Biotechnology

I would like to dedicate this thesis for the orphanage and the underprivileged as their motivation to strive for better education and better life. For my beloved parents, for your endless encouragement, love, care and constant prayers. For my beloved brothers, this is to your motivation for holding more degree scrolls for our parents. This thesis is dedicated to those who are dearly to my heart and my supportive people for making this dream happen. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT First of all, I am grateful to the Almighty God, Allah SWT for the good health, and wellbeing throughout completing this work. Every success in my life is because of Him and without His mercy I would not be here to complete my studies. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Prof. Madya Dr. Angzzas Sari binti Mohd Kassim who gave me the utmost continuous encouragement throughout my project. She, who consistently be a great coach, a great mentor and very friendly support. I am also grateful to Dr. Mohd Firdaus bin Abdul Wahab for his advises in completing my project. Furthermore, I must express my very profound gratitude to my parents for their unconditional love support, motivations and financial support throughout my studies. My heartfelt gratitude for my two brothers and the rest of my big family who always support me morally, spiritually and for their endless prayers. I would like to thank ScienceFund (S027) grant by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovations (MOSTI) for the funds in this research work to be completed. I acknowledge the Faculty of Engineering Technology and all the corresponding staffs especially the lecturers for making this dream happen. I also take this opportunity to express my gratitude to Dr. Patricia Hung for providing me and my fellow postgraduates with the bacterial isolates. I am also grateful to the lab technicians, Puan Masayu, Puan Aziah and Encik Wan for the great support and help throughout the laboratory works. I am also thankful to Dr. Sharmiza Adnan and the fellow Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM) technicians for the guidance and facilities provide for the handsheet making process. I wish to thank my fellow postgraduate students, Ashuvila Mohd Aripin, Nadiah Ishak, Ayeronfe Fadilat Oluwatosin and Tan Kian Meng who have been very helpful in the lab and for their ultimate support. I also would like to thank my beloved friends which are Ijaz Khan, Lily Muliyati, Siti Farhanah, Anis Maisarah, Syifaa', Anis Amalina and Aminin Sadida for providing me with continuous encouragement.

Bacillus megaterium merupakan jenis bakteri endofit yang mempunyai potensi untuk dikembangkan sebagai bahan baku pupuk hayati. Selain mampu memaksimalkan penyerapan nutrisi tanaman, B. megaterium juga dapat menghambat pertumbuhan patogen tanaman, termasuk pada tanaman cabai. Tanaman cabai (Capsicum frutescens) masih dianggap sebagai komoditas yang menguntungkan, di samping karena permintaannya yang terus meningkat setiap tahun.  Oleh karena itu, penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menguji aktivitas antagonis B. megaterium terhadap Fusarium oxysporum dan mengamati pengaruhnya pada pertumbuhan tanaman cabai rawit. Metode yang digunakan yaitu uji antagonis dengan teknik dual culture, dan pengaplikasian B. megaterium ke tanaman cabai rawit dengan variasi dosis, meliputi K, A1, A2, A3 dan A4.  Berdasarkan penelitian, B. megaterium mampu menunjukkan penghambatan terhadap F. oxysprorum sebesar 67% pada hari ke sepuluh. Selain itu, tanaman cabai rawit yang diaplikasikan B. megaterium memberikan ...

The application of ligninolytic bacteria and enzymes is a green pre-treatment alternative in the production of paper and biofuel from oil palm residues. In this study we investigated the ability of Lysinibacillus pakistanensis isolated from termite gut in degrading the lignin component of oil palm residues. The residues were biotreated with the bacterial strain in an aerated submerged fermentation system for 7 days at 30 , pH 7 and compared with untreated control. Enzyme activities were determined using specific substrates. Peak lignin peroxidase (377.6 U/L), manganese peroxidase (218.19 U/L), and laccase (405.4 U/L) activity were recorded after 4,4, and 5 days of incubation respectively, using oil palm leaf as substrates. Lignin loss of 4.5%, 5.7% and 6.6% in oil palm leaf, oil palm trunk and empty fruit bunch respectively was achieved after treatment with the microorganism. SEM images revealed structural changes in the cell wall of the residues. Pre-treatment with this bacterial strain has promising prospects of improving the efficiency of the pulping process in an environmentally safe manner.

Maximum utilization of lignocellulosic biomass is contingent upon degrading the recalcitrant lignin polymer. Conventional methods employed in delignification require high inputs of energy and chemicals, resulting in the release of highly toxic effluents. The ability of gut flora of Coptotermes curvignathus in lignin degradation was investigated in this study. Production of ligninolytic enzymes was done in an aerated submerged fermentation system with kraft lignin as sole carbon source. The degradation experiment was carried out for 7 days at 30 °C, pH 7. Three potential lignin degraders identified as Bacillus sp., Lysinibacillus sp. and Acinetobacter sp. were successfully isolated. The bacterial growth and secretion of extracellular ligninolytic enzymes confirmed metabolism of kraft lignin by the identified strains. Lysinibacillus sp., a novel lignin degrader showed highest manganese peroxidase (76.36 ± 15.74 U/L) and laccase activity (70.67 ± 16.82 U/L) after 7 and 6 days of incuba...

Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk menyelidiki mekanisme penguraian sampah plastik oleh berbagai mikroorganisme, termasuk bakteri, cendawan, dan ulat. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa mekanisme penguraian plastik melibatkan berbagai strategi biokimia dan enzimatik yang berbeda pada setiap mikroorganisme. Bakteri seperti Ideonella sakaiensis 201-F6 memiliki enzim PETase yang mampu mengurai plastik PET menjadi senyawa monomer yang lebih sederhana. Cendawan seperti Trichoderma viride dan Aspergillus nomius juga memiliki enzim ekstraseluler dan kemampuan untuk mengurai berbagai jenis plastik. Sementara itu, ulat Galleria mellonella dan larva Tenebrio molitor menggunakan mekanisme pencernaan yang melibatkan enzim dan kerjasama dengan bakteri dalam sistem pencernaan mereka. Ulat G. mellonella memakan plastik polyethylene (PE) yang mirip dengan struktur karbon lilin lebah yang menjadi sumber makanan alaminya, sementara larva T. molitor memakan plastik polystyrene (PS) dan menghasilk...

Physical and chemical changes caused by oxidative stress in the spermatozoa membrane can reduce spermatozoa function and even lead to death. Cystamine (NH2-CH2-CH2-SH, β-mercaptoethylamine) is a natural substance that modulates the endocrine and metabolic status of animals. This substance has antioxidant and anti-apoptotic effects by inducing intracellular cysteine accumulation. Cystamine is used to treat many diseases despite its many side effects. Sheep semen is sensitive to the stressful condition of chilling storage, which restricts semen storage for artificial insemination in commercial herds. The effect of cystamine on spermatogenesis is not yet fully understood. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of cysteamine addition to the sheep sperm extender during cooling storage on semen quality parameters. Sperm samples were collected from six Edilbayevskaya rams (2 and 3 years old, 70-85 kg). The samples were diluted by extender and supplemented with different concentr...

I would like to dedicate this thesis for the orphanage and the underprivileged as their motivation to strive for better education and better life. For my beloved parents, for your endless encouragement, love, care and constant prayers. For my beloved brothers, this is to your motivation for holding more degree scrolls for our parents. This thesis is dedicated to those who are dearly to my heart and my supportive people for making this dream happen. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT First of all, I am grateful to the Almighty God, Allah SWT for the good health, and wellbeing throughout completing this work. Every success in my life is because of Him and without His mercy I would not be here to complete my studies. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Prof. Madya Dr. Angzzas Sari binti Mohd Kassim who gave me the utmost continuous encouragement throughout my project. She, who consistently be a great coach, a great mentor and very friendly support. I am also grateful to Dr. Mohd Firdaus bin Abdul Wahab for his advises in completing my project. Furthermore, I must express my very profound gratitude to my parents for their unconditional love support, motivations and financial support throughout my studies. My heartfelt gratitude for my two brothers and the rest of my big family who always support me morally, spiritually and for their endless prayers. I would like to thank ScienceFund (S027) grant by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovations (MOSTI) for the funds in this research work to be completed. I acknowledge the Faculty of Engineering Technology and all the corresponding staffs especially the lecturers for making this dream happen. I also take this opportunity to express my gratitude to Dr. Patricia Hung for providing me and my fellow postgraduates with the bacterial isolates. I am also grateful to the lab technicians, Puan Masayu, Puan Aziah and Encik Wan for the great support and help throughout the laboratory works. I am also thankful to Dr. Sharmiza Adnan and the fellow Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM) technicians for the guidance and facilities provide for the handsheet making process. I wish to thank my fellow postgraduate students, Ashuvila Mohd Aripin, Nadiah Ishak, Ayeronfe Fadilat Oluwatosin and Tan Kian Meng who have been very helpful in the lab and for their ultimate support. I also would like to thank my beloved friends which are Ijaz Khan, Lily Muliyati, Siti Farhanah, Anis Maisarah, Syifaa', Anis Amalina and Aminin Sadida for providing me with continuous encouragement.