Frequency and distribution of cyanogenic glycosides in Eucalyptus L’Hérit

Twenty three species if Eucalyptus are now known to cyanogenic (ca. 4% of the genus). All except two are within the subgenus Symphyomyrtus. This distribution is consistent with recent phylogenetic treatments and has implications for conservation and management. In this study approximately 420 of the...

Ausführliche Beschreibung

Gespeichert in:
Bibliographische Detailangaben
Veröffentlicht in:Phytochemistry (Oxford) 2008-06, Vol.69 (9), p.1870-1874
Hauptverfasser: Gleadow, Roslyn M., Haburjak, J., Dunn, J.E., Conn, M.E., Conn, Eric E.
Format: Artikel
Sprache:eng
Schlagworte:
Online-Zugang:Volltext
Tags: Tag hinzufügen
Keine Tags, Fügen Sie den ersten Tag hinzu!
Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:Twenty three species if Eucalyptus are now known to cyanogenic (ca. 4% of the genus). All except two are within the subgenus Symphyomyrtus. This distribution is consistent with recent phylogenetic treatments and has implications for conservation and management. In this study approximately 420 of the described species of Eucalyptus were examined for cyanogenesis. Our work has identified an additional 18 cyanogenic species, 12 from living tissues and a further six from herbarium samples. This brings the total of known cyanogenic species to 23, representing approximately 4% of the genus. The taxonomic distribution of the species within the genus is restricted to the subgenus Symphyomyrtus, with only two exceptions. Within Symphyomyrtus, the species are in three closely related sections. The cyanogenic glycoside was found to be predominantly prunasin ( 1) in the 11 species where this was examined. We conclude that cyanogenesis is plesiomorphic in Symphyomyrtus (i.e. a common basal trait) but has probably arisen independently in the other two subgenera, consistent with recent phylogenetic treatments of the genus. The results of this study have important implications for the selection of trees for plantations to support wildlife, and to preserve genetic diversity.
ISSN:0031-9422
1873-3700
DOI:10.1016/j.phytochem.2008.03.018