Tentoxin is a natural cyclic
tetrapeptide produced by phytopathogenic
fungus
A fungus (plural, : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of Eukaryote, eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and Mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified ...
''
Alternaria alternata''. It selectively induces
chlorosis
In botany, chlorosis is a condition in which leaves produce insufficient chlorophyll. As chlorophyll is responsible for the green color of leaves, chlorotic leaves are pale, yellow, or yellow-white. The affected plant has little or no ability to ...
in several germinating seedling plants. Therefore, tentoxin may be used as a potential natural
herbicide.
Tentoxin was first isolated from ''Alternaria alternata'' (syn. ''tenuis'') and characterized by George Templeton ''et al.'' in 1967.
Tentoxin has also been used in recent research to eliminate the
polyphenol oxidase
Polyphenol oxidase (PPO; also polyphenol oxidase i, chloroplastic), an enzyme involved in fruit browning, is a tetramer that contains four atoms of copper per molecule.
PPO may accept monophenols and/or ''o''-diphenols as substrates. The ...
(PPO) activity from seedlings of higher plants.
[Duke, S.O. & Vaughn, K.C. 1982. Lack of involvement of polyphenol oxidase in ortho-hydroxylation of phenolic compounds in mung bean seedlings. ''Physiol. Plant. 54:'' 381-385.]
References
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Cyclic peptides
Tetrapeptides