Canadian scientists have identified precursors to the hormones responsible for the natural defence of oilseed rape and other economically important cruciferous plants, and vegetables like sprouts.

Canadian scientists have identified precursors to the hormones responsible for the natural defence of oilseed rape and other economically important cruciferous plants, and vegetables like sprouts. The hormones, known as phytoalexins contain 1-methoxyindole in their structures, and Soledade Pedras and Sabine Montaut from the University of Saskatchewan say they were ’intrigued by the lack of fundamental knowledge on the biosynthetic pathways of such 1-methoxyindolyl-containing alkaloids and set out to discover their precursors’.

They prepared deuterated versions of possible precursors and then looked at how much of the deuterium was incorporated into the phytoalexins. The results allowed Pedras and Montaut to identify two early precursors and then to speculate what the implications would be for other biosynthetic pathways.

Being able to understand the biosynthetic pathway to phytoalexins ’will have immediate implications on research programs designed to modify plant chemical defense pathways.in many important crops’ comments Pedras.

Caroline Evans

References

M S C Pedras and S Montaut, Chem. Commun., 2004, 452 <MAN>b313762g</MAN>