Fruit-coat and seed fats of Rhopalostylis, Elaeocarpus and Nestegis species

The fruit-coat fats of Rhopalostylis sapida, R. baueri (Palmae), Elaeocarpus dentatus (Elaeocarpaceae) and Nestegis cunninghamii (Oleaceae) and the seed fats of E. dentatus and N. cunninghamii contain as their major fatty acids palmitic 11–35%, oleic 13–68%, and linoleic 16–31%. The seed fat of E. dentatus contains 10% hexadecenoic acid and the fruit-coat fat of N. cunninghamii 13% linolenic acid.     

Phylogenomics using low‐depth whole genome sequencing: A case study with the olive tribe

Species trees have traditionally been inferred from a few selected markers, and genome‐wide investigations remain largely restricted to model organisms or small groups of species for which sampling of fresh material is available, leaving out most of the existing and historical species diversity. The genomes of an increasing number of species, including specimens extracted from natural history collections, are being sequenced at low depth. While these data sets are widely used to analyse organelle genomes, the nuclear fraction is generally ignored. Here we evaluate different reference‐based methods to infer phylogenies of large taxonomic groups from such data sets. Using the example of the Oleeae tribe, a worldwide‐distributed group, we build phylogenies based on single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) obtained using two reference genomes (the olive and ash trees). The inferred phylogenies are overall congruent, yet present differences that might reflect the effect of distance to the reference on the amount of missing data. To limit this issue, genome complexity was reduced by using pairs of orthologous coding sequences as the reference, thus allowing us to combine SNPs obtained using two distinct references. Concatenated and coalescence trees based on these combined SNPs suggest events of incomplete lineage sorting and/or hybridization during the diversification of this large phylogenetic group. Our results show that genome‐wide phylogenetic trees can be inferred from low‐depth sequence data sets for eukaryote groups with complex genomes, and histories of reticulate evolution. This opens new avenues for large‐scale phylogenomics and biogeographical analyses covering both the extant and the historical diversity stored in museum collections.     

Paternity tests support a diallelic self‐incompatibility system in a wild olive (Olea europaea subsp. laperrinei,Oleaceae)

Self‐incompatibility (SI) is the main mechanism that favors outcrossing in plants. By limiting compatible matings, SI interferes in fruit production and breeding of new cultivars. In the Oleeae tribe (Oleaceae), an unusual diallelic SI system (DSI) has been proposed for three distantly related species including the olive (Olea europaea), but empirical evidence has remained controversial for this latter. The olive domestication is a complex process with multiple origins. As a consequence, the mixing of S‐alleles from two distinct taxa, the possible artificial selection of self‐compatible mutants and the large phenological variation of blooming may constitute obstacles for deciphering SI in olive. Here, we investigate cross‐genotype compatibilities in the Saharan wild olive (O. e. subsp. laperrinei). As this taxon was geographically isolated for thousands of years, SI should not be affected by human selection. A population of 37 mature individuals maintained in a collection was investigated. Several embryos per mother were genotyped with microsatellites in order to identify compatible fathers that contributed to fertilization. While the pollination was limited by distance inside the collection, our results strongly support the DSI hypothesis, and all individuals were assigned to two incompatibility groups (G1 and G2). No self‐fertilization was observed in our conditions. In contrast, crosses between full or half siblings were frequent (ca. 45%), which is likely due to a nonrandom assortment of related trees in the collection. Finally, implications of our results for orchard management and the conservation of olive genetic resources are discussed.     

Early detection of Agrilus planipennis: investigations into the attractive range of the sex pheromone (3Z)-lactone

The emerald ash borer (EAB), Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), is a highly destructive primary pest of ash (Fraxinus sp., Oleaceae) trees outside of its native range. Ash is an important component of many ecosystems and its loss would be detrimental to both the economy and the environment. The present study aimed to improve our understanding of the effectiveness of green sticky prism traps baited with host kairomone and insect pheromone lures for A. planipennis and to collect data for modelling the range of attraction of the pheromone (3Z)-dodecen-12-olide [(3Z)-lactone]. Traps were deployed over a single flight season in urban locations of Ontario, Canada, with low densities of EAB. Traps were placed in pairs of trees separated by not more than 25 m. All traps contained the host kairomone, (3Z)-hexenol, with the remaining half in each pairing additionally baited with (3Z)-lactone pheromone. Both lure types were highly effective in capturing EAB, with >90% detection rates overall. However, traps baited with the lactone pheromone and host volatile lures doubled trap captures of EAB over distances of at least 25 m from the nearest traps baited with only host volatiles. Although the baseline detection rate of traps containing (3Z)-hexenol alone is not significantly reduced compared with traps containing (3Z)-lactone, the overall trap effectiveness is significantly increased when (3Z)-lactone is present. The implications for the use of (3Z)-lactone at 3 mg per septum dose in an early warning trapping system are discussed. Trap layout methods and risk-based analysis models can now be further refined by including these data about the attractive range of lures and their behaviour in different plot environments.     

Ultrastructure of Pollen Grains from Forced and Unforced Shrubs of Common Lilac

Forcing makes possible to induce plant flowering independently of the season. In lilac, high temperature is the factor that breaks deep dormancy. The deepest dormancy occurs between the end of October and the end of December. Depending on the depth of dormancy, the starting temperatures required for forcing are 37°C in November, 31°C in December, and 25°C in January–March. Under natural conditions, the temperature inducing the inflorescence bud breaking is 6°C, whereas 9°C and 13°C or more allow inflorescence elongation and flowering, respectively (Kronenberg, 1994). In the present work, the effect of high temperature at the beginning of the forcing cycle on the structure of developing pollen grains of common lilac was investigated. Pollen grains from the outdoor-grown (control) shrubs showed no signs of degeneration. They were spherical, three-colpate to colporoidate, and bicellular, and contained large numbers of lipid bodies. High temperatures at the early forcing cycle (November) resulted in the degeneration of most microspores. The first signs of degeneration (cytoplasm plasmolysis) were observed at the tetrad stage and in mature anthers; the microspores consisted only of the outer and inner sporopolenin layers.     

越南木樨科植物新记录

报道了越南木樨科(Oleaceae)植物1 新记录种大果素馨(Jasminum macrocarpum Merr.).该种产自越南中南部嘉来省的K’Bang, Kon Ha Nung 地区, 凭证标本保存在 HN, IBSC.     

Isolation and characterization of polymorphic microsatellites in olive (Olea europaea L.) and their transferability to other genera in the Oleaceae

Seven polymorphic microsatellites were developed in olive. Six of them came from a genomic library enriched for GA and CA repeat sequences. They showed single locus polymorphism in a set of 23 olive cultivars (from six to nine alleles per locus). Three different pairs of loci were sufficient to discriminate all cultivars. The other polymorphic primer pair was designed from a published sequence for olive lupeol sgutase and revealed just two alleles. The seven primer pairs were tested on two accessions of five other species of the Oleaceae and three, EMO2, EMO13 and EMO90, revealed polymorphism in two, four and three species, respectively.     

New triterpenes from the leaves of Olea europaea

The terpene fraction from the leaves of Olea europaea has been shown to contain the known oleanolic and maslinic acids, together with oleanane hydroxy acids which have never been found before in nature.     

Secoiridoid analogues from the fruits of Ligustrum lucidum and their inhibitory activities against influenza A virus

A phytochemical study focusing on the secoiridoid components in the fruits of Ligustrum lucidum was carried out, which finally led to the isolation of nine secoiridoid glycosides (1–9) together with two secoiridoids (10, 11). The structures of all compounds were established mainly by NMR and MS experiments as well as the necessary chemical evidence, of which 1, 2, 4 (ligulucisides A–C), 10 and 11 (liguluciridoids A and B) were identified as new secoiridoid analogues. An in vitro antiviral bioassay indicated that 1, 4, 6, and 10 displayed the inhibitory activities against influenza A virus with the IC₅₀ values of 16.5, 12.5, 13.1, and 18.5?μM, respectively, which were better than the positive control Ribavirin (IC₅₀ 22.6?μM)..     

Avoidance of parasitoid attack is associated with the spatial use within a leaf by a lepidopteran leafminer

In prey‐predator systems, top‐down effects can be a powerful determinant for spatial distributions of prey through their search for enemy‐free space. Leafminers live and eat within leaves, making feeding tracks called mines, and mine conspicuousness exposes them to a high risk of parasitism. Those lepidopteran leafminers that use lower leaf surfaces as mining sites show wide evolutionary radiation. We hypothesized that leafminers making mines on the lower surface are less often detected by parasitoids and thus have a selective advantage in avoiding parasitism compared to those on the upper surface. To investigate the adaptiveness of lower‐surface mining, we examined the relationship between parasitism and within‐leaf mine distribution for 3 years using a field population of the leafminer Phyllocnistis spec. (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae, Phyllocnistinae), which prefers the lower surface of leaves of the Japanese privet, Ligustrum japonicum Thunb. (Oleaceae). Parasitoid attack was more frequent in the upper‐surface mines than in the lower‐surface mines and on leaves with upper‐surface mines than on leaves with only lower‐surface mines. When both surfaces were mined, leafminers on the lower surface could avoid parasitism. Upper‐surface mines were attacked by more parasitoid species as compared to lower‐surface mines. Although the results demonstrated that mining on the lower surface was advantageous in avoiding parasitism, the vulnerability of lower‐surface mines to parasitism varied depending on their abundance. When many lower‐surface mines were present, lower‐surface mines suffered a higher parasitism rate than upper‐surface mines, probably because parasitoids formed search images for and concentrated on lower‐surface mines. This study suggests that the preferential use of the lower leaf surface by leafminers is in part attributed to interactions with parasitoids.