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Largamides A-H, unusual cyclic peptides from the marine cyanobacterium Oscillatoria sp.

Seven new depsipeptides, termed largamides A-G (1-7), and one new cyclic peptide, largamide H (8), have been isolated from the marine cyanobacterium Oscillatoria sp. Their structures were determined by NMR and ESI-MS techniques. The absolute configurations were assigned using LC-MS, chiral HPLC, and combined analysis of homonuclear and heteronuclear (2,3)J couplings, along with ROE data. Largamides, isolated from a single homogeneous cyanobacterial collection, represent three different structural classes of peptides. Largamides A-C (1-3) are characterized by the unusual occurrence of a senecioic acid unit, while largamides B (2) and C (3) possess in addition the rare 2-amino-5-(4'-hydroxyphenyl)pentanoic acid (Ahppa) and the novel 2-amino-6-(4'-hydroxyphenyl)hexanoic acid (Ahpha), respectively. Largamides D-G (4-7) are the first 3-amino-6-hydroxy-2-piperidone acid (Ahp)-containing depsipeptides reported with the rare Ahppa unit. Largamide H (8) is a unique cyclic peptide displaying a new 2,5-dihydroxylated beta-amino acid moiety, a methoxylated derivative of Ahppa, and two residues of the nonstandard 2,3-dehydro-2-aminobutanoic acid (Dab). Largamides D-G (4-7) inhibited chymotrypsin with IC(50) values ranging between 4 and 25 microM.

Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid↗

Enantiospecific Synthesis of (+)-Nemorensic Acid, a Necic Acid Component of the Macropyrrolizidine Alkaloid, Nemorensine.

A concise enantiospecific synthesis of nemorensic acid 3, a necic acid component of the macropyrrolizidine alkaloid nemorensine 2, isolated from Senecio nemorensis L., is described. Reaction of an epsilon-halo-alpha,beta-unsaturated ester (8), readily accessible from a monoterpene (-)-carvone, with samarium iodide gave a fragmentation product (9), where a carbon-carbon bond cleavage reaction occurred between the gamma and delta positions of the carbonyl group, regioselectively. Deprotection of the silyl group of 9 brought about an intramolecular cyclization to provide tetrahydrofuran derivatives (10), which, upon chemical modification of the side chain, gave nemorensic acid.

Journal Article↗

Bioactive amides from Glycosmis species.

Besides the known imide ritigalin (9), six new phenethyl/styrylamine-derived amides isolated from lipophilic leaf extracts of Glycosmis cf. mauritiana, Glycosmis cf. cyanocarpa, and Glycosmis crassifolia displayed pronounced antifungal and/or insecticidal activity against Cladosporium herbarum and Spodoptera littoralis, respectively, the methylthiocarbonic acid derivatives niranin (1), dehydroniranin A (2), and dehydroniranin B (3) as well as the isovaleric and senecioic acid derivatives thalebanin B (4), dehydrothalebanin B (5), and dehydrothalebanin A (6).

Amides↗

Malayenolides A-D, novel diterpenes from the indonesian sea pen veretillum malayense

Malayenolides A-D (1-4), four new briarane diterpenes, were isolated from the sea pen Veretillum malayense collected in Indonesia. The new diterpenes possess benzoate and senecioate substitutents, both of which are rare among marine natural products. The structures of the new compounds were determined from spectral data. Compounds 1-4 are toxic to brine shrimp.

Journal Article↗

Effect of smoke, charred wood, and nitrogenous compounds on seed germination of ten species from woodland in central-western Spain.

The effect of smoke, charred wood, and nitrogenous compounds on germination was tested on 10 species of the Cistaceae, Poaceae, Fabaceae, and Asteraceae, from fire-prone, shrubby woodlands in central-western Spain. Dry seeds were exposed to smoke, by watering with distilled water-charred wood suspensions, or NaNO2, KNO3, NH4Cl, and NH4NO3. Smoke enhanced germination in 9 of 10 of the species. In species of Poaceae, germination was stimulated by 20 min of smoke exposure. In Asteraceae and Fabaceae species, 10 min of smoke exposure was the most effective treatment for enhancing germination. Three species--Cistus ladanifer, Cistus crispus, and Cistus monspeliensis--had a positive response to 20 min of smoke exposure; germination of Cistus salviifolius L. was also enhanced after 10 min. The effect of charred wood was variable, with no consistent germination pattern within the families. Trifolium angustifolium and Retama sphaerocarpa showed no stimulation of germination under most of the charred wood concentrations. Similarly, germination of Senecio jacobea under the charred wood treatment did not surpass that of the control. NaNO2 promoted seed germination in Dactylis glomerata (10 mM), Cistus ladanifer (1, 10, and 25 mM), and Cistus crispus (1 and 10 mM). KNO3 enhanced germination in Dactylis glomerata (1 and 25 mM), Dittrichia viscosa (10 and 25 mM), C. ladanifer (1, 10, and 25 mM), Cistus crispus (1 and 25 mM), and C. salviifolius aud C. monspeliensis (25 mM). NH4Cl induced germination of Dactylis glomerata and Dittrichia viscosa (1 mM), and Cistus species germinated best in 25 mM of this salt. NH4NO3 induced germination only in Cistus species. Holcus lanatus had the highest level of germination regardless of treatment.

Adaptation, Physiological↗

Acquired and partially de novo synthesized pyrrolizidine alkaloids in two polyphagous arctiids and the alkaloid profiles of their larval food-plants.

The profiles of pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) in the two highly polyphagous arctiids Estigmene acrea and Grammia geneura and their potential PA sources in southeastern Arizona were compiled. One of four species of Boraginaceae, Plagiobothrys arizonicus, contained PAs; this is the first PA record for this plant species. The principle PA sources are Senecio longilobus (Asteraceae) and Crotalaria pumila (Fabaceae). The known PA pattern of S. longilobus was extended; the species was found to contain six closely related PAs of the senecionine type. Three novel PAs of the monocrotaline type, named pumilines A-C, were isolated and characterized from C. pumila, a species not studied before. The pumilines are the major PAs in the seeds, while in the vegetative organs they are accompanied by the simple necine derivatives supinidine and as the dominant compound subulacine (1beta,2beta-epoxytrachelanthamidine). In both plant species, the PAs are stored as N-oxides, except C. pumila seeds, which accumulate the free bases. Great variation in PA composition was observed between local populations of C. pumila. The PA profiles were established for larvae and adults of E. acrea that as larvae had fed on an artificial diet supplemented with crotalaria-powder and of G. geneura fed with S. longilobus. In both experiments, the larvae had a free choice between the respective PA source and diet or food plants free of PAs. The profiles compiled for the two species reflect the alkaloid profiles of their PA sources with one exception, subulacine could never be detected in E. acrea. Besides acquired PAs, insect PAs synthesized from acquired necine bases and necic acids of insect origin were detected in the two arctiid species. These insect PAs that do not occur in the larval food sources accounted for some 40-70% (E. acrea) and 17-37% (G. geneura) of total PAs extracted from the insects. A number of novel insect PAs were identified. Plant-acquired and insect PAs were found to accumulate as N-oxides. The results are discussed in relation to specific biochemical, electrophysiological, and behavioral mechanisms involved in PA sequestration by arctiids.

Animals↗

Atrazine resistance entails a limited xanthophyll cycle activity, a lower PSII efficiency and an altered pattern of excess excitation dissipation.

Atrazine-resistant (AR) weeds have a modified D1 protein structure, with a Ser264-->Gly mutation on the D1 protein, near the plastoquinone binding niche. The photosynthetic performance, the light response of the xanthophyll cycle and chlorophyll fluorescence quenching-related parameters were compared in attached leaves of susceptible (S) and AR biotypes of the C3 dicot Chenopodium album L., Epilobium adenocaulon Hausskn., Erigeron canadensis L., Senecio vulgaris L. and Solanum nigrum L. and the C4 dicot Amaranthus retroflexus L. grown under natural high-light conditions. No significant difference in CO2 assimilation rate per leaf area unit was found between the S and AR biotypes of the investigated C3 plants, whereas the AR biotype of A. retroflexus exhibited a relatively poor photosynthetic performance. The D1 protein mutant plants expressed a reduced activity of light-stimulated zeaxanthin formation. Neither the lower violaxanthin de-epoxidase activity nor the depletion of ascorbate seems to be the cause of the lower in vivo zeaxanthin formation in the AR plants. All the D1 mutant weeds had limited light-induced non-photochemical (NPQ) and photochemical (qP) quenching capacities, and displayed a higher photosensitivity, as characterized by the ratio (1-qP)/NPQ and a higher susceptibility to photoinhibition. Analysis of the chlorophyll fluorescence parameters showed that a lower proportion of excitation energy was allocated to PSII photochemistry, while a higher excess of excitation remained in the AR weeds relative to the S plants.

Journal Article↗

A pheromone-binding protein from the cockroach Leucophaea maderae: cloning, expression and pheromone binding.

Odorant-binding proteins (OBPs) are thought to transport volatile compounds from air to their receptors through the sensillary lymph. In this protein family, the subgroup of pheromone-binding proteins (PBPs) is specifically tuned to the perception of the sexual pheromone. To date, the description of OBPs has been restricted to Endopterygota and Paraneoptera. Their expression in Orthopteroid has been hypothesized, but no evidence of OBP has been produced in this assemblage to date. In the present study, we describe the first OBP from a Dictyopteran insect that belongs to the cockroach Leucophaea maderae. The PBP of L. maderae (PBPLma) shares all the hallmarks of the OBP family and is expressed specifically in the female adult antennae, the sex that perceives the sexual pheromone. The affinity of the recombinant PBPLma produced in the Escherichia coli periplasm for the pheromonal compounds has been tested by displacement of a fluorophore, 8-anilino-1-naphtalenesulphonic acid (ANS). Our results suggest that two chemically close compounds of the pheromonal blend (3-hydroxy-butan-2-one and butane-2,3-diol) are capable of displacing ANS, whereas two other pheromone components (E-2-octenoic acid and senecioic acid) and other alkyl volatile compounds are not capable of displacing ANS, indicating a certain filtering of binding, which can be correlated with the putative function.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Evolutionary recruitment of a flavin-dependent monooxygenase for the detoxification of host plant-acquired pyrrolizidine alkaloids in the alkaloid-defended arctiid moth Tyria jacobaeae.

Larvae of Tyria jacobaeae feed solely upon the pyrrolizidine alkaloid-containing plant Senecio jacobaea. Ingested pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs), which are toxic to unspecialized insects and vertebrates, are efficiently N-oxidized in the hemolymph of T. jacobaeae by senecionine N-oxygenase (SNO), a flavin-dependent monooxygenase (FMO) with a high substrate specificity for PAs. Peptide microsequences obtained from purified T. jacobaeae SNO were used to clone the corresponding cDNA, which was expressed in active form in Escherichia coli. T. jacobaeae SNO possesses a signal peptide characteristic of extracellular proteins, and it belongs to a large family of mainly FMO-like sequences of mostly unknown function, including two predicted Drosophila melanogaster gene products. The data indicate that the gene for T. jacobaeae SNO, highly specific for toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids, was recruited from a preexisting insect-specific FMO gene family of hitherto unknown function. The enzyme allows the larvae to feed on PA-containing plants and to accumulate predation-deterrent PAs in the hemolymph.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Molecular evolution by change of function. Alkaloid-specific homospermidine synthase retained all properties of deoxyhypusine synthase except binding the eIF5A precursor protein.

Deoxyhypusine synthase participates in the post-translational activation of the eukaryotic initiation factor 5A (eIF5A). The enzyme transfers the aminobutyl moiety of spermidine to a specific lysine residue in the eIF5A precursor protein, i.e. eIF5A(lys). Homospermidine synthase catalyzes an analogous reaction but uses putrescine instead of eIF5A(lys) as substrate yielding the rare polyamine homospermidine as product. Homospermidine is an essential precursor in the biosynthesis of pyrrolizidine alkaloids, an important class of plant defense compounds against herbivores. Sequence comparisons of the two enzymes indicate an evolutionary origin of homospermidine synthase from ubiquitous deoxyhypusine synthase. The two recombinant enzymes from Senecio vernalis were purified, and their properties were compared. Protein-protein binding and kinetic substrate competition studies confirmed that homospermidine synthase, in comparison to deoxyhypusine synthase, lost the ability to bind the eIF5A(lys) to its surface. The two enzymes show the same unique substrate specificities, catalyze the aminobutylation of putrescine with the same specific activities, and exhibit almost identical Michaelis kinetics. In conclusion, homospermidine synthase behaves like a deoxyhypusine synthase that lost its major function (aminobutylation of eIF5A precursor protein) but retained unaltered its side activity (aminobutylation of putrescine). It is suggested as having evolved from deoxyhypusine synthase by gene duplication and being recruited for a new function.

Alkyl and Aryl Transferases↗

Haemolytic crisis associated with ragwort poisoning and rail chewing in two thoroughbred fillies.

Events leading to the deaths of two fillies at pasture are described. Pasture hay containing the flowering stages of Senecio jacobea (ragwort) had been fed three to four months earlier. Paddocks were subdivided with posts and rails treated with copper chrome arsenate. Six horses on the property chewed rails spasmodically. Both fillies presented with haemoglobinurea. Values in liver of 83 mg Cu kg and kidney 35 mg Cu kg wet weight and serum 1.4 mg Cu/l together with histophathology of seneciosis support a sequence of ragwort poisoning followed by copper accumulation in liver and kidney terminating in a haemolytic crisis. The source of copper appeared to he from wood containing concentrations of copper of 0.17% at the core and 1.68% in shavings from surface of treated timber.

Journal Article↗

Determination of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in honey from selected sites by solid phase extraction and HPLC-MS.

A method was developed for the determination in honey of the Ragwort (Senecio jacobaea) derived pyrrolizidine alkaloids jacoline, jacozine, jacobine, seneciphylline and senecionine, combining solid-phase extraction with high performance liquid chromatography and atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometric detection. The method allowed determination of individual alkaloids and offered a considerable improvement in terms of speed, sensitivity and specificity over previous approaches, but was not suitable for determination of jaconine, a minor alkaloid in Ragwort. Instrument calibrations were linear over the range 0.005 to 100 micrograms/ml, equivalent to approximately 0.001 to 2.0 mg/kg in honey with the extraction method used and allowing for observed recoveries. Detection limits in honey were 0.002 mg/kg. Recoveries for most of the alkaloids were between 57 and 70%. The alkaloids have been determined in a number of samples of honey selected after pollen identification and counting. The alkaloids were not detectable in samples containing two grains or less of Ragwort pollen per gram of honey. Samples collected in late July and August contained Ragwort pollen at 15-21 grains/g and total alkaloid concentrations of 0.011-0.056 mg/kg. Similar contributions to the total were made by jacozine, seneciophylline and senecionine, with jacobine making a larger and jacoline a smaller contribution. Two samples of honey containing Ragwort pollen at 24 and 16 grains/g had total alkaloid concentrations of 0.42 and 1.48 mg/kg respectively (not corrected for recovery). The alkaloid profile in these samples was dominated by seneciphylline and senecionine which together comprised 90-95% of the total. Alkaloids were not detected in retail honeys.

Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid↗

A new insecticidal protolimonoid from Aegle marmelos.

Bioassay-directed fractionation of the ethyl acetate extracts of the stem bark of Aegle marmelos Correa (Rutaceae) afforded a new compound, named skimmiarepin C, along with skimmiarepin A. The latter is a known compound but isolation from A. marmelos is new. The new compound is a senecioate ester analogue of the latter. Full identification of the new compound was achieved using spectroscopic methods on the separated mono-acetate derivatives. Skimmiarepins A and C exhibit moderate insecticidal activity against Phaedon cochleariae and Musca domestica in comparison with natural pyrethrum extract. The two epimeric acetates of skimmiarepin C are both less active.

Aegle↗

Protective action of zinc against pyrrolizidine alkaloid-induced hepatotoxicity in rats.

The influence of Zn on the acute hepatotoxicity of pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) was determined in male rats. Zinc, 72 mumol/kg as ZnCl2, was administered ip for 3 consecutive days, followed 16 h after the last dose by a single ip injection of purified mixed PAs (80, 120, or 160 mg/kg) obtained from tansy ragwort (Senecio jacobaea). Hepatotoxicity of the PAs was assessed by measuring the activities of plasma glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT) and glutamic-pyruvic transaminase (GPT) and by histological examination of the liver. There was a dose-dependent increase in plasma GOT and GTP 24 h after PA administration, whereas no significant increase of these enzymes was seen after administering Zn alone. The 7-fold increase in plasma GOT and 12-fold increase in GPT after PA (120 mg/kg) were reduced to 2.4- and 2.1-fold, respectively, by Zn pretreatment. The PA-induced liver necrosis was either reduced in severity or abolished by Zn when the PA dose was 80 or 120 mg/kg. These results suggest a protective effect of Zn against PA hepatotoxicity. The protective effect was associated with a marked increase in liver metallothionein and a significant decrease in hepatic cytochrome P-450 content, aminopyrine N-demethylase activity, and in vitro microsomal conversion of the PAs to pyrroles. Liver nonprotein sulfhydryls were unchanged. The possible role of metallothionein in the sequestration of pyrrole metabolites merits further investigation.

Alanine Transaminase↗

The different mechanisms of sporophytic self-incompatibility.

Flowering plants have evolved a multitude of mechanisms to avoid self-fertilization and promote outbreeding. Self-incompatibility (SI) is by far the most common of these, and is found in ca. 60% of flowering plants. SI is a genetically controlled pollen-pistil recognition system that provides a barrier to fertilization by self and self-related pollen in hermaphrodite (usually co-sexual) flowering plants. Two genetically distinct forms of SI can be recognized: gametophytic SI (GSI) and sporophytic SI (SSI), distinguished by how the incompatibility phenotype of the pollen is determined. GSI appears to be the most common mode of SI and can operate through at least three different mechanisms, two of which have been characterized extensively at a molecular level in the Solanaceae and Papaveraceae. Because molecular studies of SSI have been largely confined to species from the Brassicaceae, predominantly Brassica species, it is not yet known whether SSI, like GSI, can operate through different molecular mechanisms. Molecular studies of SSI are now being carried out on Ipomoea trifida (Convolvulaceae) and Senecio squalidus (Asteraceae) and are providing important preliminary data suggesting that SSI in these two families does not share the same molecular mechanism as that of the Brassicaceae. Here, what is currently known about the molecular regulation of SSI in the Brassicaceae is briefly reviewed, and the emerging data on SSI in I. trifida, and more especially in S. squalidus, are discussed.

Brassicaceae↗

Further evidence for an elongation-decarboxylation mechanism in the biosynthesis of paraffins in leaves.

In isolated tobacco leaves l-valine-U-(14)C gave rise to labeled even-numbered isobranched fatty acids containing 16 to 26 carbon atoms and iso C(29), iso C(31), and iso C(33) paraffins. l-Isoleucine-U-(14)C on the other hand produced labeled odd-numbered anteiso C(17) to C(27) fatty acids and anteiso C(30) and C(32) paraffins. Trichloroacetic acid inhibited the incorporation of isobutyrate into C(20) and higher fatty acids and paraffins without affecting the synthesis of the C(16) and C(18) fatty acids. Thus the very long branched fatty acids are biosynthetically related to the paraffins. In Senecio odoris leaves acetate-1-(14)C was incorporated into the paraffins (mainly n-C(31)) only in the epidermis although acetate was readily incorporated into fatty acids in the mesophyll tissue. Similarly only the epidermal tissue incorporated acetate into fatty acids longer than C(18) suggesting that the epidermis is the site of synthesis of both paraffins and the very long fatty acids. In broccoli leaves n-C(12) acid labeled with (14)C in the carboxyl carbon and (3)H in the methylene carbons was incorporated into C(29) paraffin without the loss of (14)C relative to (3)H. Since n-C(18) acid is known to be incorporated into the paraffin without loss of carboxyl carbon these results suggest that the condensation of C(12) acid with C(18) acid is not responsible for n-C(29) paraffin synthesis in this tissue. Thus all the experimental evidence thus far obtained strongly suggests that elongation of fatty acids followed by decarboxylation is the most likely pathway for paraffin biosynthesis in leaves.

Journal Article↗

Lipid composition of chloroplast membranes from weed biotypes differentially sensitive to triazine herbicides.

Chloroplasts were isolated from triazine-sensitive and triazine-resistant biotypes of common groundsel (Senecio vulgaris L.), common lambsquarter (Chenopodium album L.), and redroot pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus L.). Chloroplast lipids were extracted and analyzed for differences among sensitive and resistant biotypes. The distribution of lipid between major lipid classes differed in chloroplasts from resistant and susceptible biotypes. Chloroplasts from resistant biotypes contained higher proportions of monogalactosyl diglyceride and phosphatidyl ethanolamine and lower proportions of digalactosyl diglyceride and phosphatidyl choline than did chloroplasts from susceptible biotypes. Monogalactosyl diglyceride and phosphatidyl ethanolamine were also quantitatively higher in membranes of resistant versus susceptible biotypes. The major lipid classes of resistant chloroplast membranes contained lipids comparatively richer in unsaturated fatty acids with the exceptions of digalactosyl diglyceride from all three biotypes and phosphatidyl ethanolamine from common groundsel. Results correlated changes in triazine sensitivity with qualitative and quantitative differences in the lipid composition of chloroplast membranes.

Journal Article↗

Is modulation of the rate of proton pumping a key event in osmoregulation?

The net uptake of 3-O-methylglucose into leaf segments obtained from Senecio mikanioides Otto, and net proton efflux from the segments, were both promoted when the osmotic potential of the medium was decreased by addition of mannitol, sorbitol, or polyethylene glycol (optimal osmolarity, 0.3 Osmolar for mannitol and sorbitol). The effect was not due to promotion of ;aging', since the antibiotic cerulenin suppressed aging without reducing the size of the mannitol stimulation; further, mannitol did not accelerate aging. Neither was the effect ascribable to diminished efflux (i.e. reduced ;leak' because: first, visualization of the unidirectional sugar fluxes by double labeling indicated that the effect of added osmoticum was to promote influx rather than to reduce efflux; second, compartment analysis did not suggest any effect of mannitol on the rate constants for efflux from either the slowly equilibrating or more rapidly equilibrating compartment. The effect was not specific to poly-ols since it was also obtained with betaine and choline chloride. Since methyl glucose is not taken up into the phloem it could not be ascribed to a turgor effect on phloem loading. We conclude that the effect may reflect osmoregulation. As the sugar flux is probably driven by protonmotive force, it is likely that the effects on proton flux and on sugar flux are related. We suggest that the plasmalemma-sited proton pump is sensitive to the hydrostatic pressure gradient across the plasmalemma-cell wall complex, and functions both as detector and as effector in osmoregulation.

Journal Article↗