Samsuddin Ahmad Syazwan

Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM) | frim · Forest Biodiversity Division

The termite Coptotermes curvignathus has been reported in Malaysia and is responsible for the destruction of various timber-based products and orchard trees. Controlling this pest population using the biopesticide agent, Metarhizium anisopliae, is highly desirable when compared to chemical pesticides because the latter often leads to many environme...

The cultivation of agarwood tree species such as Aquilaria has grown dramatically during the last ten years. This development is driven by the desire to produce sustainable agarwood to meet the high market demand. In the past, the main source of agarwood had been from natural forests, which resources are now declining. Although there are various ex...

The entomopathogenic fungus Isaria fumosorosea Wize, formerly known as Paecilomyces fumosoroseus is reported as a promising biocontrol agent for controlling subterranean termites, particularly those belonging to the family Rhinotermitidae. In Malaysia, the family Rhinotermitidae includes two species of subterranean termites with extremely high econ...

Metarhizium anisopliae (Metchnikoff) Sorokin, a pathogenic fungus to insects, infects the subterranean termite, Coptotermes curvignathus Holmgren, a devastating pest of plantation trees in the tropics. Electron microscopy and proteomics were used to investigate the infection and developmental process of M. anisopliae in C. curvignathus. Fungal infe...

Ceratocystis wilt disease surveys were conducted in three selected Malaysian Acacia mangium plantations. These completed surveys revealed the occurrence of the wilt disease, with the incidence of infection ranging from 7.5% to 13.6%. Signs of wood-boring insects, bark peeling due to squirrel activity, and pruning wounds were often associated with t...

Palms belong to one of the largest plant families, Arecaceae. They are among the most extensively cultivated species used for foods and landscaping. This family covers a large variety of species and is widely distributed in warm and humid lowlands of the tropics. Malaysia, which is located in the equatorial region with a typical tropical climate, i...

To expand the genomic information of Hypericaceae, particularly on Cratoxylum, we characterized seven novel complete plastid genomes (plastomes) of five Cratoxylum and two of its allied taxa, including C. arborescens, C. formosum subsp. formosum, C. formosum subsp. pruniflorum, C. maingayi, C. sumatranum, Hypericum hookerianum, and Triadenum brevif...

Agarwood is a valuable aromatic resinous wood that is biosynthesised when a fungal attack injures the healthy wood tissue of the Aquilaria tree. The magnitude of infection related to sap flow (SF) is one of the most critical functional traits to evaluate the tree’s response to various adverse conditions. Therefore, the objective of this study was t...

Aquilaria is a tropical forest tree, producer of the famed and expensive agarwood. Aggressive collection of agarwood put strain on the natural stands of Aquilaria species, sparking efforts to domesticate the tree and cultivate agarwood in plantations. However, tree domestication progress is hampered by the scarcity of genomic resources that is cruc...

Trypanosoma (Megatrypanum) theileri is a non-pathogenic or weakly pathogenic parasite of domestic cattle that is cyclically transmitted by blood-sucking insects, mainly tabanid flies. It has been reported in several countries like Brazil, Venezuela, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines. Although the ruminant industry is actively ex...

According to the WHO there are more than 700,000 deaths every year involving vector-borne diseases such as malaria, dengue, Chagas disease, yellow fever and Japanese encephalitis. Aedes aegypti, the principal vector of the dengue virus, is of great concern in various parts of the world, especially in tropical and subtropical countries. Vector contr...

Rhipicephalus species are distributed globally with a notifiable presence in Southeast Asia (SEA) within animal and human populations. The Rhipicephalus species are highly adaptive and have established successful coexistence within human dwellings and are known to be active all year round, predominantly in tropical and subtropical climates existing...

Rhipicephalus sanguineus, commonly known as brown dog tick is a widespread species with considerable public health and economic importance. Tremendous efforts were performed to control the tick populations with the concern of resistance build-up and environmental issues. Alternative towards microbial control thus emerged as one option to reduce tic...

Plant growth and defence are two important processes vital to the survival and adaptation of a plant to its surroundings. Previously, growth-defense trade-off in plants was thought to occur due to resource or energy limitation. This article addresses the misconception of the theory and specifically clarifies the actual underlying reasons of this oc...

Being rich in microorganisms, the soil is an ideal environment and important reservoir for harvesting various types of beneficial microorganisms. Soil-borne entomopathogenic bacteria and fungi have been regularly isolated around the world to support crop producer in the never-ending arms race of pest management. Among these microorganisms, entomopa...

Two ticks were collected from a reticulated python (Malayopython reticulatus) caught in Tumpat District, Kelantan, Peninsular Malaysia. The ticks were first identified as Ambylomma sp. through morphological comparison with identification keys. Determination of the tick species was made through PCR and sequencing. However, BLAST analysis revealed 85...

Vascular wilt disease, caused by Ceratocystis fungi is a major threat to Acacia mangium plantations in Southeast Asia. Previous studies reported that the activation of key enzymes in phenylpropanoid pathway indicates plant defense response towards pathogenic infection. Due to limited information on the defense mechanism of Acacia mangium against Ce...

Background: Wounding is the major trigger factor for agarwood formation in Aquilaria malaccensis. To date, the mechanism of agarwood formation in Aquilaria has been extensively explored through anatomy and genomics approaches; however, at the protein level, it is yet to be reported. Objective: A comparative proteomics analysis was carried out to id...

Wodyetia bifurcata Irvine, commonly known as the foxtail palm, is a graceful palm species that has caught the interest of horticulturists and landscape architects due to the uniqueness of its foliage, fast growth, and lack of significant plant pests. In January 2016, a disease inspection carried out at the Royal Selangor Golf Club, Kuala Lumpur, fo...

Ceratocystis is a fungal pathogen causing serious and destructive vascular wilt disease on Acacia mangium and leads to rapid death. Threats and losses posed by this ferocious fungal pathogen are worrying since A. mangium is the most planted timber species for forest plantation in Malaysia. Several signs and symptoms of Ceratocystis infection such a...

Information on the immature stages of Zyganidae moths is rather limited compared to that on the adults. An encounter with the caterpillars on the Baccaurea motleyana tree enabled a description of the eggs, final-instar caterpillar and characteristic cocoon of the Chalcosiine Day-flying Moth, Cyclosia macularia Guérin-Méneville, accompanied by illus...