Glucosinolates are sulfur-rich, anionic natural products that upon hydrolysis by endogenous thioglucosidases called myrosinases produce several different products (e.g., isothiocyanates, thiocyanates, and nitriles). The hydrolysis products have many different biological activities, e.g., as defense compounds and attractants. For humans these compounds function as cancer-preventing agents, biopesticides, and flavor compounds. Since the completion of the Arabidopsis genome, glucosinolate research has made significant progress, resulting in near-complete elucidation of the core biosynthetic pathway, identification of the first regulators of the pathway, metabolic engineering of specific glucosinolate profiles to study function, as well as identification of evolutionary links to related pathways. Although much has been learned in recent years, much more awaits discovery before we fully understand how and why plants synthesize glucosinolates. This may enable us to more fully exploit the potential of these compounds in agriculture and medicine.

Biology and biochemistry of glucosinolates

Isatins As Privileged Molecules in Design and Synthesis of Spiro-Fused Cyclic Frameworks

Phytoalexins in defense against pathogens

SUMMARY
Alternaria species are mainly saprophytic fungi However, some species have acquired pathogenic capacities collectively causing disease over a broad host range This review summarizes the knowledge on pathogenic strategies employed by the fungus to plunder the host Furthermore, strategies employed by potential host plants in order to ward off an attack are discussed

Taxonomy:Alternaria spp kingdom Fungi, subkingdom Eumycotera, phylum Fungi Imperfecti (a non-phylogenetic or artificial phylum of fungi without known sexual stages whose members may or may not be related; taxonomy does not reflect relationships), form class Hypomycetes, Form order Moniliales, form family Dematiaceae, genus Alternaria Some species of Alternaria are the asexual anamorph of the ascomycete Pleospora while others are speculated to be anamorphs of Leptosphaeria

Host Range: Most Alternaria species are common saprophytes that derive energy as a result of cellulytic activity and are found in a variety of habitats as ubiquitous agents of decay Some species are plant pathogens that cause a range of economically important diseases like stem cancer, leaf blight or leaf spot on a large variety of crops Latent infections can occur and result in post-harvest diseases or damping-off in case of infected seed

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Alternaria spp.: from general saprophyte to specific parasite.

Many plants produce low-molecular-weight compounds which inhibit the growth of phytopathogenic fungi in vitro. These compounds may be preformed inhibitors that are present constitutively in healthy plants (also known as phytoanticipins), or they may be synthesized in response to pathogen attack (phytoalexins). Successful pathogens must be able to circumvent or overcome these antifungal defenses, and this review focuses on the significance of fungal resistance to plant antibiotics as a mechanism of pathogenesis. There is increasing evidence that resistance of fungal pathogens to plant antibiotics can be important for pathogenicity, at least for some fungus-plant interactions. This evidence has emerged largely from studies of fungal degradative enzymes and also from experiments in which plants with altered levels of antifungal secondary metabolites were generated. Whereas the emphasis to date has been on degradative mechanisms of resistance of phytopathogenic fungi to antifungal secondary metabolites, in the future we are likely to see a rapid expansion in our knowledge of alternative mechanisms of resistance. These may include membrane efflux systems of the kind associated with multidrug resistance and innate resistance due to insensitivity of the target site. The manipulation of plant biosynthetic pathways to give altered antibiotic profiles will also be valuable in telling us more about the significance of antifungal secondary metabolites for plant defense and clearly has great potential for enhancing disease resistance for commercial purposes.

Abdul Q. Khan

Papers

Phytoalexins from crucifers: synthesis, biosynthesis, and biotransformation.

Chemical defenses of crucifers: elicitation and metabolism of phytoalexins and indole-3-acetonitrile in brown mustard and turnip

The phytoalexin camalexin is not metabolized by Phoma lingam, Alternaria brassicae, or phytopathogenic bacteria

Biotransformation of the phytoalexin camalexin by the phytopathogen Rhizoctonia solani.

Unprecedented detoxification of the cruciferous phytoalexin camalexin by a root phytopathogen