Organocatalytic Asymmetric α-Sulfenylation of 2-Substituted Indolin-3-ones: A Strategy for the Synthesis of Chiral 2,2-Disubstituted Indole-3-ones with S- and N-Containing Heteroquaternary Carbon Stereocenter.

An organocatalytic asymmetric α-sulfenylation of 2-substituted indolin-3-ones with N-(alkylthio or arylthio)succinimides has been developed for the first time using Cinchona-derived squaramide as the catalyst. Various chiral 2,2-disubstituted indole-3-ones with S- and N-containing heteroquaternary carbon stereocenters were obtained with up to 98% yield and 99% ee.

An adenosine kinase exists in Xanthomonas campestris pathovar campestris and is involved in extracellular polysaccharide production, cell motility, and virulence.

Adenosine kinase (ADK) is a purine salvage enzyme and a typical housekeeping enzyme in eukaryotes which catalyzes the phosphorylation of adenosine to form AMP. Since prokaryotes synthesize purines de novo and no endogenous ADK activity is detectable in Escherichia coli, ADK has long been considered to be rare in bacteria. To date, only two prokaryotes, both of which are gram-positive bacteria, have been reported to contain ADK. Here we report that the gram-negative bacterium Xanthomonas campestris pathovar campestris, the causal agent of black rot of crucifers, possesses a gene (designated adk(Xcc)) encoding an ADK (named ADK(Xcc)), and we demonstrate genetically that the ADK(Xcc) is involved in extracellular polysaccharide (EPS) production, cell motility, and pathogenicity of X. campestris pv. campestris. adk(Xcc) was overexpressed as a His(6)-tagged protein in E. coli, and the purified His(6)-tagged protein exhibited ADK activity. Mutation of adk(Xcc) did not affect bacterial growth in rich and minimal media but led to an accumulation of intracellular adenosine and diminutions of intracellular ADK activity and ATP level, as well as EPS. The adk(Xcc) mutant displayed significant reductions in bacterial growth and virulence in the host plant.

Palladium-catalyzed direct C(sp3)-H arylation of indole-3-ones with aryl halides: a novel and efficient method for the synthesis of nucleophilic 2-monoarylated indole-3-ones.

A novel and efficient method for the synthesis of nucleophilic 2-monoarylated indole-3-ones via palladium-catalyzed direct C(sp3)-H arylation of indole-3-ones with aryl halides has been developed. Various 2-monoarylated indole-3-ones were readily obtained with yields up to 95%. As a class of important nucleophilic intermediates, 2-monoarylated indole-3-ones can be used for the construction of C2-quaternary indolin-3-one skeletons.

The role of glucose kinase in carbohydrate utilization and extracellular polysaccharide production in Xanthomonas campestris pathovar campestris.

The genome of the Xanthomonas campestris pathovar campestris (Xcc) strain 8004 encodes three uncharacterized proteins, XC1166, XC1223 and XC1976, annotated as glucose kinase (Glk) by bioinformatic studies. Here we have investigated the biochemical characteristics and physiological roles of these proteins with particular reference to the synthesis of extracellular polysaccharide (EPS). XC1166, XC1223 and XC1976 were overexpressed as fusion proteins with a His(6) affinity tag and purified by nickel affinity chromatography. The standard Glk activity assay revealed that all three proteins possessed apparent Glk activity, with XC1976-His(6) being the most active; the specific activity values were 1.16x10(6) U mg(-1) for XC1166-His(6), 4.36x10(7) U mg(-1) for XC1223-His(6) and 2.63x10(8) U mg(-1) for XC1976-His(6). TLC analysis showed, however, that only XC1976-His(6) could phosphorylate glucose. Insertional mutants of XC1166, XC1223 and XC1976 were generated using the suicide plasmid pK18mob. Although mutant strains with insertions in XC1166 or XC1223 had Glk activity similar to that of the wild-type strain, the XC1976 mutant had only about 6% of the wild-type activity. Mutation in XC1976 had complex effects on EPS production. In media containing arabinose, glucose, galactose, sucrose or maltose, the XC1976 mutant produced about 40-75% of the wild-type level of EPS, whereas in medium containing fructose, the mutant showed a 30% increase in EPS production compared to the wild-type strain. The XC1976 mutant also showed attenuated virulence on the host plant Chinese radish (Raphanus sativus). The results indicate that XC1976 has the most significant role for the parameters tested.