Eleven flavones, including cochliophilin A and a chromone, were chemically prepared to determine the attracting activity for zoospores of Aphanomyces cochlioides, a causative fungus of spinach root rot. Analyses of the structure-activity relationship of each revealed a significant correlation between the zoospore attracting activity and the A-ring oxygenation at C-5 and C-7 in the flavone skeleton. The relative attractancy of four regio-isomers of N-trans-feruloyl 4-0-methyldopamine, which was identified as a zoospore attractant specific to another host plant Chenopodium album, was also examined.Aphanomyces cochlioides Drechsler (Saprolegniales) is a causal fungus of root rot disease to spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) and infects some other species of Chenopodiaceae. It is considered that when zoospores of the Aphanomyces spp. infest the host, they are initially attracted to an exudate from the roots. 1 -3) Cochliophilin A (5-hydroxy-6,7-methylenedioxyflavone, 1) has been isolated from spinach roots as a highly potent attractant for the zoospores of A. cochlioides. 4) A second attractant has recently been isolated from Chenopodium album, one of the host plants, and was characterized to be N-trans-feruloyl 4-0-methyldopamine (17) by chemical and spectroscopic methods. S ) In this study, we synthesized cochliophilin A analogs and regio-isomers of the phenolic amide attractant to analyze the relationship between the zoospore attracting activity and the chemical structure. We anticipate that the results would provide some knowledge which would be available for the eco-chemical regulation of those soil-borne phytopathogens that are usually very difficult to control by agrochemicals.
Materials and MethodsChemicals. Cochliophilin A (1) and 5-hydroxy-7-methoxychromone (12) were prepared by the method of Horio et at. 4) and Jain,6) respectively. 6,7-Methylenedioxyflavone (2), 7-hydroxyflavone (6), 5,7-dihydroxyflavone (7), 5, 6,7-trihydroxyflavone (10), and 5,7-dihydroxy-4'-methoxyflavone (16) were synthesized according to the method of Agasimundin and Siddapa. 7 ) Flavone (4) and 5-hydroxyflavone (5) were obtained by the method ofJain et al. 8) Compounds 7,10 and 5,7,4'-trihydroxyisoflavone (genistein, 14) were methylated to 5-hydroxy-7-methoxyflavone (8), 5-hydroxy-6,7-dimethoxyflavone (11), and 5,4'-dihydroxy-7-methoxyisoflavone (prunetin, 15) with diazomethane, respectively. 9) 5-Methoxy-6,7-methylenedioxyflavone (3) and 5-hydroxy-7,4'-dimethoxyflavone (13) were converted from 1 and 16 by methylating with dimethyl sulfate in a mixture of K 1 C0 3 and acetone, respectively. Ethylation of 7 with diethyl sulfate gave 5-hydroxy-7-ethoxyflavone (9). Genistein (14) was isolated from the leaves of white lupin. 10 ) N-trans-Feruloyl 4-0-methyldopamine (17) was prepared by the method of Horio et al.,5) and N-trans-isoferuloyl 4-0-methyldopamine (18), N-trans-feruloyl 3-0-methyldopamine (19) and N-trans-isoferuloyl 3-0-methyldopamine (20) were prepared by almost the same method.All compounds were identified on the basis of th...