In order to understand the composition and structure of herbicidal active substance from the root of Flaveria bidentis (L.) Kuntze, the isolation and structural identification were researched in this paper. The crude extract from the root of F. bidentis (L.) Kuntze was extracted by petroleum ether, ethyl acetate, and water saturation of n-butyl alcohol, respectively, and the extraction fluid was separated by using the method of TLC, then the main fraction was separated by HPLC, and the structure of the herbicidal active substance was analyzed by LC-MS, elemental analysis and 1H-NMR. The results showed that the petroleum extraction had the strongest herbicidal activity, and the purple blue stripe separated by TLC had the strongest effect on Digitaria sanguinalis. The herbicidal active substance was identified as α-terthienyl according to the data of LC-MS, elemental analysis and 1H-NMR.

Large amounts of Flaveria bidentis’s root culturing solution were obtained by using DFT (deep flow technique) equipment and these solution which was vacuum concentrated (10, 20 mg mL-1) can have a certain inhibition on Triticum aestivum, Cucumis sativus, Raphanus sativus, Amaranthus retroflexus, Setaria viridis, Chenopodium album, Echinochloa crusgalli and Chloris virgata. This outcome suggested some active compounds in the root exudates of Flaveria bidentis can inhibit the germination, seedling elongation and root length. The dichloromethane extract of root exudates was identificated by GC-MS, and 29 kinds of compounds, including esters, hydrocarbons, ketones, thiazole, amines, etc. were obtained and the phthalate n-octyl ester, phthalate 2-ethylhexyl ester were proved to be allelochemicals. The culturing solution of root exudates was separated through the resin column and silica gel column and a component inhibiting seedling height, root length and fresh weight of wheat was got. There were 6 kinds of organic compounds in this component including dioctyl phthalate, 1,2-phthalate, mono(2-ethylhexyl) ester by GC-MS.

Natural herbicides, or environment-friendly bioherbicides have been attracted more and more attentions. Isolation and structural identification of natural herbicide-active compounds from plant pathogens has been proved to be an effective approach for novel lead discovery of the pesticide development. In this study, the metabolites of the mutant strain PAM1, which obtained from PA1 of Pythium aphanidermatum (Eds.) Fitzp by ultraviolet radiation were separated and identified by HPLC, NMR, and IR. The results revealed that three active compounds including 4-hydroxy-3-methoxycinnamic acid and two indole derivatives, exhibited inhibition activity on the elongation of radical and coleoptile of Digtaria sanguinalis (L.) Scop.

A strain of Bacillus subtilis strain YB1, isolated and preserved in our lab., showed a high nicosulfuron-degrading activity. Optimization of culture conditions on production of nicosulfuron-degrading enzyme from Bacillus subtilis strain YB1 was carried out through mono-factor experiments. The characterization of degrading enzyme(s) was studied in this paper. The results showed that B. subtilis YB1 can use nicosulfuron as sole carbon source under aerobic condition. The key enzyme(s) involved in the initial biodegradation of nicosulfuron was localized to extracellular proteins and showed to be induced expressed. Enzyme-specific activity was up to 89.34 U mg-1 at pH 8.0 and 30°C, incubation for 96 h, inoculum 4.5×108 CFU mL-1 in Luria-Bertani liquid medium with nicosulfuron of 40 mg L-1. The maximum degradation rate of extracellular crude enzymes on nicosulfuron was 66% at pH 9.0, 35°C in the enzymatic reaction system with nicosulfuron of 5 mg L-1. This degrading enzyme(s) was sensitive to high temperature, but kept high activity under alkaline conditions.