Phylogenetic relationships of Malaysia’s long-tailed macaques,Macaca fascicularis,based on cytochrome b sequences

Phylogenetic relationships among Malaysia’s long-tailed macaques have yet to be established, despite abundant genetic studies of the species worldwide. The aims of this study are to examine the phylogenetic relationships of Macaca fascicularis in Malaysia and to test its classification as a morphological subspecies. A total of 25 genetic samples of M. fascicularis yielding 383 bp of Cytochrome b (Cyt b) sequences were used in phylogenetic analysis along with one sample each of M. nemestrina and M. arctoides used as outgroups. Sequence character analysis reveals that Cyt b locus is a highly conserved region with only 23% parsimony informative character detected among ingroups. Further analysis indicates a clear separation between populations originating from different regions; the Malay Peninsula versus Borneo Insular, the East Coast versus West Coast of the Malay Peninsula, and the island versus mainland Malay Peninsula populations. Phylogenetic trees (NJ, MP and Bayesian) portray a consistent clustering paradigm as Borneo’s population was distinguished from Peninsula’s population (99% and 100% bootstrap value in NJ and MP respectively and 1.00 posterior probability in Bayesian trees). The East coast population was separated from other Peninsula populations (64% in NJ, 66% in MP and 0.53 posterior probability in Bayesian). West coast populations were divided into 2 clades: the North-South (47%/54% in NJ, 26/26% in MP and 1.00/0.80 posterior probability in Bayesian) and Island-Mainland (93% in NJ, 90% in MP and 1.00 posterior probability in Bayesian). The results confirm the previous morphological assignment of 2 subspecies, M. f. fascicularis and M. f. argentimembris, in the Malay Peninsula. These populations should be treated as separate genetic entities in order to conserve the genetic diversity of Malaysia’s M. fascicularis. These findings are crucial in aiding the conservation management and translocation process of M. fascicularis populations in Malaysia.     

The molecular phylogenetic signature of Bali cattle revealed by maternal and paternal markers

Bali cattle is a domestic cattle breed that can be found in Malaysia. It is a domestic cattle that was purely derived from a domestication event in Banteng (Bos javanicus) around 3,500 BC in Indonesia. This research was conducted to portray the phylogenetic relationships of the Bali cattle with other cattle species in Malaysia based on maternal and paternal lineage. We analyzed the cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) mitochondrial gene and SRY of Y chromosome obtained from five species of the Bos genus (B. javanicus, Bos gaurus, Bos indicus, Bos taurus, and Bos grunniens). The water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) was used as an outgroup. The phylogenetic relationships were observed by employing several algorithms: Neighbor-Joining (PAUP version 4.0), Maximum parsimony (PAUP version 4.0) and Bayesian inference (MrBayes 3.1). Results from the maternal data showed that the Bali cattle formed a monophyletic clade, and together with the B. gaurus clade formed a wild cattle clade. Results were supported by high bootstrap and posterior probability values together with genetic distance data. For the paternal lineage, the sequence variation is low (with parsimony informative characters: 2/660) resulting an unresolved Neighbor-Joining tree. However, Bali cattle and other domestic cattle appear in two monophyletic clades distinct from yak, gaur and selembu. This study expresses the potential of the COI gene in portraying the phylogenetic relationships between several Bos species which is important for conservation efforts especially in decision making since cattle is highly bred and hybrid breeds are often formed. Genetic conservation for this high quality beef cattle breed is important by maintaining its genetic characters to prevent extinction or even decreased the genetic quality.     

Exploring the abundance and DNA barcode information of eight parasitoid wasps species (Hymenoptera), the natural enemies of the important pest of oil palm,bagworm, Metisa plana (Lepidoptera: Psychidae) toward the biocontrol approach and it's application in Malaysia

Parasitoid wasps (Hymenoptera) play a significant role in reducing the pest population of the bagworm species Metisa plana. This study presents the abundance and DNA barcoding information of eight parasitoid wasps species, Dolichogenidea metesae (47%), Brachymeria carinata (19%), Buysmania oxymora (12%), Goryphus bunoh (7%), Pediobius anomalus (5%), Eupelmus cotoxanthae (2%), Apanteles aluella (5%), Apanteles sp.1 (3%) and that emerged from M. plana collected from three highly infested oil palm plantations in Selangor (west), Perak (north) and Johor (south) in Peninsular Malaysia. Samples of infested M. plana were collected from the field and reared in a rearing room. The parasitoid wasp species D. metesae recorded the highest emergence numbers and the broadest presence in all the sampling sites. The relationships among the parasitoids species were estimated and visualized using Neighbor Joining (NJ) phylogenetic analyses with the Ceraphronidae family as an outgroup. The resulting NJ tree showed that the identified parasitoid wasps were successfully classified into specific species and supported with bootstraps values between 55% to 100%. This study provides important information on potential biological control agents for M. plana that may be useful for the Malaysian oil palm industry.     

Prevalence and evolutionary history of endosymbiont Wolbachia (Rickettsiales: Anaplasmataceae) in parasitoids (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) associated with Bactrocera fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) infesting carambola

Wolbachia endosymbiont is a maternally inherited bacteria that infects a wide range of hosts, including parasitoids and their respective hosts. In this study, a total of 171 individuals of braconid endoparasitoids, consisting of Fopius arisanus, F. vandenboschi, Diachasmimorpha longicaudata, Psyttalia sp.1, Psyttalia sp.2, P. fletcheri and P. incisi, and their host tephritid fruit flies of Bactrocera dorsalis, B. papayae and B. carambolae infesting carambola were screened molecularly by the Wolbachia surface protein (wsp) gene. Interestingly, 21 (24.14%) wsp gene sequences were successfully isolated from 87 braconid samples tested, showing a low infection rate of Wolbachia. However, despite the close ecological contact between parasitoids and their hosts, none of the tephritid individuals were infected by Wolbachia. A comparison of wsp and host mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) sequences found that braconids did not cluster in connection with Wolbachia infection, suggesting that selective sweep has not yet occurred because Wolbachia may have recently infected the braconid populations in Peninsular Malaysia (≈0.1 MYA). Despite of relatively recent infections of Wolbachia, the history of Wolbachia infection into F. arisanus populations of Peninsular Malaysia is complex, involving at least two independent occasions of infection and two secondary losses.     

Morphological and molecular identification of medically important questing Dermacentor species collected from some recreational areas of Peninsular Malaysia

Systematic Parasitology - Questing is a situation when a tick is seeking to get closer or ambush its potential host. However, information on questing tick species in Malaysia is still lacking, thus...     

Molecular identification of blood meal sources of ticks (Acari,Ixodidae) using cytochrome b gene as a genetic marker

Blood meal analysis (BMA) from ticks allows for the identification of natural hosts of ticks (Acari: Ixodidae). The aim of this study is to identify the blood meal sources of field collected on-host ticks using PCR analysis. DNA of four genera of ticks was isolated and their cytochrome b (Cyt b) gene was amplified to identify host blood meals. A phylogenetic tree was constructed based on data of Cyt b sequences using Neighbor Joining (NJ) and Maximum Parsimony (MP) analysis using MEGA 5.05 for the clustering of hosts of tick species. Twenty out of 27 samples showed maximum similarity (99%) with GenBank sequences through a Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) while 7 samples only showed a similarity range of between 91–98%. The phylogenetic trees showed that the blood meal samples were derived from small rodents (Leopoldamys sabanus, Rattus tiomanicus and Sundamys muelleri), shrews (Tupaia glis) and mammals (Tapirus indicus and Prionailurus bengalensis), supported by 82–88% bootstrap values. In this study, Cyt b gene as a molecular target produced reliable results and was very significant for the effective identification of ticks’ blood meal. The assay can be used as a tool for identifying unknown blood meals of field collected on-host ticks.