scholarly journals Climate and Competitive Status Modulate the Variation in Secondary Metabolites More in Leaves Than in Fine Roots of Betula pendula

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arvo Tullus ◽  
Linda Rusalepp ◽  
Reimo Lutter ◽  
Katrin Rosenvald ◽  
Ants Kaasik ◽  
...  

Plant secondary metabolites have many important functions; they also determine the productivity and resilience of trees under climate change. The effects of environmental factors on secondary metabolites are much better understood in above-ground than in below-ground part of the tree. Competition is a crucial biotic stress factor, but little is known about the interaction effect of climate and competition on the secondary chemistry of trees. Moreover, competition effect is usually overlooked when analyzing the sources of variation in the secondary chemistry. Our aim was to clarify the effects of competitive status, within-crown light environment, and climate on the secondary chemistry of silver birch (Betula pendula Roth). We sampled leaves (from upper and lower crown) and fine roots from competitively dominant and suppressed B. pendula trees in plantations along a latitudinal gradient (56–67° N) in Fennoscandia, with mean annual temperature (MAT) range: −1 to 8°C. Secondary metabolites in leaves (SML) and fine roots (SMFR) were determined with an HPLC-qTOF mass spectrometer. We found that SML content increased significantly with MAT. The effect of competitive stress on SML strengthened in colder climates (MAT<4°C). Competition and shade initiated a few similar responses in SML. SMFR varied less with MAT. Suppressed trees allocated relatively more resources to SML in warmer climates and to SMFR in colder ones. Our study revealed that the content and profile of secondary metabolites (mostly phenolic defense compounds and growth regulators) in leaves of B. pendula varied with climate and reflected the trees’ defense requirements against herbivory, exposure to irradiance, and competitive status (resource supply). The metabolic profile of fine roots reflected, besides defense requirements, also different below-ground competition strategies in warmer and colder climates. An increase in carbon assimilation to secondary compounds can be expected at northern latitudes due to climate change.

2020 ◽  
Vol 125 (7) ◽  
pp. 1065-1075
Author(s):  
Tao Li ◽  
Päivi Tiiva ◽  
Åsmund Rinnan ◽  
Riitta Julkunen-Tiitto ◽  
Anders Michelsen ◽  
...  

Abstract Background and Aims Plant secondary metabolites play critical roles in plant stress tolerance and adaptation, and are known to be influenced by the environment and climate changes, yet the impacts and interactions of multiple climate change components are poorly understood, particularly under natural conditions. Methods Accumulation of phenolics and emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were assessed on heather, Calluna vulgaris, an abundant evergreen dwarf shrub in European heathlands, after 6 years of exposure to elevated CO2, summer drought and nighttime warming. Key Results Drought alone had the strongest effects on phenolic concentrations and compositions, with moderate effects of elevated CO2 and temperature. Elevated CO2 exerted the greatest impact on VOC emissions, mainly by increasing monoterpene emissions. The response magnitudes varied among plant tissue types and chemical constituents, and across time. With respect to interactive effects of the studied climate change components, the interaction between drought and elevated CO2 was most apparent. Drought mainly reduced phenolic accumulation and VOC emissions, while elevated CO2 mitigated such effects. Conclusions In natural ecosystems, co-occurring climate factors can exert complex impacts on plant secondary metabolite profiles, which may in turn alter ecosystem processes.


2015 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben D. Moore ◽  
Natasha L. Wiggins ◽  
Karen J. Marsh ◽  
M. Denise Dearing ◽  
William J. Foley

Mammals cannot avoid ingesting secondary metabolites, often in significant amounts. Thus, their intake must be regulated to avoid intoxication. Three broad mechanisms have been described by which this can be achieved. These are conditioned aversions mediated by nausea, non-conditioned aversions and the recognition of limits to detoxification. Although there is some overlap between these, we know little about the way that mechanisms of toxin avoidance interact with regulation of nutrient intake and whether one has priority over the other. Nonetheless, regulation of meal length and inter-meal length allows the intake of some plant secondary metabolites to be matched with an animal’s capacity for detoxification and its nutritional requirements. Toxicity itself is not a fixed limitation and recent work suggests that ambient temperature can be a major determinant of the toxicity of plant secondary metabolites, largely through effects on liver function. These effects are likely to be of major importance in predicting the impact of global climate change on herbivores.


2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (24) ◽  
pp. 2817-2842
Author(s):  
Ewa Skała ◽  
Joanna Makowczyńska ◽  
Joanna Wieczfinska ◽  
Tomasz Kowalczyk ◽  
Przemysław Sitarek

Background: For a long time, the researchers have been looking for new efficient methods to enhance production and obtain valuable plant secondary metabolites, which would contribute to the protection of the natural environment through the preservation of various plant species, often rare and endangered. These possibilities offer plant in vitro cultures which can be performed under strictly-controlled conditions, regardless of the season or climate and environmental factors. Biotechnological methods are promising strategies for obtaining the valuable plant secondary metabolites with various classes of chemical compounds including caffeoylquinic acids (CQAs) and their derivatives. CQAs have been found in many plant species which are components in the daily diet and exhibit a wide spectrum of biological activities, including antioxidant, immunomodulatory, antihypertensive, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, hepato- and neuroprotective, anti-hyperglycemic, anticancer, antiviral and antimicrobial activities. They have also been found to offer protection against Alzheimer’s disease, and play a role in weight reduction and lipid metabolism control, as well as modulating the activity of glucose-6-phosphatase involved in glucose metabolism. Methods: This work presents the review of the recent advances in use in vitro cultures of various plant species for the alternative system to the production of CQAs and their derivatives. Production of the secondary metabolites in in vitro culture is usually performed with cell suspension or organ cultures, such as shoots and adventitious or transformed roots. To achieve high production of valuable secondary metabolites in in vitro cultures, the optimization of the culture condition is necessary with respect to both biomass accumulation and metabolite content. The optimization of the culture conditions can be achieved by choosing the type of medium, growth regulators or growth conditions, selection of high-productivity lines or culture period, supplementation of the culture medium with precursors or elicitor treatments. Cultivation for large-scale in bioreactors and genetic engineering: Agrobacterium rhizogenes transformation and expression improvement of transcriptional factor or genes involved in the secondary metabolite production pathway are also efficient strategies for enhancement of the valuable secondary metabolites. Results: Many studies have been reported to obtain highly productive plant in vitro cultures with respect to CQAs. Among these valuable secondary metabolites, the most abundant compound accumulated in in vitro cultures was 5-CQA (chlorogenic acid). Highly productive cultures with respect to this phenolic acid were Leonurus sibiricus AtPAP1 transgenic roots, Lonicera macranthoides and Eucomia ulmoides cell suspension cultures which accumulated above 20 mg g-1 DW 5-CQA. It is known that di- and triCQAs are less common in plants than monoCQAs, but it was also possible to obtain them by biotechnological methods. Conclusion: The results indicate that the various in vitro cultures of different plant species can be a profitable approach for the production of CQAs. In particular, an efficient production of these valuable compounds is possible by Lonicera macranthoides and Eucomia ulmoides cell suspension cultures, Leonurus sibiricus transformed roots and AtPAP1 transgenic roots, Echinacea angustifolia adventitious shoots, Rhaponticum carthamoides transformed plants, Lavandula viridis shoots, Sausera involucrata cell suspension and Cichorium intybus transformed roots.


2012 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 632-650 ◽  
Author(s):  
David M. Pereira ◽  
Patricia Valentao ◽  
Georgina Correia-da-Silva ◽  
Natercia Teixeira ◽  
Paula B. Andrade

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (12) ◽  
pp. 1093-1104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Shoaib Ali Gill ◽  
Hammad Saleem ◽  
Nafees Ahemad

Natural Products (NP), specifically from medicinal plants or herbs, have been extensively utilized to analyze the fundamental mechanisms of ultimate natural sciences as well as therapeutics. Isolation of secondary metabolites from these sources and their respective biological properties, along with their lower toxicities and cost-effectiveness, make them a significant research focus for drug discovery. In recent times, there has been a considerable focus on isolating new chemical entities from natural flora to meet the immense demand for kinase modulators, and also to overcome major unmet medical challenges in relation to signal transduction pathways. The signal transduction systems are amongst the foremost pathways involved in the maintenance of life and protein kinases play an imperative part in these signaling pathways. It is important to find a kinase inhibitor, as it can be used not only to study cell biology but can also be used as a drug candidate for cancer and metabolic disorders. A number of plant extracts and their isolated secondary metabolites such as flavonoids, phenolics, terpenoids, and alkaloids have exhibited activities against various kinases. In the current review, we have presented a brief overview of some important classes of plant secondary metabolites as kinase modulators. Moreover, a number of phytocompounds with kinase inhibition potential, isolated from different plant species, are also discussed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mulatu Yohannes Nanusha ◽  
Martin Krauss ◽  
Carina D. Schönsee ◽  
Barbara F. Günthardt ◽  
Thomas D. Bucheli ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Substantial efforts have been made to monitor potentially hazardous anthropogenic contaminants in surface waters while for plant secondary metabolites (PSMs) almost no data on occurrence in the water cycle are available. These metabolites enter river waters through various pathways such as leaching, surface run-off and rain sewers or input of litter from vegetation and might add to the biological activity of the chemical mixture. To reduce this data gap, we conducted a LC–HRMS target screening in river waters from two different catchments for 150 plant metabolites which were selected from a larger database considering their expected abundance in the vegetation, their potential mobility, persistence and toxicity in the water cycle and commercial availability of standards. Results The screening revealed the presence of 12 out of 150 possibly toxic PSMs including coumarins (bergapten, scopoletin, fraxidin, esculetin and psoralen), a flavonoid (formononetin) and alkaloids (lycorine and narciclasine). The compounds narciclasine and lycorine were detected at concentrations up to 3 µg/L while esculetin and fraxidin occurred at concentrations above 1 µg/L. Nine compounds occurred at concentrations above 0.1 µg/L, the Threshold for Toxicological Concern (TTC) for non-genotoxic and non-endocrine disrupting chemicals in drinking water. Conclusions Our study provides an overview of potentially biologically active PSMs in surface waters and recommends their consideration in monitoring and risk assessment of water resources. This is currently hampered by a lack of effect data including toxicity to aquatic organisms, endocrine disruption and genotoxicity and demands for involvement of these compounds in biotesting.


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