Benzoxazinoids in root exudates of maize attract Pseudomonas putida to the rhizosphere.

Benzoxazinoids, such as 2,4-dihydroxy-7-methoxy-2H-1,4-benzoxazin-3(4H)-one (DIMBOA), are secondary metabolites in grasses. In addition to their function in plant defence against pests and diseases above-ground, benzoxazinoids (BXs) have also been implicated in defence below-ground, where they can exert allelochemical or antimicrobial activities. We have studied the impact of BXs on the interaction between maize and Pseudomonas putida KT2440, a competitive coloniser of the maize rhizosphere with plant-beneficial traits.

Benzoxazinoid metabolites regulate innate immunity against aphids and fungi in maize.

Benzoxazinoids (BXs), such as 2,4-dihydroxy-7-methoxy-2H-1,4-benzoxazin-3(4H)-one (DIMBOA), are secondary metabolites in grasses. The first step in BX biosynthesis converts indole-3-glycerol phosphate into indole. In maize (Zea mays), this reaction is catalyzed by either BENZOXAZINELESS1 (BX1) or INDOLE GLYCEROL PHOSPHATE LYASE (IGL).

Natural variation in priming of basal resistance: from evolutionary origin to agricultural exploitation.

Biotic stress has a major impact on the process of natural selection in plants. As plants have evolved under variable environmental conditions, they have acquired a diverse spectrum of defensive strategies against pathogens and herbivores. Genetic variation in the expression of plant defence offers valuable insights into the evolution of these strategies.

Belowground ABA boosts aboveground production of DIMBOA and primes induction of chlorogenic acid in maize.

Plants are important mediators between above- and belowground herbivores. Consequently, interactions between root and shoot defenses can have far-reaching impacts on entire food webs. We recently reported that infestation of maize roots by larvae of the beetle Diabrotica virgifera virgifera induced shoot resistance against herbivores and pathogens.

Aphid resistance in wheat varieties.

As an environmentally compatible alternative to the use of conventional insecticides to control cereal aphids, we have investigated the possibility to exploit natural resistance to insect pests in wheat varieties. We have tested a wide range of hexaploid (Triticum aestivum), tetraploid (T. durum) and diploid (T.

Developments in aspects of ecological phytochemistry: the role of cis-jasmone in inducible defence systems in plants.

The challenges and opportunities for protecting agricultural production of food and other materials will be met through exploiting the induction of defence pathways in plants to control pests, diseases and weeds. These approaches will involve processes that can be activated by application of natural products, patented in terms of this use, to "switch on" defence pathways. Already, a number of secondary metabolite defence compounds are known for which the pathways are conveniently clustered genomically, e.

cis-Jasmone induces accumulation of defence compounds in wheat, Triticum aestivum.

Liquid phase extraction (LPE) and vapor phase extraction (VPE) methodologies were used to evaluate the impact of the plant activator, cis-jasmone, on the secondary metabolism of wheat, Triticum aestivum, var. Solstice. LPE allowed the measurement of benzoxazinoids, i.

Glutamine transport and feedback regulation of nitrate reductase activity in barley roots leads to changes in cytosolic nitrate pools.

The size of tissue amino acid pools in plants may indicate nitrogen status and provide a signal that can regulate nitrate uptake and assimilation. The effects of treating barley roots with glutamine have been examined, first to identify the transport system for the uptake of the amino acid and then to measure root NR activity and cellular pools of nitrate. Treating N replete roots with glutamine elicited a change in the cell membrane potential and the size of this response was concentration dependent.

Restricted spatial expression of a high-affinity phosphate transporter in potato roots.

Phosphorus deficiency limits plant growth, and high-affinity phosphate transporters, of the Pht1 family, facilitate phosphate uptake and translocation. The family is subdivided into root specific, phosphate deprivation induced members and those also expressed in leaves. An antibody to StPT2, a potato root specific transporter, detected two bands (52 kDa and 30 kDa) on western blots of root plasma membrane extracts that were most intense in whole extracts from the root tip and slightly increased throughout the root in response to phosphate depletion.

Effects of efrapeptin and destruxin, metabolites of entomogenous fungi, on the hydrolytic activity of a vacuolar type ATPase identified on the brush border membrane vesicles of Galleria mellonella midgut and on plant membrane bound hydrolytic enzymes.

The brush border membrane of the insect midgut is an initial site for interaction of insecticidal proteins. We have investigated the possibility that it may contain a target site for two insecticidal fungal toxins, destruxin and efrapeptin, both of which are ATPase inhibitors. We have studied the effects of the toxins on the hydrolytic activity of a vacuolar type ATPase (V-ATPase) that we have identified from Galleria mellonella midgut columnar cell brush border membrane vesicles (BBMV) by its cation and pH dependence, sensitivity to proton pump inhibitors and K(m) (0.

Structural aspects of the effectiveness of bisphosphonates as competitive inhibitors of the plant vacuolar proton-pumping pyrophosphatase.

The bisphosphonates (general structure PO3-R-PO3) competitively inhibit soluble and membrane-bound inorganic pyrophosphatases (PPases) with differing degrees of specificity. Aminomethylenebisphosphonate (AMBP; HC(PO3)2NH2) is a potent, specific inhibitor of the PPase of higher plant vacuoles (V-PPase). To explore the possibility of constructing photoactivatable probes from bisphosphonates to label the active site of V-PPase we analysed the effects of different analogues on the hydrolytic and proton pumping activity of the enzyme.

Tris Is a Competitive Inhibitor of K+ Activation of the Vacuolar H+-Pumping Pyrophosphatase.

The effects of a range of commonly used pH buffers on the hydrolytic activity of the plant vacuolar H+-transporting inorganic pyrophosphatase (V-PPase) from mung bean (Vigna radiata L.) hypocotyls were tested. All of the buffers inhibited K+ stimulation of the V-PPase, and the degree of inhibition was dependent on the concentrations of both the buffer and K+.

Cercospora beticola toxins. Part XVII. The role of the beticolin/Mg2+ complexes in their biological activity. Study of plasma membrane H(+)-ATPase, vacuolar H(+)-PPase, alkaline and acid phosphatases.

Beticolin-1 and beticolin-2, yellow toxins produced by the phytopathogenic fungus Cercospora beticola, inhibit the plasma membrane H(+)-ATPase. Firstly, since beticolins are able to form complexes with Mg2+, the role of the beticolin/Mg2+ complexes in the inhibition of the plasma membrane proton pump has been investigated. Calculations indicate that beticolins could exist under several forms, in the H(+)-ATPase assay mixture, both free or complexed with Mg2+.

The Role of Magnesium, Pyrophosphate, and Their Complexes as Substrates and Activators of the Vacuolar H+-Pumping Inorganic Pyrophosphatase (Studies Using Ligand Protection from Covalent Inhibitors).

Inhibitors preferentially and covalently reactive with cysteine, arginine, histidine, and carboxyl-containing residues were inhibitory to the plant vacuolar H+-transporting inorganic pyrophosphatase (H+-PPase) from Vigna radiata (mung bean) and Beta vulgaris (red beet), but hydrophobic compounds and those reactive with tyrosine and lysine were less effective. Inhibition by 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide, phenylglyoxal, and N-ethylmaleimide was decreased in the presence of Mg2+ or mixtures of Mg2+ and inorganic pyrophosphate (PPi) but not by PPi alone. None of these ligands affected inhibition by reagents reactive with histidine.

The H(+)-pumping inorganic pyrophosphatase of the vacuolar membrane of higher plants.

The vacuolar H(+)-translocating pyrophosphatase (H(+)-PPase) of plants is a member of a new class of energized ion translocases. The development of our understanding of this enzyme is briefly reviewed, including the evidence for its physiological role in H(+)-pumping and K+ transport into the vacuole, the identity of the polypeptides components, the cloning and sequencing of a cDNA encoding the catalytic subunit, and the partitioning of function between cytosolic and membrane domains of the protein. Lack of information about the identity of the substrate, activators and inhibitors of the H(+)-PPase has been a major barrier to the latter work.

Characterisation of an intermediate in neurophysin biosynthesis in the guinea pig.

In addition to oxytocin (OT), vasopressin (AVP) and their respective neurophysins (NPs), another [35S]cysteine incorporating component is present in the guinea pig neurohypophysis. Gel filtration and Con A affinity chromatography revealed that this component was larger than NP and was glycosylated. NP-immunoreactivity was assessed using antisera which distinguish the OT- and AVP-related NPs.