scholarly journals Chemodiversity ofCalophyllum inophyllumL. oil bioactive components related to their specific geographical distribution in the South Pacific region

PeerJ ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. e6896
Author(s):  
Joape Ginigini ◽  
Gaël J. Lecellier ◽  
Mael Nicolas ◽  
Mohammed Nour ◽  
Edouard Hnawia ◽  
...  

BackgroundDifferent parts of the treeCalophyllum inophyllumL. (nuts, leaves, roots, bark, fruits, nut oil and resin) are used as traditional medicines and cosmetics in most of the Pacific Islands. The oil efficiency as a natural cure and in traditional cosmetics has been largely described throughout the South Pacific, which led us to investigateC. inophyllum’s chemical and genetic diversity. A correlative study of the nut resin and leaf DNA from three distinct archipelagos in the South Pacific was carried out in order to identify diversity patterns inC. inophyllumacross the South Pacific.MethodsCalophyllum inophyllumplants were sampled from French Polynesia, New Caledonia and Fiji. We extracted tamanu oil (nut oil) resin for chemo-diversity studies and sampled leaf tissues for genetic studies. We applied an analysis method designed for small quantities (at a microscale level), and used High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) to establish the chemo-diversity of tamanu oil resin. In-house standards were co-eluted for qualitative determination. Genetic diversity was assessed using chloroplast barcoding markers (the Acetyl-CoA carboxylase (accD) gene and the psaA-ycf3 intergenic spacer region).ResultsOur HPLC analysis revealed 11 previously known tamanu oil constituents, with variability among plant samples. We also isolated and characterized two new neoflavonoids from tamanu oil resin namely, tamanolide E1 and E2 which are diastereoisomers. Although genetic analysis revealed low genetic variation, our multivariate analysis (PCA) of the tamanu oil resin chemical profiles revealed differentiation among geographic regions.ConclusionWe showed here that chromatographic analysis using formalized in-house standards of oil resin compounds for co-elution studies against oil resin samples could identify patterns of variation among samples ofC. inophyllum,and discriminate samples from different geographical origins.

Viruses ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 1081
Author(s):  
Catherine Inizan ◽  
Olivia O’Connor ◽  
George Worwor ◽  
Talica Cabemaiwai ◽  
Jean-Claude Grignon ◽  
...  

Dengue virus (DENV) serotype-2 was detected in the South Pacific region in 2014 for the first time in 15 years. In 2016–2020, DENV-2 re-emerged in French Polynesia, Vanuatu, Wallis and Futuna, and New Caledonia, co-circulating with and later replacing DENV-1. In this context, epidemiological and molecular evolution data are paramount to decipher the diffusion route of this DENV-2 in the South Pacific region. In the current work, the E gene from 23 DENV-2 serum samples collected in Vanuatu, Fiji, Wallis and Futuna, and New Caledonia was sequenced. Both maximum likelihood and Bayesian phylogenetic analyses were performed. While all DENV-2 strains sequenced belong to the Cosmopolitan genotype, phylogenetic analysis suggests at least three different DENV-2 introductions in the South Pacific between 2017 and 2020. Strains retrieved in these Pacific Islands Countries and Territories (PICTs) in 2017–2020 are phylogenetically related, with strong phylogenetic links between strains retrieved from French PICTs. These phylogenetic data substantiate epidemiological data of the DENV-2 diffusion pattern between these countries.


1996 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 355
Author(s):  
Paul De Deckker

The South Pacific islands came late, by comparison with Asia and Africa, to undertake the decolonising process. France was the first colonial power in the region to start off this process in accordance with the decision taken in Paris to pave the way to independence for African colonies. The Loi-cadre Defferre in 1957, voted in Parliament, was applied to French Polynesia and New Caledonia as it was to French Africa. Territorial governments were elected in both these Pacific colonies in 1957. They were abolished in 1963 after the return to power of General de Gaulle who decided to use Moruroa for French atomic testing. The status quo ante was then to prevail in New Caledonia and French Polynesia up to today amidst statutory crises. The political evolution of the French Pacific, including Wallis and Futuna, is analysed in this article. Great Britain, New Zealand and Australia were to conform to the 1960 United Nations' recommendations to either decolonise, integrate or provide to Pacific colonies self-government in free association with the metropolitan power. Great Britain granted constitutional independence to all of its colonies in the Pacific except Pitcairn. The facts underlying this drastic move are analysed in the British context of the 1970's, culminating in the difficult independence of Vanuatu in July 1980. New Zealand and Australia followed the UN recommendations and granted independence or self-government to their colonial territories. In the meantime, they reinforced their potential to dominate the South Pacific in the difficult geopolitical context of the 1980s. American Micronesia undertook statutory evolution within a strategic framework. What is at stake today within the Pacific Islands is no longer of a political nature; it is financial.


Author(s):  
Dindin H. Mursyidin ◽  
Purnomo Purnomo ◽  
Issirep Sumardi ◽  
Budi S. Daryono

Tidal swamp rice has long been cultivated by the local people of the South Kalimantan, Indonesia. This germplasm possess some important traits for adapted to a wide range of abiotic and biotic stresses. In this study, a total of sixteen cultivars of this germplasm, consisting of fifteen of the South Kalimantan Province and one of Sumatera Island, Indonesia (an outgroup) were analyzed, phylogenetically based on the chloroplast trnL-F and nuclear intergenic spacer region (IGS). The results showed that this germplasm has a relatively more extraordinary genetic diversity than other local rice germplasm. In a nucleotide level, this germplasm showed a genetic diversity of 0.61 for nuclear IGS and 0.58 for trnL-F. The phylogenetic reconstruction also exhibited that this germplasm has the unique illustration of phylogenetic trees, particularly for the combined sequence datasets. Thus, the results of our study would provide useful information for further understanding of evolutionary relationships of this germplasm and facilitate the efficient utilization of valuable genes for genetic improvement, particularly in the tidal swamp areas.


1952 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 481-482

From April 28 to May 7, 1952 the ninth session of the South Pacific Commission was held in Noumea, New Caledonia.1 The session, which was primarily concerned with administrative matters, was under the chairmanship of N. A. J. de Voogd (Netherlands). As a result of agreement by member governments at the eighth session to include Guam and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands within the scope of the Commission, at the ninth session it was agreed unanimously to extend Commission activities to embrace these territories. Assurances of cooperation in Commission activities were given on behalf of both territories by the Acting Senior Commissioner for the United States (Leebrick) and the Secretary of Guam (Herman). Special aspects of its work program were reviewed by the Commission. The printing of two project reports dealing with the area was authorized: one, on economic development of coral atolls covered a survey made for the Commission in 1951 in the Gilbert Islands and the other was concerned with the possibilities of expanding the cacao industry in the area.


Phytotaxa ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 206 (1) ◽  
pp. 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Piero G. Delprete

Timothy Jay Motley was born June 4th, 1965, to Roy and Joan (née Schaeffer) Motley, in Paxton, Illinois, USA. He grew up on a farm in east-central Illinois, and attended Armstrong-Ellis Grade School. He entered Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Illinois, where he completed a Bachelor of Science in 1987 and a Master of Science in Botany in 1989, having written a dissertation on Sweet Flag (Acorus calamus). In 1996 he earned a Ph.D. in Botany at the University of Hawaii, Manoa; his dissertation on evolutionary and reproductive biology of Labordia (Loganiaceae). While in Hawaii, he developed a particular interest for the Pacific islands flora and for ethnobotany, two passions that he pursued for the rest of his life. Shortly after finishing his doctorate, he worked at The New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) as Post-Doctoral Research Associate (1997−1998), Assistant Curator (1998−2004), Acting Chair (1999−2000; 2001−2002), and Project Head of Conservation Genetics in Island Systems (1998−2006) in the Lewis B. and Dorothy Cullman Program for Molecular Systematics Studies. While working for NYBG, he travelled widely in regions where his projects would take him, mostly in the South Pacific, and visited the Kingdom of Tonga, Rapa Iti, Bora Bora, Papua New Guinea, Guam, Pohnpei, Fiji, Mauritius, Reunion, Vanuatu, Philippines, Jamaica, New Zealand, New Caledonia, Hawaii, and Tahiti. In 2006, he was hired as the J. Robert Stiffler Distinguished Professor of Botany and Associate Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, Old Dominion University, and as the Director of Science at the Norfolk Botanical Garden, Norfolk, Virginia. During this period, he continued his expeditions to study and collect plants in the South Pacific and beyond, including Ecuador, the Galapagos Archipelago, Singapore, Brunei Darussalam, Mexico, the Louisiade Archipelago, and yearly field trips to underexplored regions of China. Sadly, after suffering a sudden cardiac arrest, he passed away on March 28, 2013, at age 47, at the peak of his career, leaving his wife, young son, and numerous colleagues and friends. His numerous ongoing projects, which are currently being continued by his graduate students and colleagues around the world, assure that his scientific legacy, his loving character, and his integrity will never be forgotten.


1990 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 701 ◽  
Author(s):  
WR Buck

The moss genus Entodon C. Müll. (Entodontaceae) is revised for Australia, eastern Melanesia (New Caledonia and Fiji) and the South Pacific islands. The nine validly described species and 10 nomina nuda are reduced to two species, E. mackaviensis C. Müll. and E. plicatus C. Müll. Entodon mackaviensis, with terete branches and extensive alar development is confined to the region treated. Entodon plicatus, with complanate branches and significantly fewer alar cells, ranges from India to the far reaches of the South Pacific basin, and from Tasmania to the Philippines. Both species are described and illustrated. Some extra-limital synonymy is provided.


2008 ◽  
Vol 38 (9) ◽  
pp. 2072-2084 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandre Ganachaud ◽  
Lionel Gourdeau ◽  
William Kessler

Abstract The South Equatorial Current (SEC), the westward branch of the South Pacific subtropical gyre, extends from the equator to 30°S at depth. Linear ocean dynamics predict that the SEC forms boundary currents on the eastern coasts of the South Pacific islands it encounters. Those currents would then detach at the northern and southern tips of the islands, and cross the Coral Sea in the form of jets. The Fiji Islands, the Vanuatu archipelago, and New Caledonia are the major topographic obstacles on the SEC pathway to the Australian coast. Large-scale numerical studies, as well as climatologies, suggest the formation of three jets in their lee: the north Vanuatu jet (NVJ), the north Caledonian jet (NCJ), and the south Caledonian jet (SCJ), implying a bifurcation against the east coast of each island. The flow observed during the SECALIS-2 cruise in December 2004 between Vanuatu and New Caledonia is presented herein. An inverse box model is used to provide quantitative transport estimates with uncertainties and to infer the pathways and boundary current formation. For that particular month, the 0–2000-m SEC inflow was found to be 20 ± 4 Sv (1 Sv ≡ 106 m3 s−1) between Vanuatu and New Caledonia. Of that, 6 ± 2 Sv bifurcated to the south in a boundary current against the New Caledonia coast (the Vauban Current), and the remainder exited north of New Caledonia, feeding the NCJ. The flow is comparable both above and below the thermocline, while complex topography, associated with oceanic eddy generation, introduces several recirculation features. To the north, the NCJ, which extends down to 1500 m, was fed not only by the SEC inflow, but also by waters coming from the north, which have possibly been recirculated. To the south, a westward current rounds the tip of New Caledonia. A numerical simulation suggests a partial continuity with the deep extension of the Vauban Current (this current would then be the SCJ) while the hydrographic sections are too distant to confirm such continuity.


1952 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 152-153

The eighth session of the South Pacific Commission, held at Nouméa, New Caledonia, from October 29 to November 9, 1951, was presided over by R. L. Lassalle-Séré (France). On November 7, 1951, the six participating countries (Australia, France, Netherlands, New Zealand, United Kingdom, and United States) signed an agreement extending the scope of the Commission to include Guam and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. Other agenda items included consideration of the Commission's work program and budget for 1952. The program, consisting of 39 projects, included ten in the field of health. The Commission discussed the report of the conference of medical experts on filariasis and elephantiasis which was held in Tahiti from August 21 to September 1, 1951, to study current research and control programs for these diseases and to recommend measures for combatting them,2 and decided to appoint an expert to supervise the implementation of these recommendations. The Commission also reviewed the work done in the projects on tuberculosis, nutrition and leprosy. In the economic category, in which there were ten projects, the commission considered plans for a conference of fisheries experts in 1952 and grantsin-aid for the furtherance of work with economic plants. In the field of social development, where nineteen projects were considered, the Commission discussed the preparation of plans for a model vocational training institution; publication of a report on research in social anthropology and a report on a community development project being carried out in the Fiji Islands; continuation of a housing survey; and the work of the South Pacific Literature Bureau. It was decided to appoint E. M. Ojala (New Zealand) deputy chairman of the South Pacific Research Council.


1996 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 413
Author(s):  
A H Angelo

This article is a book review of Paul de Deckker Coutume Autochtone et Evolution du droit dans le Pacficique Sud (1st ed, L'Harmattan, Paris, 1995) 304pp. The book is the product of a colloquium on indigenous custom and the development of law in the South Pacific, held in New Caledonia in July 1994. The papers from the colloquium provide a commentary and resource book on customary law in the South Pacific, with particular reference to the French territories of French Polynesia, New Caledonia, and Wallis and Futuna. Angelo argues that the book is good for reading, as an educational resource, and as stimulus to thought on the complex issues of the day. It is concluded that the book is an important contribution to the literature on the subject of law and custom, and presents in an accessible French much data not available elsewhere.


2020 ◽  
Vol 148 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. T. Craig ◽  
A. E. Heywood ◽  
J. Hall

Abstract On 30 January 2020, WHO declared coronavirus (COVID-19) a global public health emergency. As of 12 March 2020, 125 048 confirmed COVID-19 cases in 118 countries had been reported. On 12 March 2020, the first case in the Pacific islands was reported in French Polynesia; no other Pacific island country or territory has reported cases. The purpose of our analysis is to show how travellers may introduce COVID-19 into the Pacific islands and discuss the role robust health systems play in protecting health and reducing transmission risk. We analyse travel and Global Health Security Index data using a scoring tool to produce quantitative estimates of COVID-19 importation risk, by departing and arriving country. Our analysis indicates that, as of 12 March 2020, the highest risk air routes by which COVID-19 may be imported into the Pacific islands are from east Asian countries (specifically, China, Korea and Japan) to north Pacific airports (likely Guam, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands or, to a less extent, Palau); or from China, Japan, Singapore, the United States of America or France to south Pacific ports (likely, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, French Polynesia or New Caledonia). Other importation routes include from other east Asian countries to Guam, and from Australia, New Zealand and other European countries to the south Pacific. The tool provides a useful method for assessing COVID-19 importation risk and may be useful in other settings.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document