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Investigating the Invasion Pattern of the Alien Plant Solanum elaeagnifolium Cav. (Silverleaf Nightshade): Environmental and Human-Induced Drivers.

ABSTRACT: Invasive alien plant species have impacts on nature conservation, ecosystem services and agricultural production. To identify environmental and human-related drivers of the invasion of Solanum elaeagnifolium (Solanaceae)-one of the worst alien invasive plants worldwide-we conducted an extensive drive-by survey across the Greek territory (presence/absence data; all national major multilane highways; 12-25% of the remaining road network; driven 3-5 times during 2000-2020). These data were linked in GIS with (i) physical environmental attributes (elevation, climate, soil properties) and (ii) type and intensity of human-related activities (land uses, settlements and road type). Compared to previous records, our survey showed that the range of S. elaeagnifolium increased by 1750% during the last decades, doubling its main distribution centers and reaching higher elevations. Our study revealed that the presence of S. elaeagnifolium is associated with (i) higher maximum temperatures and precipitation in summer and low precipitation in winter, as well as with (ii) soil disturbance related to agricultural activities, settlements and road networks, thus facilitating its spread mainly at low altitudes. Our study elucidates the current invasion pattern of S. elaeagnifolium and highlights the urgent need for its widespread monitoring, at least in the noninvaded areas in Greece that have been surveyed in this study. Preventative measures and integrative initiatives should be implemented quickly, and urgently incorporated into current agricultural, road network and conservation-management regimes.

SUBMITTER: Krigas N

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8072529 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:Solanum elaeagnifolium, an invasive weed of the Solanaceae family, is poorly studied although it poses a significant threat to crops. Here the analysis of the transcriptome of S. elaeagnifolium is presented, as a means to explore the biology of this species and to identify genes related to its adaptation to environmental stress. One of the basic mechanisms by which plants respond to environmental stress is through the synthesis of specific secondary metabolites that protect the plant from herbivores and microorganisms, or serve as signaling molecules. One important such group of secondary metabolites are terpenes.By next-generation sequencing, the flower/leaf transcriptome of S. elaeagnifolium was sequenced and de novo assembled into 75,618 unigenes. Among the unigenes identified, several corresponded to genes involved in terpene biosynthesis; these included terpene synthases (TPSs) and genes of the mevalonate (MVA) and the methylerythritol phosphate (MEP) pathways. Functional characterization of two of the TPSs showed that one produced the sesquiterpene (E)-caryophyllene and the second produced the monoterpene camphene. Analysis of wounded S. elaeagnifolium leaves has shown significant increase of the concentration of (E)-caryophyllene and geranyl linalool, two terpenes implicated in stress responses. The increased production of (E)-caryophyllene was matched to the induced expression of the corresponding TPS gene. Wounding also led to the increased expression of the putative 1-deoxy-D-xylulose-5-phosphate synthase 2 (DXS2) gene, a key enzyme of the MEP pathway, corroborating the overall increased output of terpene biosynthesis.The reported S. elaeagnifolium de novo transcriptome provides a valuable sequence database that could facilitate study of this invasive weed and contribute to our understanding of the highly diverse Solanaceae family. Analysis of genes and pathways involved in the plant's interaction with the environment will help to elucidate the mechanisms that underly the intricate features of this unique Solanum species.

Dataset Information

Investigating the Invasion Pattern of the Alien Plant Solanum elaeagnifolium Cav. (Silverleaf Nightshade): Environmental and Human-Induced Drivers.

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