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Recent CO2 levels promote increased production of the toxin parthenin in an invasive Parthenium hysterophorus biotype

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Abstract

Recent carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations promoted higher parthenin concentrations in an invasive Parthenium hysterophorus biotype. Mean concentrations of parthenin, an allelopathic and defensive sesquiterpene lactone, were 49% higher at recent (~400 ppm) than at mid-twentieth-century (~300 ppm) CO2 concentrations, but did not vary in a non-invasive biotype, suggesting that recent increases in atmospheric CO2 may have already altered the chemistry of this destructive weed, potentially contributing to its invasive success.

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Fig. 1: Shoot dry weights and parthenin concentrations.

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Data availability

All data collected can be viewed in the Supplementary Information, including plant dry weights over time (Supplementary Table 3) and concentrations of parthenin (Supplementary Table 4).

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Acknowledgements

We thank R. Belz for sharing the parthenin standard, without which this study would not have been possible. M. Kramer of USDA’s Northeast Area Statistics Group provided invaluable assistance for which we are grateful. A.A.B. and S.W.A. acknowledge financial support from the University of Queensland, Australia, making possible A.A.B.’s trip to USDA-ARS Beltsville, which laid the foundation of this collaborative project.

Author information

Author notes

  1. A. A. Bajwa

    Present address: Weed Research Unit, New South Wales Department of Primary Industries, Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sustainable Agricultural Systems Laboratory, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville, MD, USA

    C. Rice

  2. Adaptive Cropping Systems Laboratory, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville, MD, USA

    J. Wolf & D. H. Fleisher

  3. District of Columbia Department of Energy and Environment, Washington DC, Washington DC, USA

    S. M. Acosta

  4. School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, The University of Queensland, Gatton, Queensland, Australia

    S. W. Adkins & A. A. Bajwa

  5. Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

    L. H. Ziska

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Contributions

The study was initially conceived by A.A.B., L.H.Z. and C.R. Study design and methods were developed by J.W., S.M.A., L.H.Z., A.A.B., D.H.F. and C.R., with guidance from S.W.A. The experiment was carried out by J.W. and S.M.A. J.W. extracted parthenin and C.R. quantified it. J.W. analysed the data and wrote the first draft, which was expanded and reviewed by S.W.A., D.H.F., L.H.Z., A.A.B. and C.R.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to J. Wolf.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Peer review information Nature Plants thanks Paul Ode and the other, anonymous, reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

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Rice, C., Wolf, J., Fleisher, D.H. et al. Recent CO2 levels promote increased production of the toxin parthenin in an invasive Parthenium hysterophorus biotype. Nat. Plants 7, 725–729 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-021-00938-6

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