Unveiling Alternate Electrode Electrolysis in Electro-Photochemical and Electro-Organic Syntheses.

Electro-photochemical organic synthesis is a rapidly growing field. Recently, technological advancement has contributed significantly to improve electro- and photolytic organic transformations in terms of energy efficiency and productivity. Herein, we have introduced alternating electrode electrolysis|alternate electrode electrolysis (AEE), a new technique in electrosynthesis which in combination with blue LED demonstrated an interesting three-component reaction with aryl diazoesters, 1,4-quinones, and acetone to synthesize ketal-functionalized 1,4-quinones. The AEE setup consists of two pairs of cathode-anode compared to the conventional setup of one pair. Each pair would be polarized or in a resting stage with a preset interval of choice. This would maintain a continuous potential resulting in maximum current and would facilitate the mass transport, thereby increasing the overall efficiency of the reaction. AEE offers the efficient utilization of photochemically generated carbenes. We extended AEE applications in paired photoelectrolysis reactions for the late-stage functionalization of bioactive molecules and pharmaceutical agents. As an application of AEE in electrosynthesis (without light), we demonstrated the efficient hydroxylation of fluorinated benzene and the reduction of benzonitrile to benzyl amine. The amalgamation of AEE with blue LED contributes to sustainability, and we believe that it holds great promise in the field of electro-photochemical organic synthesis.

Arabinogalactan Proteins Accumulate in the Cell Walls of Searching Hyphae of the Stem Parasitic Plants, Cuscuta campestris and Cuscuta japonica.

Stem parasitic plants (Cuscuta spp.) develop a specialized organ called a haustorium to penetrate their hosts' stem tissues. To reach the vascular tissues of the host plant, the haustorium needs to overcome the physical barrier of the cell wall, and the parasite-host interaction via the cell wall is a critical process. However, the cell wall components responsible for the establishment of parasitic connections have not yet been identified. In this study, we investigated the spatial distribution patterns of cell wall components at a parasitic interface using parasite-host complexes of Cuscuta campestris-Arabidopsis thaliana and Cuscuta japonica-Glycine max. We focused on arabinogalactan proteins (AGPs), because AGPs accumulate in the cell walls of searching hyphae of both C. campestris and C. japonica. We found more AGPs in elongated haustoria than in pre haustoria, indicating that AGP accumulation is developmentally regulated. Using in situ hybridization, we identified five genes in C. campestris that encode hyphal-expressed AGPs that belong to the fasciclin-like AGP (FLA) family, which were named CcFLA genes. Three of the five CcFLA genes were expressed in the holdfast, which develops on the Cuscuta stem epidermis at the attachment site for the host's stem epidermis. Our results suggest that AGPs are involved in hyphal elongation and adhesion to host cells, and in the adhesion between the epidermal tissues of Cuscuta and its host.