Potent and Receptor-Selective Germination Inhibitor for Striga hermonthica.

Authors

Michio Kuruma, Masahiko Yoshimura, Yuichiro Tsuchiya, Ayato Sato, Yuta Uchiyama, Yoshiya Seto, Kenichiro Itami, Shuhei Kusano, Shinya Hagihara

Published in

Precision chemistry. Volume 4. Issue 6. Pages 768-773. Jun 22, 2026. Epub Feb 13, 2026.

Abstract

Striga hermonthica, a root parasitic weed that infests a diverse range of crops, germinates through the perception of host-derived strigolactones (SLs) with receptor protein ShHTL. The development of effective strategies to suppress Striga represents an urgent challenge in combating poverty and starvation in Africa. We conducted high throughput screening to identify inhibitors for SL receptor in Striga. Through the screening of 800 compounds against eight receptor proteins (ShHTL4-11), 22 compounds were discovered as the ShHTL antagonist. Striga germination assay revealed that one out of 22 compounds has inhibitory activity to SL-induced Striga germination. Structure-activity relationship study of the primary hit compound afforded the Striga germination modulator (SGM-3) with higher potency. In vitro binding assay demonstrated that SGM-3 selectively binds to ShHTL7 which is known as the dominant receptor for Striga seed germination. SGM-3 will contribute to the suppression of Striga infection and elucidation of the parasitization mechanism.

PMID:
42359039
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 26 Jun 2026.

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