New and Scalable Access to Karrikin (KAR1) and Evaluation of Its Potential Application on Corn Germination

Karrikin (KAR 1 ), also named ‘karrikinolide’, was isolated in 2004 from smoke water and identified as a very potent germination stimulant as well as controlling early seedling development for a large variety of plant species. We reported herein an unprecedented and scalable synthesis of Karrikin (KAR 1 ) based on an elegant and efficient 6‐ endo ‐dig cyclization. Moreover, we evaluated the effect of KAR 1 on corn seeds germination, we carried out additional studies on the uptake of this butenolide into corn seeds, and the main soil chemiodynamic properties ( i.e ., persistence and mobility) were calculated or estimated. Finally, we provided a rationalization of the experimental results by building a homology model of corn KAI2, using as template the X‐ray of the KAI2 protein from Arabidopsis thaliana .