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The aim of the work is to investigate the ability of higher plants to absorb and detoxify environmental pollutants - aromatic compounds via aromatic ring cleavage. Transformation of 14C specifically labelled benzene derivatives, [1-6-14C]-nitrobenzene, [1-6-(14)C]-aniline, [1-(14)C]- and [7-(14)C]-benzoic acid, in axenic seedlings of maize (Zea mays L.), kidney bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), pea (Pisum sativum L.) and pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo L.) were studied. After penetration in plants, the above xenobiotics are transformed by oxidative or reductive reactions, conjugation with cell endogenous compounds, and binding to biopolymers. The initial stage of oxidative degradation consists in hydroxylation reactions. The aromatic ring can then be cleaved and degraded into organic acids of the Krebs cycle. Ring cleavage is accompanied by 14CO2 evolution. Aromatic ring cleavage in plants has thus been demonstrated for different xenobiotics carrying different substitutions on their benzene ring. Conjugation with low molecular peptides is the main pathway of aromatic xenobiotics detoxification. Peptide conjugates are formed both by the initial xenobiotics (except nitrobenzene) and by intermediate transformation products. The chemical nature of the radioactive fragment and the amino acid composition of peptides participating in conjugation were identified.

Electron microscopic radioautography demonstrated the penetration of [1-6(14)C]nitrobenzene in maize and soybean root tip cells: radioactive label was detected in cell wall, plasmalemma, nuclei, and cytoplasm. Among cytoplasmic organelles, the highest label was found in mitochondria and plastids. [1-6(14)C]nitrobenzene and/or products of its transformation accumulated in vacuoles. Study of the action of different concentrations of nitrobenzene on cell ultrastructural organization revealed the following picture. Nitrobenzene concentration up to 0.015 mM was harmless for plant cells. Increase of nitrobenzene concentration from 0.015 to 1.5 mM induced several pathological changes, up to the complete destruction of cells. The most damaged organelles were nuclei, mitochondria, and plastids. In the presence of 0.15 mM nitrobenzene the intensification of contacts among cell organelles, especially between endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria/plastids, was observed. The data indicate some coordination between detoxication activity and energy metabolism during cell reaction to xenobiotic toxicity.

Tissue factor (TF) is the primary cellular initiator of the coagulation protease cascade and serves as a cell surface receptor and a specific cofactor for plasma factors VII/VIIa. Because there is evidence that TF is regulated by a P-selectin dependent gene, we examined TF mRNA expression in the lungs during murine traumatic shock in the presence and absence of recombinant soluble P-selectin glycoprotein ligand-1 (rsPSGL.Ig) by using ribonuclease protection assays. Moreover, we studied the level of TF mRNA expression in mice with their P-selectin gene deleted (P-selectin -/-). Our data show that TF mRNA was significantly increased (+143%; P < 0.001) in the lungs 2 h after trauma compared with control rats subjected to sham trauma, which exhibited reduced TF mRNA expression (-34%; P < 0.001) after systemic administration of rsPSGL.Ig. The expression of TF mRNA was also significantly decreased (-29%; P < 0.05) in the lungs of P-selectin -/- mice compared with wild-type control C57B16 mice. The present results provide evidence for a P-selectin-dependent mechanism that enhances TF gene expression in traumatic shock. The major support for this mechanism is that either blockade of P-selectin by rsPSGL.Ig or deletion of the P-selectin gene leads to significant decreases in TF mRNA expression in the lung. These results are consistent with the concept that TF interacting with P-selectin may play a significant role in the pathophysiology of trauma.

The metabolic fate of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) was studied in leaves of transgenic 2,4-D-tolerant cotton (Gossypium hirsutum), which is obtained by transfer of the tfdA gene from the bacterium Alcaligenes eutrophus. The tdfA gene codes for a dioxygenase catalyzing the degradation of 2,4-D to 2, 4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP). [phenyl-(14)C]-2,4-D was administered by petiolar absorption followed by an 18 h water chase or converted to the isopropyl ester and sprayed onto the leaf surface; the leaves were harvested 48 h later. The herbicide was degraded to 2,4-DCP by the bacterial enzyme expressed in the plants. 2,4-DCP was rapidly converted to more polar metabolites and was never found in detectable amounts. Metabolite structures were deduced from enzymatic hydrolysis studies and mass spectrometric analyses. The first metabolite was the glucoside conjugate of 2,4-DCP (2, 4-DCP-beta-O-glucoside). The major terminal metabolites were two more complex glucosides: 2,4-DCP-(6-O-malonyl)glucoside and 2, 4-DCP-(6-O-sulfate)glucoside.

The metabolism of [(14)C] phenoxyacetic acid (POA) and the formation of bound residues were studied in soybean leaves and stems. POA was metabolized to 4-HO-POA and to 4-HO-POA glucoside, and a significant fraction of the radioactivity was incorporated in the cell walls (CW). An extraction procedure of CW polymers was developed to specifically isolate the radioactivity associated with each of them. In leaves, the radioactivity showed a preferential distribution into the hemicelluloses and lignins, while pectins and lignins were the most radioactive CW polymers in stems. The identified bound metabolites were 4-HO-POA, POA, and phenolic residues. The latter and POA were essentially incorporated into the lignin fractions and were linked to the benzylic carbons of lignin monomers. 4-HO-POA, the major bound residue, was more evenly distributed in CW polymers. It was esterified to noncellulosic polysaccharides and lignins, but in the latter, contrary to other POA residues, it was mainly linked at the gamma-carbon of propanoid side-chains of lignin monomers. That type of linkage suggested an enzymatic incorporation of 4-HO-POA in CW, contrary to others residues which have an opportunistic lignin incorporation. That incorporation of 4-HO-POA in CW polymers looks like that of endogenous hydroxycinnamic acids.

Exposure to the herbicide acifluorfen resulted in marked increase of glutathione S-transferase (GST) enzyme activity in wheat seedlings, primarily in shoot tissues. From the six major, constitutively expressed GST subunits found in untreated wheat shoots subunits 2 and 3 were selectively induced by acifluorfen. No new subunit could be detected. The induced subunits belong to those GST isoenzymes, which metabolize diphenyl ether herbicides.

A diazoketone 3 has been synthesized in two steps from acifluorfen 1, a diphenyl ether herbicide. Like the parent compound 1, the diazoketone 3 is toxic to plant cells and inhibits protoporphyrinogen oxidase, the molecular target of diphenyl ether herbicides. On photolysis of 3 in methanol, the generated carbene mainly undergoes the Wolff rearrangement to a ketene which further adds methanol, but many other products are observed. A tritiated derivative of 3 has been prepared which is suitable for photoaffinity labeling experiments.

It is now generally accepted that protoporphyrinogen oxidase is the target-enzyme for diphenyl-ether-type herbicides. Recent studies [Camadro, J-M., Matringe M., Scalla, R. & Labbe, P. (1991) Biochem. J. 277, 17-21] have revealed that in maize, diphenyl ethers competitively inhibit protoporphyrinogen oxidase with respect to its substrate, protoporphyrinogen IX. In this study, we show that, in purified pea etioplast, [3H]acifluorfen specifically binds to a single class of high-affinity binding sites with an apparent dissociation constant of 6.2 +/- 1.3 nM and a maximum density of 29 +/- 5 nmol/g protein. [3H]Acifluorfen binding reaches equilibrium in about 1 min at 30 degrees C. Half dissociation occurs in less than 30 s, indicating that the binding is fully reversible. The specificity of [3H]acifluorfen binding to protoporphyrinogen oxidase is examined. [3H]Acifluorfen binding is inhibited by all the peroxidizing molecules tested. The phthalimide derivative, N-(4-chloro-2-fluoro-5-isopropoxy)phenyl-3,4,5,6-tetra hydrophthalimide, exerts a mixed-competitive inhibition on this binding. The effects of all these molecules on the binding of [3H]acifluorfen are tightly linked to their capacity to inhibit pea etioplast protoporphyrinogen oxidase activity. Furthermore, protoporphyrinogen IX, the substrate of the reaction catalyzed by protoporphyrinogen oxidase, was able to competitively inhibit the binding of [3H]acifluorfen. In contrast, protoporphyrin IX, the product of the reaction, did not inhibit this binding. All these results provide clear evidence that in pea etioplasts, [3H]acifluorfen exclusively binds to protoporphyrinogen oxidase, that the protoporphyrinogen oxidase inhibitors tested so far bind to the same region of the enzyme and that this region overlaps the catalytic site of the enzyme.

Plant protoporphyrinogen oxidase is of particular interest since it is the last enzyme of the common branch for chlorophyll and heme biosynthetic pathways. In addition, it is the target enzyme for diphenyl ether-type herbicides, such as acifluorfen. Two distinct methods were used to investigate the localization of this enzyme within Percoll-purified spinach chloroplasts. We first assayed the enzymatic activity by spectrofluorimetry and we analyzed the specific binding of the herbicide acifluorfen, using highly purified chloroplast fractions. The results obtained give clear evidence that chloroplast protoporphyrinogen oxidase activity is membrane-bound and is associated with both chloroplast membranes, i.e. envelope and thylakoids. Protoporphyrinogen oxidase specific activity was 7-8 times higher in envelope membranes than in thylakoids, in good agreement with the number of [3H]acifluorfen binding sites in each membrane system: 21 and 3 pmol/mg protein, respectively, in envelope membranes and thylakoids. On a total activity basis, 25% of protoporphyrinogen oxidase activity were associated with envelope membranes. The presence of protoporphyrinogen oxidase in chloroplast envelope membranes provides further evidence for a role of this membrane system in chlorophyll biosynthesis. In contrast, the physiological significance of the enzyme associated with thylakoids is still unknown, but it is possible that thylakoid protoporphyrinogen oxidase could be involved in heme biosynthesis.

Diphenyl ethers (DPEs) and related herbicides are powerful inhibitors of protoporphyrinogen oxidase, an enzyme involved in the biosynthesis of haems and chlorophylls. The inhibition kinetics of protoporphyrinogen oxidase of various origins by four DPEs, (methyl)-5-[2-chloro-4-(trifluoromethyl)phenoxy]-2-nitrobenzoic acid (acifluorfen and its methyl ester, acifluorfen-methyl), methyl-5-[2-chloro-4-(trifluoromethyl) phenoxy]-2-chlorobenzoate (LS 820340) and methyl-5-[2-chloro-5-(trifluoromethyl)phenoxy]-2-nitrobenzoic acid (RH 5348), were studied. The inhibitions of the enzymes from maize (Zea mays) mitochondrial and etiochloroplastic membranes and mouse liver mitochondrial membranes were competitive with respect to the substrate, protoporphyrinogen IX, for all four molecules. The relative efficiencies of the inhibitors were: acifluorfen-methyl greater than LS 820340 much greater than RH 5348 greater than or equal to acifluorfen. The four molecules showed mixed-competitive type inhibition of the enzyme from yeast mitochondria where acifluorfen, a carboxylic acid, had the same inhibitory activity as its methyl ester, acifluorfen-methyl, and both were much greater than that of LS 820340 and RH 5348.

The specific binding of the herbicide acifluorfen 5-[2-chloro-4-(trifluoromethyl)phenoxy]-2-nitrobenzoic acid to corn etioplast membranes is competitively inhibited by protoporphyrinogen IX, the substrate of protoporphyrinogen oxidase. Three other peroxidizing molecules, oxadiazon [5-terbutyl-3-(2,4-dichloro-5-isopropoxyphenyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazol -2-one], LS 82556 [(S)3-N-(methylbenzyl)carbamoyl-5-propionyl-2,6-lutidine], and M&B 39279 [5-amino-4-cyano-1-(2,6-dichloro-4-trifluoromethylphenyl)pyrazol], also compete with acifluorfen for its binding site. The four herbicides thus bind to the same site, or to closely located sites, on the enzyme protoporphyrinogen oxidase.

The 447 male sterility trait in Vicia faba is strictly correlated with the presence of well-defined membranous vesicles or 'cytoplasmic spherical bodies' not found in fertile isogenic maintainer plants, and by the occurrence of a discrete high molecular weight double-stranded RNA. We have purified these cytoplasmic membranous vesicles and find that they contain the dsRNA together with an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase whose activity depends upon the presence of Mg2+, requires the four-nucleoside triphosphates and is unaffected by inhibitors of cellular transcriptases, e.g. alpha-amanitin and Actinomycin D. The dsRNA can be labelled in vitro by incubating the cytoplasmic vesicles with radioactive NTPs, and the RNA synthesized in vitro is also in a double-stranded form as judged by its resistance to RNase digestion at high salt and its behaviour upon CF-11 chromatography. Treatment of the vesicles with a non-ionic detergent releases the dsRNA in the form of a complex with the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase. The enzyme can still carry out the specific synthesis of dsRNA in these solubilized complexes. The cytoplasmic vesicles therefore isolate this vertically transmitted, self-replicating dsRNA from the cellular milieu: the possible mode of action and relevance of this novel genetic element to the 447 cytoplasmic male sterility trait are discussed.

Thirty-one carbanilate derivatives were assayed for their capabilities to inhibit the ATPase activity of a plasma membrane fraction from Acer pseudoplatanus cells. At a concentration of 100 micromolar, nine compounds strongly inhibited the ATPase activity, with I(50) ranging from 14.5 micromolar to 35 micromolar. These molecules were also inhibitory to plasma membrane ATPases of other origins: plant (maize shoot), yeast (Schizosaccharomyces pombe), and animal (dog kidney). The most efficient molecule appeared to be 2,2,2-trichloroethyl 3,4-dichlorocarbanilate.

Phytotoxic effects of the herbicide acifluorfen-methyl on nonchlorophyllous soybean cells were estimated by (86)Rb leakage. An action spectrum study showed maximum injury at 350 to 450 nanometers, with lesser activity between 450 and 700 nanometers. Cells treated in the dark with acifluorfen-methyl accumulated fluorescent pigments with the spectral characteristics of protoporphyrin IX. The action spectrum of acifluorfen-methyl matched the absorption spectrum of this tetrapyrrole, and the extent of cellular damage in the light was related to the degree of fluorescent pigment accumulation. We propose that the phytotoxicity of diphenyl ether herbicides could be explained by their ability to cause abnormal accumulations of tetrapyrroles, which in turn induce lethal photooxidative reactions.

Three chemically unrelated peroxidizing molecules, namely oxadiazon [5-(t-butyl)-3-(2,4-dichloro-5-isopropoxyphenyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2 -one], LS 82-556 [(S)3-N-(methylbenzyl)carbamoyl-5-propionyl-2,6-lutidine] and M&B 39279 [5-amino-4-cyano-1-(2,6-dichloro-4-trifluoromethylphenyl)pyrazol], are potent inhibitors of plant, yeast and mouse protoporphyrinogen oxidase.

The effect of Cercospora beticola toxin on the transport of protons by vanadate-sensitive ATPase was studied with corn (Zea mays) root microsomal vesicles prepared by differential centrifugation, sedimentation through a sucrose cushion, and washing with Triton X-100 plus KBr. In these preparations, addition of ATP induced intravesicular H(+)-accumulation as evidenced by a rapid quenching of the fluorescence of 9-amino-6-chloro-2-methoxy acridine. This quenching was relatively unaffected by inhibitors of mitochondrial and tonoplast-type ATPases, but was strongly reduced by inhibitors of plasma membrane H(+)-ATPase. C. beticola toxin markedly inhibited ATP dependent H(+)-transport, and this effect increased with the length of preincubation with the toxin. The same observations were made concerning ATPase activity. Inhibition of H(+)-transport was greater at pH 7.3 than at pH 5.7. Lineweaver-Burk plot analysis showed that inhibition kinetics were competitive with respect to ATP. These data suggest a direct effect of C. beticola toxin on vanadate-sensitive ATPase presumed to be associated with the plasma membrane.

A maize-root microsomal fraction was enriched in ATPase by treatment with Triton X-100. This activity, which reached 1.2-2.0/mumol Pi x min-1 x mg protein-1, was specific for ATP, very slightly stimulated by K+, inhibited by orthovanadate and diethylstilbestrol, resistant to oligomycin and azide, and had a Km of 1.2 mM MgATP. Incubation of the microsomal fraction with [gamma 32-P]ATP followed by electrophoresis in acid conditions revealed the presence of several phosphoproteins. The phosphorylation of a 110000-Mr polypeptide reached the steady-state level in less than 5 s and rapidly turned over the phosphate group. The phosphorylation level was an hyperbolic function of the [ATP] with a Km of 0.6 mM, suggesting that the rate of Pi production was proportional to the phosphoprotein concentration. The extent of phosphoprotein was decreased by vanadate and diethylstilbestrol. The phosphorylation level was 30% decreased by 50 mM K+ or Na+ while the ATPase activity was slightly stimulated (12% and 5%, respectively). The polypeptide could not be phosphorylated in reverse by Pi. This phosphorylated intermediate from maize-root microsomes exhibits molecular properties characteristic of transport ATPases such as the yeast plasma membrane H+-translocating ATPase. This similarity indicates existence of a transport ATPase in plant plasma membranes. Three other plant microsomal polypeptides (Mr = 52000, 17000 and 16000) and a low molecular weight component (Mr less than 1000) were phosphorylated much more slowly, were not undergoing a rapid turnover and were not hydrolysed by hydroxylamine. These phosphoproteins and the Mr less than 1000 phosphorylated component were inhibited by vanadate and diethylstilbestrol. These properties are similar to those of the protein kinase activity recently described in yeast plasma membranes.

Crude fusicoccin binding proteins and a partially purified plasma membrane H+-transporting ATPase (EC 3.6.1.34), both solubilized from maize tissues, were simultaneously inserted into liposomes by the freeze-thaw method. ATP-driven intravesicular acidification in the proteoliposomes, measured by the fluorescence quenching of the dye 9-amino-6-chloro-2-methoxyacridine, markedly increased upon addition of fusicoccin to the reconstituted system. This effect could not be observed when binding sites and ATPase preparations were separately reconstituted into the proteoliposomes, thus demonstrating that fusicoccin binding to its receptor is a prerequisite for ATPase stimulation.

Diphenyl ether herbicides induce an accumulation of protoporphyrin IX in plant tissues. By analogy to human porphyria, the accumulation could be attributed to decreased (Mg or Fe)-chelatase or protoporphyrinogen oxidase activities. Possible effects of acifluorfen-methyl on these enzymes were investigated in isolated corn (maize, Zea mays) etioplasts, potato (Solanum tuberosum) and mouse mitochondria, and yeast mitochondrial membranes. Acifluorfen-methyl was strongly inhibitory to protoporphyrinogen oxidase activities whatever their origins [concn. causing 50% inhibition (IC50) = 4 nM for the corn etioplast enzyme]. By contrast, it was roughly 100,000 times less active on (Mg or Fe)-chelatase activities (IC50 = 80-100 microM). Our results lead us to propose protoporphyrinogen oxidase as a cellular target for diphenyl ether herbicides.

2,2,2-Trichloroethyl 3,4-dichlorocarbanilate (SW26) is toxic for Acer pseudoplatanus cell cultures. It inhibited the cellular proton extrusion and depolarized the plasmalemma. In vitro, it inhibited the plasma membrane ATPase. SW 26 was also inhibitory to membrane ATPases of other origins-plant (maize shoot), fungus (Schizosaccharomyces pombe), and animal (dog kidney)-with about the same efficiency (7.5 micromolar < I(50) < 22 micromolar). It did not inhibit the oligomycin-sensitive ATPase from purified plant mitochondria, nor molybdate-sensitive soluble phosphatases. SW26 was more specific for plasma membrane ATPases than diethylstilbestrol or vanadate. A Lineweaver-Burk plot analysis showed that inhibition kinetics were purely noncompetitive (K(i) = 14.7 micromolar) below 20 micromolar. Above this concentration, the inhibition pattern was not consistent with Michaelis-Menten kinetics, and a Hill plot representation revealed a positive cooperativity.