Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Plant Physiology logoLink to Plant Physiology
. 1983 Feb;71(2):235–240. doi: 10.1104/pp.71.2.235

Mode of Action of a Herbicide 1

Johnsongrass and Methanearsonic Acid

Francis C Knowles 1, Andrew A Benson 1
PMCID: PMC1066017  PMID: 16662810

Abstract

Johnsongrass (Sorghum halepense (L.) Pers.) is sensitive to methanearsonate, foliar application resulting in a topkill. Investigation of the pattern of photosynthesis by radioautography revealed an accumulation of malate in methanearsonate-treated leaves. Accumulation of malate was attributed to an inhibition of NADP+-malic enzyme which was found to be sensitive to sulfhydryl group reagents including arsenosomethane, CH3AsO. Methanearsonate was found to act as an oxidant in the Hill reaction using spinach chloroplasts, the photoproduct being a sulfhydryl group reagent.

These results suggest that methanearsonate inhibits CO2 release from malate in bundle sheath cells, depriving the plant of its source of carbon for sucrose production. The mechanism of inhibition of enzymes sensitive to sulfhydryl group reagents by arsenosomethane is addressed.

Full text

PDF
235

Selected References

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

  1. Arnon D. I. COPPER ENZYMES IN ISOLATED CHLOROPLASTS. POLYPHENOLOXIDASE IN BETA VULGARIS. Plant Physiol. 1949 Jan;24(1):1–15. doi: 10.1104/pp.24.1.1. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Chen T. M., Brown R. H., Black C. C. Photosynthetic CO(2) Fixation Products and Activities of Enzymes Related to Photosynthesis in Bermudagrass and Other Plants. Plant Physiol. 1971 Feb;47(2):199–203. doi: 10.1104/pp.47.2.199. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Cooney R. V., Mumma R. O., Benson A. A. Arsoniumphospholipid in algae. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1978 Sep;75(9):4262–4264. doi: 10.1073/pnas.75.9.4262. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Hatch M. D., Slack C. R., Johnson H. S. Further studies on a new pathway of photosynthetic carbon dioxide fixation in sugar-cane and its occurrence in other plant species. Biochem J. 1967 Feb;102(2):417–422. doi: 10.1042/bj1020417. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Johnson H. S., Hatch M. D. Properties and regulation of leaf nicotinamide-adenine dinucleotide phosphate-malate dehydrogenase and 'malic' enzyme in plants with the C4-dicarboxylic acid pathway of photosynthesis. Biochem J. 1970 Sep;119(2):273–280. doi: 10.1042/bj1190273. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Joshi S., Hughes J. B. Inhibition of coupling factor B activity by cadmium ion, arsenite-2,3-dimercaptopropanol, and phenylarsine oxide, and preferential reactivation by dithiols. J Biol Chem. 1981 Nov 10;256(21):11112–11116. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Riddles P. W., Blakeley R. L., Zerner B. Ellman's reagent: 5,5'-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic acid)--a reexamination. Anal Biochem. 1979 Apr 1;94(1):75–81. doi: 10.1016/0003-2697(79)90792-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Sanadi D. R., Hughes J. B., Joshi S. Activation of potassium-dependent H+ efflux from mitochondria by cadmium and phenylarsine oxide. J Bioenerg Biomembr. 1981 Dec;13(5-6):425–431. doi: 10.1007/BF00743214. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Stiggall D. L., Galante Y. M., Kiehl R., Hatefi Y. Involvement of a dithiol protein in mitochondrial energy-linked functions and its relation to coupling factor B. Arch Biochem Biophys. 1979 Sep;196(2):638–644. doi: 10.1016/0003-9861(79)90318-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Plant Physiology are provided here courtesy of Oxford University Press

RESOURCES