Genetic variation in remnant populations of Dalbergia nigra (Papilionoideae), an endangered tree from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest.
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BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Dalbergia nigra, known as Brazilian rosewood, is an endangered tree species restricted to the Brazilian Atlantic Forest and has been intensively logged for five centuries due to its high-quality wood. The objective of the present study was to assess the genetic variation and structure in adults and saplings of the species from a large reserve of the Atlantic Forest, the Rio Doce State Park, and from two small surrounding fragments, one better preserved and another with a high degree of anthropogenic disturbance. METHODS: Analyses of genetic variation and structure were conducted by studying allozyme markers. Seven putative enzymatic loci were resolved, five of them being polymorphic. KEY RESULTS: The mean numbers of alleles per locus (A) were 1.93 and 1.73, while the percentages of polymorphic loci (P) were 93 and 73 % for adults and saplings, respectively. Saplings from the fragment with high anthropogenic disturbance exhibited the lowest values of A and P. The fragment that constitutes a conservation area exhibited genetic variation similar to the population from the large reserve. The observed (H(o)) and expected (H(e)) heterozygosities were not significantly different among the three populations. Only sapling populations showed F(ST) values (divergence among populations) significantly different from zero over all studied loci. The fragment with high anthropogenic disturbance exhibited considerable genetic divergence in relation to the above-cited populations. CONCLUSIONS: The evaluated populations displayed mean levels of genetic variation intermediate to those expected for narrow and widespread species. The results suggest that fragments with similar area and geographical distance from a large protected reserve can exhibit different levels of genetic variation, depending on the degree of anthropogenic disturbance. The considerable genetic variation in the protected fragment points to the importance of adequate conservation of small fragments for the preservation of genetic variation in D. nigra. (+info)
Comparative analysis of different DNA extraction protocols in fresh and herbarium specimens of the genus Dalbergia.
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Five published DNA extraction protocols were compared for their ability to produce good quality DNA from fresh and herbarium leaves of several species of the genus Dalbergia. The leaves of these species contain high amounts of secondary metabolites, which make it difficult to perform a clean DNA extraction and thereby interfering with subsequent PCR amplification. The protocol that produced the best DNA quality in most of the Dalbergia species analyzed, utilizes polyvinylpyrrolidone to bind the phenolic compounds, a high molar concentration of NaCl to inhibit co-precipitation of polysaccharides and DNA, and LiCl for removing RNA by selective precipitation. The DNA quality of herbarium specimens was worse than that for fresh leaves, due to collecting conditions and preservation of samples. We analyzed 54 herbarium specimens, but the recovered DNA allowed successful PCR amplification in only eight. For the genus Dalbergia, the herbarium is an important source of material for phylogenetic and evolutionary studies; due to the occurrence of the different species in various geographical regions in Brazil, it is difficult to obtain fresh material in nature. Our results demonstrated that for Dalbergia species the methods used for the collection and preservation of herbarium specimens have a mayor influence on DNA quality and in the success of phylogenetic studies of the species. (+info)
Evaluation of genetic diversity in a natural rosewood population (Dalbergia nigra Vell. Allemao ex Benth.) using RAPD markers.
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Dalbergia nigra (rosewood) is a long-lived leguminous species, which is endemic to the Brazilian Atlantic forest. Because of the high economic value of its wood, this species has been over-explored in recent years. Currently, rosewood is included in the IUCN Red List as vulnerable. We examined the genetic diversity of 87 specimens of D. nigra sampled from a continuous forest in the Veracel Reserve and Brazilwood Ecological Station, Porto Seguro, Bahia state, with random amplified polymorphic DNA markers. Grouping analyses were done using unweighted pair group method with arithmetic averages. Using the 16 most informative primers, 112 markers were obtained; 39% (44 bands) were polymorphic. A genetic similarity matrix was made based on the polymorphic bands. The dispersion graph and dendrogram analyses showed three distinct sub-populations. The degree of polymorphism was high, near that of other populations of similar species; however, it was considered low for the conservation of this species. (+info)
Flavonoids from the heartwood of Dalbergia odorifera and their protective effect on glutamate-induced oxidative injury in HT22 cells.
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Two flavonoids, 4,2',5'-trihydroxy-4'-methoxychalcone (1) and (2S)-6,7,4'-trihydroxyflavan (2), along with fourteen known flavonoids and two other known arylbenzofurans were isolated from the heartwood of Dalbergia odorifera. The structure of compounds 1 and 2 were established by spectroscopic (NMR and MS) analyses. Of the isolates, eight compounds (1, 4, 7, 10, 12, 14, 15, 17) were found to have potent protective effect on glutamate-induced oxidative injury in HT22 cells. (+info)
Aluminium tolerance and high phosphorus efficiency helps Stylosanthes better adapt to low-P acid soils.
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Small effect of fragmentation on the genetic diversity of Dalbergia monticola, an endangered tree species of the eastern forest of Madagascar, detected by chloroplast and nuclear microsatellites.
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Wood identification of Dalbergia nigra (CITES Appendix I) using quantitative wood anatomy, principal components analysis and naive Bayes classification.
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Effects of varying concentrations of the crude aqueous and ethanolic extracts of Dalbergia sissoo plant parts on Biomphalaria pfeifferi egg masses.
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This study evaluated, using replicated laboratory bioassays, the toxicities of the crude aqueous and ethanolic extracts of Dalbergia sissoo Roxb. 1832 (family Leguminosae) fruits, leaves, roots and stem bark against egg masses of Biomphalaria pfeifferi (Krauss, 1848), the snail intermediate host of Schistosoma mansoni (Sambon, 1907) in Nigeria. Viable 0-24 hr-old embryonated egg masses were separately exposed to five different concentrations (7.81-2000 mg/l) of extracts for 24 hrs, washed in dechlorinated tap water and incubated at room temperature for a maximum of 4 weeks. The LC(50) and LC(90) values of test extracts for egg masses were calculated by probit analysis. The activities of the tested extracts were concentration-dependent. However, only the ethanolic extract of the fruits demonstrated significant activity (24 hr-LC(90) value < 100 mg/l: 89.29 mg/l). Mortalities of eggs were manifested at the gastrula/exogastrula and or the prehatch snail stage of development. The percentage of dead embryos at the prehatch snail stage decreased while the deaths of embryos at the gastrula/exogastrula stage increased, with increasing concentration of extract. Lethality of the ethanolic extract of D. sissoo fruits to embryonated egg masses of B. pfeifferi is an added advantage to its potential development for use as a plant molluscicide, as the overall efficacy of a molluscicide is greatly enhanced if it also shows significant toxicity towards snail eggs. (+info)