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Chemotaxonomic Implications of the n ‐Alkane Composition and the Nonacosan‐10‐ol Content in Picea omorika, Pinus heldreichii , and Pinus peuce
Author(s) -
Nikolić Biljana,
Tešević Vele,
Bojović Srdjan,
Marin Petar D.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
chemistry and biodiversity
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.427
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1612-1880
pISSN - 1612-1872
DOI - 10.1002/cbdv.201200353
Subject(s) - wax , chemistry , alkane , composition (language) , chemical composition , botany , pinus <genus> , hydrocarbon , biology , organic chemistry , linguistics , philosophy
The n ‐alkane composition and the nonacosan‐10‐ol content in the needle cuticular waxes of Serbian spruce ( Picea omorika ), Bosnian pine ( Pinus heldreichii ), and Macedonian pine ( Pinus peuce ) were compared. The amount of nonacosan‐10‐ol in the needle waxes of P. omorika was higher than those in P. heldreichii and P. peuce. The range of n ‐alkanes was also wider in P. omorika (C 18 –C 35 ) than in P. heldreichii and P. peuce (C 18 –C 33 ). The dominant n ‐alkanes were C 29 in the needle waxes of P. omorika , C 23 , C 27 , and C 25 in those of P. heldreichii , and C 29 , C 25 , C 27 , and C 23 in those of P. peuce. The waxes of P. omorika contained higher amounts of n ‐alkanes C 29 , C 31 , and C 33 , while those of P. heldreichii and P. peuce had higher contents of n ‐alkanes C 21 , C 22 , C 23 , C 24 , and C 26 . The principal component analysis of the contents of nine n ‐alkanes showed a clear separation of the Serbian spruce populations from those of the two investigated pine species, which partially overlapped. The separation of the species was due to high contents of the n ‐alkanes C 29 and C 31 ( P. omorika ), C 19 , C 20 , C 21 , C 22 , C 23 , and C 24 ( P. heldreichii ), and C 28 ( P. peuce ). Cluster analysis also showed a clear separation between the P. omorika populations on one side and the P. heldreichii and P. peuce populations on the other side. The n ‐alkane and terpene compositions are discussed in the light of their usefulness in chemotaxonomy as well as with regard to the biogeography and phylogeny of these rare and endemic conifers.