[Chloroplast genomic characterization and phylogenetic analysis of Pellionia scabra].

Pellionia scabra belongs to the genus Pellionia in the family of Urticaceae, and is a high-quality wild vegetables with high nutritional value. In this study, high-throughput techniques were used to sequence, assemble and annotate the chloroplast genome. We also analyzed its structure, and construct the phylogenetic trees from the P. scabra to further study the chloroplast genome characteristics. The results showed that the chloroplast genome size was 153 220 bp, and the GC content was 36.4%, which belonged to the typical tetrad structure in P. scabra. The chloroplast genome encodes 130 genes, including 85 protein-coding genes, 37 tRNA genes, and 8 rRNA genes in P. scabra. Among them, 15 genes contained 1 intron, 2 genes contained 2 introns, and rps12 had trans-splicing, respectively. In P. scabra, chloroplast genomes could be divided into four categories, including 43 photosynthesis, 64 self-replication, other 7 coding proteins, and 4 unknown functions. A total of 51 073 codons were detected in the chloroplast genome, among which the codon encoding leucine (Leu) accounted for the largest proportion, and the codon preferred to use A and U bases. There were 72 simple sequence repeats (SSRs) in the chloroplast genome of P. scabra, containing 58 single nucleotides, 12 dinucleotides, 1 trinucleotide, and 1 tetranucleotide. The ycf1 gene expansion was present at the IRb/SSC boundary. The phylogenetic trees showed that P. scabra (OL800583) was most closely related to Elatostema stewardii (MZ292972), Elatostema dissectum (MK227819) and Elatostema laevissimum var. laevissimum (MN189961). Taken together, our results provide worthwhile information for understanding the identification, genetic evolution, and genomics research of P. scabra species.

Pelliolatifolias A-D, Four Undescribed Compounds from Pellionia latifolia Boerl. and Their Nitric Oxide Production Inhibitory Activity.

Four undescribed compounds (1-4) named pelliolatifolias A-D together with seven known compounds trans-clovamide (5), N-trans-caffeoyl-4-hydroxyphenylalanine methyl ester (6), N-trans-caffeoyl-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine methyl ester (7), luteolin 4'-O-ß-D-glucopyrannoside (8), cis-syringin (9), trans-syringin (10), and citroside A (11) have been isolated from the methanol extract of the Pellionia latifolia leaves. Their chemical structures were elucidated based on extensive analyses of HR-ESI-MS, 1D and 2D NMR, and CD spectra. Compounds 1-7, 9 and 10 showed moderate inhibition of NO production in LPS-activated RAW264.7 cells with their IC50 values ranging from 39.27 to 75.42 µM, compared to that of the positive control compound, dexamethasone, IC50 value of 14.20 µM.

Characterization of the complete chloroplast genome of Pellionia scabra (Urticaceae).

Pellionia scabra Benth. 1861 (Urticaceae) is distributed in east and southeast Asian countries, including China, Vietnam, and Japan, and has important applications in construction, medicine, and the food industry. We sequenced the genome using Illumina DNA sequencing technology. The genome was 153,220 bp long. Annotation of the genome showed that it encoded 130 genes, including 85 protein-coding genes, 37 tRNA genes, and eight rRNA genes. In addition, 15 of the genes contained a single intron and two contained two introns. Furthermore, rps12 consists of 3 exons that are expected to be trans-spliced together. Subsequent phylogenetic analysis revealed that P. scabra is closely related to the Elatostema species (i.e. E. stewardii [MZ292972], E. dissectum [MK227819], and E. laevissimum var. laevissimum [MN189961]).

Checklist to the Elatostema (Urticaceae) of Vietnam including 19 new records, ten new combinations, two new names and four new synonyms.

Elatostema (Urticaceae) comprises several hundred herbaceous species distributed in tropical and subtropical Africa, Asia, Australia and Oceania. The greatest species richness occurs on limestone karst in Southeast Asia. Taxonomic revisions of Elatostema are largely out of date and contradict each other with respect to the delimitation of Elatostema and Pellionia. Most herbaria in SE Asia and worldwide contain significant amounts of unidentified material. As part of a broader revision of Elatostema in SE Asia, we present an updated checklist for Vietnam based on field visits, a review of specimens in herbaria worldwide, a review of type material and nomenclature. We recognize 77 taxa (75 species and two infraspecific taxa) of Elatostema in Vietnam, 23 of which were previously ascribed to Pellionia. Nineteen of these are new records for the country, i.e., E. attenuatoides, E. austrosinense, E. backeri, E. brunneinerve, E. crassiusculum, E. crenatum, E. fengshanense, E. glochidioides, E. malacotrichum, E. nanchuanense, E. oblongifolium, E. obtusum, E. oppositum, E. pergameneum, E. prunifolium, E. pseudolongipes, E. pycnodontum, E. salvinioides and E. xichouense. We place E. baviensis in synonymy of E. platyphyllum, E. colaniae in synonymy of E. myrtillus, P. macroceras in synonymy of E. hookerianum, and P. tetramera in synonymy of E. dissectum for the first time. Fourteen taxa (18% of all the recognized taxa) are endemic to Vietnam, which makes Elatostema one of the richest genera for endemic species in this country; this level of endemism is comparable to levels observed in Orchidaceae. Our checklist suggests that the highest diversity and endemism of Elatostema occurs in northern Vietnam, and that there is the greatest floristic similarity of northern Vietnam to SW China. The relationship among floristic regions is also investigated. We could find no records of Elatostema for 33 out of 63 provincial units of Vietnam, including all the southernmost provinces. We propose that further studies on the diversity of Elatostema in central and southern Vietnam are severely needed.

Molecular phylogeny and morphology of Elatostema s.l. (Urticaceae): Implications for inter- and infrageneric classifications.

Elatostema s.s. (Urticaceae) comprises approximately 500 species of herbs and subshrubs distributed in tropical and subtropical Asia, Australasia, and Africa. The delimitation of Elatostema s.s. and the closely related genera Elatostematoides, Pellionia, and Procris has long been problematic because of the large number of taxa and presumed homoplasy among diagnostic morphological characters. In the present study, we refer to these four genera together as Elatostema s.l. To evaluate the circumscription of Elatostema s.l. and its generic and subgeneric classification, we conducted phylogenetic analyses of DNA sequence data from the internal transcribed spacer of the nuclear genome (nrITS) and two markers from the plastid genome (psbA-trnH and psbM-trnD) for 126 taxa, representing 88 species of Elatostema s.s., four of Elatostematoides, nine of Pellionia, and five of Procris. Ten selected morphological characters were investigated using ancestral state reconstructions. Our results show that Elatostema s.l. can be divided into three well-supported and morphologically distinct genera: Procris, Elatostematoides, and Elatostema sensu auct. The results of our molecular phylogeny suggest four strongly supported clades within this newly defined Elatostema s.a.: core Elatostema, Pellionia, Weddellia, and an as yet undescribed clade African Elatostema. Homoplasy among the morphological characters used in this study makes it impossible to circumscribe genera using synapomorphies, but combined suites of characters do enable the morphological diagnosis of Elatostema s.a., Elatostematoides, and Procris.