Ludalbin,a new lactone from Artemisia ludoviciana

Artemisia ludoviciana Nutt. ssp. albula (Woot.) Keck, a member of the vulgaris complex, contains a sesquiterpene lactone, ludalbin, which is 8-α-acetoxydouglanine.     

Comparison of phosphorus distribution and cycling between adjacent native semidesert shrub and cultivated grass-dominated ecosystems

Summary P concentrations at several soil profile depths and for various plant parts were monitored over most of one year in adjacent native semidesert shrub and cultivated crested wheatgrass ecosystems. When multiplied by appropriate soil bulk densities and phytomass values, it was possible to calculate P mineralomasses in these two ecotessera. Knowledge of new to old growth ratios allowed estimation of P turnover. Although there was greater P in the vegetation of the native stand, the tissues lived longer and decomposed less rapidly than those in the grass stand that has been established in a portion of the original shrub dominated semidesert. The grass stand showed higher net primary productivity and had a much higher fraction of phytomass that is consumable by livestock. There was thus, at least a five-fold greater turnover of P in the tilled and seeded system. The introduced grasses are also withdrewing more P from the soil reserves. Whether nutrient export from the systems could lead to long-term declines in productivity will require further monitoring and experimental effort.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Artemisia lerchiana</Emphasis> as a producer of essential oil

Abstrac  The composition of essential oil of Artemisia lerchiana Web. plants growing in Volgograd oblast was studied. Sampling was performed from plots contrasting in climatic and soil characteristics. Essential oil was obtained by hydrodistillation. The content of essential oil in shoot biomass increased gradually during shoot formation, flower bud formation, and flowering beginning and then decreased. The highest content of essential oil varied from 1.1 to 1.5% of plant dry weight at the stage of flower bud formation. More than thirty compounds were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The following major components were found: camphor, borneol, bornylacetate, camphene, and 1,8-cineole. Some of compounds (sesquiterpenes and sesquiterpenoids) were identified for the first time. The time-course of accumulation of essential oil components strongly depended on habitat edaphic factors and climatic conditions during the year of sampling. The results permit a conclusion that A. lerchiana is a valuable producer of essential oils. Original Russian Text ? E.B. Kirichenko, Yu.V. Orlova, D.V. Kurilov, 2008, published in Fiziologiya Rastenii, 2008, Vol. 55, No. 6, pp. 934–941.     

Kin recognition affects plant communication and defence

The ability of many animals to recognize kin has allowed them to evolve diverse cooperative behaviours; such ability is less well studied for plants. Many plants, including Artemisia tridentata, have been found to respond to volatile cues emitted by experimentally wounded neighbours to increase levels of resistance to herbivory. We report that this communication was more effective among A. tridentata plants that were more closely related based on microsatellite markers. Plants in the field that received cues from experimentally clipped close relatives experienced less leaf herbivory over the growing season than those that received cues from clipped neighbours that were more distantly related. These results indicate that plants can respond differently to cues from kin, making it less likely that emitters will aid strangers and making it more likely that receivers will respond to cues from relatives. More effective defence adds to a growing list of favourable consequences of kin recognition for plants.     

艾蒿精油对家蝇的忌避及熏蒸活性

应用“Y”型嗅觉仪对家蝇进行了生物测定。结果表明,艾蒿(Artemisia vulgars L．)精油20μL和25μL剂量对家蝇Musca domestica rieina有很强的忌避活性,平均忌避活力分别为86％和88％,显著高于5和10μL剂量。植物精油对家蝇成虫具有很好的熏蒸活性。随着精油浓度的升高和熏蒸时间的延长,试虫的死亡率显著增加。艾蒿精油浓度为20μL／mL时,家蝇成虫的死亡率在24h后即达到100％;对照在24,48,72和96h时家蝇成虫的死亡率分别为0,0,5％和11％。     

毛乌素沙地优势克隆半灌木生物量配置对小尺度植被盖度变异的响应

克隆植物根据其构型可以分为游击型和密集型。游击型克隆植物的间隔子长,分株在水平空间的扩展范围大,可以利用更大空间范围内的资源,其通过克隆生理整合作用发生的非局部反应的能力强。由此可以得出的推论之一是,小生境斑块的环境发生变化,生长于其中的密集型克隆植物的反应可能会更灵敏。这种反应可能会体现在生物量以及配置格局的变化上。以毛乌素地区沙生半灌木群落中两种优势克隆植物羊柴(H edy sarum laeve)和油蒿(A rtem isia ord osica)为研究对象,前者是典型的游击型克隆植物,后者是密集型克隆植物。采取野外调查的方式,观测在不同植被盖度的小生境斑块内二者地上生物量分配格局的变化情况,并结合二者的克隆构型和生活史特征试图探讨产生这种格局的原因。结果表明:羊柴的地上各部分生物量对植被盖度变化的响应不如油蒿敏感。这或者是因为羊柴的游击型克隆构型决定其可以跨越小尺度斑块实现克隆生理整合,可以利用不同小生境斑块的资源导致的。油蒿只能利用小生境斑块内的资源,当小生境斑块的条件改变,其生物量以及配置方式也随之发生相应的变化。在繁殖方式上,羊柴的有性繁殖结构以及有性繁殖投资显著小于油蒿。在资源有限的条件下,对一种繁殖方式的投资常常会削弱另一种繁殖方式。羊柴主要依靠克隆繁殖,这或者符合并支持配置理论的观点。     

Simultaneous analysis of artemisinin and flavonoids of several extracts of Artemisia annua L. obtained from a commercial sample and a selected cultivar

Artemisia annua L. (Qinghao) is a promising and potent antimalarial herbal drug. This activity has been ascribed to its component artemisinin, a sesquiterpene lactone that is very effective against drug-resistant Plasmodium species with a low toxicity. Our studies indicate that several flavonoids of A. annua can promote and enhance the reaction of artemisinin with hemin. These data are in good agreement with previous investigations on the in vitro potentiation of antimalarial activity of artemisinin by such flavonoids. As a consequence, in view of a possible use of the phytocomplex rather than pure artemisinin, an HPLC/DAD/MS method is proposed for the simultaneous detection and quantification of both flavonoids and artemisinin. Different extracts, obtained from two different herbal drugs, a commercial sample and a selected cultivar, were analyzed in order to determine which solvents provide the best yields of both artemisinin and flavonoids. Qualitative and quantitative results obtained using an HPLC method are described, which will be useful for developing highly effective herbal drug preparations.     

Fire mediated patterns of population densities in mountain big sagebrush bird communities

We employed a chronosequence approach to evaluate patterns of bird abundance in relation to post-fire vegetation recovery in mountain big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata vaseyana). We estimated population density for 12 species of birds within the perimeters of 4 fires that had undergone 8–20 years of vegetation recovery and on adjacent unburned areas in the northwestern Great Basin, USA. Six species showed negative responses to fire persisting up to 20 years. Two species showed positive responses with effects persisting for <20 years. Understory vegetation was similar between burned and unburned areas irrespective of recovery time, and shrub canopy cover was similar between burned and unburned sites after 20 years of recovery. Persistent reductions in bird densities lead us to conclude that shrub canopy cover alone is not a sufficient metric for predicting recovery of songbird abundances following disturbance in mountain big sagebrush. © 2013 The Wildlife Society.     

铬对中国林蛙蝌蚪生长发育的毒性效应

为评价水域环境中铬元素对两栖动物幼体的急性毒性,将中国林蛙(Rana chensinensis)28～29期蝌蚪分别暴露于30～35 mg·L-1Cr(Ⅲ)6个不同浓度和10 ～ 45mg·L-1Cr(Ⅵ)6个不同浓度的水体中,分别在24、48、72和96 h统计蝌蚪的死亡率及半致死浓度(LC50).结果表明:暴露24、48、72和96 h,Cr(Ⅲ)对蝌蚪的LC50分别为34.09±1.06、33.47±0.65、32.58±0.11和(32.05±0.20) mg·L-1,安全浓度(SC)为(3.21±0.02)mg·L-1;Cr(Ⅵ)对蝌蚪的LC50分别为91.97±5.32、51.19±4.62、35.79±1.40和(28.81±1.87) mg·L-1,安全浓度(SC)为(2.88±0.19) rng·L-1.观察表明:Cr(Ⅲ)的急性毒性是通过与蝌蚪皮肤表面的分泌物结合后粘附在鳃部,导致呼吸障碍致死;而Cr(Ⅵ)的强氧化性可导致蝌蚪的表皮溃变,鳃部萎缩致死;另外,将28～29期蝌蚪暴露于安全浓度(SC)以下的含铬水体进行慢性实验,通过检测蝌蚪的体长、体重和完全变态时间显示,低浓度的Cr(Ⅲ)和Cr(Ⅵ)对蝌蚪的生长发育仍具有一定的抑制作用,并可导致畸型发生,其作用强度呈现剂量效应,但时间累积效应不规律.