DERIVATIVES OF PESTICIDES WITH AN ALPHA-AMINO-ACID FUNCTION - SYNTHESIS AND EFFECT ON THREONINE UPTAKE

The synthesis of several derivatives of a pesticide and an alpha-amino acid are described. The process involves three steps, the last one (d eprotection of the alpha-amino acid group) being the most critical. Th e resulting products preserved their alpha-amino acid group and were g lobally neutral. They were tested for their effect on the transport of a neutral amino acid, threonine, and two sugars, sucrose and glucose. Two derivatives markedly and specifically inhibited threonine uptake by leaf tissues of Vicia faba L. and phloem loading. Preliminary exper iments suggested that the lysine-2,4-D derivative is a competitive inh ibitor of threonine uptake. The apparent K(i) (0.5 mm) was much lower than the apparent K(m) (3 mm) of the natural substrate.