ABSTRACT
Cinnamomum plants (Lauraceae) are a woody species native to South and Southeast Asia forests, and are widely used as food flavors and traditional medicines. This study aims to evaluate the chemical constituents of Cinnamomum osmophloeum ct. linalool leaf oil, and its antidepressant and motor coordination activities and the other behavioral evaluations in a rodent animal model. The major component of leaf oil is linalool, confirmed by GC-MS analysis. Leaf oil would not induce the extra body weight gain compared to the control mice at the examined doses after 6 weeks of oral administration. The present results provide the first evidence for motor coordination and antidepressant effects present in leaf oil. According to hypnotic, locomotor behavioral, and motor coordination evaluations, leaf oil would not cause side effects, including weight gain, drowsiness and a diminishment in the motor functions, at the examined doses. In summary, these results revealed C. osmophloeum ct. linalool leaf essential oil is of high potential as a therapeutic supplement for minor/medium depressive syndromes.
Subject(s)
Acyclic Monoterpenes/pharmacology , Antidepressive Agents/pharmacology , Cinnamomum/chemistry , Motor Activity/drug effects , Oils, Volatile/pharmacology , Plant Extracts/pharmacology , Plant Leaves/chemistry , Animals , Gas Chromatography-Mass SpectrometryABSTRACT
Cinnamomum kanehirae Hayata and C. camphora (L.) Presl are important tree species in eastern Asia. The wood of C. kanehirae is in increasing demand for culturing Antrodia cinnamomea, a medicinal fungus that naturally grows inside the trunk of C. kanehirae. Putative hybrids between C. kanehirae and C. camphora were previously reported but with no scientific evidence, leading to confusion or misplanting. First, to identify the female parent of putative hybrids, the maternal inheritance InDel (insertion/deletion) markers were developed by using low-coverage sequencing. SNPs were developed by using genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) approach in C. kanehirae, C. camphora and putative hybrids. The results indicated that the female parent of the studied hybrids was C. camphora. Eight hundred and forty of the 529,006 high-density SNPs were selected and used for analysis. Hybrids were classified as F1 (C. kanehirae × C. camphora), F2 and backcrosses. Hybridization has occurred in the human-developed area of eastern and southwestern Taiwan, and the introgression was bidirectional. For producing pure wood, buffering zones should be established around seed orchards to avoid cross-species pollination and to preserve the genetic purity of C. kanehirae. The DNA markers developed in this study will also be valuable for further wood identification, breeding and evolutionary research.
Subject(s)
Cinnamomum/physiology , Genotyping Techniques/methods , Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide , Sequence Analysis, DNA/methods , Cinnamomum/genetics , DNA, Plant/genetics , Genetic Introgression , High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing , INDEL Mutation , InbreedingABSTRACT
The complete chloroplast genome of Cinnamomum kanehirae (Hayata), the first to be completely sequenced of Lauraceae family, is presented in this study. The total genome size is 152,700 bp, with a typical circular structure including a pair of inverted repeats (IRa/b) of 20,107 bp of length separated by a large single-copy region (LSC) and a small single-copy region (SSC) of 93,642 bp and 18,844 bp of length, respectively. The overall GC content of the genome is 39.1%. The nucleotide sequence shows 91% identities with Liriodendron tulipifera in the Magnoliaceae. In total, 123 annotated genes consisted of 79 coding genes, eight rRNA genes, and 36 tRNA genes. Among all 79 coding genes, seven genes (rpoC1, atpF, rpl2, ndhB, ndhA, rps16, and rpl2) contain one intron, while two genes (ycf3 and clpP) contain two introns. The maximum likelihood phylogenetic analysis revealed that C. kanehirae chloroplast genome is closely related to Calycanthus fertilis within Laurales order.
Subject(s)
Genome, Chloroplast/genetics , Genome, Mitochondrial/genetics , Lauraceae/genetics , Base Composition/genetics , Evolution, Molecular , Lauraceae/classification , Phylogeny , RNA, Ribosomal/genetics , RNA, Transfer/geneticsABSTRACT
Using Eucalyptus camaldulensis as a model system, we describe here a basic Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation protocol through organogenesis for the production of transgenic plants. Hypocotyl segments or cotyledon pieces from in vitro seedlings are used as starting materials. The explants are inoculated and cocultivated with a disarmed, binary strain of A. tumefaciens CIB542 harboring a mini Ti plasmid, pBI121. A modified Gamborg's B5 medium is used as the basal culture medium throughout stages of co-cultivation, callus induction and shoot regeneration. The incorporation of neomycin phosphotransferase II (nptII) and beta-glucuronidase (gus) genes into the plant nuclear genome are primarily verified by histochemical analysis and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Modifications of this protocol to use in mature tissues derived from elite trees and other Eucalyptus species are also described.
