Tomohisa Nagamatsu

Quorum sensing and the LysR-type transcriptional activator ToxR regulate toxoflavin biosynthesis and transport in Burkholderia glumae.

Burkholderia glumae BGR1 produces a broad‐host range phytotoxin, called toxoflavin, which is a key pathogenicity factor in rice grain rot and wilt in many field crops. Our molecular and genetic analyses of toxoflavin‐deficient mutants demonstrated that gene clusters for toxoflavin production consist of four transcriptional units. The toxoflavin biosynthesis genes were composed of five genes, toxA to toxE, as Suzuki et al. (2004) reported previously. Genes toxF to toxI, which are responsible for toxoflavin transport, were polycistronic and similar to the genes for resistance‐nodulation‐division (RND) efflux systems. Using Tn3‐gusA reporter fusions, we found that ToxR, a LysR‐type regulator, regulates both the toxABCDE and toxFGHI operons in the presence of toxoflavin as a coinducer. In addition, the expression of both operons required a transcriptional activator, ToxJ, whose expression is regulated by quorum sensing. TofI, a LuxI homologue, was responsible for the biosynthesis of both N‐hexanoyl homoserine lactone and N‐octanoyl homoserine lactone (C8‐HSL). C8‐HSL and its cognate receptor TofR, a LuxR homologue, activated toxJ expression. This is the first report that quorum sensing is involved in pathogenicity by the regulation of phytotoxin biosynthesis and its transport in plant pathogenic bacteria.

Toxoflavin Produced by Burkholderia glumae Causing Rice Grain Rot Is Responsible for Inducing Bacterial Wilt in Many Field Crops

Severe wilt symptoms similar to bacterial wilt caused by Ralstonia solanacearum were observed in tomato, hot pepper, eggplant, potato, perilla, sesame, and sunflower in 2000 and 2001 in Korea. From diseased crops at 65 different locations, we obtained 106 isolates that produced green pigment on CPG medium; 36 were isolated from discolored rice panicles. The causal pathogen was identified as Burkholderia glumae based on its biochemical characteristics, fatty acid methyl ester analysis, and 16S rRNA gene sequence. Nine representative isolates produced toxoflavin, as determined by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry using a direct inlet system and TLC analyses, and caused bacterial wilt on tomato, sesame, perilla, eggplant, and hot pepper. However, BGR12, a wild-type isolate lacking toxoflavin production and toxoflavin-deficient mutants generated by Tn5lacZ failed to cause bacterial wilt on those five field crops. Cells of B. glumae and synthetic toxoflavin caused wilt symptoms on field crops, demonstrating a lack of host specificity. Synthetic toxoflavin caused wilt symptoms on tomato, sesame, perilla, eggplant, and hot pepper at 10 μg/ml concentration 1 day after treatment. This is the first report of bacterial wilt on various crops caused by B. glumae, and our results clearly demonstrate that toxoflavin is a key factor in wilt symptom development.

A comparative study of AutoDock and PMF scoring performances, and SAR of 2-substituted pyrazolotriazolopyrimidines and 4-substituted pyrazolopyrimidines as potent xanthine oxidase inhibitors

Abstract4-Alkylidenehydrazino-1H-pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidines, 4-arylmethylidenehydrazino-1H-pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidines, and 2-substituted 7H-pyrazolo[4,3-e]-1,2,4-triazolo-[1,5-c]-pyrimidines as potential xanthine oxidase inhibitors were docked into the active site of the bovine milk xanthine dehydrogenase using two scoring functions involved in AutoDock 3.05 and the CAChe 6.1.10. The correlation coefficiency obtained between the AutoDock binding energy and IC50 of the inhibitors was better than that obtained by the CAChe-PMF docking score. Many ligands exhibited one to four hydrogen bonds within the active site, where the detected hydrogen bonds by CAChe was identified quantitatively in the docked conformation by using MOPAC 2002. These ligands were docked into a long, narrow channel of the enzyme leading to the molybdopterin active moiety, with hydrogen bonding and electrostatic interaction between the planar aromatic moiety of the ligand and the enzyme. Furthermore, SAR among inhibitors was investigated, which revealed that the oxo group of pyrazolopyrimidine analogs is essential for its activity and the tricyclic derivatives are shown to be more potent than bicyclic ones. The mode of interaction of the docked inhibitors was described in details.

General syntheses of 1-alkyltoxoflavin and 8-alkylfervenulin derivatives of biological significance by the regioselective alkylation of reumycin derivatives and the rates of transalkylation from 1-alkyltoxoflavins into nucleophiles

Regioselective alkylations of reumycin derivatives under alkaline conditions with a dialkyl sulfate or alkyl halide in 1,4-dioxane or DMF to provide 1-alkyltoxoflavin or 8-alkylfervenulin derivatives of biological significance, are described. Namely, the primary and secondary alkylations of reumycin derivatives with appropriate dialkyl sulfates or alkyl bromides under alkaline conditions in 1,4-dioxane gave predominantly 1-alkyltoxoflavin derivatives, while the same alkylations in DMF instead of 1,4-dioxane gave predominantly 8-alkylfervenulin derivatives. In the case of tertiary alkylation, the reumycin derivative with 2-bromo-2-methylpropane in both solvents under the same conditions yielded only the 1-alkyltoxoflavin derivative. Moreover, the rates of transalkylation from 1-alkyltoxoflavin derivatives into nucleophiles, e.g. DMF and n-butylamine, are also described. That is, the toxoflavin derivatives possessing a primary alkyl group at the 1-position were easily dealkylated from the 1-position by heating with DMF, whereupon reumycin (i.e., 1-dealkyltoxoflavin, 8-dealkylfervenulin) derivatives were formed. In other words, transalkylation from the toxoflavin derivatives into DMF took place. However, the transalkylation of 1-alkyltoxoflavin derivatives possessing a secondary or tertiary alkyl group at the 1-position was not observed under such conditions. On the other hand, when heating 1-alkyltoxoflavin derivatives with n-butylamine in 1,4-dioxane, the transalkylations were more easily observed even in the case of 1-alkyltoxoflavin derivatives substituted by a tertiary alkyl group.

Facile Synthesis and Evaluation of Antitumor and Antiviral Activities of [1,2,5]Thiadiazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidines (8-Thiapurines) and 4-b-D-Ribofuranosyl-[1,2,5]thiadiazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidines

Synthesis of 5-amino-[1,2,5]thiadiazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidin-7(6H)-ones (8-thiaguanine) (4a-m), 7-amino- l,2,5|thiadiazolo|3,4-c?]pyrimidin-5(4//)-ones (8-thiaisoguanine) (6a-k), 5,7-diamino-[1,2,5]thiadiazolo]3,4-d]pyrimidines (8a-d) and some other thiadiazolopyrimidine derivatives were prepared by treating 6-amino-5-nitrosopyrimidine derivatives with sodium thiosulfate in aqueous acid media. 4-β-D-Ribofuranosyl-[1,2,5]thiadiazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidine-5,7(4H,6H)-dione (8-thiaxanthosine) (18) was also prepared by the reliable method. Moderate antitumor and antiviral activities of the synthesized compounds have been evaluated in vitro.

A novel light-dependent selection marker system in plants.

Photosensitizers are common in nature and play diverse roles as defense compounds and pathogenicity determinants and as important molecules in many biological processes. Toxoflavin, a photosensitizer produced by Burkholderia glumae, has been implicated as an essential virulence factor causing bacterial rice grain rot. Toxoflavin produces superoxide and H₂O₂ during redox cycles under oxygen and light, and these reactive oxygen species cause phytotoxic effects. To utilize toxoflavin as a selection agent in plant transformation, we identified a gene, tflA, which encodes a toxoflavin-degrading enzyme in the Paenibacillus polymyxa JH2 strain. TflA was estimated as 24.56 kDa in size based on the amino acid sequence and is similar to a ring-cleavage extradiol dioxygenase in the Exiguobacterium sp. 255-15; however, unlike other extradiol dioxygenases, Mn(2+) and dithiothreitol were required for toxoflavin degradation by TflA. Here, our results suggested toxoflavin is a photosensitizer and its degradation by TflA serves as a light-dependent selection marker system in diverse plant species. We examined the efficiencies of two different plant selection systems, toxoflavin/tflA and hygromycin/hygromycin phosphotransferase (hpt) in both rice and Arabidopsis. The toxoflavin/tflA selection was more remarkable than hygromycin/hpt selection in the high-density screening of transgenic Arabidopsis seeds. Based on these results, we propose the toxoflavin/tflA selection system, which is based on the degradation of the photosensitizer, provides a new robust nonantibiotic selection marker system for diverse plants.

Structural and functional analysis of phytotoxin toxoflavin-degrading enzyme.

Pathogenic bacteria synthesize and secrete toxic low molecular weight compounds as virulence factors. These microbial toxins play essential roles in the pathogenicity of bacteria in various hosts, and are emerging as targets for antivirulence strategies. Toxoflavin, a phytotoxin produced by Burkholderia glumae BGR1, has been known to be the key factor in rice grain rot and wilt in many field crops. Recently, toxoflavin-degrading enzyme (TxDE) was identified from Paenibacillus polymyxa JH2, thereby providing a possible antivirulence strategy for toxoflavin-mediated plant diseases. Here, we report the crystal structure of TxDE in the substrate-free form and in complex with toxoflavin, along with the results of a functional analysis. The overall structure of TxDE is similar to those of the vicinal oxygen chelate superfamily of metalloenzymes, despite the lack of apparent sequence identity. The active site is located at the end of the hydrophobic channel, 9 Å in length, and contains a Mn(II) ion interacting with one histidine residue, two glutamate residues, and three water molecules in an octahedral coordination. In the complex, toxoflavin binds in the hydrophobic active site, specifically the Mn(II)-coordination shell by replacing a ligating water molecule. A functional analysis indicated that TxDE catalyzes the degradation of toxoflavin in a manner dependent on oxygen, Mn(II), and the reducing agent dithiothreitol. These results provide the structural features of TxDE and the early events in catalysis.

SYNTHESIS OF THIENO[3,2-c][1,2,4]TRIAZOLO[1,5-c]PYRIMIDIN-5(6H-ONES VIA THEIR [1,2,4]TRIAZOLO[4,3-c]PYRIMIDINE COMPOUNDS AS NEW RING SYSTEMS BY DIMROTH-TYPE REARRANGEMENT

- General and facile syntheses of thieno|3,2-e|[1,2,4|triazolo|,5-c|-pyrimidin-5(6H)-one (6a) and its 2-substituted derivatives (6b-j) produced by instantaneous isomerization of their |4,3-c| compounds (7a-j), which were prepared by condensation of 4-hydrazinothieno|2,3-d(pyrimidin-2(1H)-one (10) with appropriate triethyl orthoesters or by oxidative cyclization of 4-(benzylidenehydrazino)thieno|2,3-d(pyrimidin-2(1H)-ones (llc-j), are described as novel ring systems and as a new class of potential xanthine oxidase inhibitors. The | 1,5-c| isomers (6a-c) were further prepared by condensation of 3-amino-4-imino-2-oxo-1,2,3,4-tetrahydrothieno|2,3-d(pyrimidine (14) with appropriate triethyl orthoesters as a synthetic method for a reliable structure of the tricyclic ring systems.

Autorecycling system for the specific 1,4-reduction of α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds catalysed by 1,5-dihydro-5-deazaflavin

A useful autorecycling system for the specific 1,4-reduction of α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds to the corresponding saturated carbonyl compounds catalysed by a 10-aryl-5-deazaflavin in formic acid is reported. The specific reduction behaviour toward α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds is interpreted in terms of frontier molecular orbital theory (PM3 method).

Antitumor studies. Part 5: Synthesis, antitumor activity, and molecular docking study of 5-(monosubstituted amino)-2-deoxo-2-phenyl-5-deazaflavins

Various novel 5-(monosubstituted amino)-2-deoxo-2-phenyl-5-deazaflavins derivatives have been synthesized by direct coupling of 5-deazaflavins and N-alkyl or aryl amines. The antitumor activities against human tumor cell lines CCRF-HSB-2 and KB cells have been investigated in vitro and many compounds showed promising potential antitumor activities with less cytotoxicities. AutoDock molecular docking into PTK (PDB code: 1t46) has been done for lead optimization of these compounds as potential PTK inhibitors. Some of the synthesized 5-(monosubstituted amino)-2-deoxo-2-phenyl-5-deazaflavins at the 5-position exhibited reasonable binding affinities into PTK with the hydrogen bond through their C(5)-NH moiety.