Etnobotânica de Leguminosae entre agricultores agroecológicos na Floresta Atlântica, Araponga, Minas Gerais, Brasil

This study describes the richness of Leguminosae used by 21 traditional farmers in coffee agroforestry systems (AFS) and forest fragments of the Atlantic Forest, in the municipality of Araponga, Minas Gerais, Brazil. It also presents the use categories, relative importance and the species similarity between the AFSs. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and participant observation, between August 2005 and November 2006, directed during random walks in seven AFSs and forest fragments surrounding the State Park of Serra do Brigadeiro. The farmers cited 59 species of Leguminosae, of which 86% are native to the Atlantic Forest and used in ancient cultural practices, such as to make bullock carts. Twelve categories of use were established, among them the most important were fertilizer and firewood (21 spp each); in the AFSs, species used for soil fertilization (18 spp) are the most utilized, and in the forest, the species for firewood and technology (17 spp.) The relative importance index showed that in the forest, Piptadenia gonoacantha showed 83% of agreement for the use as wood for fencing pastures, while in the AFSs, Inga edulis scored 100% as food. The AFSs studied show little similarity of species (0.42 of the Sorensen scale), due to the selection promoted by the farmers, thus, providing room for the conservation of useful species of Leguminosae.

Light and temperature induce variations in the density and ultrastructure of the secretory spaces in the diesel-tree (Copaifera langsdorffii Desf.-Leguminosae)

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Determinação da atividade antimicrobiana dos extrativos das folhas/galhos, pericarpo e sementes da Crotalaria pallida (Leguminosae)

O estudo de novas alternativas terapêuticas no tratamento de infecções microbianas tornou-se crescente no cenário científico devido à grande variação genética desses micro-organismos, que resultou na resistência aos antimicrobianos existentes. A grande diversidade na flora brasileira e a ampla utilização das plantas como medicamentos pela população justificam os estudos e o crescente interesse pela descoberta de novos compostos bioativos isolados dos vegetais. Plantas usualmente utilizadas na agricultura, apenas como adubação verde, por exemplo, são atualmente alvo de estudos científicos com potenciais promissores de atuação como de produtos terapêuticos. Plantas da família Leguminosae, amplamente conhecidas e utilizadas como fornecedoras de nitrogênio ao solo, vem sendo estudadas por diversas áreas da saúde para comprovarem a ação de compostos isolados entre estes os alcalóides pirrolidizínicos como antiinflamatórios, antibióticos e até como veneno para pragas. O objetivo do presente estudo foi determinar, a partir de extrativos de Crotalaria pallida, a atividade antimicrobiana in vitro utilizando cepas padrões de: Staphylococccus aureus, Escherichia coli, Salmonella sp e da levedura Candida albicans. Para determinação dessa atividade foi utilizada a técnica de diluição em microplaca que possibilitou o estudo da atividade do extrativo vegetal e da concentração inibitória mínima, isto é, concentração bactericida e/ou bacteriostática mínima e concentração fungiostática e/ou fungicida mínima. A Crotalaria pallida, não apresentou atividade frente aos micro-organismos testados nas condições padronizadas neste estudo

Herbivoria em Bauhinia rufa (Leguminosae: Caesalpinioideae) em fragmentos de cerrado

Herbivory is the basal link among the trophic chains and therefore has great importance in the energy flow in the ecosystems. However, the ecological interactions have been changed due to the process of fragmentation that has occurred in the cerrado. Thus, our objective was to evaluate the herbivory and the presence of possible constituents of defense in leaves of Bauhinia rufa in two cerrado fragments of different sizes . We evaluated in both of them species richness and abundance of herbivores as well absolute herbivory ( n = 25 plants / fragment ) . Through histochemical tests and scanning electron microscopy we verified the constituents of defense. The difference between the herbivory in the fragments was not statistically significant ( t = -1.387 , p = 0.166 ) . However , we found a higher abundance of morphotypes of herbivores in the smaller fragment. We detected chemical and physical constituents that may confer protection to the plant at all stages of leaf development. Although several publications have indicated that small fragments have a higher susceptibility to changes, our study revealed no effect of fragment size on the absolute herbivory, suggesting that there are other factors acting more strongly and maintaining this type of interaction in these ecosystems

Microsatellite in Aeschynomene falcata (Leguminosae): diversity, cross-amplification, and chromosome localization

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Toxic effects of Canavalia ensiformis L. (Leguminosae) on laboratory colonies of Atta sexdens L. (Hym., Formicidae)

Laboratory colonies of the leaf-cutting ants Atta sexdens that were fed daily with leaves of Canavalia ensiformis showed a high ant mortality, and a significant decrease in fungal garden volume, with complete depletion of nests after 11 weeks of treatment.

MICROSATELLITE MARKERS FOR PLATHYMENIA RETICULATA (LEGUMINOSAE)

Premise of the study: Microsatellite markers were developed and characterized to investigate genetic diversity and gene flow and to help in conservation efforts for the endangered timber species Plathymenia reticulata. Methods and Results: Eleven microsatellite loci were characterized using 60 adult trees of two populations of P. reticulata from the Atlantic Forest of southern Bahia, Brazil. Of these, nine loci were polymorphic, with an average of 4.39 alleles per locus. The average expected heterozygosity per population ranged from 0.47 to 0.55. The combined exclusion probability was 0.99996. Conclusions: Our results reveal that the microsatellite markers developed in this study are an effective tool for paternity and genetic structure analysis that may be useful for conservation strategies.

Diurnal changes in storage carbohydrate metabolism in cotyledons of the tropical tree Hymenaea courbaril L. (Leguminosae)

(Diurnal changes in storage carbohydrate metabolism in cotyledons of the tropical tree Hymenaea courbaril L. (Leguminosae)). The cotyledons of Hymenaea courbaril store large amounts of xyloglucan, a cell wall polysaccharide that is believed to serve as storage for the period of seedling establishment. During storage mobilisation, xyloglucan seems to be degraded by a continuous process that starts right after radicle protrusion and follows up to the establishment of photosynthesis. Here we show evidence that events related to the hydrolases activities and production (alpha-xylosidase, beta-galactosidase, beta-glucosidase and xyloglucan endo-beta-transglucosilase) as well as auxin, showed changes that follow the diurnal cycle. The period of higher hydrolases activities was between 6pm and 6am, which is out of phase with photosynthesis. Among the enzymes, alpha-xilosidase seems to be more important than beta-glucosidase and beta-galactosidase in the xyloglucan disassembling mechanism. Likewise, the sugars related with sucrose metabolism followed the rhythm of the hydrolases, but starch levels were shown to be practically constant. A high level of auxin was observed during the night, what is compatible with the hypothesis that this hormone would be one of the regulators of the whole process. The probable biological meaning of the existence of such a complex control mechanism during storage mobilisation is likely to be related to a remarkably high level of efficiency of carbon usage by the growing seedling of Hymenaea courbaril, allowing the establishment of very vigorous seedlings in the tropical forest.

DEVELOPMENT OF MICROSATELLITE MARKERS FOR ANADENANTHERA COLUBRINA (LEGUMINOSAE), A NEOTROPICAL TREE SPECIES

Premise of the study: We developed and characterized nuclear microsatellite markers for Anadenanthera colubrina, a tropical tree species widely distributed in South America. Methods and Results: Leaf samples of mature A. colubrina trees, popularly called "angico," were collected from an area that is greatly impacted by agricultural practices in the region of Ribeirao Preto in Sao Paulo State in southeastern Brazil. Twenty simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers were developed, 14 of which had polymorphic loci. A total of 96 alleles were detected with an average of 6.86 alleles per polymorphic locus. The expected heterozygosity, calculated at polymorphic loci, ranged from 0.18 to 0.83. Finally, we demonstrated that 18 loci were cross-amplified in A. peregrina. Conclusions: A total of 14 polymorphic markers suggest a high potential for genetic diversity, gene flow, and mating system analyses in A. colubrina.

Plantae Lehmannianae in Guatemala, Costa-Rica, Columbia, Ecuador etc. collectae: Leguminosae

Auctore Mare Micheli

Linking herbivory and pollination: Costs and selection implications in Centrosema virginianum Bentham (Fabaceae: Papilionoideae)

This research first evaluated levels and type of herbivory experienced by Centrosema virginianum plants in their native habitat and how florivory affected the pollinator activity. I found that populations of C. virginianum in two pine rockland habitat fragments experienced higher herbivory levels (15% and 22%) compared with plants in the protected study site (8.6%). I found that bees (Hymenoptera) pollinated butterfly pea. Furthermore, I found that florivores had a negative effect in the pollinators visitation rates and therefore in the seed set of the population. ^ I then conducted a study using a greenhouse population of C. virginianum. I applied artificial herbivory treatments: control, mild herbivory and severe herbivory. Flower size, pollen produced, ovules produced and seeds produced were negatively affected by herbivory. I did not find difference in nectar volume and quality by flowers among treatments. Surprisingly, severely damaged plants produced flowers with larger pollen than those from mildly damaged and undamaged plants. Results showed that plants tolerated mild and severe herbivory with 6% and 17% reduction of total fitness components, respectively. However, the investment of resources was not equisexual. ^ A comparison in the ability of siring seeds between large and small pollen was necessary to establish the biological consequence of size in pollen performance. I found that fruits produced an average of 18.7 ± 1.52 and 17.7 ± 1.50 from large and small pollen fertilization respectively. These findings supported a pollen number-size trade-off in plants under severe herbivory treatments. As far as I know, this result has not previously been reported. ^ Lastly, I tested how herbivory influenced seed abortion patterns in plants, examining how resources are allocated on different regions within fruits under artificial herbivory treatments. I found that self-fertilized fruits had greater seed abortion rates than cross-fertilized fruits. The proportion of seeds aborted was lower in the middle regions of the fruits in cross-fertilized fruits, producing more vigorous progeny. Self-fertilized fruits did not show patterns of seedling vigor. I also found that early abortion was higher closer to the peduncular end of the fruits. Position of seeds within fruits could be important in the seed dispersion mechanism characteristic of this species. ^

Population viability analyses of Chamaecrista keyensis (Leguminosae: Caesalpinioideae), a narrowly endemic herb of the lower Florida Keys: Effects of seasonal timing of fires and the urban -wildland interface

This research first evaluated the effects of urban wildland interface on reproductive biology of the Big Pine Partridge Pea, Chamaecrista keyensis, an understory herb that is endemic to Big Pine Key, Florida. I found that C. keyensis was self-compatible, but depended on bees for seed set. Furthermore, individuals of C. keyensis in urban habitats suffered higher seed predation and therefore set fewer seeds than forest interior plants. ^ I then focused on the effects of fire at different times of the year, summer (wet) and winter (dry), on the population dynamics and population viability of C. keyensis. I found that C. keyensis population recovered faster after winter burns and early summer burns (May–June) than after late summer burns (July–September) due to better survival and seedling recruitment following former fires. Fire intensity had positive effects on reproduction of C. keyensis. In contrast, no significant fire intensity effects were found on survival, growth, and seedling recruitment. This indicated that better survival and seedling recruitment following winter and early summer burns (compared with late summer burns) were due to the reproductive phenology of the plant in relation to fires rather than differences in fire intensity. Deterministic population modeling showed that time since fire significantly affected the finite population growth rates (λ). Particularly, recently burned plots had the largest λ. In addition, effects of timing of fires on λ were most pronounced the year of burn, but not the subsequent years. The elasticity analyses suggested that maximizing survival is an effective way to minimize the reduction in finite population growth rate the year of burn. Early summer fires or dry-season fires may achieve this objective. Finally, stochastic simulations indicated that the C. keyensis population had lower extinction risk and population decline probability if burned in the winter than in the late summer. A fire frequency of approximately 7 years would create the lowest extinction probability for C. keyensis. A fire management regime including a wide range of burning seasons may be essential for the continued existence of C. keyensis and other endemic species of pine rockland on Big Pine Key. ^

Toxicity of hexanic and methanolic fractions from copaifera reticulata ducke (Leguminosae – Caesalpinoidea) against Aedes aegypti Linnaeus (Diptera – Culicidae), in field assays

v. 45, n. 2, abr./jun. 2016.