International Letters of Natural Sciences Vol. 68

Abstract: The earthworm Pontoscolex corethrurus (Müller, 1857) is reported for the first time from Punjab, India. This species was first described by German naturalist Fritz Müller in 1857 from Santa Catarina state of Brazil. It is commonly found in gardens, cropland and fallowlands. It tolerates wide range of climatic and edaphic factors due to its endogeic ecological category. P. corethrurus has high efficiency for organic matter assimilation and has ability to live in new habitat due to which it can survive even in very poor soil. The life cycle of this species is well documented and this species has economic importance due to its use in waste management.

Abstract: Ochna integerrima is a medicinal and ornamental plant, is widely distributed in Southeast Asia areas. In Vietnam, it has been ranked as the rare and endangered species due to its high demand trade of the beautiful species. In this study, total 21 Ochna samples, collected from the northern and southern areas, were used to characterize the morphological traits using morphological analyses and molecular tool. The results have revealed that the morphological characterization of flower and its quality of Yen Tu Ochna samples showed differences in comparison with the common Ochna and southern Ochna samples. To accurately distinguish genetic traits of the samples, we have sequenced the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region (including ITS1, 5.8S) of 21 species. The results have disclosed the genetic correlations of the samples ranging from 96.25% to 100% among the studied Ochna samples, of which 5 samples include B1, B2, B3, B6 and N3.1 were divided into the separate groups. The current work is the first report in constructing a molecular database of Ochna for further assessment of inter-and intra-specific molecular diversity of Ochna species in Vietnam.

Abstract: The present study examined the correlation between phenolic acids and flavonoids with high rice yield traits of rice. It was observed that the difference of phenolic contents among the tested rice lines occurred only in the vegetative stage. The concentrations of phenolic acids were higher in the rice high yield cultivars than low yield variety in the vegetative stage, but they either decreased dramatically or disappeared during the development stage. Caffeic acid was found only in high yield rice, whereas chlorogenic acid was detected only in low yield rice. Sinapic acid was the dominant phenolic acid in high yield cultivars at vegetative stage (3.7 mg/g), followed by ferulic acid (1.2 mg/g). These findings suggest that caffeic acid, ferulic acid, sinapic acid and chlorogenic acid may play a particular role in forming yield components in rice. The cultivar B3 contained high amount of sinapic acid may be used as a natural source for pharmaceutical use.

Abstract: The nutritional composition and amino acid profile of Moina macrocopa were studied using different types of yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Rhodotorula glutinis) as fodder substrates. The effective accumulation of carotenoids in Moina macrocopa during R. glutinis yeast application was not accompanied by deterioration in the nutritional value of zooplankton. The content of total proteins and total lipids in Moina grown on S. cerevisiae and R. glutinis was not significantly different. However, the use of R. glutinis in the cultivation of M. macrocopa led to the change in the ratio of proteinogenic amino acids in the studied cladocerans. In particular, the share of methionine, leucine and isoleucine significantly increased. It allowed to enhance the quality of protein in the fodder zooplankton, that is especially important in the feeding of fish fry.