Pea weevil (Bruchus pisorum L.) oviposition on pods of specific genetic lines of pea (Pisum sativum L.) stimulates cell division at the sites of egg attachment. As a result, tumor-like growths of undifferentiated cells (neoplasms) develop beneath the egg. These neoplasms impede larval entry into the pod. This unique form of induced resistance is conditioned by the Np allele and mediated by a recently discovered class of natural products that we have identified from both cowpea weevil (Callosobruchus maculatus F.) and pea weevil. These compounds, which we refer to as ''bruchins,'' are long-chain ␣,-diols, esterified at one or both oxygens with 3-hydroxypropanoic acid. Bruchins are potent plant regulators, with application of as little as 1 fmol (0.5 pg) causing neoplastic growth on pods of all of the pea lines tested. The bruchins are, to our knowledge, the first natural products discovered with the ability to induce neoplasm formation when applied to intact plants.

Conidia of the plant pathogenic fungus Botrytis cinerea adhered to tomato cuticle and to certain other substrata immediately upon hydration. This immediate adhesion occurred with both living and nonliving conidia. Adhesion was not consistently influenced by several lectins, sugars, or salts or by protease treatment, but it was strongly inhibited by ionic or nonionic detergents. With glass and oxidized polyethylene, substrata whose surface hydrophobicities could be conveniently varied, there was a direct relationship between water contact angle and percent adhesion. Immediate adhesion did not involve specific conidial attachment structures, although the surfaces of attached conidia were altered by contact with a substratum. Freshly harvested conidia were very hydrophobic, with more than 97% partitioning into the organic layer when subjected to a phase distribution test. Percent adhesion of germinated conidia was larger than that of nongerminated conidia. Evidence suggests that immediate adhesion of conidia of B. cinerea depends, at least in part, on hydrophobic interactions between the conidia and substratum.