Thesis (M. For. Sc.)--University of Canterbury, 2006. / Typescript (photocopy). "August 2006." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 101-114). Also available via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Oregon State University, 2009. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the World Wide Web.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T20:36:22Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2421.pdf: 6588064 bytes, checksum: 002b104af419727d81cefcf85c47c6dd (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-02-12 / Universidade Federal de Sao Carlos / Some phytopatogenic fungi found in Cupressus species produces phytotoxins very aggressive to the host plant. Surprisingly, these toxins are diterpenoids structures, as well as some endogenus metabolites in Cupressus species. This fungi ability appears to be a specialized strategy in the association fungi-plant. These observations motivated the development of the present work, which relates the isolation of microorganisms associated to the species Cupressus lusitanica, and to its study, aiming a correlation of the chemical profile among the organisms involved in this association. During two collects of plant material from an exemplar found in the campus of the UFSCar, five endophytic fungi had been isolated and called NICL1-5. A preliminary identification indicated that possibly four of them belong to the Xylaria genus, and one to the Guignardia genus (NICL4). The analysis with GC-MS had detected three isocoumarins (mellein, mellein methyl ether, 5- formylmellein), as well as an eremophilane sesquiterpene (valencene) in extracts of NICL3 fungi. From the extracts of the same fungi, had been obtained three eremophilanes sesquiterpenes (two news in literature) by the use of classical methodologies of chromatography. These compounds had been identified using a series of NMR data in 1D and 2D. From the study of the secondary metabolites of NICL5 had been obtained ergosterol, sorbitol and three cytochalasins (cytochalasin C, cytochalasin D and cytochalasin Q). The metabolism if NICL5 had also been studied, when free amino acids were added in the culture medium. By the analysis with HPLC-MS significant alterations in the NICL5 metabolism had been detected, as a possible induction of the biosynthesis of a new cytochalasin, from the amino acid tryptofane. The analysis of the plant material indicated the presence of biflavonoids and some diterpenes. However, these compounds had not been detected in fungi extracts, being identified only sesquiterpenes. / Alguns fungos fitopatogênicos a Cupressus produzem fitotoxinas bastante agressivas à hospedeira. Surpreendentemente, essas fitotoxinas são, em geral, de estruturas diterpenoídicas, assim como vários metabólitos endógenos nas espécies de Cupressus. Essa habilidade mostrada pelo fungo parece ser uma estratégia bastante especializada de associação fungo-planta. Essas observações motivaram o desenvolvimento do presente trabalho, o qual se refere ao isolamento de microrganismos associados à espécie Cupressus lusitanica, e o seu estudo visando uma correlação do perfil químico entre os organismos envolvidos nessa associação. Durante duas coletas de material vegetal a partir de um indivíduo encontrado no campus da UFSCar, foram isolados cinco fungos endofíticos, denominados NICL1-5. Identificação preliminar indicou que possivelmente quatro deles pertencem ao gênero Xylaria e um ao gênero Guignardia (NICL4). Através de análises por CG-EM, detectouse três isocumarinas (meleína, éter metílico da meleína e 5-formil meleina), bem como um sesquiterpeno eremofilano (valenceno) em extratos do fungo NICL3. Dos extratos deste mesmo fungo, foram obtidos três sesquiterpenos eremofilanos (sendo dois novos na literatura), usando metodologias clássicas de cromatografia. Esses sesquiterpenos foram identificados usando uma série de dados de RMN em 1D e 2D. Do estudo dos metabólitos secundários de NICL5 foram obtidos o ergosterol, o sorbitol e três citocalasinas (citocalasina C, citocalasina D e citocalasina Q). Foi estudado também o metabolismo de NICL5 frente à adição de aminoácidos livres ao meio de cultura. Usando análises por CLAE-EM, detectaram-se significantes alterações no metabolismo de NICL5, como uma possível indução da biossíntese de uma nova citocalasina, a partir do aminoácido triptofano. As análises do material vegetal indicaram a presença de biflavonóides e vários diterpenos. Porém, esses compostos não foram detectados nos extratos fúngicos, sendo identificados apenas sesquiterpenos.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Uppsala : Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet, 2006. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

Natural forests are characterised by great vegetation diversity and create habitats for a major part of Earth’s terrestrial organisms. Plantation forests, which are mainly composed of a few genera of fast-growing trees, constitute an increasing fraction of global forests, but they only partly compensate for loss of area, habitat and ecological functions in natural forests. Plantation forests established near natural forests can be expected to serve as buffers, but they seem to be relatively poor in invertebrate species and it is not clear why. This bachelor’s degree project aimed at establishing the ecological and edaphic factors that correlate with soil invertebrate diversity in dry upland forests and surrounding plantation forests in eastern Africa. Some aspects of the above-ground vegetation heterogeneity were investigated since this was assumed to influence the heterogeneity of the soil environment, which is considered as critical for soil biodiversity. The obtained knowledge may be valuable in conservation activities in East African forests, which are threatened by destruction, fragmentation and exotic species. The study area was Karura Forest, a dry upland forest in Nairobi, Kenya. Three different sites were investigated; a natural forest site characterized by the indigenous tree species Brachylaena huillensis and Croton megalocarpus, and two different plantation forest sites, characterized by the exotic species Cupressus lusitanica and Eucalyptus paniculata, respectively. For each forest type, six plots were visited. Soil invertebrates were extracted from collected soil and litter samples by sieving and Berlese-Tullgren funnels. The invertebrates were identified, and the taxonomic diversity calculated at the order level. The ecological and edaphic factors, measured or calculated for each plot, were tree species diversity, ratio of exotic tree species, vertical structure of trees, vegetation cover, vegetation density, litter quality, soil pH, soil temperature and soil moisture. One-way ANOVA was used to compare soil invertebrate diversity and other variables between different forest types. Akaike’s Information Criterion and Multiple Linear Regression were used to establish linear models with variables that could explain measured variations of the diversity. There was some evidence for higher soil invertebrate diversity in natural forests than in surrounding plantation forests. The abundance of soil invertebrates was also clearly higher in natural forests, which indicates that natural forests are more important than plantation forests for conservation of soil invertebrate populations. Soil invertebrate diversity (in terms of number of orders present) was found to be influenced by forest type and litter quality. The diversity was higher at places with high amounts of coarse litter, which here is considered as more heterogenous than fine litter. The dependence on forest type was partly a consequence of differences in soil pH since Eucalyptus trees lower soil pH and thereby also soil biodiversity. No relation to heterogeneity of above-ground vegetation was found. For future conservation activities in Karura Forest Reserve it is recommended to continue removing exotic plant species and replanting indigenous trees, to prioritize the removal of Eucalyptus trees before Cypress trees, to only remove a few trees at a time and to establish ground vegetation when doing so.