Antagonistic Interaction between Phosphinothricin and Nepeta rtanjensis Essential Oil Affected Ammonium Metabolism and Antioxidant Defense of Arabidopsis Grown In Vitro.

Slavica Dmitrović,Mirjana Perišić,Suzana Živković,Jelena Savić,Dragana Matekalo,Milan Dragićević,Milica Milutinović,Danijela Mišić,Vuk Maksimović

doi:10.3390/plants10010142

Abstract

Phosphinothricin (PPT) is one of the most widely used herbicides. PTT targets glutamine synthetase (GS) activity in plants, and its phytotoxicity is ascribed to ammonium accumulation and reactive oxygen species bursts, which drives rapid lipid peroxidation of cell membranes. In agricultural fields, PPT is extensively sprayed on plant foliage; however, a portion of the herbicide reaches the soil. According to the present study, PPT absorbed via roots can be phytotoxic to Arabidopsis, inducing more adverse effects in roots than in shoots. Alterations in plant physiology caused by 10 days exposure to herbicide via roots are reflected through growth suppression, reduced chlorophyll content, perturbations in the sugar and organic acid metabolism, modifications in the activities and abundances of GS, catalase, peroxidase, and superoxide dismutase. Antagonistic interaction of Nepeta rtanjensis essential oil (NrEO) and PPT, emphasizes the existence of complex control mechanisms at the transcriptional and posttranslational level, which result in the mitigation of PPT-induced ammonium toxicity and in providing more efficient antioxidant defense of plants. Simultaneous application of the two agents in the field cannot be recommended; however, NrEO might be considered as the PPT post-treatment for reducing harmful effects of herbicide residues in the soil on non-target plants.

Highlights

Herbicides remain the primary tool for implementing weed management to maintain high yields of economically important crops
The in vitro experimental setup enabled the 10-day exposure of Arabidopsis roots to BASTA (B5 and BASTA 10 mg L−1 (B10)), while Nepeta rtanjensis essential oil (NrEO) (2NrEO and 4NrEO) components were present in the atmosphere within the glass vessels (Figure 1A)
We examined the changes induced by BASTA and NrEO in shoots and roots individually, in a dose-dependent manner

Summary

Introduction

Herbicides remain the primary tool for implementing weed management to maintain high yields of economically important crops. Phosphinothricin (PPT), known as glufosinate (commonly used in the form of glufosinate-ammonium), is the major active ingredient in many non-selective herbicide formulations, including BASTA® (BASF SE, Germany; previously Bayer Crop Science AG, Germany). It acts by inhibiting glutamine synthetase (GS) activity in plants [1,2,3,4,5], disabling the utilization of ammonium [2,6,7]. The equilibrium between the production and scavenging of ROS is disturbed when GS is inhibited [15]

Methods

Results

Conclusion