Freshwater habitats are of high conservation value and provide a wide range ecosystem services. Effective management requires regular monitoring. However, conventional methods based on direct observation or specimen collection so invasive, expensive labour-intensive that frequent monitoring is uncommon. Here, we test whether the evaluation environmental DNA (eDNA) from water simple protocol can be used for assessing biodiversity. We use universal metazoan primers characterizing eDNA across...

Studying the gut microbes of marine fishes is an important part conservation as many fish species are increasingly threatened by extinction. The microbiota only a small fraction more than 32,000 known has been investigated. In this study we analysed intestinal digesta composition 50 different wild from tropical waters. Our results show that harbour distinct surrounding water and location, domestication status, host intrinsic factors strongly associated with composition. Furthermore, vast...

Macroinvertebrates that are collected in large numbers pose major problems basic and applied biodiversity research: identification to species via morphology is often difficult, slow and/or expensive. DNA barcodes an attractive alternative or complementary source of information. Unfortunately, obtaining from specimens requires many steps thus time money. Here, we promote a short cut barcoding, is, nondestructive PCR method skips extraction ('direct PCR') can be used for broad range...

Few tropical marine sites have been thoroughly characterised for their animal species, even though they constitute the largest proportion of multicellular diversity. A number focused biodiversity sampling programmes amassed immense collections to address this shortfall, but obstacles remain due lack identification tools and large undescribed species globally. These problems can be partially addressed with DNA barcodes ("biocodes"), which potential facilitate estimation diversity identify...

Molecular sequence data have previously revealed the existence of cryptic species associated with Pocillopora 'damicornis-like' coral. Recently, this complex has been reclassified into three including resurrected P. acuta, which appears to a wide distribution. Morphological characteristics described for acuta are present in corals identified as damicornis. To determine if colonies on Singapore's reefs damicornis, or both, we examined new collection using mitochondrial DNA and morphology. We...

Abstract Macroalgae play important ecological roles, including as hosts for a wide range of epifauna. However, the diversity relationships between macroalgae and epifauna are poorly understood most tropical host species algal morphologies. This study aims to characterize analyse invertebrates present amongst with three distinct morphologies (three-dimensional, filamentous foliose) across different intertidal sites in Singapore. Morphological DNA barcoding tools were employed epifaunal...

Motivation: A one-to-one correspondence between the sets of genes in two genomes being compared is necessary for notions breakpoint and reversal distances. To compare where there are paralogous genes, Sankoff formulated exemplar distance problem as a general version genome rearrangement problem. Unfortunately, NP-hard even distance.

Abstract Environmental DNA (eDNA) with metabarcoding or metagenomics will likely become a major biomonitoring tool in the 21st century, perhaps even more so face of increased coastal urbanization and its associated effects such as pollution, land reclamation, seabed dredging. Together, these impacts consequent high turbidity pose severe challenges to traditional survey techniques that rely heavily on visual observations. We here demonstrate eDNA can be used for turbid waters, using Singapore...

The Coral Triangle is widely considered the most important centre of marine biodiversity in Asia while areas on its periphery such as South China Sea, have received much less interest. Here, we demonstrate that a small population knobbly sea star Protoreaster nodosus Singapore has similarly high levels genetic diversity comparable Indonesian populations from Triangle. this remarkable because it maintained despite decades continued anthropogenic disturbance. We postulate probably due to...

Skp1 an essential component of the SCF (Skp1/cullin/F-box) E3 ubiquitin ligases, which target proteins for degradation by 26S proteasome. We generated a skp1dM mutant strain that is defective galactose induction GAL1 gene and we have found galactose-induced protein repressor Mig2 in this strain. was also abolished cells lacking kinase Snf1 F-box Das1, suggesting triggers SCFDas1. Chromatin immunoprecipitation showed associates with promoter upon exit Mig1 cells, but not wild-type conditional...

Impending anthropogenic climate change will severely impact coastal organisms at unprecedented speed. Knowledge on organisms' evolutionary responses to past sea-level fluctuations and estimation of their potential is therefore indispensable in efforts mitigate the effects future change. We sampled tens thousands genomic markers ~300 individuals two four extant horseshoe crab species across complex archipelagic Singapore Straits.

Recent years have seen an increase in the number of studies that use DNA sequence information addition to morphological methods, as latter alone can be inadequate for morphologically similar, cryptic species. Marine onchidiid slugs (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Onchidiidae), which commonly inhabit intertidal environments and a near-global distribution, comprise 11 genera 86 described Singapore has 19 recorded species onchidiids with Peronia verruculata (Cuvier, 1830) being most abundant. Here we...

Reefs in Southeast Asia, such as those Indonesia's Riau archipelago, are among the most diverse habitats sea, but limited baseline data pose a severe challenge for their conservation. Here, we surveyed five reef sites along northern coast of Bintan Island to determine recent condition benthic and fish communities. Fourteen years resort development on island have elapsed since last survey 1993. Using several diversity measures compare reefs then 2007, found that abundances hard corals...

Sea anemones are sedentary marine animals that tend to disperse via planktonic larvae and predicted have high population connectivity in undisturbed habitats. We test whether two sea anemone species living different tidal zones of a highly disturbed environment can maintain genetic connectivity. More than 1000 loci with single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were obtained double-digest RADseq for 81 Stichodactyla haddoni 99 Entacmaea quadricolor individuals structure. find evidence both...

Abstract Freshwater species often show high levels of endemism and risk extinction owing to their limited dispersal abilities. This is exemplified by the stenotopic freshwater crab, Johora singaporensis which one world's 100 most threatened species, currently inhabits less than 0.01 km 2 five low order hill streams within highly urbanized island city‐state Singapore. We compared populations J. with that non‐threatened, widespread, abundant, eurytopic Parathelphusa maculata , found...

Teaching is one of the most essential activities academics, and leading knowledge critical thinking crucial for a healthy productive society. However, context complex. The last two decades were characterised by an economic crisis that negatively impacted many educational systems, industry interests are driving social transformation. Inevitably, institutes higher learning changing their role, perhaps unawares. Meanwhile, new generations students also modes.

Abstract Marine fishes along with their unique gut microbiotas are at threat of extinction. Studying the microbes marine is an important part conservation. The microbiota only a small fraction more than 32,000 known fish species has been investigated. In this study we analysed composition 50 different wild from tropical waters. Our results show that harbour distinct surrounding water and location, domestication status, host intrinsic factors strongly affect composition. Furthermore, vast...