Delphine Joseph

Scavenging iron: a novel mechanism of plant immunity activation by microbial siderophores.

Strong iron scavengers activate immune responses in Arabidopsis through alteration of heavy-metal distribution, uncovering a connection between defense and heavy-metal homeostasis. Siderophores are specific ferric iron chelators synthesized by virtually all microorganisms in response to iron deficiency. We have previously shown that they promote infection by the phytopathogenic enterobacteria Dickeya dadantii and Erwinia amylovora. Siderophores also have the ability to activate plant immunity. We have used complete Arabidopsis transcriptome microarrays to investigate the global transcriptional modifications in roots and leaves of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) plants after leaf treatment with the siderophore deferrioxamine (DFO). Physiological relevance of these transcriptional modifications was validated experimentally. Immunity and heavy-metal homeostasis were the major processes affected by DFO. These two physiological responses could be activated by a synthetic iron chelator ethylenediamine-di(o-hydroxyphenylacetic) acid, indicating that siderophores eliciting activities rely on their strong iron-chelating capacity. DFO was able to protect Arabidopsis against the pathogenic bacterium Pseudomonas syringae pv tomato DC3000. Siderophore treatment caused local modifications of iron distribution in leaf cells visible by ferrocyanide and diaminobenzidine-H2O2 staining. Metal quantifications showed that DFO causes a transient iron and zinc uptake at the root level, which is presumably mediated by the metal transporter iron regulated transporter1 (IRT1). Defense gene expression and callose deposition in response to DFO were compromised in an irt1 mutant. Consistently, plant susceptibility to D. dadantii was increased in the irt1 mutant. Our work shows that iron scavenging is a unique mechanism of immunity activation in plants. It highlights the strong relationship between heavy-metal homeostasis and immunity.

Solvent-free double aza-Michael under ultrasound irradiation: diastereoselective sequential one-pot synthesis of pyrrolidine Lobelia alkaloids analogues

Novel 2,5-meso-pyrrolidines have been straightforwardly synthesized from readily available symmetrical double Michael acceptors. The key step rested on an aza-Michael addition of primary alkylamines to bis-enones. Competitive Rauhut-Currier and aza-Michael reactions have been highlighted in protic solvent. Ultrasound activation associated with solvent-free conditions led to the expected pyrrolidines in quantitative yields and excellent stereoselectivities. The optimized conditions have been extended to the sonochemical synthesis of pyrrolidine Lobelia alkaloids analogues in short sequences.

Spontaneous Biomimetic Formation of (±)-Dictazole B under Irradiation with Artificial Sunlight†

Guided by biosynthetic considerations, the total synthesis of dictazole B is reported for the first time. Experimental evidence for an easy access to challenging cyclobutane alkaloids of marine origin, which are often postulated to be biosynthetic precursors of more complex structures, is provided.

High pressure activation in the asymmetric Michael addition of chiral imines to alkyl and aryl crotonates

High pressure-mediated Michael addition of chiral imines derived from 2-methylcyclopentanone, 2-methylcyclohexanone and optically active 1-phenylethylamine, to methyl and phenyl crotonates was investigated. The corresponding adducts were obtained in fair yields and with a high degree of regio-, diastereo- and enantioselectivity.

Asymmetric aza-Michael addition under ultra-high pressure: short bias to polyhydroxylated piperidines

Two polyhydroxylated piperidines have been prepared in short sequences from diacetone gluco- and allofuranose. The key step is a piezo-aza-Michael addition of diphenylmethanamine to enoates bearing a sugar moiety in the γ-position. The combination of ultra-high pressure associated to the presence of readily available sugars chiral pool led to the expected chiral amines in good yields and excellent stereoselectivities.

A comparative study of high pressure versus other activation modes in the asymmetric Michael reaction of chiral imines

The Michael reaction of chiral imines under neutral conditions has emerged as an efficient method for the elaboration of quaternary carbon centers in the alpha position relative to a carbonyl group. It was established early on that this reaction could be accelerated by thermal activation without altering its remarkable features, namely its high regio- and stereoselectivities, Michael adducts being obtained typically in high yield and with 90–98% ee. In this article, a comparative study of high-pressure activation versus thermal, microwave or catalytic activation of this reaction will be reported, highlighting the specificity of each activation mode.

Switchable Stereocontrolled Divergent Synthesis Induced by aza‐Michael Addition of Deactivated Primary Amines under Acid Catalysis

Switchable tandem intramolecular aza-Michael/Michael and double aza-Michael reactions allow the oriented synthesis of highly functionalised cyclic skeletons. Conjugate addition of deactivated anilines triggers chemo- and stereo-divergent ring-closure reaction pathways with a striking selectivity depending on reaction conditions.

Barbiturates Bind in the GLIC Ion Channel Pore and Cause Inhibition by Stabilizing a Closed State

Barbiturates induce anesthesia by modulating the activity of anionic and cationic pentameric ligand-gated ion channels (pLGICs). Despite more than a century of use in clinical practice, the prototypic binding site for this class of drugs within pLGICs is yet to be described. In this study, we present the first X-ray structures of barbiturates bound to GLIC, a cationic prokaryotic pLGIC with excellent structural homology to other relevant channels sensitive to general anesthetics and, as shown here, to barbiturates, at clinically relevant concentrations. Several derivatives of barbiturates containing anomalous scatterers were synthesized, and these derivatives helped us unambiguously identify a unique barbiturate binding site within the central ion channel pore in a closed conformation. In addition, docking calculations around the observed binding site for all three states of the receptor, including a model of the desensitized state, showed that barbiturates preferentially stabilize the closed state. The identification of this pore binding site sheds light on the mechanism of barbiturate inhibition of cationic pLGICs and allows the rationalization of several structural and functional features previously observed for barbiturates.

Access to Highly Functionalized Sulfonated Cyclopentanes by Acid‐Promoted Rauhut–Currier Reaction with Sulfinamides

An unexpected acid-mediated cascade reaction induced by conjugate addition of sulfinamides to dienediones has been developed. This highly efficient Rauhut-Currier reaction enables the rapid, high-yielding construction of sulfonated cyclopentanes with three contiguous stereogenic centers in a single operation starting from simple sulfinamides. This process constitutes the first example of sulfinamide-promoted cycloisomerization.

Convenient access to 1,3,5-triaroylbenzenes

Abstract The unusual transformation of β-aryl-β-haloacroleins into valuable triaroylbenzenes is reported by the first time. The convenient sequence takes advantage on the one step access to triaroylbenzenes. This work establishes that the presence of amine is required for the trimerization procedure since it is involved in the formation of iminium–enamine intermediate A.