Scientists have mapped the complete three-step molecular pathway plants use to produce debneyol, a natural antifungal compound, and identified a key protein that boosts its production — giving plants stronger defenses against fungi, viruses, and bacteria simultaneously.
1
Debneyol is synthesized from a single precursor molecule (FPP) through exactly three enzymatic steps, completing the first fully mapped phytoalexin biosynthesis pathway of its kind.
2
A regulatory protein called MCD1 physically interacts with two key enzymes in the pathway, boosting their activity and increasing debneyol output.
3
Overexpressing MCD1 in plants conferred resistance not just to fungi but also to viral and bacterial pathogens, demonstrating broad-spectrum defense from a single genetic lever.
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