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Essential oils (EOs) from conifer species are a potential source of biopesticides due to their various bioactive effects against pest insects. Since the harmful activity of pest insects often relies on their ability to fly, the disruption of wing morphology due to the use of essential oils (EOs) could be significant. This study investigated changes in wing shape and size in the model insect Drosophila melanogaster after exposure to EOs derived from selected conifers species. Drosophila larvae were treated with a diet containing 3% EOs from 6 Pinus and 3 Abies species. After completing their life cycle, the wings of adults were dissected and analyzed using the geometric morphometrics method. Changes in Drosophila wing morphology were observed. The potential effect of the major compounds of the tested EOs on wing morphology is discussed. We believe that this study lays the foundation for further evaluation of Abies and Pinus EOs in targeted toxicological studies against pest insects by focusing on the potential of EOs to disrupt pest activities that depend on wing morphology.

Fast determination of the volatile components of widely used culinary herbs and spices, without prior preparation of the sample, using headspace sampling (HS) and GC–MS/FID analysis, is presented. Generally, monoterpenes were the dominant class in HS volatiles (HSV): monoterpene hydrocarbons in dill, celery, parsnip and parsley, and oxygenated monoterpenes in coriander, bay laurel and rosemary. The HSV of ginger and clove samples differed from the others due to their high content of sesquiterpene hydrocarbons and phenylpropanoids, respectively. The most extreme case of limited distribution was related to the samples of garlic-HSV comprised organosulfur compounds and none of the above mentioned classes. Furthermore, the HSV data were processed via principal component analysis, making visible the variability and tendency between the investigated samples. Lastly, the research provides insights in many HS profiles of culinary herbs and spices, giving relative representation of volatiles as well as differences and deviation in terms of HSV content. [Project of the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Grant no. 172047]

This is the first report on morpho-anatomical and phytochemical differentiation of 19 native populations representing different Pinus nigra J.F.Arnold subspecies (banatica (Borbás) Novák, dalmatica (Vis.) Franco, nigra, and pallasiana (Lamb.) Holmboe) in the Balkans and Southern Carpathians. The 9 morpho-anatomical characteristics and 10 headspace volatiles of needles were analyzed with multivariate statistical analyses. The combination of results from all multivariate analyses with both types of markers revealed that P. nigra is differentiated into three groups within the studied area (the Dalmatian coast, Greece, and the rest of the Balkans with the Southern Carpathians). The first group included the population from an island in Dalmatia that corresponds to P. nigra subsp. dalmatica. The third group consisted of populations from continental Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Romania, and Bulgaria, which corresponds to P. nigra subsp. nigra. In light of the recent molecular data that indicated that the Greek populations (the second group) represent a distinct genetic lineage of P. nigra placed between the populations from the principal area (P. nigra subsp. nigra) and Turkey (P. nigra subsp. pallasiana), one can speculate that there is one more subspecies of P. nigra in this region that corresponds to populations from Greece. Extending our analyses to Asia Minor and Crimea could bring additional results that would be valuable for clarifying the intriguing issue of the diversification of P. nigra in the eastern part of its range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Essential oils (EOs) derived from evergreen conifer trees are recognized as complex sources of agents with various biological activities. In this study, the biological activities of the EOs derived from Chamaecyparis lawsoniana (A.Murray bis) Parl. (CLEO) and Thuja plicata Donn ex D.Don (TPEO) were investigated. The third instar larvae of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster were used as a model organism to determine the in vivo toxicity, genotoxicity, and antigenotoxicity of five different concentrations of CLEO and TPEO, ranging from 0.19% to 3%. Artemia salina was used for acute toxicity assessment and determination of LC50 after 24 h and 48 h. The antimicrobial activity of the CLEO and TPEO was tested against fourteen bacterial and two fungal strains using the microdilution method. The larvicidal activity and developmental time of D. melanogaster increased as the concentrations of the EOs rose. CLEO and TPEO produced a dose-dependent increase in DNA damage compared with the negative control. Both oils, at concentrations up to 1.5%, demonstrated the ability to reduce the genotoxic effect induced by ethyl methanesulfonate, with a reduction rate exceeding 60%. CLEO and TPEO were highly toxic against Artemia salina nauplii. The results indicate that the tested EOs act as antimicrobial agents against some pathogenic bacteria and fungi. CLEO and TPEO show promising potential as a source of antimicrobial and antigenotoxic agents and as potential biocides against pest insects and arthropods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, morphological variability and differentiation of 13 Achillea species, including 11 from the Achillea section Achillea sensu lato (A. chrysocoma, A. clypeolata, A. coarctata, A. collina, A. crithmifolia, A. distans, A. grandifolia, A. millefolium, A. nobilis, A. pseudopectinata and A. vandasii) and two species from the Achillea section Anthemoideae (A. ageratifolia and A. lingulata) from Serbia were analyzed. Morphometric analysis included a total of 9 quantitative characteristics from the vegetative and reproductive plant parts. Multivariate statistical analyses reflected almost clear differentiation between species from two studied sections whereby ligulate floret length and stem leaf segment length had the greatest influence for their distinction. Thus, the section Achillea sensu lato was characterized by significantly shorter ligulate florets and longer segments of stem leaf compared to the section Anthemoideae. Furthermore, A. grandifolia featured the longest segments of stem leaf and showed considerable separation from all other species within the section Achillea sensu lato. It could be concluded that the selected set of morphological characteristics in the present study mainly positioned the studied species in accordance with the current infrageneric classification of Achillea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Pinus mugo Turra sensu stricto (dwarf mountain pine) is a species native to central and southern Europe, which performs a key role in subalpine areas by preventing avalanches and soil erosion. In this study, headspace extraction coupled with GC-MS/FID analyses was used to analyze diversity of needle volatiles in 10 natural populations of P. mugo s. str. growing in the Julian Alps, southern Carpathians and Balkan Peninsula. The multivariate statistical analyses revealed clear differentiation between Julian Alpine and southern Carpathian populations, supporting the hypothesis about existence of vicariant gene pools in these two European mountain chains. Although several earlier studies have pointed out heterogeneity of the Balkan populations, none of the investigated Balkan populations have shown the volatile pattern similar to the Carpathian group, as they all formed a common group with the Alpine population. AHC of bioclimatic data as well as regression analysis suggested that general volatile differentiation in P. mugo s. str. essentially does not represent an adaptive response to bioclimatic, orographic or geological conditions. Therefore, the described population groups might be provisionally considered as two P. mugo s. str. chemotypes. Our findings regarding volatile characters complement those obtained from morpho-anatomical, phytochemical and molecular data reported so far. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents the carpological heterogeneity of Tragopogon pterodes, an endemic plant species from Balkan Peninsula. The goal of this paper was to determine the variability of morphological characters of achenes and assess the degree of their morphological differentiation relative to the position they occupy in the receptacle. Analysis included four different populations of T. pterodes and examination of 18 (8 qualitative and 10 quantitative) characters of achenes in total. Data analysis employed basic statistic, univariate (ANOVA, Tukey HSD) and multivariate (CDA, CA) analyses to check the level of heterocarpy in this species. The results indicate possible morphological differentiation of three groups of achenes (outer, median and inner achenes), depending of their position on the receptacle. The members of all three types were described, illustrated and compared. The variability of investigated carpological characters in this species is providing important information prior to their further taxonomic treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phytochemical diversity and differentiation of nine native populations of Pinus mugo sensu stricto from Julian Alps, Southern Carpathians and Balkan Peninsula were analyzed in regard to their epicuticular wax compounds. GC/MS and GC-FID analyses of the hexane extracts of needle samples, collected from 118 individuals of P. mugo, revealed the presence of six diterpenes, three primary alcohols and 10 n-alkanes ranging from C 19 to C 29 (except n-alkane C 21 ). According to simple linear regression, the contents of epicuticular wax compounds showed generally weak correlations with tested bioclimatic, orographic and geographic parameters, leading to assumption about their genetic conditioning. The multivariate statistical analyses suggested the existence of two chemical entities: the Alpine and the South Carpathian, while the Balkan populations appeared heterogeneous as three of them belonged to the Alpine and one to the South Carpathian group. The obtained results are largely consistent to those previously published in reference to morpho-anatomical and molecular characters of P. mugo, supporting the hypothesis of colonization of Balkan Peninsula from two different glacial refugia: from the Alps (across the Dinarides) and from the Southern Carpathians. Extending this study to the entire range of P. mugo complex should provide a clearer picture of its phytochemical diversity and differentiation., (© 2018 Wiley-VHCA AG, Zurich, Switzerland.)