In vitro effects of monoterpenes on chloroplast membranes

Phytotoxicity of Essential Oils: Opportunities and Constraints for the Development of Biopesticides. A Review

The extensive use of chemical pesticides leads to risks for both the environment and human health due to the toxicity and poor biodegradability that they may present. Farmers therefore need alternative agricultural practices including the use of natural molecules to achieve more sustainable production methods to meet consumer and societal expectations. Numerous studies have reported the potential of essential oils as biopesticides for integrated weed or pest management. However, their phytotoxic properties have long been a major drawback for their potential applicability (apart from herbicidal application). Therefore, deciphering the mode of action of essential oils exogenously applied in regards to their potential phytotoxicity will help in the development of biopesticides for sustainable agriculture. Nowadays, plant physiologists are attempting to understand the mechanisms underlying their phytotoxicity at both cellular and molecular levels using transcriptomic and metabolomic tools. This review systematically discusses the functional and cellular impacts of essential oils applied in the agronomic context. Putative molecular targets and resulting physiological disturbances are described. New opportunities regarding the development of biopesticides are discussed including biostimulation and defense elicitation or priming properties of essential oils.

Natural herbicide activity of Satureja hortensis L. essential oil nanoemulsion on the seed germination and morphophysiological features of two important weed species

The aim of the present study was to obtain an oil/water (O/W) nanoemulsion (NE) containing garden savory (Satureja hortensis) essential oil (EO) and evaluating its herbicidal activity against Amaranthus retroflexus and Chenopodium album. Gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) were employed to determine the chemical composition of the EO. Carvacrol (55.6%) and γ-terpinene (31.9%) were the major EO components. Low energy method was applied, allowing achievement of EO nanodroplets. The NE also presented low polydispersity, and the mean droplet was below 130nm even after storage for 30d. Laboratory tests showed that the NE at different concentrations (100, 200, 400, 800, and 1000μL.L^-1) significantly (P≤0.05) reduced the germination indices and the seedling's growth in dose-response. The inhibitory effect was the greatest at 800μL.L^-1 NE. Overall, root length was more inhibited as compared to shoot length. Post-emergence application of NE at different concentrations (1000, 2000, 3000, 4000 and 5000μL.L^-1 of EO) on 2-4 true leaves' stage of the weeds caused significant (P≤0.05) decrease in the growth factors in dose-dependent manner. Complete lethality was observed by 4000μL.L^-1 NE sprayed on the weeds. Spraying of NE significantly (P≤0.05) reduced chlorophyll content in the tested weeds. Increasing in relative electrolyte leakage (REL) 1 and 5d after treatment represented significant cell membrane disruption and increased cell membrane permeability. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) pictures confirmed NE droplet size and demonstrated membrane destruction. The study approved that the NE of S. hortensis EO has herbicidal properties as it has high phytotoxic effect, and interferes with the germination, growth and physiological processes of the weeds. The production of NE from S. hortensis EO is a low energy method that offers a promising practical natural herbicide for weed control in organic agricultural systems.

β-Pinene inhibited germination and early growth involves membrane peroxidation

β-Pinene, an oxygenated monoterpene, is abundantly found in the environment and widely occurring in plants as a constituent of essential oils. We investigated the phytotoxicity of β-pinene against two grassy (Phalaris minor, Echinochloa crus-galli) and one broad-leaved (Cassia occidentalis) weeds in terms of germination and root and shoot growth. β-Pinene (0.02-0.80 mg/ml) inhibited the germination, root length, and shoot length of test weeds in a dose-response manner. The inhibitory effect of β-pinene was greater in grassy weeds and on root growth than on shoot growth. β-Pinene (0.04-0.80 mg/ml) reduced the root length in P. minor, E. crus-galli, and C. occidentalis over that in the control by 58-60, 44-92, and 26-85 %, respectively. In contrast, shoot length was reduced over the control by 45-97 % in P. minor, 48-78 % in E. crus-galli, and 11-75 % in C. occidentalis at similar concentrations. Further, we examined the impact of β-pinene on membrane integrity in P. minor as one of the possible mechanisms of action. Membrane integrity was evaluated in terms of lipid peroxidation, conjugated diene content, electrolyte leakage, and the activity of lipoxygenases (LOX). β-Pinene (≥0.04 mg/ml) enhanced electrolyte leakage by 23-80 %, malondialdehyde content by 15-67 %, hydrogen peroxide content by 9-39 %, and lipoxygenases activity by 38-383 % over that in the control. It indicated membrane peroxidation and loss of membrane integrity that could be the primary target of β-pinene. Even the enhanced (9-62 %) activity of protecting enzymes, peroxidases (POX), was not able to protect the membranes from β-pinene (0.04-0.20 mg/ml)-induced toxicity. In conclusion, our results show that β-pinene inhibits root growth of the tested weed species through disruption of membrane integrity as indicated by enhanced peroxidation, electrolyte leakage, and LOX activity despite the upregulation of POX activity.

Separation of plant membranes by electromigration techniques

The review focuses on the multiple separating regimes that offers the free flow electrophoresis technique: free flow zone electrophoresis, isoelectric focusing, isotachophoresis, free flow step electrophoresis. Also, the feasibility to apply either interval or continuous flow electrophoresis is evaluated. The free flow zone electrophoresis regime is generally selected for the separation of cells, organelles and membranes while the other regimes find their largest fields of applications in the purification of proteins and peptides. The latter regimes present the highest resolution efficiency. Therefore, a large part of this review is devoted to the applicabilities of these different regimes to the purification of organelles and membrane vesicles at the preparative scale. Recent developments, both in instrumentation and procedures, are described. The major achievements in plant membrane fractionation obtained with free flow electrophoresis are outlined. The related procedures are both analytical and preparative: they separate tonoplast and plasma membrane simultaneously from the same homogenate, they discriminate for one type of membrane vesicles of opposite orientation, and process large quantities of membrane material by reason of the continuous flow mode. Recent advances using electromigration techniques that permit confirmation of the dynamic state of membranes, characterisation of complex membrane-dependent functions and discovery of new membrane-localised activities are presented.

Free-flow electrophoresis for fractionation of Arabidopsis thaliana membranes

Highly purified tonoplast and plasma membrane vesicles were isolated from microsomes of Arabidopsis thaliana by preparative free-flow electrophoresis. The most electronegative fractions were identified as tonoplast using nitrate-inhibited Mg2+-ATPase as enzyme marker. The least electronegative fractions were identified as plasma membrane using glucan-synthase II, UDPG: sterol-glucosyl-transferase, and vanadate-inhibited Mg2+-ATPase as enzyme markers. Other membrane markers, latent inosine-5'-diphosphatase (Golgi), NADPH-cytochrome-c reductase (endoplasmic reticulum) and cytochrome-c oxidase (mitochondria) were recovered in the fractions intermediate between tonoplast and plasma membrane. Immunoblot analysis of membrane fractions by antibodies directed against tonoplast and plasma membrane proteins confirmed the nature and the purity of the isolated membranes. The cytoskeletal protein actin, which was also identified by immunoblotting, was found to be specifically attached to the plasma membrane vesicles. The structural and functional integrity of the isolated membranes from Arabidopsis thaliana is discussed in the light of results obtained for the location of receptors and enzymes, or for the determination of ligand binding activity.