Volatolomics of Sardinian and Spanish Bituminaria: Characterization of Different Accessions Using Chemometrics

The present study aims to determine the volatile compositions of 15 different accessions of native Sardinian populations of Bituminaria morisiana (Pignatti & Metlesics) Greuter, Bituminaria bituminosa (L.) C. H. Stirt. (B. b.), and Spanish native accessions of B. bituminosa. Furthermore, we particularly focused on the essential oil characterization of these accessions and discriminated within populations with low furocoumarin content useful for fodder production in Mediterranean environments or furocoumarin extraction for pharmaceutical utilization. The plant extracts were analyzed by GC/MS, showing great variability in the content and composition. No differences were found in Bituminaria bituminosa (L.) C.H. Stirt. var. bituminosa essential oils, while the varieties Bituminaria bituminosa (L.) C.H. Stirt. var. crassiuscula P. Méndez, Fern. Galván & A. Santos and Bituminaria bituminosa (L.) C.H. Stirt. var. albomarginata P. Méndez, Fern. Galván & A. Santos are characterized by the presence of a high concentration of long-chain alcohols and of salicylic acid benzylic ester. In B. bituminosa var. albomarginata, we observed a different profile with predominance of a large concentration of alcohols as dodecanol and tetradecanol. The endemic B. morisiana can be identified for the predominant presence of farnesene. In methanolic fractions, we detected the presence of maltol, methyl citrate, methyl cumarate, santonin, and methyl linoleate. B. morisiana showed a low content of psoralens, and the accession of B. morisiana, from Siliqua indicated the presence of apocynin.

First records of a potentially new plant community from the ruderal vegetation in the Black Sea Coast, Bulgaria

The paper presents the first data of an unreported plant community dominated by Hordeum leporinum Link and Bituminaria bituminosa (L.) Stirt. (class Stellarietea mediae R. Tx., Lohmeyer et Preising in R.Tx. 1950). It is currently established in four localities in the region of the Black Sea coast, between the town of Ravda and the town of Nessebar, Bulgaria. Among the characteristic features of the community are: (i) it occupies places with an active human presence near the beach; (ii) preferences for shallow san-dy or rocky soils; (iii) Bituminaria bituminosa (L.) Stirt. as a dominant, diagnostic and constant species for the community. Other diagnostic species for the association are Anchusa officinalis L., Malva sylves-tris L., Sonchus arvensis L. and Avena fatua L. (iv) annual and perennial species have an equal participa-tion in the community; (v) increased presence of diagnostic species for the class Artemisietea vulgaris Lohmeyer et al. ex von Rochow 1951. Phytogeographically, the species composition of the community has a strong Mediterranean influence. In close proximity to its reléves there are always communities of xerophytic shrubs or low trees (in many cases alien species, such as Amorpha fruticosa L., Ziziphus jujuba Mill. and Robinia pseudoacacia L.) that participate in the association without forming a full second layer (their cover abundance is less than 30%).

Evaluation of the Symbiotic Efficiency of Rhizobium Strains Applied to Bituminaria bituminosa (L.) Stirton

Aims: The study aimed to evaluate the effect of inoculation by different rhizobacteria on Bituminaria bituminosa plants grown under greenhouse conditions. Study Design: An experimental study. Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried out at the Department of Biology (Environment and valorization of microbial and plant resources Unit), Faculty of Sciences, Moulay Ismail University-Meknes, from November 2019 to February 2020. Methodology: Eleven species and/or isolates belonging to Rhizobium genus are used to inoculate B. bituminosa plants; similarly, fresh and dry crushed nodules previously collected from B. bituminosa shrubs are tested. The bacterial inoculation effects are evaluated through the estimation of inoculated plants’ fresh and dry shoots weight, root dry weight, total nitrogen, nodules number and fresh weight in comparison to non-inoculated plants. The infectivity and efficiency of the bacteria and the biological nitrogen fixation are also evaluated. Results: The results enable us to select the infective strains on the basis of their positive effect on growth and total nitrogen, in order to produce inoculum for B. bituminosa. Efficiency and biological nitrogen fixation are also very high compared to the control, especially with the B.b1 strain isolated from Bituminaria bituminosa and identified as Rhizobium tibeticum. The fresh nodules crushing is also very efficient. as inoculant. Conclusion: The use of symbiotic complex as Rhizobium tibeticum – Bituminaria bituminosa or an inoculum produced from fresh nodules are an eco-friendly alternative for the design of sylvo-pastoral systems ensuring increased soil fertility, fodder productivity and sustainable agroforestry.

The First Genetic Map for a Psoraleoid Legume (Bituminaria bituminosa) Reveals Highly Conserved Synteny with Phaseoloid Legumes

We present the first genetic map of tedera (Bituminaria bituminosa (L.) C.H. Stirton), a drought-tolerant forage legume from the Canary Islands with useful pharmaceutical properties. It is also the first genetic map for any species in the tribe Psoraleeae (Fabaceae). The map comprises 2042 genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) markers distributed across 10 linkage groups, consistent with the haploid chromosome count for this species (n = 10). Sequence tags from the markers were used to find homologous matches in the genome sequences of the closely related species in the Phaseoleae tribe: soybean, common bean, and cowpea. No tedera linkage groups align in their entirety to chromosomes in any of these phaseoloid species, but there are long stretches of collinearity that could be used in tedera research for gene discovery purposes using the better-resourced phaseoloid species. Using Ks analysis of a tedera transcriptome against five legume genomes provides an estimated divergence time of 17.4 million years between tedera and soybean. Genomic information and resources developed here will be invaluable for breeding tedera varieties for forage and pharmaceutical purposes.