Blumea lanceolaria (Roxb.) Druce, a flowering plant, is used for treating cancer and inflammatory diseases. In this study, we determined the chemical composition of the EOs extracted from the leaves (LBEO), stem (SBEO), and roots (RBEO) of B. lanceolaria and analyzed their anti-inflammation potential. Overall, 30 compounds representing 99.12%, 98.44%, and 96.89% of total EO constituents of the leaves, stem, and roots, respectively, were identified using GC-MS. ELISA, Western blotting, and qRT-PCR studies showed that LBEO, SBEO, and RBEO inhibited multiple steps in the inflammatory responses in the RAW 264.7 cell model, including NO production; TNF-α, IL-6, iNOS, and COX-2 transcription and translation; and phosphorylation of IκBα and p65 of the NF-κB pathway. In the carrageenan-induced paw edema model, all three EOs inhibited paw edema at both early and delayed phases. Molecular docking studies indicated that the main components of B. lanceolaria EOs (BEOs) targeted and inhibited major components of inflammation-related pathways, including the arachidonic acid metabolic pathway, NF-κB pathway, and MAPK pathway. We present the first study to characterize the chemical composition of BEOs and confirm their potent anti-inflammatory effects in in vitro, in vivo, and in silico analysis. These results can facilitate the development of effective anti-inflammatory drugs with limited side effects in the future.

Mangrove ecosystems play important ecological roles, including the mitigation of global climate change and biodiversity conservation. However, they have received little attention from scientists for the research and conservation of bats and general biodiversity. In Vietnam, bat species inhabiting mangroves have been relatively unstudied, while this ecosystem is located along the country’s coastal zones and has declined dramatically due to the development of agriculture, wind energy and other threats. To initially fill this gap, five bat surveys were conducted between September 2019 and November 2021 within Ha Long Bay and Ben Tre province, which contain representative mangrove areas of northern and southern regions of Vietnam, respectively. Bats were captured using mist nets, mobile nets and hand nets. Their echolocation calls were recorded and analyzed using the PCTape system and Selena software, respectively. Five species were captured and recorded: Cynopterus brachyotis, Macroglossus minimus, Myotis hasselti, Myotis pilosus and Taphozous melanopogon. They are all new to both Ha Long Bay and Ben Tre province. Four species (C. brachyotis, M. minimus, M. hasselti and M. pilosus) have been rarely documented from other ecosystems in Vietnam but have commonly been recorded and captured in mangrove areas. Of these species, M. pilosus is a globally “Vulnerable” species. While searching for prey, Myotis hasselti emitted high energy echolocation calls sweeping from about 96 to about 24 kHz with a signal duration of about 5 ms. This species sometimes uses social calls of a horseshoe-shaped structure, which last about 15 ms and are emitted about 26 ms in front of a search call. Results from our surveys indicated the importance and potential of mangroves for bat research and conservation.

Moloney leukemia virus reverse transcriptase (MMLV RT) is an important enzyme widely utilized in molecular biology research and various diagnostic testing kits. A previous study demonstrated that variants of MMLV RT containing specific mutations contribute to enhanced stability and increased capability for RNA detection. However, the optimization and increased expression level of MMLV RT variants for large-scale production have not been extensively studied. In this research, the gene segment encoding the MMLV RT variant (E286R/E302K/L435R/D524A) was codon optimized and subcloned into pET-M expression vector. The obtained pET-M MMLV RT2 was transformed into E. coli BL21(DE3) host cell system for over-expression of the MMLV RT2 enzyme. The recombinant enzyme was then purified using nickel affinity chromatography and quantified using the Bradford method. The results revealed significant increase in recombinant enzyme yield, achieving 0.25 g/L in the culture medium. This represents a 1.4-fold increase compared to the 0.175 g/L yield reported in the previous study. Enzyme MMLV RT2 was also evaluated for its activity and was found to have comparable activity to the commercial enzyme Promega and another variant, enzyme MMLV RT1, which carries the D524A mutation and has previously been evaluated for activity. This result suggests that a high expression level of a stable MMLV-RT enzyme variant can be achieved which is beneficial for further improving the production of this important enzyme. The high yield and sustained activity of the MMLV RT2 variant indicate its potential as a reliable and cost-effective alternative for various applications in research and diagnostics. The successful optimization and expression in E. coli highlight the feasibility of large-scale production, potentially lowering costs and improving accessibility for molecular biology applications.

Farmed shrimp, especially in aquaculture ponds in mainland, faced many risks due to disease and the stunted growth in Vietnam. For easy solving those problems shrimp farmers could use a lot of antibiotics, leading to antibiotic residues accumulating in the shrimp and creating antibiotic resistance in the surrounding organisms and environment. This report focused on analyzing of a fast-growing lichen-like species collected from shrimp farms in the Northern (M01) and Southern (NM1E2) region of Vietnam with a same symptom of stunted growth, respectively. Using shotgun metagenomics and bioinformatics analysis, microorganism community of lichen-like samples were identified. The results showed that Pseudomonas , Halomonas , Aeromonas , Vibrio , Shewanella , and Moraxella were the main bacterial genera contribute to the samples and haft of them (Vibrio, Shewanella, and Moraxella) could be potential pathogenic bacteria. The fungal analysis showed that both samples were colonized with Fusarium oxysporum and Fusarium graminearum , the fungus associated with plant diseases but increasingly implicated in infectious diseases in aquatic animals. The prevalence of other opportunistic fungi such as Aspergillus fumigatus also suggested that they could play a larger role in deteriorating shrimp health than originally thought. Our results are preliminary evaluation for the potential influence of the lichen-like organism in shrimp farm. The results suggest targeted environmental management and improved biosecurity measures to mitigate disease risks and enhance shrimp farm sustainability.

The Insecta are the most diverse group of animals on the planet. The diversity of Plecoptera aquatic insect order is used as an environmental and ecological indicator. The study of endemic species is important for confirming the national biodiversity and contributing to the determination of national sovereignty. Despite Vietnam being a biodiversity hotspot, the number of known insect species remains limited. As a result, DNA barcoding has been used as a cutting-edge technique to efficiently and rapidly classify biological species. The Cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene is widely regarded as a standard barcode for animal classification. In this study, we amplified and sequenced a portion of the COI gene fragment with a molecular weight of 710 bp for eight insect species belonging to the order Plecoptera, endemic to Vietnam. When compared to the previously published sequences of other Plecoptera species, the results of COI gene sequence analysis showed a high divergence of at least 9.9%. Molecular analysis of the studied species accurately demonstrated their endemism and morphological similarities. This study contributes to the development of a DNA barcoding database for endemic insects in Vietnam.