Publications by authors named "Kensuke Nabeta"

Article Synopsis
  • Two genes, PpRSH2a and PpRSH2b, from the moss Physcomitrella patens are involved in synthesizing ppGpp, a molecule critical for the bacterial stress response.
  • Both genes were tested in E. coli, confirming their ability to produce ppGpp and were found localized in the chloroplasts of P. patens.
  • Expression of these genes increases in response to stressors like dehydration and UV light, and their overexpression leads to reduced growth when glucose is present, indicating a possible regulatory mechanism for plant growth.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The hormonal action of jasmonate in plants is regulated by its production and breakdown, with cytochrome P450s CYP94B3 and CYP94C1 playing key roles in its inactivation.
  • CYP94B3 not only helps in the inactivation of jasmonoyl-L-isoleucine but also catalyzes the hydroxylation of other jasmonoyl amino acids, leading to less active metabolites that accumulate after plant wounding.
  • The study also identifies 12-O-β-glucopyranosyl-jasmonoyl-L-isoleucine as a new metabolite related to jasmonoyl-L-isoleucine, which rises in concentration following plant damage.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • β-Glucosidases are enzymes that help break down sugar compounds, and one of their roles in plants is to convert inactive forms of phytohormones into active ones, which is important for hormone regulation.
  • Researchers identified two specific β-glucosidases in rice, OsTAGG1 and OsTAGG2, that are involved in processing tuberonic acid, a compound that promotes tuber growth in potatoes, especially in response to stress.
  • The study produced a recombinant version of OsTAGG2, which maintains high activity and stability under various conditions, revealing that it prefers hydrolyzing salicylic acid β-D-glucoside over tuberonic acid β-D-glucoside, despite initially being isolated based on
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In plants, jasmonic acid (JA) and its derivatives are thought to be involved in mobile forms of defense against biotic and abiotic stresses. In this study, the distal transport of JA-isoleucine (JA-Ile) that is synthesized de novo in response to leaf wounding in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) plants was investigated. JA-[¹³C₆]Ile was recovered in distal untreated leaves after wounded leaves were treated with [¹³C₆]Ile.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The C-7 position of jasmonate is important for creating a probe for chemical biology research.
  • We successfully synthesized a fluorescent version of methyl jasmonate to test its effectiveness.
  • The compound showed inhibition of root growth and meandering activity in Arabidopsis thaliana, with strong fluorescent signals in the roots and root hairs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

We have previously reported a tetraketide origin for theobroxide and its related compound. In the present study, bioconversion of natural and deuterium-labeled precursors of this proposed biosynthetic pathway by Lasiodipoldia theobromae was investigated. Theobroxide was quantified after bioconversion from each proposed precursor.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Recently we reported that rice salicylic acid (SA) glucosyltransferase (OsSGT) is active toward 12-hydroxyjasmonic acid (tuberonic acid, TA) and that OsSGT gene expression is induced by wounding stress. Here we report that tobacco SA glucosyltransferase (NtSGT), which is thought to be an ortholog of OsSGT, is also active toward TA. Although NtSGT expression is known to be induced by biotrophic stress, it was also induced by wounding stress in the same manner as OsSGT.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The hormonal action of jasmonate in plants is controlled by the precise balance between its biosynthesis and catabolism. It has been shown that jasmonyl-L-isoleucine (JA-Ile) is the bioactive form involved in the jasmonate-mediated signaling pathway. However, the catabolism of JA-Ile is poorly understood.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The crude extract of Brucea javanica demonstrated strong inhibitory effects against Trypanosoma evansi, a parasite responsible for certain diseases.
  • Bruceines A, C, and bruceantinol were identified as the most effective compounds among isolated quassinoids.
  • Structural analysis showed that the free hydroxyl groups at specific positions (C-3, C-11, C-12) are crucial for their antitrypanosomal activity, with C-11 and C-12 being more critical than C-3, while C-4' does not significantly influence the activity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The synthesis of JA-Ile was catalysed by JA-Ile synthase, which is a member of the group I GH3 family of proteins. Here, we showed evidence that OsGH3.5 (OsJAR1) and OsGH3.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Treating the leaves of sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum L. var. grossum) with an aqueous solution of cellulase resulted in a four-fold increase in the salicylic acid level compared to a control plant.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Determining the mobile signal used by plants to defend against biotic and abiotic stresses has proved elusive, but jasmonic acid (JA) and its derivatives appear to be involved. Using deuterium-labeled analogs, we investigated the distal transport of JA and jasmonoyl-isoleucine (JA-Ile) in response to leaf wounding in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) and tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) plants. We recovered [(2)H(2)-2]JA ([(2)H(2)]JA) and [(2)H(3)-12]JA-Ile ([(2)H(3)]JA-Ile) in distal leaves of N.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Jasmonic acid (JA) is a plant hormone that plays an important role in a wide variety of plant physiological processes. The plant pathogenic fungus, Lasiodiplodia theobromae also produces JA; however, its biosynthesis in this fungus has yet to be explored. Administration of [1-(13)C] and [2-(13)C] NaOAc into L.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

It is well known that the seeds of watermelon [Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum and Nakai] have a high potential to germinate when the fruit has ripened. When removed from the mature fruit, the seeds can germinate under appropriate conditions.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Tuberonic acid (TA) and its glucoside (TAG) have been isolated from potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) leaflets and shown to exhibit tuber-inducing properties. These compounds were reported to be biosynthesized from jasmonic acid (JA) by hydroxylation and subsequent glycosylation, and to be contained in various plant species.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

An administration study of (2)H-labeled precursors showed that the 9-hydroxydecanoyl unit, the acyl intermediate of lasiodiplodin (1), was also the intermediate of (5S)-5-hydroxylasiodiplodin (2) in Lasiodiplodia theobromae. The incorporation of [O-methyl-(2)H(3)]-lasiodiplodin (6) into 2 indicated that hydroxylation at C-5 occurred after cyclization.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Jasmonic acid (JA) is a plant hormone that plays important roles in a large number of processes in stress adaptation and development in flowering plants. A search of genome database indicated the existence of allene oxide synthase (AOS), an enzyme of JA biosynthesis, in Physcomitrella patens, a model plant among mosses. In this study, the presence of JA was detected in P.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In plants, the mobile signal needed for wound-induced systemic acquired resistance (WSR) has been elusive. The signal compound involved in WSR is supposed to be JA or its derivatives. On the basis of kinetic study of the accumulation of JA or its derivatives, it was discovered that JA, JA-Ile, tuberonic acid (TA, 12-OH epi-JA), and tuberonic acid glucoside (TAG) accumulated in systemic tissues in response to mechanical wounding stress in the tobacco plant (Nicotiana tabacum).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

A new cyclohexenone compound was isolated as a mixture of enantiomers from a culture filtrate of Lasiodiplodia theobromae. The relative structure was determined to be 4,5-dihydroxy-3-methyl-cyclohex-2-enone on the basis of MS, (1)H-NMR, and (13)C-NMR spectroscopic analyses, including 2D-NMR experiments. Resolution of the enantiomers was conducted by a coupling reaction with (S)-MTPA-Cl followed by HPLC separation.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Researchers synthesized various analogues of 7-epi-jasmonate and related compounds, including 12-hydroxy jasmonic acid.
  • JA-Ile demonstrated activity similar to jasmonic acid (JA) in inducing potato tuber cell expansion.
  • In contrast, the C-7 substituted 7-epi-jasmonates had weaker activity and acted as antagonists against JA.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In previous reports we have reported that theobroxide induces characteristic accumulation of allene oxide cyclase (AOC; EC 5.3.99.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The study explored how lasiodiplodin (1) and its derivative (2) are made by using (13)C-labeled acetates in the fungus Lasiodiplodia theobromae.
  • The labeling patterns were analyzed with (13)C-NMR and INADEQUATE techniques, confirming that both compounds are derived from octaketide biosynthesis.
  • Additionally, the research proposed that highly reduced acyl intermediates are involved in synthesizing lasiodiplodins, supported by experiments with (2)H-labeled intermediates that showed successful incorporation into lasiodiplodin (1).
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

It's alarming: Bacterial alarmone guanosine 5'-diphosphate 3'-diphosphate (ppGpp), which is a key regulatory molecule that controls the stringent response, also exists in chloroplasts of plant cells. Cross-linking experiments with 6-thioguanosine 5'-diphosphate 3'-diphosphate (6-thioppGpp) and chloroplast RNA polymerase indicate that ppGpp binds the beta' subunit of plastid-encoded plastid RNA polymerase that corresponds to the Escherichia coli beta' subunit. Chloroplasts, which are thought to have originated from cyanobacteria, have their own genetic system that is similar to that of the bacteria from which they were derived.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • A new curcuminoid called 3'-demethoxycyclocurcumin was isolated from Curcuma xanthorrhiza and found to have antibabesial properties.
  • Alongside it, compounds p-hydroxybenzaldehyde, cleomiscosin A, and (+)-epiloliolide were identified from Brucea javanica and Excoecaria cochinchinensis, respectively.
  • The antibabesial activities of these compounds were tested in vitro, revealing IC(50) values of 16.6, 7.6, 15.6, and 10.0 microg/ml for compounds 1-4, compared to 0.6 microg/ml for the standard
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Tuberonic acid and its glucoside were isolated from potato leaflets and shown to promote tuber development.
  • A novel glucosyltransferase (OsSGT) was identified in rice that can metabolize both tuberonic acid and salicylic acid, suggesting it plays a role in plant stress responses.
  • This study highlights the significance of TAG in both potato tuber formation and the plant's response to mechanical damage.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF