Elucidating the evolutionary history of the Southeast Asian, holoparasitic, giant-flowered Rafflesiaceae: pliocene vicariance, morphological convergence and character displacement.

The aim of the present study is to elucidate the evolutionary history of the enigmatic holoparasitic Rafflesiaceae. More specifically, floral morphological evolution is interpreted in a molecular phylogenetic context, the biogeographic history of the family is investigated, and the possibility of character displacement to have been operating in this family is assessed. Parsimony and Bayesian methods are used to estimate phylogeny and divergence times among Rafflesiaceae species based on nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequence data from Barkman et al.

Accelerated rates of floral evolution at the upper size limit for flowers.

Evolutionary theory explains phenotypic change as the result of natural selection, with constraint limiting the direction, magnitude, and rate of response [1]. Constraint is particularly likely to govern evolutionary change when a trait is at perceived upper or lower limits. Macroevolutionary rates of floral-size change are unknown for any angiosperm family, but it is predicted that rates should be diminished near the upper size limit of flowers, as has been shown for mammal body mass [2].

Cytotoxic constituents from the stem bark of Dichapetalum gelonioides collected in the Philippines.

Fractionation of an ethyl acetate-soluble extract of the stem bark of Dichapetalum gelonioides, collected in the Philippines, using the LNCaP (hormone-dependent human prostate) cell line as a monitor, led to the purification of three dichapetalin-type triterpenoids [dichapetalins A (1), I (2), and J (3)], along with two dolabrane norditerpenoids (6, 7), and the additional triterpenoids zeylanol (8), 28-hydroxyzeylanol (9), and betulinic acid. Since compounds 1-3 exhibited promising selectivity against the SW626 (human ovarian cancer) cell line, a re-collection of the plant material was carried out, to obtain more of these compounds for additional biological testing. Two further phenylpyranotriterpenoids [dichapetalins K (4) and L (5)] were isolated from the re-collected plant material.

Biological screening of rain forest plot trees from Palawan Island (Philippines).

Study plots totaling 0.2 Ha were established in primary forest in the highlands of central Palawan Island, Philippines. Samples of various anatomical parts [typically leaf + twig (If/tw), stem bark (sb), and root (rt)] were collected from all tree species represented within the plots by individuals having a diameter at breast height > or = 10 cm.

Quinoline alkaloids from Acronychia laurifolia.

Bioassay-directed fractionation of a root extract of Acronychia laurifolia (Rutaceae) using the KB-V1+ human tumor cell line led to the isolation of six quinoline alkaloids. One of these alkaloids is novel, namely, 2,3-methylenedioxy-4,7-dimethoxyquinoline and the other five were identified as the known compounds, evolitrine, gamma-fagarine, skimmianine, kokusaginine and maculosidine. Two known bis-tetrahydrofuran lignans, sesamolin and yangambin, were also identified.