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Nature-based wastewater treatment employing microalgae and bacteria has gained serious attention due to its combination with valuable biomass production. In wastewater, microalgae serves as the primary source of dissolved oxygen (DO) production for bacterial organic matter degradation. In addition, microalgae can effectively remove nutrients, pathogens as well as various heavy metals. Bacteria, on the other hand, has been widely applied in biological wastewater treatment for stabilization of organic matter, nitrification, denitrification, and under some specific conditions, enhanced biological phosphorus removal. When cultured together, microalgae and bacteria can cooperate effectively for wastewater treatment as well as form big flocs which can be harvested easily via sedimentation. However, some natural antagonistic interactions between them should be expected. Various environmental and operational factors showed significant influences on microalgae and bacteria in wastewater. They can impact system performance individually or in combination with others. Therefore, those factors should be carefully monitored for improving performance of the system.

Recent years, genomics and big data analytics have been widely applied and have significant impacts in various important areas of social life worldwide. The development of the next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies, such as whole-genome sequencing (WGS), whole-exome sequencing (WES), transcriptome, and/or targeted sequencing, has enabled quickly generating the genomes of interested living organisms. Around the world many nations have invested in and promoted the development of genomics and big data analytics. A number of well-established projects on sequencing of human, animal, plant, and microorganism genomes to generate vast amounts of genomic data have been conducted independently or as collaborative efforts by national or international research networks of scientists specializing in different technical fields of genomics, bioinformatics, computational and statistical biology, automation, artificial intelligence, etc. Complicated and large genomic datasets have been effectively established, storage, managed, and used. Vietnam supports this new field of study through setting up governmental authorized institutions and conducting genomic research projects of human and other endemic organisms. In this paper, the research, development, and applications of genomic big data are reviewed with focusing on: (i) Available sequencing technologies for generating genomic datasets; (ii) Genomics and big data initiatives worldwide; (iii) Genomics and big data analytics in selected countries and Vietnam; (iv) Genomic data applications in key areas including medicine for human health care, agriculture - forestry, food safety, and environment.

Genetic diversity plays an important role in diversity conservation at multiple levels and supports to monitor and assess genetic variation. In plants, genetic diversity provides the ability to adapt and respond to environmental conditions that helps plants to survive through changing environments. Genetic diversity analyses based on molecular genetic markers are effective tools for conservation and reintroduction of rare and endangered species. In recent years, the development of various chemical and molecular techniques for studying genetic diversity has received great attention. While biochemical markers are primarily used in the diagnosis of pathogens, DNA markers have been developed and widely applied for identification of species and population based on the genotype of an organism that is more stable and not easily affected by the environmental factors. PCR-based molecular marker tools, such as restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs), random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD), simple sequence repeats (SSRs) are used for analysing the difference in the targeted DNA sequences. With the rapid and robust development of genomic sequencing technology it is now possible to obtain and analyse DNA sequences of the whole genome of studied organisms. However, each type of DNA markers has different principles, as well as the pros and cons of specificity. In this article, we review methods and point out DNA markers, which are considered as reliable and widely used tools for the detection of genetic variation. In addition, we present the application of DNA marker in analysing genetic diversity of wild, domestic and medicinal plants, as well as some perspectives on the future of DNA marker’s application in the analysis of genetic diversity.

Fish is a healthy, high protein and low fat food that encourages the health and growth of people, especially children. However, in fact fish is very sensitive to many diseases which affects the productivity and quality of fish. Therefore, identifying the cause of the diseases and finding preventive measures become an urgent task today. In the previous study, we isolated Streptomyces antibioticus strain 1083 that has the ability to antagonize Aeromonas hydrophila - a pathogenic bacterium in fish. Based on the obtained results, we continue to perform this study to determine optimal conditions for the culture of S. antibioticus strain 1083 in order to produce antimicrobial compounds against A. hydrophila. The production of antagonists by the strain 1083 was optimized by controlling the condition of different inoculations such as media, pH, temperature and incubation period. The results indicated that International Streptomyces Project 2 (ISP2) was the best medium for S. antibioticus strain 1083 to produce the highest antimicrobial activity against A. hydrophila with 32 mm in diameter of inhibited zone. The actinomycete strain 1083 could express the maximum antimicrobial activity when they were incubated in shaker incubator (200rpm) at 40oC with pH8 in 8 days. The ability of the actinomycete strain in antagonism against A. hydrophila was evaluated by adding different culture medium volume of S. antibioticus strain 1083. With adding 10% cultured solution volume of S. antibioticus strain 1083 into the culture medium of A. hydrophila, after 1 day of inoculation the number of pathogenic bacteria cells were completely eliminated.

Soybean (Glycine max) is one of the crops which have high economic value and serve for food, feed and process of many countries around the world. However, there are many factors affecting the productivity of soybean, of which insect pests and diseases are the most harmful agents. Therefore, an application of biotechnology to transfer insect resistance genes derived from a species of bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis can contribute to increase soybean yield and significantly reducing pesticide use. Currently, there are many insecticidal proteins detected from B. thuringiensis such as Cry, Cyt and Vip with a broad and specific spectrum belonged to several orders Lepidoptera, Diptera, Coleoptera, Homopera, and Nematoda. Numerous studies have been implemented over the world to transfer genes encoding these proteins in combination or modified forms to increase their toxicity. Several events of genetically engineered soybean with stacked traits of insect resistance and herbicide tolerance are commercialized and approved to be cultured in many countries such as MON 87701 × MON 89788 or DAS-81419-2. In Vietnam, studies on genetically engineered soybean with insect resistance trait has been carried out. Moreover, the exploitation, screening and selection of high biodiversity and indigenous B. thuringiensis strains which habors specific genes capable of killing targeted insects and serve as materials for plant transformation are great scientific meaning and potential practical application. This will be an important source of materials to create many soybean cultivars with good ability of insect resistance in order to meet specific needs.

In European countries, particularly in the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, grants for biotechnology, especially in gene technology, are growing rapidly each year, and boosting the development of industries. In the field of medicine and health care, these countries focus on the diagnosis of genetic diseases, cancers, transmission diseases by polymerase chain reaction - related techniques, and next generation sequencing technologies (NGS); implementing clinical trials for the treatment of cancers and single-gene genetics by gene therapy; improving the prevention by using recombinant vaccines. Advanced genetic engineering shortens diagnostic time and improves accuracy compared to conventional diagnostic methods and offers new hope to patients with serious diseases, limiting the spread of communicable diseases, thereby improving the quality of health care in the future. In the area of agriculture, the typical application of modern biotechnology is the development of genetically modified organisms including plants and animals with desired characteristics. In these countries, however, the cultivation of genetically modified plants or the importation of genetically modified food and feed is restricted by strict government regulations on biosafety. But overall, in comparison with other countries in the region and in the world, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany have advanced genetic engineering with a number of research projects that benefit people in various fields, improving the quality of life.

The status of research, development and application of genetic technology in the US has been reflected through efforts and accomplishments in numerous fields including research, medicine, industrial biotechnology and agriculture in the past decades. In the area of medicine, the field of therapeutic purposes on human is the pioneer, in which gene therapy is attempted to carry out in various clinical trials. Diagnostic applications of human diseases which focus primarily on infectious diseases, cancer, pharmacogenomics and screening for inherited diseases by using molecular techniques related to PCR, next generation sequencing are followed. In addition, preparatory studies on human cells utilizing CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing technology have been undertaken in hopes of finding new treatments for cancer and rare form of eye disorder. In the field of agriculture, many large companies in the US have been developing varieties of genetically modified crops with traits of herbicide tolerance, insect resistance, drought resistance and nutrition enhancement. Among the biotech crops, proportion of planted acres of genetically engineered soybean, corn and cotton were increased rapidly and forecasted to expand in the coming years. Studies on generating genetically modified animals and fisheries have also been concentrated in order to not only resist diseases, enhance nutrition, but also provide pharmaceutical compounds. Application of new gene editing techniques such as CRISPR/Cas9 on plants and animals help biotech products have more opportunities to be approved for commercial sale in the US market. In general, although the research and application of genetic engineering in the US has outstripped worldwide, numerous obstacles are still encountered due to serious ethical regulations and controversy regarding to human health and environment. The US government continues to establish suitable policies and invest in science and technology to improve the quality of human life.