PubMed · 2026-05-08
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.
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.
A regulatory protein called MCD1 physically interacts with two key enzymes in the pathway, boosting their activity and increasing debneyol output.
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.