A Weed-Derived Hierarchical Porous Carbon with a Large Specific Surface Area for Efficient Dye and Antibiotic Removal.

Adsorption is an economical and efficient method for wastewater treatment, and its advantages are closely related to adsorbents. Herein, the Abutilon theophrasti medicus calyx (AC) was used as the precursor for producing the porous carbon adsorbent (PCAC). PCAC was prepared through carbonization and chemical activation. The product activated by potassium hydroxide exhibited a larger specific surface area, more mesopores, and a higher adsorption capacity than the product activated by sodium hydroxide. PCAC was used for adsorbing rhodamine B (RhB) and chloramphenicol (CAP) from water. Three adsorption kinetic models (the pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order, and intra-particle diffusion models), four adsorption isotherm models (the Langmuir, Freundlich, Sips, and Redlich-Peterson models), and thermodynamic equations were used to investigate adsorption processes. The pseudo-second kinetic and Sips isotherm models fit the experimental data well. The adsorption mechanism and the reusability of PCAC were also investigated. PCAC exhibited a large specific surface area. The maximum adsorption capacities (1883.3 mg g-1 for RhB and 1375.3 mg g-1 for CAP) of PCAC are higher than most adsorbents. Additionally, in the fixed bed experiments, PCAC exhibited good performance for the removal of RhB. These results indicated that PCAC was an adsorbent with the advantages of low-cost, a large specific surface area, and high performance.

Abutilon theophrasti's Resilience against Allelochemical-Based Weed Management in Sustainable Agriculture - Due to Collection of Highly Advantageous Microorganisms?

Abutilon theophrasti Medik. (velvetleaf) is a problematic annual weed in field crops which has invaded many temperate parts of the world. Since the loss of crop yields can be extensive, approaches to manage the weed include not only conventional methods, but also biological methods, for instance by microorganisms releasing phytotoxins and plant-derived allelochemicals. Additionally, benzoxazinoid-rich rye mulches effective in managing common weeds like Amaranthus retroflexus L. have been tested for this purpose. However, recent methods for biological control are still unreliable in terms of intensity and duration. Rye mulches were also ineffective in managing velvetleaf. In this review, we present the attempts to reduce velvetleaf infestation by biological methods and discuss possible reasons for the failure. The resilience of velvetleaf may be due to the extraordinary capacity of the plant to collect, for its own survival, the most suitable microorganisms from a given farming site, genetic and epigenetic adaptations, and a high stress memory. Such properties may have developed together with other advantageous abilities during selection by humans when the plant was used as a crop. Rewilding could be responsible for improving the microbiomes of A. theophrasti.

The complete chloroplast genome of Abutilon theophrasti medic (Malvaceae).

Abutilon theophrasti Medic is a traditional Chinese medicine, which can be seen nearly everywhere in China. In order to study its complete chloroplast genome, we collected leaves and obtained chloroplast genome information through next-generation sequencing. It showed that the genome whole length is 160,331 bp, resulted from 24,578,194 raw reads with 3,669,530,829 bases in total, and the GC contents ratio is 36.90%. Besides, the large single-copy region (LSC) is 89,006 bp, the small single-copy region (SSC) 20,149 bp, and inverted repeat (IR) 25,588 bp. The chloroplast genome encodes 76 genes, which contains 38 protein genes, five rRNA genes, and 33 tRNA. By conducting phylogenetic analysis for A.theophrasti, plants from genus Gossypium demonstrated close relationship with it.

The complete chloroplast genome of a medicinal plant, Abutilon theophrasti Medik. (Malvaceae).

Abutilon theophrasti Medik. is an annual weed, widely distributed in Asia and Europe. The complete chloroplast genome reported here is 160,446 bp in length, including two inverted repeats (IRs) of 25,064 bp, which are separated by a large single-copy (LSC) and a small single-copy (SSC) of 89,089 and 21,229 bp, respectively. The whole chloroplast genome of A. theophrasti contains 113 distinct genes, including 79 protein-coding genes, 30 transfer RNA, and four ribosome RNA. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that A. theophrasti is located in the basal position in Malveae.

The protective effect of the flavonoid fraction of Abutilon theophrasti Medic. leaves on LPS-induced acute lung injury in mice via the NF-κB and MAPK signalling pathways.

Accompanied by the damages of epithelial and capillary endothelial cell, acute lung injury is diagnosed with the typical pathological symptoms in clinic, including diffusing of pulmonary interstitial, alveolar oedema and hypoxic respiratory insufficiency. Current study focused on the investigation the anti-inflammatory action and mechanisms of total flavonoids extract (TFE) from Abutilon theophrasti Medic. leaves on ALI mice induced by LPSs. Mice were administrated intragastrically with TFE at the concentrations of 0.25, 0.5, or 1.0 g/kg for 5 days, and on last day, nasal administration of LPSs for 6 h after 30 min for intragastric administration of TFE. Pretreatment with TFE not only reduced oxidative damage but also alleviated lung edema in ALI mice. Increased secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IL-1ß and IL-6, caused by LPSs was reversed by TFE; on the contrary, the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 was upregulated. The proteins expressions of pro-inflammatory mediators iNOS and COX-2 induced by LPSs, were down-regulated by TFE. Moreover, the activation of NF-κB and MAPK signalling pathways was inhibited by TFE in LPSs induced ALI mice. The results revealed that the anti-inflammatory mechanisms of TFE were via inhibition of NF-κB and MAPK activation. Combined, the results suggested that TFE might exert in vivo antioxidant and anti-inflammatory functions in LPSs stimulated mice, and will be potential in adjuvant treatment in oxidative stress and inflammation diseases.

Interspecies-cooperations of abutilon theophrasti with root colonizing microorganisms disarm BOA-OH allelochemicals.

A facultative, microbial micro-community colonizing roots of Abutilon theophrasti Medik. supports the plant in detoxifying hydroxylated benzoxazolinones. The root micro-community is composed of several fungi and bacteria with Actinomucor elegans as a dominant species. The yeast Papiliotrema baii and the bacterium Pantoea ananatis are actively involved in the detoxification of hydroxylated benzoxazolinones by generating H2O2. At the root surface, laccases, peroxidases and polyphenol oxidases cooperate for initiating polymerization reactions, whereby enzyme combinations seem to differ depending on the hydroxylation position of BOA-OHs. A glucosyltransferase, able to glucosylate the natural benzoxazolinone detoxification intermediates BOA-5- and BOA-6-OH, is thought to reduce oxidative overshoots by damping BOA-OH induced H2O2 generation. Due to this detoxification network, growth of Abutilon theophrasti seedlings is not suppressed by BOA-OHs. Polymer coats have no negative influence. Alternatively, quickly degradable 6-hydroxy-5-nitrobenzo[d]oxazol-2(3H)-one can be produced by the micro-community member Pantoea ananatis at the root surfaces. The results indicate that Abutilon theophrasti has evolved an efficient strategy by recruiting soil microorganisms with special abilities for different detoxification reactions which are variable and may be triggered by the allelochemical´s structure and by environmental conditions.

6-Hydroxy-5-nitrobenzo[d]oxazol-2(3H)-one-A degradable derivative of natural 6-Hydroxybenzoxazolin-2(3H)-one produced by Pantoea ananatis.

Pantoea ananatis is a bacterium associated with other microorganisms on Abutilon theophrasti Medik. roots. It converts 6-hydroxybenzoxazolin-2(3H)-one (BOA-6-OH), a hydroxylated derivative of the allelochemical benzoxazolin-2(3H)-one, into 6-hydroxy-5-nitrobenzo[d]oxazol-2(3H)-one. The compound was identified by NMR and mass spectrometric methods. In vitro synthesis succeeded with Pantoea protein, with isolated proteins from the Abutilon root surface or with horseradish peroxidase in the presence of nitrite and H2O2. Nitro-BOA-6-OH is completely degraded further by Pantoea ananatis and Abutilon root surface proteins. Under laboratory conditions, 6-hydroxy-5-nitrobenzo[d]oxazol-2(3H)-one inhibits Lepidium sativum seedling growth whereas Abutilon theophrasti is much less affected. Although biodegradable, an agricultural use of 6-hydroxy-5-nitrobenzo[d]oxazol-2(3H)-one is undesirable because of the high toxicity of nitro aromatic compounds to mammals.

On the cause of offspring superiority conferred by mycorrhizal infection of Abutilon theophrasti.

In previous studies we demonstrated that for Abutilon theophrasti Medic, offspring of mycorrhizal plants grew more rapidly than did offspring of non-mycorrhizal plants. This observation was verified in the current study. We hypothesized that the faster growth of offspring of mycorrhizal plants was caused by a superior ability to absorb nutrients, since offspring of mycorrhizal plants produced faster-growing root systems with higher phosphatase activities. We tested the hypothesis by growing offspring plants in distilled water. Despite the absence of any nutrients short-term growth rates of offspring of mycorrhizal plants were still significantly greater than those of offspring of non-mycorrhizal plants. We conclude that the faster growth of offspring of mycorrhizal plants is nor caused by a superior ability to acquire external resources.

Impact of a fungal pathogen, Colletotrichum coccodes on growth and competitive ability of Abutilon theophrasti.

The combined effects of planting density and of different inoculation frequencies ofColletotrichum coccodes (Wallr.) Hughes on growth and competitive performance of Abutilon theophrasti Medik. were studied using a soybean-A. theophrasti target-neighbour design in a controlled environment. In both trials of the experiment, A. theophrasti inoculated at the highest planting density (four plants per ppt) suffered significantly greater reductions in height (41%) than did A. theophrasti at the lowest density (one plant per pot) (7%). Above-ground biomass and leaf area reductions, however were significantly greater at the highest density for only one of the trials. Soybean plants grown with inoculated A. theophrasti at the two highest planting densities had a significantly greater above-ground biomass (61%) and leaf area (68%) than did plants grown with uninoculated A. theophrasti at the same densities. By contrast, at the two lower densities, soybean above-ground biomass and leaf area were not increased significantly fallowing inoculation. Either one or two C. coccodes inoculations caused the greatest reductions in A. theophrasti growth compared with uninoculated plants. Conversely, three applications of the fungus generally resulted in less severe disease symptoms and resulted in the smallest decreases in A. theophrasti growth. Induced systemic resistance following two inoculations might have played an important role in limiting disease. However, the significantly greater biomass and height of A. theophrasti plants subjected to the triple C. caicudes treatment, compared with plants receiving either one or two inoculations in one of the trials, provides some evidence of a possible compensatory response in .4. theophrasti. The relevance of these findings for biological weed control is examined.

Component growth efficiencies of mycorrhizal and nonmycorrhizal plants.

Two mycotrophic species (Lactuca sativa and Abutilon theophrasti) and one nonmycotrophic species (Beta vulgaris) were grown in a P-deficient soil, and the effects of mycorrhizal inoculation on three variables that determine growth rate were assessed for each. The phosphorus-use efficiency (PUE, dW/dP) is the ratio of d. wt increase to P content increase. Plant P is the amount of P (the limiting resource) controlled by the plant, which can be allocated to various purposes. The phosphorus efficiency index (PEI, dP/Pdt) is the efficiency with which plant P is used to acquire P from the soil. Inoculated and control plants of a given species initially contained the same amount of P because all plants were grown from seed. Mycorrhizal colonization significantly increased the PEI of Lactuca and Abutilon (by 23 and 32%, respectively). As expected, mycorrhizal inoculation did not significantly increase the PEI of Beta. As a result, mycorrhizal inoculation significantly increased the P content of Lactuca and Abutilon, but not Beta. Mycorrhizal colonization decreased the PUE of lettuce, but did not significantly affect that of Abutilon or Beta. Mycorrhizal inoculation therefore slightly increased the growth rate of Lactuca, greatly increased the growth rate of Abutilon, and ultimately had no significant effect on the growth rate of Beta.

Above-ground competition does not alter biomass allocated to roots in Abutilon theophrasti.

We tested whether plants allocate proportionately less biomass to roots in response to above-ground competition as predicted by optimal partitioning theory. Two population densities of Abutilon theophrasti were achieved by planting one individual per pot and varying spacing among pots so that plants in the two densities experienced the same soil volume but different degrees of canopy overlap. Density did not affect root∶shoot ratio, the partitioning of biomass between fine roots and storage roots, fine root length, or root specific length. Plants growing in high density exhibited typical above-ground responses to neighbours, having higher ratios of stem to leaf biomass and greater leaf specific area than those growing in low density. Total root biomass and shoot biomass were highly correlated. However, storage root biomass was more strongly correlated with shoot biomass than was fine-root biomass. Fine-root length was correlated with above-ground biomass only for the small subcanopy plants in crowded populations. Because leaf surface area increased with biomass, the ratio between absorptive root surface area and transpirational leaf surface area declined with plant size, a relationship that could make larger plants more susceptible to drought. We conclude that A. theophrasti does not reallocate biomass from roots to shoots in response to above-ground competition even though much root biomass is apparently involved in storage and not in resource acquisition.

Mycorrhizal fungi and the nutrient ecology of three oldfield annual plant species.

Three oldfield annual species (Abutilon theophrasti Medic., Ambrosia artemisiifolia L. and Setaria lutescens (Weigel) Hubb.) were investigated. All three developed substantial mycorrhizal infections when inoculated with Glomus etunicatum Becker & Gerd. Mycorrhizal infection dramatically increased phosphorus content and dry weight of both Abutilon and Ambrosia, but did not significantly affect dry weight and only modestly increased phosphorus content of Setaria. These results were consistent with a lower level of infection and much greater root density in Setaria than in the other species. When Abutilon was grown in the presence of Setaria, mycorrhizal infection had no effect on Abutilon phosphorus content or dry weight. The depressive effect of Setaria on the response to inoculation in Abutilon was probably not caused by water soluble allelopathic chemicals from Setaria roots, but soil leachate from Abutilon plants did inhibit infection in other Abutilon plants. The data were consistent with the hypothesis that the very high root density and effective soil exploitation of Setaria reduced the benefit from mycorrhizal infection in Abutilon via phosphorus depletion in a large proportion of the available soil volume. Furthermore, even if mycorrhizal infection were capable of increasing phosphorus content of Abutilon in the presence of Setaria, the very high competitive ability of Setaria for nitrogen in the soil could have reduced the benefit of an enhanced phosphorus content. Carbon isotope ratios were reduced in Abutilon by mycorrhizal infection, indicating a possible reduction in water use efficiency.

Mycorrhizal symbiosis increases growth, reproduction and recruitment of Abutilon theophrasti Medic. in the field.

We examined in the field the effect of the vesicular-arbuscular (VA) mycorhizal symbiosis on the reproductive success of Abutilon theophrasti Medic., an early successional annual member of the Malvaceae. Mycorrhizal infection greatly enhanced vegetative growth, and flower, fruit and seed production, resulting in significantly greater recruitment the following year. In addition, the seeds produced by mycorrhizal plants were significantly larger and contained significantly more phosphorus than seeds from non-mycorrhizal plants, an effect which may improve offspring vigor. Infection by mycorrhizal fungi may thus contribute to the overall fitness of a host plant and strongly influence long-term plant population dynamics.

Density-dependent response to mycorrhizal infection in Abutilon theophrasti Medic.

One purpose of this study was to determine whether an increase in plant density would result in a decrease in response to mycorrhizal infection (particularly as measured by phosphorus content). Increases in plant density generally result in increases in root density in the volume of soil occupied by the plants. Root density, in turn, largely determines phosphorus uptake. If mycorrhizal plants had significantly higher effective root densities than non-mycorrhizal plants due to the fungal hyphae and thus were more thorough in exploiting a given volume of soil for phosphorus, then a given increase in root density might result in a greater proportional increase in phosphorus uptake for non-mycorrhizal plants than for mycorrhizal plants. Two experiments were performed in which mycorrhizal infection and available soil volume per plant were manipulated; one in which the number of plants within a given pot size was varied (experiment 1), and another in which single plants were grown in pots of differing volume (experiment 2). The two experiments yielded similar results but for apparently different reasons. In the first experiment, for a given increase in root density, non-mycorrhizal plants had a greater proportional increase in phosphorus uptake than mycorrhizal plants. Thus, as predicted, response to mycorrhizal infection was greatest at the lowest planting density (highest available soil volume per plant, lowest root density). In experiment 2, response to infection was also greatest at the highest available soil volume per plant (largest pot), but pot size did not influence root density. These results show that the benefit from mycorrhizal infection may be partly determined by root density and they suggest that plants either occurring in patches of contrasting root density in a given community, or occurring in different communities with inherently different root densities may differ in their reliance upon mycorrhizal fungi for phosphorus uptake.

Effects of CO2 elevation on canopy development in the stands of two co-occurring annuals.

Elevated CO2 may increase dry mass production of canopies directly through increasing net assimilation rate of leaves and also indirectly through increasing leaf area index (LAI). We studied the effects of CO2 elevation on canopy productivity and development in monospecific and mixed (1:1) stands of two co-occurring C3 annual species, Abutilon theophrasti, and Ambrosia artemisiifolia. The stands were established in the glasshouse with two CO2 levels (360 and 700 µl/l) under natural light conditions. The planting density was 100 per m2 and LAI increased up to 2.6 in 53 days of growth. Root competition was excluded by growing each plant in an individual pot. However, interference was apparent in the amount of photons absorbed by the plants and in photon absorption per unit leaf area. Greater photon absorption by Abutilon in the mixed stand was due to different canopy structures: Abutilon distributed leaves in the upper layers in the canopy while Ambrosia distributed leaves more to the lower layers. CO2 elevation did not affect the relative performance and light interception of the two species in mixed stands. Total aboveground dry mass was significantly increased with CO2 elevation, while no significant effects on leaf area development were observed. CO2 elevation increased dry mass production by 30-50%, which was mediated by 35-38% increase in the net assimilation rate (NAR) and 37-60% increase in the nitrogen use efficiency (NUE, net assimilation rate per unit leaf nitrogen). Since there was a strong overall correlation between LAI and aboveground nitrogen and no significant difference was found in the regression of LAI against aboveground nitrogen between the two CO2 levels, we hypothesized that leaf area development was controlled by the amount of nitrogen taken up from the soil. This hypothesis suggests that the increased LAI with CO2 elevation observed by several authors might be due to increased uptake of nitrogen with increased root growth.

Effects of low and elevated CO2 on C3 and C4 annuals : I. Growth and biomass allocation.

In order study C3 and C4 plant growth in atmospheric CO2 levels ranging from past through predicted future levels, Abutilon theophrasti (C3) and Amaranthus retroflexus (C4) were grown from seed in growth chambers controlled at CO2 partial pressures of 15 Pa (below Pleistocene minimum), 27 Pa (pre-industrial), 35 Pa (current) and 70 Pa (predicted future). After 35 days of growth, CO2 had no effect on the relative growth rate, total biomass or partitioning of biomass in the C4 species. However, the C3 species had greater biomass accumulation with increasing CO2 partial pressure. C3 plants grown in 15 Pa CO2 for 35 days had only 8% of the total biomass of plants grown in 35 Pa CO2, C3 plants had lower relative growth rates and lower specific leaf mass than plants grown in higher CO2 partial pressures, and aborted reproduction. C3 plants grown in 70 Pa CO2 had greater root mass and root-to-shoot ratios than plants grown in lower CO2 partial pressures. These findings, support other studies that show C3 plant growth is more responsive to CO2 partial pressure than C4 plant growth. Differences in growth responses to CO2 levels of the Pleistocene through the future suggest that competitive interactions of C3 and C4 annuals have changed through geologic time. This study also provided evidence that C3 annuals may be operating near a minimum CO2 partial pressure for growth and reproduction at 15 Pa CO2.

Effects of low and elevated CO2 on C3 and C4 annuals : II. Photosynthesis and leaf biochemistry.

Abutilon theophrasti (C3) and Amaranthus retroflexus (C4), were grown from seed at four partial pressures of CO2: 15 Pa (below Pleistocene minimum), 27 Pa (pre-industrial), 35 Pa (current), and 70 Pa (future) in the Duke Phytotron under high light, high nutrient, and wellwatered conditions to evaluate their photosynthetic response to historic and future levels of CO2. Net photosynthesis at growth CO2 partial pressures increased with increasing CO2 for C3 plants, but not C4 plants. Net photosynthesis of Abutilon at 15 Pa CO2 was 70% less than that of plants grown at 35 Pa CO2, due to greater stomatal and biochemical limitations at 15 Pa CO2. Relative stomatal limitation (RSL) of Abutilon at 15 Pa CO2 was nearly 3 times greater than at 35 Pa CO2. A photosynthesis model was used to estimate ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase (rubisco) activity (Vcmax), electron transport mediated RuBP regeneration capacity (J max), and phosphate regeneration capacity (PiRC) in Abutilon from net photosynthesis versus intercellular CO2 (A-C i) curves. All three component processes decreased by approximately 25% in Abutilon grown at 15 Pa compared with 35 Pa CO2. Abutilon grown at 15 Pa CO2 had significant reductions in total rubisco activity (25%), rubisco content (30%), activation state (29%), chlorophyll content (39%), N content (32%), and starch content (68%) compared with plants grown at 35 Pa CO2. Greater allocation to rubisco relative to light reaction components and concomitant decreases in J max and PiRC suggest co-regulation of biochemical processes occurred in Abutilon grown at 15 Pa CO2. There were no significant differences in photosynthesis or leaf properties in Abutilon grown at 27 Pa CO2 compared with 35 Pa CO2, suggesting that the rise in CO2 since the beginning of the industrial age has had little effect on the photosynthetic performance of Abutilon. For Amaranthus, limitations of photosynthesis were balanced between stomatal and biochemical factors such that net photosynthesis was similar in all CO2 treatments. Differences in photosynthetic response to growth over a wide range of CO2 partial pressures suggest changes in the relative performance of C3 and C4 annuals as atmospheric CO2 has fluctuated over geologic time.

Plasticity of seed output in response to soil nutrients and density in Abutilon theophrasti: implications for maintenance of genetic variation.

Seed output is determined by two processes: resource acquisition and the allocation of resources to seeds. In order to clarify how the reaction norm of seed output is controlled by the phenotypic expression of its two components, we examined the genetic components of plasticity of seed dry mass, plant size, and reproductive allocation under different conditions of soil nutrient availability and conspecific competition among eight families of Abutilon theophrasti. Without competition, the reaction norm of seed mass of the families crossed between the lowest and other nutrient levels, although neither of its components, plant size and reproductive allocation, showed such a response. The crossing reaction norm (i.e., reversal of relative fitnesses of different genotypes along the environmental gradient) of seed mass resulted from (1) a trade-off between plant size and reproductive allocation, and (2) changes in the relative magnitude of genetic variances in plant size and reproductive allocation with soil nutrient availability. While allocation was more important in determining seed mass under limiting nutrient conditions, plant size became more important under high-nutrient conditions. There were no significant genetic variances in seed mass, plant size, and reproductive allocation in the competition treatment, except at the highest nutrient level. The results show that plant competition mitigated the effects of genetic differences in plant performance among the families. We discuss the results in relation to maintenance of genetic variation within a population.

Phytochemical analysis and bioactivity of the aerial parts of Abutilon theophrasti (Malvaceae), a medicinal weed.

Phytochemical investigations of aerial parts of Abutilon theophrasti yielded (6S,9R)-roseoside (1) and (6S,9S)-roseoside (2) which are new for the genus. The elucidation of the chemical structures was established by mass spectrometry, 1D and 2D NMR experiments. Although methanol extracts contained 48.5 ± 7.2 mg of caffeic acid equivalents and 15.87 ± 4.6 mg of quercetin equivalents, the antioxidant activity, as revealed by DPPH and ABTS assays, was of medium strength (EC50 of 306.2 ± 16.3 and 394.3 ± 14.8 µg/mL, respectively). A. theophrasti extract inhibits soybean 5-LOX with IC50 value 2.89 ± 0.2 mg/mL. The cytotoxicity of the methanol extract against MCF-7, CCRF-CEM and CEM/ADR5000 cancer cells resulted in IC50 values of 505.8 ± 34.7 µg/mL for MCF-7, 75.6 ± 7.1 µg/mL for CCRF-CEM, and 89.5 ± 13.4 µg/mL for CEM/ADR 5000 cells.