Paddy is the staple food of local people in Sabah, but its production is affected by a disturbing disease known as blast, which is caused by fungi (i.e., Magnaporthe grisea and Magnaporthe oryzae) infection. Knowledge regarding distribution of blast-resistant (BR) genes among various Sabah traditional paddy varieties in different divisions of Sabah is not clear; hence, molecular identification of BR genes in Sabah traditional paddies is urgently needed. In this study, genomic DNA was extracted from 21 different Sabah traditional paddy varieties collected from three divisions of Sabah including the West Coast Division (WCD), Sandakan Division (SD), and Interior Division (ID). The presence of 11 BR and 2 pathogenesis-related (PR) genes in their genome was molecularly screened using a PCR approach and validated using direct sequencing. Our results showed that high frequencies of Pib (95.2%), pi-ta (100.0%), and RCC2 (100.0%) genes were obtained in all 21 Sabah traditional paddy varieties screened. Interestingly, one of the paddy varieties from ID of Sabah, PBT23, did not contain the Pib gene but carried the Pita/Pita-2 allele in its genome. Besides, only three paddies (PBT08 and PBT07 from WCD, and PBT23) exhibited the Pik-p gene, and no varieties were found to carry the Pik, Pik-m, Pit, Piz, Piz-t, Pi-ta, Pi9, and wwin2 genes. In conclusion, this study serves as the basis for improvement and effectual management of traditional paddies in different divisions of Sabah towards blast resistance with knowledge of BR or PR genes inherited in their genome.
The endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) rs1799983 polymorphism is known to increase the risk towards stroke, but data is under-reported in Malaysian population. Therefore, this study sought to investigate this association in a Malaysian population and in a comprehensive meta-analysis. Genotyping of the eNOS rs1799983 polymorphism was performed for 241 Malaysians using a hydrolysis probe. Odd ratio with 95% confidence interval was calculated. Meta-analysis was conducted using the Comprehensive Meta-Analysis software ver. 2.2.064. A p-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Overall, our results showed that the presence of eNOS rs1799983-T allele increases the risk towards stroke, particularly in males, fast-food goers and Malaysian Chinese. The meta-analysis showed that the rs1799983 polymorphism is significantly associated with an increase ischemic stroke risk in the recessive and allelic models. After stratified with population, these associations remain significant in the Asian population but not in the Caucasian population. In summary, this study establishes a significant relationship between the eNOS rs1799983 polymorphism with gender, lifestyle and ethnicity differences towards stroke risk in the Malaysian population. In addition, our meta-analysis suggests that the eNOS rs1799983 polymorphism is associated with an increase risk of ischemic stroke.