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FROM THE EDITOR

In this issue, we feature four research articles. The first is from the group of Dr. 
Emmanuel Ryan C. de Chavez of the Institute of Biological Sciences, University of 
the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB). De Chavez and his team studied the diversity 
patterns of freshwater and land mollusks along Dakil River at the University of the 
Philippines Laguna Land Grant (UPLLG) in Paete, Laguna, Philippines. UPLLG is a 
naturally grown secondary forest, which was included as an Important Biodiversity 
Area (IBA) and a Key Conservation Site in the Philippines because of the many 
threatened and endemic birds that have been recorded in the area. The authors 
identified six gastropods and one bivalve species from six families of freshwater 
mollusks. As for land snails, seven species belonging to three families were 
identified. River velocity was found to be the most significant predictor for species 
richness of freshwater mollusks, while temperature and canopy cover were found 
to affect abundance. For land snails, altitude was found to be the most significant 
predictor for species richness, while canopy cover was found to significantly affect 
abundance.

The second research article is from the group of Dr. Gil Penuliar of the Institute of 
Biology (IB), University of the Philippines Diliman (UPD). Penuliar and his student, 
Renz Joseph Artezuela, isolated fructophilic lactic acid bacteria (FLAB) from flowers 
of 14 plant species growing in the grounds of IB. FLAB are lactic acid bacteria that 
preferentially use fructose as their main source of carbohydrate under anaerobic 
conditions. Previous studies have shown that FLAB can be isolated from flowers 
and fruits. Penuliar and Artezuela were the first ones to conduct such a study 
using plant specimens from the Philippines. The authors were able to screen eight 
presumptive FLAB isolates for antimicrobial activity against test bacteria that are 
commonly associated with intestinal diseases. Four of these isolates were found 
to inhibit the activity of at least two test bacteria. Analysis of the DNA sequences 
of two of these promising isolates revealed that they could be novel species. The 
authors suggest that further studies be done on these two isolates for possible 
applications in food and medicine.

The third research article is from the group of Dr. Pablito Magdalita of the Institute 
of Crop Science and Institute of Plant Breeding in UPLB. Magdalita and his team 
evaluated the morphological responses of papayas to drought based on tree and 
fruit characters. In the Philippines, papayas are among the 10 leading fruit crops. 



Information from this study is important for the selection of drought-tolerant lines 
of papaya. These selected lines can be used to produce drought-tolerant papaya 
varieties especially in the face of climate change. Magdalita and his team found that 
drought-affected papaya trees have significantly reduced fruit weight, length, width, 
flesh thickness, and seed weight; however, these fruits were found to be sweeter 
than those harvested during normal conditions. Trees that were tall, with thick 
stems and wide crowns, and still produced marketable yield even after exposure to 
drought were selected and marked as drought-tolerant. Selected drought-tolerant 
lines can be used for further breeding. 

The fourth research article is from the group of Dr. Rheo Lamorena-Lim of 
the Institute of Chemistry, UPD. Lamorena-Lim and his team used a UV-Vis 
spectrophotometer with relative specular reflectance accessory in their effort to 
develop undergraduate laboratory experiments for the qualitative characterization 
of colored materials and quantitative determination of surface modification. The 
authors observed a differentiation of reflectance peaks in the spectra of offset-
printed commercial colored paper and acrylic paints that were sprayed onto glass 
cover slips. Differences were also observed in the reflectance spectra of unsprayed 
and acrylic spray-painted surfaces of aluminum foil, plastic, and a mirror. For the 
calculation of band gap energy (BGE), the authors applied the Tauc plot method on 
the UV-Vis absorbance data of electrodeposited zinc oxide and zinc sulfide films. 
BGE can be used to determine whether a material is a metal, semiconductor, or 
insulator.

I thank the authors of these four research articles for their contribution to this 
journal. Since this is the last issue to be released with me as the Editor-in-Chief 
(EIC) of this journal, I would also like to thank the Editorial Board, the two managing 
editors, the editorial assistant, the layout artists, and the copyeditors for all their 
valuable contributionover the last three years. Our task was made more challenging 
during the last two years by the still ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but still we were 
able to overcome these challenges. I welcome and wish all the best to the incoming 
EIC and the new members of the Editorial Board. With the infusion of new blood 
in the Editorial Board, I am confident that the journal will scale new heights in the 
coming years. 

                                                                                              Jonas P. Quilang, Ph.D.

                        Editor-in-Chief