First high-quality genome assembly data of sago palm (Metroxylon sagu Rottboll)

The sago palm (Metroxylon sagu Rottboll) is a all-rounder palm, it is both a tropical halophytic starch-producing palm as well as an ornamental plant. Recently, a genome survey was conducted on this palm using Illumina sequencing platform but the BUSCO genome completeness is very low (21.5%) and most of them (~78%) are either fragmented or missing. Thus, in this study, the sago palm genome completeness was further improved with the utilization of the Nanopore sequencing platform that produced longer reads. A hybrid genome assembly was conducted and the outcome was a much complete sago palm genome with BUSCO completeness achieved at as high as 97.9% with only ~2% of them either fragmented or missing. The estimated genome size of the sago palm is 509,812,790 bp in this study. A sum of 33,242 protein-coding genes were revealed from the sago palm genome and around 96.39% of them had been functionally annotated. An investigation on the carbohydrate metabolism KEGG pathways also unearthed that starch synthesis was one of the major sago palm activities. These data are indispensable for future molecular evolutionary and genome-wide association studies.

Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Communities in the Roots of Sago Palm in Mineral and Shallow Peat Soils

Communities of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in plant roots improve host plant growth. In this study, AMF communities in the roots of the sago palm (Metroxylon sagu Rottb.) were investigated in mineral soil (MS) and shallow peat soil (SPS) in Sarawak, Malaysia. MS exhibited lower moisture content (MS, 38.1; SPS, 79.8%), higher pH (H2O) (MS, 4.6; SPS, 4.1), higher soil bulk density (MS, 1.03; SPS, 0.20 g cm−3), and higher nitrogen content (MS, 16.9; SPS, 2.7 kg m−3) than SPS at the same soil depth, while the phosphorus (P) content (Bray II) (MS, 1.6; SPS, 1.9 g P2O5 m−3) was similar. The AMF colonization rate was significantly lower in SPS (39.2 ± 12.5%) than in MS (73.2 ± 4.6%). The higher number of AMF operational taxonomic units (OTUs) was detected by amplicon sequencing of the partial small-subunit rRNA gene (MS, 78; SPS, 50). A neighbor-joining tree of obtained OTUs revealed that they belonged to Acaulosporaceae, Ambisporaceae, Claroideoglomeraceae, Gigasporaceae, and Glomeraceae. The lower abundance and diversity of AMF in SPS are possibly caused by abiotic factors, including soil physicochemical properties. Glomus and Acaulospora species detected in SPS might have strong tolerance against acidity and high soil moisture content.

THE CHARACTERISTICS OF SAGO FROND SAP FROM TWO SELECTED GROWTH STAGES; ANGKAT PUNGGUNG AND UPONG MUDA PALMS

Sago frond is produced in abundance upon harvesting of the sago palms for starch extraction, hence need to be utilized and developed into beneficial products. In this study, the sap which contains sugars and starch is obtained by roller crushing the skinned frond for use as fermentation medium. Fronds from different growth stages (namely Angkat punggung and Upong muda) and different positions within the rosette (inner and outer circle) of the sago palm were studied. Based on the results, the outer circle frond of Upong muda palm gave the highest volume of sap at 290mL/kg which equivalent to 1600 mL/frond. On top of that, sago frond sap has an acidic pH, with glucose as major sugar component and contained various kinds of minerals like calcium, potassium and manganese. All fronds from different growth stages contain glucose between 28-68 g/L and xylose 21-29 g/L, respectively. After 21 days of storage, it can be concluded that the amount of reducing sugars and starch in all samples obtained from different growth stages remained almost unchanged from the original. Subsequently after this study, both fresh and stored sago frond sap can be used as a fermentation substrate without any modification.

Key Plant, Key Pests: Sago Palm (Cycas revoluta)

This series of Key Plant, Key Pests publications are designed for Florida gardeners, horticulturalists, and landscape professionals to help identify common pests associated with common Florida flora. This new 4-page publication of the UF/IFAS Environmental Horticulture Department provides information and general management recommendations for aulacaspis scale, other scales, mealybugs, and manganese deficiency. https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ep608

Isolation and Identification of Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria from Sago Palm (Metroxylon sagu, Rottb.)

Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) are strains of naturally occurring soil bacteria that live in close vicinity to the plant’s rhizosphere region which possess the capability to augment host growth. This study was conducted to isolate and identify potential PGPR isolates indigenous to Metroxylon sagu, Rottb. rhizosphere. These potential isolates were characterised based on their beneficial plant growth promoting (PGP) properties and identified by molecular analysis via 16S rDNA sequencing. A total of 18 isolates were successfully isolated, out of which five isolates were tested, and designated as (S1A, S2B, S3A, S3C and S42). Among the five isolates, two isolates (S2B and S3C) were found to produce high levels of indole-3-acetic acid (2.96 μg/mL and 10.31 μg/mL), able to fix nitrogen and show significant activity in phosphate solubilisation. The analysis of their sequences via National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) suggested their close identity towards Lysinibacillus sphaericus and Bacillus thuringiensis. It can be concluded that the isolated PGPR possesses beneficial PGP attributes. It can be implied that the isolated PGPR are potential to be used as inoculant biofertilisers, beneficial for Metroxylon sagu, Rottb. growth. Hence, further studies need to be done to evaluate the effectiveness of the beneficial microbes towards sago seedlings growth, under pot experiment.

The spatial distribution of sago palm landscape Sentani watershed in Jayapura District, Papua Province, Indonesia

Dimara PA, Purwanto RH, Sunarta S, Wardhana W. 2021. The spatial distribution of sago palm landscape Sentani watershed in Jayapura District, Papua Province, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 22: 3811-3820. Sago palm is one of the starch sources used as local food in Papua, therefore this research aims to identify the supporting environment for the plant to grow by utilizing spatial data. The methods used were Spatial Analysis and Field Survey, where the first employed satellite imagery of Quickbird in 2012 and Landsat 8 in 2020 to distinguish between sago and non-sago palm landscape. In the process, five parameters were used, consisting of covering land elevation, slope gradient, soil type, rainfall as well as the optimal distance from the river and lake. The result showed the sago palm landscape in Sentani Watershed lies in the elevation of 0-450 m asl, while its largest habitat which lies between 0-100 m asl covering an area of 4,385.63 is found in a flat slope covering an area of 2,941.99 ha and in a very steep slope that spreads out over 41.92 ha. Generally, in Sentani Watershed, the plant grows in Mediterranean soil possessing thick solum with pH 5.0-7.0 and medium to great soil erodibility. Moreover, the largest habitat experiences a precipitation rate of 1,750 mm yr-1 covering a total of 6,846.24 ha, while the Doyo River has the largest sago palm landscape compared to other rivers.

Characterisation of pH-shift-produced protein isolates from sago palm weevil (Rhynchophorus ferrugineus) larvae

Farm-raised sago palm weevil (Rhynchophorus ferrugineus) larvae (SPWL) can be used as a protein source for food sustainability. This study aimed to investigate the potential of pH-shift processing as a cold refinery approach to produce protein isolate from SPWL. Maximum solubility of SPWL protein was observed at pH 2.0 (acid-aided process) and pH 11.5 (alkaline-aided process). The zeta-potential of the protein solution was close to zero with the lowest solubility at pH 4.5. So, the protein precipitation was performed at this pH. Although both acid and alkaline methods yielded roughly 66% protein, their nutritional and techno-functional features differed based on the pH-shifting process. The alkaline-produced protein isolate had higher essential amino acid (EAA) content and EAA index but it was darker in colour. The acid-produced protein isolate had larger levels of umami-taste-active and functional amino acids, as well as a higher emulsifying capability.