Nalaz invazivne vrste kukca Acanthoscelides pallidipennis (Motschulsky, 1874) u plodovima čivitnjače (Amorpha fruticosa L.)

Plodovi čivitnjače (Amorpha fruticosa L.), invazivne biljne vrste, prikupljani su tijekom 2017. godine na području Pokupskog bazena i u Županji. Na plodovima žljezdastim mahunama uočeni su izletni otvori te je utvrđena prisutnost invazivne vrste kukca Acanthoscelides pallidipennis (Motschulsky, 1873). Ova je vrsta autohtona na području Sjeverne Amerike, a njezina rasprostranjenost usko je vezana uz staništa čivitnjače i puteve širenja ove invazivne biljne vrste. Na području Pokupskog bazena u prikupljenim su uzorcima zabilježene ukupno 554 infestirane mahune, dok su u Županji bile infestirane 434 mahune te nije utvrđena statistički značajna razlika između dvaju istraživanih područja. Rezultati ukazuju na to da je kukac A. pallidipennis raširen u sastojinama čivitnjače na obama područjima te da je potrebno pratiti potencijal njegova širenja kako bi se spriječila infestacija i drugih biljnih vrsta, posebice onih iz porodice Fabaceae koje učestalo napada.

Fruiting estimation of the potentially invasive species Amorpha fruticosa L. in the south of the Russian Far East

In the south of Russian Far East Amorpha fruticosa (Fabaceae Lindl.) is used as ornamental plant. It actively blooms and fruits here and successfully spreads by suckers, rarely by seeds. There are another ways of Amorpha fruticosa application in Primorsky Krai – as melliferous and technical plant for reclamation of disturbed lands and formation of protective field belts. These activities requires a great amount of quality seeds and, in turn, investigation of Amorpha fruticosa seed propagation. The study of the morphological characteristics of fruits from 12 different places in the Primorsky Krai showed that the linear characteristics of the fruits have minor differences but length of racemes and seed germination vary greatly. The longest racemes are detected in the city of Bolshoy Kamen (17.8 cm), the shortest ones – in Nekruglovo settlement (12.7 cm). The largest fruit number has racemes from Partizansk city (152). The weight of 100 fruits varies from 1.16 g (Kraskino settlement) to 0.94 g (city of Bolshoy Kamen). Highest germination capacity is observed in plants at Lake Soldatskoe (91%), the smallest in plants from Strugovka settlement and the city of Bolshoy Kamen (43%). Absence of germination of seeds from Vadimovka settlement is probably caused by pest – American seed beetle, Acanthoscelides pallidipennis.

New host and distributional records for Camarosporidiella in Italy, Russia, and Ukraine

Camarosporidiella specimens collected from woody plants in central Italy, eastern Ukraine, and southeastern Russia were identified based on morphology and multi-gene (LSU, SSU, ITS, and TEF) sequence analyses. Camarosporidiella caraganicola on Amorpha fruticosa, C. celtidis on Ulmus pumila, C. elaeagnicola on Cytisus ruthenicus are described with new host records and as new fungal records for Ukraine. Camarosporidiella moricola on Morus nigra is newly reported for Italy, and C. robiniicola on Robinia pseudoacacia is new for Ukraine. Camarosporidiella elaeagnicola on Elaeagnus angustifolia is re-described to facilitate identification. Notes on host distribution of Camarosporidiellaceae are also provided.

Chemical Composition, Antipathogenic and Cytotoxic Activity of the Essential Oil Extracted from Amorpha fruticosa Fruits

The purpose of this paper was to characterize and investigate the antimicrobial potential of Amorpha fruticosa fruits essential oil (EO). The EO was extracted by hydrodistillation, analyzed by GC-MS, and then evaluated for its interaction with microbial and mammalian cells. The antimicrobial activity was assessed against bacterial and fungal strains, in a planktonic and adherent growth state, using qualitative and quantitative assays. The main components identified in A. fruticosa fruits EO were δ-cadinene, γ-muurolene, and α-muurolene. The Gram-positive strains proved to be more susceptible than Gram-negative bacteria and fungal strains. The EO exhibited good antibiofilm activity, inhibiting the microbial adherence to the inert (96-well plates and Foley catheter section) and cellular substrata. The flow cytometry analysis revealed as one of the possible mechanisms of antimicrobial action the alteration of cell membrane hydrophobicity. The cytotoxicity on the L929 cell line occurred at concentrations higher than 0.3 mg/mL. Taken together, our results demonstrate that A. fruticosa fruits EO contains active compounds with selective inhibitory effect on different microbial strains in planktonic and biofilm growth state, explained at least partially by the interference with microbial membranes due to their hydrophobic character.

Amorpha fruticosa (false indigo-bush).

A datasheet on Amorpha fruticosa covering, as an economically important tree, its taxonomy, importance, silviculture, distribution, biology and ecology, uses, products and pests.

De novo assembly of Amorpha fruticosa L. transcriptome in response to drought stress provides insight into the tolerance mechanisms

Background Amorpha fruticosa L. is a deciduous shrub that is native to North America and has been introduced to China as an ornamental plant. In order to clarify the drought resistance characteristics of Amorpha fruticosa L. and excavate the related genes involved in drought resistance regulation pathway, the mechanism of drought resistance stress of Amorpha fruticosa L. was revealed by the changes of transcriptome of Amorpha fruticosa L. under drought stress.Through the changes of the transcriptome of Amorpha fruticosa L. under drought stress, the mechanism of anti-stress of Amorpha fruticosa L. could be revealed. Methods Different concentrations of polyethylene glycol-6000 (PEG-6000) was used to simulate drought stress, and transcriptomic analysis was used to reveal the changes of gene expression patterns in Amorpha fruticosa L. seedlings. Results Results showed that Amorpha fruticosa L. seedlings were seriously affected by PEG-6000. As for the differently expressed genes (DEGs), most of them were up-regulated. The additional Go and KEGG analysis results showed that DEGs were functionally enriched in cell wall, signal transduction and hormonal regulation related pathways. DEGs like AfSOD, AfHSP, AfTGA, AfbZIP and AfGRX play roles in response to drought stress. Conclusion In conclusion, Amorpha fruticosa L. seedlings were sensitive to drought, which was different from Amorpha fruticosa L. tree, and the genes functions in drought stress responses via ABA-independent pathways. The up-regulation of Salicylic acid signal related DEGs (AfTGA and AfPR-1) indicated that Salicylic acid play a key role in response to drought stress in Amorpha fruticosa L.