia. Pathogenic V. harveyi MR5339 was obtained from Maros, South-Sulawesi and was made as a rifampicin resistant mutant (RFR) to screen for those 31 Vibrio isolates in in vitro assays and to allow us to monitor their presence in shrimp larvae and larval rearing water. Almost all Vibrio isolates could inhibit the growth of pathogenic V. harveyi MR5339 RFR. SKT-b isolate from Skeletonema was the most effective to inhibit the growth of V. harveyi MR5339 Rf* and significantly reduced larval mortality in pathogen challenge assays. These prospective biocontrol bacteria, at concentration of 10" CFU/ml, did not show pathogenicity to shrimp larvae. SKT-b was Gram negative, short rod-shape, exhibited yellow colonies on TCBS and swarming on SWC-agar media, motile, utilized glucose and sucrose but not lactose: produced extra-cellular protease and amylase, but did not produce chitmase. Partial sequencing of 16S-rRNA gene SKT-b showed SKT-b similarity to Vibrio alginofyticus. Keywords: shrimp larvae / biocontrol bacteria / vibriosis
GENETIC VARIATIONS AMONG AQUILARIA SPECIES AND GYRINOPS VERSTEEGII USING AMPLIFIED FRAGMENT LENGTH POLYMORPHISM MARKERS
Get PDFAquilaria sp Thymelaeaceae is the most valuable non wood production of forestry plant in Indonesia It produces a fragrant resin when subjected to fungal attack and has been traded internationally known as gaharu Knowledge of genetic diversity and relationship among species and genus is important for breeding purposes and species conservation In this study genetic variability of six Aquilaria species were analyzed using the AmplifiedFragment Length Polymorphism AFLP markers Ten AFLP primer combinations amplified 1353 DNA fragments ranging in size from100 to 350 bp of which 1285 95 of them were polymorphic Genetic similarities among Aquilaria sp consisted of A malaccensis A beccariana A microcarpa and A crassna ranged from 6390 to 7200 based on Dice coefficient The dendrogram derived by the unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean of germplasm analysiswere clustered into two main groups Hence a genetic variation among species is quiet high Bootstrap values for the groups supported 70 of the cluster using a linear relationship equation of r 0724 P 00001 was observedbetween known pedigrees and AFLPderived genetic similarity for 136 pairwise comparisons of Aquilaria species For example A malacensis and A microcarpa have the highest genetic similarity 7200 compared with another Aquilaria species Primer pairs EACGMCTA produced a specific fragment for A beccariana 850 bp A crasna 550 bp 180 bp and 140 bp A malaccencis 1500 bp A microcarpa 250 bp and Gyrinops versteegii 150 bp Primer pairs EACGMCAA produced a specific DNA fragment only for A beccariana 1500 bp and 100 bp Primer pairs EACCMCAC also produced only specific fragment for A crassna 1500 bp Study showed the usefulness of AFLP analysis in Aquilaria sp and its potential application for breeding and species conservation Further molecular diversity estimated in the present study combined with the datasets on other morphologicalagronomic traits will be useful for selecting the appropriate accessions for plant improvement through conventional and molecular breeding approaches.Key words Gaharu Aquilaria sp Gyrinops sp genetic diversity molecular marker amplifiedfragment length polymorphism AFL
MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF MALAYSIAN WILD BANANA MUSA ACUMINATA
Get PDFFourteen populations of Musa acuminata ranging from populations in the lowlands of northern (ssp. siamea) to central Malaysian region (ssp. malaccensis) and highland banana (ssp. truncata) were characterized based on chromosome number and 46 morphological characters. A large amount of variation was observed within the populations. However, only highland bananas appeared morphologically distinct. Lowland populations both from northern and central Malaysia were found to be overlapping and no distinguishing pattern was observed. The morphological characters found variable within these populations were related to developmental changes and mutations. The results obtained in this study were not revolutionary. However, the survey of a large number of characters treated with multivariate techniques further sharpened the existing groupings of the Musa acuminata subspecies. Key words: Musaceae/ Malaysia / ssp. malaccensis I ssp. truncata I ssp. siame
ANTIOXIDANT METABOLISM IN WATER STRESSED PEANUT TREATED WITH DINICONAZOLE
Get PDFThe response of alpha-tocopherol, glutathione and ascorbate was studied in peanut (Arachis hypogea L., cv. NC-17) subjected to water stress and treated with a triazole fungicide, diniconazole (DINI). There was no significant difference in alpha-tocopherol levels between control and DINI treated plants. However, a 14% increase was observed in alpha-tocopherol level in DINI treated, water stressed plants compared to water stressed plants. Total glutathione in DINI treated stressed plants increased by 13 and 31% over control and water stressed plants, respectively. Ascorbate levels decreased significantly in all treatments compared to the control. These results indicate that DINI alleviates the oxidative damage caused by water stress by increasing total glutathione levels. However, DINI does not seem to affect alpha-tocopherol and ascorbate levels in peanuts under water stress