Abstract
Natural herbicides that are based on allelopathy of compounds, can offer effective alternatives to chemical herbicides towards sustainable agricultural practices. Nerolidol, a sesquiterpenoid alcohol synthesized by many plant families, was shown to be the most effective allelopathic compound in a preliminary screening performed with several other sesquiterpenoids. In the present study, Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings were treated for 14 d with various cis-nerolidol concentrations (0, 50, 100, 200, 400, and 800 µM) to investigate its effects on root growth and morphology. To probe the underlying changes in root metabolome, we conducted untargeted gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) based metabolomics to find out the specificity or multi-target action of this sesquiterpenoid alcohol. Oxidative stress (measured as levels of H2O2 and malondialdehyde (MDA) by-product) and antioxidant enzyme activities, i.e., superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) were also evaluated in the roots. Nerolidol showed an IC50 (120 µM), which can be considered low for natural products. Nerolidol caused alterations in root morphology, brought changes in auxin balance, induced changes in sugar, amino acid, and carboxylic acid profiles, and increased the levels of H2O2 and MDA in root tissues in a dose-dependent manner. Several metabolomic-scale changes induced by nerolidol support the multi-target action of nerolidol, which is a positive feature for a botanical herbicide. Though it warrants further mechanistic investigation, nerolidol is a promising compound for developing a new natural herbicide.
Highlights
Weeds are one of the major threats to global agroecosystems, as they affect both crop productivity and quality [1]
We focused on the effects of nerolidol on root morphology and root metabolome of Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh
We observed that nerolidol treatments strongly affected the root morphology of A. thaliana seedlings and significantly altered the root tip organization at the higher concentrations
Summary
Weeds are one of the major threats to global agroecosystems, as they affect both crop productivity and quality [1]. The use of synthetic herbicides that are easy to apply and are economically accessible to farmers, is one of the popular and effective methods of weed management [2]. The excessive use of chemical herbicides has negatively influenced the ecological equilibrium and human health [3]. Herbicides with new mechanisms of action are extremely needed to counter this rapidly increasing evolution of herbicide resistance [7]. The attention of the public to possible hazardous effects of chemical herbicide to human health is continuously increasing, and new research activities are actively moving toward the search of naturally-derived herbicides, based on the allelopathic properties of some natural compounds [8,9,10]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
