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Updated: Jul 14, 2026

Determination of the Glycogen Content in Cyanobacteria
Published on: July 17, 2017
Constitutive polymorphic cyanogenesis in the Australian rainforest tree, Ryparosa kurrangii (Achariaceae)
Bruce L Webber1, Rebecca E Miller, Ian E Woodrow
1School of Botany, The University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia. b.webber@bigfoot.com
Abstract:
Cyanogenesis, the liberation of volatile hydrogen cyanide from endogenous cyanide-containing compounds, is a proven plant defence mechanism and the particular cyanogens involved have taxonomic utility. The cyclopentenoncyanhydrin glycoside gynocardin was the only cyanogen isolated from foliar tissue of the rare Australian rainforest tree, Ryparosa kurrangii (Achariaceae). Mechanical damage simulating foliar herbivory did not induce a significant increase in the expression of cyanogenesis over a 24h period, indicating cyanogenic herbivore defence in R. kurrangii is constitutive. The cyanogenic potential of mature leaves was quantitatively polymorphic between trees in a natural population, ranging from 0.54 to 4.77 mg CN g(-1) dry wt leaf tissue.
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