Institute of Forestry, Belgrade, Serbia.
Chem Biodivers. 2011 Dec;8(12):2247-60. doi: 10.1002/cbdv.201100018.
Terpenes are often used as ecological and chemotaxonomic markers of plant species, as well as for estimation of geographic variability. Essential oils of relic and Balkan endemic/subendemic conifers, Picea omorika, Pinus heldreichii, and P. peuce, in central part of Balkan Peninsula (Serbia and Montenegro), on the level of terpene classes and common terpene compounds were investigated. In finding terpene combinations, which could show the best diversity between species and their natural populations, several statistical methods were applied. Apart from the content of different terpene classes (P. omorika has the most abundant O-containing monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes; P. heldreichii and P. peuce have the largest abundance of sesquiterpene and monoterpene hydrocarbons, resp.), the species are clearly separated according to terpene profile with 22 common compounds. But, divergences in their populations were established only in combination of several compounds (specific for each species), and they were found to be the results of geomorphologic, climatic, and genetic factors. We found similarities between investigated species and some taxa from literature with respect to terpene composition, possibly due to hybridization and phylogenetic relations. Obtained results are also important regarding to chemotaxonomy, biogeography, phylogeny, and evolution of these taxa.
萜类化合物常被用作植物物种的生态和化学分类标记，以及用于估计地理变异性。本文对巴尔干半岛中部（塞尔维亚和黑山）的珍稀和特有松柏类植物，包括欧洲云杉（Picea omorika）、赫氏松（Pinaceae heldreichii）和欧洲冷杉（Pinus peuce）的精油，在萜类化合物类别和常见萜类化合物水平上进行了研究。为了找到能够最好地显示物种及其自然种群之间多样性的萜类化合物组合，应用了几种统计方法。除了不同萜类化合物类别（欧洲云杉含有最丰富的含氧单萜和倍半萜；赫氏松和欧洲冷杉分别含有最丰富的倍半萜和单萜烃）外，根据 22 种共有化合物的萜烯图谱，这些物种可以清楚地分开。但是，只有在几种化合物（每种物种特有的）的组合中，才能在种群之间建立差异，这些差异是由地貌、气候和遗传因素造成的。我们发现，在所研究的物种与文献中的一些分类群之间，萜类化合物组成存在相似性，这可能是由于杂交和系统发育关系所致。这些结果对于这些分类群的化学分类学、生物地理学、系统发育和进化也很重要。
