Quantitative structure-activity relationships of antimicrobial fatty acids and derivatives against Staphylococcus aureus

Fatty acids and derivatives(FADs)are resources for natural antimicrobials.In order to screen for additional potent antimicrobial agents,the antimicrobial activities of FADs against Staphylococcus aureus were examined using a microplate assay.Monoglycerides of fatty acids were the most potent class of fatty acids,among which monotridecanoin possessed the most potent antimicrobial activity.The conventional quantitative structure-activity relationship(QSAR)and comparative molecular field analysis(CoMFA)were performed to establish two statistically reliable models(conventional QSAR:R2=0.942,Q 2 LOO=0.910;CoMFA:R 2=0.979,Q 2=0.588,respectively).Improved forecasting can be achieved by the combination of these two models that provide a good insight into the structureactivity relationships of the FADs and that may be useful to design new FADs as antimicrobial agents.

Leaf Volatiles Induced by Mechanical Damage from Diverse Taxonomic Tree Species

Plant volatiles induced by wounding play key roles in plant-insect and plant-plant interactions. To deeply understand the mechanism of their induction by wounding and their functions in interplant communications, four diverse tree species: ashleaf maples ( Acer negundo L.), hankow willow (Salix matsudana Koidz.), Chinese white poplar ( Populus tomentosa Carr.) and poplar opera 8277 (P. simonii x P. pyramibalis cv.), were used as materials. The blends of volatiles collected after damage were detected with GCMS. Most of the induced compounds reach high concentrations in 5 h. They are acyclic monoterpenes, fatty acid derivatives, and aromatic compounds. To authors' knowledge, dimethyl adipate, diisobutyl succinate and benthothiazole have never been reported in previous herbivore insect-plant systems, After being damaged 2 h, green leaf volatiles were released in large amount. The repellents were detected in higher concentration after 24 h. The time of releasing is different within different species, but many kinds of volatiles widely existed in different trees. There were some difference among species. Health ashleaf maple released more terpenoids, but poplars and willow produced more aromatic compounds.

Structure-based design,synthesis of novel probes for cytochrome P450 OleT

Cytochrome P450 OleT_(SA),a new cytochrome P450 enzyme from Staphylococcus aureus,catalyzes the oxidative decarboxylation and hydroxylation of fatty acids to generate terminal alkenes and fatty alcohols.The mechanism of this bifurcative chemistry remains largely unknown.Herein,a class of derivatized fatty acids were synthesized as probes to investigate the effects of substrate structure on the product type of P450 OleT_(SA).The results demonstrate that the fine-tuned structure of substrates,even in a remote distance from the carboxyl group,significantly regulates OleT catalyzed decarboxylation/hydroxylation reactions.Molecular docking analysis indicated the potential interactions between the carboxylate groups of different probes and the enzyme active center which was attributed to the bifurcative chemistry.