Plant traits mediate the effects of climate on phytophagous beetle diversity on Mt. Kilimanjaro.

Patterns of insect diversity along elevational gradients are well described in ecology. However, it remains little tested how variation in the quantity, quality, and diversity of food resources influence these patterns. Here we analyzed the direct and indirect effects of climate, food quantity (estimated by net primary productivity), quality (variation in the specific leaf area index, leaf nitrogen to phosphorus and leaf carbon to nitrogen ratio), and food diversity (diversity of leaf traits) on the species richness of phytophagous beetles along the broad elevation and land use gradients of Mt.

First Synthesis of the Inherently Chiral Trans-4' Bisadduct of C N Azafullerene by Using Cyclo-[2]-dodecylmalonate as a Tether.

The multiaddition chemistry of azafullerene C N has been scarcely explored, and the isolation of pure bisadducts is in its infancy. Encouraged by the recent regioselective synthesis of the inherently chiral equatorial bisadduct of C N, we focused on the isolation of the first trans-4 bisadduct in a simple two-step approach. The first regioselective synthesis of the trans-4 bisadduct of C N by using cyclo-[2]-dodecylmalonate as a tether is now reported.

Tether-Directed Regioselective Synthesis of an Equatorial Bisadduct of Azafullerene Using Cyclo-[2]-octylmalonate.

Bisazafullerene (C N) has been functionalized under aerobic conditions with cyclo-[2]-octylmalonate through a Mannich-type reaction, furnishing the corresponding monoadduct. A regioselective tether-directed Bingel cyclopropanation reaction was then carried out on the azafullerene core to yield a single bisadduct. Spectroscopic analysis of the formed bisadduct showed it to have a C symmetrical structure, making it inherently chiral.

Synthesis of Enantiopure T-Symmetrical [6:0]-Hexakis Adducts of C60 Equipped with 1,2-Glycol Substituted cyclo-Monomalonate Addends.

The synthesis of T-symmetrical [6:0]-hexakis adducts of C60 bearing enantiopure cyclo-monomalonate addends equipped with 1,2-glycol groups masked as isopropylidene acetals is presented. The deprotection of the acetals afforded functional fullerene building blocks bearing six 1,2-glycol moieties in an octahedral geometry as connection sites with appropriate linear organic spacers targeting 3D chiral extended networks with cubic building units. Evaluation of the experimental results revealed the advantageous synthetic accessibility to hexakis adduct (-)-9 which carries six homochiral C12 cyclo-monomalonate addends.

The journey of L-tartaric acid in the world of enantiomerically pure bis- and trisadducts of C60 with the inherently chiral trans-3 and all-trans-3 addition patterns.

Inherently chiral multi-adducts of [60]fullerene represent unique chiral molecular tectons featuring fascinating optoelectronic properties. Herein we discuss the most recent progress in the synthesis of enantiomerically pure bis- and trisadducts of C60 with the inherently chiral trans-3 and all-trans-3 addition patterns utilizing cyclo-[n]-malonate tethers derived from (-)-dimethyl-2,3-O-isopropylidene-L-tartrate. Some future perspectives regarding the investigation of these chiral building blocks in modern areas of research are discussed.

An unexpected stereoisomerism in enantiomerically pure trisadducts of C60 with an inherently chiral trans-3,trans-3,trans-3 addition pattern.

We have synthesized and isolated two C2-symmetric enantiomerically pure trisadducts of C60 with an inherently chiral trans-3,trans-3,trans-3 addition pattern with the aid of an enantiopure cyclo-tris-malonate tether. An unexpected stereoisomerism was observed which was attributed to the spatial arrangement of spacers in the tether.

The first one-pot synthesis of a chiral pentakis-adduct of C60 utilising an opened-structure malonate tether.

A pentakis-adduct of C60 with an incomplete octahedral addition pattern was synthesised via a one-pot procedure using a tether equipped with five malonate moieties. The five-fold Bingel cyclopropanation of C60 was completely regioselective and afforded a chiral, C2-symmetric pentakis-adduct which was easily separated by column chromatography on SiO2.

Remote functionalization of C60 with enantiomerically pure cyclo-[2]-malonate tethers bearing C12 and C14 spacers: synthetic access to bisadducts of C60 with the inherently chiral trans-3 addition pattern.

In this Article, we describe the synthesis of two optically pure diols bearing a 1,2-diol moiety masked as an isopropylidene acetal group and long alkyl chains comprised of 12 and 14 carbon atoms, respectively. The synthetic methodology that was developed offers a general way for the synthesis of optically pure diols with long alkyl chains. Diols (-)-4 and (-)-9 were subjected to a condensation reaction with malonyl dichloride to afford two cyclo-[2]-malonate tethers that were separated by column chromatography in optically pure form.

Excited state proton transfer is not involved in the ultrafast deactivation of Guanine-Cytosine pair in solution.

Different derivatives of Guanine (G) and Cytosine (C), which sterically enforce the Watson-Crick (WC) conformer, have been studied in CHCl(3) by means of broad-band transient absorption spectroscopy. Our experiments rule out the involvement of an Excited State Proton Transfer (ESPT), which dominates the excited state decay of GC in the gas phase. Instead, the ultrafast dynamics via internal conversion occurs in a polar environment mainly by relaxation in the monomer moieties.

High incidence of plant growth-stimulating bacteria associated with the rhizosphere of wheat grown on salinated soil in Uzbekistan.

Soil salinization is increasing steadily in many parts of the world and causes major problems for plant productivity. Under these stress conditions, root-associated beneficial bacteria can help improve plant growth and nutrition. In this study, salt-tolerant bacteria from the rhizosphere of Uzbek wheat with potentially beneficial traits were isolated and characterized.