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PhyllostacShys bambusoides, Phyllostachys nigra var. henonis, and Pseudosasa japonica are Bambusoideae species widely cultivated in Korea. They are used in herbal medicines due to their potent bioactivities. However, the various chemical compositions of the different Bambusoideae species have not been documented; on the market, all are typically being labeled as bamboo, without species discrimination. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate the differences between these three Bambusoideae species based on simultaneous quantitative determination of several compounds. An analysis platform, consisting of ultrasound-assisted liquid-liquid extraction combined with high-performance liquid chromatography equipped with a diode array detector (HPLC-DAD) and a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer in multiple reaction monitoring mode (HPLC-MRM/MS), was developed and validated to analyze the biochemical compounds in these three Bambusoideae species. Multivariate statistical analysis was applied to discriminate samples, data visualization, and identification of sample clustering. As a result, nine compounds were identified as marker compounds for species differentiation. This study demonstrated that the chemotaxonomic application of three common Bambusoideae species could be achieved using our analytical platform coupled with appropriate multivariate statistical analysis. These abilities will help prevent possible side effects and unexpected biological activity resulting from incorrect species identification.

Pseudosasa japonica f. Akebonosuji H. Okamura is a bamboo species with variable leaf colors, including albino, green, and green-white stripes. To determine whether variation in leaf color is due to mutations in the chloroplast genome, we sequenced the chloroplast genomes of green and albino leaves of P. japonica f. Akebonosuji. The results indicated that the chloroplast genome included 86 protein-coding genes, seven ribosomal RNA genes, and 31 tRNA genes. The similarity of chloroplast genomes for the two leaf types was 99.98%, with variation between genes encoding for trnfM and trnT . We observed that the relative expression patterns of trnfM and trnT were reversed in green and albino leaves. Whether the differential expression of trnfM and trnT is involved in leaf color variation among P. japonica f. Akebonosuji remains unclear. With many bamboo chloroplast genomes available, we aligned the chloroplast genomes of 28 bamboo species, including P. japonica f. Akebonosuji, to analyze polymorphisms. This comparison revealed that noncoding regions possessed more nucleotide polymorphisms than coding regions. Chloroplast genomes and the nuclear gene “granule-bound starch synthase I” ( GBSSI) of 28 bamboo species were used to construct evolutionary trees. Both evolutionary trees indicated that P. japonica f. Akebonosuji was clustered into Subtrib. Arundinariinae.

Summary Leaves of Trachycarpus fortunei from palms growing in warm temperate regions of Europe and Japan as outdoor ornamentals were cooled down to low subfreezing temperatures, and the process of ice formation was followed using differential thermal analysis (DTA). Inactivation of photosynthetic function was determined by in vivo chlorophyll fluorescence, and the progress of injuries during freezing was assayed by viability tests after thawing. Ultrastructure of mesophyll cells was investigated by transmission electron microscopy. Silica incrustation of cell walls was documented by means of qualitative energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX) on samples of Trachycarpus fortunei, Washingtonia filifera, and of the bamboo Pseudosasa japonica. DTA revealed typical freezing patterns, with a high temperature exotherm at about -6 to -8°C and a broad low temperature exotherm rising from about -13 to -14°C. As soon as the tissues froze, characteristic changes appeared in the kinetics of in vivo fluorescence. No irreversible inactivation of photosynthesis or damage was detectable at temperatures above appearance of the low exotherm. Within a short time after attainment of the exotherm peak, the leaf segments were found to be lethally damaged. Both of in vivo fluorescence and viability tests clearly indicated that Trachycarpus leaves remain in the persistent supercooled state down to quite low temperatures. The tensile state of water at threshold supercooling temperatures of Trachycarpus leaves was calculated according to the equation of Rajashekar and Burke (1982) and found to be about -14 MPa. An explanation for the permanent maintenance of such a large displacement from thermodynamic equilibrium could be that silica incrustation, as revealed by EDXA, favours supercooling by increasing the rigidity of the cell walls and/or resistance to the growth of ice crystals.