A step toward control of a noxious weed The parasitic plant Striga hermonthica causes extensive crop losses, particularly in Africa. Strigolactone hormones can be used to initiate germination of Striga seeds when no host crop is present, which causes the nascent Striga plants to die. Unfortunately, strigolactones are also used by crop plants to establish beneficial mutualisms. Uraguchi et al. developed a hybrid molecule that can initiate Striga germination without interfering with strigolactone-dependent events in the host (see the Perspective by Bouwmeester). The compound has the potential to diversify routes toward protecting fields from Striga infestation. Science, this issue p. 1301; see also p. 1248 Chemical screening yields a strigolactone receptor agonist that may aid control in fields infected with a parasitic weed. The parasitic plant Striga hermonthica has been causing devastating damage to the crop production in Africa. Because Striga requires host-generated strigolactones to germinate, the identification of selective and potent strigolactone agonists could help control these noxious weeds. We developed a selective agonist, sphynolactone-7, a hybrid molecule originated from chemical screening, that contains two functional modules derived from a synthetic scaffold and a core component of strigolactones. Cooperative action of these modules in the activation of a high-affinity strigolactone receptor ShHTL7 allows sphynolactone-7 to provoke Striga germination with potency in the femtomolar range. We demonstrate that sphynolactone-7 is effective for reducing Striga parasitism without impinging on host strigolactone-related processes.

中文翻译：

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寄生植物独脚金的飞摩尔范围的自杀萌发刺激剂

控制有害杂草的一步 寄生植物独脚金造成大量作物损失，特别是在非洲。当没有宿主作物时，独脚金内酯激素可用于启动独脚金种子的萌发，这会导致新生的独脚金植物死亡。不幸的是，作物植物也使用独脚金内酯来建立有益的共生关系。浦口等人。开发了一种杂交分子，可以在不干扰宿主中独脚金内酯依赖性事件的情况下启动独脚金发芽（参见 Bouwmeester 的观点）。该化合物有可能使保护田地免受独脚金侵扰的途径多样化。科学，这个问题 p。1301; 另见第。1248 化学筛选产生独脚金内酯受体激动剂，可帮助控制受寄生杂草感染的田地。寄生植物独脚金对非洲的农作物生产造成了毁灭性的破坏。因为独脚金需要宿主产生的独脚金内酯才能发芽，所以鉴定出选择性和有效的独脚金内酯激动剂可以帮助控制这些有害杂草。我们开发了一种选择性激动剂 sphynolactone-7，这是一种源自化学筛选的混合分子，它包含源自合成支架的两个功能模块和独脚金内酯的核心成分。这些模块在激活高亲和力独脚金内酯受体 ShHTL7 中的协同作用允许 sphynolactone-7 在飞摩尔范围内激发独脚金发芽。我们证明 sphynolactone-7 可有效减少独脚金寄生，而不会影响宿主独脚金内酯相关过程。