The fate of glyphosate in water hyacinth and its physiological and biochemical influences on growth of algae

Thesis/Dissertation · Sun Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1989

OSTI ID:5636398

Tsai, Baolong

Absorption, translocation, distribution, exudation, and guttation of {sup 14}C-glyphosate in water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) were studied. Glyphosphate entered the plant by foliage and solution treatment. Plants were harvested and separated into the following parts: treated leaf blade, treated leaf petiole, young leaf blade, young leaf petiole, old leak blade, old leaf petiole, and root. Each part was extracted with methanol. Treated leaves, which exist only in foliage treatment, were washed with water and chloroform to remove the glyphosate residues. All {sup 14}C counting was made by liquid scintillation spectrometry. Autoradiography was used to locate {sup 14}C-glyphosate after foliage treatment. Results indicated that glyphosate can be absorbed from the leaf surface and translocated rapidly through phloem tissues into the whole plant body. The roots of water hyacinth absorbed glyphosate without vertical transport. Guttation of glyphosate occurred in treated leaf tips. Exudation of glyphosate from roots of water hyacinth occurred within 8 hr after foliage treatment. Chlorella vulgaris, Chlamydomonas reihardii, Anabaena cylindrica, and Chroococcus turgidus were used to explore the physiological and biochemical effects of glyphosate on algae. Spectrophotometric assays were performed for algal growth, chlorophyll, carotenoids, phycobiliprotein, carbohydrate, and protein. TLC procedures and an image analyzer were used to detect the metabolites of glyphosate inside algal cells. The common visible symptom of glyphosate toxicity in all algal cells were bleaching effect and reduction of contents of carbohydrate, protein, and pigments. The results highly suggested that glyphosate injured the algal cells by destruction of photosynthetic pigments and resulted in lowering the contents of carbohydrate and protein in algal cells.

• Research Organization: North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, NC (USA)
• OSTI ID: 5636398
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

09 BIOMASS FUELS
090800* -- Biomass Fuels-- Production-- (1990-)
550501 -- Metabolism-- Tracer Techniques
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
ABSORPTION
ALGAE
AQUATIC ORGANISMS
AUTORADIOGRAPHY
CARBON 14 COMPOUNDS
CARBON COMPOUNDS
COUNTING TECHNIQUES
GROWTH
HERBICIDES
LABELLED COMPOUNDS
METABOLISM
PESTICIDES
PLANTS
SCINTILLATION COUNTING
TRANSLOCATION