Quantifying the Invasive Secondary Metabolome

Invasive plants drive ecosystem degradation through developing aggressive phenotypes that can outcompete native flora. Several hypotheses explain this, like the Evolution of Increased Competitive Ability hypothesis and the Novel Weapons Hypothesis, but none have been proven conclusively. Changes in plant metabolites are critical to these hypotheses, but complete invasive secondary metabolomes have not been quantified. Here, statistical and unsupervised machine-learning approaches were used to analyse chemotype-to-phenotype relationships in invasive and non-invasive populations in species Ageratum conyzoides, Lantana camara, Melaleuca quinquenervia and Psidium cattleainum and on a family level analysing Asteraceae, Myrtaceae and Verbenaceae. Invasive metabolomes evolved according to the EICA and NWH, involving optimisation of aggressive strategies present in native populations and local adaptation.Abstract Figure

Post-Harvest Control of Anthracnose of Mango (Mangifera indica L. var Kent) using Essential Oils Extracted from two Aromatic Plants (Cymbopogon citratus (D C) Stapf. and Melaleuca quinquenervia L.) of the Ivorian Flora

Mango anthracnose is one of the most important mango diseases in Côte d'Ivoire. The chemical approach to control this disease is today decried by consumers, because of the pesticide residues left in the fruit. The search for alternative control solutions, that respect the environment and are less polluting is becoming a necessity. Thus, the use of essential oils in the protection of mangoes against fruit pests before and especially after harvest is a promising solution. The present study aimed to reveal the inhibitory efficacy of essential oil of Melaleuca quinquenervia L. and Cymbopogon citratus (D.C) Stapf against Colletotrichum gloeosporioides (Penz.) Penz & Sacc causal agent of mango anthracnose, stored at room temperature. Five doses (100; 200; 500; 1,000 and 2,000 ppm) of each product were tested in vitro on mycelial growth and spore germination of C. gloeosporioides. In vivo, 700 and 1,400 ppm of C. citratus L. and 1,200 and 12,000 ppm of M. quinquenervia L. were tested against anthracnose in artificially inoculated mangoes. The impact of the different doses of these species on the physico-chemical parameters of the treated fruits was evaluated on day 11. Results showed that mycelial growth and spore germination were totally inhibited by C. citratus essential oil at 1,000 and 2,000 ppm throughout the experiment. In Vivo, the 1,200 ppm dose of M. quinquenervia strongly reduced the occurrence and progression of anthracnose in treated fruits compared to the control with an efficiency rate of 77.76 ± 8.73 and 86.63 ± 5.21%, respectivement. The essences did not significantly influence the physico-chemical parameters of the fruits. The doses 1,200 ppm of M. quinquenervia and 1,400 ppm of C. citratus can be recommended in a post-harvest biological control strategy against mangoes anthracnose.

Nanoemulsification Improves the Pharmaceutical Properties and Bioactivities of Niaouli Essential Oil (Melaleuca quinquenervia L.)

We develop a suitable delivery system for niaouli essential oil (NEO) using a nanoemulsification method for acne vulgaris. Prepared nanoemulsions (NEs) were characterized for droplet dimension, rheology, surface charge, and stability. The ability of NEO formulations against Propionibacterium acnes and Staphylococcus epidermidis was investigated and all formulations showed antiacne potential in vitro. Ex vivo permeation studies indicated significant improvement in drug permeations and steady state flux of all NEO-NEs compared to the neat NEO (p < 0.05). On the basis of the studied pharmaceutical parameters, enhanced ex vivo skin permeation, and marked effect on acne pathogens, formulation NEO-NE4 was found to be the best (oil (NEO; 10% v/v); Kolliphor EL (9.25% v/v), Carbitol (27.75% v/v), and water (53% v/v)). Concisely, the in vitro and ex vivo results revealed that nanoemulsification improved the delivery as well as bioactivities of NEO significantly.

Lampiran 1E Paper Nitrogen removal from sewage and septage in constructed wetland mesocosms using sand media amended with biochar

Biochar has been identified as a media amendment to improve nutrient removal from wastewater, and N retention and plant growth in agroforestry. It therefore has the potential for treating domestic wastewater. The aim of this research was to compare nitrogen removal and plant growth in pure sand and sand amended with biochar, in wetland mesocosms (240 L) receiving sewage. There were seven media treatments based on the proportions of biochar in the sand media (100% sand, sand and coir peat, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25% biochar). The plant species were Paperback tree (Melaleuca quinquenervia) and Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus). The mesocosms were continuously loaded for 8 months with secondary clarified wastewater (SCW) (16 L/day). Septage was then intermittently loaded (20 L/2 days) for a further 8 months. Inflow and outflow samples were monitored for TN, NH4-N, and NOx-N. All treatments showed good nitrogen removal efficiency. Average removal efficiencies of TN, NOx-N and NH4-N in the mesocosms loaded with SCW ranged from 71 to 87%, 81 to 93% and 65 to 79%, for 100% Sand to 25% Biochar respectively. For septage, the removal efficiencies ranged from 63 to 81%, 69 to 87% and 66 to 81%, for 100% Sand to 25% Biochar respectively. Significant differences of nitrogen outflow concentrations were ob?served between pure sand and sand amended with biochar. Physical chemical properties of the biochar would have facilitated microbial processes and adsorption. Strong positive correlations were observed between biochar content in the media and nitrogen removal rates. The increased nitrogen removal may be attributed to higher mineralisation of organic nitrogen and NH4-N, especially in the case of septage where strong correlation was observed between BOD5 and TN removal. Total N biomass in the plants harvested after 21 months ranged from 13.4–14.0 g N. The addition of biochar did not increase plant N biomass in either species

Lampiran 1D paper Phosphorus removal from secondary sewage and septage using sand media amended with biochar in constructed wetland mesocosms

To improve the performance efficiency of subsurface constructed wetlands (CWs), a variety of media have been tested. Recently, there has been a rising interest in biochar. This research aims to develop the effectiveness of sand media amended with biochar and two plants species (Melaleuca quinquenervia and Cymbopogon citratus) in removing phosphorus from sewage effluent in CWs. The experimental design consisted of vertical flow (VF) mesocosms with seven media treatments based on the proportions of biochar in the sand media which ranged from 0 to 25% by volume. During the first 8 months, the mesocosms were loaded with secondary clarified wastewater (SCW) then septage was used for the remaining 8 months. Inflow and outflow were monitored for total phosphorus (TP) and PO4-P. Plants were harvested at the end of the experiment and TP biomass was determined. Removal efficiencies of TP in the mesocosms loaded with SCW and septage ranged from 42 to 91% and 30 to 83%, respectively. Removal efficiencies of PO4-P ranged from 43 to −92% and 35 to 85% for SCW and septage, respectively. The results revealed that the sand media performed better than the biochar-amended media; increasing the proportion of biochar in the media decreased removal efficiency of phosphorus. However, after flushing due to major rain event, there was no significant difference between sand and sand augmented with 20% biochar

Lampiran 1C Paper An investigation into the effectiveness of sand media amended with biochar to remove BOD5, suspended solids and coliforms using wetland mesocosms

Constructed wetland ecotechnologies (CWEs) are a promising solution to effectively treat domestic wastewater in developing countries at low cost. This paper reports the findings of the effectiveness of sand media amended with woody biochar and two plants species (Melaleuca quinquenervia and Cymbopogon citratus) in removing biological oxygen demand (BOD5), suspended solids and coliforms. The experimental design consisted of 21 vertical flow (VF) mesocosms. There were seven media treatments using sand amended with varying proportions of biochar. During the first 8 months, the mesocosms were loaded with secondary clarified wastewater (SCW) then septage. The influent had a 4-day hydraulic retention time. Samples were monitored for BOD5, total suspended solids (TSS), total volatile solids (TVS), total coliforms and faecal coliforms. In the first 8 months, there were no significant performance differences between media treatments in the outflow concentrations of BOD5, TSS and TVS. The significant differences occurred during the last 3 months; using septage with biochar additions performed better than pure sand. For coliforms, the significant differences occurred after 6 months. In conclusion, the addition of biochar was not effective for SCW. The VF mesocosms system proved to be more effective in removing BOD5, TSS, TVS and coliforms when septage was loaded into the media.

Chemical composition of essential oils of the tree Melaleuca quinquenervia (Myrtaceae) cultivated in Costa Rica

Introduction: Melaleuca is a Myrtaceous genus of flowering plants of about 290 species, distributed throughout Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Australia, and New Caledonia. Objective: To identify the chemical composition of the essential oils from leaves, twigs and fruits of M. quinquenervia cultivated as ornamental in Costa Rica. Methods: The essential oils were obtained through the steam distillation process in a Clevenger type apparatus. The chemical composition of the oils was done by GC-FID and GC-MS, using the retention indices on a DB-5 type capillary column in addition to mass spectral fragmentation patterns. Results: The essential oils consisted mainly of terpenoids (88,2-96,6%). A total of 88 compounds were identified, accounting for 93.1-97.0% of the total amount of the oils. The major constituents from the leaf oil were 1,8-cineole (31,5%), viridiflorol (21,7%), and α-pinene (17,9%). The fruit essential oil consisted mainly of viridiflorol (42,1%), α-pinene (15,0%), limonene (6,4%), α-humulene (4,7%), β-caryophyllene (3,9%), and 1,8-cineole (3,4%). The major components of twigs oil were viridiflorol (66,0%), and 1,10-di-epi-cubenol (4,0%). Conclusion: The plants introduced in Costa Rica belong to chemotype II whose oils contain as major constituents 1,8-cineole and viridiflorol, and it suggest that the original plants were brought from southern Queensland or northern New South Wales (Australia) or from New Caledonia.

Bark-dwelling methanotrophic bacteria decrease methane emissions from trees

Tree stems are an important and unconstrained source of methane, yet it is uncertain whether internal microbial controls (i.e. methanotrophy) within tree bark may reduce methane emissions. Here we demonstrate that unique microbial communities dominated by methane-oxidising bacteria (MOB) dwell within bark of Melaleuca quinquenervia, a common, invasive and globally distributed lowland species. In laboratory incubations, methane-inoculated M. quinquenervia bark mediated methane consumption (up to 96.3 µmol m−2 bark d−1) and reveal distinct isotopic δ13C-CH4 enrichment characteristic of MOB. Molecular analysis indicates unique microbial communities reside within the bark, with MOB primarily from the genus Methylomonas comprising up to 25 % of the total microbial community. Methanotroph abundance was linearly correlated to methane uptake rates (R2 = 0.76, p = 0.006). Finally, field-based methane oxidation inhibition experiments demonstrate that bark-dwelling MOB reduce methane emissions by 36 ± 5 %. These multiple complementary lines of evidence indicate that bark-dwelling MOB represent a potentially significant methane sink, and an important frontier for further research.

Melaleuca quinquenervia (paperbark tree).

M. quinquenervia is a moderately fast-growing, fire-tolerant tree capable of growing on nutrient-deficient sites with continuous or periodic flooding in the humid and sub-humid tropics. It is moderately salt-tolerant. This species is most likely to be grown on relatively short coppice rotations that maximize the production of small-sized logs. M. quinquenervia makes excellent fuelwood, provides useful timber, and is a good source of honey and medicinal niaouli oil. The botany, cultivation, weed management, insect pests, biomass and oil yields, breeding, oil distillation and oil properties of Melaleuca spp., and niaouli oil of M. quinquenervia are covered by Southwell and Lowe (1999).