As a major group of algae, diatoms are responsible for a substantial part of the primary production on the planet. Pennate diatoms have a predominantly benthic lifestyle and are the most species-rich diatom group, with members of the raphid clades being motile and generally having heterothallic sexual reproduction. It was recently shown that the model species Seminavis robusta uses multiple sexual cues during mating, including cyclo(l-Pro-l-Pro) as an attraction pheromone. Elaboration of the pheromone-detection system is a key aspect in elucidating pennate diatom life-cycle regulation that could yield novel fundamental insights into diatom speciation. This study reports the synthesis and bio-evaluation of seven novel pheromone analogs containing small structural alterations to the cyclo(l-Pro-l-Pro) pheromone. Toxicity, attraction, and interference assays were applied to assess their potential activity as a pheromone. Most of our analogs show a moderate-to-good bioactivity and low-to-no phytotoxicity. The pheromone activity of azide- and diazirine-containing analogs was unaffected and induced a similar mating behavior as the natural pheromone. These results demonstrate that the introduction of confined structural modifications can be used to develop a chemical probe based on the diazirine- and/or azide-containing analogs to study the pheromone-detection system of S. robusta.
作为藻类的一个主要群体,硅藻对地球上的初级生产负有重要责任。羽毛硅藻主要生活在底栖环境中,是种类最丰富的硅藻群体,其中拉菲德类成员具有运动能力,通常进行异配子性繁殖。最近的研究表明,模式物种Seminavis robusta在交配过程中使用多种性引诱物质,包括环状(l-Pro-l-Pro)作为一种吸引素。详细研究引诱物质检测系统是阐明羽毛硅藻生命周期调控的关键方面,可能为硅藻物种形成提供新的基础见解。本研究报告了合成和生物评价七种含有对环状(l-Pro-l-Pro)引诱物质进行小结构改变的新型引诱物质类似物。毒性、吸引力和干扰实验被应用来评估它们作为引诱物质的潜在活性。我们大部分的类似物显示出中等至良好的生物活性和低至无植物毒性。含有叠氮基和二氮烯基的类似物的引诱物质活性不受影响,并诱导了与天然引诱物质相似的交配行为。这些结果表明,引入有限的结构修饰可以用于开发基于叠氮基和/或二氮烯基类似物的化学探针,以研究S. robusta的引诱物质检测系统。