An Allelochemical from Myrica gale with Strong Phytotoxic Activity against Highly Invasive Fallopia x bohemica Taxa

Jean Popovici (1, 2) , Cédric Bertrand (3) , Dominique Jaquemoud (1) , Floriant Bellvert (1) , Maria P. Fernandez (1) , Gilles Comte (1) , Florence Piola (4)

1 LEM - Laboratoire d'Ecologie Microbienne - UMR 5557
2 School of Biological Sciences [Brisbane]
3 LCBE - Laboratoire de Chimie des Biomolécules et de l'Environnement
4 EVZH - Équipe 2 - Écologie Végétale et Zones Humides

We report the identification of the allelochemical 3-(1-oxo-3-phenylpropyl)- 1,1,5-trimethylcyclo-hexane-2,4,6-trione, known as myrigalone A, from the fruits and leaves of Myrica gale. The structure of the compound was confirmed by high-resolution techniques (UV, MS and NMR analysis). The compound is phytotoxic towards classical plant species used for allelochemical assays and also against Fallopia x bohemica, a highly invasive plant. Application of either powdered dry leaves or dry fruits of M. gale also showed in vitro phytotoxic activity. We hypothesize that M. gale could be used as a green allelopathic shield to control Fallopia x bohemica invasion, in addition to its potential use as an environmentally friendly herbicide.

Mots clés: biological control; Myrica gale; Fallopia; allelopathy; dihydrochalcone; invasive plant

Domaines: Biodiversité et Ecologie

Jean Popovici, Cédric Bertrand, Dominique Jaquemoud, Floriant Bellvert, Maria P. Fernandez, et al.. An Allelochemical from Myrica gale with Strong Phytotoxic Activity against Highly Invasive Fallopia x bohemica Taxa. Molecules, 2011, 16, pp.2323-2333. ⟨10.3390/molecules16032323⟩. ⟨halsde-00579629⟩