A survey was conducted to catalogue the diversity of anurans in District IV of the Muda Agriculture Development Authority Scheme (MADA) in Kedah Darul Aman, Malaysia, from July 1996 to January 1997. Eight species of anurans from three families were present in the study area. Of these, the Common Grass Frog (Fejevarya limnocharis) was the most abundant, followed by Mangrove Frog (Fejevarya cancrivora), Long-legged Frog (Hylarana macrodactyla), and Common Toad (Duttaphrynus melanostictus). Puddle Frog (Occidozyga lima), Taiwanese Giant Frog (Hoplobatrachus rugulosus), and Banded Bullfrog (Kaluola pulchra) were rare during the sampling period, and only one Paddy Frog (Hylarana erythraea) was captured. A simple identification key for the anurans of this area is included for use by scientists and laymen alike.
Elizabethkingia meningoseptica is a hazardous bacterium for agriculture production and human health. The present study identified E. meningoseptica from the bullfrog, human and reference strain BCRC 10677 by API 20NE, 50S ribosome protein L27 sequencing and pulse field gel electrophoresis to differentiate isolates of E. meningoseptica from aquatic animals and humans. All isolates from bullfrogs and humans were identified as E. meningoseptica by DNA sequencing with 98.8%-100% sequence identity. E. meningoseptica displayed significant genetic diversity when analysed using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). There were six distinct pulsotypes, including one pulsotype found in bullfrog isolates and five pulsotypes found in human isolates. However, E. meningoseptica from bullfrog exhibited one genotype only by PFGE. Overall, molecular epidemiological analysis of PFGE results indicated that the frog E. meningoseptica outbreaks in Taiwan were produced by genetically identical clones. The bullfrog isolates were not genetically related to other E. meningoseptica from human and reference isolates. This research provided the first comparisons of biochemical characteristics and genetic differences of E. meningoseptica from human and bullfrog isolates.
Bacterial isolates from 30 farmed bullfrogs (Lithobates catesbeianus) weighing 500-600 g at Johore, Malaysia with external clinical signs of ulcer, red leg and torticollis were tested for their antibiograms and heavy metal tolerance patterns. A total of 17 bacterial species with 77 strains were successfully isolated and assigned to 21 antibiotics and 4 types of heavy metal (Hg(2+), Cr(6+), Cd(2+), Cu(2+)). Results revealed that bacteria were resistant against lincomycin (92%), oleandomycin (72.7%) and furazolidone (71.4%) while being susceptible to chloramphenicol and florfenicol at 97.4%. The multiple antibiotic resistance (MAR) index for C. freundii, E. coli and M. morganii was high with the value up to 0.71. Bacterial strains were found to exhibit 100 % resistance to chromium and mercury. High correlation of resistance against both antibiotics and heavy metals was found (71.4 to 100%) between bullfrog bacteria isolates, except bacteria that were resistant to kanamycin showed only 25% resistance against Cu(2+). Based on the results in this study, bacterial pathogens of bullfrog culture in Johore, Malaysia, were highly resistant to both antibiotics and heavy metals.