Sex: Female
Education:
- Doctor of Philosophy in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, University of the Philippines Los Baños, 2015
- Master of Science in Aquaculture, Central Luzon State University, 2001
- Bachelor of Science in Inland Fisheries, University of the Philippines Visayas, 1992
Field of Specialization:
DNA/RNA Extraction
DNA barcoding and DNA mini-barcoding
Phylogenetics
Primer designing
Gene Cloning
Whole cell vaccine production
Bioinformatics
Fisheries
Aquaculture
Animal Breeding
Sericulture Biotechnology
Bioentrepreneurship
Researches:
Article title: Genotype Effects on C-carotene Conversion to Vitamin A: Implications on Reducing Vitamin A Deficiency in the Philippines
Authors: Zumaraga MPP, Arquiza JMRA, Concepcion MA, Perlas L, Alcudia-Catalma MNA, Rodriguez M.
Publication title: Food and nutrition bulletin 43(1):25-34, March 2022
Abstract:
Background: The study aimed to identify 2 beta-carotene 15,15'-monooxygenase (BCMO1) mutations, namely R267S and A379V, and determine their association with vitamin A status among Filipinos 6 to 19 years old respondents of the 2013 Philippine National Nutrition Survey living in the National Capital Region.
Materials and methods: This study followed cross-sectional design. Whole blood specimen was collected in the morning and was used as source of genomic DNA and serum for retinol concentration determination. Fisher exact test was performed to determine whether genotype frequencies were associated to retinol concentrations/vitamin A deficiency status. A level of P < .05 was identified as significant.
Results: A total of 693 Filipino children and adolescents were included. Of the 693, there were at least 7.6% who bear the combined mutations for R267S + A379V. Association analysis showed that an inverse relationship exists between the A379V TT variant and vitamin A status, although the exact role of these identified polymorphisms on retinol/carotenoid metabolism need to be confirmed in dedicated functional studies.
Conclusion: This study has identified for the first time the presence of 2 nonsynonymous genetic variants/mutations in the coding region of BCMO1 gene. Interestingly, one of these 2 variants, the A379V T, was found to be associated with vitamin A status. It is, therefore, warranted to investigate the role of BCMO1 variants for the success of supplementation programs and fortification efforts among vulnerable populations in this region. Genetic variability should be considered for future provitamin A supplementation recommendations among children and adolescents in the Philippines.
Full text link available upon request to the author
Article title: First Report on the Characterization of Genetic Diversity of Philippine -reared Bombyx mori Strains Based on COI and ITS2.
Authors: Alcudia-Catalma MN, Conde MYED, Dee Tan IY, Bautista MAM.
Publication title: Philippine Journal of Science, Special Issue on Biodiversity 150(S1):503-507, 2020
Abstract:
The mulberry silkworm, Bombyx mori, is known to produce silk and was introduced to the Philippines from China, Japan, Korea, and India. The silkworm germplasm in the Philippines is sourced from three centers located in regions that vary in climatic conditions: Philippine Textile Research Institute–Technology Center Misamis Oriental (PTRI-TCMO); Department of Science and Technology– Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) in La Trinidad, Benguet; and the Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University–Sericulture Research and Development Institute (DMMMSU-SRDI), La Union. To date, associated information with the centers’ germplasm constitutes differences in biological and productive traits such as yield and quality of raw silk. It lacks genetic information on strain diversity, which provide basis for the efficient selection of parental strains with traits of economic interest. This study aimed to characterize, for the first time, the genetic diversity of 17 pure lines as parental strains. Genetic variation was evaluated\ using the cytochrome c oxidase 1 (COI) gene and internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2). BLAST analysis of the COI and ITS2 sequences confirmed the identity of B. mori strains. Phylogenetic trees constructed from COI sequences formed a monophyletic clade, while the trees based on ITS2 sequences formed two distinct clusters. The pairwise distances based on the Kimura 2-parameter (K2P) model between the B. moristrains ranged from 0–0.003 for COI and from 0–0.002 for ITS2, indicating low genetic variation for the corresponding molecular markers. Variation in the COI gene determined four nucleotide changes while variations in the ITS2 sequences determined four to six nucleotide changes, except for one strain with higher nucleotide change. This study reports that the use of COI and ITS2 as markers was not able to genotypically differentiate the 17 strains, which appear different in terms of phenotypic characters, suggesting the use of other molecular markers to characterize not only the 17 strains but all other strains in the germplasm.
Full text link https://tinyurl.com/yckrsscm
Article title: DNA Barcoding of Economically Important Philippine Sea Cucumbers (Holothuroidea)
Authors: Ma. Neda Alcudia-Catalma, Maria Genaleen Q. Diaz, Roberta N. Garcia, Pablo P. Ocampo, Antonio C. Laurena, and Evelyn Mae Tecson-Mendoza
Publication title: Philippine Journal of Science 149: 309-320
Abstract:
This study established the DNA barcodes of 19 economically important Philippine sea cucumbers belonging to Class Holothuroidea under Phylum Echinodermata using the cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) gene. These include sea cucumbers from the Family Holothuriidae under Order Aspidochirotida: Bohadschia marmorata, B. koellikeri, B. vitiensis, B. argus, Bohadschia sp. 1, Actinopyga echinites, A. lecanora, Holothuria scabra, H. fuscogilva, H. atra, H. impatiens, and H. albiventer; from the Family Stichopodiidae under Order Aspidochirotida: Stichopus horrens, S. monotuberculatus, S. vastus, S. hermanni, S. chloronotus, and Thelenota ananas; and from the Family Phyllophoriidae under Order Dendochirotida was Neocucumis proteus. Based on Kimura-2 pairwise (K2P) distances, low genetic variation within species of 0.005–0.018 was observed except for several species such as S. chloronotus, H. albiventer, A. echinites, and H. scabra – which had 0.057, 0.181, 0.207, and 0.215 within-species genetic variations, respectively. On the other hand, variation between species within a genus was 0.123 for Bohadschia, 0.18 for Actinopyga, 0.19 for Holothuria, and 0.071 for Stichopus. Phylogenetic tree using neighbor-joining analysis showed monophyletic clades for the genera Bohadschia, Actinopyga, Stichopus, Thelenota, and Neocucumis while paraphyletic clade was formed for the genus Holothuria. COI DNA sequences and barcodes were established for the first time for Neocucumis proteus and Holothuria albiventer.
Full text link https://tinyurl.com/2p8v2488
Article title: Bioaccumulation and Health Risks Assessment of Lead (Pb) in Freshwater Asian Clams (Corbicula fluminea Muller) from Laguna de Bay, Philippines.
Authors: Christian Paul P. De La Cruz, Nestor M. De Vera, Lustina P. Lapie, Ma. Neda A. Catalma, and Rosalina V. Bunal
Publication title: Pollution Research. 3:2:366-372, 2017
Abstract:
The bioaccumulation of Pb and associated human health risks were investigated in the freshwater Asian clams (Corbicula fluminea) harvested from different coastal areas of Laguna de Bay, Philippines. Pb concentrations (mg kg¹) in pooled clam soft tissue samples were determined through atomic absorption spectrometry. The mean [Pb] in clam samples obtained from sampling zones near the urbanized towns of Los Banos (1.04±0.06) and Calamba (0.87±0.01) were relatively higher as compared to the clam samples collected adjacent to the rural towns of Bay (0.71±0.02), Victoria (0.75±0.10), and Kalayaan (0.66±PLSMN;0.03). All estimated dietary index (EDI) of [Pb] for both average clam consumers (0.76-1.00) and heavy clam consumers (1.13-2.00) exceeded the permissible limits for human consumption set by international regulatory agencies. Subsequent estimates of target hazard quotient (THQ) and target cancer risk (TR) showed higher scores for samples from Los Banos (THQ= 0.2-0.5). However, all computed THQs and TRs were within the threshold level, apparently suggesting the absence of potential non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic health effects on exposed human population. Meanwhile, the demonstration by Asian clams to efficiently accumulate Pb highlights their potential use as biological tools for monitoring of toxic heavy metal pollutants, particularly in Laguna Lake.
Full text link available upon request to the author
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