Fluorinated or brominated meta‐diamides as the new scaffolds for the treatment of rice bacterial leaf blight

Abstract Rice is the main calorie source and stable food for half of the global population worldwide, while the rice bacterial leaf blight has been one of the main challenges to rice yields and quality. Herein, we revealed the novel scaffolds, fluorinated or brominated meta‐diamides ( F1–F44 ), for treating the rice bacterial leaf bright for the first time. The major findings are as follows: (i) based on the different methods, fluorinated meta‐diamides and brominated meta‐diamides were obtained, respectively, and the latter has rarely been reported; (ii) fluorinated meta‐diamide F17 showed a protection activity of 51.3% and a curative activity of 48.7% against the rice bacterial leaf blight caused by the bacteria Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae ( Xoo ), which were better than those of used bactericides. Scanning electron microscopy suggested that F17 may deform and rupture Xoo ; and (iii) the majority of brominated meta‐diamides were more active than corresponding fluorinated meta‐diamides, which revealed the antibacterial activity of brominated meta‐diamides for the first time. The present work is expected to provide new ideas for meta‐diamides for treating rice bacterial leaf blight.