The role of indole derivative in the growth of plants: A review

Indole compounds with their unique properties of mimicking peptide structures and reversible binding to enzymes are of great exploitative value in the regulation of plant growth. They stimulate root and fruit formation and activate the plant’s immune system against biotic and abiotic factors harmful to the plant. Analysis of target recognition, receptor recognition, key activation sites and activation mechanisms of indoles in plant to enhance crop growth or disease resistance is a crucial step for further developing compounds as plant growth regulators and immune inducers. Therefore, this review focused on the mechanism of action of indoles in regulating plant growth and enhancing plant resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses

Design, Synthesis, and Bioactivity of Spiro Derivatives Containing a Pyridine Moiety

We designed and synthesized a series of pyridine spiro derivatives and evaluated their insecticidal and antiviral activities. Some compounds exhibited good insecticidal and antiviral activities. Notably, the E series of compounds displayed good insecticidal activity against Tetranychus urticae. Compounds E20 (EC50 = 63.68 mg/L) and F4 (EC50 = 47.81 mg/L) exhibited inactivation activities against the tobacco mosaic virus (TMV), which were similar to that of Ningnanmycin (EC50 = 58.01 mg/L). Molecular docking showed that compounds E20 and F4 exhibited satisfactory affinities for the TMV coat protein (TMV-CP), with binding energies (−6.7 and −6.4 kcal/mol, respectively) slightly lower than that of Ningnanmycin (−6.3 kcal/mol). Further, molecular dynamics analysis revealed that compounds E20 and F4 exhibited better binding stability values than Ningnanmycin. Microscale thermophoresis showed that compounds E20 (Kd = 0.053 ± 0.016 μM) and F4 (Kd = 0.045 ± 0.022 μM) bound more strongly to TMV-CP than Ningnanmycin (Kd = 0.10 ± 0.029 μM). The results of transmission electron microscopy showed that these two compounds hindered the self-assembly and growth of TMV. In summary, we showed that these pyridine spiro derivatives could be used as a basis for the research and development of novel pesticides