Title
Stereochemical Assignment of Strigolactone Analogues Confirms Their Selective Biological Activity
Author
Emma Artuso, Elena Ghibaudi, Beatrice Lace, Domenica Marabello, Daniele Vinciguerra, Chiara Lombardi, Hinanit Koltai, Yoram Kapulnik, Mara Novero, Ernesto G. Occhiato, Dina Scarpi, Stefano Parisotto, Annamaria Deagostino, Paolo Venturello, Einav Mayzlish-Gati, Ariel Bier, Cristina Prandi
Year
2015
Journal
Journal of Natural Products
Abstract
Strigolactones (SLs) are new plant hormones with various developmental functions. They are also soil signaling chemicals that are required for establishing beneficial mycorrhizal plant/fungus symbiosis. In addition, SLs play an essential role in inducing seed germination in root-parasitic weeds, which are one of the seven most serious biological threats to food security. There are around 20 natural SLs that are produced by plants in very low quantities. Therefore, most of the knowledge on SL signal transduction and associated molecular events is based on the application of synthetic analogues. Stereochemistry plays a crucial role in the structure–activity relationship of SLs, as compounds with an unnatural D-ring configuration may induce biological effects that are unrelated to SLs. We have synthesized a series of strigolactone analogues, whose absolute configuration has been elucidated and related with their biological activity, thus confirming the high specificity of the response. Analogues bearing the R-configured butenolide moiety showed enhanced biological activity, which highlights the importance of this stereochemical motif.
Instrument
J-815
Keywords
Circular dichroism, Absolute configuration, Pharmaceutical, Natural products