Nuclear quantum effect and temperature dependency on the hydrogen-bonded structure of base pairs.

The structure of Watson-Crick-type adenine-thymine and guanine-cytosine pairs has been studied by hybrid Monte Carlo (HMC) and path integral hybrid Monte Carlo (PIHMC) simulations with the use of semiempirical PM6-DH+ method in the gas phase. We elucidated the nuclear quantum effect and temperature dependency on the hydrogen-bonded moiety of base pairs. It was shown that the contribution of nuclear quantum effect on the hydrogen-bonded structure is significant not only at low temperature 150 K but also at temperature as high as 450 K.

Antifeedant and Insecticidal Activity of Quassinoids against Diamondback Moth (Plutella xylostella).

The antifeedant and insecticidal activities of sixteen quassinoids against 3rd instar larvae of the diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella) were compared with those of known insect antifeedant chlordimeform (1), and the structure-activity relationship was discussed. The insecticidal activity of quassin (2) was higher than that of 1, although its antifeedant activity was nearly the same as that of the reference compound.