Decades of research on the infamous antinutritional steroidal glycoalkaloids (SGAs) in Solanaceae plants have provided deep insights into their metabolism and roles. However, engineering SGAs in heterologous hosts has remained a challenge. We discovered that a protein evolved from the machinery involved in building plant cell walls is the crucial link in the biosynthesis of SGAs. We show that cellulose synthase–like M [GLYCOALKALOID METABOLISM15 (GAME15)] functions both as a cholesterol glucuronosyltransferase and a scaffold protein. Silencing GAME15 depletes SGAs, which makes plants more vulnerable to pests. Our findings illuminate plant evolutionary adaptations that balance chemical defense and self-toxicity and open possibilities for producing steroidal compounds in heterologous systems for food, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals.

Pathogen effectors are intercepted by plant intracellular nucleotide binding–leucine-rich repeat (NB-LRR) receptors. However, processes linking receptor activation to downstream defenses remain obscure. Nucleo-cytoplasmic basal resistance regulator EDS1 (ENHANCED DISEASE SUSCEPTIBILITY1) is indispensible for immunity mediated by TIR (Toll–interleukin-1 receptor)–NB-LRR receptors. We show that Arabidopsis EDS1 molecularly connects TIR-NB-LRR disease resistance protein RPS4 recognition of bacterial effector AvrRps4 to defense pathways. RPS4-EDS1 and AvrRps4-EDS1 complexes are detected inside nuclei of living tobacco cells after transient coexpression and in Arabidopsis soluble leaf extracts after resistance activation. Forced AvrRps4 localization to the host cytoplasm or nucleus reveals cell compartment–specific RPS4-EDS1 defense branches. Although nuclear processes restrict bacterial growth, programmed cell death and transcriptional resistance reinforcement require nucleo-cytoplasmic coordination. Thus, EDS1 behaves as an effector target and activated TIR-NB-LRR signal transducer for defenses across cell compartments.

The mutation rates of viroids, plant pathogens with minimal non-protein-coding RNA genomes, are unknown. Their replication is mediated by host RNA polymerases and, in some cases, by hammerhead ribozymes, small self-cleaving motifs embedded in the viroid. By using the principle that the population frequency of nonviable genotypes equals the mutation rate, we screened for changes that inactivated the hammerheads of Chrysanthemum chlorotic mottle viroid. We obtained a mutation rate of 1/400 per site, the highest reported for any biological entity. Such error-prone replication can only be tolerated by extremely simple genomes such as those of viroids and, presumably, the primitive replicons of the RNA world. Our results suggest that the emergence of replication fidelity was critical for the evolution of complexity in the early history of life.

Nonhost resistance describes the immunity of an entire plant species against nonadapted pathogen species. We report that Arabidopsis PEN2 restricts pathogen entry of two ascomycete powdery mildew fungi that in nature colonize grass and pea species. The PEN2 glycosyl hydrolase localizes to peroxisomes and acts as a component of an inducible preinvasion resistance mechanism. Postinvasion fungal growth is blocked by a separate resistance layer requiring the EDS1-PAD4-SAG101 signaling complex, which is known to function in basal and resistance (R) gene–triggered immunity. Concurrent impairment of pre- and postinvasion resistance renders Arabidopsis a host for both nonadapted fungi.

Investigations of the metabolic conversion of the phytohormone 24-epicastasterone (1) in the cockroach Periplaneta americana (L.) required the synthesis of 2,24-diepicastasterone (4), 3,24-diepicastasterone (7b) and 2-dehydro-3,24-diepicastasterone (9) as reference standards. 2,24-Diepicastasterone (4) was synthesized from 2α,3α-epoxy derivative 2 as well as from the 2β,3β-epoxy-22,23-diol 3 by acid-catalyzed water addition to the epoxy function leading to the desired 2β,3α-trans functionality. 3,24-Diepicastasterone (7b) was prepared by NaBH4-reduction of the 3-oxo derivative 6. Upon deprotection conditions from the ketol acetonides 6 and 8 in both cases 2-dehydro-3,24-diepicastasterone (9) was obtained. The structure of 2,24-diepicastasterone (4) was confirmed by X-ray analysis.

The syntheses of N-[10-(9α-fluoro-11β,17α-dihydroxy-16α-methyl-3-oxoandrosta-1,4-diene-17β-carboxamido)decyl]gibberellamide (7) and 6-[({N-[10-(9α-fluoro-11β,17α-dihydroxy- 16α-methyl-3-oxoandrosta-1,4-diene-17β-carboxamido)decyl]carbamoyl}methoxy)imino]-24-epicastasterone (10) are described. [(Benzotriazol-1-yl)oxy]bis(pyrrolidin-1-yl)methylium hexafluorophosphate (HBPyU) was used as the coupling agent for the reaction of gibberellic acid as well as of 24-epicastasterone-O-(carboxymethyl)oxime with N-(10-aminodecyl)- 9α-fluoro-11β,17α-dihydroxy-16α-methyl-3-oxoandrosta-1,4-diene-17β-carboxamide (4). The gibberellic acid conjugate 7 was also synthesised by the coupling of succinimidyl gibberellate 6 with amine 4.

Parsley cells recognize the fungal plant pathogenPhytophthora sojae through a plasma membrane receptor. A pathogen-derived oligopeptide elicitor binds to this receptor and thereby stimulates a multicomponent defense response through sequential activation of ion channels and an oxidative burst. An elicitor-responsive mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase was identified that acts downstream of the ion channels but independently or upstream of the oxidative burst. Upon receptor-mediated activation, the MAP kinase is translocated to the nucleus where it might interact with transcription factors that induce expression of defense genes.

Plants respond to physical injury, such as that caused by foraging insects, by synthesizing proteins that function in general defense and tissue repair. In tomato plants, one class of wound-responsive genes encodes proteinase inhibitor (pin) proteins shown to block insect feeding. Application of many different factors will induce or inhibit pin gene expression. Ethylene is required in the transduction pathway leading from injury, and ethylene and jasmonates act together to regulate pin gene expression during the wound response.