Productivity and quality of crops can be increased through polyploidy plants induced by colchicine. The use of colchicine has never been applied to Katokkon pepper, a local red pepper variety from North Toraja Indonesia. This pepper is characterized by its unique shape like the small-bell pod type of paprika and its strong spicy taste. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the effects of colchicine treatment on the ploidy level and morphological characters of Katokkon pepper. Flow cytometer analysis showed that all colchicine concentration treatments ranging from 0.025 to 0.1% with 24 h immersion time generated two plant groups based on their ploidy level; 50% of the total treatment plants was diploid while the rest plants were mixoploid. All colchicine treatment plants were significantly different in their width of stomata guard cells from the control plant. The effect of colchicine was also significantly on the plant height, thickness of fruit flesh, and the number of fruits per plant. The results of this study showed that colchicine treatment had a significant effect on the ploidy level and several morphological characters of the Katokkon pepper. The colchicine treatment increased the number of fruits per plant and thicker flesh of fruits but reduced the size and weight of Katokkon pepper. Our findings provide essential information to obtain tetraploid Katokkon plants through colchicine treatment in further research. This study benefits as a preliminary step for increasing the productivity and quality of the local red peppers in Indonesia.

Subiastuti AS, Hartono S, Daryono BS. 2019. Detection and Identification of Begomovirus infecting Cucurbitaceae and Solanaceae in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 20: 738-744. Begomovirus genome has high plasticity that led to evolve rapidly. Begomovirus is one of a remarkably successful group of emerging viruses as the results from combination of many factors. Planting systems in Indonesia which often overlapping two or more plant species in one land has high possibility for occurring mixed infection. It is also suggested has high contribution to increase Begomovirus diversity. The aim of this research is to do preliminary identification of Begomovirus infected-Solanaceae and Cucurbitaceae in Yogyakarta based core coat protein (CP) gene sequence. A total of 50 melon, 50 chili, 30 eggplants, and 30 watermelon samples which showed Begomovirus symptoms were observed from several fields in Yogyakarta and Purworejo, Indonesia during 2016. Almost 90% of infected samples for each plant were tested by PCR and showed positive for Begomovirus. Based on coat protein (CP) gene nucleotide sequence identity, Begomovirus infected Solanaceae in Indonesia has close relationship with Pepper yellow leaf curl Indonesia virus (PepYLCIV) and Tomato yellow leaf curl Kanchanaburi virus (TYLCVKaV), while in Cucurbitaceae has close relationship with Squash leaf curl China virus (SLCCV) Tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus (ToLCNDV). All collected isolates showed highest sequence identity with isolates from South-East Asia and China. However, further analysis that including full genome characterization is still needed to explain Begomovirus evolution in Indonesia.

Nurhikmayani R, Daryono BS, Retnaningrum E. 2019. Isolation and molecular identification of antimicrobial-producing Lactic Acid Bacteria from chao, South Sulawesi (Indonesia) fermented fish product. Biodiversitas 20: 1063-1068. Chao is traditional fermented fish made of anchovy (Stolephorus sp.), rice, salt, and fermented naturally on controlled environment. The product comes from Pangkep Regency, South Sulawesi. Chao has the potential for the source of high-grade lactic acid bacteria isolates, especially for antimicrobial compound. Antimicrobial compound produced by lactic acid bacteria is a biopreservative compound with many advantages. The purposes of this investigation were to isolate antimicrobial-producing lactic acid bacteria from chao and to identify their isolates based on the molecular properties. Lactic acid bacteria were isolated from chao using Man Ragosa Sharpe Agar (MRSA) medium added with 0.1 % CaCO3, followed by the ability test to produce antimicrobial compound against Staphylococcus aureus FNCC 0047 as an indicator. The spectrum of crude antimicrobial as cell-free supernatant (CFS) was determined by antagonism against S. aureus FNCC 0047 and Escherichia coli FNCC 0049 on agar well diffusion test. Selected isolates of antimicrobial-producing lactic acid bacteria molecularly identified from 16S rRNA marker using primer 27F and 1492R. We obtained four isolates of lactic acid bacteria that showed the antimicrobial activity. This crude antimicrobial compound could inhibit both gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus FNCC0047 and gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli FNCC0049. The highest crude antimicrobial activity of isolates was observed on IB1C strain. The results of molecular characterization suggested that the IB1C and IB3B strain were identified as Lactobacillus plantarum, whereas IB3E and IB3F were identified as Pediococcus pentosaceus.

Pratama OA, Tunjung WAS, Sutikno, Daryono BS. 2019. Bioactive compound profile of melon leaf extract (Cucumis melo L. ‘Hikapel’) infected by downy mildew. Biodiversitas 20: 3448-3453. Plants express specific secondary metabolites (phytoalexin) in response to infection. Downy Mildew which infects melon plants (Cucumis melo L. ‘Hikapel’) caused by Pseudoperonospora cubensis Rostovtsev. Hikapel is one of superior melon cultivar produced from research in the Laboratory of Genetics, Faculty of Biology, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Bioactive content of Hikapel melon leaf under normal condition and infected by Downy Mildew yet to be researched. This research aims to screen bioactive profile of Hikapel leaf extract that has potential as phytomedicine. Leaf extract is compared between healthy plants and infected by Downy Mildew. Dried melon leaf was powdered using mortar and pestle. Leaf powder was extracted using hexane solvent. Extract was analyzed using a Shimadzu GCMS-QP2010S. Analysis found useful compounds like phytol, methyl ricinoleate, methyl linoleate, methyl stearate, and 1-hexacosanol. with therapeutic activity such as antibacterial, antifungal, antioxidant, antiinflammatory, antidiuretic, antidiarrheal, lowering blood LDL-C level, insulin level booster, antiproliferative, and anticancer. Some bioactive compounds are only synthesized in Hikapel melon leaf under stress conditions.

Fusarium wilt is a serious disease attacking chili plants in Central Java which cause lost of chili productivity. Fusarium wilt is caused by pathogenic fungi Fusarium oxysporum, which is host specific. The objectives of this research were to characterize the pathogenic F. oxysporum as the causal agent of fusarium wilt in chili plants and to observe the virulence of the pathogen. Fungal pathogen was isolated from Tawangmangu as an endemic area of fusarium wilt in Central Java. The fungi was characterized morphologically and identified molecularly by its internal transcribed spacer regions (ITS regions). Pathogenicity test was done to observe the virulence of the pathogen. One pathogenic strain was isolated from Tawangmangu, Karanganyar and was identified morphologically and molecularly as F. oxysporum.

The emergence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) infections in wounds is a significant public health issue. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and antimicrobial resistance profiles of MDR bacterial isolates in wound infections. Through a cross-sectional study, 1035 bacterial isolates were collected from wound infection patients at Tugurejo Hospital in Semarang, Indonesia, over a three-year period (January 2020 to December 2022). Initial identification involved Gram staining and colony morphology assessment, followed by biochemical assays and antimicrobial susceptibility testing using the VITEK®2 Compact system. Gram-negative bacteria constituted the majority of isolates (60.77%, n=629). The predominant strains included were Staphylococcus spp. (30.92%, n=320), Escherichia coli (18.45%, n=191), and Klebsiella pneumoniae (13.04%, n=135). Notably, Gram-negative bacteria exhibited a significantly higher likelihood of MDR development compared to their Gram-positive counterparts (p<0.001), with Gram-negative bacteria having a 2.05 times higher probability of acquiring MDR. These findings underscore the urgent need for comprehensive surveillance of antimicrobial resistance patterns and the implementation of tailored antimicrobial stewardship programs to address the pressing public health challenge of MDR wound infections. Further research is warranted to elucidate the complex interplay of factors contributing to MDR development in wound infections, thereby informing targeted intervention strategies and improving patient outcomes.