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Mictyris thailandensis has been described recently in the family Mictyridae which is found only in the Andaman Sea, west coast of Thailand. In this study, we performed shotgun genome sequencing of a male M. thailandensis using a paired-end (150 bp) sequencing chemistry on MGISEQ-2000RS and report the complete mitochondrial genome of M. thailandensis (15,557 bp). A total of 37 genes have been annotated: 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 transfer RNA genes (tRNAs), two ribosomal RNA genes (rRNAs), and a control region. Comparative phylogenetic analysis with 29 crustaceans based on 13 conserved genes demonstrated that M. thailandensis is closely related to other soldier crabs in the family Mictyridae. The mitogenome of M. thailandensis presented here provides useful genetic information to help understand the evolutionary relationships among the Mictyridae family members.

Oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL) is the leading cause of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases. Here, we created a simple colorimetric assay for sensitive and specific determination of oxLDL using a selective aptamer coupled with salt-induced gold nanoparticle (AuNP) aggregation. The aptamer was chosen by Systematic Evolution of Ligands by Exponential Enrichment to obtain a novel selective sequence towards oxLDL (as 5'-CCATCACGGGGCAGGCGGACAAGGGGTAAGGGCCACATCA-3'). Mixing a 5 μM aptamer solution with an aliquot of a sample containing oxLDL followed by adding AuNP solution (OD = 1) and 80 mmol L

Objective: To measure the difference in fasting blood glucose (FBG) among Thai women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), having received either oral combined contraceptive pills (OCP) or cyclic progestin, during 3 years of treatment. Materials and Methods: The data were collected by a retrospective chart review of women with PCOS, who had been treated at Siriraj Hospital before June 2019, backward to the year 2000. The patients were divided into two groups, according to their different treatments, namely: an OCP group and a cyclic progestin group. There were 44 cases in each group, and both groups had received complete hormonal treatment over 3 years. Results: The patients’ baseline characteristics showed a significantly lower body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) in the OCP group than in the cyclic progestin treatment group. After the 3-year period of treatment, the FBG differences in the OCP group and cyclic progestin treatment group were 3.4±8.4 and 3.6±8.5 mg/dL, respectively; which revealed no statistical significance. Additionally, the difference in the WC and metabolic profile between the studied groups after 3 years of treatment also revealed no significance. However, BMI presented a significant difference between the two hormonal regimens after 3 years of treatment (p-value=0.007), with higher differences in the OCP treatment group. Conclusion: There was no statistically significant difference in FBG between the beginning and at the third year of treatment found in both regimens of hormonal treatment in Thai PCOS women.

Hyperglycemia-induced oxidative stress and inflammation are hallmarks of liver damage in diabetes mellitus. Accumulating evidence has demonstrated that Pluchea indica leaf ethanol extract (PILE) possesses strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. However, studies of its effects on liver damage in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic animals remain insufficient. To the best of our knowledge, the present study was the first to illustrate that PILE mitigated liver injury in STZ animals. Mice were first pretreated with PILE at either 50 mg/kg (PILE 50) or 100 mg/kg (PILE 100) 2 weeks prior to the induction of hyperglycemia by multiple low doses of STZ. The mice were then fed with PILE 50 or PILE 100 for 4 or 8 weeks, following which liver weight, pathological changes, oxidative stress parameters, inflammation-related markers and caspase-mediated apoptosis were measured at each time point. Untreated STZ mice exhibited abnormal increases in liver weight and severe pathological changes. However, PILE 100 reduced the severity of the STZ-induced diabetic phenotype at both time points. A significant decrease in the levels of superoxide dismutase and catalase, in addition to an increase in malondialdehyde, were observed in the livers of untreated STZ mice, all of which were significantly reversed by treatment with PILE 100 for 8 weeks. Western blot analysis revealed reduced levels of liver inflammatory markers, including interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-α, NF-κB p65, transforming growth factor-β1 and protein kinase C following PILE 100 treatment. Additionally, changes in the levels of apoptotic markers indicated that PILE 100 significantly attenuated caspase-9 and -3 expression, whilst preserving that of the Bcl-2 protein. In conclusion, the present study revealed that PILE alleviates hyperglycemia-induced liver injury by normalizing the various mediators of oxidative stress, inflammation and apoptosis.

Mangroves are susceptible to contamination due to their proximity to shores and human activities. Exposure to excessive trace metals can disturb their physiological functions and may eventually lead to death. Rhizophora mucronata is a common species growing in the mangrove forests of Thailand. Previous studies have shown that seedlings of R. mucronata are tolerant of trace metal and that they accumulate a large metal content in their root tissue. However, knowledge of their tolerance mechanisms is still lacking. To elicit the role of metal detoxification and sequestration by phytochelatins (PC) in the roots of R. mucronata seedlings, the impacts of Cu and Zn exposure were assessed on 1) physiological characteristics 2) the concentration of glutathione (GSH), a precursor of PC and 3) the level of the transcripts encoding phytochelatin synthase (PCS), the key enzyme for PC biosynthesis. Seedlings of R. mucronata were exposed to Cu and Zn in a hydroponic experiment (200 mg Cu or Zn/L in 1/4× Hoagland solution containing 8‰ NaCl, single addition). We found that both trace metals were largely accumulated in the roots. Only Cu-treated seedlings showed a decrease in the photosynthetic efficiency, in line with observed toxicity symptoms (i.e. bent stems and slight wilting of leaves). Metal accumulation, however, did not induce oxidative stress in the roots as indicated by similar level of total reactive species and lipid peroxidation across treatments. The GSH content in the roots exposed to Cu was significantly reduced while no change was observed in Zn-exposed roots. Coordinated semi-quantitative PCR and RT-qPCR revealed pcs down-regulation in Cu-treated roots, whereas Zn-treated roots showed a down-regulation on day 1 and a subsequent recovery on day 5. Failure of detoxification and sequestration of excess Cu due to GSH limitation and down-regulation of pcs may lead to the phytotoxic effects observed in Cu-treated plants. Our results suggest that both GSH and PC play an important role in trace metal tolerance in R. mucronata seedlings.

Bigfin reef squid (Sepioteuthis lessoniana) is a candidate squid species that has potential to be utilized in aquaculture on a commercial scale. Although this species has been successfully cultured over multiple generations, appropriate feeding strategies are still limited due to a lack of understanding of its digestive physiology. The present study focused on digestive enzymes and chyme characteristics in terms of time response profiles following feeding. Squids (1.78 ± 0.05 g body weight) were serially collected at different post-prandial times (0, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 18 and 24 h) and the specimens were used in the analysis of digestive enzymes (n = 10) and chyme characteristics (n = 5). Food provided to the animals substantially transited to the gastrointestinal tract and peaked at 1 h after feeding, and then dramatically decreased with post-prandial time (P

Climate change-related events, such as marine heatwaves, are increasing seawater temperatures, thereby putting pressure on marine biota. The cosmopolitan distribution and significant contribution to marine primary production by the genus Ruppia makes them interesting organisms to study thermal tolerance and local adaptation. In this study, we investigated the photosynthetic responses in Ruppia to the predicted future warming in two contrasting bioregions, temperate Sweden and tropical Thailand. Through DNA barcoding, specimens were determined to Ruppia cirrhosa for Sweden and Ruppia maritima for Thailand. Photosynthetic responses were assessed using pulse amplitude-modulated fluorometry, firstly in short time incubations at 18, 23, 28, and 33 °C in the Swedish set-up and 28, 33, 38, and 43 °C in the Thai set-up. Subsequent experiments were conducted to compare the short time effects to longer, five-day incubations in 28 °C for Swedish plants and 40 °C for Thai plants. Swedish R. cirrhosa displayed minor response, while Thai R. maritima was more sensitive to both direct and prolonged temperature stress with a drastic decrease in the photosynthetic parameters leading to mortality. The results indicate that in predicted warming scenarios, Swedish R. cirrhosa may sustain an efficient photosynthesis and potentially outcompete more heat-sensitive species. However, populations of the similar R. maritima in tropical environments may suffer a decline as their productivity will be highly reduced.

Gamma-interferon-inducible lysosomal thiol reductase (GILT) contains a CXXC active site motif that possesses thiol reductase activity by catalyzing the disulfide bond reduction of exogenous antigens. Mutating the active site of human GILT to change the cysteine residues to serine residues eliminates this property. Our previous study reported that Penaeus monodon GILT (PmGILT) contained a CXXS active site motif. Therefore, we assessed the enzymatic activity of PmGILT and demonstrated that it displayed identical thiol reductase activity at an acidic pH. In addition, the biological activity of PmGILT against shrimp pathogens, including white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) and Gram-negative bacteria, was investigated. The neutralization of WSSV with PmGILT indicated the inhibition of WSSV invasion into shrimp hemocyte cells. Moreover, the relative percentage survival of shrimp injected with PmGILT-treated virus solution was 75%. Finally, the antimicrobial activity of PmGILT was confirmed by the growth inhibition of Vibrio harveyi. These results establish the role of PmGILT in the inhibition of the virulence of two major shrimp pathogens.

Loss of β-cell mass and function is a fundamental feature of pathogenesis for type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Increasing evidence indicates that apoptosis is one of the main mechanisms of β-cell death in both types. Ethanolic extracts of Pluchea indica leaf (PILE) have been reported to possess blood glucose lowering actions in vivo. Nevertheless, further study is required to determine the underlying mechanisms. In this report, we have investigated the preventive effects of PILE on multiple low doses of streptozotocin (MLDS)-induced β-cell apoptosis. Mice were pre-treated with PILE at 50 mg/kg (PILE 50) or 100 mg/kg (PILE 100) for 2 weeks before streptozotocin (STZ) stimulation, and the treatment continued for 4 or 8 weeks. Results revealed that PILE 100 mice exhibited improved blood biochemistry, maintained a higher body weight, had decreased hyperglycemia, and restored islet architectures compared to non-treated STZ mice. Significantly, PILE 100 decreased levels of inflammatory response markers interferon-γ (IFN-γ), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and interlukin1-β (IL-1β), concomitant with the inhibition of caspase-3, caspase-8, capsepase-9, phosphorylation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (pSTAT1), nuclear factor-κBp65 (NF-κBp65), and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). Additionally, survival and proliferative ability of β-cells was mediated by up-regulated Bcl-2 and Ki67, respectively. These results provide strong evidence that pretreatment with PILE 100 effectively attenuated STZ-induced diabetes-related symptoms and these effects could be associated with the inhibition of cytokine-induced β-cell apoptosis.

This study aimed to screen purple non-sulfur bacteria capable of accumulating granules or polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) inside the cells, identify the potent strain, assay the enzyme or PHA synthase, and compare the PHB synthase gene with that of related strains. A total of 58 strains of purple non-sulfur bacteria were isolated from 108 samples of chicken feces in the chicken-egg farm of the Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Natural Resources at Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Thailand. After cultivating the bacteria in glutamate malate (GM) medium without added glutamic acid under light (3,000 Lux) at 35 o C for 5 days, the intracellular biopolymer granules of the bacteria were observed by using a Confocal Laser Scanning Microscope (CLSM) with excitation and emission wavelength of 530 and 605 nm, respectively. Gas chromatography (GC) was carried out for quantitative analysis of PHB. There were five strains, CH12, CH52, CH72, CH90 and CH92, showed biopolymer granules under CLSM, and accumulated PHB 5, 1.7, 1.5, 1.4 and 1.8% (w w -1 ) of the cell dry weight (CDW), respectively. The 16S rDNA sequence analysis of CH12 strain showed a high homology of 100% correlation to that of Rhodopseudomonas palustris strain NCIB8288. Regarding the taxonomic characteristics and 16S rDNA sequence analysis, CH12 strain was identified as Rps. palustris NCIB8288. The PHA synthase activity of the crude extract from CH12 strain was 25 units/mL. The conserved regions could be aligned and selected among 5 strains of Rhodopseudomonas palustris (strains BisA53, TIE-1, CGA009, HaA2 and BisB18). The purified PCR product was obtained for further studies.