Epicuticular Waxes Provide Insights into Phytochemical Differentiation of Natural Populations ofPinus mugoTurrasensu stricto

Abstract

Phytochemical diversity and differentiation of nine native populations of Pinus mugo sensu stricto from Julian Alps, Southern Carpathians and Balkan Peninsula were analyzed in regard to their epicuticular wax compounds. GC/MS and GC‐FID analyses of the hexane extracts of needle samples, collected from 118 individuals of P. mugo, revealed the presence of six diterpenes, three primary alcohols and 10 n‐alkanes ranging from C19 to C29 (except n‐alkane C21). According to simple linear regression, the contents of epicuticular wax compounds showed generally weak correlations with tested bioclimatic, orographic and geographic parameters, leading to assumption about their genetic conditioning. The multivariate statistical analyses suggested the existence of two chemical entities: the Alpine and the South Carpathian, while the Balkan populations appeared heterogeneous as three of them belonged to the Alpine and one to the South Carpathian group. The obtained results are largely consistent to those previously published in reference to morpho‐anatomical and molecular characters of P. mugo, supporting the hypothesis of colonization of Balkan Peninsula from two different glacial refugia: from the Alps (across the Dinarides) and from the Southern Carpathians. Extending this study to the entire range of P. mugo complex should provide a clearer picture of its phytochemical diversity and differentiation.

Diversity of nonacosan-10-ol and n-alkanes among 12 Pinus taxa

“…In subsection Pinus C 29 dominated. Domination of C 29 in P. mugo was also shown in detail population investigation of Mitić et al (2018b). In P. nigra ssp.subsp.…”

Cuticular Wax Variability of Abies alba, A.×borisii‐regis and A. cephalonica from the Balkans: Chemophenetic and Ecological Aspects

“…Qualitative analysis of obtained wax extracts (269 in total) was performed by Gas Chromatography‐Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS), while quantitative analysis was done by Gas Chromatography‐Flame Ionization Detector (GC‐FID). Detailed operating parameters of GC/MS and GC‐FID analyses have been previously reported [26–28] …”

“…Detailed operating parameters of GC/MS and GC-FID analyses have been previously reported. [26][27][28] Statistical analysis STATISTICA 8 software (Statsoft, Inc., Tulsa, OK, USA) was used for statistical data processing. The statistical matrix included the relative content (in percent) of all identified cuticular wax compounds as original variables (18 compounds in total).…”

“…Their chemophenetic significance in conifer order Pinales at the familial and subfamilial level has been addressed in detail by Maffei et al [23] Moreover, they are often used as markers in studies on population variability and differentiation of several conifer species. [24][25][26][27][28] Nevertheless, studies on chemical composition of cuticular waxes of Balkan Abies taxa used to be very scarce, and literature data are available for just a single sample of each species [29] or A. alba. [23] To the best of the authors' knowledge, the present study is the first report on variability and differentiation of 18 native fir populations representing A. alba, A.…”