Genus-wide variation in foliar polyphenolics in eucalypts

Marsh, Karen J., Kulheim, Carsten, Blomberg, Simon P., Thornhill, Andrew H., Miller, Jospeh T., Wallis, Ian R., Nicolle, Dean, Salminen, Juha-Pekka and Foley, William J. (2017) Genus-wide variation in foliar polyphenolics in eucalypts. Phytochemistry, 144 197-207. doi:10.1016/j.phytochem.2017.09.014


Author Marsh, Karen J.
Kulheim, Carsten
Blomberg, Simon P.
Thornhill, Andrew H.
Miller, Jospeh T.
Wallis, Ian R.
Nicolle, Dean
Salminen, Juha-Pekka
Foley, William J.
Title Genus-wide variation in foliar polyphenolics in eucalypts
Journal name Phytochemistry   Check publisher's open access policy
ISSN 0031-9422
1873-3700
Publication date 2017-12-01
Year available 2017
Sub-type Article (original research)
DOI 10.1016/j.phytochem.2017.09.014
Open Access Status Not yet assessed
Volume 144
Start page 197
End page 207
Total pages 11
Place of publication Kidlington, Oxford United Kingdom
Publisher Elsevier
Language eng
Subject 1303 Biochemistry
1312 Molecular Biology
1110 Plant Science
1108 Horticulture
Abstract Many studies quantify total phenolics or total tannins, but understanding the ecological role of polyphenolic secondary metabolites requires at least an understanding of the diversity of phenolic groups present. We used UPLC-MS/MS to measure concentrations of different polyphenol groups - including the four most common tannin groups, the three most common flavonoid groups, and quinic acid derivatives - in foliage from 628 eucalypts from the genera Eucalyptus, Angophora and Corymbia. We also tested for phylogenetic signal in each of the phenolic groups. Many eucalypts contained high concentrations of polyphenols, particularly ellagitannins, which have been relatively poorly studied, but may possess strong oxidative activity. Because the biosynthetic pathways of many phenolic compounds share either precursors or enzymes, we found negative correlations between the concentrations of several of the constituents that we measured, including proanthocyanidins (PAs) and hydrolysable tannins (HTs), HTs and flavonol derivatives, and HTs and quinic acid derivatives. We observed moderate phylogenetic signal in all polyphenol constituents, apart from the concentration of the prodelphinidin subunit of PAs and the mean degree of polymerisation of PAs. These two traits, which have previously been shown to be important in determining plants' protein precipitation capacity, may have evolved under selection, perhaps in response to climate or herbivore pressure. Hence, the signature of evolutionary history appears to have been erased for these traits. This study is an important step in moving away from analysing “totals” to a better understanding of how phylogenetic effects influence phenolic composition, and how this in turn influences ecological processes.
Keyword Condensed tannins
Eucalypts
Flavonol derivatives
Hydrolysable tannins
Phenolic composition
Phylogenetics
Plant defence
Q-Index Code C1
Q-Index Status Provisional Code
Institutional Status UQ

Document type: Journal Article
Sub-type: Article (original research)
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