Butenolides from plant-derived smoke: natural plant-growth regulators with antagonistic actions on seed germination

Marnie E. Light, Ben V. Burger, Dan Stærk, Ladislav Kohout, Johannes Van Staden

    73 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Smoke plays an intriguing role in promoting the germination of seeds of many species following a fire. Recently, a bicyclic compound containing a condensed butenolide moiety, 3-methyl-2H-furo[2,3-c]pyran-2-one (1), was reported as a potent germination promoter from plant-derived smoke. In this study, a related butenolide, 3,4,5-trimethylfuran2(5H)-one (2), which inhibits germination and significantly reduces the effect of 1 when applied simultaneously, was also isolated from plant-derived smoke. The interaction of these compounds with opposing actions on seed germination may have important ecological implications in a post-fire environment and could be useful molecules for understanding the events involved in breaking seed dormancy and promoting seed germination.

    Original languageEnglish
    JournalJournal of Natural Products
    Volume73
    Issue number2
    Pages (from-to)267-269
    Number of pages3
    ISSN0163-3864
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 26 Feb 2010

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