IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 2021
Dragonflies and damselflies (Odonates) are important biological indicators in freshwater ecosyste... more Dragonflies and damselflies (Odonates) are important biological indicators in freshwater ecosystems. However, identification among Odonates is often challenging due to their similar morphological features. Therefore, the incorporation of morphological identification by taxonomists and validation using mitochondrial barcodes such as cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) can be a more reliable approach to enhance the accuracy in species identification. In this study, four COI barcodes for Malaysian dragonflies (Neurothemis fluctuans) and damselflies (Neurobasis chinensis, Aristocypha fenestrella and Sundacypha petiolata) were generated. Three of the generated barcodes (D2 COI, D4 COI and D5 COI) supported the species identified by taxonomists meanwhile D3 COI deduced that the damselfly species was misidentified due to the very similar morphology between the same genus of damselfly. All of the COI barcodes are now available in the GenBank with the accession numbers of MT266926.1 (D2 COI...
IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 2021
Butterflies are projected as reliable and economical biodiversity indicator. Traditionally, taxon... more Butterflies are projected as reliable and economical biodiversity indicator. Traditionally, taxonomists identified and classified butterfly species based on highly similar and ambiguous morphological appearances which can result in problematic species identification process leading to misidentification of species. DNA barcoding has been developed for taxonomic identification of butterflies to species level. Nonetheless, this approach is hampered by the paucity of reference barcodes encompassing butterflies of all families and species in Malaysia. This study reported four novel DNA barcodes (two cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) and two cytochrome b, cytb) of Malaysian butterflies generated using Sanger sequencing. One barcode (DIB032 COI) supported the species identified by taxonomists whereas the other three barcodes (DIB034 COI, DIB034 cytb and DIB046/049 cytb) deduced that the butterfly species were either misidentified or unidentified up to species level due to the lack of refe...
This data represents the complete mitochondrial genome of the Common Rose butterfly, Pachliopta a... more This data represents the complete mitochondrial genome of the Common Rose butterfly, Pachliopta aristolochiae, originating from Malaysia. It has a total of 15,235bp in length, consisting of 37 genes (13 PCGs, 22 transfer RNA, two ribosomal RNA) and an A+T rich control region. Genomic DNA was extracted using the Qiagen Blood and Tissue Kit (Qiagen, Valencia, CA) and fragmented using a Bioruptor® system. The library was prepared using NEBNext® Ultra™ II DNA Library Prep Kit for Illumina®. The sequence reads were generated using the Illumina NovaSeq 6000 platform with 150 paired-end mode (PE150). The assembly was carried out using NOVOPlasty v.4.2 and run through PALEOMIX BAM pipeline to assess the quality of the genome mapping. Then, the annotation was done using the MITOS v2 web server. Open Reading Frame (ORF) Finder was also used to verify predicted proteins and improve the genome annotation. The annotated mitogenome sequence file was converted into an accepted Genbank format using...
Taman Negara Johor Endau Rompin (TNJER) is the largest piece of protected area in the southern pa... more Taman Negara Johor Endau Rompin (TNJER) is the largest piece of protected area in the southern part of Peninsula Malaysia. The Endau part of the park, covering the size of 48,905 ha, is in the state of Johor. This study sampled a specific area of TNJER along three streams (Sungai Daah, Sungai Kawal and Sungai Semawak). Anurans were sampled along each stream using Visual Encounter Survey (VES). Twenty species were collected from this small plot of 2 ha. Using species cumulative curve, the 20 species apparently reached the asymptote Further analyses, involving nine estimators showed that chances of finding new species ranges from 20 (MMeans) to 27 (Jack 2). Based on the species cumulative curve, MMeans estimator was found to be more realistic. From a separate study to produce a checklist of anurans for TNJER based on several expeditions, carried out from several parts of TNJER and collections made from 1985 to 2015, 52 species were recorded. Samples collected from this study then form...
From a total of 17,461 species of butterfly described worldwide, at least two-third are from the ... more From a total of 17,461 species of butterfly described worldwide, at least two-third are from the tropics. Peninsular Malaysia is home to 1038 butterfly species. Endau-Rompin Johor National Park (ERJNP) in particular recorded 349 species as analysed from collections of 1987 to 2015. It represents 34% of butterfly fauna in Peninsular Malaysia. This paper aims (i) to document the diversity of butterfly in ERJNP and (ii) identify potential groups of butterfly that satisfy six criteria for good nature tourism product. The criteria are reliability of sighting, safe, with unique morphology and behaviour, rare or endemic and with cultural linkage. The samplings were done manually using aerial net and trapping using fruit baits along two 1 km transects in the eastern part of ERJNP (Nature Education and Research Centre and Kuala Jasin) from February 2014 to July 2015. This study successfully recorded 131 species comprising of 491 individuals from five families. Nymphalidae was the most domina...
The purpose of this research is to study the diversity and distribution of odonates in Johor, Pen... more The purpose of this research is to study the diversity and distribution of odonates in Johor, Peninsular Malaysia. The method used for odonate sampling was manual collection along 1 km line transect using aerial net. Overall, a total of 2222 individuals under 84 species from 13 families and 58 genera were recorded. Family Libellulidae was the most well-represented family. Shannon Diversity Index (H’) and Evenness Index (E) were highest in Endau-Rompin Johor National Park (H’= 3.155; E= 0.733) and lowest in Soga Perdana Recreational Forest (H’= 2.444; E= 0.501). To determine the site with highest conservation priority, the ecological data and entomotourism criteria was further analyzed using grid analysis. The site with highest priority was Endau-Rompin Johor National Park with a score value of 52 while the lowest priority was recorded in Sungai Sayong with a score value of 35. All these data will be helpful in assisting towards a better management of the conservation areas in Johor.
Malaria continues to kill over a million people each year. Malaria is caused by parasites of the ... more Malaria continues to kill over a million people each year. Malaria is caused by parasites of the genus Plasmodium and is one of the leading infectious diseases in many tropical regions including Malaysia. Many of the local people in the rural areas still use plants as remedies against fever and other symptoms of malaria as reported herein. Although the potentials of plants to be useful in traditional healthcare are acknowledged, currently survey and documentation of medicinal plants used by Jakun people in Endau-Rompin, Johor is lacking. As such there is an urgent need to document information on herbal remedies traditionally used for treatment diseases such as malaria and malaria-like symptoms. An ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plants used by the indigenous people in Kg. Peta, Endau-Rompin, Johor for the treatment of malaria and malaria-like symptoms infection was conducted. Data was collected from key informants in that community using a semistructured interview. Investigation ...
This book tries to capture the beauty of anurans (frog and toads) in all aspects; morphology and ... more This book tries to capture the beauty of anurans (frog and toads) in all aspects; morphology and ecology as well as to give the people new knowledge about anuran. This book is good for those who want to learn more about the anuran. The importance of the frogs and toads in Malaysia, particularly at Taman Negara Johor Endau-Rompin (TNJER) is manifold. Firstly, it is an indicator of the pristine characteristics of the tropical rain forest is with high humidity, and abundant water bodies. Temperature also indirectly affect the frog and toad diversity. Secondly, some frog species are used as food sources for local ethnic, which may become a problem to the conservation effort of the park management...
International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology
To date, there is sparse information for the genus Robertkochia with Robertkochia marina CC-AMO-3... more To date, there is sparse information for the genus Robertkochia with Robertkochia marina CC-AMO-30DT as the only described member. We report here a new species isolated from mangrove soil collected at Malaysia Tanjung Piai National Park and perform polyphasic characterization to determine its taxonomic position. Strain CL23T is a Gram-negative, yellow-pigmented, strictly aerobic, catalase-positive and oxidase-positive bacterium. The optimal growth conditions were determined to be at pH 7.0, 30–37 °C and in 1–2 % (w/v) NaCl. The major respiratory quinone was menaquinone-6 (MK-6) and the highly abundant polar lipids were four unidentified lipids, a phosphatidylethanolamine and two unidentified aminolipids. The 16S rRNA gene similarity between strain CL23T and R. marina CC-AMO-30DT is 96.67 %. Strain CL23T and R. marina CC-AMO-30DT clustered together and were distinguished from taxa of closely related genera in 16S rRNA gene phylogenetic analysis. Genome sequencing revealed that strain...
Ismail N, Rahman A A A, Mohamed M, Abu Bakar M F, Tokiman L. 2020. Butterfly as bioindicator for ... more Ismail N, Rahman A A A, Mohamed M, Abu Bakar M F, Tokiman L. 2020. Butterfly as bioindicator for development of conservation areas in Bukit Reban Kambing, Bukit Belading and Bukit Tukau, Johor, Malaysia. Biodiversitas 21: 334-344. Butterflies are often used as indicator surrogates to evaluate the quality of ecosystems. This is made possible due to their sensitive responses toward environmental fluctuations and habitat changes. Butterflies were collected opportunistically using aerial nets at three hill dipterocarp forests; Bukit Reban Kambing (BRK), Bukit Belading (BB) and Bukit Tukau (BT) of Johor, Malaysia from 8 th to 11 th March 2016. The objectives of this study are to provide a checklist of butterflies of the hills and evaluate habitat suitability in an effort to support the proposal to gazette the hills as part of the Gunung Ledang protected area. A total of 60 individuals belonging to 23 species, 21 genera, and five families were recorded. Comparing the three hills, BRK reco...
IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science
Limited resources, including financial, expertise and time have made a case for prioritizing cons... more Limited resources, including financial, expertise and time have made a case for prioritizing conservation exercises especially in a biodiversity hotspot country such as Malaysia. One method to determine conservation priorities is through Species Distribution Modelling (SDM). Globally, SDM has long been used to assist conservation management by estimating the range area of a species and determining its potential location in different geographical settings. This information will allow governing agencies to pinpoint important areas for conservation. Since management of protected areas in Malaysia is governed by federal or state, several legislation issues have arisen due to conflict of interest between the two authority bodies. This paper aims to review the current usage of SDM in Malaysia and suggest SDM as one of the tools that can be systematically used by both state and federal government in protected area management.
The genus Meridianimaribacter is one of the least-studied genera within Cytophaga-Flavobacteria. ... more The genus Meridianimaribacter is one of the least-studied genera within Cytophaga-Flavobacteria. To date, no genomic analysis of Meridianimaribacter has been reported. In this study, Meridianimaribacter sp. strain CL38, a lignocellulose degrading halophile was isolated from mangrove soil. The genome of strain CL38 was sequenced and analyzed. The assembled genome contains 17 contigs with 3.33 Mbp, a GC content of 33.13% and a total of 2982 genes predicted. Lignocellulose degrading enzymes such as cellulases (GH3, 5, 9, 16, 74 and 144), xylanases (GH43 and CE4) and mannanases (GH5, 26, 27 and 130) are encoded in the genome. Furthermore, strain CL38 demonstrated its ability to decompose empty fruit bunch, a lignocellulosic waste residue arising from palm oil industry. The genome information coupled with experimental studies confirmed the ability of strain CL38 to degrade lignocellulosic biomass. Therefore, Meridianimaribacter sp. strain CL38, with its halotolerance, could be useful for seawater based lignocellulosic biorefining.
IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 2021
Dragonflies and damselflies (Odonates) are important biological indicators in freshwater ecosyste... more Dragonflies and damselflies (Odonates) are important biological indicators in freshwater ecosystems. However, identification among Odonates is often challenging due to their similar morphological features. Therefore, the incorporation of morphological identification by taxonomists and validation using mitochondrial barcodes such as cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) can be a more reliable approach to enhance the accuracy in species identification. In this study, four COI barcodes for Malaysian dragonflies (Neurothemis fluctuans) and damselflies (Neurobasis chinensis, Aristocypha fenestrella and Sundacypha petiolata) were generated. Three of the generated barcodes (D2 COI, D4 COI and D5 COI) supported the species identified by taxonomists meanwhile D3 COI deduced that the damselfly species was misidentified due to the very similar morphology between the same genus of damselfly. All of the COI barcodes are now available in the GenBank with the accession numbers of MT266926.1 (D2 COI...
IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 2021
Butterflies are projected as reliable and economical biodiversity indicator. Traditionally, taxon... more Butterflies are projected as reliable and economical biodiversity indicator. Traditionally, taxonomists identified and classified butterfly species based on highly similar and ambiguous morphological appearances which can result in problematic species identification process leading to misidentification of species. DNA barcoding has been developed for taxonomic identification of butterflies to species level. Nonetheless, this approach is hampered by the paucity of reference barcodes encompassing butterflies of all families and species in Malaysia. This study reported four novel DNA barcodes (two cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) and two cytochrome b, cytb) of Malaysian butterflies generated using Sanger sequencing. One barcode (DIB032 COI) supported the species identified by taxonomists whereas the other three barcodes (DIB034 COI, DIB034 cytb and DIB046/049 cytb) deduced that the butterfly species were either misidentified or unidentified up to species level due to the lack of refe...
This data represents the complete mitochondrial genome of the Common Rose butterfly, Pachliopta a... more This data represents the complete mitochondrial genome of the Common Rose butterfly, Pachliopta aristolochiae, originating from Malaysia. It has a total of 15,235bp in length, consisting of 37 genes (13 PCGs, 22 transfer RNA, two ribosomal RNA) and an A+T rich control region. Genomic DNA was extracted using the Qiagen Blood and Tissue Kit (Qiagen, Valencia, CA) and fragmented using a Bioruptor® system. The library was prepared using NEBNext® Ultra™ II DNA Library Prep Kit for Illumina®. The sequence reads were generated using the Illumina NovaSeq 6000 platform with 150 paired-end mode (PE150). The assembly was carried out using NOVOPlasty v.4.2 and run through PALEOMIX BAM pipeline to assess the quality of the genome mapping. Then, the annotation was done using the MITOS v2 web server. Open Reading Frame (ORF) Finder was also used to verify predicted proteins and improve the genome annotation. The annotated mitogenome sequence file was converted into an accepted Genbank format using...
Taman Negara Johor Endau Rompin (TNJER) is the largest piece of protected area in the southern pa... more Taman Negara Johor Endau Rompin (TNJER) is the largest piece of protected area in the southern part of Peninsula Malaysia. The Endau part of the park, covering the size of 48,905 ha, is in the state of Johor. This study sampled a specific area of TNJER along three streams (Sungai Daah, Sungai Kawal and Sungai Semawak). Anurans were sampled along each stream using Visual Encounter Survey (VES). Twenty species were collected from this small plot of 2 ha. Using species cumulative curve, the 20 species apparently reached the asymptote Further analyses, involving nine estimators showed that chances of finding new species ranges from 20 (MMeans) to 27 (Jack 2). Based on the species cumulative curve, MMeans estimator was found to be more realistic. From a separate study to produce a checklist of anurans for TNJER based on several expeditions, carried out from several parts of TNJER and collections made from 1985 to 2015, 52 species were recorded. Samples collected from this study then form...
From a total of 17,461 species of butterfly described worldwide, at least two-third are from the ... more From a total of 17,461 species of butterfly described worldwide, at least two-third are from the tropics. Peninsular Malaysia is home to 1038 butterfly species. Endau-Rompin Johor National Park (ERJNP) in particular recorded 349 species as analysed from collections of 1987 to 2015. It represents 34% of butterfly fauna in Peninsular Malaysia. This paper aims (i) to document the diversity of butterfly in ERJNP and (ii) identify potential groups of butterfly that satisfy six criteria for good nature tourism product. The criteria are reliability of sighting, safe, with unique morphology and behaviour, rare or endemic and with cultural linkage. The samplings were done manually using aerial net and trapping using fruit baits along two 1 km transects in the eastern part of ERJNP (Nature Education and Research Centre and Kuala Jasin) from February 2014 to July 2015. This study successfully recorded 131 species comprising of 491 individuals from five families. Nymphalidae was the most domina...
The purpose of this research is to study the diversity and distribution of odonates in Johor, Pen... more The purpose of this research is to study the diversity and distribution of odonates in Johor, Peninsular Malaysia. The method used for odonate sampling was manual collection along 1 km line transect using aerial net. Overall, a total of 2222 individuals under 84 species from 13 families and 58 genera were recorded. Family Libellulidae was the most well-represented family. Shannon Diversity Index (H’) and Evenness Index (E) were highest in Endau-Rompin Johor National Park (H’= 3.155; E= 0.733) and lowest in Soga Perdana Recreational Forest (H’= 2.444; E= 0.501). To determine the site with highest conservation priority, the ecological data and entomotourism criteria was further analyzed using grid analysis. The site with highest priority was Endau-Rompin Johor National Park with a score value of 52 while the lowest priority was recorded in Sungai Sayong with a score value of 35. All these data will be helpful in assisting towards a better management of the conservation areas in Johor.
Malaria continues to kill over a million people each year. Malaria is caused by parasites of the ... more Malaria continues to kill over a million people each year. Malaria is caused by parasites of the genus Plasmodium and is one of the leading infectious diseases in many tropical regions including Malaysia. Many of the local people in the rural areas still use plants as remedies against fever and other symptoms of malaria as reported herein. Although the potentials of plants to be useful in traditional healthcare are acknowledged, currently survey and documentation of medicinal plants used by Jakun people in Endau-Rompin, Johor is lacking. As such there is an urgent need to document information on herbal remedies traditionally used for treatment diseases such as malaria and malaria-like symptoms. An ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plants used by the indigenous people in Kg. Peta, Endau-Rompin, Johor for the treatment of malaria and malaria-like symptoms infection was conducted. Data was collected from key informants in that community using a semistructured interview. Investigation ...
This book tries to capture the beauty of anurans (frog and toads) in all aspects; morphology and ... more This book tries to capture the beauty of anurans (frog and toads) in all aspects; morphology and ecology as well as to give the people new knowledge about anuran. This book is good for those who want to learn more about the anuran. The importance of the frogs and toads in Malaysia, particularly at Taman Negara Johor Endau-Rompin (TNJER) is manifold. Firstly, it is an indicator of the pristine characteristics of the tropical rain forest is with high humidity, and abundant water bodies. Temperature also indirectly affect the frog and toad diversity. Secondly, some frog species are used as food sources for local ethnic, which may become a problem to the conservation effort of the park management...
International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology
To date, there is sparse information for the genus Robertkochia with Robertkochia marina CC-AMO-3... more To date, there is sparse information for the genus Robertkochia with Robertkochia marina CC-AMO-30DT as the only described member. We report here a new species isolated from mangrove soil collected at Malaysia Tanjung Piai National Park and perform polyphasic characterization to determine its taxonomic position. Strain CL23T is a Gram-negative, yellow-pigmented, strictly aerobic, catalase-positive and oxidase-positive bacterium. The optimal growth conditions were determined to be at pH 7.0, 30–37 °C and in 1–2 % (w/v) NaCl. The major respiratory quinone was menaquinone-6 (MK-6) and the highly abundant polar lipids were four unidentified lipids, a phosphatidylethanolamine and two unidentified aminolipids. The 16S rRNA gene similarity between strain CL23T and R. marina CC-AMO-30DT is 96.67 %. Strain CL23T and R. marina CC-AMO-30DT clustered together and were distinguished from taxa of closely related genera in 16S rRNA gene phylogenetic analysis. Genome sequencing revealed that strain...
Ismail N, Rahman A A A, Mohamed M, Abu Bakar M F, Tokiman L. 2020. Butterfly as bioindicator for ... more Ismail N, Rahman A A A, Mohamed M, Abu Bakar M F, Tokiman L. 2020. Butterfly as bioindicator for development of conservation areas in Bukit Reban Kambing, Bukit Belading and Bukit Tukau, Johor, Malaysia. Biodiversitas 21: 334-344. Butterflies are often used as indicator surrogates to evaluate the quality of ecosystems. This is made possible due to their sensitive responses toward environmental fluctuations and habitat changes. Butterflies were collected opportunistically using aerial nets at three hill dipterocarp forests; Bukit Reban Kambing (BRK), Bukit Belading (BB) and Bukit Tukau (BT) of Johor, Malaysia from 8 th to 11 th March 2016. The objectives of this study are to provide a checklist of butterflies of the hills and evaluate habitat suitability in an effort to support the proposal to gazette the hills as part of the Gunung Ledang protected area. A total of 60 individuals belonging to 23 species, 21 genera, and five families were recorded. Comparing the three hills, BRK reco...
IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science
Limited resources, including financial, expertise and time have made a case for prioritizing cons... more Limited resources, including financial, expertise and time have made a case for prioritizing conservation exercises especially in a biodiversity hotspot country such as Malaysia. One method to determine conservation priorities is through Species Distribution Modelling (SDM). Globally, SDM has long been used to assist conservation management by estimating the range area of a species and determining its potential location in different geographical settings. This information will allow governing agencies to pinpoint important areas for conservation. Since management of protected areas in Malaysia is governed by federal or state, several legislation issues have arisen due to conflict of interest between the two authority bodies. This paper aims to review the current usage of SDM in Malaysia and suggest SDM as one of the tools that can be systematically used by both state and federal government in protected area management.
The genus Meridianimaribacter is one of the least-studied genera within Cytophaga-Flavobacteria. ... more The genus Meridianimaribacter is one of the least-studied genera within Cytophaga-Flavobacteria. To date, no genomic analysis of Meridianimaribacter has been reported. In this study, Meridianimaribacter sp. strain CL38, a lignocellulose degrading halophile was isolated from mangrove soil. The genome of strain CL38 was sequenced and analyzed. The assembled genome contains 17 contigs with 3.33 Mbp, a GC content of 33.13% and a total of 2982 genes predicted. Lignocellulose degrading enzymes such as cellulases (GH3, 5, 9, 16, 74 and 144), xylanases (GH43 and CE4) and mannanases (GH5, 26, 27 and 130) are encoded in the genome. Furthermore, strain CL38 demonstrated its ability to decompose empty fruit bunch, a lignocellulosic waste residue arising from palm oil industry. The genome information coupled with experimental studies confirmed the ability of strain CL38 to degrade lignocellulosic biomass. Therefore, Meridianimaribacter sp. strain CL38, with its halotolerance, could be useful for seawater based lignocellulosic biorefining.
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