Research and new discoveries about Marchantiophyt and Anthocerotophyta

Chairman Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Van Sinh and colleagues in the field

Research on Marchantiophyt and Anthocerotophyta

Bryophytes are divided into 3 phyla: Bryophyta, Marchantiophyta and Anthocerotophyta, which are a group of plants that have received little research attention in higher plants. Up to now, research on Marchantiophyt and Anthocerotophyta in the Indochina Peninsula is still very limited. According to a publication by Pócs (2012), before 2012 there were only 46 species of Marchantiophyt recorded in Laos. In 2012, this author added 12 species of epiphytic Marchantiophyt to the list, bringing the total number of Marchantiophyt species recorded in Laos to 58. In fact, this number is still modest for Laos.

Vietnam is in the tropical region, with rich natural conditions favorable for Bryophytes growth. However, according to the results compiled by 2020 of the Basic Investigation Task code UQĐTCB.05/19-20, there are only 625 species of Marchantiophyt and Anthocerotophyta recorded throughout the territory. Meanwhile, studies also show that Marchantiophyt and Anthocerotophyta contain many biologically active compounds, but there has not been necessary research in this direction in Vietnam.

Successfully built 02 sample sets of Marchantiophyt and Anthocerotophyta (including 738 samples)

Since 2017, research on Marchantiophyt and Anthocerotophyta at the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources has been launched in international cooperation with the Institute of Botanical Gardens, Far Eastern Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences. Since then, a number of topics and tasks of the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology have been implemented in this field. Following the above research, to build an overall picture of the species composition of 
Marchantiophyt and Anthocerotophyta in the northern mountains, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Van Sinh and his colleagues proposed and were approved by the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology to carry out the project: "Research on species composition and initial survey of chemical composition of Marchantiophyta and Anthocerotophyta in Northern mountainous region of Vietnam" (code: KHHCBTĐ.02/21-23).

Within the framework of the research, the authors successfully built 02 sets of samples of Marchantiophyt and Anthocerotophyta. Among them, a set of 350 samples of 146 species collected in Dien Bien, Lao Cai, Yen Bai, Hoa Binh, Thanh Hoa and Nghe An provinces. The second set of samples includes 388 samples of 170 species collected in Tuyen Quang, Thai Nguyen, Phu Tho, Bac Can and Lai Chau provinces. Also in the project, a database providing information about the geographical location, altitude, location and habitat of 738 moss samples was built.

In particular, researchers have analyzed and determined the chemical composition and biological activities of the Porella perrottetiana (Mont.) Trevis. The results of chemical analysis have identified two new substances: perrottetianal E (with formula C20H28O4) and (+)-oplopanone C ((+)-11-methyxyoplopanone) (with formula C16H28O3). Biological activity test results showed that the total extract and all three extract residues were active against all four cancer cell lines. Notably, the total extract residue and EtOAc extract residue were active on the liver cancer cell line (Hep-G2) with IC50 = 3.51 ± 0.21 μg/mL and IC50 = 4.23 ± 0.86 μg/mL, respectively.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Van Sinh said that from the research results, he and his colleagues have analyzed and published five articles in SCIE-listed journals and one article in Scopus-listed journals. In particular, the research team has announced a new Bryophytes species for science (Gymnomitrion vietnamicum), published in the journal Phytotaxa (DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.616.1.3). He affirmed that Vietnam's Marchantiophyt and Anthocerotophyta are diverse and have a lot of potential to discover new species as well as their biological active ingredients, so it is necessary to continue to expand this promising research direction in the future.

New species Gymnomitrion vietnamicum Bakalin et Vilnet: A - cells in leaf apex; B - part of the carpet; C - spores and elastic cord; D - spore germ on carpet; E - cells near the curled leaf edge; F - midleaf cell; G - middle leaf cell above the vitta bifurcation. Scale: 50μm, for A, C, E–G; 5 mm for B, D. (Photo: V. Bakalin, 2018)

Translated by Tuyet Nhung
Link to Vietnamese version