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Tobacco SABP2, a 29kDa protein catalyzes the conversion of methyl salicylic acid (MeSA) into salicylic acid (SA) to induce SAR. Pretreatment of plants with acibenzolar-S-methyl (ASM), a functional analog of salicylic acid induces systemic acquired resistance (SAR). Data presented in this paper suggest that SABP2 catalyzes the conversion of ASM into acibenzolar to induce SAR. Transgenic SABP2-silenced tobacco plants when treated with ASM, fail to express PR-1 proteins and do not induce robust SAR expression. When treated with acibenzolar, full SAR is induced in SABP2-silenced plants. These results show that functional SABP2 is required for ASM-mediated induction of resistance.

The phase-transfer catalysts, long-chain quaternary ammonium salts, were rapidly synthesized from fatty alcohols by the reactions with hydrogen halides in the presence of trialkyl amines under microwave irradiation. The catalysts could be widely applied in a variety of quick and new organic reactions, whether by conventional heating or under microwave irradiation. The reaction efficiencies under microwave irradiation were higher than those obtained with conventional heating.

Palladium catalysed coupling of aryl halides with 3-methylbut-1-yn-3-ol and a subsequent base-induced retro-Favorsky reaction gave the corresponding ethynyl aromatics in good to excellent yields.

A simple synthesis of fresh alkyl iodides using alcohols and hydriodic acid (HI) is reported. The alkyl iodides were obtained in quick and easy work-up with good to excellent yields (66–94%) and very high purities (97–99%). Freshly prepared iodomethane and 1-iodobutane were applied to synthesize biologically relevant 3,7-dimethyladenine and 9-butyladenine, which were characterized thoroughly using 1D and 2D NMR, individually.

Trifluoroacetic acid and benzenesulfonic acid in dichloromethane at ambient temperature have been found to be efficient co-catalysts for the epimerization of C -nucleosides with electron-withdrawing substituents. This approach provides a convenient route to the β anomer of the nucleosides with high yields in the range 54–78%. Synthesis of the 3′-phosphoramidite of 2,4-difluorophenyl C -nucleoside suitable for solid-phase DNA synthesis is described.