Allelopathy & Oxylipins
P
hyto-oxylipins are a broad class of compounds with different chemical structures, derived from the enzymatic or non-enzymatic oxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids.
Phyto-oxylipins are involved in numerous mechanisms linked to plant development and response to biotic and abiotic stresses. The best-known phyto-oxylipins are jasmonates and green leafy volatiles.
The Natural Molecules Chemistry Laboratory has developed recognized expertise in the chemical characterization of oxylipins and in the biosynthesis of some of them down to the gram scale.
Most recent work has focused on the use of these compounds as elicitors/biopesticides, and on understanding the role of esterified forms of these molecules in plant response to stress (arabidopsides in particular).
The interactions of these molecules with the lipid fraction of membranes are the subject of multidisciplinary research carried out in close collaboration with the Molecular Biophysics at Interfaces Laboratory (Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech).
The most recent work focuses on the use of these compounds as elicitors/biopesticides, and on understanding the role of esterified forms of these molecules in plant response to stress (arabidopsides in particular).
The interactions of these molecules with the lipid fraction of membranes are the focus of much of our research.
Allelopathy is a natural phenomenon that can be defined as the interactions between two organisms by means of compounds generally produced by their scondary metabolisms and released into the environment. In some species, these allelochemical compounds are only released when a recipient plant is perceived by the donor plant (induced allelopathy), rather than on a continuous, constitutive basis (constitutive allelopathy). The study of signals (volatile or otherwise) triggering the allelopathy phenomenon is therefore one of the laboratory's research themes.
