Jiao

A Facile and Practical Copper Powder-Catalyzed, Organic Solvent- and Ligand-Free Ullmann Amination of Aryl Halides

A facile and practical method that the copper powder-catalyzed Ullmann amination of aryl halides with aqueous methylamine under organic solvent- and ligand-free condition at 100 °C and in air gave N-arylamines as sole products in good to excellent yields. The presence of a small amount of air is essential. Other aliphatic primary amines show good to very high reactivity. Secondary amines and aniline are not reactive. Sensitive substituents (i.e., CHO, MeCO, CN and Cl) are tolerable in the reaction.

PdEDTA Held in an Ionic Liquid Brush as a Highly Efficient and Reusable Catalyst for Suzuki Reactions in Water

An efficient and reusable catalyst with PdEDTA immobilized in an ionic liquid brush and a green procedure have been developed for coupling aryl iodides and bromides with phenylboronic acid. These reactions were conducted in water under aerobic conditions with water-insoluble or even solid aryl halides. The protocol has the advantages of excellent yields, environmental friendliness, and catalyst recyclability. There was no apparent loss of catalyst efficiency until the 10th cycle.

Synthesis of multisubstituted olefins through regio- and stereoselective silylborylation of an alkynylboronate/chemoselective cross-coupling sequences.

A highly regio- and stereoselective silylborylation of an alkynylboronate is disclosed. PhMe2Si-B(pin) undergoes a Pd(OAc)2/(t)OctNC-catalyzed syn-addition to the alkynylboronate to yield 1-phenyl-1-silyl-2,2-diborylethene with high regioselectivity. The product 1-phenyl-1-silyl-2,2-diborylethene is then chemoselectively arylated by Suzuki-Miyaura coupling to afford (Z)-1-silyl-2-borylstilbene derivatives. This approach is extended to the synthesis of a tetraarylated olefin with four different substituents.

Selective Synthesis of Multisubstituted Olefins Utilizing gem- and vic-Diborylated Vinylsilanes Prepared by Silylborylation of an Alkynylboronate and Diborylation of Alkynylsilanes

The synthesis of a series of gem- and vic-diborylated vinylsilanes was accomplished via highly selective transition-metal-catalyzed syn-dimetalation to the alkynylmetal species. This protocol served as a general synthetic method toward regio- and stereodefined multisubstituted olefins. The key steps are the diastereoselective Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reactions of gem- and vic-diborylated vinylsilanes, in which the two boron groups showed discrete reactivities to afford diverse precursors of multisubstituted olefins.

The AMOR Arabinogalactan Sugar Chain Induces Pollen-Tube Competency to Respond to Ovular Guidance

Precise directional control of pollen-tube growth by pistil tissue is critical for successful fertilization of flowering plants [1-3]. Ovular attractant peptides, which are secreted from two synergid cells on the side of the egg cell, have been identified [4-6]. Emerging evidence suggests that the ovular directional cue is not sufficient for successful guidance but that competency control by the pistil is critical for the response of pollen tubes to the attraction signal [1, 3, 7]. However, the female molecule for this competency induction has not been reported. Here we report that ovular methyl-glucuronosyl arabinogalactan (AMOR) induces competency of the pollen tube to respond to ovular attractant LURE peptides in Torenia fournieri. We developed a method for assaying the response capability of a pollen tube by micromanipulating an ovule. Using this method, we showed that pollen tubes growing through a cut style acquired a response capability in the medium by receiving a sufficient amount of a factor derived from mature ovules of Torenia. This factor, named AMOR, was identified as an arabinogalactan polysaccharide, the terminal 4-O-methyl-glucuronosyl residue of which was necessary for its activity. Moreover, a chemically synthesized disaccharide, the β isomer of methyl-glucuronosyl galactose (4-Me-GlcA-β-(1→6)-Gal), showed AMOR activity. No specific sugar-chain structure of plant extracellular matrix has been identified as a bioactive molecule involved in intercellular communication. We suggest that the AMOR sugar chain in the ovary renders the pollen tube competent to the chemotropic response prior to final guidance by LURE peptides.

Structure-Activity Relation of AMOR Sugar Molecule that Activates Pollen-Tubes for Ovular Guidance

Structure-activity relationship studies of AMOR disaccharide in Torenia fournieri reveal the various residues that are critical for AMOR activity. Successful fertilization in flowering plants depends on the precise directional growth control of pollen tube through the female pistil tissue toward the female gametophyte contained in the ovule for delivery of nonmotile sperm cells. Cys-rich peptides LUREs secreted from the synergid cells on either side of the egg cell act as ovular attractants of pollen tubes. Competency control by the pistil is crucial for the response of pollen tubes to these ovular attractants. We recently reported that ovular 4-O-methyl-glucuronosyl arabinogalactan (AMOR) induces competency of the pollen tube to respond to ovular attractant LURE peptides in Torenia fournieri. The beta isomer of the terminal disaccharide 4-O-methyl-glucuronosyl galactose was essential and sufficient for the competency induction. However, critical and noncritical structures in the disaccharide have not been dissected deeply. Herein, we report the synthesis of new AMOR analogs and the structure-activity relationships for AMOR activity in the presence of these synthesized analogs. Removal of 4-O-methyl group or –COOH from the glucuronosyl residue of the disaccharide dramatically reduces AMOR activity. The pyranose backbone of the second sugar of disaccharide is essential for the activity but not hydroxy groups. The role of beta isomer of the disaccharide 4-Me-GlcA-β(1,6)-Gal is very specific for competency control, as there was no difference in effect among the sugar analogs tested for pollen germination. This study represents the first structure-activity relationship study, to our knowledge, of a sugar molecule involved in plant reproduction, which opens a way for modification of the molecule without loss of activity.