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Title: Roots of the invasive species Carduus nutans L. and C. acanthoides L. produce large amounts of Aplotaxene, a possible allelochemical

Author
item SILVA, FERDINANO - Sao Paulo State University (UNESP)
item DONEGA, MATEUS - Universidad De Sao Paulo
item CERDERIA, ANTONIO - Embrapa
item CORNIANI, NATALIA - Sao Paulo State University (UNESP)
item VELINI, EDIVALDO - Sao Paulo State University (UNESP)
item Cantrell, Charles
item Dayan, Franck
item COELHO, MARIANA - University Of Santa Rosa
item SHEA, KATRIONA - Pennsylvania State University
item Duke, Stephen

Submitted to: Journal of Chemical Ecology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/6/2014
Publication Date: 2/21/2014
Citation: Silva, F.M., Donega, M.A., Cerderia, A.L., Corniani, N., Velini, E.D., Cantrell, C.L., Dayan, F.E., Coelho, M.N., Shea, K., Duke, S.O. 2014. Roots of the invasive species Carduus nutans L. and C. acanthoides L. produce large amounts of Aplotaxene, a possible allelochemical. Journal of Chemical Ecology. 40:276-284.

Interpretive Summary: Carduus nutana an Carduus acanthoides are two invative thistles in the U.S. C. nutans has been reported to e allelopathic, but no allelochemicals have been identified in past work. This paper identifies aplotaxene as the potential allelochemical of both of these species. It is weakly phytotoxic, but found in large amounts in the roots of both species.

Technical Abstract: The invasive thistle species Carduus nutans has been reported to be allelopathic, yet no allelochemicals have been identified from the species. In a search for allelochemicals from C. nutans and the closely related invasive species C. acanthoides, bioassay-guided fractionation of roots and leaves of each species were conducted. Only dichloromethane extracts of the roots of both species contained a phytotoxin (aplotaxene) with sufficient total activity (activity in soil times tissue concentration) to potentially act as an allelochemical. Aplotaxene made up 0.44% of the weight of greenhouse-grown C. acanthoides roots and was not found in leaves of either species. It inhibited growth of lettuce 50% (I50) in soil at a concentration of ca. 0.5 mg g-1 of dry soil. These values gave a total activity in soil value similar to those of some established allelochemicals. The aplotaxene I50 for duckweed (Lemna paucicostata) in nutrient solution was less than 0.333 mM, and the compound caused cellular leakage of cucumber cotyledon discs in darkness and light at similar concentrations. Soil in which C. acanthoides had grown contained aplotaxene at a lower concentration than necessary for biological activity in our short-term soil bioassays, but these levels might have activity over longer periods of time and/or might be an underestimate of concentrations in undisturbed and/or rhizosphere soil.