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Phytotoxic Catechin Leached by Seeds of the Tropical Weed Sesbania virgata

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Abstract

Sesbania virgata (Cav.) Pers (wand riverhemp) is a fast-growing tropical legume species that has been used for revegetation of riparian forests and rehabilitation of degraded areas and that exhibits an invasive behavior in certain regions of Brazil. Preliminary studies have shown that seed leachates inhibit the germination and development of seedlings of some crop species. In this study, we report that the seed leachates of S. virgata inhibit the growth of Arabidopsis thaliana and rice. The flavonoid (+)-catechin is found in high amounts in these leachates. It was active at concentrations of 50 μg ml−1, and its effect was not distinguishable from the (+)-catechin obtained from a commercial source. We found that (+)-catechin is located in the seed coat and is rapidly released in high concentrations (235 μg per seed) at the beginning of imbibition. Quercetin was also detected in the seed coat of S. virgata, but it was not released from the seeds. Other phytotoxic compounds in the seed leachates were also detected. The fact that S. virgata releases high amounts of (+)-catechin, which also has antimicrobial activity, and other phytotoxins from its seeds at the earliest stages of its development might represent some adaptative advantage to the seedling that contributes to its invasive behavior and successful establishment in different soils.

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Acknowledgment

We thank the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa de São Paulo (FAPESP-Brazil) for the PhD fellowship to Kelly Simões (proc. 2004/04477-7) and for the grant to the project (FAPESP, proc. 2005/04139-7). We also thank CNPq for the research fellow grant to Marcia R. Braga. We thank Emily Wortman-Wunder for the editorial assistance. This work was also supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation (grant no. NSF-IBN 0335203 to J.M.V. and F.R.S.) and by DOD-SERDP (grant no. SI1388 to J.M.V.).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Biologia Celular e Estrutural, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, C.P. 6109, Campinas, 13083-863, São Paulo, Brazil

    Kelly Simões & Fernanda S. Kretzschmar

  2. Seção de Fisiologia e Bioquímica de Plantas, Instituto de Botânica, C.P. 3005, São Paulo, 01061-970, São Paulo, Brazil

    Kelly Simões, Fernanda S. Kretzschmar & Marcia R. Braga

  3. Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA

    Jiang Du & Frank S. Stermitz

  4. Center for Rhizosphere Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA

    Jiang Du, Corey D. Broeckling & Jorge M. Vivanco

Authors
  1. Kelly Simões
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  2. Jiang Du
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  3. Fernanda S. Kretzschmar
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  4. Corey D. Broeckling
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  5. Frank S. Stermitz
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  6. Jorge M. Vivanco
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  7. Marcia R. Braga
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Correspondence to Marcia R. Braga.

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Simões, K., Du, J., Kretzschmar, F.S. et al. Phytotoxic Catechin Leached by Seeds of the Tropical Weed Sesbania virgata . J Chem Ecol 34, 681–687 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-008-9443-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-008-9443-1

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