scholarly journals Short signalling distances make plant communication a soliloquy

2010 ◽  
Vol 6 (6) ◽  
pp. 843-845 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Heil ◽  
Rosa M. Adame-Álvarez

Plants respond to attack by herbivores or pathogens with the release of volatile organic compounds. Neighbouring plants can receive these volatiles and consecutively induce their own defence arsenal. This ‘plant communication’, however, appears counterintuitive when it benefits independent and genetically unrelated receivers, which may compete with the emitter. As a solution to this problem, a role for volatile compounds in within-plant signalling has been predicted. We used wild-type lima bean ( Phaseolus lunatus ) to quantify under field conditions the distances over which volatile signals move, and thereby determine whether these cues will mainly trigger resistance in other parts of the same plant or in independent plants. Independent receiver plants exhibited airborne resistance to herbivores or pathogens at maximum distances of 50 cm from a resistance-expressing emitter. In undisturbed clusters of lima bean, over 80 per cent of all leaves that were located around a single leaf at this distance were other leaves of the same plant, whereas this percentage dropped below 50 per cent at larger distances. Under natural conditions, resistance-inducing volatiles of lima bean move over distances at which most leaves that can receive the signal still belong to the same plant.

2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 1235-1250 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elsa Dilla Dertyasasa ◽  
Woro Anindito Sri Tunjung

ABSTRACT: Previous studies have reported that a number of organic compounds are present in kaffir lime (Citrus hystrix DC.) leaf extracts. Further research is needed to purify these compounds and determine which are biologically active. The objective of this study is to identify the volatile organic compounds of kaffir lime leaf crude extracts and fractions and to study their bioactivity. Fractionation was performed by the double maceration method, using hexane as the second solvent. TLC was performed to analyze the qualitative separation, whereas the individual constituents were detected using GC-MS. Our results showed that chloroform and ethyl acetate crude extracts contained various volatile organic compounds such as fatty acids, fatty alcohols, prenol lipids, sterol lipids, terpenoids and long chain alkanes. Fractionation separated these compounds into non-hexane fractions, which contained less volatile compounds, and hexane fractions. The volatile compounds of non-hexane fractions were identified to be long chain alkanes, meanwhile the hexane fractions contained terpenoids, fatty acids, fatty alcohols, prenol lipids and sterol lipids. Palmitic acid and terpenoids, such as citronellyl propionate, nerolidol, citronella and caryophyllene oxide were found to be the most dominant bioactive compounds in chloroform and ethyl acetate crude extract and their hexane fractions, which were reported to possess cytotoxicity against cancer cells. Meanwhile in non-hexane fractions, long chain alkanes such as triacontane and hentriacontane were found to be the most dominant bioactive compound which also possessed cytotoxic effect. In conclusion, fractionation using the double maceration method yielded different volatile organic compounds composition with different biological activities. The crude extracts and fractions of kaffir lime leaves were potential to be developed as a traditional medicine for cancer treatment.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (16) ◽  
pp. 7312
Author(s):  
Bruno Tirillini ◽  
Filippo Maggi

Focusing on volatile organic compounds (VOC) of Ocimum basilicum, this study aims to determine the chemical composition of VOC in secretory trichomes and compare it with that of essential oil obtained by hydrodistillation of leaves. The technique of extracting the content of glandular trichomes refers to the microneedle shuttle analysis. Hydrodistillation of fresh leaves was done with a Clevenger distiller (EO). The chemical compositions were determined by GC/FID and GC/MS. The head of the capitate trichomes does not contain volatile compounds. Fifty volatile compounds were detected in the EO, and twenty-four volatile compounds were detected in the VOC; the main components were eugenol (from 15.47% ± 1.05% to 41.89% ± 2.83%) and linalool (from 32.05% ± 2.57% to 28.99% ± 2.32%), respectively. During the distillation of the basil leaves 26 artifacts are formed. The composition of the essential oil of O. basilicum therefore depends not only on the plant but also on the method used to obtain it.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivan Milovanović ◽  
Aleksandra Mišan ◽  
Jelica Simeunović ◽  
Dajana Kovač ◽  
Dubravka Jambrec ◽  
...  

Microalgal biomass can be used in creating various functional food and feed products, but certain species of microalgae and cyanobacteria are known to produce various compounds causing off-flavour. In this work, we investigated selected cyanobacterial strains ofSpirulina,Anabaena, andNostocgenera originating from Serbia, with the aim of determining the chemical profile of volatile organic compounds produced by these organisms. Additionally, the influence of nitrogen level during growth on the production of volatile compounds was investigated forNostocandAnabaenastrains. In addition, multivariate techniques, namely, principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), were used for making distinction among different microalgal strains. The results show that the main volatile compounds in these species are medium chain length alkanes, but other odorous compounds such as 2-methylisoborneol (0.51–4.48%), 2-pentylfuran (0.72–8.98%),β-cyclocitral (0.00–1.17%), andβ-ionone (1.15–2.72%) were also detected in the samples. Addition of nitrogen to growth medium was shown to negatively affect the production of 2-methylisoborneol, while geosmin was not detected in any of the analyzed samples, which indicates that the manipulation of growth conditions may be useful in reducing levels of some unwanted odor-causing components.


1971 ◽  
Vol 49 (8) ◽  
pp. 1425-1431 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sagar Krupa ◽  
Nils Fries

The mycorrhizal fungus Boletus variegatus Fr. was grown in pure culture and its production of volatile organic compounds studied. Maximal production of volatile organic compounds was associated with actively growing mycelia. The major volatile compounds identified in the culture filtrate were ethanol, isobutanol, isoamyl alcohol, acetoin, and isobutyric acid. Of these, isobutanol and isobutyric acid are known to possess fungistatic activity. Volatile organic compounds were also extracted from the whole root systems of Pinus sylvestris L. (Scots pine) seedlings grown in pure culture with and without the fungal symbiont. Infection of the roots by the fungus resulted in production and (or) accumulation of volatile compounds in concentrations two to eight times greater than that of non-inoculated controls. These compounds were identified by combined gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. They were primarily terpenes and sesquiterpenes. Volatile compounds produced by the mycorrhizal root system of Scots pine collected from a nursery were essentially the same as those obtained from the plants grown in pure culture. Many of these are known to be fungistatic compounds. A hypothesis has been proposed to explain a possible role of the host plant in disease resistance of mycorrhizal root systems to root pathogens and in the development of the symbiotic state.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Liping Bai ◽  
Wenjia Wang ◽  
Juan Hua ◽  
Zhifu Guo ◽  
Shihong Luo

Abstract Background Plants are known to emit diverse volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which may function as signaling substances in plant communication with other organisms. Thuja occidentalis, which is widely cultivated throughout China, releases aromatic VOCs into the air in winter and early spring. The relationship of this cultivated plant with its neighboring plants is necessary for the conservation of biodiversity. Results (−)-α-thujone (60.34 ± 5.58%) was found to be the major component in VOCs from the Shenyang population. The essential oils (EOs) from the Kunming and Shenyang populations included the major components (−)-α-thujone, fenchone, (+)-β-thujone, and (+)-hibaene, identified using GC-MS analyses. (−)-α-thujone and (+)-hibaene were purified and identified by NMR identification. EOs and (−)-α-thujone exhibited valuable phytotoxic activities against seed germination and seedling growth of the plants Taraxacum mongolicum and Arabidopsis thaliana. Moreover, the EOs displayed potent inhibitory activity against pathogenic fungi of maize, including Fusarium graminearum, Curvularia lunata, and Bipolaris maydis, as well as one human fungal pathogen, Candida albicans. Quantitative analyses revealed high concentrations of (−)-α-thujone in the leaves of T. occidentalis individuals from both the Shenyang and Kunming populations. However, (−)-α-thujone (0.18 ± 0.17 μg/g) was only detected in the rhizosphere soil to a distance of 0.5 m from the plant. Conclusions Taken together, our results suggest that the phytotoxic effects and antifungal activities of the EOs and (−)-α-thujone in T. occidentalis certainly increased the adaptability of this plant to the environment. Nevertheless, low concentrations of released (−)-α-thujone indicated that reasonable distance of T. occidentalis with other plant species will impair the effects of allelochemical of T. occidentalis.


mSystems ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mallory Choudoir ◽  
Sam Rossabi ◽  
Matthew Gebert ◽  
Detlev Helmig ◽  
Noah Fierer

ABSTRACTSoil microbes produce an immense diversity of metabolites, including volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which can shape the structure and function of microbial communities. VOCs mediate a multitude of microbe-microbe interactions, including antagonism. Despite their importance, the diversity and functional relevance of most microbial volatiles remain uncharacterized. We assembled a taxonomically diverse collection of 48Actinobacteriaisolated from soil and airborne dust and surveyed the VOCs produced by these strains on two different medium typesin vitrousing gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). We detected 126 distinct VOCs and structurally identified approximately 20% of these compounds, which were predominately C1to C5hetero-VOCs, including (oxygenated) alcohols, ketones, esters, and nitrogen- and sulfur-containing compounds. Each strain produced a unique VOC profile. While the most common VOCs were likely by-products of primary metabolism, most of the VOCs were strain specific. We observed a strong taxonomic and phylogenetic signal for VOC profiles, suggesting their role in finer-scale patterns of ecological diversity. Finally, we investigated the functional potential of these VOCs by assessing their effects on growth rates of both pathogenic and nonpathogenic pseudomonad strains. We identified sets of VOCs that correlated with growth inhibition and stimulation, information that may facilitate the development of microbial VOC-based pathogen control strategies.IMPORTANCESoil microbes produce a diverse array of natural products, including volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Volatile compounds are important molecules in soil habitats, where they mediate interactions between bacteria, fungi, insects, plants, and animals. We measured the VOCs produced by a broad diversity of soil- and dust-dwellingActinobacteria in vitro. We detected a total of 126 unique volatile compounds, and each strain produced a unique combination of VOCs. While some of the compounds were produced by many strains, most were strain specific. Importantly, VOC profiles were more similar between closely related strains, indicating that evolutionary and ecological processes generate predictable patterns of VOC production. Finally, we observed that actinobacterial VOCs had both stimulatory and inhibitory effects on the growth of bacteria that represent a plant-beneficial symbiont and a plant-pathogenic strain, information that may lead to the development of novel strategies for plant disease prevention.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. e5069108880
Author(s):  
Paulo Herbesson Pereira de Sousa ◽  
Cláudia Inês da Silva ◽  
Breno Magalhães Freitas ◽  
Tigressa Helena Rodrigues Soares ◽  
Isac Gabriel Abrahao Bomfim ◽  
...  

This study tested three types of Solid-Phase Microextraction fibers in developing a method to extract volatile organic compounds present in the diet of immature Centris analis. Samples were placed in glass vials with metal lids and added with 3g NaCl and 8 ml deionized water. Extraction and characterization were carried out using a Headspace – Solid Phase Microextraction (HS-SPME) with Gas Chromatography – Mass Spectrometry, and the three types of fibers were polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), divinylbenzene/ carboxen/ polydimethylsiloxane (DVB/CAR/PDMS) and carboxen/ polydimethylsiloxane (CAR/PDMS). Each type of fiber was exposed to volatiles for 30 min and analyzed in a chromatograph Agilent GC-MS equipped with a quadrupole detector (MSD 5977A), containing a HP-5MS (30 m x 0.25 mm x 0.25 µm) column and Helium as the carrier gas (1 ml.min-1). The CAR / PDMS fiber favored the extraction of volatile compounds to semi-volatile compounds, followed by DVB / CAR / PDMS, while PDMS presented a lower number of extracted compounds, which can be attributed to its apolar nature. The volatile compounds identified in the diet included alcohols, aldehydes, esters, ketones, and terpenes. The SPME technique has proven effective in the extraction of volatile organic compounds from immature of Centris analis diet, being the CAR/PDMS the most suitable fiber for this.


2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (10) ◽  
pp. 4104-4110 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Smith ◽  
Roger Bloor ◽  
Claire George ◽  
Andriy Pysanenko ◽  
Patrik Španěl

Selected ion flow tube mass spectrometry (SIFT-MS) has been used to analyse the volatile compounds released when “street” cannabis is heated in the commercial device known as the “Volcano”.


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