Authors:

Olivia Rae Burton

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About Paper:

Natural products (NPs) are an important source of bioactive compounds, with potential therapeutic applications in medicine, agriculture, and chemical biology. In addition to their practical applications, NPs often play key roles in signaling and defense mechanisms within the organisms that produce them. One group of compounds that reflects this purpose is the halogenated furanones known as fimbrolides, which are produced by the red seaweed Delisea pulchra. These molecules have been shown to interfere with bacterial quorum sensing by inhibiting acyl- homoserine lactones (AHLs) from binding to LuxR-type receptors. In our project, we are focused on looking into how these fimbrolides and their derivatives might interact with LuxR- type receptors such as TraR from Agrobacterium tumefaciens, the bacterium responsible for causing crown gall disease. Since this pathogen relies on quorum sensing to initiate infection and transfer DNA into host plant cells, blocking this pathway could offer a promising way to manage crown gall disease. These compounds are difficult to isolate from their natural source in large enough amounts, so it is necessary to chemically synthesize them in the lab. These molecules will be evaluated for their ability to inhibit quorum sensing using GFP reporter assays in collaboration with other members of the lab. Keywords: Natural Products; Quorum Sensing; Small Molecule Synthesis; Plant Pathogen

Source:

Purdue University / 2025

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Co-authors:

Olivia Rae Burton