title: Nitrification Inhibitors from the root tissues of Brachiaria humidicola, a tropical grass.
abstract: Nitrification inhibitory activity was found in root tissue extracts of Brachiaria humidicola, a tropical pasture grass. Two active inhibitory compounds were isolated by activity-guided fractionation, using recombinant Nitrosomonas europaea containing luxAB genes derived from the bioluminescent marine gram-negative bacterium Vibrio harveyi. The compounds were identified as methyl-p-coumarate and methyl ferulate, respectively. Their nitrification inhibitory properties were confirmed in chemically synthesized preparations of each. The IC50 values of chemically synthesized preparations were 19.5 and 4.4 microM, respectively. The ethyl, propyl, and butyl esters of p-coumaric and ferulic acids inhibited nitrification, whereas the free acid forms did not show inhibitory activity.
authors.affiliation: Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS), 1-1 Ohwashi, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8686, Japan.
authors.forename: Subramaniam
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gopalakrishnan
authors.forename: Guntur V
authors.initials: GV
authors.lastname: Subbarao
authors.forename: Kazuhiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nakahara
authors.forename: Tadashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yoshihashi
authors.forename: Osamu
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.forename: Ikuko
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Maeda
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ono
authors.forename: Mitsuru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yoshida
mesh_terms: D000641:Ammonia / Q000378:metabolism; D003373:Coumaric Acids / Q000494:pharmacology; D008745:Methylation; D009566:Nitrates / Q000378:metabolism; D009573:Nitrites / Q000378:metabolism; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000378:metabolism; D009606:Nitrosomonas / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000737:chemistry*; D006109:Poaceae / Q000737:chemistry*; D011422:Propionates; D014733:Vibrio / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D003373:Coumaric Acids; D009566:Nitrates; D009573:Nitrites; D011422:Propionates; D000641:Ammonia; C004999:ferulic acid; C495469:p-coumaric acid; D009584:Nitrogen