α-Tomatine gradient across artificial roots recreates the recruitment of tomato root-associated .

α-Tomatine is a major saponin that accumulates in tomatoes (). We previously reported that α-tomatine secreted from tomato roots modulates root-associated bacterial communities, particularly by enriching the abundance of belonging to the family . To further characterize the α-tomatine-mediated interactions between tomato plants and soil bacterial microbiota, we first cultivated tomato plants in pots containing different microbial inoculants originating from three field soils.

The plant-derived triterpenoid, cucurbitacin B, but not cucurbitacin E, inhibits the developmental transition associated with ecdysone biosynthesis in Drosophila melanogaster.

In insects, some sterols are essential not only for cell membrane homeostasis, but for biosynthesis of the steroid hormone ecdysone. Dietary sterols are required for insect development because insects cannot synthesize sterols de novo. Therefore, sterol-like compounds that can compete with essential sterols are good candidates for insect growth regulators.

Enhancement of developmentally regulated daidzein secretion from soybean roots in field conditions as compared with hydroponic culture.

Analyses of metabolite secretions by field-grown plants remain scarce. We analyzed daidzein secretion by field-grown soybean. Daidzein secretion was higher during early vegetative stages than reproductive stages, a trend that was also seen for hydroponically grown soybean.