Explore the vast range of titles available.

Endophytes are silent microbial partners of green plants that ensure hosts’ survival in odd conditions. They are known as the factories of multipotent metabolites with diverse bioactivities beneficial to modern pharmaceuticals industry. Endophytic fungi have been screened from a variety of plants and it is the first-time endophytes of club moss is being studied for production of antibacterial and antioxidative compounds. The present study reveals that Lycopodium clavatum L. harbors a potent niche of bioactive endophytic fungi and Colletotrichum alatae LCS1 was the prime producer of antibacterial and antioxidative compounds among them. The minimum inhibitory and bactericidal concentrations of ethyl- acetate culture extract ranged from 15.62 to 250 μg/mL against four Gram negative and three Gram positive microorganisms including methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC-33591). Bio-autogram based screening followed by Gas chromatographic analysis confirmed the occurrence of 17 bioactive compounds and α-bisabolol is known to be the prime one. Alfa bisabolol is a unique and versatile bioactive essential oil and facilitates variety of functions. Killing kinetics data along with leakage of macromolecules into extracellular environment supports the cidal activity of the antibacterial principles at MBC values. Isolate C . alatae LCS1 was optimized by one variable at a time system coupled with response surface methodology for broad spectrum antibacterial production. The organism yielded maximum response (22.66±0.894 mm of zone of inhibition against MRSA) in 250 mL Erlenmeyer flask containing 50 mL potato dextrose broth supplemented with (g/L) glucose, 7.53; yeast extract concentration, 0.47; NaCl, 0.10 with medium pH 6.46; after 134 hours of incubation at 26°C. Optimized fermentation parameters enhanced antibacterial activity up-to more than 50% than the pre-optimized one (10.33±0.57 mm). Endophytic LCS1 was also efficient in free radical scavenging tested by DPPH, ABTS, H 2 O 2 and FRAP assay with an IC 50 values of 23.38±5.32 to 82.873±6.479 μg/mL.

The endotransglucosylase action of the enzyme xyloglucan endotransglucosylase/hydrolase (XTH) was localized in the roots of diverse vascular plants: club‐mosses (lycopodiophytes), ferns, gymnosperms, monocots, and dicots. High action was always found in the epidermis cell wall of the elongation zone and in trichoblasts in the differentiation zone. Clearly XTH and its action in root development evolved before the evolutionary divergence of ferns and seed plants and also of the lycopodiophytes and euphyllophytes.

Background Plants maintain the steady-state balance of the mutually beneficial symbiosis relationship with their endophytic fungi through secondary metabolites. Meanwhile endophytic fungi can serve as biological inducers to promote the biosynthesis and accumulation of valuable secondary metabolites in host plants through a variety of ways. The composition and structure of endophytic fungal community are affected by many factors, including tissues, seasons and so on. In this work, we studied the community diversity, temporal and spatial pattern of endophytic fungi detected from the roots, stems and leaves of Huperzia serrata in different seasons. The correlation between endophytic fungi and huperzine A (HupA) content in plants was analyzed. Results A total of 7005 operational taxonomic units were detected, and all strains were identified as 14 phyla, 54 classes, 140 orders, 351 families and 742 genera. Alpha diversity analysis showed that the diversity of endophytic fungi in stem and leaf was higher than that in root, and the diversity in summer (August) was lower than that in other months. NMDS analysis showed that the endophytic fungal communities of leaves, stems and roots were significantly different, and the root and leaf communities were also different between four seasons. Through correlation analysis, it was found that 33 genera of the endophytic fungi of H. serrata showed a significant positive correlation with the content of HupA ( p  < 0.05), of which 13 genera ( Strelitziana, Devriesia, Articulospora, Derxomyces, Cyphellophora, Trechispora, Kurtzmanomyces, Capnobotryella, Erythrobasidium, Camptophora, Stagonospora, Lachnum, Golubevia ) showed a highly significant positive correlation with the content of HupA ( p  < 0.01). These endophytic fungi may have the potential to promote the biosynthesis and accumulation of HupA in plant. Conclusions This report is the first time to analyze the diversity of endophytic fungi in tissues of H. serrata in different seasons, which proves that there is variability in different tissues and seasonal distribution patterns. These findings provide references to the study of endophytic fungi of H. serrata.

(–)-Magellanine, (+)-magellaninone, and (+)-paniculatine are three natural products isolated from the Lycopodium family that share a unique 6-5-5-6-fused tetracyclic diquinane core skeleton. Several members of this family have potent s anti-inflammatory and acetylcholinesterase-inhibitory properties and are under development for the treatment of Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases. Several research groups have undertaken the formal and total syntheses of this class of natural products. This review highlights over 20 reported total syntheses of these three alkaloids and the development of synthetic methods for the assembly of their core skeletons.

Understanding the growth dynamics of spore-bearing clonal plant sporophytes and the influence of abiotic and biotic factors is crucial for predicting the persistence of club moss populations and implementing effective habitat management techniques. Despite this, the longevity and development of club-moss populations are rarely studied. This study adopted an integrated approach to assess the probability of repetitive young sporophyte recruitment via sexual propagation in Lycopodium annotinum L. and Lycopodium clavatum L. The size–age problem of clonal spore-bearing forest plants and their niche segregation were addressed. The canopy characteristics, insolation, small-scale disturbance, and genetic polymorphism were studied in temperate semi-natural Scots pine forests in Lithuania. Based on the size of the clones discovered, we hypothesize that initial sporophyte emergence occurred in 20-year-old pine stands, with subsequent sporophyte emergence continuing over time. The emergence was related to small-scale disturbances. High genetic polymorphism indicates that all sporophyte stands studied likely emerged via sexual reproduction. According to Ellenberg values, L. annotinum is related to shady habitats, but our findings show both species coexisting abundantly in the more open habitat, supposedly more suitable for L. clavatum.No significant differences in vegetation relevés and light availability was detected using hemispheric images.

is an endangered perennial medicinal lycophyte, primarily distributed across most regions of China, eastern and southern Asia, Oceania, and the Americas. It produces Huperzine A (HupA), a potent natural acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitor with significant therapeutic potential for treating Alzheimer's disease. To elucidate the genetic diversity and phylogenetic relationships of this species and facilitate its conservation, we performed full-length transcriptome sequencing of using the PacBio Sequel II platform and developed expressed sequence tag-simple sequence repeat (EST-SSR) markers. Transcriptome analysis identified 16,511 SSR loci from the transcriptome, with an average density of one locus per 4.11 kb. These loci exhibited diverse repeat motifs (ranging from mono- to hexanucleotides), predominantly containing 5-20 repeats. Genotyping of 47 accessions (representing 8 different species) using 21 polymorphic primers identified 98 alleles, yielding mean Nei's gene diversity ( ) and Shannon's information index ( ) values of 0.3171 and 0.4819, respectively, indicating a moderate level of genetic diversity. Principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) revealed no significant correlation between genetic and geographic distance. Cluster analysis based on genetic similarity coefficients (ranging from 0.41 to 0.82) delineated distinct genetic groupings. However, SSR cluster analysis was inconsistent with taxonomic identification based on morphology to a great extent. At a similarity coefficient of 0.51, the accessions were classified into four major groups. Notably, accessions from Guizhou (GZ) and Yunnan (YN) provinces tended to cluster together, with accessions GS_1_GL and GZ_6_GY exhibiting the highest genetic similarity. This study provides the first comprehensive set of genomic resources and insights into the genetic diversity of across a wide range, revealing its fine-scale genetic structure. These findings establish a crucial scientific foundation for the conservation and sustainable utilization of this valuable medicinal species.

A new species of the firmoss from China, Huperzia crassifolia sp. nov., is described and illustrated based on morphological characters and molecular evidence. The new species resembles species associated with the H. javanica complex, in particular H. javanica based on leaf shape and serrations, but can be easily distinguished by elliptic lanceolate and thick coriaceous leaves, well differentiated seasonal constriction zones, and reflexed leaf margins when get dried. Phylogenomic reconstruction using whole chloroplast genome sequences recovered H. crassifolia as sister to H. sutchueniana and only distantly related to morphological similar species H. javanica , H. nanlingensis , and H. serrata. The genome size 2C = 17.2 pg indicated the new species to be a tetraploid, whereas diploid H. javanica had a genome size of 8.7 pg. Morphological characters, distribution, and conservation status of the new species are also presented.

Natural tyrosinase inhibitors are currently a hot research topic due to their potential application in cosmetic and medicinal products. For the plant Lycopodiastrum casuarinoides, the chemical constituents with a tyrosinase inhibitory effect have not been investigated yet. Bioassay-guided isolation was conducted on the aboveground parts, resulting in the isolation of 10 compounds (1–10). Their chemical structures were confirmed by their spectral data and comparison with literature data. It might be worth pointing out that compounds 3–9 were isolated from the genus Lycopodiastrum for the first time. The bioassay revealed that compounds 6 and 7 displayed moderate mushroom tyrosinase inhibitory activity (IC50 = 1.90 and 2.43 mM, respectively), which was close to the positive control kojic acid (IC50 = 0.17 mM). Moreover, the in silico experiments disclosed that Lys180, His178 and other amino residues played key roles in the binding modes between compounds 6 and 7 and mushroom tyrosinase (PDB: 2Y9X). These findings suggested potential for further investigation on this species as a source of cosmetic ingredients.

Phlegmariurus, a diverse genus within the Lycopodiaceae family, has wide diversity in tropical regions, including Thailand. Accurate species delimitation in the tropical clubmoss genus Phlegmariurus is challenged by high morphological plasticity and genetic complexity. This study applied an integrative multilocus approach combining morphometric analysis of 27 complete specimens, 35 Phlegmariurus and one Lycopodiella accessions for AFLP genotyping (926 loci; PIC 0.32), SSR profiling (44 loci; PIC 0.57; expected heterozygosity 0.35), and chloroplast barcoding using rbcL (1308 bp; bootstrap 89–99%) and the psbA-trnH intergenic spacer (308 bp; bootstrap ≥ 94%). A total of 13 were identified as belonging to seven known species, including P. nummulariifolius (NST01, NST15, NST36), P. goebelii (JP04), P. phlegmaria (NST13), P. verticillatus (PHI16), P. squarrosus (NST21, NST22, MY31), P. tetrastichus (NST30), and P. carinatus (MY32, MY33, NST34). Morphological clustering and molecular markers consistently distinguished Phlegmariurus accessions from the Lycopodiella outgroup. Additionally, 19 previously unclassified Phlegmariurus accessions were successfully identified as belonging to the species P. nummulariifolius (NST23), P. goebelii (NST03, JP05, STN12, PNA14, SKA25, CPN26, KRB27, PNA28), P. phlegmaria (NWT07, STN08, NST09, NST10, PHI29), P. squarrosus (NST17), and P. carinatus (PNA06, STN18, CPN19, JP24). Moreover, this study identified three novel lineages (NST02, STN11, NST20) with strong support across datasets. The combination of broad genomic coverage (AFLP), fine-scale allelic resolution (SSR), deep-branch backbone (rbcL), and terminal-branch discrimination (psbA-trnH) yields a robust framework for species identification. These results define clear operational units for conservation prioritization and establish a foundation for marker-assisted development of ornamental Phlegmariurus cultivars.

A new hypothesis about the origin of isoetalean lycopsids was proposed based on palynological data. The occurrence of three apical papillae on the proximal surfaces of miospores is a significant palynological feature that is clearly defined in both isoetalean and selaginellalean clades. Three apical papillae appeared for the first time within lower Silurian (Wenlockian ca. 430 My) and only in rhyniophytoid plants. Using this observation, we suggest that isoetalean lycopsids could have evolved directly from rhyniophytoids and not from protolepidodendralean lycopsids in the middle Devonian (Eifelian–Givetian) as previously suggested, because protolepidodendralean spores do not possess three apical papillae. Spores with three apical papillae, reported as dispersed as well as in situ, were recorded continuously from the lower Silurian (Wenlockian) through the Devonian, Carboniferous, Permian, Mesozoic to Cenozoic era and form a phylogenetically independent lineage.