Revisited Conformational Aspects of Pro and Hyp Pyrrolidine Rings In Bicyclic Peptide Systems

Altering the Sex Pheromone Cyclo(l-Pro-l-Pro) of the Diatom Seminavis robusta towards a Chemical Probe

As a major group of algae, diatoms are responsible for a substantial part of the primary production on the planet. Pennate diatoms have a predominantly benthic lifestyle and are the most species-rich diatom group, with members of the raphid clades being motile and generally having heterothallic sexual reproduction. It was recently shown that the model species Seminavis robusta uses multiple sexual cues during mating, including cyclo(l-Pro-l-Pro) as an attraction pheromone. Elaboration of the pheromone-detection system is a key aspect in elucidating pennate diatom life-cycle regulation that could yield novel fundamental insights into diatom speciation. This study reports the synthesis and bio-evaluation of seven novel pheromone analogs containing small structural alterations to the cyclo(l-Pro-l-Pro) pheromone. Toxicity, attraction, and interference assays were applied to assess their potential activity as a pheromone. Most of our analogs show a moderate-to-good bioactivity and low-to-no phytotoxicity. The pheromone activity of azide- and diazirine-containing analogs was unaffected and induced a similar mating behavior as the natural pheromone. These results demonstrate that the introduction of confined structural modifications can be used to develop a chemical probe based on the diazirine- and/or azide-containing analogs to study the pheromone-detection system of S. robusta.

Conformational studies of proline-, thiaproline- and dimethylsilaproline-containing diketopiperazines

As proline plays an important role in biologically active peptides, many analogues of this residue have been developed to modulate the proportion of cis and trans conformers. A correlation between the pyrrolidine ring shape and structural properties of proline has been established. Diketopiperazine (DKP) is the model of choice to study the influence of the proline ring modification. In this contribution, cyclo(Gly-Pro) and two analogues cyclo(Sip-Pro) and cyclo(Thz-Pro) have been studied with proton NMR. We showed that both analogues with heteroatoms in gamma position, silicon and sulfur respectively, display a more rigid five-member ring. The usual flexibility of proline ring is restrained in both cases and only the two C(beta)-exo and C(beta)-endo conformations are observed.

Cyclo(L-prolyl-L-N-methylphenylalanyl). Conformation in solution and in the crystal

Detailed analysis of the proton and carbon-13 NMR spectra of cyclo(L-prolyl-L-N-methylphenylalanyl) in chloroform and methanol in relation to its nonmethylated analog provided information on the conformation of the title compound in solution as well as on the effect of N-methylation and solvation. The X-ray structure of the title compound in the crystalline state showed the same conformational features as the solution structure. The phenyl group folds over the diketopiperazine ring which resembles a flattened half-chair. Both amide bonds are considerably nonplanar. The pyrrolidine ring of proline shows a strong pucker at the ring junction with the largest chi 5 value hitherto observed.