Academia Journal of Biology

Petunidin-3-glucoside supplementation causes sex-specific effects on the lifespan and motor function in \(\textit{Drosophila melanogaster}\)

Fri, 29 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0700

Petunidin-3-glucoside (P3G), an anthocyanin prevalent in vegetables, fruits, and wine, possesses noteworthy antioxidant properties attributed to its capacity to scavenge free radicals. This property has sparked interest in the potential for anthocyanins to confer benefits on longevity and age-related motor dysfunctions. In this study, the impact of petunidin-3-glucoside (P3G) on the lifespan and motor function in Drosophila melanogaster was examined, both in the presence and absence of neurotoxic substances, such as glyphosate or ethanol. Varying concentrations of P3G were incorporated into the flies' diet immediately after hatching. Subsequently, distinct sets of flies were subjected to diverse conditions, including a stress-free environment, ethanol exposure, and glyphosate exposure. The survival rate of the flies was monitored daily, and their motor function was assessed using a negative geotaxis assay on days 1, 5, 10, and 15 post-eclosion. Only male flies exhibited an extended lifespan under normal and ethanol-exposed conditions. While P3G did not induce significant alterations in overall motor function for male and female flies across various conditions, intriguing variations were observed at different time points. In female flies, low concentrations of P3G seemed to exacerbate motor function decline during mid to late adulthood, particularly in the presence of glyphosate. Conversely, middle P3G concentration improved motor function in male flies during early to mid-adulthood, a trend consistent regardless of neurotoxic exposures. Taken together, the findings underscore the potential sex-specific effects of P3G on both lifespan and motor function, with observed benefits predominantly applicable to male flies. Nonetheless, while suggestive, a more in-depth investigation is imperative to comprehensively determine whether the advantageous impact of P3G on motor function is exclusive to the early to mid-adult stage. As such, this study presents a foundation that warrants further investigation.

Haplotype of \(\textit{TEX15}\) single nucleotide variants associated with male infertility in 401 Vietnamese individuals

Nguyen Phuong Anh, Bui Minh Duc, Huynh Thi Thu Hue, Nguyen Thuy Duong — Fri, 29 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0700

Spermatogenesis is a process of cell differentiation to produce fertilized sperm. Testis-expressed 15 (TEX15), an important gene in spermatogenesis, has been reported to be linked with male infertility in various populations. This study aimed to assess the association of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) TEX15 rs323347 with male infertile individuals in a Vietnamese cohort and further analyze the haplotypes of TEX15 rs323346 and TEX15 rs323347. A total of 401 unrelated males, including 202 male infertility patients and 199 healthy controls were genotyped for TEX15 rs323347 using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). Using statistical methods, the results showed that the allele frequencies of TEX15 rs323347 were in agreement with Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) (p-value > 0.05), but its genotype frequencies were not significantly different between male infertility patient and control groups (p-values > 0.05). However, the CA haplotype of the two variants (rs323346 and rs323347) increased the risk of male infertility (p = 0.046, OR = 2.547, 95% CI = 0.982–6.602). Thus, this study would enrich the knowledge of the impact of genetic factors on male infertility in the Vietnamese population.

Roosting and nesting ecology of house sparrow (\(\textit{Passer domesticus}\)) in Guwahati city, Assam

Snigdha Pegu, Sudipta Nag, Rubaiya Hasan, Arup Nama Das — Fri, 29 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0700

Aves are unique in having a coat of feathers and in balancing on the hind limbs alone. They are known as the feathered bipeds. Roosting, nest building in birds has been considered a remarkable behaviour in aves. The nesting ecology of birds is likely the most important component of its life history and it is affected by several ecological and environmental factors. Guwahati city, a rapidly growing city in northeast India inhabits a lot of species of birds. It is located between the Brahmaputra River’s southern bank and the Shillong plateau’s foothills. Total of the 57 nests, 28% were discovered in the rolling shop shutters, followed by 27% in the tin sheet roofs of homes, followed by 19% in building crevices, 9% in building holes, 7% in advertisement hoarding and 5% in AC outdoor units and 5% in unused building pipes. It is also observed that 49% of the nests are located at a height between 2–4 metres from the ground level, 70% of the nests are located between 1–5 metres from the nearest food source, and 58% of the nests are located between 1–5 metres from the nearest water source. Out of the 57 nests observed, 50 were found to be solitary, 5 were found to be Pair, and 2 were found to be cluster type. The study found that choosing a nest is influenced directly by the location of the nearest food source and nearest water source in Guwahati city. The study presents the merit and needs for studying the nesting ecology of birds in India, also suggests best practices to conserve bird’s nest specific to the Indian context which might provide important information for the nesting ecology of House Sparrows (Passer domesticus).

Whole exome sequencing identifies variants in the \(\textit{TNNI3}\) gene in vietnamese patient with restrictive cardiomyopathy - a case report

Fri, 29 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0700

Restrictive cardiomyopathy (RCM) is a rare heart muscle disease in which the heart wall is rigid leading to diastolic dysfunction caused by abnormal elastic properties of the myocardium and/or intercellular matrix. The prognosis is generally poor, and RCM has a high mortality rate in pediatric patients. There are no curative treatments for RCM, so cardiac transplantation is the only effective treatment. Diagnosis RCM, clinical diagnosis can be challenging because clinical presentations and imaging manifestations of RCM are similar to other cardiomyopathies so it requires other specific diagnoses. Currently, pathogenic mutations in 22 different genes have been identified in patients with RCM. Identifying mutations in these genes helps discriminate RCM from other cardiomyopathies. Besides, next-generation sequencing (including whole genome sequencing, whole exome sequencing,...) has provided an effective tool for simultaneously analyzing mutations in many different genes.

In this study, we conducted sequencing of the entire gene coding region (WES) in the patient and identified a compound heterozygote variants (c.289C>G, p.Arg97Gly and c.433C>T, p.Arg145Trp) in the TNNI3 gene. These variants were inherited from the patient's father and mother, who were heterozygous variant carriers. These variants were also identified as the pathogenic variants in the ClinVar database (accession number VCV001331910.2 and VCV000012426.28, respectively) and were the cause of the patient's disease. Our results suggest that WES can be used to definitively diagnose the genetic variants associated with RCM and show that genetic screening is essential for families of RCM patients.

Genetic diversity of mitochondrial DNA D-loop sequence in Bang Troi chicken breed

Nguyen Thi Dieu Thuy, Dinh Thi Ngoc Thuy, Mai Thi Thanh Nga — Fri, 29 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0700

Bang Troi chicken (GBT) is a local chicken that is free-gardening raised in Quang Ninh province. A 1,268 bp of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) D-loop of 17 Bang Troi chicken individuals was sequenced and analyzed. Comparative multiple sequence alignment revealed 17 base substitutions within 17 Bang Troi chicken individuals. Bang Troi chicken had a relatively high level of genetic diversity, expressed in the number of 13 haplotypes, haplotype diversity of 0.949. The Tajima’s test indicated that the analysed population in balancing selection with a D-value of 2.39. A phylogenetic tree based on 455 bp of hypervariable mtD-loop sequence classified 17 Bang Troi chicken individuals into three clades A, B, and E, which are common groups of Vietnamese and Asia indigenous chickens. This result provides the first genetic information and maternal lineages of Bang Troi chickens and it can support for registration of local chicken breeds.

Optimization of brine shrimp lethality test for \(\textit{in vivo}\) toxicity evaluation of poisonous plant species collected from Quang Tri province

Fri, 29 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0700

Plants are natural resources providing several important bioactive compounds for human health. To discover such valuable properties, researchers need to focus on both the pharmacology and toxicity of plant materials. Preliminary toxicity assessment of plants using the Brine Shrimp Lethality Test is a convenient, simple, and effective tool. However, some environmental parameters such as light, temperature and salinity need to be optimized for our own laboratory conditions and Artemia salina cysts produced in Vietnam. The obtained results indicated that the continuous lighting regime, temperature of 30 ^oC and salinity of 30 ppt are the most suitable parameters for cyst hatching within 24 hours and development of nauplii after 24 hours of hatching. Based on the optimal cyst-hatching procedure, the potential toxicity of 26 extracts from 24 poisonous plant species collected in Quang Tri was determined with median lethal concentration (LC₅₀). The results showed that 3/26 extracts were extremely toxic with LC₅₀≤ 10 µg/mL; 10/26 extracts were highly toxic with LC₅₀ from 10 µg/mL to 100 µg/mL; 8/26 extracts were moderately toxic with LC₅₀ from 100 µg/mL to 250 µg/mL; 4/26 extracts had low toxicity with LC₅₀ from 250 µg/mL to 1,000 µg/mL; and 1/26 extract was not toxic with LC₅₀ > 1,000 µg/mL. The presented data could provide scientific evidence for further pharmacological and toxicological investigations of these plant species. The optimal conditions for hatching A. salina cysts in this study will be applied in our laboratory for in vivo toxicity assessment of other plant species.

Associations of \(\textit{OTUBAIN-1, STAT, SHP}\) and \(\textit{NF-KB2}\) expression with clinical features in Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma patients

Do Thi Trang, Nguyen Trong Ha, Nguyen Thi Xuan — Fri, 29 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0700

Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) is a group of lymphoproliferative disorders characterized by the abnormal proliferation and accumulation of lymphocytes in the lymphatic system. An ovarian tumor domain containing ubiquitin aldehyde binding protein 1 (Otubain-1) is a deubiquitinating enzyme that cleaves ubiquitin or ubiquitin-like molecules and is expressed in various human tissues. The pathogenesis of NHL is associated with activations of the nuclear transcription factor (NF-κB) and signal transducer and activator of transcription proteins (JAK/STAT) signaling pathways. In this study, all the expressions of Otubain-1, NF-κB2, SHPs and STATs genes, the concentrations of cytokines IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α and clinical features in NHL patients were examined. To the end, gene expression levels of 82 NHL patients and 56 healthy individuals were determined by quantitative real time RT-PCR and secretion of cytokines by ELISA. As a result, concentrations of IL-6 and TNF-α in the patient group were found higher than in the healthy individuals and patients with higher LDH concentrations in the clinical cutoff, 280 U/L showed increased concentrations of AST, ALT and GGT than those with normal LDH concentrations. Interestingly, NHL patients with high Otubain-1 expression had significant elevations of GGT and ferritin concentrations as well as STAT-5 expression compared to those with low Otubain-1 expression. In conclusion, the present study indicates that up-regulation of Otubain-1 led to activation of STAT5 in lymphoma cells and liver dysfunction and metabolic syndrome in NHL patients.

Expression of haemagglutinin-neuraminidase of newcastle virus genotype VIII in insect cell Sf9

Le Van Truong, Man Hong Phuoc, Dong Van Quyen — Fri, 29 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0700

The hemagglutinin-neuraminidase (HN) protein is the surface glycoprotein of Newcastle disease virus (NDV) which is involved in the process of virus entry into host cells. HN exhibits the capability to induce agglutination of chicken red blood cells, thereby contributing to the viral infection of the host. As a consequence, HN is a potential antigen for the production of subunit vaccines for protecting poultry from NDV infections. In this study, the hn gene coding for the HN antigen of NDV genotype VIII was artificially synthesized, ligated into donor vector pFastBacHT A and integrated into the baculovirus genome for the purpose of HN expression in Spodoptera frugiperda 9 (Sf9) cells. The recombinant HN protein was successfully expressed in Sf9 cells in the SF900 III medium. The expressed recombinant HN protein, with a size of approximately 63 kDa, exhibited hemagglutinin activity (HA) of 4log2 when interacting with chicken erythrocyte fluid. The findings of this study lay the foundation for subsequent research endeavors aimed at the development of Newcastle disease virus (NDV) vaccines tailored for poultry in Vietnam.

The first record of \(\textit{Kudoa yasunagai}\) (Hsieh & Chen, 1984) (Myxosporea: Multivalvulida) parasitizing the brain of barhead spinefoot \(\textit{Siganus virgatus}\) (Valenciennes) from Vietnam

Nguyen Ngoc Chinh, Sho Shirakashi — Fri, 29 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0700

A brain-infecting myxozoan, Kudoa yasunagai (Hsieh & Chen, 1984), was identified using both morphological and molecular methods in a marine fish from Van Phong Bay, Khanh Hoa province, Vietnam. Cysts containing spores were observed in the brain of one out of 10 Siganus virgatus (Valenciennes) individuals (10%). The myxospores were radially symmetrical, containing a majority of 7 equal shell valves and polar capsules. The spores measured 6.6 ± 0.1 (6.4‒6.7) µm in length, 7.6 ± 0.5 (7.0‒8.4) µm in width, and 7.0 ± 0.4 (6.5‒7.7) µm in thickness. Polar capsules measured 2.8 ± 0.2 (2.6‒3.0) µm in length and 1.4 ± 0.1 (1.2‒1.5) µm in width, containing a filament inside. The SSU rDNA sequence from the Vietnamese specimen showed > 99.94 % identity with K. yasunagai from Japan and Australia. This report marks a new geographical and host record for K. yasunagai.

Phylogenetic relationships of \(\textit{Quercus}\) species (Fagaceae) in Vietnam based on multiplexed inter simple sequence repeat genotyping by sequencing

Fri, 29 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0700

Quercus is the largest genus of the family Fagaceae in the world and the second-largest in Vietnam, with approximately 50 species. However, the phylogeny study of the Quercus genus in Vietnam has yet to be thoroughly explored. In this study, we utilize the genome-wide single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) data obtained through Multiplexed Inter Simple Sequence Repeat Genotyping by sequencing (MIG-seq) to explore the phylogenetic relationships among Quercus species in Vietnam. The results of this study reveal that all Quercus species in Vietnam belong to subgenus Cerris and the phylogenetic analysis strongly supports the recognition of two infrageneric sections: Quercus and Ilex section for the Vietnamese Quercus. These results also confirm that the monophyly of Quercus in Vietnam is strongly supported by both morphological and molecular data. The results of this study also align entirely with previous research, indicating that Quercus species in Asia fall under the subgenus Cerris, comprising two sections: section Ilex and section Cyclobalanopsis.

A key to Vietnamese Polygonaceae genera, with note on extended distribution of \(\textit{Persicaria runcinata}\) in Vietnam

Tran Thi Phuong Anh — Fri, 29 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0700

The present work provides a taxonomic key to the genera of Polygonaceae found in Vietnam. It also reports the first occurrence of Persicaria runcinata in Lai Chau province, extending its known distribution within the country. Detailed photographic illustrations of the specimens studied accompany the findings. This extended distribution of P. runcinata could hold significant conservation implications, emphasizing the importance of further research and conservation efforts in the region.

Tree snails \(\textit{Amphidromus}\) Albers, 1850 (Pulmonata: Camaenidae) collected in Vietnam

Fri, 29 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0700

The paper presents results on tree snails based on samples collected from various parts of Vietnam during the period of 2008–2022. As a result, 14 Amphidromus species were recorded, which increased the diversity of the genus in Vietnam to a total of 27 species. Four species were new country records including Amphidromus atricallosus perakensis, Amphidromus leucoxanthus, Amphidromus perversus natunensis, and Amphidromus areolabiatus. Almost all 14 species were found in the south, while only Amphidromus roseolabiatus was recorded in the north. The great variation in the shell morphology of these tree snails required an integrative taxonomic approach to better understand the species diversity of the genus Amphidromus in Vietnam.