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The striking rise of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections has become a serious threat to public health worldwide. In an effort to search for new anti-MRSA agents from natural products, a bioassay-guided phytochemical study was conducted on the semi-mangrove plant Myoporum bontioides A. Gray, which led to the isolation of two new sesquiterpene alkaloids (1 and 2) and six known furanosesquiterpenes (3–8). Their structures were elucidated on the basis of extensive analysis of their 1D, 2D NMR and mass spectroscopic data. These two new alkaloids (1 and 2) displayed potent anti-MRSA activity with MIC value of 6.25 μg/mL. This is the first report of sesquiterpene alkaloids from the plants of Myoporum genus and their anti-MRSA activity.

An invasive thrips species (Klambothrips myopori, Thysanoptera), originally from Australia, attacks and inflicts severe damage to endemic Myoporum species in Hawai‘i. There is concern that the thrips will cause local extinctions of Myoporum in Hawai‘i. This study examined susceptibility of different Myoporum populations from various Hawaiian Islands to K. myopori infestation and dieback of aerial plant parts. Experimental exposures of plants from different populations were conducted in common garden studies. All M. sandwicense populations included in the study were highly susceptible to infestation and severe dieback of leaves and shoots occurred. Plants from a single M. stellatum population were less susceptible to attack and subsequent dieback of stems. Management options for populations under pressure from K. myopori are discussed.

Natural constituents have been utilized to avoid humanity from various diseases, such as microbial infection and cancer, over several decades due to bioactive compounds. Myoporum serratum seeds extract (MSSE) was formulated via HPLC for flavonoid and phenolic analysis. Moreover, antimicrobial via well diffusion method, antioxidant via 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging method, anticancer activities against HepG-2 cells (human hepatocellular cancer cell line), and MCF-7 cells (human breast cancer cell line), and molecular docking of the main detected flavonoid and phenolic compounds with the cancer cells were performed. The phenolic acids, including cinnamic acid (12.75 µg/mL), salicylic acid (7.14 µg/mL), and ferulic (0.97 µg/mL), while luteolin represents the main detected flavonoid with a concentration of 10.74 µg/mL, followed by apegenin 8.87 µg/mL were identified in MSSE. Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Proteus vulgaris, and Candida albicans were inhibited by MSSE with 24.33, 26.33, 20.67, and 18.33 mm of inhibition zone, respectively. MSSE exhibited a low inhibition zone of 12.67 mm against Escherichia coli while showing no inhibitory activity against Aspergillus fumigatus. The values of MIC ranged from 26.58 to 136.33 µg/mL for all tested microorganisms. MBC/MIC index and cidal properties were attributed to MSSE for all tested microorganisms except E. coli. MSSE demonstrated anti-biofilm 81.25 and 50.45% of S. aureus and E. coli, respectively. IC50 of the antioxidant activity of MSSE was 120.11 µg/mL. HepG-2 and MCF-7 cell proliferation were inhibited with IC50 140.77 ± 3.86 µg/mL and 184.04 µg/mL, respectively. Via Molecular docking study, luteolin and cinnamic acid have inhibitory action against HepG-2 and MCF-7 cells, supporting the tremendous anticancer of MSSE.

Temperature-driven development of myoporum thrips, Klambothrips myopori (Thysanopetra: Phlaeothripidae), was examined at seven constant temperatures (15, 17, 20, 25, 30, 34, and 35.5°C) on Myoporum laetum Forst (Lamiales: Scrophulariaceae). Thrips successfully completed development to adult stage between 15 and 35.5°C. One linear and three nonlinear models were fitted to describe developmental rates of K. myopori as a function of temperature, and for estimating thermal constants and bioclimatic thresholds (Tmin, Topt, and Tmax). The Briere-1 model performed best in describing the developmental rate of cumulative life stages. Two ecological niche models, CLIMEX and Maxent, were used to predict the geographic distribution of K. myopori in its native range and globally. Overall predictions of environmental suitability differed greatly across models. The CLIMEX model accurately predicted known invasive and native localities, while the Maxent model failed to predict the native localities and parts of the invasive range. Based on the CLIMEX model, K. myopori has the potential to establish in many regions of the globe.

Myoporum spp. (Lamiales: Scrophulariaceae) native to Australia and New Zealand have been introduced into North America and have been widely planted as shrubs and ground covers in the California urban landscape. The invasive thrips, Klambothrips myopori Mound and Morris, invaded California in 2005 and feed exclusively on Myoporum. However, some commercial cultivars have suffered extensive damage, whereas others have not. In field studies and laboratory feeding tests of six different potential host species or cultivars, Myoporum laetum and Myoporum ‘Pacificum’ were identified as most suitable host plants of K. myopori. In laboratory trials, K. myopori failed to complete development on M. ‘Clean n Green’ and M. ‘Putah Creek’. Of the six varieties of Myoporum tested, K. myopori damage was only observed on M. laetum and M. ‘Pacificum’. Although K. myopori can successfully colonize and reproduce on several varieties of Myoporum, they demonstrated a preference for M. laetum and M. ‘Pacificum’ in laboratory and field trials.

Investigation of the single plant source bee glue type originating from Southern Australia resulted in the isolation and structure elucidation of major serrulatane diterpenes, novel 7,8,18-trihydroxyserrulat-14-ene (1), along with its oxidized product, 5,18-epoxyserrulat-14-en-7,8-dione (3) and known (18RS)-5,18-epoxyserrulat-14-en-8,18-diol (2). Exploration into the botanical origin revealed Myoporum insulare R. Br, as the plant source of the bee glue materials. This discovery was made through comparative analysis of the myoporum bee glue samples collected from the beehives, analyses of plant resinous exudate, and resin carried on the hind legs of bees foraging for bee glue.

Myoporum bontioides is a traditional medicinal plant in Asia with various biological activities, including anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial characteristics. To identify the bioactive constituents from M. bontioides, a newly-identified flavone, 3,4′-dimethoxy-3′,5,7-trihydroxyflavone (compound 1), along with eight known compounds, were investigated in human MCF-7 breast cancer, SCC4 oral cancer, and THP-1 monocytic leukemia cells. Among these compounds, compound 1 exhibited the strongest antiproliferative activity with half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values ranging from 3.3 μM (MCF-7) to 8.6 μM (SCC4). Flow cytometric analysis indicated that compound 1 induced G2/M cell cycle arrest in MCF-7 cells. Mechanistic evidence suggests that the G2/M arrest could be attributable to compound 1’s modulatory effects on the phosphorylation and expression of numerous key signaling effectors, including cell division cycle 2 (CDC2), CDC25C, and p53. Notably, compound 1 downregulated the expression of histone deacetylase 2 (HDAC2) and HDAC4, leading to increased histone H3 acetylation and p21 upregulation. Together, these findings suggest the translational potential of compound 1 as a breast cancer treatment.

Xylella fastidiosa is a xylem-limited bacterium native to America and classified as a priority pest for EU regulation. Since 2013, X. fastidiosa has been identified in European countries with a Mediterranean climate, such as Italy, France, Spain and Portugal, with different subspecies and sequence types (ST) detected. Since 2015 X. fastidiosa subsp. multiplex ST6 and/or ST7 has been detected in Corsica and the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur in almost 70 plant species, whereas X. fastidiosa subsp. pauca ST53 has been found in only two host plants. In this study, we report two new variants, recently detected in two separated areas of the PACA region, genetically related to the subspecies multiplex and assigned to (i) ST88 detected on Polygala myrtifolia , Hebe sp., Osteospermum ecklonis , Lavandula x intermedia , Coronilla glauca and Euryops chrysanthemoides and (ii) ST89: detected on Myoporum sp. and Viburnum tinus . Both variant strains were isolated in vitro. Moreover, we report here the identification of X. fastidiosa subsp. multiplex ST6 in a new region of the South of France, Occitanie (Aude), in plants from natural and urban settings and from a nursery.

Eremophila is a significant component of the Australian arid zone flora, but its generic limits and relationships to the other six genera of tribe Myoporeae remain largely untested. In this study, we assembled a dataset of the nuclear ribosomal cistron (ca. 6000 bases including ITS1+2, ETS regions, non-transcribed spacer and associated genes) for all genera in tribe Myoporeae with a particular focus on Eremophila (205 of total 233 formally described species of Eremophila, and 28 species of related genera sampled). Phylogenetic analyses were performed using maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference methods. These resolved four major clades that were well supported. Eremophila was paraphyletic, with all other genera of tribe Myoporeae nested in it. We discuss two taxonomic options for addressing the paraphyly of Eremophila. As an immediate step, we propose that the small genera, Calamphoreus and Diocirea, should be placed in synonymy under Eremophila, and herein make the necessary new nomenclatural combinations. Additional phylogenetic data are needed, ideally in the form of multiple independent nuclear loci, to clarify the positions of Bontia, Glycocystis and Myoporum relative to Eremophila before further taxonomic changes are proposed.

Four new isocoumarin derivatives, botryospyrones A (1), B (2), C (3), and D (4), and a new natural tryptamine, (3aS, 8aS)-1-acetyl-1, 2, 3, 3a, 8, 8a-hexahydropyrrolo [2,3b] indol-3a-ol (5), were isolated from a marine mangrove endophytic fungus Botryosphaeria ramosa L29, obtained from the leaf of Myoporum bontioides. Their structures were elucidated using spectroscopic analysis. The absolute configurations of compounds 3, 4, and 5 were determined by comparison of their circular dichroism (CD) spectra with the calculated data. The inhibitory activities of compound 1 on Fusarium oxysporum, of compounds 2 and 3 on F. oxysporum and Fusarium graminearum, and of compound 5 on F. oxysporum, Penicillium italicum, and F. graminearum were higher than those of triadimefon, widely used as an agricultural fungicide. Compound 5 was produced after using the strategy we called “using inhibitory stress from components of the host” (UISCH), wherein (2R, 3R)-3, 5, 7-trihydroxyflavanone 3-acetate, a component of M. bontioides with weak growth inhibitory activity towards B. ramosa L29, was introduced into the culture medium.