Milene Praça Fontes

Milene Praça Fontes
Federal University of Espírito Santo | UFES · Departamento de Biologia

Professor

About

81
Publications
15,041
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691
Citations
Introduction
Skills and Expertise
Additional affiliations
July 2010 - present
Federal University of Espírito Santo
Position
  • Professor (Associate)
Description
  • Biologist. PhD in Genetics and Breeding from the Federal University of Viçosa. Is a professor at the Federal University of Espírito Santo and conducts research in the field of plant cytogenetics, involving topics of classical and molecular cytogenetics, flow and image cytometry, plant tissue culture and mutagenesis.

Publications

Publications (81)
Article
Full-text available
There is a growing demand for herbicides that are more effective than conventional ones yet less harmful to ecosystems. In light of this, this study aimed to synthesize esters from phenols and phenoxyacetic acid, using compounds with known phytotoxic potential as starting materials. Phenoxyacetic acid was first synthesized and then utilized in the...
Article
Weed invasion represents a challenge for farmers, who typically manage it with herbicides. However, this approach raises concerns about environmental and human health, as well as increasing resistance in these plants with continued use. Therefore, exploring alternative methods, such as heterocyclic compounds, triazoles, is essential due to their bi...
Article
Full-text available
The genus Psidium is recognized for its economic value and the species that produce essential oils with notable biological activities. This study investigated the characteristics of the essential oil from the leaves of Psidium myrtoides and Psidium cattleyanum under different drying temperatures. We aimed to understand how drying temperatures affec...
Article
Full-text available
The essential oil of Piper amalago L. is recognized for its bioactive compounds with phytotoxic potential against invasive plants. However, little is known about the role of seasonal variation in the action of these compounds. This study aimed to investigate the impact of dry and rainy seasons on the chemical composition, phytotoxic, and cytogenoto...
Article
Diferenças cromossômicas foram identificadas em Psidium cattleyanum, com organismos diplóides (2n=22 cromossomos) até citótipos que não são múltiplos do número básico da família (x=11), como 2n=46, 48, 58, 82. Assim, indica que a espécie seja um autopoliploide capaz de aumentar a produção de metabólitos secundários quando comparados as plantas-mãe...
Preprint
Full-text available
There is a growing demand for herbicides that are more effective than conventional ones yet less harmful to ecosystems. Considering this, this study aimed to synthesize esters from phenols and phenoxyacetic acid, using compounds with known phytotoxic potential as starting materials. Phenoxyacetic acid was first synthesized and then utilized in the...
Article
Full-text available
The search for bioherbicides has been encouraged, and plants used in food or with bioactivity have been studied. Therefore, this article aimed to investigate the bioherbicidal potential of essential oils from Psidium cauliflorum and P. acidum through a plant toxicity bioassay using Lactuca sativa and Sorghum bicolor. The seeds were treated with ess...
Article
Full-text available
The present investigation aimed to develop inclusion complexes (ICs) from Psidium gaudichaudianum (GAU) essential oil (EO) and its major compound β-caryophyllene (β-CAR), and to evaluate their herbicidal (against Lolium multiflorum and Bidens pilosa) and cytogenotoxic (on Lactuca sativa) activities. The ICs were obtained using 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyc...
Chapter
Full-text available
As plantas do gênero Psidium (Myrtaceae) apresentam, dentre seus usos relevantes, atividades biológicas relacionadas aos seus compostos ativos, com destaque ao óleo essencial (OE) presente na folha. Os OEs extraídos das folhas de Psidium guajava, Psidium cattleyanum e Psidium gaudichaudianum possuem aplicações em larvas de Aedes aegypti, herbicida...
Chapter
Full-text available
Essential oils are a source of promising bioactive compounds for the development of environmentally friendly herbicides. However, the low solubility, high volatility, and degradability make it impossible to apply essential oils under field conditions. Encapsulation in nanoemulsions and inclusion complexes can overcome these disadvantages by increas...
Chapter
Full-text available
Temos o prazer de lançar o SEGUNDO livro internacional voltado a área do desenvolvimento do ano de 2023, que tem como título Development and its applications in scientific knowledge , essa obra é editada pela Seven Publicações Ltda, tendo a composição de diversos capítulos voltados ao desenvolvimento e disseminação do conhecimento nas diversas área...
Article
Full-text available
The control of weeds in agriculture is mainly conducted with the use of synthetic herbicides. However, environmental and human health concerns and increased resistance of weeds to existing herbicides have increased the pressure on researchers to find new active ingredients for weed control which present low toxicity to non-target organisms, are env...
Article
Full-text available
Herbicides are commonly used to control weed. However, some plants are resistant to such products. To identify less harmful herbicides, it is crucial to search for different mechanisms of action. Thymol is an easily acquired allelopathic compound, capable of producing its respective semisynthetic derivative, thymoxyacetic acid. The aim of this stud...
Article
Full-text available
Polyploidy, a numerical alteration of the karyotype, is one of the most important mechanisms in plant speciation and diversification, but could also be detected among populations, the cytotypes. For example, Psidium cattleyanum, a polyploid complex, has chromosome numbers ranging from 2n=3x=33 to 2n=12x=132. Polyploidization causes an increase in D...
Article
Full-text available
The control of fungal species in agriculture is mainly conducted with the use of contact or systemic fungicides. However, environmental and human health concerns and increased resistance of fungal species to existing fungicides have increased the pressure on researchers to find new active ingredients for fungal control which present low toxicity to...
Article
Full-text available
Abstract We investigated whether essential oil and aqueous and ethanolic extracts from M. vittoriana leaves have phytotoxic effects on the germination and initial development, and cytogenotoxic effects on the cell cycle, of model plants. The essential oil and extracts of M. vittoriana were characterized and used as treatments in phytotoxicity and c...
Article
Full-text available
The search for more environmental friendly herbicides, aiming at the control of agricultural pests, combinated with less harmfulness to human health and the environment has grown. An alternative used by researchers is the application of products of secondary plant metabolism, which are investigated due to their potential bioactivities. Thus, specie...
Article
Plants are rich in active compounds, which can have an effect on the growth of other plants. In this context, the present work aimed to evaluate the effect of dichloromethanolic extracts from fresh and dried plants of Dionaea muscipula and compare it with its major compound in Lactuca sativa and Allium cepa. For this end, we conducted biological as...
Article
Full-text available
In order to offer a viable destination for green coffee beans classified as non-beverage type, this work aimed to extract and characterize the fixed oil from these beans and perform a preliminary evaluation of its functionality as a pharmaceutical ingredient. The extraction yield obtained was 3.70 ± 1.29% (w/w). The oil present in its composition h...
Article
Full-text available
Some forest trees have been polyploidized to improve their traits and to supply new germplasms for breeding programs. As trees have a long juvenile stage, the early characterization of the chromosome set doubling effects is crucial for previous selection. Thus, we aimed to characterize the chemical variability of essential oils from diploid and aut...
Article
Full-text available
Herbicides are agrochemicals applied in the control of weeds. With the frequent and repetitive use of these substances, serious problems have been reported. Compounds of natural origin and their derivatives are attractive options to obtain new compounds with herbicidal properties. By aiming to develop compounds with potentiated herbicidal activity,...
Article
Full-text available
Plant species that show gregarious spatial distribution and endemism to the Atlantic Forest, such as Dorstenia elata, are particularly sensitive to the effects of genetic diversity loss. In the present study, we aimed to quantify the genetic diversity in native populations of this species in an Atlantic Forest remnant. The sample included three agg...
Article
Full-text available
The use of agrochemicals has influenced the increase in agricultural productivity. However, the concern about damage to the human health and to the environment, resulting from the indiscriminate use of pesticides, has increased worldwide. Alternative methods for controlling pests and diseases have been proposed to maintain productivity and quality...
Article
Full-text available
Natural products with biological activity, such as essential oils, can be used in the search for and development of ecological herbicides as an alternative to reduce the damage caused by synthetic herbicides. This work to aimed to determine the chemical composition and phytotoxic properties of the essential oils, at concentrations of 3000, 1500, 75...
Article
Full-text available
Due to rising concerns for environmental and human health, many toxic compounds, such as auxin-based herbicides, have been tested in relation their toxicity effect. Especially cyto- and phytotoxic assays have been performed on a number monocot and eudicot plant species. In these approaches the toxicity level of the auxin is compared to a positive c...
Article
Full-text available
The investigation of genetic diversity in natural populations of species that show potential for use in reforestation programs is a key step in making management decisions. However, reforestation programs with native species in Brazil are still rarely based on a genetic understanding of the seed matrices used for seedling production. This is also t...
Article
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Resumo Neste trabalho são apresentadas as espécies de Passifloraceae sensu stricto do estado do Espírito Santo, Brasil. A família encontra-se representada por dois gêneros, Mitostemma, com apenas M. glaziovii e Passiflora com 30 espécies, com representantes de quatro subgêneros: duas espécies pertencentes ao subgênero Astrophea, seis ao subgênero D...
Article
Full-text available
The intensive application of agrochemicals in crops has negatively impacted the environment and other organisms. The use of naturally occurring compounds may be an alternative to mitigate these effects. Plants are secondary metabolite reservoirs and may present allelopathic activity, which is potentially interesting to be used in bioherbicide formu...
Article
Full-text available
The Passiflora genus, which is recognized for its economic and ecological potential, has been studied in botanical, systematic and evolutionary aspects. Currently, Passiflora is represented by five subgenera subdivided into 16 supersections, 31 sections and 13 series. However, their delimitations and relationships are still conflicting. We applied...
Article
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The Atlantic Forest is a biome that has suffered anthropic actions, such as the extraction of hardwood, which can lead to the extinction of endemic species of great economic and ecological value, such as Dalbergia nigra. In this perspective, large-scale multiplication studies are necessary to contribute to the conservation of this species. The obje...
Article
As passion fruit gains market share, it becomes important to evaluate the agronomic and phenological traits of cultivated and wild genotypes for genetic improvement and understand the influence of time of cultivation on plant behavior. This study aimed to investigate agronomic and phenological parameters of Passiflora suberosa, P. alata, P. malifor...
Article
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The development of tissue cultured-based protocols applied to braúna, an endangeres species, would be though highly desirable. However, contamination-free explants are determinant for the success of this technique, which might be vulnerable to the toxicity of disinfectants. Here, we aimed at establishing an efficient protocol for in vitro productio...
Article
Full-text available
Herein, the synthesis of nine novel glycerol-derived 4-alkyl-substituted 1,2,3-triazoles, using the Cu I-catalyzed alkyne-azide cycloaddition reaction as the key step, is reported. The triazoles were characterized by infrared and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR 1 H and 13 C) spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. The nine prepared compounds were evalu...
Article
Full-text available
The use of allelopathic compounds is an alternative for weeds control, since they present low toxicity when compared with the synthetic herbicides, that may cause several damages, as the contamination of the environment. Our objective was to determine the chemical composition and allelopathic properties of the essential oils of Psidium cattleianum,...
Article
Full-text available
Today, a great interest in Jatropha-based products exists worldwide, mainly for the production of biofuel. However, the oil obtained from this plant is known to be toxic due to contained curcins and phorbol esters. Bioassays, including plant cytogenetic assays based on cell cycle observation, are useful for determining the toxicity of J. curcas oil...
Article
Full-text available
Tissue culture in Passiflora has emerged as a strategy to propagate species with agronomic relevance, which is the main focus of most in vitro studies. Different morphogenic responses have been obtained under the same environmental in vitro conditions, mainly for species of the subgenus Passiflora with distinct 2n chromosome numbers. The aims of th...
Chapter
Full-text available
A família Passifloraceae sensu lato integra a ordem Malpighiales e agrupa as famílias Passifloraceae, Turneraceae e Malesherbiaceae, englobando cerca de 935 espécies, 27 gêneros, e compõem três subfamílias: Passifloroideae Burnett, Malesherbioideae Burnett, Turneroideae (Kunth ex de Candolle) Eaton (APG III 2009).
Article
On November 2015, one of Brazil's most important watersheds was impacted by the mine waste from Fundão dam collapse in Mariana. The mine waste traveled over 600 km along the Doce River before reaching the sea, causing severe devastation along its way. Here we assessed trace element concentrations and cytogenotoxic effects of the released mine waste...
Article
Full-text available
The tropical and subtropical naturalized physic nut (Jatropha curcas L.), has been explored for biodiesel production in recent times. The oil is extracted from the seeds and, for the production to be feasible, utilization of the residual seed cake is crucial. Although the cake could be employed as a protein source in animal feed, it is rich in phor...
Article
Passiflora é o principal gênero da família Passifloraceae, compreendendo cerca de 525 espécies, distribuídas em quatro subgêneros, Deidamioides, Astrophea, Passiflora e Decaloba. Neste último subgênero, estudos citogenéticos tem mostrado a ocorrência de espécies com número cromossômico de 2n = 12. Nesse sentido, abordagens citogenéticas vêm sendo a...
Article
Full-text available
O gênero Passiflora L. é o maior da família Passifloraceae, compreendendo cerca de 525 espécies. No Brasil, 141 espécies são registradas, das quais 85 são endêmicas. Dentre as espécies encontradas no Estado do Espírito Santo, detacamos a Passiflora suberosa, tambem conhecida como maracujazinho-cortiça-preto que é uma espécie tropical, utilizada com...
Article
Full-text available
A análise de viabilidade polínica de espécies de Passiflora L. é importante para cruzamentos em melhoramento genético, pois obtêm-se a taxa de fertilidade masculina. Nesse sentido, o presente trabalho teve como objetivo caracterizar a taxa de viabilidade polínica de quatro espécies de Passiflora: P. caerulea, P. foetida, P. miniata e P. mucronata....
Article
Full-text available
Myrsine coreacea tem se destacado na medicina popular por apresentar diferentes fitoquímicos em suas folhas e caules. A aplicação de compostos naturais extraídos de plantas com propriedades medicinais ou alelopáticas pode reduzir efeitos colaterais em relação à saúde humana, quando comparados com moléculas sintéticas. Mas para ser utilizado com seg...
Article
Full-text available
O estudo do potencial alelopático dos extratos e óleos essenciais das plantas tem se mostrado importante, já que tais produtos podem ser utilizados na produção de fármacos e de defensivos agrícolas. A Myrsine coreacea é reconhecida por suas propriedades químicas e suas atividades biológicas, porém seu potencial alelopático ainda não foi estudado. U...
Article
Full-text available
A utilização de defensivos agrícolas sintéticos tem se intensificado cada vez mais a fim de manter a segurança alimentar. Entretanto, a medida que as aplicações vão sendo realizadas, esses defensivos vão apresentando decréscimo em sua eficácia. Além disso, há grandes debates acerca dos danos ambientais e à saúde humana que esses compostos químicos...
Article
Pollen viability is essential for the sexual reproduction in plants. Genetic and environmental factors as well as plant age can influence this characteristic. In this work, pollen viability was studied in guava (Psidium guajava L.), a cross-pollination species. The genetic parameters for this characteristic were estimated considering 22 genotypes,...
Article
Full-text available
Os óleos essenciais são substâncias voláteis que vêm despertando interesse no setor agrícola, devido o grande potencial que possuem no controle de pragas. Assim, objetivo deste trabalho foi determinar a composição química do óleo essencial de folhas de Lippia alba e avaliar o seu potencial mutagênico. Para isso, o óleo essencial foi obtido por hidr...
Article
Full-text available
Tissue culture has been widely employed in Jatropha curcas L. for the clonal multiplication of superior genotypes. However, the evaluation of genetic stability is necessary to detect somaclonal variants. In this context, the present aim was to evaluate the genetic stability of J. curcas plantlets, obtained via indirect organogenesis, by means of IS...
Article
Full-text available
Chromosome morphometry and nuclear DNA content are useful data for cytotaxonomy and for understanding the evolutionary history of different taxa. However, the chromosome number is the only karyotype aspect reported for the species of Dorstenia so far. In this study, the nuclear genome size of Dorstenia arifolia (Lamarck, 1786), Dorstenia bonijesu (...