Efficient Mimics for Elucidating Zaxinone Biology and Promoting Agricultural Applications
Type
ArticleAuthors
Wang, Jian You
Jamil, Muhammad

Lin, Pei-Yu
Ota, Tsuyoshi
Fiorilli, Valentina
Novero, Mara
Zarban, Randa Alhassan Yahya

Kountche, Boubacar Amadou

Takahashi, Ikuo
Martínez, Claudio
Lanfranco, Luisa
Bonfante, Paola
de Lera, Angel R.
Asami, Tadao
Al-Babili, Salim

KAUST Department
Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering (BESE) DivisionBioscience Program
Center for Desert Agriculture
Environmental Science and Engineering Program
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Division of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering, the BioActives Lab, Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.
Plant Science
KAUST Grant Number
CRG2017Date
2020-08-21Online Publication Date
2020-08-21Print Publication Date
2020-11Embargo End Date
2021-08-21Submitted Date
2020-03-08Permanent link to this record
http://hdl.handle.net/10754/664773
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Zaxinone is an apocarotenoid regulatory metabolite required for normal rice growth and development. In addition, zaxinone has a large application potential in agriculture, due to its growth promoting activity and capability to alleviate infestation by the root parasitic plant Striga through decreasing strigolactone (SL) production. However, zaxinone is poorly accessible to the scientific community because of its laborious organic synthesis that impedes its further investigation and utilization. Here, we developed easy-to-synthesize and highly efficient mimics of zaxinone (MiZax). We performed a structure-activity-relationship study using a series of apocarotenoids distinguished from zaxinone by different structural features. Using the obtained results, we designed several phenyl-based compounds synthesized with a high-yield through a simple method. Activity tests showed that MiZax3 and MiZax5 exert zaxinone activity in rescuing root growth of a zaxinone-deficient rice mutant, promoting growth, and reducing SL content in roots and root exudates of wild-type plants. Moreover, these compounds were at least as efficient as zaxinone in suppressing transcript level of SL biosynthesis genes and in alleviating Striga infestation under greenhouse conditions, and did not negatively impact mycorrhization. Taken together, MiZax are a promising tool for elucidating zaxinone biology and investigating rice development, and suitable candidates for combating Striga and increasing crop growth.Citation
Wang, J. Y., Jamil, M., Lin, P.-Y., Ota, T., Fiorilli, V., Novero, M., … Al-Babili, S. (2020). Efficient Mimics for Elucidating Zaxinone Biology and Promoting Agricultural Applications. Molecular Plant. doi:10.1016/j.molp.2020.08.009Sponsors
This work was supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (Grant number: OPP1194472) and a Competitive Research Grant (CRG2017) given to S. A-B from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), and by grants from the Core Research for Evolutional Science and Technology (CREST) Program and the SATREPS Program of the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), and JSPS Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (grant number 18H03939) given to T. A.Publisher
Elsevier BVJournal
Molecular PlantAdditional Links
https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1674205220302653ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1016/j.molp.2020.08.009