The discovery of new scaffold of plant activators: From salicylic acid to benzotriazole

Started from salicylic acid (SA) and related commercialized plant activators, based on molecular three-dimensional shape and pharmacophore similarity comparison (SHAFTS), a new lead compound benzotriazole was predicted and a series of benzotriazole derivatives were designed and synthesized. The bioassay showed that benzotriazole had high activity against a broad spectrum of diseases including fungi and oomycetes in vivo, but no activity in vitro. And the introduction of proper groups at the 1'-position and 5'-position was beneficial to the activity. So, they had the potential to be exploited as novel plant activators. (C) 2017 Chinese Chemical Society and Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.