A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF LEAF CHLOROPHYLL FLUORESCENCE, HILL REACTION ACTIVITY AND 14C-ATRAZINE TRACER STUDIES TO EXPLAIN DIFFERENTIAL ATRAZINE SUSCEPTIBILITY IN WILD TURNIP RAPE (Brassica campestris) BIOTYPES

Abstract

Leaf chlorophyll fluorescence in susceptible B. campestris L. plants was greatly enhanced and the Hill reaction activity of isolated chloroplasts was inhibited by 10−4 M atrazine. The herbicide did not produce similar responses in resistant plants. 14C-atrazine was used to determine if, in addition, there were differences in uptake, translocation, and metabolism of the herbicide by the susceptible and resistant biotypes. The 14C-atrazine in nutrient solution was readily taken up by the roots of both biotypes and was rapidly translocated to the shoot. The 14C-atrazine was quickly metabolized and after a 24-h period 56 and 63% of the extractable radioactivity in susceptible and resistant plants, respectively, was present as metabolites, the major one being 2-hydroxyatrazine. Following a foliar application, less than 1% of the applied radioactivity moved into other parts of the plant. These results clearly show that triazine resistance in wild turnip rape is based in the chloroplast and that uptake, translocation, and metabolism of the herbicide play no decisive role in selectivity between the susceptible and resistant biotypes.Key words: Atrazine selectivity, Brassica campestris, chlorophyll fluorescence, Hill reaction, atrazine metabolism.