Various physiologically active substances such as plant hormones maintain normal plants by dynamically controlling the production amount and decomposition rate by the growth stage and external stimuli. Generally, such bioactive substances are present in very small amounts in plants, but many samples are required to carry out various experiments. In our laboratory, we are conducting research to investigate the physiological effects of various bioactive substances produced by organic synthesis. In addition, plant hormones are biosynthesized in plants through many stages, and we are also conducting structural chemical studies on their intermediates and metabolites, and determining the structure of new plant hormones.
Basic Information
Faculty name/Affiliation
Kenichi Uchida / Department of Integrated Science and Engineering Environment and Biotechnology Course
Specialized Fields
Synthetic organic chemistry, structural analysis of natural products
Research theme
Research on synthetic chemistry of physiologically active substances such as plant hormones, and research on structural determination of organic natural compounds
Development and research of optical resolution method for jasmonates
Jasmonic acid is one of the plant hormones that has various physiological effects such as disease-damage response, aging, and flower morphogenesis. There are four optical isomers of jasmonic acid, and one of them, (+) -7-isojasmonic acid, is produced in vivo. By converting to diastereomers using commercially available raw materials, optical isomers are separated and the physiological activity of each isomer is investigated.
Elucidation of chemical synthesis and bioactivity of OPDA and its analogs
Jasmonic acid is biosynthesized from unsaturated fatty acids, which are components of cell membranes, through several steps. In recent years, it has become clear that OPDA, one of its intermediates, has physiological activity. In this study, we are studying the bioactivity of OPDAs in detail by chemically synthesizing OPDAs and their analogs.
Synthetic study of stable isotope-labeled compounds
In order to accurately quantitatively analyze how much trace substances such as plant hormones are present in the living body, it is effective to use a stable isotope compound as an internal standard. Stable isotopes are heavy atoms with heavy mass, such as deuterium and 13C, 15N, which are naturally present in trace amounts. They have the same chemical properties as ordinary hydrogen, carbon, and nitrogen, but due to their heavy mass, compounds containing these atoms can be distinguished and observed with a mass spectrometer. We are researching methods for synthesizing stable isotope-labeled compounds of various bioactive substances.
Papers and Conferences Presentation
Paper presentation
Title
Journal title
Laboratory
Contents
Facile preparation of optically active jasmonates and their biological activities in rice
Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry, 45, 876-881, 2019
