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The fast spread of bacteria that are resistant to many classes of antibiotics (multidrug resistant) is a global threat to human and animal health with a worrisome scenario ahead. Novel therapeutical strategies are of crucial importance to combat this phenomenon. For this purpose, we investigated the antimicrobial properties of the naturally occurring tripeptide Bialaphos and a dipeptide L-leucyl-L-phosphinoithricin, the synthesis and diastereomers separation of which are herein described. We demonstrate that these compounds are effective on clinical isolates of the human pathogen Klebsiella pneumoniae, causing hospital-acquired and community-acquired infections. The tested isolates were remarkable for their resistance to more than 20 commercial antibiotics of different classes. Based on previous literature data and our experiments consisting of glutamine supplementation, we suggest that both compounds release phosphinothricin—a well-known nanomolar inhibitor of glutamine synthetase—after their penetration in the bacterial cells; and, in this way, exert their antibacterial effect by negatively affecting nitrogen assimilation in this pathogen.

Active ingredient of the commercial herbicide BASTA (B), phosphinothricin, acts as an inhibitor of glutamine synthetase (GS), a key enzyme in ammonium assimilation. The treatment with BASTA leads to an elevation of ammonium levels in plants and further to various physiological alterations, ammonium toxicity and lethality. Results of the present study emphasize the complexity underlying control mechanisms that determine BASTA interaction with essential oil (EO) from Nepeta rtanjensis (NrEO), bioherbicide inducing oxidative stress in target plants. Simultaneous application of NrEO and BASTA, two agents showing differential mode of action, suspends BASTA-induced ammonium toxicity in Arabidopsis thaliana plants. This is achieved through maintaining GS activity, which sustains a sub-toxic and/or sub-lethal ammonium concentration in tissues. As revealed by the present study, regulation of GS activity, as influenced by BASTA and NrEO, occurs at transcriptional, posttranscriptional, and/or posttranslational levels. Two genes encoding cytosolic GS, GLN1;1 and GLN1;3, are highlighted as the main isozymes in Arabidopsis shoots contributing to NrEO-induced overcoming of BASTA-generated ammonium toxicity. The effects of NrEO might be ascribed to its major component nepetalactone, but the contribution of minor EO components should not be neglected. Although of fundamental significance, the results of the present study suggest possible low efficiency of BASTA in plantations of medicinal/aromatic plants such as Nepeta species. Furthermore, these results highlight the possibility of using NrEO as a bioherbicide in BASTA-treated crop fields to mitigate the effect of BASTA residues in contaminated soils.

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.

Sugarcane being the major contributor of sugar and potential source of biofuel around the globe, occupies significant commercial importance. Red rot is the most devastating disease of sugarcane, severely affecting its quality as well as yield. Here we report the overexpression of SUGARWIN1 and SUGARWIN2 genes in any field crop for the first time. For this purpose, SUGAWIN1 and SUGARWIN2 were cloned downstream of maize ubiquitin (Ubi-1) promoter to construct two independent expression cassettes. The bar gene conferring resistance against phosphinothricin was used as selectable marker. Embryogenic calli of sugarcane were bombarded with both expression cassettes and selected on regeneration medium supplemented with phosphinothricin. The phosphinothricin-resistant shoots were rooted and then, analyzed using molecular tools at the genomic as well as transcriptomic levels. The transcriptomic analysis, using real time qPCR, showed that expression of SUGARWIN1 (SWO) and SUGARWIN2 (SWT) was higher in transgenic plants as compared to untransformed plants. Our results further demonstrated that over expression of these genes under maize ubiquitin (Ubi-1) promoter causes significant restriction in proliferation of red rot causal agent, Colletotrichum falcatum in sugarcane transgenic plants, under in vitro conditions. This report may open up exciting possibilities to extend this technology to other monocots for the development of crops with better ability to withstand fungal pathogens.

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.

With the possibility of using ammonium glufosinate in corn, studies on its association with other herbicides are essential. The aim of this study was to assess weed control and herbicide selectivity in association with ammonium glufosinate in corn containing the pat and cp4-epsps genes. The experiment was carried out under field conditions in two sites in a randomized block design with four replications. Treatments consisted of ammonium glufosinate, glyphosate, ammonium glufosinate + glyphosate, ammonium glufosinate + nicosulfuron, ammonium glufosinate + atrazine, ammonium glufosinate + tembotrione, ammonium glufosinate + mesotrione, ammonium glufosinate + carfentrazone ethyl, ammonium glufosinate + bentazon, ammonium glufosinate + 2,4-D, control without weeding, and hand-weeded control. Visual assessments were performed regarding damage, electron transport rate in photosystem II (ETR), ammonia quantification, height, and grain yield of corn plants, as well as weed control at both sites. The application of ammonium glufosinate and its associations did not provide a reduction in productivity when compared to the hand-weeded control. Some treatments presented higher levels of visual damage and ammonia accumulation, but without a yield reduction. Therefore, herbicide mixture with ammonium glufosinate may be an alternative to weed control without damaging corn crop, which presents in its genetic constitution the cp4-epsps and pat genes. RESUMO: Com a possibilidade do uso de amônio-glufosinate no milho, são fundamentais estudos com associações desse herbicida junto a outros. O objetivo do presente trabalho foi avaliar o controle de plantas daninhas e a seletividade de herbicidas em associação ao amônio-glufosinate em milho contendo os genes pat e cp4-epsps. O experimento foi realizado em campo em duas localidades, dispostos em blocos ao acaso com quatro repetições. Os tratamentos foram: amônio-glufosinate; glyphosate; amônio-glufosinate + glyphosate; amônio-glufosinate + nicosulfuron; amônio-glufosinate + atrazine; amônio-glufosinate + tembotrione; amônio-glufosinate + mesotrione; amônio-glufosinate + carfentrazone ethyl; amônio-glufosinate + bentazon; amônio-glufosinate + 2,4-D; e testemunha sem capina e testemunha capinada. Foram feitas realizadas avaliações visuais de injúria, fluxo de transporte de elétrons do fotossistema II (ETR), quantificação de amônia, altura e rendimento de grãos das plantas de milho, além de controle das plantas daninhas em ambos os locais. A adoção da aplicação de glufosinate e suas associações não proporcionou redução de produtividade quando comparada à testemunha capinada; alguns tratamentos apresentaram maiores níveis de injúria visual e acúmulo de amônia, porém sem redução de produtividade. Portanto, a mistura de herbicidas com o amônio-glufosinate pode ser uma alternativa para o controle de plantas daninhas, sem causar danos à cultura do milho, que apresenta na sua constituição genética os genes cp4-epsps e pat.

Obtaining herbicide resistant plants is an important task in the genetic engineering of forest trees. Transgenic European aspen plants (Populus tremula L.) expressing the bar gene for phosphinothricin resistance have been produced using Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation. Successful genetic transformation was confirmed by PCR analysis for thirteen lines derived from two elite genotypes. In 2014–2015, six lines were evaluated for resistance to herbicide treatment under semi-natural conditions. All selected transgenic lines were resistant to the herbicide Basta at doses equivalent to 10 l/ha (twofold normal field dosage) whereas the control plants died at 2.5 l/ha. Foliar NH4-N concentrations in transgenic plants did not change after treatment. Extremely low temperatures in the third ten-day period of October 2014 revealed differences in freeze tolerance between the lines obtained from Pt of f2 aspen genotypes. Stable expression of the bar gene after overwintering outdoors was confirmed by RT-PCR. On the basis of the tests, four transgenic aspen lines were selected. The bar gene could be used for retransformation of transgenic forest trees expressing valuable traits, such as increased productivity.

Plants have versatile detoxification systems to encounter the phytotoxicity of the wide range of natural and synthetic compounds present in the environment. Glutathione S-transferase (GST) is an enzyme that detoxifies natural and exogenous toxic compounds by conjugation with glutathione (GSH). Recently, several roles of GST giving stress tolerance in plants have demonstrated, but little is known about the role of ginseng GSTs. Therefore, this work aimed to provide further information on the GST gene present in Panax ginseng genome as well as its expression and function. A GST cDNA (PgGST) was isolated from P. ginseng cDNA library, and it showed the amino acid sequence similarity with theta type of GSTs. PgGST in ginseng plant was induced by exposure to metals, plant hormone, heavy metals, and high light irradiance. To improve the resistance against environmental stresses, full-length cDNA of PgGST was introduced into Nicotiana tabacum. Overexpression of PgGST led to twofold increase in GST-specific activity compared to the non-transgenic plants, and the GST overexpressed plant showed resistance against herbicide phosphinothricin. The results suggested that the PgGST isolated from ginseng might have a role in the protection mechanism against toxic materials such as heavy metals and herbicides.

l-Phosphinothricin (glufosinate or 2-amino-4-((hydroxy(methyl) phosphinyl) butyric acid ammonium salt (AHPB)), which is a structural analog of glutamate, is a recognized herbicide that acts on weeds through inhibition of glutamine synthetase. Due to the structural similarity between phosphinothricin and some bisphosphonates (BPs), this study focuses on investigating the possibility of repurposing phosphinothricin as a bisphosphonate analogue, particularly in two medicine-related activities: image probing and as an anti-cancer drug. As BP is a competitive inhibitor of human farnesyl pyrophosphate synthase (HFPPS), in silico molecular docking and dynamic simulations studies were established to evaluate the binding and stability of phosphinothricin with HFPPS, while the results showed good binding and stability in the active site of the enzyme in relation to alendronate. For the purpose of inspecting bone-tissue accumulation of phosphinothricin, a technetium (99mTc)–phosphinothricin complex was developed and its stability and tissue distribution were scrutinized. The radioactive complex showed rapid, high and sustained uptake into bone tissues. Finally, the cytotoxic activity of phosphinothricin was tested against breast and lung cancer cells, with the results indicating cytotoxic activity in relation to alendronate. All the above results provide support for the use of phosphinothricin as a potential anti-cancer drug and of its technetium complex as an imaging probe.

The effect of the herbicidally active compound N-2-(5-chloro-pyridyl)aminomethylene bisphosphonic acid (Cl-pyr-AMBPA), previously found in vitro to inhibit the activity of the first enzyme in the shikimate pathway 3-deoxy-D-arabino-heptulosonate-7-phosphate synthase, was investigated in vivo on suspension cultured cells of Nicotiana plumbaginifolia Viviani. Amino acid pool measurement showed an actual reduction of tyrosine, tryptophan and phenylalanine level following the addition of the compound to the growth medium. However, an even stronger effect was noticed for other amino acids, mainly glutamine. When the activity of the enzymes involved in the glutamate cycle was measured in the presence of Cl-pyr-AMBPA, glutamate synthase was unaffected, while glutamine synthetase was significantly inhibited. Contrary to the herbicide phosphinothricin, the inhibitor bound reversibly to the enzyme. Kinetic analysis accounted for an inhibition of uncompetitive type with respect to ammonium, glutamate and ATP, withKivalues of 113, 97 and 39 M, respectively. Only the exogenous supply of a mixture of glutamine and aromatic amino acids relieved cell growth inhibition, suggesting that the phytotoxic properties of Cl-pyr-AMBPA are due to inhibition of key enzymes in both the corresponding pathways.