Syntheses of thallusin analogues and their algal morphogenesis-inducing activities

Thallusin is the only known natural product that induces cell differentiation followed by formation of a thallus during the growth of green macroalgae such as Monostroma and Ulva. Herein, various thallusin analogues based on the terpen skeleton were synthesized to study the structure-activity relationships of thallusin. The potency of the synthetic analogues was investigated in an experimental assay, which demonstrated that the 19-methyl group in thallusin is essential for potent morphogenesis-inducing activity. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.