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. 1980 Nov;66(5):823–829. doi: 10.1104/pp.66.5.823

The Site of the Inhibition of the Shikimate Pathway by Glyphosate

I. INHIBITION BY GLYPHOSATE OF PHENYLPROPANOID SYNTHESIS IN BUCKWHEAT (FAGOPYRUM ESCULENTUM MOENCH) 1, 2

Heike Holländer 1, Nikolaus Amrhein 1,3
PMCID: PMC440734  PMID: 16661534

Abstract

The nonselective herbicide glyphosate (n-[phosphonomethyl]glycine) inhibited the light-induced accumulation of phenylpropanoid substances (chlorogenic acid, procyanidin, rutin, anthocyanin) in etiolated buckwheat hypocotyls 90% at 1 millimolar. Structurally related compounds, such as n,n-bis[phosphonomethyl]glycine, aminomethylphosphonate, methylglycine, and iminodiacetate, had little or no inhibiting effects. Of all amino acids tested, only l-phenylalanine reversed the inhibition, and partial reversal of anthocyanin synthesis was achieved with chorismate, phenylpyruvate, trans-cinnamate, p-coumarate, and naringenin. Phenylalanine concentrations were reduced in glyphosate-treated hypocotyls, and glyphosate effectively reduced the high level of phenylalanine that was caused by the phenylalanine ammonia-lyase inhibitor l-α-aminooxy-β-phenylpropionate. Glyphosate had no significant effect on the time course of phenylalanine ammonia-lyase activity in hypocotyls incubated either in the dark or in the light. Under appropriate feeding conditions, glyphosate inhibited the incorporation of [14C]shikimate into all three aromatic amino acids, and radioactive shikimate accumulated in the tissue. The results lead to the conclusion that glyphosate interferes with the shikimate pathway at or prior to the formation of chorismate.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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