Herbicide and Formulation PDF

HERBICIDES AND
ENVIRONMENT
Edited by Andreas Kortekamp
Herbicides and Environment
Edited by Andreas Kortekamp
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Contents
Preface XI
Part 1 Effects on Non-target Organisms 1
Chapter 1 Herbicides: The Face and the Reverse of the Coin.

An in vitro Approach to the Toxicity
of Herbicides in Non-Target Organisms 3
Amália S. Jurado, Maria A. S. Fernandes, Romeu A. Videira,
Francisco P. Peixoto and Joaquim A.F. Vicente
Chapter 2 Impact of Herbicides on Non-Target Organisms

in Sustainable Irrigated Rice Production Systems:
State of Knowledge and Future Prospects 45
Victor Galhano, José Gomes-Laranjo, Eduardo Fernández-Valiente,
Romeu Videira and Francisco Peixoto
Chapter 3 Transient Effect of the Herbicide Flumioxazin

on Physiology of Vitis vinifera L. cv. Pinot Meunier 73
Bigot Aurélie, Clément Christophe and Vaillant-Gaveau Nathalie
Chapter 4 Unexpected Side Effects of Herbicides:

Modulation of Plant-Pathogen Interactions 85
Andreas Kortekamp
Part 2 Effects on Agro Ecosystems 105
Chapter 5 Herbicides Effect on Nitrogen

Cycling in Agroecosystems 107
Damin, V. and Trivelin P.C.O.
Chapter 6 Critical Revision and Development Perspectives

of Herbicide Residues Analysis in Agro Ecosystems 125
Verónica Cesio, Lucía Pareja, Silvina Niell, Lucia Geis Asteggiante,
Bernardo Böcking, Claudio García, Grisel Fernández,
Amadeo R. Fernández-Alba and Horacio Heinzen
VI Contents
Chapter 7 Prevention of Herbicides Pollution Using Sorbents

in Controlled Release Formulations 157
Fernández-Pérez, M., Villafranca-Sánchez, M.,
Flores-Céspedes, F. and Daza-Fernández, I.
Part 3 Herbicides in Soil 173
Chapter 8 The Fate of Herbicides in Soil 175

Sonia Blasioli, Ilaria Braschi and Carlo E. Gessa
Chapter 9 Environment Behavior and Fate of a Novel

Pyrimidynyloxybenzoic Herbicide ZJ0273 in Aerobic Soil 195
Haiyan Wang, Yanfei Zhang, Man Yu, Juying Li, and Qingfu Ye
Chapter 10 Application of a Laboratory Bioassay for Assessment

of Bioactivity of ALS-inhibiting Herbicides in Soil 217
Anna M. Szmigielski, Jeff J. Schoenau, Bryce G.L. Geisel,
Frederick A. Holm and Eric N. Johnson
Chapter 11 An Electrochemical Approach to Quantitative Analysis

of Herbicides and to the Study
of Their Interactions with Soils Components 229
Ana Valeria Juarez, Julieta Soledad Riva and Lidia Mabel Yudi
Chapter 12 Application of Bioassays in Studies on

Phytotoxic Herbicide Residues in the Soil Environment 253
Tomasz Sekutowski
Chapter 13 Adsorption and Photochemical Behaviour

of the Herbicide Monuron on Clay Surfaces 273
Hafida Mountacer, Laila Tajeddine and Mohamed Sarakha
Chapter 14 Application of Diflufenican Herbicide

on Soils Amended with Different Organic Wastes 295
Manuel Tejada, Marina del Toro, Isidoro Gómez and Juan Parrado
Chapter 15 Impacts of Biochar (Black Carbon) Additions

on the Sorption and Efficacy of Herbicides 315
Alegría Cabrera Mesa and Kurt A. Spokas
Part 4 Herbicides in Aquatic Ecosystems 341
Chapter 16 Effects of Herbicide Glyphosate and

Glyphosate-Based Formulations on Aquatic Ecosystems 343
Gonzalo Luis Pérez, María Solange Vera and
Leandro Andrés Miranda
Contents VII
Chapter 17 The Impact of Herbicides on Benthic Organisms

in Flooded Rice Fields in Southern Brazil 369
Joele S. Baumart and Sandro Santos
Chapter 18 Structural and Functional Effects of Herbicides

on Non-Target Organisms in Aquatic
Ecosystems with an Emphasis on Atrazine 383
J.F. Fairchild
Chapter 19 Toxicology of the Herbicide Acrolein:

Risk Assessment in Aquatic Environments 405
Cristina Montagna, Ana María Pechen de D’Angelo
and Andrés Venturino
Chapter 20 Genetic Adaptation of Phytoplankters to Herbicides 421

Victoria López-Rodas, Eduardo Costas and Antonio Flores-Moya
Chapter 21 Highly Specific Biosensors to Herbicides,

based on Sensitive- and Resistant-Mutants Microalgae 433
Javier Hernández-Allica, Daniel Carrera-Martínez,
Victoria López-Rodas, Antonio Flores-Moya and Eduardo Costas
Chapter 22 How Early Diagenesis Reveals In Situ

Biodegradation of Herbicides in Sediment 443
Devault Damien A., Delmotte Sébastien, Macarie Hervé,
Dolfing Jan and Anschutz Pierre
Part 5 Toxicological Aspects 469
Chapter 23 Risk Estimate of Water Contamination

and Occurrence of Pesticides in the South of Brazil 471
Sergiane Souza Caldas, Renato Zanella and Ednei Gilberto Primel
Chapter 24 Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a Tool to Evaluate

the Effects of Herbicides on Eukaryotic Life 493
Daniela Braconi, Giulia Bernardini, Lia Millucci,
Gabriella Jacomelli, Vanna Micheli and Annalisa Santucci
Chapter 25 Herbicides in Argentina. Comparative Evaluation

of the Genotoxic and Cytotoxic Effects
on Mammalian Cells Exerted by Auxinic Members 515
Sonia Soloneski and Marcelo L. Larramendy
Chapter 26 A Study on Dioxin Contamination

in Herbicide Sprayed Area in Vietnam by GIS 531
Dang Duc Nhu, Teruhiko Kido, Nguyen Ngoc Hung,
Phung Tri Dung, Le Thi Hong Thom, Rie Naganuma,
Nobuhiro Sawano, Le Ke Son, Kenji Tawara,
Hideaki Nakagawa and Le Vu Quan
VIII Contents
Chapter 27 Developmental Toxicity of Nitrophenolic

Herbicide Dinoseb, 2-sec-butyl-4,6-dinitrophenol 543
Mariko Matsumoto, Akihiko Hirose and Makoto Ema
Chapter 28 New Concept for Evaluating the Toxicity of Herbicides

for Ecological Risk Assessment 561
Munir Mohammad and Kazuhito Itoh
Part 6 Herbicide Resistance 583
Chapter 29 Resistance of Weeds to Herbicides 585

William Vencill, Timothy Grey, and Stanley Culpepper
Chapter 30 Brief Approach of Herbicide Resistance

in Context of Crops Development Worldwide 595
Ioan Gh. OROIAN
Chapter 31 Resistance to Herbicides in the Model Organisms

Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Arabidopsis thaliana:
the Involvement of Multidrug Resistance Transporters 623
Tânia R Cabrito, Estelle Remy, Miguel C Teixeira,
Paula Duque and Isabel Sá-Correia
Part 7 Herbicide Applications and Modeling 641
Chapter 32 Herbicides Applications: Problems and Considerations 643

Qasem, Jamal R.
Chapter 33 Impacts, Efficacy and Economics of Bushwacker Sc (Bromacil)

In Controlling Acacia Invasion in South Africa 665
Sikhalazo Dube, Fatunbi A. Oluwole and ‘Mota, S. Lesoli
Chapter 34 Pyrimidinylsalicylic Based Herbicides:

Modeling and Prediction 681
Eduardo J. Delgado
Part 8 Alternative Sources for Herbicidal Compounds 703
Chapter 35 Marine and Freshwater Microalgae

as a Potential Source of Novel Herbicides 705
John Berry
Chapter 36 Herbicidal Potentiality of Fusel Oil 735

Andréa Aparecida de Padua Mathias Azania,
Carlos Alberto Mathias Azania, Marcos Omir Marques
and Maria do Carmo Morelli Damasceno Pavani
Preface
Maybe you think the use of herbicides is something simple. Herbicides are used to kill
weeds to prevent their excessive growth. Thus, the herbicide selected is just sprayed
onto the respective weed and, if you took the right one, the weed will die within a
couple of days. Maybe you think this is the end of the story. Out of your sprayer, out of
your mind! You are fatally wrong. In fact, this is just the beginning of the story. Once
released into the environment, herbicides may cause unexpected side-effects on non-
target organisms and may interfere with biological or chemical processes in soil or
aquatic habitats before they fade away due to (bio)degradation.
Since weeds reduce crop yield and quality and interfere with cultivation and harvest
operations, herbicides are without any doubt important agrochemicals, especially
where conservation tillage is adopted. With respect to sales of pesticides worldwide,
herbicides seem to be the most important agrochemicals. However, as mentioned be-
fore, herbicides are more than just anti-weed agents. In the following chapters of this
book, several authors summarise different features and aspects of herbicides, espe-
cially their impact on environmental processes, such as nitrogen cycling, their adverse
and unwanted effects on non-target organisms or, in contrary, their beneficial effects
on other pests and diseases, their persistence or turn-over in soil and sediments, their
toxicological relevance, and at least, their impact on human health. All these important
parts of the herbicide story are each treated in several chapters of this book.
A notable feature of herbicides is the fact that their biological activity extends beyond
the effect on target organisms. Herbicides may affect organisms in the same ecosystem
or in other habitats where herbicides are transmitted mainly by wind currents dur-
ing application or by rain. Furthermore, herbicides can affect non-target organisms
directly or indirectly by altering the composition of plants or other organisms and by
changing microclimates in an given ecosystem such as crop land. This may lead to an
altered turnover of micro- and macroelements in soil which in turn may favour adapt-
ed (micro)organisms. Once applied to the field, herbicides are translocated sooner or
later into the soil. There, they may just stick to soil particles waiting for a physical or
chemical degradation or they may be absorbed by (micro)organisms and reduced via
biochemical processes. The important question of persistence or degradation of herbi-
cidal compounds, the fate of herbicides in soil and how to avoid residues is treated in
several chapters of this book.
XII Preface
However, (eco)toxicological relevant amounts of herbicides may run off into surface

water before completely metabolised or adsorbed to soil particles. These herbicide resi-
dues may interfere with aquatic (micro)organisms or ecosystems. Thus, this topic is
also handled by some authors of this book.
Organisms living in soil or water and affected by herbicides do not represent the only
non-target organisms. An improper and excessive use of herbicides may also interfere
with human health. The use of herbicides as bioweapons may cause human pesticide
poisoning, especially when the products used are contaminated with unwanted by-
products as it was the case during the Vietnam War. Even though this inadmissible
use represents an extreme incidence, contaminated water or residues of herbicides due
to repeated applications may cause an impact on human health and is still an issue,
especially in developing countries.
Pesticides are only released after passing several tests regarding their putative effects
on non-target organisms including mammals. Therefore, the development and ability
of test systems as useful tools to investigate unwanted properties of herbicides is also
described in this book.
Beside the (eco)toxicological relevance of at least some herbicides, their use may also
be restricted due to the emergence of weed populations resistant to distinct herbicidal
compounds. Since resistance of weeds to herbicides is an increasing problem world-
wide, this topic is also presented by several authors.
Finally, the last two chapters give us an outlook regarding alternative sources that may
be used to produce new and environmental-friendly herbicides. It seems that byprod-
ucts, generated as unavoidable residues during fermentation and other bio-chemical
processes, or eukaryotic organisms such as microalgae are appropriate sources of her-
bicidal compounds.
In the end, we can conclude that herbicides are much more than just weed killers. They
may exhibit beneficial or adverse effects on other organisms. Given their toxicologi-
cal, environmental but also agricultural relevance, herbicides are an interesting field
of activity not only for scientists working in the field of agriculture. It seems that the
investigation of herbicide-induced effects on weeds, crop plants, ecosystems, microor-
ganisms, and higher organism requires a multidisciplinary approach. Some important
aspects regarding the multisided impacts of herbicides on the living world are high-
lighted in this book. I am sure that the readers will fi nd a lot of helpful information,
even if they are just interested in a specific topic.
.
Andreas Kortekamp
DLR Agricultural Research Station,

Department of Phytomedicine Neustadt/Weinstrasse
Germany
Part 1
Effects on Non-target Organisms

1
Herbicides: The Face and the Reverse of the

Coin. An in vitro Approach to the Toxicity of
Herbicides in Non-Target Organisms
Amália S. Jurado1, Maria A. S. Fernandes2, Romeu A. Videira3,
Francisco P. Peixoto3 and Joaquim A.F. Vicente2
1CNC,Department of Life Sciences, Coimbra University, Coimbra,
2IMAR, Department of Life Sciences, Coimbra University, Coimbra
3CECAV, University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Vila Real
1,2,3Portugal
1. Introduction
I. Historical aspects, benefits and disadvantages of herbicide use
During thousands of years up to about a hundred years ago, man expended most of
required energy in arable farming with mechanical operations aiming to remove weeds and
providing suitable conditions for the efficient growth of crop plants, considering that weeds
compete with beneficial and desired vegetation, which means that weeds are plants growing
where man does not which them to grow. With the dawn of industrialization, labor to the
factories decreased manpower on the farms, which forced to think of more efficient
mechanical means of weed control.
The need of weed management is as old as agriculture itself. Six stages in the evolution of
weed control practices can be considered: 1) 10,000 B.C.— removing weeds by hand; 2) 6,000
B.C.— the use of primitive hand tools to till the land and destroy weeds; 3) 1,000 B.C.—
animal-powered implements like harrows; 4) 1920 A.D.— mechanically-powered
implements like cultivators, blades, harrows, finger-weeders, rotary-hoes, rod-weeders, etc.;
5) 1930 A.D.— biological control and; 6) 1947 A.D.— chemical control, with the commercial
development of organic herbicides such as 2,4-D and MCPA (Hay, 1974).
Especially in the last century, for various reasons among which the population explosion, in
his effort to produce adequate supplies of food, man needed to combat efficiently the attacks
of various pests on agricultural and horticultural crops. Pesticides, falling into three major
classes: insecticides, fungicides, and herbicides (or weed killers), are required. Herbicides,
specifically, are used for control of weeds.
At the end of the twentieth century, with an estimated world population of 6 billion people,
some 700 million were undernourished and 1.3 billion exist on an inadequate diet. In 2009
FAO says that 1.02 billion people are undernourished, corresponding to 15 percent of the
estimated world population of 6.8 billion. Undoubtedly, the first problem of Humankind is
the lack of food, which affects especially underdeveloped countries. So, the urgent need for
much greater application of herbicides and other agrochemicals is essential to increase food
supply. Crops can duplicate or increase even more at the expenses of the agrochemicals use.
4 Herbicides and Environment
Another advantage of the greater efficiency of modern agricultural practice is the liberation
of land. This can be of major importance in countries where the space dedicated to
agriculture is limited, and where there is a very high population density or soil is
inadequate for crop yields.
For more than a century chemicals have been employed for total weed control. For the
removal of all plants from railway tracks, timber yards and car roads, crude chemicals such
as rock salts, crushed arsenical ores, creosote, oil wastes, sulfuric acid, and copper salts were
used (Whitten, 1966; Green et al., 1987). Under these conditions, all plants were killed and
these compounds all function as total herbicides and treated areas remain toxic to plants for
months or even years. However, for agricultural purposes, it was preferred that chemicals
would selectively kill the weeds, but not harm the crop plants.
Selectivity can be based, for instance, in the fact that the larger rougher surfaces of weed
leaves are more effectively wetted by the spray than the narrow, smooth cereal leaves in
which there was much greater run-off of the toxicant. In a few cases selectivity is based on
biochemical differences between weeds and crop plants, such that the latter have a unique
defense mechanism. The absence of β-oxidases from leguminous plants enables 2,4-DB to be
applied safely for selective weed control in these crops. Maize detoxifies the triazine
herbicides (e.g. atrazine and simazine) by enzymic hydrolysis, but weeds do not possess this
enzyme. Physicochemical properties may be important for selectivity. The soil-applied
herbicide, triazine, have low aqueous solubility meaning that the chemical only penetrates
some 5 cm downwords in the soil. Hence, germinating weed seeds are killed but more deep-
rooted crops are unaffected. The phenoxyacetic acids were the first really effective selective
herbicides, being the product of war-direct research. They came into use at a time when the
maximum food production with the minimum labor force was a vital factor in the war effort
(Cremlyn, 1991).
Herbicides and research related to their biochemical mechanisms of action have helped to
unravel details of several of the biochemical pathways in plants. Historically, effects of
various chemicals on photosynthesis and respiration have been studied since around 1878.
Then, chloroform was described as reversibly inhibiting photosynthesis at concentrations
that did not affect respiration (Moreland, 1993).
In France, in 1933, the first important discovery in the field of selective weed control was the
use of DNOC, a contact herbicide that killed the majority of annual weeds infesting the crop
without causing appreciable damage to the cereals. Its selectivity is explained by the fact
that DNOC is not translocated in plants and perennial weeds were not killed because,
although their top growth was desiccated, their extensive root systems survived and in due
course sent up further shoots (Cremlyn, 1991). DNOC was developed for use in Europe and
dinoseb (DNBP) for use in USA (Moreland, 1993). DNOC and other dinitro compounds
played a big part in increasing food production during World War II as herbicides. They can
also be used as insecticides, especially as winter wash for fruit trees (Cremlyn, 1991).
On field observations conducted in 1940 and 1941 by Templeman and Sexton, phenoxyacetic
acids were toxic to dicotyledonous, but not monocotyledonous plants. Eventually, 2,4-D was
commercially developed for use in U.S.A. and MCPA for use in Europe from 1947 (Rao,
2000). The discovery of phenoxyalcanoates revolutionized practices and the success
achieved in their use probably stimulated industry to invest in research that led to
the discovery of the large variety of herbicides that has been used untill now (Moreland,
1993).
Herbicides: The Face and the Reverse of the Coin. An in vitro Approach to the
Toxicity of Herbicides in Non-Target Organisms 5
Templeman and Sexton also reported, on field observations made in 1940 with esters of
arylcarbamates and thiocarbamates, that they were toxic to monocotyledonous but not to
dicotyledonous species (Moreland, 1993).
In 1949, Macdowall reported inhibition of the Hill reaction, in illuminated chloroplasts, by
phenylurethane (I50=2 mM) and dinitrophenol (DNP) (I50=0.63 mM). However, based on I50,
arylcarbamates and phenylureas were up to 2500 times more active than phenylurethane, as
was detected by Wessels and van der Veen in 1956 (Moreland, 1993).
Herbicides are the most widely used class of pesticides accounting for more than 60% of all
pesticides applied in agriculture (Zimdahl, 2002). One of the main concerns about the use of
herbicides is their effects on non-target organisms, especially mammalian toxicity.
Most modern herbicides have low mammalian toxicity, because research for new herbicides
often rejects chemicals affecting metabolic pathways that are shared by mammals. In many
cases, the low mammalian toxicity has to do with the fact that these chemicals interfere with
biochemical pathways that do not exist in mammals, such as photosynthesis, essential
amino acids biosynthesis or chlorophyll biosynthesis (Shaner, 2003).
There are about 20 mechanisms of action that have been elucidated for herbicides. Of these,
some do share common target sites with mammalians. However, the consequence of
inhibiting a common target site in plants can be quite different than in animals. What may
be a lethal event in plants, e.g. inhibition of 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase (HPPD),
can even have a beneficial effect in mammals, e.g. treatment for tyrosinemia type I (Shaner,
2003). Also a common enzyme existing in plants and mammals, e. g. acetyl-CoA carboxilase
(ACCase), can be inhibited by the herbicides cyclohexanediones and the
aryloxyphenoxypropionates, killing plants, and not affecting ACCase in mammals. ACCase
plays the same role in the fatty acid biosynthesis of the different organisms, despite vast
differences in its regulation and protein structure (Incledon & Hall, 1997; Shaner, 2003).
These herbicides suppress de novo synthesis of fatty acids in sensitive species by inhibiting
the activity of plastid-associated ACCase. Aryloxyphenoxypropionates were reported by
Hoechst AG in 1971 (Nester, 1982), and cyclohexanediones (alloxydim and sethoxydim)
were introduced by Nippon Soda in 1977 and 1978 (Iwataki & Hirono, 1979; Ishikawa et al.,
1985), being used as postmergence herbicides for the control of annual and perennial grasses
in broadleaf crops.
Other commercially available herbicides that affect similar target sites in plants and mammals,
with the exception of the bipyridiliums, have minimal toxicity to mammals because they are
rapidly metabolized and excreted by mammals. As the herbicides do not accumulate in
mammalian tissue, they cannot affect the biosynthetic pathways (Shaner, 2003).
On the other hand, the effects of inhibiting a particular enzyme in plants can be quite
different from those observed in mammals. For example, considering that protoporphyrin
biosynthesis is critical in plants and animals for the production of chlorophyll and heme,
PROTOX (protoporphyrinogen IX oxidase) inhibitors cause the accumulation of Proto IX
(protoporphyrin IX), which then absorbs light energy and produces reactive oxygen species
that disrupt membranes by lipid peroxidation. In mammals, the accumulation of Proto IX
also occurs in the liver and bile, but these organs are not normally exposed to light
intensities like plant leaves. So, there is little opportunity for the Proto IX to produce
degrading reactive oxygen species in animals (Shaner, 2003). Peroxidizing herbicides
include diphenylether herbicides and oxodiazoles causing accumulation of large amounts of
Proto IX, which generates singlet oxygen by light. If this oxygen free radical is not
quenched, lipid peroxidation can be initiated (Lydon & Duke, 1988; Matringe & Scalla, 1988;
Camadro et al., 1991).
It was observed in 1980 that glyphosate was a highly specific inhibitor of shikimate pathway
enzyme 5-enolpyruvylshikimate 3-phosphate synthase (Steinrucken & Amrhein, 1980).
Afterwards, sulfonylureas and imidazolinones were introduced as herbicides interfering
with biosynthesis of branched-chain amino acids (leucine, isoleucine, and valine). It was
shown that both herbicides inhibited the activity of acetolactate synthase (Ray, 1984; Shaner
et al., 1984)
Herbicides can also inhibit carotenoid synthesis. As carotenoids are free radical scavengers,
they protect chlorophyll from photooxidation (bleaching herbicides). One of the first
compounds shown to function in this way was the pyridinazinone SAN 6706 (Bartels &
McCullough, 1972). Afterwards, other compounds identified with similar functions include
fluridone, difunon, dichlormate, and aminotriazole (Moreland, 1993).
Some times, e.g. glufosinate in suicide attempts, much of the toxicity has been related to the
associated surfactant that is included in the formulation of the herbicide rather than to the
active herbicide (Koyama et al., 1997).
From all the information here considered, it is obvious that the use of herbicides implies the
existence of advantages and disadvantages resulting therefrom, which, in general, are listed
in Table 1.
ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
— They kill unwanted plants. — Some herbicides are non-
— They help the crops grow by destroying biodegradable being harmful for a long
the weed that is robbing the crops water, period of time.
nutrients and sunlight. — They are all at least slightly toxic.
— They can be safely used whereas in some — They can cause illnesses, and even
cases manually or mechanically removing cause accidental or suicidal death (like
weeds can destroy the crop. paraquat).
— They can be used on closely planted crops — They can be carried into streams by
where other methods cannot be used. runoff rainwater or leached into
— Most of the time one application of the underground water supplies polluting
herbicide is enough whereas other methods them.
have to be continually used. — Herbivores may eat the plants
— They are easy to use. treated with herbicides and then
— They work fast. carnivores eat the herbivores. The toxic
— Herbicides are relatively cheap, and herbicide would be passed up the food
cheaper than manual weeding. chain increasing in concentration, being
— Non-selective herbicides can effectively harmful for those animals and man.
clear fields, where houses and roads can then
be built.
— They can destroy plants bearing diseases.
— Some are biodegradable, and become
relatively harmless after decay.
Table 1. Advantages and disadvantages of herbicides.

Scientists have made phenomenal progresses in understanding the selective action of
hundreds of herbicides by studying their absorption and translocation patterns, mechanisms
of action in plants, degradative and detoxification mechanisms in plant and soil, interactions
with other pesticides and chemicals, etc. All this has helped in making more effective,
economical and safe recommendations for control of numerous weeds (Rao, 2000).
Lately, scientists have already researched on natural product-based herbicides, which are
generally considered safer than synthetic herbicides. However, relatively few commercial
herbicidal agents have been derived from naturally occurring compounds. One of the
indirect and important benefits of the chemical composition and structural characteristics of
natural products is that most of these compounds are rapidly degraded in the natural
environment. Thus, this accounts for the perception that most natural products are
environmentally benign (Dayan et al., 1999).
An alternative approach of natural products-based weed management consists of having crops
producing their own phytotoxins to prevent or suppress the growth of competing weeds in its
immediate surroundings (allelopathy). Although some species strongly repress the
development of other plants, allelopatic crops have had little success so far (Dayan et al., 1999).
Weed scientists are now facing new challenges, particularly in the light of emergence of
weeds resistant to herbicides and concerns and questions about herbicide residues in food,
soil, groundwater and atmosphere (Rao, 2000).
Finally, when scientists were capable of getting genes that encode target site enzymes
cloned, modified and expressed in transgenic plants, they could confer herbicide tolerance.
The possibility of developing herbicide-resistant crops began a new era in the use of
herbicides, stimulating work on the genetics of herbicide resistance.
II. Classification of herbicides

By 1976, the herbicides that interfered with electron transport and phosphorylation in both
chloroplasts and mitochondria were separated into five classes: a) electron transport
inhibitors, b) uncouplers, c) energy transfer inhibitors, d) inhibitory uncouplers (multiple
types of inhibition), and e) electron acceptors (Moreland, 1993).
Electron transport inhibitors include the Hill reaction inhibitors. Uncouplers dissociate
electron transport from ATP formation by permeabilization to protons collapsing ∆pH.
Energy transfer inhibitors interact with the coupling factor complex. Inhibitory uncouplers
are those herbicides that act both as electron transport inhibitors and uncouplers. Electron
acceptors are herbicides like bipiridilliums that intercept electron flow from photosystem I.
With isolated mitochondria, the inhibitory uncouplers uncouple phosphorylation at low
molecular concentrations and inhibit electron transport at higher concentrations (Moreland,
1993).
The pure electron transport inhibitors also have been called diuron-type and include
chlorinated phenylureas, pyridazones, s-triazines, triazinones, uracils, and ureacarbamates.
This type of herbicides inhibits the Hill reaction but do not inhibit mitochondrial electron
transport. Hence, light was known to be required for the expression of toxicity, i.e., plants
maintained in the dark revealed no signs of toxicity (Moreland, 1993).
Inhibitory uncouplers were divided into two groups: dinoseb-type and dicryl-type.
Included as dinoseb-type are dinitrophenols, benzimidazoles, benzonitriles,
bromophenoxim, and thiadiazoles. Dicryl-type includes arylanilides, dinitroanilines,
diphenylethers, bis-carbamates and perfluidone (Moreland & Novitzky, 1988).
Herbicides are designated by common names approved by the Weed Science Society of
America or the British Standards Institution (Moreland, 1980), and organic herbicides are
classified on the basis of: a) method of application; b) chemical affinity and structure
similarity, and; c) mode of action (Rao, 2000).
On the basis of the method of application, herbicides are distributed in two groups: 1) soil-
applied and 2) foliage-applied. All herbicides applied at preplanting (surface or
incorporation) and preemergence (to crop, weeds, or both) are included in the soil-applied
group; those applied at postemergence on the plant parts are included in the foliage-applied
group.
Here we also present two general classifications of herbicides according to the mode of
action and according to the chemical composition.
According to the mode of action, we present in Table 2 the classification extracted and
adapted from a review (Moreland, 1980).
Classes of herbicides Examples of herbicides

*CHLOROPLAST-ASSOCIATED
REACTIONS
TYPES OF INHIBITORS
Electron transport inhibitors Diuron, atrazine, pyrazon, etc.
Uncouplers Perfluidone.
Energy transfer inhibitors 1,2,3-thiadiazolyl-phenylureas.
Inhibitory uncouplers Dinitrophenols, acylanilines, etc.
Electron acceptors Paraquat, diquat.
Carotenoid synthesis inhibitors Amitrole, dichlormate, etc.
*MITOCHONDRIAL ELECTRON
TRANSPORT AND PHOSPHORYLATION
TYPES OF INHIBITORES
Electron transport inhibitors Pyriclor.
Uncouplers Isipropyl ester of glyphosate.
Energy transfer inhibitors No herbicide.
Inhibitory uncouplers Dinitrophenols, acylanilines, etc.
*MEMBRANE INTERACTIONS
Composition alterations Dinoben, perfluidone, ioxynil.
Permeability and integrity actions Paraquat, diclofop-methyl.
*CELL DIVISION
Energy relations Chlorpropham, trifluralin.
Microtubules action Prophan, amiprofos-methyl.
*NUCLEIC ACID METABOLISM
DNA and RNA action Trifluralin.
PROTEIN SYNTHESIS
Protein synthesis inhibitors Glyphosate.
Table 2. Classification of herbicides according to the mode of action at the level of the main
metabolic systems in the cell.
The other classification, distributing herbicides by groups with chemical affinities (Cremlyn,
1991; Rao, 2000), is presented in Table 3.
Classes of herbicides Examples of herbicides Mode of action

ALIPHATICS 1Dalapon, 2TCA. 1Interference with RNA
synthesis; 1,2modifications
of protein structure.
AMIDES Inhibition of Hill reation in
Acylanilides Propanil, pentanochlor. photosynthetic electron
transport.
Chloroacetanilides 1Allidochlor, 2propachlor, 1 Inhibition of protein
2alachlor, 2butachlor, synthesis, respiration; 2
2pretilachlor, Inhibition of cell division
2diethatylether, and protein synthesis.
2metolachlor, 2metazochlor.
Benzamides Benzoylpropethyl, Unknown.

flamprop-isopropyl,
fampropmethyl, isoxaben.
Other amides 1Naptalam, diphenamid, 1Alteration of auxin
2propyzamide, butam, transport; 2interference
3diflufenican. with cell division;
3inhibition of carotenoid
biosynthesis.
AROMATIC Interference with
CARBAMATES AND photosynthesis; alteration
THIOCARBAMATES Propham, chloropropham, of meristematic activity;
Arylcarbamates barban. desorganization of
microtubular assembly,
inhibiting mitosis.
Thiocarbamates EPTC, butylate, cycloate, Interference with lipid

pebulate, diallate, triallate, biosynthesis.
benthiocarb, asulam,
nisulam.
ARSENICALS DSMA, MSMA, cacodylic They are uncouplers and
acid. inhibit respiration.
BENZOTHIADIAZOLES Bentazon. Inhibition of
photosynthesis and
induces lipid peroxation.
BIPYRIDILIUMS Diquat, paraquat. Induce lipid peroxidation
by reactive oxygen species
production.
CARBOXYLIC ACIDS Inhibition of normal plant
Phenoxyacetic acids 12,4-D, MCPA, 2,4,5-T, etc. growth mimicking auxins
(IAA); 1 Inhibition of
oxidative phosphorylation.
Phenoxybutiric acids 2,4-DB, MCPB. Inhibition of normal plant
growth mimicking auxins
(IAA).

Benzoic acids TBA, dicamba. Inhibition of normal plant
growth mimicking auxins
(IAA)
Pyridine derivatives Picloram, clopyralid, Inhibition of normal plant
triclopyr. growth mimicking auxins
(IAA).
Propionic acid derivatives Dchlorprop, mecoprop, Inhibition of normal plant
fenoprop, haloxyfop, growth mimicking auxins
fenoxaprop, fluazifop-P. (IAA).
CHLOROALIPHATIC 1Dalapon, 2TCA. 1Interference with RNA
ACIDS synthesis; 1,2modifications

of protein structure.
CINEOLES *Cinmethylin. Inhibition of asparagine
synthetase.
CYCLOHEXANEDIONES Clethodim, cycloxidim, Interference with lipid
sethoxydim, tralkoxydim. metabolism.
DINITROANILINES Trifluralin, benfluralin, Inhibition of cell division.
profluralin, ethalfluralin,
fluchloralin, oryzalin,
nitralin, butralin,
pendimethalin, dipropalin.
DIPHENYL ETHERS Nitrofen, fluorodifen, Inhibition of Hill reation in
bifenox, 1oxyfluorfen, photosynthesis and
fomesafen. photophosphorylation;
1 inhibition of
protoporphyrinogen
oxidase.
IMIDAZOLIDINONES Buthidazole. Inhibition of r
espiration and
photosynthesis.
ISOXAZOLIDINONES Clomazone. ——
IMIDAZOLINES Imazaquin, imazethapyr. Inhibition of cell division
by action on the enzyme
acetolactate synthase
(ALS) involved in valine
and isoleucine
biosynthesis.
NITRILES 1Dichlobenil, 1Inhibition of cellulose
2bromoxynil, 2ioxynil. biosynthesis; 2uncoupling
of oxidative
phosphorylation and Hill
reation inhibition.
ORGANOPHOSPHORUS 1Glyphosate,bensulide, 1Inhibition of biosynthesis
COMPOUNDS **tributyl of phenylalanine.

phosphorotrithiolate.

OXADIAZOLES Oxadiazon. Causes rapid peroxidative
damage.
PHENOLS Dinoseb, DNOC. Uncouplers of oxidative
phosphorylation.
N- Flumiclorac. Inhibition of
PHENYLPHTHALAMIDES protoporphyrinogen
oxidase.
PHENYL TRIAZINONES Sulfentrazone. Inhibition of
protoporphyrinogen
oxidase.
PHTHALAMATES Naptalam. It is an auxin inhibitor.
PYRAZOLIUMS Difenzoquat. It affects nucleic acid
biosynthesis,
photostynthesis, ATP
production, K+ absorption
and P incorporation in
phospholipids and DNA.
PYRIDAZINES 1Chloridazon, 2metflurazon, 1Inhibition of Hill reation
2norflurazon, 1pyridate. in photosynthesis;
2Inhibition of carotenoid
biosynthesis.
PYRIDINONES Fluridone. Bloks carotenoid
biosynthesis.
PYRIMIDINYL Pyrithiobac. Inhibition of cell division
THIOBENZOATES by action on the enzyme
and isoleucine
biosynthesis.
QUINOLINE CARBOXYLIC Quinclorac. Auxin-type herbicide.
ACIDS Accumulates ACC,
cyanide and ethylene.
SULPHONYLUREAS Sulfometuron methyl, DPX- Inhibition of cell division
F 6025, DPX-F 5384, by action on the enzyme
chlorsulfuron, DPX-L 5300, acetolactate synthase
bensulfuron methyl. (ALS) involved in valine
and isoleucine
biosynthesis.
TRIAZINONES Metribuzin. ——
TRIAZOLOPYRIMIDINE Flumetsulam. Inhibition of cell division
SULFONANILIDES by action on the enzyme
and isoleucine
biosynthesis.

TRIAZINES Simazine, atrazine, Inhibition of Hill reation in
prometryne, desmetryn, photosynthetic electron
methoprotryne, terbutryn, transport.
cyanazine, eglinazine ethyl,
aziprotryne, metrybuzin,
metamitron, prometron,
terbuthylazine,
methroprotryne,
aziprotryne.
TRIAZOLES ***Amitrole. Probable interference with
carotenoid biosynthesis
leading to photooxidation
of chlorophyll.
URACILS (PYRIMIDINES) Bromacil, terbacil, lenacil, Inhibition of Hill reation in
UCC-C4243. photosynthetic electron
transport.
UREAS Monuron, diuron, linuron, Inhibition of Hill reation in
monolinuron, photosynthetic electron
chlorotoluron, isoproturon, transport.
difenoxuron, thiazafluron,
terbuthiuron, ethidimuron,
fluometuron, S3552.
OTHER HETEROCYCLIC 1Endothal, 2ethofumesate, 1Inhibition of lipid and
HERBICIDES 3benzolin, 4oxadiazon, protein biosynthesis;
4,5difenzoquat. 2interference with plant
cuticular wax; 3interence

with cell growth and
development; 4inhibition
of carbon dioxide fixation
and electron transport in
photosynthesis; 5alteration
of DNA and RNA
synthesis.
*Is a member of the herbicide group called cineoles (monoterpenic cyclic ethers) (Romagni et al., 2000)
**Defoliant, induces early leaf abscission through changes in the levels of plant hormones (Matolcsy, 1988)
***Its use in fodder and food crops has been banned worldwide (suspicious of carcinogenicity)
Table 3. Classification of herbicides according to chemical classes.
2. In vitro toxicological assays: some biological model-systems

In this section, we will address some of the experimental strategies used by our group to
evaluate the toxic potential of pesticides upon interaction with biological systems, using in
vitro assays. The authors are aware that many other models have been successfully used
with the same objectives, some of which will be discussed in confront with authors results in
the next section. However, an exhaustive description of in vitro model systems used to
herbicide toxicological assessment is out of the scope of this chapter.
I. Mitochondria, a key organelle to push cells towards survival or death

Mitochondria are efficient power plants of energy generation for eukaryotic cells. Moreover,
mitochondria play a crucial role in several physiological processes and are involved in cell
replication, differentiation and apoptosis (Boelsterli, 2003). In this way, mitochondria
endowed eukaryotic cells with a broad spectrum of functionalities that prokaryotic cells do
not have, but, concomitantly, they brought with them a multiplicity of vulnerable points to
host cells. In fact, these organelles are a key target for xenobiotics to induce dysfunction at a
cell, organ or organism level and the impairment of energy production is not the only harm
of mitochondrial poisoning.
There are several means by which xenobiotics interfere with mitochondrial function.
However, as most xenobiotics considered in this chapter are lipophilic molecules, their
effects on the activities of mitochondrial matrix soluble enzymes involved in the fatty acid
β−oxidation and tricarboxylic acid oxidation pathways will not be directly addressed. The
focus of this section will be mainly the xenobiotic-induced alterations of mitochondrial
membrane-related processes, such as electron transport, transmembrane potential (ΔΨ)
generation, oxidative phosphorylation, oxygen reactive species generation, permeability
transition and the release of pro-apoptotic proteins.
Three important features make mitochondria vulnerable to membrane-active compounds.
The first one is the unique lipid composition of the inner membrane (Daum, 1985), with
virtually no cholesterol and a high content of cardiolipin (CL), a phospholipid that is
common in bacterial membranes but, in eukaryotic cells, only exists in membranes of
mitochondria and chloroplasts (Gennis, 1989). Several xenobiotics have a high affinity for
CL, which explains their mitochondriotropic effects (Boelsterli, 2003). A very well known
example is given by adryamicin-like anthraquinones (Wallace & Starkov, 2000). The
accumulation of these xenobiotics at the inner mitochondrial membrane may have different
consequences. In the case of adryamicin, for example, it leads to the generation of oxidative
stress due to redox cycling of quinone-semiquinone moiety (Boelsterli, 2003). Considering
the important roles CL plays in mitochondria (see below), xenobiotic incorporation in
specific CL-enriched domains of the inner mitochondrial membrane may predictably have
disastrous outcomes for mitochondrial bioenergetics and also for the fate of cells towards
survival or death. Cardiolipin is included in the quaternary structure of the complexes II, IV
and V (Eble et al., 1990; Fry & Green, 1981; Sedlak et al., 2006) of the mitochondrial electron
transport system. Besides those complexes, the complex I also requires cardiolipin for
exhibiting optimal activity (Fry & Green, 1981). Furthermore, cytochrome c (cyt c)
establishes specific interactions with CL (Rytomaa et al., 1992), which have been suggested
to participate in a well coordinated mechanism of programmed cell death, involving cyt c-
catalyzed peroxidation of CL, permeabilization of the outer mitochondrial membrane and
release of cyt c and other apoptogenic factors from the mitochondria (Gonzalvez & Gottlieb,
2007; Basova et al., 2007). As proposed by Basova et al. (2007), CL association with cyt c
could be a decisive step in the early stages of apoptosis, turning off the normal functions of
this hemoprotein in mitochondrial electron transport and turning on its peroxidase activity.
Therefore, xenobiotics, directly interacting with CL or modulating the bilayer properties of
the mitochondrial membranes, may have drastic consequences in mitochondrial
bioenergetics and/or apoptosis (Gonzalvez & Gottlieb, 2007).
The second feature which makes mitochondria vulnerable to xenobiotics is related with the
high potential across the inner mitochondrial membrane, typically in the range of -180 to -
220 mV. The anisotropic distribution of both charges and pH (the matrix side being
negatively charged and slightly alkaline in opposition to the outer side of the membrane,
facing the intermembrane space) confers to mitochondria a high susceptibility to accumulate
large amounts of positively charged lipophilic compounds. The accumulation of these
compounds into mitochondria, at concentrations that may exceed those of the cytosol by
several orders of magnitude, exposes these organelles to potentially toxic compounds at
much higher levels than any other cellular compartment.
The third reason why mitochondria are prone to be poisoned by lipophilic compounds
concerns with the protein-regulated permeability of the inner mitochondrial membrane,
which has a crucial importance for the functional integrity of mitochondria. Therefore,
drastic consequences for mitochondrial intactness and bioenergetic functioning can be
predicted whenever compounds promote an increase of the passive permeability of
mitochondrial inner membrane, impair the activity of transport proteins embedded within it
or interfere with the assembling of protein components of the mitochondrial permeability
transition pore (MPTP). Xenobiotics that cause the opening of MPTP may also promote the
release of apoptosis mediators, inducing apoptosis.
On the other hand, xenobiotics that interact with one or several complexes of the
mitochondrial electron transport system, impairing the normal electron flow, may enhance
the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), leading to an imbalance between
prooxidant species and the cellular antioxidants. The complex I (NADH: ubiquinone
oxidoreductase) is often a site of interference of xenobiotics acting as electron acceptors in
reductase-catalyzed reactions. Redox cycling compounds, as the herbicide paraquat, may be
particularly harmful. The generation of ROS, amplified by the cycling process, may lead to
oxidative DNA damage and lipid peroxidation (Boelsterli, 2003). Additionally, xenobiotics
that promote oxidative stress as well as those that induce a sustained increase of
mitochondrial calcium concentration may disrupt mitochondrial function by opening the
MPTP. The consequent uncoupling of oxidative phosphorylation, due to the collapse of
mitochondrial membrane potential, and the release of pro-apoptotic factors are, in this case,
the main cause of cellular damage (Boelsterli, 2003).
Although rat liver mitochondria constitute a common model for toxicity assessment, plant
mitochondria can be an alternative model, offering several advantages, namely high
activities preserved for much longer periods of time, easier availability and low cost
(Vicente & Madeira, 2000). In the context of herbicide toxicity evaluation, the use of plant
mitochondria is particularly important since useful plants (crops) are often target of the non-
selective toxic effects of those compounds.
II. Unicellular microorganisms, a simple model system to study the complex routes of
cell/membrane toxicity
A great number of compounds produced by agrochemical industries, including herbicides,
are lipophilic molecules. In the case of biocide compounds, this feature is important to
increase their ability to overcome cell membrane barriers. In a toxicokinetic context, the
disposition of a foreign molecule in a biological system necessarily involves the passage
across cell membranes. Thus, lipophilicity is a major determinant of compound capacity to
exert noxious effects on target organisms. However, cellular compartmentalization by
phospholipid-based membranes is a feature common to all living organisms and, then, all
share a high vulnerability to lipophilic compounds. The selective effects of these compounds
on specific organisms may arise from factors that affect compound metabolism, distribution
or excretion (toxicokinetics) and from differences in the existence, accessibility or structural
singularities of the molecular target of these compounds (toxicodynamics). The level of

concern increases when the interaction of lipophilic compounds with membranes results in
unspecific alterations of the physical properties of the lipid bilayer, compromising cell
normal functioning. In fact, the lipid bilayer, besides defining a permeability barrier and
providing a matrix for embedded proteins, endows the membrane with the capacity of
regulating protein function (Lundbaek et al., 2010). Bilayer material properties such as
thickness, intrinsic curvature, and the elastic compression and bending moduli, have been
shown as having a key role on protein folding, trafficking, distribution in the plane of the
membrane and function (McIntosh & Simon, 2006). Therefore xenobiotic-induced bilayer
deformations or perturbation of their physical properties may cause drastic effects on a
great diversity of vital cell functions. In this case, the interactivity with membrane lipid
bilayer is involved in both toxicokinetics and toxicodynamics of the compounds.
In microbial cells, most vital functions are ascribed to the plasma membrane, e.g. signal and
energy transductions, regulation of the intracellular environment and transport of solutes
(Kaback, 1972; Stock et al., 1990; Trumpower & Gennis, 1994). Not surprisingly,
perturbations of membrane structure and function by pollutants will end in more or less
severe disturbance of cell growth and viability. Therefore, these simple systems can offer the
opportunity to screen the cytotoxic potential of membrane-active compounds.
Measurements of growth parameters provided by bacterial cell cultures in liquid media (e.g.
specific growth rate, final bacterial yield), the counting of colony forming units in solid
growth media and the evaluation of bacterial respiratory activity or other metabolic
parameters have been extensively used as short-term screening tests for in vitro assessment
of the toxicity of several environmental pollutants (Hernando et al., 2003; Sikkema et al.,
1995; Monteiro et al., 2005).
On the other hand, bacteria have one, in maximal two, membranes surrounding the cellular
content, which can be easily isolated providing a pure membrane fraction. Two
experimental approaches may be developed by using bacterial membranes as a biological
model system: a) evaluation of the influence of membrane biophysical properties, perturbed
by the accumulation of alien lipophilic molecules, on cellular toxic effects; b) identification
of bacterial mechanisms of regulation of the membrane lipid composition triggered by
xenobiotic incorporation and its impact on counteracting cell toxicity. In fact, alterations of
membrane lipid content (the relative proportions of different lipid classes and the acyl chain
composition of phospho- and glycolipids) are common strategies for adaptation and
responses to stress in bacteria (Jurado et al., 1991; Sikkema et al., 1995; Weber et al., 1996).
Since bacterial lipid regulatory system is highly precise and sensitive, studies of the
molecular mechanisms of membrane adaptation, together with determinations of growth
inhibition and impairment of bacterial metabolic activities, can provide an alternative
methodology for toxicity assessment. Thus, microorganisms offer the advantage of allowing
the assessment of xenobiotic toxic effects ranging from the molecular to the cell/whole
organism level. These data, together with the knowledge of physicochemical characteristics
of the compounds, can be useful to establish structure-activity relationships.
In the field of ecotoxicology, two main reasons explain the considerable attention effects of
lipophilic pollutants on microorganisms have drawn: firstly, microorganisms are
responsible for recycling organic material in soil ecosystems and, then, are valuable
indicators of pollutant ecological impact. Thus, toxicological data concerning soil bacteria
may be used to define upper limits for concentration of pollutants and to predict
environmental toxicity risks; secondly, several of those microorganisms have shown to be
able to thrive in high concentrations of organic pollutants converting them into non-toxic
metabolites (Dejonghe et al., 2003; Sorensen et al., 2003; Neumann et al., 2004). The interest
here is to use these microorganisms for the removal of pollutants from the environment
(bioremediation).
However, in the present work, the emphasis will be on the use of microorganisms as models
to correlate xenobiotic-induced perturbations at a molecular level with the impairment of
physiological processes studied in vitro. Different microorganisms have been used for this
purpose such as the yeast Sacharomyces cerevisiae (Cardoso & Leão, 1992) and E. coli
(Heipieper et al., 1991) as the most studied bacterial model. Microorganisms offer over
multicellular organisms several advantages: (i) yeast/bacterial growth in laboratory
controlled conditions is easy and economic; (ii) these models avoid ethical issues associated
with animal use, providing alternative in vitro toxicity tests; (iii) microorganisms allow to
correlating in the same system the toxic effects exerted by xenobiotics on the organism as a
whole, assessed in vivo (e.g. growth disturbances), and their toxic action on cell functions
assayed in vitro (e.g. protein/channel activities or passive membrane permeability).
In our laboratory, a strain of the thermophile Bacillus stearothermophilus, grown in a liquid
medium (L-Broth) at 65ºC (within the optimal temperature range), has been extensively
used as a model system for assessing the cytotoxicity of different groups of environmental
pollutants, as herbicides (Pereira et al., 2009; 2010), insecticides (Donato et al., 1997a,b;
Martins et al., 2003; Monteiro et al., 2005) and organometals (Martins et al., 2005). Toxicity
indicators have been taken from parameters of growth (lag time, specific growth rate and
bacterial yield in the stationary phase) when growth is followed by turbidity measurements or
by counting the colony-forming units (c.f.u.) after plating serial dilutions of the liquid cultures
on agar plates. Other indicators of toxicity have been provided by monitoring the respiratory
activity (oxygen consumption rate supported by different respiratory substrates). Studies of
growth or respiration performed in a broad concentration range have allowed the
determination of toxicity indices as EC50, NOAEL and/or LOEC. A very good correlation has
been observed between toxicity data provided by B. stearothermophilus and by other model
systems, namely rat liver mitochondria (Monteiro et al., 2008; Pereira et al., 2009).
B. stearothermophilus presents several advantages to be used as a toxicological model system,
in addition to the general ones of bacterial cells. Firstly, cultures of this bacterium with high
cell densities are rapidly obtained at optimal conditions (temperature and pH) of growth
(doubling times around 15 min in the absence of toxicants). Thus, a significant amount of
cells (around 108 colony forming units per ml of growth medium) may be obtained in a few
hours. Hence, in comparison with other time-consuming assays for toxicological assessment,
B. stearothermophilus growth experiments are very advantageous. Moreover, it is also
possible in a short time to isolate homogeneous membrane preparations for lipid extraction
or for monitoring enzymatic reactions. Additionally, B. stearothermophilus growth showed to
be very sensitive to perturbations of membrane physical properties and efficient molecular
mechanisms of membrane adaptation (involving changes of membrane lipid composition)
are triggered by adverse growth conditions (Jurado et al., 1991; Donato et al., 1997a and
2000; Luxo et al., 1998; Rosa et al., 2000). For these reasons this model is particularly useful
for drug toxicity assessment at the membrane level.
On the other hand, the growth of this bacterium occurs at high temperatures (optimally at
60-65ºC), preventing contamination, simplifying sterilization procedures and also assuring
safety for the operator. Concerning the respiration assays, protoplasts are advantageous in
comparison with other systems, as animal mitochondria, for several reasons: economics,
easier manipulation and high performance during much longer periods (several days).
Additionally, the respiratory system of this bacterium shows a great similarity with that of
mitochondria. However, an accurate determination of the levels at which xenobiotics act in
the bacterial oxidative phosphorylation system is technically difficult, since there are not
known inhibitors for the respiratory complexes, except for the cytochrome oxidase (CN- as
inhibitor). In spite of this limitation and the restricted number of substrates that efficiently
support the respiration of protoplasts, very good correlations have been obtained regarding
the concentration range of xenobiotics that impair the electron transfer system in both
bacterial and eukaryotic models (Donato et al., 1997b; Monteiro et al., 2005; 2008; Pereira et
al., 2009).
Taking together growth, respiration and membrane physical data collected with B.
stearothermophilus, a remarkable parallelism may be established with results from studies
carried out with other toxicological model systems, revealing differential toxic effects
exerted by xenobiotics and their metabolites (Donato et al., 1997b and 2000), xenobiotic
isomers (Martins et al., 2003; Monteiro et al., 2003) or different molecules of the same family
of compounds (Pereira et al., 2009 and 2010).
III. Cell cultures of plant tissues, an economical model to evaluate phytotoxicity of

chemical agents of stress
Plant and animal cell cultures have proven to be a useful tool for assessing the toxicity of
chemical compounds in vitro (Steward, 1983; Babich et al., 1986). Diverse cytotoxicity
endpoints can be considered. The most used are the cell viability, membrane integrity,
changes in the content of vital macromolecules (DNA, proteins) or small molecules involved
in cell metabolism (ATP, NADH), and antioxidant defenses (e.g. GSH).
Studies with plant tissue cultures are particularly meaningful when the goal is to screen the
general toxicity of herbicides in non-target organisms. Useful plants (crops) can be
susceptible organisms to the toxic action of those compounds, not only because they coexist
with the target-plants (weeds), but also because weeds and crops do share a great number of
features putatively affected by the toxic action of the herbicides.
Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is one of the most important crops in the temperate climate
regions of the world (Zuba & Binding, 1989). It has been cultivated in Europe, but its
production has been also increasing in China, India and Indonesia, as this crop tolerates a
great variety of climates, from temperate to tropic, and from humid to arid. As a food crop,
its value results from the accumulation of high amounts of starch in the tuber in
combination with proteins, lipids and minerals. Therefore, the interest in studying herbicide
toxic effects on potato tissue cultures in vitro is dual: a) to appraise the susceptibility or
eventual resistance of this important food crop to herbicide toxicity and b) to use these
accessible cultures as model systems for screening the toxicity of herbicides in vitro.
Tubers, roots, leaves, and other parts of the Solanum tuberosum plant have been extensively
used as explants for initiating callus (friable, pale-brown lumps) formation in the presence
of adequate culture media. The fully mature cells of potato tubers preserve, even after a long
period of quiescence, the ability to behave as growing cells when appropriately stimulated,
showing activities such as respiration supported by the carbohydrates from starch
hydrolysis, protein synthesis, uptake of water and inorganic salts harnessing its metabolism
and available energy (Steward, 1983). Plant cell cultures constitute a true clonal growth of
the original plant, retaining not only the inheritance and totipotency of their nuclei but also
the competence of the cytoplasm to regulate gene expression (Steward, 1983).
The use of plant tissue cultures has several advantages over other methods for toxicity
assessment: a) high sensitivity, versatility, speed and simplicity; b) minimal costs for the
equipment; c) technical expertise is easy to obtain; d) growth conditions are easily controlled
in laboratory. Additionally, in callus tissue cultures, the simplicity of the structural
organization and the absence of cellular wall barrier amenable to an effective herbicide
penetration and translocation (Mumma & Davidonis, 1983; Magalhães et al., 1989; Nellessen
& Fletcher, 1993) make this sensitive model a useful tool to study herbicide toxicity and
metabolism in plants (Sandermann et al., 1984; Smeda & Weller, 1991). The growth of non-
green callus tissue in the dark precludes the analysis of herbicide effects on the
photosynthetic system, but allows to address studies to other putative targets of the toxic
action of those compounds, such as mitochondria which have a crucial role in ATP synthesis
in these cells devoid of chlorophyl. Thus, potato callus tissue has been used as a relevant
material source for in vivo and ex vivo studies of herbicide toxicity at the mitochondrial level
(Peixoto et al., 2008; 2009a).
In summary, plant cell cultures have been established as a good alternative model for
ecotoxicological evaluation and also as a means to study herbicide mechanisms of action
and metabolism in plants (Harms, 1992).
IV. Fish as an economical vertebrate model for toxicity assessment

Fish are currently used as toxicological models with a major importance in hazard
identification, environmental risk assessment, and biomedical research in human
development and diseases (Hill et al., 2005; Schmale et al., 2007). Fish are the most
numerous, the most diverse and the oldest group of vertebrates, allowing the investigation
of fundamental biological principles that can be extrapolated to humans. For example,
studies on renal physiology of fishes led to diagnostic methods remaining in use in medicine
today (Beyenbach, 2004). In a toxicological context, fish are also potential target for action of
toxic compounds, such as herbicides, since aquatic ecosystems are the final reservoir of
numerous chemicals produced and used by man (Pritchard, 1993). Thus, they are used in
acute and chronic studies to evaluate the susceptibility of individual species to a wide
variety of pollutants (e.g. herbicides).
Acute toxicity assessment, the first step of chemical toxicological evaluation, allows to
determining the LC50 (96 h) value (e.g., according to OECD guideline 203, i.e., as the
concentration of the test substance resulting in 50% mortality of the experimental fish over a period
of 96 hours; OECD203, 1992). Although death is the endpoint in acute toxicological assays
and it represents an unambiguous parameter, its environmental significance is questionable.
The information concerning the way how the chemical compounds exert their acute toxicity
in fish is scarce (Nagel, 2002). On the other hand, the chronic effects resulting from long-
term exposure to low concentrations are environmentally relevant, allowing the
comprehension of the molecular mechanisms underlying the toxic effects and the
establishment of structure-activity relationships of several classes of xenobiotics (Pritchard,
1993). Therefore, it is important to understand chronic effects that arise from chemical
exposure of fish at all life stages, i.e. embryonic, larval, juvenile and adult (Lawrence &
Hemingway, 2003).
The research strategies used to assess chronic toxicity depend on the research team
experience, the fish species used and also the physico-chemical properties of the compounds
to be evaluated. The main goals are: firstly, identification of the main route of entry of the
toxic substance in the body (skin, gills, food), determination of toxic distribution between
various organs and the pathways of biotransformation and elimination (toxicokinetics);
secondly, identification of the organs and/or tissues more sensitive to the toxic action, and
the cellular and biochemical pathways underlying the toxicity of the chemical compound
(toxicodynamics).
Economic advantages together with the general properties shared by many species of fish
such as high fecundity, external fertilization of transparent eggs and relatively brief
generation times make fish a valuable model for toxicological research. Small size fish
species, such us medaka (Oryzias latipes) and zebrafish (Danio rerio) have transparent
externally developed embryos, facilitating experiments in developmental toxicology,
carcinogenesis, mutagenesis and organ-specific toxicity assays (Wakamatsu et al., 2001;
Wiegand et al., 2001; Nagel, 2002; Hill et al., 2005). Other species like rainbow trout
(Oncorhynchus mykiss), feathead (Pimephales promeals) and tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)
having large size are more appropriate for the experiments requiring large amounts of
tissue, to pursue gene expression profiles, proteomics and lipidomics. Their size also allows
better assessment for the histological and anatomical investigation. However, the main focus
of the toxicological studies is still the biochemical changes associated with toxic exposure,
namely, in proteins involved in xenobiotic detoxification, metabolism and excretion
(Lawrence & Hemingway, 2003). The endpoint test includes the measurement of the
quantities/activities of cytochrome P450 (CYP) monooxygenase system, UDP glucuronosyl,
glutathione transferases and metallothioneins. To assess the possible correlation between
oxidative stress induced by xenobiotics and the toxic effects, the presence of intracellular
oxidative reactive species are usually investigated, quantifying the lipid peroxidation, the
reduced glutathione and α-tocopherol intracellular stores and the activity of enzymes like
glutathione reductase, glutathione peroxidase, catalase and superoxide dismutase
(Figueiredo-Fernandes, 2006; Peixoto et al., 2006). Additionally, direct damage to DNA,
including chromosomal aberrations such as micronucleus formation, DNA adducts
(covalent attachment of a chemical to DNA) and strand breakage are also evaluated to
indentify genotoxic compounds (Çavas & Könen, 2007).
3. Results
I. Studies with plant and animal mitochondria
There are only a small number of toxicological studies using isolated plant mitochondria.
However, to understand the mechanism of action of the herbicides on plants, it will be
important to study their effects on plant mitochondria considered as the main target for
many of them. Some plant mitochondrial fractions exhibit activities higher than animal
preparations, which are preserved over several days, especially when obtained by
purification with a Percoll gradient (Neuburger et al., 1982; Vicente & Madeira, 2000). These
fractions exhibit higher degrees of purity, as compared with mitochondria of animal origin,
namely rat liver mitochondria, avoiding interferences with contaminants. In spite of this, the
toxicological evaluation aiming environmental security for man, comprehensively prefers
the use of mammalian mitochondria, considering the differences between plant and animal
mitochondrial structure and function.
Mitochondria are known as the main intracellular organelle responsible for cell ROS
production and we should bear in mind that compounds interacting with mitochondrial
membranes putatively disturb the coupling efficiency between oxidation and
phosphorylation and also exacerbate mitochondrial ROS production. A range of biotic and
abiotic stresses also raise ROS levels in plants due to both defense responses and
perturbations of chloroplastic and mitochondrial metabolism (Van Camp et al., 1998).
Several studies were performed in our laboratories, with isolated plant and animal
mitochondria, showing that this organelle could represent a target for several well known
herbicides. Here we describe and discuss the main results obtained in our studies,
considering other studies presented in literature.
1. DNOC
The compound DNOC (4,6-Dinitro-o-cresol) is an herbicide included in the phenols, being
also used as fungicide and insecticide. DNOC in the concentration range of 10-50 µM, acted
as a classical uncoupler of oxidative phosphorylation in rat liver mitochondria, promoting
an increase in succinate-supported mitochondrial respiration in state 4 and a dissipation of
ΔΨ. The protonophoric activity of DNOC was evidenced by the induction of mitochondrial
swelling in hyposmotic K+-acetate medium, in the presence of valinomycin. At higher
concentrations (≥ 50 µM), DNOC induced an inhibition of succinate-supported respiration,
and a decrease in the activity of the succinate-dehydrogenase. Treatment of Ca2+-loaded
mitochondria with uncoupling concentrations of DNOC resulted in mitochondrial
permeability transition (MPT), associated with membrane protein thiol oxidation by ROS, as
evidenced by mitochondrial swelling in isosmotic sucrose medium (Castilho et al., 1997).
Similarly to rat liver mitochondria, DNOC acts as a classical uncoupler of oxidative
phosphorylation in potato tuber mitochondria at low concentrations (≤ 100), and as an
inhibitor of mitochondrial respiration at high concentrations (≥ 100 µM) (Vicente et al.,
1998). This mode of action is in agreement with a type of herbicides named inhibitory
uncouplers, according to a general classification (Moreland, 1980; 1993). Thus, low
concentrations (up to about 100 µM) only induce uncoupling effect and higher
concentrations also inhibit the mitochondrial electron transport chain.
In conclusion, DNOC affected similarly plant and animal mitochondria, with a higher
sensitivity for rat liver mitochondria, requiring lower concentrations to produce the same
results.
2. Dinoseb; 2,4-D; 2,4,5-T; 2,4,5-TP and MCPA

Studies on phenoxyacetic acid herbicides are here considered and compared with the
phenol herbicide, dinoseb. The herbicide dinoseb (2-sec-butyl-4,6-dinitrophenol) partially
inhibited both FCCP (carbonylcyanide p-trifluoromethoxyphenylhydrazone)-uncoupled
respiration and state 3 respiration, indicating its limited interaction with the mitochondrial
redox chain at the level of the complexes II and III, as reflected by the low inhibition
induced by 500 nM dinoseb on succinate dehydrogenase (10%) and cytochrome c reductase
(20%), respectively. Additionally, it increased the rate of state 4 oxygen consumption,
stimulated ATPase activity, induced mitochondrial membrane permeabilization to protons
(H+), and depressed ΔΨ. Thus, dinoseb has a limited effect on the activities of the redox
chain complexes at the same time it acts as an uncoupler of oxidative phosphorylation in rat
liver mitochondria (Palmeira et al., 1994a). In fact, dinitrophenols, e.g., dinoseb, were
previously described as uncouplers of oxidative phosphorylation in mung bean
mitochondria (Moreland & Novitzky, 1988). Differently to dinoseb, the herbicide 2,4-D (2,4-
dichlorophenoxyacetic acid) has a more pronounced inhibitory action on the redox chain
and acts as uncoupler only at relatively high concentrations. Thus, 2,4-D, in the
concentration range of up to 800 µM, decreased ΔΨ as a function of concentration. State 3

and FCCP-uncoupled respiration were depressed by approximately the same extent (60% at
700 µM), ruling out direct interactions on phosphorylation assembly independent of the
redox chain. In fact, the herbicide, at 600 µM, strongly inhibited succinate dehydrogenase
(50%) and cytochrome c reductase (75%). Therefore, 2,4-D specifically affects the redox chain
at the mitochondrial complexes II and III, as opposed to a limited effect of dinoseb whose
action is essentially related with uncoupling. Additionally, 2,4-D also uncoupled oxidative
phosphorylation in rat liver mitochondria at concentrations 1000-fold higher than those
required for a similar dinoseb effect (≥150 µM) (Palmeira et al., 1994a). Just as 2,4-D, 2,4,5-T
(2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid), MCPA (4-chloro-2-methylphenoxyacetic acid) and 2,4,5-
TP [2-(2,4,5-trichlorophenoxy)propionic acid], at high concentrations, alter energy
metabolism in rat liver mitochondria by uncoupling oxidative phosphorylation. The
herbicide 2,4,5-TP possesses the strongest uncoupling properties followed by 2,4,5-T, MCPA
and 2,4-D (Zychlinski & Zolnierowicz, 1990). I n v i v o treatment of rats with 2,4,5-T and 2,4-
D also causes damage to mitochondrial and cellular membranes, leading to cellular toxicity.
This implies that, i n v i v o , these herbicides also have the potential to inhibit the oxidative
phosphorylation of mitochondria, affecting energy production in cells (Sulik et al., 1998).
Similarly to rat liver mitochondria, in potato tuber mitochondria 2,4-D has an uncoupling
effect which causes the complete loss of phosphorylation by permeabilizing the inner
mitochondrial membrane to H+. In plant mitochondria, simultaneously with uncoupling,
2,4-D also inhibited the electron transport chain by blocking the activity of dehydrogenases
(succinate dehydrogenase, malate dehydrogenase and NAD-dependent malic enzyme)
linked to the respiratory chain (Pireaux et al., 1992). As with DNOC, inhibitory action in
plant mitochondria with 2,4-D also required higher concentrations (>3mM) to obtain the
same range of inhibition, as compared with animal mitochondria.
3. Dicamba
Dicamba (2-methoxy-3,6-dichlorobenzoic acid) is included in the group of benzoic acid
herbicides (classe of carboxylic acids). In the concentration range of 4-30 µmol/mg protein
(2-15 mM), promoted an increase in state 4 succinate-supported respiration in rat liver
mitochondria. Nevertheless, at the concentration of 50 µmol/mg protein (25 mM), it
strongly inhibitied succinate-supported mitochondrial respiration (state 4). These results
indicate not only an uncoupling effect, as a consequence of an increase on the permeability
of inner mitochondrial membranes to protons, but also a strong inhibitory effect on the
redox complexes of the mitochondrial respiratory chain. The protonophoric activity of
dicamba was evidenced by the induction of mitochondrial swelling in hyposmotic K+-
acetate medium, in the presence of valinomycin. The inhibitory effect of dicamba on the
respiratory complexes was evidenced by: 1) the inhibition, at the same extent, of state 3
respiration and FCCP uncoupled respiration with parallel dissipation of the ΔΨ, and 2) the
strong inhibition of the mitochondrial complexes II and III, as reflected from the decrease in
the enzymatic activity of the succinate dehydrogenase and cytochrome c reductase.
Dicamba, in the concentration range of 4-30 µmol/mg protein, also inhibited the the
activities of the ATPase and ATP synthase. From these results it was concluded that
dicamba decreases oxidative phosphorylation by a dual effect on the redox chain (inhibition
of redox complexes, and stimulation of proton leakage through the mitochondrial inner
membrane) (Peixoto et al., 2003a). Similarly to rat liver mitochondria, dicamba interfered
with potato tuber mitochondria by inhibiting the activities of the respiratory complexes II
and III, of ATP synthase, and also stimulating the proton leakage through the mitochondrial
inner membrane (Peixoto et al., 2003b). In turn, comparative effects of dicamba and a
related compound, 2-chlorobenzoic acid, on potato tuber mitochondria showed that
dicamba is a stronger mitochondrial respiratory chain inhibitor and uncoupler. So,
considering the results, it was suggested that differences in the lipophilicity due to their
chemical structures are related to the different sensitivities of mitochondrial bioenergetics to
the referred compounds (Peixoto et al., 2003b).
4. Metolachlor and Alachlor

We also studied chloroacetanilide herbicides included in the larger group of amides for their
effects on mitochondria. Metolachlor [2-chloro-N-(2-ethyl-6-methyl-phenyl)-N-(2-methoxy-
1-methylethyl) acetamida], in the concentration range of 400-1000 nmol/mg protein (0.4-1.0
mM), interferes with rat liver mitochondrial bioenergetics, inhibiting state 3 and FCCP-
uncoupled respirations supported by either malate/glutamate or succinate as the
respiratory substrates. These results demonstrated that both complex I and complex II are
sensitive to metolachlor. Accordingly, metolachlor-induced ΔΨ dissipation and depression
of the phosphorylation rates of rat liver mitochondria can be explained by the inhibitory
action of the herbicide exerted in complex I- and complex II-dependent respirations. This
assumption was supported by the parallel depressive effect on state 3 and FCCP-uncoupled
respirations dependent on both malate/glutamate and succinate and the absence of effects
when a mixture of ascorbate+TMPD was used as substrate (complex IV). The low
stimulatory effect of state 4 respiration suggest a low ability of the compound to induce
inner membrane permeabilization. Therefore, the toxicological effects of metolachlor on rat
liver mitochondrial bioenergetics, expressed by its inhibitory action on mitochondrial
respiratory chain for complexes I and II, may be relevant to understand the mechanism
responsible for its toxic action (Pereira et al., 2009). Just as metolachlor, the herbicide
alachlor [2-chloro-N-(2,6-diethyphenyl)-N-(methoxymethyl acetamide)], in the
concentration range of 400-1200 nmol/mg protein (0.4-1.2 mM), interferes with rat liver
mitochondrial bioenergetics by inhibiting mitochondrial respiratory chain activity at
complexes I and II levels (Pereira et al., 2010).
5. Linuron
Linuron [N´- (3,4-dichlorophenyl)-N-metoxy-N-methylurea] is an herbicide included in the
group of ureas. In the concentration range of up to 160 µM, linuron interferes with rat liver
mitochondrial bioenergetics, inhibiting state 3 respiration supported by either
malate/glutamate (65%) and succinate (8%) as the respiratory substrates. The FCCP-
uncoupled respiration supported by malate/glutamate was inhibited by 40%. Nevertheless,
succinate-supported FCCP-uncoupled respiration was not affected by the tested linuron
concentrations. These results indicate that complex I of the mitochondrial respiratory chain
is more sensitive to linuron than complex II. This assumption was also supported by a
higher linuron-induced dissipation of ΔΨ (11%) and depression of the phosphorylation rate
(70%) of rat liver mitochondria respiring malate/glutamate as compared with succinate-
dependent respiration (7% and 33%, respectively). The same concentration range of linuron
progressively stimulated state 4 respiration using either malate/glutamate or succinate as
respiratory substrates. However, at 120 µM linuron, a higher stimulation of state 4
supported by succinate (100%) was detected, as compared with that supported by
malate/glutamate (20%) reinforcing the idea that the inhibitory effect of linuron is mainly
exerted at the level of complex I. On the other hand, this result indicates that linuron has
also some ability to induce inner membrane permeabilization to cations. This explains the
strong inhibitory effect of succinate-supported state 3 respiration, taking into account that
complex II is note very sensitive to linuron.
The toxicological effects of linuron on rat liver mitochondrial bioenergetics, expressed by its
inhibitory action on mitochondrial respiratory chain for complex I and membrane
permeabilization, may be relevant to understand the mechanism responsible for its toxic
action (unpublished results).
6. Paraquat
Paraquat (1,1´-dimethyl-4,4´-bipyridylium dichloride), included in the group of
bipyridiliums, in the concentration range of up to 10 mM, promoted an increase in
succinate-supported mitochondrial respiration (state 4) on rat liver mitochondria, indicating
some energy uncoupling due to some permeabilization of mitochondrial membrane to H+.
The deleterious effect of the herbicide on membrane organization was confirmed by its
ability to induce lipid peroxidation (Palmeira et al., 1995a). So, this must be the main cause
of permeabilization. State 3 respiration is a little depressed by about 15% at 10 mM
paraquat, whereas CCCP-uncoupled respiration is depressed by about 30%. The inhibitory
effect of paraquat on uncoupled respiration reflects its interaction with the mitochondrial
respiratory chain. In fact, succinate cytochrome-c reductase and cytochrome-c oxidase are
inhibited by 35 and 39% respectively, at 10 mM paraquat, whereas succinate dehydrogenase
is not significantly affected, indicating that paraquat partially inhibits the redox chain at
mitochondrial complexes III and IV. Furthermore, paraquat partially inhibits the ATPase
activity for concentrations in the range of 1-2 mM, suggesting a direct effect on this enzyme
complex. However, at higher concentrations (5-10 mM), the ATPase activity is stimulated,
probably as a consequence of the described uncoupling effect. Paraquat depresses ΔΨ of rat
liver mitochondria as a function of herbicide concentration. In addition, the depolarization
induced by ADP is decreased and repolarization is biphasic suggesting a double effect.
Repolarization resumes at a level consistently higher than the initial level before ADP
addition, for concentrations up to 10 mM. This particular effect is clear at 1 mM paraquat
and tends to fade out with increasing concentrations of the herbicide. Based on these results,
it was concluded that paraquat uncouples oxidative phosphorylation of rat liver
mitochondria by inducing lipid peroxidation and, also, by inhibiting redox chain and
ATPase/synthase activity (Palmeira et al., 1995a). Comparative studies of the effect of
paraquat on mitochondrial bioenergetics of rat liver and potato mitochondria confirmed the
protonophoric action of herbicide on both mitochondrial membranes. However, the
sensitivity of potato tuber mitochondria to paraquat was lower than that of rat liver
mitochondria (Vicente et al., 2001). Differences between rat liver and potato tuber
mitochondria were also observed on the effects of paraquat on both ΔΨ and oxygen
consumption of complex-I-dependent respiration. Thus, paraquat (20 mM) considerably
dissipated complex-I-dependent ΔΨ and stimulated state 4 oxygen consumption of liver
mitochondria, but not potato tuber mitochondria, even at 40 mM paraquat (Vicente et al.,
2001). According to these results potato tuber mitochondria, in contrast to rat liver
mitochondria, are protected against paraquat radical (PQ+) afforded by complex I redox
activity (Vicente et al., 2001). Interestingly, the complex I may afford protection for the
paraquat effects on plant mitochondria, explained by Nagata et al. (1987). Working with
bovine heart and yeast mitochondria, the reduction of NAD+ to NADH can be catalyzed at
the expense of the paraquat radical, avoiding its degradative effects. Studies performed to
understand the different sensitivity of plant and animal mitochondria to paraquat toxicity
revealed that it may also be related with antioxidant agents (Vicente et al., 2001; Peixoto et
al., 2004) and different native aliphatic contents of the mitochondria membrane
phospholipids (Peixoto et al., 2004). In fact, the levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD),
glutathione reductase and α-tocopheral content in potato tuber mitochondria were
significantly higher than in rat liver mitochondria, which, in turn, revealed higher values of
lipid peroxidation and protein oxidation induced by paraquat (Vicente et al., 2001; Peixoto
et al., 2004). Also, the total number of double bonds (unsaturated index) in rat liver
mitochondrial membranes was higher than in potato tuber mitochondrial membranes
(Peixoto et al., 2004). From these studies it was also concluded that peroxides are not major
intermediates in paraquat toxicity at the mitochondrial level since the activity of the
glutathione peroxidase and catalase are much higher in rat liver than in potato tuber
mitochondria (Peixoto et al., 2004).
A summary of the results of the effects of some herbicides on plant mitochondria is depicted
in Figure 1.
Fig. 1. Effects of DNOC (80 µM), 2,4-D (3 mM), MCPA (3 mM), paraquat (40 mM) and
dicamba (2 mM) on succinate-supported transmembrane potencial (ΔΨ) (A), state 4 O2
consumption (B), swelling in hypo-osmotic K+-acetate medium (C), and succinate
dehydrogenase activity (D) of potato tuber mitochondria. Val., valinomycin; FCCP, carbonyl
cyanide p-trifluoromethoxyphenyl-hydrazone. The traces represent typical recordings from
several experiments with different mitochondrial preparations.
Herbicide Herbicide
Chemical structure Chemical structure
Log Kp LD50 Log Kp LD50
DNOC O O Dicamba Cl O
N+ N+
-
O O- OH
2.39 7.0 -1.88 1581

HO O
Cl
Dinoseb O
Metolachlor O
N+ Cl O
O- N
2.29 25 HO
3.4 1200
N+
O O-
2,4-D Alachlor O
O Cl
N O
O
OH
-0.83 469 3.09 1200
Cl Cl
MCPA O
Linuron Cl
O
O
OH O
-0.81 962 3.0 1146 N N
H
Cl
Cl
2,4,5-T Cl OH
Paraquat N+
3.72 820 -4.5 110

Cl Cl N+
2,4,5-TP O
Oxyfluorfen F O
F
Cl O Cl N+
OH F O-
4.0 500 4.86 > 5000

O O
Cl Cl
Table 4. Chemical structure, Log Kp (octanol-water partition coefficient at pH 7, 20 oC) and

Rat-Acute oral LD50 (mg Kg-1) values of the referred herbicides. (Data of Log Kp and LD50
obtained from: IUPAC global availability of information on agrochemicals,
http://sitem.herts.ac.uk/aeru/iupac/index.htm, July 2010).
Comparing the results presented in Figure 1 with the Log Kp values of the herbicides
studied (Table 4), efforts were made to establish a relationship between lipophylicity and
their mechanisms of action.
Exception for paraquat, a good correlation between herbicide Log Kp values (Table 4) and
the transmembrane potencial dissipation, the stimulation of state 4 respiration and the
proton-dependent swelling induced by them can be established, hence, corroborating their

effects on mitochondrial membrane permeabilization inducing uncoupling of mitochondrial
phosphorylation.
These toxicological effects of the herbicides on mitochondria, putatively related to their
incorporation into the mitochondrial membrane, cause an alteration on the surface charge
density and a disturbance in the physicochemical and structural properties of the inner
membrane, resulting in an unequivocal disturbance of electron delivery between redox
complexes and, consequently, affecting the phosphorylative system. Obviously paraquat
acts in a completely different way.
The mechanism of action of paraquat has been related to reactive oxygen species produced by
paraquat redox cycling. Nevertheless, paraquat affects mitochondrial functions and induces a
slight permeabilization of mitochondrial membrane probably due to lipid peroxidation
(Peixoto et al., 2004). Mitochondrial protein thiol oxidation was also observed by paraquat
treatment (Peixoto et al., 2004). Respiratory complexes from electron respiratory chain can
also be negatively affected by all these herbicides as revealed from succinate dehydrogenase
activity assays (Figure 1D). In this case, correlation with lipophylicity is not so obvious.
II. Effects on Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic cell cultures

In this section, studies of the effects of herbicides on bacteria and plant cell cultures will be
described. If the use of plant cell cultures is easily accepted as an important means to
estimate the potential toxicity of those compounds in target and non-target organisms, the
interest in performing herbicide studies by using bacterial cells as toxicological model
systems is apparently less obvious. However, considering the crucial role microorganisms
play in soil as well as in aquatic environments, a significant ecological damage is predictable
if these microbial communities are affected by the accumulation of herbicides in soil, upon
their application in agriculture fields, or in aquatic systems, as a consequence of herbicide
runoff. In fact, microorganisms are of fundamental importance for the vital functioning of
any ecosystem. The microflora of the soil, namely in the top soil layer (0-15 cm) where an
intense microbiological activity takes place, has a high responsibility for soil fertility because
of its capacity to convert potential plant nutrients in active or available forms. On the other
hand, microorganisms densely colonizing fresh water and marine sediments promote the
transformation of organic matter and constitute food source for organisms of higher trophic
levels. Therefore, the adverse effects of chemical agents such as herbicides upon
microorganisms may constitute an early warning indicator of ecosystem perturbation.
In the literature, we can find a significant amount of studies showing herbicide-sensitive
bacteria (Cserháti et al., 1992; Hernando et al., 2003) and micro-algae (Nystrom et al., 1999;
Li et al., 2008), as well as microorganisms that not only tolerate the presence of high
concentrations of herbicides but also are able to degrade them (Dejonghe et al., 2003;
Sorensen et al., 2003; Neumann et al., 2004). If, on the one hand, the biodegradation
constitutes an important factor favoring the removal of herbicides from the environment, on
the other hand, the elimination of sensitive microorganisms and the proliferation of the most
tolerant ones, due to the selection pressure exerted by those compounds, may cause changes
to the existing microbiological balances with potential adverse consequences for the
ecosystem. An example of differential sensitivity to herbicides has been found for
sulfonylurea herbicides among fresh-water and marine micro-algae (Nystrom et al., 1999),
microbial aquatic communities (Thompson et al., 1993) and soil bacteria (Forlani et al., 1995).
As previously referred, adverse effects may be caused by herbicides on beneficial

microorganisms and their associated transformations in soil, affecting plant-nutrient
availability. Therefore, the evaluation of herbicide toxicity exerted in soil microorganisms is
recommendable to define upper limit concentrations. With the purpose of contributing to
collect data concerning herbicide effects on soil microorganisms, three herbicides (the
chloroacetamides metolachlor and alachlor and the arylurea linuron) were studied using B.
stearothermophilus as a bacterial model system.
1. Metolachlor and alachlor toxic effects on bacterial cells

Metolachlor (Pereira et al., 2009) and alachlor (Pereira et al., 2010) inhibit the growth of a
strain of B. stearothermophilus in the concentration range of 100 to 600 µM. The herbicides
added to cultures of this Gram-positive bacterium, grown in a complex liquid growth medium
(L-Broth) at 65 ºC, affect the bacterial growth in the dependence of the concentration, inducing
an increase of the lag time, decrease of the specific growth rate and reduction of the maximal
optical density attained in the stationary phase of growth. The effective concentrations which
alter these growth parameters by 50% compared to the control (EC50) are around 400 to 450 µM
for metolachlor and slightly higher than 500 µM for alachlor. Comparing these values of EC50
with those determined in identical conditions for other pesticides, such as DDT (Donato et al.,
1997b), methoprene (Monteiro et al, 2005) or tributyltin (TBT) (Martins et al., 2005), it is clear
that the herbicides metolachlor and alachlor have a much lower toxicity. Accordingly, the
herbicide effects on the bacterial respiratory activity, evaluated in terms of the oxygen
consumption rate in protoplasts, also denote a moderate toxicity. Thus, for oxygen
consumption supported by NADH, metolachlor and alachlor EC50 of 1.2 µmol/mg protein or
1.2 mM (Pereira et al., 2009) and 2.2 µmol/mg protein or 2.2 mM (Pereira et al., 2010),
respectively, are two order of magnitude higher than those found for DDT (Donato et al.,
1997b) or the organotin TBT (Martins et al., 2005). The respiratory activity elicited by
ascorbate/TMPD showed to be insensitive to both herbicides in the range of 0.5 to 5.0
µmol/mg protein (0.5 to 5.0 mM), suggesting that the herbicides act upstream the cytochrome
c oxidase segment. These results are in accordance to those found in rat liver mitochondria for
both herbicides at the same concentration range (Pereira et al., 2009; 2010).
Therefore, data obtained for the bacterial model, in terms of growth and respiratory activity,
and for rat liver mitochondria, concur with each other and with other results in the literature
(Stevens & Sumner, 1991) indicating that the herbicides alachlor and metolachlor exhibit a
reduced toxicity in comparison with other tested pesticides or pollutants.
2. Linuron toxic effects on bacterial cells

The toxic effects of linuron on the growth and respiratory activity of B. stearothermophilus
were also evaluated. Although concentration-dependent effects of linuron on bacterial
growth follow the same trend of the tested chloroacetamides, resulting in longer lag times,
lower growth rates in the exponential phase and lower bacterial yields, as compared to the
control, they revealed to be much more severe. Thus, the inhibition of bacterial growth by
linuron occurred at concentrations one order of magnitude lower than those required by the
other tested herbicides to promote the same effect. An identical behavior was observed
when herbicide effects on the respiratory activity of protoplasts, elicited by NADH, were
monitored. The effective concentration of linuron of 98 nmol/mg protein or 98 µM
(unpublished data) to reduce for a half the protoplast oxygen consumption rate relatively to
the control (protoplast preparation without herbicide, containing a correspondent amount of

DMSO, i.e. the herbicide vehicle solvent) is also one order of magnitude lower than the
equivalent concentrations of alachlor and metolachlor (see above) and one order of
magnitude higher than the concentration of TBT to produce the same effect (Martins et al.,
2005). These results are also in accordance with those obtained using the mitochondrial
model system (see above).
These findings confirm previous data (Donato et al., 1997b; Monteiro et al., 2005; 2008)
showing a good parallelism between the results obtained with the bacterial model and rat
liver mitochondria, suggesting a similar sensitivity of both models for chemical toxicity
assessment.
3. Paraquat effects on plant cell cultures

Paraquat is a non-selective contact herbicide of the bipyridilium class, whose incorrect use
may cause pulmonary injury in humans (Boelsterli, 2003). This organ-selective toxicity
results from parquat structural similarity with diamines, such as putrescine, which are
actively transported by type I and type II alveolar cells. The toxicodynamics of this
compound is related with its high redox-cycling activity (Boelsterli, 2003). In plants, the
mechanism of action of this herbicide consists of affecting photosynthesis, being reduced by
light reaction I (Cremlyn, 1991). Since this herbicide is absorbed from the foliage, but not
from the roots, it is predictable those effects do not occur on non-green cells.
In order to appraise paraquat toxicity in non-target plants, studies were performed using
cell cultures from non-green potato (S. tuberous L.) tuber calli (Peixoto et al., 2008). Several
endpoints were used to evaluate the cytotoxic effects of this herbicide: cell growth, total
synthesised protein; cellular integrity; adenine nucleotide content and the activity of several
antioxidant enzymes. Paraquat concentration of 50 µM promoted a complete inhibition of
the growth of callus tissue cells. Studies of fluorescein release showed that paraquat
concentrations which inhibited cellular growth by 50% (5 µM) did not affect the integrity of
the cell membrane. Accordingly, the protein/cellular weight ratio did not significantly alter
upon incubation of plant cells with this concentration of paraquat (5 µM). This finding is in
agreement with studies performed in potato tuber-isolated mitochondria (Vicente et al.,
2001) showing that concentrations of paraquat up to 30 mM do not induce swelling
depending on permeabilization to H+.
Since previous studies using plant and animal mitochondrial fractions had shown paraquat
exerts deleterious effects on animal mitochondria bioenergetics due to oxidative stress and
also disturbs, although less severely, plant mitochondria functioning (Vicente et al., 2001;
Peixoto et al., 2004), the adenosine nucleotides in callus tissue cultures exposed to this
herbicide were quantified in order to obtain information regarding paraquat effects on
oxidative phosphorylation, glycolisis and pentose pathways (Peixoto et al., 2008). Paraquat
induced ATP and ADP depletion, together with an increase of AMP, and strongly increased
the NAD+/NADH ratio, revealing decrease of the cellular redox state. The depletion of
intracellular ATP and NADH together with the increase of the levels of ADP, AMP and
NAD+, due to paraquat effects, was also reported in isolated rat-hepatocytes (Palmeira et al.,
1994b; Palmeira, 1999). The ATP depletion has been related to the interference with the
mitochondrial or glycolytic energy pathways in isolated rat hepatocytes (Palmeira, 1999) as
well as in non-green callus tissue (Peixoto et al., 2008). On the other hand, the redox cycling
of paraquat may justify the depletion of cellular reducing equivalents, in both biological
systems. Both events, depletion of ATP and decrease of the cellular redox state, may lead to
the impairment of cellular functions, hence promoting inhibition of potato tuber calli cell
growth (Peixoto et al., 2008) and decrease of hepatocyte viability (Palmeira et al., 1995b). It is
also suggested that lipid peroxidation induced by superoxide anions generated by paraquat
redox cycling, plays an important role in the toxicity mechanism of this herbicide (Krall et
al., 1988; Peter et al., 1992). In isolated rat hepatocytes it was demonstrated that paraquat
promoted an increase in thiobarbituric acid (TBA)-reactive species as a function of
concentration and incubation time (Palmeira et al., 1995b). In parallel, it was shown that at
the same concentration range paraquat induced loss of intracellular glutathione (GSH) with
a concomitant increase of the oxidised form (GSSG), decrease of protein thiols and cell death
(Palmeira et al., 1995b). These events have been suggested as being interrelated.
Antioxidant enzymes can be up-regulated during oxidative stress (adaptive response
induced by H2O2 as a second messenger) and their activities have been proposed as being
involved in mechanisms of herbicide toxicity or resistance (Allen et al., 1997).
In order to clarify the level of protection plant cells exhibit against paraquat-induced
oxidative stress, the activity of antioxidant enzymes was determined in crude extracts of
potato callus tissue previously exposed to different concentrations of the herbicide (Peixoto
et al., 2008). It was observed that paraquat induced a high stimulation of superoxide
dismutase (SOD) and glutathione reductase (GR) but did not affect glutathione transferase
(GST). Catalase (CAT) was stimulated only at low paraquat concentrations (1µM) and was
inhibited at higher concentrations of the herbicide. The high increase of hydrogen peroxide
resulting from the dismutation of superoxide anions generated by paraquat redox cycling,
which is favoured by the high herbicide-induced stimulation of SOD, likely justifies why
CAT is inhibited above 1µM paraquat, since potato CAT is very sensitive to H2O2 (Beaumont
et al., 1990). These data agree with those reported for tobacco plants, which also showed an
increase of SOD activity and CAT inhibition (Furusawa et al., 1984).
GR activity is responsible for the reduction of GSSG back to GSH. Since paraquat promotes
a decrease of GSH in potato calli cells (Peixoto et al., 2008), its stimulatory effect on GR
activity may result from a cellular response to GSH level decrease. Finally, the GST which
has been shown to promote detoxification of several herbicides, as dicamba and 2,4-D
(Hatton et al., 1998), by conjugation of the electrophilic herbicides with GSH, seems to have
no effect on paraquat, since its activity was not stimulated by the latter herbicide in contrast
with the formers.
In conclusion, studies of paraquat toxicity in plant cell cultures concur with those reported
in animal cells, showing that the most probable cause of cell death in non-target organisms
involves decrease of the cell energy charge, decrease of GSH content and depletion of
cellular reducing equivalents needed to assure the normal cell functioning, including energy
metabolism and antioxidant defence mechanisms.
4. Dicamba, 2,4-D and MCPA effects on plant cell cultures

The cytotoxic effects of the herbicides dicamba, 2,4-D and MCPA on cell cultures of potato
tuber calli (S. tuberousum L.) were evaluated upon exposition to the herbicides for a period
of 4 weeks, by monitoring the changes in cell growth, membrane integrity, energy charge,
cell redox state and activity of several antioxidant enzymes, in studies parallel to those
previously referred for paraquat (Peixoto et al., 2008; 2009a).
Regarding the cell growth, the concentrations at which herbicides inhibited growth by 50%
(IC50) were 59, 50 and 20 µM for MCPA, dicamba and 2,4-D, respectively. Studies of
fluorescein release to monitor membrane integrity showed that, in contrast to paraquat (see
above), the three herbicides tested affected membrane integrity at concentrations at which
growth was inhibited by 50%. Unexpectedly, MCPA at the concentration of 120 µM, at
which growth was completely inhibited, induced a decrease of fluorescein absorbance at
458 nm, apparently reflecting a decrease of fluorescein release (Peixoto et al., 2009). These
results were clarified by using fluorescence microscopy. Cells were loaded with
fluorescein diacetate, a non-polar and non-fluorescent molecule, which easily permeates
the plasma membrane of intact cells (Guilbaut & Kramer, 1964). Into the cell, the esterified
molecules undergo hydrolysis by intracellular esterases, generating fluorescein, which
fluoresces by exposure to short wavelength light (Prosperi, 1990). Therefore, viable cells
containing fluorescein can be observed by fluorescence microscopy (Peixoto et al., 2009a).
When the membrane is disrupted, fluorescein is released occurring an increase of
extracellular fluorescence, detected by microscopy or by the spectrometric method. In the
case of cells incubated with 120 µM MCPA, fluorescence microscopy showed a strong
decrease of fluorescence (Peixoto et al., 2009a). This unexpected result is due to
intracellular esterase’s inhibition, which in turn avoids fluorescein production. This study
served to show that the fluorescein assay, as a method to monitor membrane integrity,
should be carefully interpreted. The effects of the three herbicides on membrane integrity
are consistent with their capacity to induce H+ permeabilization and ΔΨ dissipation in
isolated mitochondria from plant as well as animal origin (Zychlinski & Zolnierowicz,
1990; Peixoto et al., 2004).
The protein/cellular weight ratio showed an increase by action of the three herbicides tested
(Peixoto et al., 2008; 2009a). This parameter should reflect herbicide effects on cell intactness.
This was supported by concentrations of paraquat that did not affect membrane integrity
and, concomitantly, did not induce significant alteration of protein/cellular weight ratio
(Peixoto et al., 2008). In the case of MCPA, the increase in the protein/cellular weight ratio is
more likely to be a consequence of cellular water and electrolyte loss with a decrease of cell
volume and weight, rather than the increase of protein synthesis. This conclusion is
supported by the observation of increased number of cells per gram of callus and cells
becoming harder and dark-brownish with increasing herbicide concentrations (Peixoto et
al., 2009a).
The effect of the three herbicides on the intracellular content of adenosine nucleotides,
reflected by a decrease of ATP content with a concomitant increase of the levels of ADP and
AMP, indicates an inhibitory action in cell metabolism. Since non-green callus tissue was
used, ATP generation depends on glycolisis and oxidative phosphorylation. Considering the
herbicides of the chlorophenoxyacetic acid group (2,4-D and MCPA), the MCPA seems to
have been less efficient in reducing the cell energy charge (taken as [ATP]+0.5
[ADP]/[ATP]+[ADP]+[AMP]) than 2,4-D (Peixoto et al., 2008; 2009a). Dicamba is probably
somewhat less efficient yet.
In summary, the inhibition of cell growth promoted by these herbicides may be correlated
with the decreased availability of ATP, which is needed for ion translocation, nutrient
import and metabolite export. Interestingly, the same order of efficiency (2,4-
D>MCPA≈dicamba) was observed in terms of herbicide-induced growth inhibition.
Cell redox state as influenced by the herbicides tested was also evaluated in terms of
NAD+/NADH ratio. All the herbicides tested increased NAD+/NADH ratio, revealing a
decrease in the cellular redox state. The herbicide 2,4-D promoted a stronger effect as
compared with MCPA or dicamba. Paraquat and 2,4-D showed similar efficiency in
promoting the decrease of cell energy charge, but paraquat effect on the cell redox state was
the highest of all the herbicides tested in potato callus cells. Consistently, paraquat revealed
to be the most potent growth inhibitor, too (Peixoto et al., 2008).
As previously referred for paraquat, the activity of the antioxidant enzymes CAT, GST and
GR was evaluated upon incubation of the potato callus tissue with different concentrations
of the herbicides 2,4-D, MCPA and dicamba (Peixoto et al., 2008; 2009a). Considering the
two herbicides of the phenoxyacetic acid group, it was observed that 2,4-D (Peixoto et al.,
2008) strongly stimulated the catalase (150%) and superoxide dismutase (about 50%)
activities at the highest concentration assayed (50 µM), whereas MCPA, up to 120 µM, did
not induce any significant change (Peixoto et al., 2009a). Apparently, MCPA does not
stimulate production of the superoxide anion and hydrogen peroxide, in contrast with 2,4-D
and paraquat (Peixoto et al., 2008). Dicamba promoted an increase of CAT and SOD
activities, although at a smaller extent than 2,4-D (Peixoto et al., 2008).
Concerning the GST activity, an enzyme involved in the detoxification of a great deal of
pollutants, it was stimulated by both phenoxyacetic acid herbicides (2,4-D and MCPA) and
by dicamba, in contrast with paraquat, as previously referred. As GST uses GSH for
conjugation with electrophilic compounds, it would be expected GR activity to be also
stimulated by the herbicides. In fact, it was observed a stimulation of GR activity in callus
tissue cultures incubated with all the herbicides tested, paraquat included (Peixoto et al.,
2008; 2009a). Although the experimental approach used in these studies do not enable
authors to conclude that GST is involved in 2,4-D, MCPA and dicamba bioinactivation in
potato callus tissue, their results concur with data in the literature regarding different
herbicides and several plant species for which GST activity plays an important role in
detoxification (Hatton et al., 1998). In the case of paraquat, GR activity stimulation was
probably induced as a cellular response to an intracellular decrease of GSH used to detoxify
the reactive oxygen species generated as a consequence of the herbicide redox cycling (see
above). Additionally, GSH oxidation could be also related to other cytotoxic events such as
lipid peroxidation and decrease in protein thiols, which have been demonstrated in isolated
rat hepatocytes treated with 2,4-D and paraquat (Palmeira et al., 1995b).
In conclusion, data obtained in plant and animal cell cultures concur to suggest similar
mechanisms of toxicity by 2,4-D and paraquat in non-target organisms, although with
different relative potencies. The decrease of GSH/GSSG ratio is probably the primary event
in the cytotoxic process leading to death. In the case of MCPA and 2,4-D, the lack of studies
in animal cells precludes any comparison. However, it is probable that MCPA cytoxicity
results primarily from disturbance of membrane physicochemical properties leading to loss
of electrolytes and metabolites, decrease in ATP availability and decrease of the cellular
redox state. Dicamba biological activity shows some similarities with both 2,4-D and MCPA.
It disrupted the membrane integrity as 2,4-D and MCPA but induced an increase of catalase
and SOD activities, in contrast with MCPA, although in a lower extent than 2,4-D. At the
mitochondrial level, dicamba uncoupled oxidative phosphorilation by inducing H+
permeabilization, as MCPA, but also inhibited the electron transfer in the mitochondrial
redox system, as 2,4-D (see above).
Since all the herbicides tested in potato callus tissue promote significant alterations in plant
as well as in animal mitochondria functioning, the bioenergetic impairment may be
suggested as one of the mechanisms underlying the cytotoxicity of those compounds in non-
target organisms.
III. Effects of paraquat and oxifluorfen on tilapia fish (Oreochromis niloticus)

Hundreds of herbicides of different chemical structures, extensively used to control a wide
variety of agricultural pests, contaminate aquatic habitats due to leaching and runoff water
from treated areas. Fish are among the non-target organisms that can be seriously affected
by the ecological imbalance imposed through this excessive charge of chemicals. In
freshwater, the presence or absence of fish could be used as a bioindicator of the degree of
water pollution. Considering that fisheries are an important source of food provided with
protein and lipid of high nutritional value, representing an economic benefit for many
countries, herbicide contamination of surface waters derived from agricultural practices is a
problem of worldwide importance. On the other hand, fish constitute the vertebrate model
most used in the field of ecotoxicology.
Mortality data, although being the definitive demonstration of toxicity for the organism in
study, are often left out of ecotoxicological studies as being unable to provide reliable
information about the environmental hazard resulting from pollutant contamination.
Therefore, rather than mortality, physiological parameters (Tortorelli et al., 1990) and
biochemical alterations (Stephensen et al., 2002) have been extensively used to perform an
integrated evaluation of the risk pollutants may represent for the wildlife.
Toxicity exerted by many herbicides in aquatic organisms has been associated to an
increased generation of ROS (Di Giulio et al., 1989; Livingstone et al., 1990). These toxic
effects can be promoted via redox cycling, paraquat being the paradigmatic example, or
result from herbicide metabolism by phase I, with production of ROS as by-products. Under
physiological conditions, antioxidant defenses are available in fish, like in mammals, to
scavenge ROS or to prevent its production (Figueiredo-Fernandes et al., 2006; Peixoto et al.,
2006). In the presence of pollutants promoting oxidative stress, organisms can adapt by up-
regulation of antioxidant defenses such as GSH-related enzymes, which constitute non-
specific biomarkers of exposure to pro-oxidative xenobiotics. Thus, alterations in the activity
of antioxidant enzymes have been proposed as early indicators of exposure to pollutants,
including herbicides (Di Giulio et al., 1989).
Several field studies for biomonitoring environmental pollutants have shown that
alterations of GSH-dependent/producing enzymes as well as GSH content may be useful
tools to evaluate the ecotoxicological effects exerted by herbicides in fish. Stephensen et al.
(2002) showed that the levels of GSH and GSH-related enzymes in the liver of rainbow trout
(Oncorhynchus mykiss) constitute suitable biomarkers for oxidative stress in fish developed in
laboratory. In this context, tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) has been used as a biological model
for toxicological assessment, showing several advantages: high growth rates, easy
reproduction, effciency in adapting to diverse diets, great resistance to diseases and
handling practices, as well as good tolerance to a wide variety of husbandry conditions
(Fontaínhas-Fernandes, 1998). On the other hand, tilapia constitutes an indicator species in
biomonitoring programs, since an increased level of its biotransformation enzymes may
reflect the existence of environmental pollutants.
Figueiredo-Fernandes et al. (2006) carried out studies of the effects of paraquat on the
hepatic levels of antioxidant enzymes in tilapia. Studies regarding the toxic action of
xenobiotics in animals are often performed in liver, since this organ is a main target of
chemical injury. This fact results from its role in xenobiotic biotransformation and its unique
position within the circulatory system. Therefore, biochemical and histological alterations in
fish hepatocytes have been extensively reported as important biomarkers of exposure to
toxic compounds, in laboratory as well as in field studies.
The effects of paraquat on oxidative stress enzymes of tilapia hepatocytes were studied in
the dependence of temperature and gender (Figueiredo-Fernandes et al., 2006). Males and
females of tilapia were kept in tanks at 17 and 27 ºC (breeding non-compatible vs breeding
compatible temperatures). A qualitative analysis showed that fish mortality induced by
paraquat was accompanied by the appearance of extensive areas of hepatocytic necrosis.
Preliminary experiments were carried out to select test concentrations of paraquat
corresponding to 25% of the LC50, at which hepatocytes showed no signals of necrosis. SOD
and GST activities showed sex-dependence, since males present higher values than females
at both temperatures assayed. No significant alterations were found in the dependence of
temperature. SOD, GR and GST activities were increased by exposition to paraquat. An
increase of GR activity induced by paraquat was also demonstrated (Stephensen et al., 2002)
in rainbow trout. The authors justify this fact due to the ability of GR to reduce paraquat to
its cation radical, causing a chain reaction with paraquat radical promoting oxidation of
GSH, which in turn induced an increased activity of GR.
We have also observed alterations of the condition factor (CF) and the hepatosomatic index
(HSI) of tilapia exposed to paraquat (Figueiredo-Fernandes et al., 2006). These parameters
serve as indicators of the general organism well being. A high condition factor
corresponding to a high body weight/length relationship generally means good
environmental conditions. Also a high HSI, defined as the ratio of liver weight to body
weight, normally reflects a high reserve of energy. However, an increase of both parameters,
CF and HSI, was promoted by paraquat in tilapia. An increase of HSI was also registered in
different laboratories upon exposition of fish to different pollutants. This alteration was
interpreted (Stephensen et al., 2002) as being due to an increased activity of xenobiotic
biotransformation enzymes.
Other studies were conducted in tilapia exposed to the herbicide oxifluorfen (Peixoto et al.,
2006). The exposure of tilapia for a period of 14 to 21 days to sub-lethal concentrations (0.3 to
0.6 mg/L) of oxyfluorfen [2-chloro-1-(3-ethoxy-4-nitrophenoxy)-4(trifluoromethyl) benzene],
a diphenyl ether herbicide commonly used in agriculture to control broadleaf and grassy
weeds with specific recommendations (EPA 1992), resulted in a progressive increase of the
activity of catalase and, to a lower extent, of glutathione reductase. These results are
consistent with those reported in the literature concerning different aquatic organisms in the
presence of pollutants such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) (Otto & Moon, 1995). Regarding glutathione S-transferase
(GST), an enzyme engaged in the detoxification of many xenobiotics, by conjugation of their
phase I metabolites, it was observed an increase of its activity induced by 7 days exposition
to oxyfluorfen, but thereafter the activity decreased to levels lower than the control. Data in
literature are also variable, reporting an increase (Otto & Moon, 1995) or a decrease
(Pedrajas et al., 1995) of GST activity in fishes exposed to PAHs and PCBs. In contrast to the
other enzymes, SOD activity showed a progressive decrease along the 21 days of exposition
to the herbicide. These data are supported by other studies using rainbow trout injected
with paraquat (Pedrajas et al., 1995) but are opposite to results obtained with other species
exposed to other pollutants. In conclusion, fish antioxidant enzymes have a limited potential
to be used as pollution biomarkers, since very different responses can be observed
depending both on the xenobiotic and on the organism under study.
It was also observed that tilapia exposure to oxyfluorfen promoted changes in the hepatic
fatty acid profile, with special incidence on the unsaturated acids (Peixoto et al., 2006),
decreasing the oleic acid content and increasing the nervonic acid (24:1). It was shown that
oxyfluorfen also induced alterations of the fatty acid composition in plants (Watanabe et al.,
2001), promoting an increase of the monounsaturated chains (C16:1 and C18:1). Disturbance
of the fatty acid biosynthesis regulatory network by a potential oxyfluorfen-induced
oxidative stress may explain those alterations.
Oxyfluorfen (0.3 and 0.6 mg/L) was also evaluated on the mitochondrial hepatopancreas
bioenergetics of tilapia (Peixoto et al., 2009b). Although no significant change was registered
in respiration supported by piruvate/malate (complex I) or succinate (complex II) as
detected by oxygen consumption, the mitochondrial ∆Ψ was dissipated in some extent.
Furthermore, the phosphorylation rate decreased, indicating a perturbation of the
phosphorylative mitochondrial system, potentially affecting the ATP availability. The
controversial results in herbicide-induced oxygen consumption (no effect), ∆ Ψ dissipation
and decrease of the phosphorylation rate can putatively be explained as a limited direct
effect on the respiratory complexes, referred in literature as “Biochemical Threshold Effect”
(Rossignol et al., 2003). The big size of the fishes used in the study could also explain small
effects on the mitochondrial respiration, since bigger and fatter fishes could present higher
resistance to xenobiotic, due to its accumulation in fat tissue, particularly when the
xenobiotic is lipophilic.
In conclusion, oxyfluorfen induces biochemical changes in fish hepatopancreas regarding
the antioxidant enzymatic system, fatty acid metabolism and mitochondrial bioenergetics.
However, the relationships between those toxicity parameters have not been completely
clarified, yet.
4. Concluding remarks
A great deal of work has been done to assess the environmental risks and health hazards
resulting from the extensive and intensive use of herbicides. As other pesticides, the
herbicides are common contaminants of surface water and soils. When applied to the
agricultural areas, they may have different fates: microbial or non-biological degradation,
plant uptake or adsorption and transport by surface water far from the site of application.
Therefore, organisms in soil and water niches, from microorganisms to plants and animals,
may be exposed to a large number of these pollutants and their metabolites. Additionally,
the persistence of these compounds in the environment, associated with their lipophilicity,
renders them amenable to progressive accumulation in biological tissues (bioaccumulation)
and, consequently, prone to be concentrated along the food chains, increasing the
concentration towards the top of the chain (biomagnification). On the other hand, water
contamination by agricultural run-off and aerial spraying of herbicides may also have
dangerous repercussions on public health even in areas far from those primarily affected.
Considering all these risks, including those resulting from a daily consume of eventually
contaminated food, it is obvious the general public concern with an unrestricted use of
herbicides. The acute and chronic toxic effects of herbicides on useful animals and humans
have implemented the research focused on the herbicide mechanisms of action.
A great body of evidence has shown that many environmental contaminants affect
transversely the most of the organisms of an ecosystem including man, affecting basic cell
functioning and structural properties common to all living cells. In the case of lipophilic
compounds, where a great number of herbicides are included, membrane structure and
function constitute the first potential target for the toxic effects of the incoming compound,
predictably reflected by perturbations in the bioenergetic process, since this physiological

event is on the strict dependence of membrane intactness and stability. On the other hand,
this process is a basic mechanism required to drive the activity of all living systems. In
prokaryotic cells energy transduction, as well as most vital cell functions, is ascribed to the
cytoplasmic membrane. Not surprisingly, perturbations of membrane structure and
function by toxic compounds will end in severe perturbation and inhibition of cell growth
and viability. On the other hand, mitochondria have a crucial role as energy suppliers in
eukaryotic cells, being their functioning strictly dependent on membrane intactness and the
proper activity of membrane protein complexes. Thus, these organelles are common targets
for the toxic action of lipophilic compounds that, upon incorporation into mitochondrial
membranes, can act as uncoupling agents, electron-transport inhibitors or energy-transfer
inhibitors.
Huge efforts have been done by our research group to develop predictive tests of the
ecological hazards resulting from the exposure to pesticides, assessing in laboratory their
toxic effects on model biological systems provided by prokaryotic, animal and plant cells.
On the other hand, aiming at elucidating the mechanisms underlying the toxic action of
pesticides at a cellular or subcellular level, different experimental approaches have been
improved. Three kinds of studies have been implemented in our laboratory to address
xenobiotic cytotoxicity in vitro: 1) a biophysical approach to lipophilic
compound/membrane interactions using membrane lipid models, 2) the use of
prokaryotic/eukaryotic cells and 3) the use of mitochondria from plant/animal origin, to
evaluate and identify the mechanisms underlying the toxic action of xenobiotics in vitro.
A great deal of work has been carried out in our laboratory showing that pesticide
membrane incorporation leads to alterations of the structural and physical properties of
membrane lipid bilayer, induction of lateral phase separation and generation of lipid
microdomains, with predictable impact on protein distribution and sorting in different
regions of the membrane (Donato et al., 2000; Videira et al., 2002). Consequent repercussions
in membrane permeability and the activity of membrane-associated proteins have been also
reported (Videira et al., 2001). One of the biochemical mechanisms that have shown a strong
correlation with xenobiotic-induced disturbance of membrane lipid structure and
organization is the oxido-reductive systems of bacteria and mitochondria of eukaryotic cells,
with obvious impact in all cellular energetic processes (Donato et al., 1997b; Videira et al.,
2001; Monteiro et al., 2005 and 2008; Pereira et al., 2009).
A remarkable parallelism has been established between pesticide effects on prokaryotic
models (namely the micro-organisms Bacillus stearothermophilus and B. subtilis) and the other
model systems. Thus, partitioning and physical effects have been estimated with bacterial
membrane lipids similar to those described for synthetic lipid membrane models and native
eukaryotic membranes (Donato et al., 1997c; Donato et al., 2000; Martins et al., 2003; 2005);
the impairment of the electron transfer in the bacterial respiratory system has been also
demonstrated in rat liver mitochondria (Monteiro et al., 2008; Pereira et al., 2009); the
inhibition of bacterial growth and loss of animal cell cultures viability have shown the same
dependence on the structural characteristics of chemical related compounds, such as
organotin compounds (unpublished data). Mitochondrial fractions of eukaryotic cells have
also shown to be plausible alternative in vitro model systems for an evaluation of pesticide
toxicity, which can simultaneously clarify its mechanisms of action. Data obtained from
mitochondria assays have shown to be strongly correlated with cytotoxic parameters
provided by more complex biological systems as whole organisms, like fish (Peixoto et al.,
2006). These ones have been widely used as models to evaluate the health of aquatic systems
and in studies of xenobiotic-induced pathological effects on vertebrates.
The good correlations established with data provided by these different model systems in
studies of herbicide toxicity, as described in this chapter, contribute to validate the use of
our models in predictive tests of environmental hazards and toxicity assessment. As also
emphasized along this chapter, the most remarkable advantage in using models such as
bacteria and plant cells or organelles regards the use of a biological material easily and
economically obtained, minimizing or avoiding ethical issues associated with the use of
mammals.
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2
Impact of Herbicides on Non-Target

Organisms in Sustainable Irrigated
Rice Production Systems:
State of Knowledge and Future Prospects
Victor Galhano1, José Gomes-Laranjo1, Eduardo Fernández-Valiente2,
Romeu Videira3 and Francisco Peixoto3
1CITAB – Centre for Research and Technology of Agro-Environment and Biological
Sciences, University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro (UTAD), Vila Real
2Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Autonomous University of Madrid
3CECAV – Centre of Animal Sciences and Veterinary, UTAD, Vila Real
1,3Portugal
2Spain
1. Introduction
Feeding the 9 billion people expected to inhabit our planet by 2050 will be an unprecedented
challenge for all the mankind (Ash et al., 2010). Nevertheless, producing enough food for the
world’s population in 2050 will be easy, but doing it at an acceptable cost to the planet will
depend on research into everything, from high-tech seeds to low-tech farming practices
(Anonymous, 2010). Research into rice (Oryza sativa L.), the most important food crop in the
developing world and a staple food for more than half of the world’s population, is crucial
for the development of strategies that will increase global food security (Normile, 2008).
Appropriate integrated management of parasitic rice weeds is thus expected to increase in
importance due to their general invasive nature and their abilities to adapt to changing
conditions such as those imposed by more and more unpredicted global climate changes.
Modern sustainable paddy cultivation worldwide involves extensive use of agrochemicals
such as insecticides, fungicides but especially herbicides. Herbicide demand has unique
characteristics compared with other common productive inputs in rice culture systems such
as land, labour, seeds and chemical fertilizers (Yamamoto & Nakamura, 2003). The goal of
herbicide use is to kill or stunt weed infestation allowing the rice to grow and gain a
competitive advantage (Monaco et al., 2002). The use of rice herbicides has been expanding
enormously worldwide over the past 20-40 years. However, herbicides are considered a
“two-edged sword“ (Kudsk & Streibig, 2003) or the “reverse of the coin“ (Jurado et al., 2010;
chapter 1, this book), since the subsequent dispersion of herbicide compounds and their
degradation products in rice fields and adjacent areas with strong ecological value still
threatens the integrity of ecosystems, thus resulting in serious global environmental concern
(Olofsdotter et al., 1998). One of the major issues about environmental herbicide
contamination in wetland rice fields is its bioaccumulation in ecosystem primary producers
and its subsequent propagation through trophic chain. Therefore, reliable legislation and
risk assessment tools are needed to carry out the monitoring of herbicide residues in
autochthonous living organisms inhabiting rice fields.
The main objective of this review is to compile and summarize relevant update information
on herbicide weed control and consequent impacts of these agrochemicals on rice field
organisms as well as on the environment, mainly in European and particularly
Mediterranean countries. For additional information, though some of them are being not
necessarily updated, the readers are reported to the pioneer works of Padhy (1985), Pingali
& Roger (1995) and Roger (1996). A considerable amount of research has been published
since these previous reviews and this chapter summarizes only the main findings related to
impacts of herbicides on the ecology of sustainable rice field agroecosystems in the new
policy context. Moreover, we have chosen examples of herbicide effects on non-target rice
field organisms that, in our view, best illustrate different effects and environmental impacts.
It is not our intention to suggest that these are the sole examples or the most suitable
herbicides. Clearly, there are numerous and elegant examples of herbicide effects on non-
target rice field organisms that fall outside of the small, but in our opinion acceptable,
number of cases we have chosen to present.
2. Herbicide use and predominant weeds in irrigated rice fields

According to the immense worldwide literature database quested, herbicides are the most
frequently detected chemical pollutants in water. Moreover, herbicides account for more
than 80% of the total consumption of pesticides utilized for crop protection, with a total
spending of about € 110 million.year-1 (Ferrero & Tinarelli, 2007). Herbicides1 are chemicals
used to manage unwanted plants in the ecosystem, plants that are commonly referred to as
“weeds“. Weeds are the most important biological constraint to increasing yields wherever
rice is grown and every rice researcher and farmer must be provided with a great amount of
useful scientific information on weed control. Unlike the periodic outbreaks of insect pests
and plant diseases, rice weeds are ever-present and threatening (Olofsdotter et al., 1998).
The application of different rice field herbicides varies with the region. For instance, in
North America and Western Europe, due to high costs of labour, the chemical control of
weeds is heavily done with herbicides, contrasting to East Asia and Latin America where
herbicides are much less used (Carvalho, 2006). In European rice fields, weeds are
considered the most noxious organisms affecting rice production. It has been estimated that
without weed control, at a yield level of 7 to 8 t.ha-1, yield loss can be as high as about 90%
(Ferrero & Tinarelli, 2007 and references therein).
At present, rice is grown in all continents under various environmental conditions which
can be separated into four main ecosystems: irrigated lowland, rainfed lowland, upland and
flood prone (De Datta, 1981; Ferrero & Tinarelli, 2007). The cultural practices, weed species
present, and control methods are somewhat different in these systems (Monaco et al., 2002).
In this review we are only concerned about sustainable irrigated lowland rice production
systems (both seeded and transplanted), which account for about half of the world’s rice
harvested area and provide 75% of total rice production (Ferrero & Tinarelli, 2007).
1 Herbicides were preferably named by their common names in the text, but sometimes registered
trademarks are cited and their use is not free for everyone. In view of the vast number of trademarks, it
was not possible to indicate each particular case and contribution. The authors accepted no liability for
this.
Impact of Herbicides on Non-Target Organisms in Sustainable Irrigated Rice Production Systems:
Sustainable irrigated rice should be perceived here as a prolonged existence and functioning
of several important interrelated elements of irrigated rice culture (Sutawan, 2005). In direct-
seeded fields flooding cannot be used until crop establishment, so post-emergence weed
control is essential.
3. Impact of herbicides on soil and water non-target organisms in wetland

rice fields
Besides weeds, herbicides can act upon other species, causing serious side effects on non-target
rice field inhabiting organisms. Moreover, herbicide residues contaminate soils and water,
remain in the rice crop, enter the food chain, and finally are ingested by humans with rice
foodstuffs and water (Liebman, 2001). Traditionally, paddy fields are home-ecosystems to
many species. In early 1991 Kenmore (as cited in Clay, 2004) wrote that “Rice ecosystems often
have more than 700 animal species per hectare in highly intensified fields in the Philippines and over
1000 so far described in Asian species of higher trophic level predators and parasitoids.” Besides the
application of ever-increasing quantities of synthetic fertilizers, the increasing application of
pesticides, mainly herbicides, has led to the disappearance of much of this biodiversity. In
addition, non-target survivors have been continuously threatened by these xenobiotics.
3.1 Effects on non-photosynthetic microorganisms

Frequently, non-photosynthetic microorganisms undergo stress conditions caused by
herbicide application. For instance, the metabolism of the Gram-negative bacteria
Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, sometimes present in rice field irrigation channels (Reche &
Fiuza, 2005), could be negativelly affected by some rice field herbicides (Lü et al., 2009).
These authors showed that a mixture of quinclorac and bensulfuron-methyl (BSM) induced
the activity of the antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase and catalase of a S. maltophilia
strain (WZ2), thus demonstrating the induced oxidative stress caused by the herbicides. The
effect of BSM on a soil microbial community in a model paddy microcosm was studied by
Saeki & Toyota (2004). BSM did not affect bacterial numbers remarkably, either in the
overlying water or in the surface paddy soil, but the nitrification potential was significantly
suppressed was significantly suppressed.
The composition of culture-independent microbial communities and the change of nitrogenase
activities under butachlor application to paddy soil were investigated by Chen et al. (2009).
The results of their work showed that the nitrogen-fixing ability was suppressed shortly after
butachlor application but was augmented after 37 days both in upper and lower soil layers. A
significant variation on microbial community shift was also demonstrated, favouring the
diazotrophic microorganisms within the general bacterial communities imposed by butachlor,
which may be a reason for the boosting nitrogen-fixation ability in paddy soils. Other effects of
butachlor applied at 5.5 μg.g-1 to 22.0 μg.g-1 to microbial populations inhabiting dried paddy
soil resulted in a decline of actinomycetes number and and an increase of bacteria and fungi,
but fungi were easily affected by butachlor compared to bacteria, particularly at higher
butachlor concentrations (Min et al., 2001).
3.2 Effects on photosynthetic microorganisms

3.2.1 Effects on microalgae
Besides nonphotosynthetic organisms, on the first level of rice field trophic chain we can find
the phytoplankton, microscopic algae which are the food for the next steps in trophic chain.
Planktonic green algae are the ones generally used as test species for the first tier aquatic risk
assessment of herbicides (Ishihara, 2009). Wetland contamination could result in a die-off of
most algal species present, causing a severe decline in this food source; alternatively, certain
species or groups of algae could be selectively inhibited (Ferraz et al., 2004).
An in vitro toxicity bioassay screening conducted by Marques et al. (2008) on surface waters
and sediment elutriates proceeding from River Pranto waters, which irrigate Western
Portugal’s rice fields, as well as on the irrigated rice fields in “Quinta do Seminário” (Soure,
Portugal), revealed that Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata was more sensitive to the overall
physico-chemical conditions in natural samples than Chlorella vulgaris, its growth being
inhibited under water samples from both sites. In addition, these authors found that water
samples, mainly those from the main irrigation/drainage channel of the rice fields, were more
deleterious to microalgae than those from River Pranto or any of the elutriates. Surprisingly,
the qualitative chemical analysis done by these researchers did not reveal the presence of the
herbicides applied in the field like molinate and propanil. These two herbicides plus MCPA
were used in microbiotests in order to assess the comparative toxicity effects of herbicide
active ingredients (a.i.) versus commercial products (c.p.) on the green algae Raphidocelis
subcapitata (Pereira et al., 2000). It was demonstrated in laboratory that water samples fortified
with each active ingredient caused higher toxic effects than the respective formulated product,
mainly with molinate and propanil. A study carried out by Leitão et al. (2007) in an irrigated
rice field ecosystem in the river Sado basin, a characteristic Mediterranean lowland basin
located in southwestern Portugal, a highly acute toxicity (80%) was detected on P. subcapitata
in June after propanil (0.2 μg a.i.L-1) application to paddy fields. Sabater & Carrasco (1998)
found that species of isolated microalgae responded differently to molinate concentrations
tested in laboratory: at 44.6, 50.2, 3.2, and 1.12 ppm, the growth of Chlorella saccharophila, C.
vulgaris, Scenedesmus acutus, and Scenedesmus subspicatus was strongly inhibited after 96 h,
respectively, whereas no growth was observed at 69.8 ppm for C. vulgaris and 2.2 ppm S.
subspicatus. This study showed also that the two Chlorella species were considerably more
tolerant than the two Scenedesmus species isolated from Spanish rice fields. Vendrell et al.
(2009) tested the acute toxicity of glyphosate on S. acutus, S. subspicatus, C. vulgaris and C.
saccharophila isolated from samples collected at Albufera lake in Valencia (Spain), one of the
most important rice areas in Europe with a very rich flora and fauna. Although glyphosate is
not applied to Valencian rice fields, its massive spraying in other agricultural crops
surrounding the Albufera National Park (ANP), a protected ecosystem where rice is cultivated
in harmony with local fauna and flora, is still a common practice. In a microplate bioassay, the
authors demonstrated the acute toxicity induced by glyphosate on the four Chlorophyceae and
the herbicide concentrations eliciting a 50% growth reduction over 72 h (EC50) ranged from
24.5 to 41.7 mg.L-1, while a 10% growth inhibition was achieved with 1.6 to 3.0 mg.L-1, difficult
to find both in the paddy field and in the ANP lake. Therefore, it could be concluded from this
study that glyphosate is not a dangerous herbicide for the ANP ecosystem due to its low
microalgae toxicity at low glyphosate concentrations. Also in the ANP ecosystem, Ferraz et al.
(2004) assessed the sensitivity of the same aforementioned four algal species to propanil and
mefenacet using single species short-termed (72 h) toxicity tests. The 72 h-EC50 of propanil and
mefenacet ranged from 0.29 to 5.98 mg.L-1, and from 0.25 to 0.67 mg.L-1, respectively for the
four algal species.
The relative toxicity of hydroquinone on submerged aquatic weed green musk chara (Chara
zeylanica Willd.) was investigated by Pandey et al. (2005) to explore possible use of the
phytotoxin as herbicide management of the weed. It was found that hydroquinone was
phytotoxic to C. zeylanica at 0.01 mM and lethal at 0.075-0.10 mM, resulting in death after 3-
12 days. Moreover, it is important to highlight that this phytotoxin has a short life in the
environment and a promissory potential for weed management.
3.2.2 Effects on cyanobacteria

The nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria form a prominent component of microbial population in
rice paddy fields, since they significantly contribute to fertility as natural biofertilizers
(Fernández Valiente et al., 2000; Singh & Datta, 2007). The influence of herbicides on
cyanobacteria has been extensively reviewed in many studies (Padhy, 1985; Pingali & Roger,
1995), though most have been restricted to laboratory cultures (Whitton, 2000). Furthermore,
one of us, together with the research team colleagues of the Biology Department of the
Autonomous University of Madrid, has contributed significantly to the comprehension of
herbicide action mechanisms on Mediterranean rice field cyanobacteria (Leganés &
Fernández-Valiente, 1992; González Tomé, 1996). Generally, cyanobacteria are quite
sensitive to herbicides, because they share many of the physiological features of higher
plants, which form the site of herbicide action (Whitton, 2000). Leganés & Fernández-
Valiente (1992) showed that N2-fixing cyanobacteria were mostly relatively tolerant to 2,4-D,
at least under field conditions. Differences have been found between the tolerance to
herbicides of cyanobacteria and the one of other organisms (Whitton, 2000). For example, a
study performed in liquid culture showed that hexazinone was more toxic to green algae,
diatoms and duckweed than to cyanobacteria, whereas green algae were more tolerant to
diquat than cyanobacteria and diatoms (Peterson et al., 1997).
Certain rice field herbicide resistant strains of cyanobacteria have been isolated and
characterized in laboratory studies, but their outdoor survival, competence and biofertilizer
potentials have only recently been characterized. In a research undertaken by Singh & Datta
(2007), four natural strains of Anabaena variabilis that showed multiple herbicide resistance to
arozin, alachlor, butachlor and 2,4-D, were inoculated in growing rice plants, being
demonstrated that mutant strains had stable resistance to herbicides under outdoor
conditions in flooded soils.
Butachlor can boost Anabaena sphaerica biomass and accelerate the amount of nitrogen
fixation (Suseela, 2001). Working with butachlor and also with arozin, alachlor and 2,4-D,
(Singh & Datta, 2005) developed an immobilization technique with Ca-alginate that
provides protection to diazotrophic cyanobacteria inoculants against the growth-toxic action
of the herbicides. These authors tested the effect of graded concentrations (2 to 25 mg.L-1) of
the four common rice field herbicides on immobilized free-living isolates of Nostoc
punctiforme, Nostoc calcicola, A. variabilis, Gloeocapsa sp., Aphanocapsa sp. and on a laboratory
strain of Nostoc muscorum. It was demonstrated that: 1) A. variabilis showed maximum
natural tolerance towards all the four tested herbicides; 2) all cyanobacterial isolates showed
progressive inhibition of growth with increasing dosage of herbicides in both free and
immobilized states; 3) arozin was more toxic to cyanobacterial growth compared to the
other three herbicides; and 4) at herbicidal lethal concentrations, Ca-immobilized cells
showed prolonged survival times when compared to their free-living counterparts,
suggesting that immobilized N2-fixing cyanobacteria could be used as better inocula
delivery system for enhancing rice agriculture.
High bensulfuron-methyl concentrations (8-10 ppm) inhibited the growth and
photosynthesis of over 50% in A. variabilis and Nostoc commune rice field isolated;
nitrogenase activity decreased by 94-98% in A. variabilis and by 85-86% in N. commune after

24 hours’ incubation with 10 ppm and 20 ppm of the herbicide, respectively (Kim & Lee,
2006). Ahluwalia et al. (2002) proved that the incorporation of relatively higher doses (> 5
μg.mL-1) of diquat into N. muscorum and Cylindrospermum sp. cultures could be highly toxic,
thereby reducing their chlorophyll a (Chla) content and contributing to a progressive
decrease in growth which culminates in complete lysis of the cells with the increasing level
of the herbicide. The highest concentration tested (15 μg.mL-1) has been found to be algicidal
for both cyanobacteria. At this concentration, the same authors demonstrated that paraquat
supplemented into culture medium containing Cylindrospermum sp. also had an algicidal
effect (Kaur et al., 2002).
3.3 Effects on invertebrates

Herbicides are responsible for a general reduction in the numbers of invertebrates within
agricultural landscapes, which in turn compromises food supply for higher taxa (Stoate et
al., 2009). Populations of copepods, cladocerans and ostracods fluctuate during the paddy-
growing season in response to flooding, field drainage, ploughing and other practices
(Tarazona & Dohmen, 2007 and references therein). In order to better understand the toxic
results obtained in field conditions, particularly the influence of herbicide formulations on
the toxic effects on immobilized forms of the crustaceans Daphnia magna, Thamnocephalus
platyurus and Artemia salina, Pereira et al. (2000) performed different laboratory
microbiotests with water samples fortified with the active ingredient and the respective
formulated or commercial product of some rice field herbicides usually applied in
Portuguese paddies viz. molinate, MCPA and propanil. The results obtained after the
bioassays suggested that: 1) the organic solvents and surfactants present in some of the
tested formulations affected the toxicity of the sample; 2) except for propanil, water samples
fortified with formulated herbicides seemed to be more toxic than the respective active
ingredient solutions on the tested crustaceans.
In a 6-day bioassay carried out by Faria et al. (2007) with the macroinvertebrate Chironomus
riparius larvae, both in laboratory and in situ (from high and low contaminated rice fields
and in the adjacent wetland channel) during molinate and propanil treatments, the larvae
were not affected by the respective herbicide concentrations in water and sediments. In
laboratory experiments, Burdett et al. (2001) used Chironomus tepperi midge larvae to assess
the relative toxicity of formulated molinate, clomazone and thiobencarb applied to
Australian rice crops. Whereas clomazone had no effect on C. tepperi at concentrations up to
0.288 mg.L-1, molinate significantly increased its development time at antecipated field
concentrations (AFC; 3.6 mg.L-1) and above. Thiobencarb reduced emergence success of the
adults at 0.0625 times the AFC and it decreased male adult size and increased development
time for males and females at 0.125 times the AFC. The authors of this study also assessed
the non-target effects of the herbicides on the aquatic invertebrate communities through
shallow experimental ponds using commercial application rates and, one week after
treatment, they saw that only thiobencarb had a significat effect, supressing populations of
chironomids, calanoids and cyclopids. Besides C. tepperi, Wilson et al. (2000) conducted
some laboratory acute and chronic toxicity tests on the herbicide benzofenap using adults of
the aquatic snail Isidorella newcombi. Whereas in 24-h acute bioassays the midge larvae did
not show significant mortality at 1.2 mg a.i. L-1 [double the maximum recommended levels
for field application (RLFA) expected in rice fields at the permitted rate of 2 L.ha-1], no
significant snail mortality was recorded in the acute bioassays at concentrations up to 76 mg

a.i. L-1 (120 times the maximum RLFA); it was concluded that benzofenap does not represent
a significant risk to these invertebrates in downstream environments when applied to rice
fields at the permitted rate of 2 L.ha-1.
The high acute toxicity effects (100%) of propanil (0.2 μg a.i.L-1) on D. magna were
demonstrated by Leitão et al. (2007) in rice field floodwaters from river Sado basin. These
authors also study the relationship between native fauna composition and the
ecotoxicological variables throughout rice crop season. The analysis of variance partition
with the accepted RDA (redundancy analysis) model showed that the macroinvetebrate
distribution was strongly correlated with the ecotoxicological parameters (higher toxicity) in
27.5% of total variation and 17.7% with floodwater characteristics. It was demonstrated that
macroinvertebrates’ assemblages inhabiting rice fields tend to be different in their richness
and abundance according to the paddy sediment and water characteristics.
In a study performed by Uno et al. (2001), the accumulative characteristics of herbicide
residues in the organs of two bivalve mollusks, Corbicula leana and Anodonta woodiana, were
examined during rice planting seasons of 1992 and 1994, using a small artificial stream
under natural conditions. It was shown that thiobencarb accumulated in C. leana at
extremely high levels in the midgut gland (12.45 and 15.70 μg.g-1, in 1992 and 1994,
respectively) and in the gonad (15.80 and 16.40 μg.g-1, in 1992 and 1994, respectively); these
levels were about 100 times as high as those of A. woodiana.
3.4 Effects on vertebrates

As we saw before, during the aquatic phase of rice plant growth, many organisms other
than rice colonize the paddy fields, but fish from source rivers, in particular, are sometimes
seen as detrimental to the rice harvest (Williams, 2006) and could be affected by herbicide
pollution as described next.
3.4.1 Effects on fish

The effect of herbicides on estuaries, rivers, and fragile coastal zones are all reflected on the
reduction of fish catch (Clay, 2004). In a recent 90-day experiment carried out by Moraes et
al. (2009) with the objective of evaluating the effects of herbicide commercial formulations
on acetylcholinesterase (AChE), thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS), catalase
(CAT) and metabolic parameters in teleost fish (Leporinus obtusidens) exposed to field
concentrations of clomazone (376 μg.L-1) and propanil (1644 μg.L-1) on Brazilian rice paddy
waters, it was shown that AChE activity decreased in the brain and muscle, whereas TBARS
levels decreased in brain, muscle and liver tissues and liver CAT decreased after exposure to
both herbicides. The results obtained by these authors suggest that environmentally relevant
rice field herbicide concentrations are toxic to L. obtusidens. Crestani et al. (2006) suggested
that alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase activities could be used as
early biomarkers of clomazone fish toxicity, since enzyme activities were significantly
elevated in silver catfish’s (Rhamdia quelen) liver after 12 to 24 hours’ clomazone exposure to
nominal concentrations used in Brazilian paddy fields (0.4-0.7 mg.L-1). Working also with R.
quelen, Miron et al. (2005) demonstrated significantly short-term (96 h) effects of exposure to
environmentally relevant nominal concentrations of clomazone (LC50 = 7.32 mg.L-1) and
quinclorac (LC50 = 395 mg.L-1) on AChE activity in brain and muscle tissues of silver catfish,
but the fish fingerlings survived at metsulfuron-methyl concentrations as high as 1200 mg.L-
1.They suggested that AChE activity could be used as an early biomarker for studies on fish
toxicity, since enzyme’s activity increased by 98 and 179% in fish’s brain after quinclorac
and metsulfuron methyl exposure, respectively.
3.4.2 Effects on amphibians

In a recent study performed by Kang et al. (2009) about Bombina orientalis, a worldwide
common amphibian that frequently spawns in rice fields where massive application of
herbicides occurs, the deleterious effects of molinate on embryonic survival and
development abnormality in B. orientalis embryos were demonstrated. A statistical
significant decrease in embryonic survival was detected at mouth open stage after exposure
to 100 μM molinate (46.8% vs. 81.1% in control) and then in the tadpole stage at 50 μM
molinate (35.9% vs. 68.9% in control). The authors thus concluded that molinate at 50 μM
(the lowest observed effective dose; LOED) was detrimental for survival and development
following zygote transcription after midblastula transition in frog embryos, causing severe
development abnormities like bent trunk, neurula with yolk plug, bent tail, tail dysplasia,
ventral blister, eye dysplasia, thick-set body and cephalic dysplasia. Acute toxicity tests
were carried out by Saka (1999), on five species of Japanese amphibian larvae to assess the
risk posed by thiobencarb. The 24, 48, 72 and 96 h-LC50 (median lethal concentration) values
ranged from 0.9 to 6.5 mg.L-1 of thiobencarb. Moreover, in all tested species, the newly
hatched larvae seemed to be slightly more resistant to the herbicide than well-developed
larvae, which led the authors to conclude that thiobencarb residues in paddy water can be
lethal to amphibians through larval development.
4. Legislation and assessment of contamination risks by rice field herbicides

Concerns about environmental protection have increased over the years from a global
viewpoint. As the criteria especially for standard risk assessments are well harmonized
amongst OECD member states (Streloke, 2007), there is only a need to give a short overview
here. Needless to say, there is a raft of regulations and standards to negotiate in testing any
herbicide. Diffuse pesticide pollution of water bodies and potentially adverse effects on
aquatic communities gave rise to current legal formulations of the European Union (EU)
such as the Council Directive 91/414/EEC concerning the placing of plant protection
products on the market (EEC, 1991) or the Water Framework Directive (WFD) (EC, 2000)
that presents the concept for the sustainable use of water resources by integrated river basin
management (Schriever & Liess, 2007). Where appropriate, these Directives call on other
European legislation in related areas such as test methods, classification and labelling, and
maximum residue levels (MRLs) (Hussey & Bell, 2004). The WFD intends to provide an
overall framework for a cleaner and safer water ecosystem, particularly regarding surface
freshwater and ground water bodies (i.e. lakes, streams, rivers, estuaries, coastal waters etc.).
The Directive 91/414/EEC defines the principles and procedures to be used for
authorization of plant protection products, and its annexes outline the basis for coordination
or harmonization of data requirements and regulatory decisions. The implementation of this
Directive has led to an EU-wide regulatory process for evaluating the safety of herbicides to
humans and the environment, whilst leaving the responsibility for approval of plant
protection products in individual countries to member states. The Directive has established
a positive list (Annex 1) that lists those herbicides that have been judged to be “without
unacceptable risk” to people or the environment, and all new active molecules proposed for
use as herbicides within the EU must be deemed acceptable according to the Directive. Article
5 of the Directive requires that the use of plant protection products and their residues should
not have any harmful effects on human or animal health or on groundwater, or have any
unacceptable influence on the environment. In this respect, all existing active ingredients
(about 800) introduced into the market prior to 2000 had transitional approval, pending their
re-evaluation using modern toxicological and environmental protocols with a view to
inclusion in Annex 1. Identification of products to be supported for re-registration was sought
by 2002, and evaluation of those using modern toxicological and environmental protocols is
required by 2012. Approved substances will be listed in Annex 1 of the Directive (EEC, 1991;
Vogelezang-Stoute, 2003; Hussey & Bell, 2004; Carlile, 2006).
The risk to the environment covers the fate and behaviour of an active ingredient (i.e.,
exposure) as well as its possible effects on non-target organisms (EEC, 1991; Benfenati et al.,
2007). It should be stressed that the Directive 91/414/EEC and associated technical annexes
are constantly under revision.
For reasons of preventive health protection and protection of the environment, the use of
plant protection products has to be limited to the minimum level compatible with effective
crop protection. The MRLs (in the EU) or tolerances (in the USA) are established for crops
and food commodities (Siebers & Hänel, 2003). In countries with no national legislation, the
MRLs are set by the Codex Alimentarius Commission, an international body that aims to
protect the health of consumers (Granby et al., 2008). Groundwater contamination has also
received increasing attention over the last few years as most of the drinking water is drawn
from wells (Vidotto et al., 2004). In the last few years, great activity in regulating the level of
herbicide in water has been carried out in the EU. The maximum allowable concentrations
in groundwaters (for drinking and any other use) are set to 0.1 μg.L-1 for any individual
chemical and 0.5 μg.L-1 for total herbicide load (Gan & Bondarenko, 2008).
In Europe, regulations and regulatory methods to assess and control the impact of
herbicides in the aquatic environment aim to protect the ecosystem and public health, while
monitoring contamination levels and any potential negative effects; in addition to the
REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemicals) law (EC
1907/2006) (EU, 2006), regarding chemicals and their safe use, which entered into force on
1st June 2007, there are specific regulations towards protecting health and ensure quality of
all water resources such as the Drinking Water Directive (DWD, Council Directive
98/83/EC) (EC, 2007; Nielsen et al., 2008; Adrián et al., 2009). Environment quality
standards for 33 priority substances in surface aquatic bodies have been recently established
in the Directive 2008/105/EC (EC, 2008), offspring of the WFD (EC, 2000), and about a third
of the priority substances covered by this directive are pesticides (Köck et al., 2010). For
additional aspects relating to regulatory authorities and legislation in many other parts of
the world besides the EU, readers are reported to the works of Marrs & Ballantyne (2004),
Carlile (2006), Racke (2007), Zimdahl (2007), and Nielsen et al. (2008).
It is important to stress that the ecotoxicological assessment of rice herbicides is particularly
complex due to the specificities of this crop where aquatic and terrestrial communities are
mixed in a human-managed wetland-type agro-bio-ecosystem. According to Tarazona &
Dohmen (2007), any assessment must cover at least three main aspects: 1) potential effects
on the paddy community; 2) potential effects on associated wetlands and water bodies, and
3) potential risks for vertebrates feeding on the paddy. The initial low tier assessment may
be conducted using the generic approach used for other crops. For higher tier risk
assessment it is recommended to develop a specific conceptual model for identifying the key
elements that should be addressed (Tarazona & Dohmen, 2007).
5. Environmental exposure and contamination

Since rice is an irrigated crop, the use of pesticides during cereal growth may affect the
quality of the surrounding aquatic environment (Pereira et al., 2000). Irrigation control after
the application of herbicides could be the most important approach to avoiding
environmental impact (Yamamoto & Nakamura, 2003). Several herbicides may enter aquatic
environments through spray drift or runoff events, drainage or leaching, resulting in
contamination of surface waters and groundwaters (Cerejeira et al., 2003; Faria et al., 2007),
thus affecting phytoplankton and delicate autochthonous living organisms and also human
health (Srivastava et al., 2010).
In a recent review about the ecological status of agricultural systems across the European
Union, Stoate et al. (2009) reported to various studies about the presence of herbicide
contamination, some exceeding the 0.1 μg.L-1 EU limit, in both surface waters and
groundwaters in areas occupied by intensive agriculture, rice fields included. Silva et al. (2006)
detected residues of chlorfenvinphos, cycloxydim, 3,4-dichloroaniline, MCPA, molinate,
oxidiazon, profoxydim, and propanil in 62% of 171 water samples collected from 22
groundwater wells used for public supply, domestic supply, and irrigation purposes in
oriziculture areas of “Baixo Sado” region. In this study, 6% of total samples presented
maximum concentration levels of at least one of the compounds above 0.1 μg.L-1 and molinate
was the most frequently detected (55%), particularly with maximum concentration levels
above the maximum limit.
5.1 Surface water bodies

During three years (2000 to 2003), Marchesan et al. (2007) detected clomazone, propanil and
quinclorac in water samples during the rice growing season in the Vacacaí and Vacacaí-Mirim
Rivers, located in Rio Grande do Sul State (Brazil) and concluded that river water
contamination by rice herbicides was probably caused by rice water management used in the
fields. In a study designed by Castro et al. (2005) to monitor molinate accumulation in surface
waters and underground waters during herbicide application in rice fields of central Portugal
(valley of River Pranto), it was concluded that the thiocarbamate was rapidly dissipated in the
environment, reaching levels as high as 3.9 μg.L-1 and 15.8 μg.L-1 in underground and in the
river receiving tail waters, respectively (the legally recommended limits are bellow 5 μg.L-1).
Some common rice field herbicides, e.g. propanil and molinate have been detected in surface
waters of Portugal’s river basins (Tejo, Sado and Guadiana) and in groundwater samples
collected from wells in seven different areas in the Tejo and Sado basins (Cerejeira et al., 2003).
Clomazone dissipation in water samples from irrigated rice cultures was analyzed by
Carlomagno et al. (2010) in a water management study implemented in Uruguay during the
2008-2009 harvest season. As expected, early irrigation of rice plots was accompanied by
increasing concentrations of clomazone in water layers: 77 ng.mL-1 in the day of flooding to
129 ng.mL-1 after 6 day flooding. The high levels of clomazone attained in this study are a
matter of concern, since contamination of drainages and rivers near rice paddies holds the
potential for unacceptable levels of clomazone in drinking waters.
5.2 Groundwater systems

Rice fields are considered a flood control and a groundwater-charging area. Therefore, the
risk of rice herbicides contaminating the groundwater cannot be neglected. Depending on
the soil type and metereological conditions, among other abiotic and biotic factors and
application rates, thiobencarb poses less risk for groundwater when applied to flooded rice
fields than other herbicides. In a 2-year study done by Phong et al. (2009), the concentrations
of thiobencarb were in the hundreds of μg.kg-1 in the top soil layer (0-5 cm) and became
significantly lower in tens of μg.kg-1 in deeper soil layers (5-10 and 10-15 cm) with a short
life time (17 days) in the top layer, 69 days in the 5-10 cm layer and 165 days in the 10-15 cm
layer. In another study, it was found that bentazon is one of the most frequently detected
herbicide in groundwater in Northern Italy, even though its use is either prohibited or
reduced in many districts in this country (Garagna et al., 2005).
6. Herbicide effects on non-target cyanobacteria: the case study of Lower

Mondego River Valley, Portugal
In the European Union (EU), rice is cultivated in about 410 000 ha, mostly located in the
Mediterranean countries. It is mostly grown in concentrated areas such as the Po valley in
Italy, the Rhône delta in France, and the Thessaloniki area in Greece. In Spain, rice cultivation
is scattered in several areas such as the Aragon area, the Guadalquivir valley, the Ebro delta
and Valencia Albufera (Ferrero & Tinarelli, 2007). In Portugal, the approximately 25 000 ha of
rice cultivation area is concentrated mainly in three regions: the Tagus and Sorraia valleys (10
000 ha), the Mondego (8000 ha), and the Sado and Caia (7000 ha) river valleys (Calha et al.,
1999; Silva et al., 2006). In all European countries rice is cultivated in permanent flooded
conditions, with short periods during which soil is dried to favour rice rooting (in the early
stages) or weed control treatments. The conventional irrigation system is also known as a
“flow-through” system, because water is usually supplied in a series from the topmost to the
bottommost basin and is regulated by floodgates by means of removable boards. Water
circulation implies that effects of the herbicide application can also be observed in areas
different from that of direct application. Moreover, paddy flooding favours the flow of solutes
from the surface to the subsoil waters and may result in significant exchanges between these
two aqueous bodies (Vidotto et al., 2004). Because of the high water demand for maintaining
flooded conditions in the rice fields, Mediterranean rice-growing areas are restricted to the
lower parts of river basins and near or directly on river deltas (Comoretto et al., 2008).
The management of Portuguese rice ecosystems has adapted to Mediterranean climate
conditions: they are dry in the winter, serving as cattle grazing prairies, while in the summer
they are flooded up to 15-30 cm, with water coming from nearby dams or rivers, thus
becoming temporary aquatic habitats managed with a variable degree of intensity; the
paddies of rectangular or similar shaped flooded fields comprised mostly rice plants,
surrounded by dry bunds (levees) rich in weeds, connected by irrigation canals and ditches
that serve as contiguous aquatic habitats (Lima, 1997; Leitão et al., 2007).
The Lower Mondego River Valley is located in the central-western region of Portugal (40º
10’ N, 8º 41’ W, 5 m). The valley consists of about 15 000 ha where the main agricultural crop
is “paddy” rice, which occupies about 60% of the usable area (Cabral et al., 2001). Non
cultivated areas, such as swamps, are usually located in the perimeter of the valley and
exhibit a flourished fauna and flora, whereas drainage canals, which are widespread across
the whole valley, also constitute a biological reservoir (Anastácio et al., 1999). Additional
geologic, hidrogeologic and climate details of the valley were described by Andrade &
Stigter (2009). Rice cultivation starts normally with seeding from the beginning of April to
the end of May, which depends on water availability for field flooding, the choice of rice
variety (early or late) and climatic conditions. The growing cycle continues until September-
October, when rice is harvested. The rice cropping is supported by an organized system of
irrigation-drainage canals around the paddies and the water flow is controlled by small and
simple dams, constructed in strategic points to provide the entrance or discharge of water.
Local rice fields are abundantly fertilized and a variety of pesticides, including herbicides,
are intensively and sometimes indiscriminately used in weed control programs. The
application of agrochemicals occurs mainly during the end of April up to June, but
additional amounts of fertilizers or pesticides are added along the whole cropping season,
depending on the type of culture demands and on the rice crop regional conditions
(Marques et al., 2008).
6.1 Herbicides: overall use and selection

Almost all the major weeds in the Mondego Valley are grasses (family Poaceae) and, given
the efficiency of the herbicides used, red rice (O. sativa L.) is undoubtedly the adventitious
plant which poses more problems, followed by Leersia oryzoides (L.) Sw., which is spreading
fast. Other important weeds found in the area are the Poaceae barnyward grass [E. crus-galli
(L.) Beauv.] and early watergrass [Echinochloa oryzoides (Ard.) Fritsch]; the Ponteridaceae
roundleaf mudplantain [Heteranthera reniformis Ruiz & Pavón] and ducksalad [Heteranthera
limosa (Sw.) Willd.]; the Cyperaceae triangle (Scirpus maritimus L.) and dirty dora (C. difformis
L.); the Alismataceae water-plantain (A. plantago-aquatica L.); and the algae Sphaeroplea
annulina (class Chlorophyceae) and Chara foetida (class Charophyceae) (CACMV, 2010).
Most of the herbicides used in rice are selective, and the time of application relative to the
growth stage of the crop and the weeds, along with proper water management, is critical for
crop safety and good weed control (Monaco et al., 2002). The recommended herbicides for
integrated weed management (IWM) are depicted in Table 1. Only a short overview of the
more important characteristics of herbicides is described. For more detailed and specific
information about herbicide properties and modes of action, the reader is reported to more
extensive and specialized literature such as Tomlin (2000), Aizawa (2001), Stenersen (2004),
Mackay et al. (2006), and Krieger (2010). It is important to mention that some active
ingredients were already excluded from the EU Pesticides database (http://ec.europa.eu/
sanco_pesticides/public/index.cfm; last updated on 03/08/2010; last accessed on 3
November 2010) but we still include them here just for information purposes, since some
local farmers still use them and because of the holistic approach of this review.
® ®
6.2 Ecotoxicological impacts of Basagran (a.i. bentazon) and Ordram (a.i. molinate)
on non-target rice field cyanobacteria
Since 2005 our research group has been developing various relevant studies about the effects
of two most commonly used rice field herbicides – Basagran® and Ordram® – on native non-
target rice field cyanobacteria. In one of those studies, the effects of the two selective
herbicides recommended for IWM on rice were laboratory-assessed in Anabaena cylindrica
during a short-term experiment of 72 h (Galhano et al., 2009). The results obtained in this
work revealed that both herbicides had a pleiotropic effect on the cyanobacterium at the
range of concentrations tested (0.75-2 mM). Cyanobacterial growth (expressed as dry
weight, D.W.) as well as photosynthetic pigments [Chla, carotenoids (Car),
phycobiliproteins (PBP)] were more adversely affected by molinate than bentazon
commercial formulations. A. cylindrica growth of over 50% was observed soon after 48 h
with 1.5-2 mM of Ordram. The protein content increased with both herbicides although the
Weeds/ Concent. Recommended application

Form. TC
Active Ingredient (g a.i. ha-1) conditions
Monocotyledonous
Cycloxydim Only for red rice control.
(authorized only at EC 200 Xi Rice preplant and with red rice in
national level) the 1-2 leaves stage
In rice post-emergence and grass
Cyalofop-butyl EC 300 Xn; N
weeds with 1-3 leaves
In rice preplant, pre-emergence
Molinate
or early post-emergence,
(cancelled at national FG 4500 Xn; N
with grass weeds in the 2-leaves
level in 28/04/2010) (*)
stage
Apply after soil preparation and
flood the soil after application. In
Oxadiazon EC 300 - 400 Xn; N
rice preplant (5–8 days after
application)
In rice post-emergence; apply 100
Profoxydim(1) - 120 g from the 4-leaf stage to
(pending chemical in the EC 100 – 150 C; N tillering, and 100 - 150 g from the
EU Pesticides database) beginning to the middle of
tillering
Monocotyledonous (families Poaceae, Alismataceae, Cyperaceae, Pontederiaceae) and
Dicotyledonous
In rice post-emergence, from the
2-3 leaves stage to tillering; with
grass weeds from 2-leaves stage
Azimsulfuron WG 20 - 25 N
to the beginning of tillering and
other weeds to the 4-6 leaves
stage
In early rice post-emergence and
Bensulfuron-methyl WG 51 - 60 Is
weeds with 2-3 leaves
In early rice post-emergence and
Bensulfuron-methyl + 40 + 1.6 -
WG Is weeds with 2-3 leaves; it does not
Metsulfuron-methyl 50 + 2
control grassy weeds
Bentazon In rice post-emergence from the
(cancelled at national SL 1440 - 2400 Xn; N 3-leaves stage to tillering, and
level in 16/04/2008) (*) weeds with 3-5 leaves
In rice post-emergence, from
the 3-leaves stage to tillering;
with grass weeds from 2-leaves
Bispyribac-sodium SC 25 - 30 Xi; N
stage to the beginning of
tillering, and other weeds with 4-
6 leaves
In rice post-emergence and with
MCPA (ester) SL 630 - 1050 Xn weeds in active growth (4-6
leaves)
In rice post-emergence and with

MCPA (potassium salt) SL 800 - 1200 weeds in active growth (4-6
Xn
leaves)
In rice post-emergence from the
Penoxsulam OD 40 Xi; N 2-3 leaves stage to stalk stage,
and weeds with 1-4 leaves
Propanil In rice post-emergence and grass
(not included in the EU EC 3600 - 9000 Xn; N weeds with 3-4 leaves; apply
Pesticides database); SC 3600 - 8640 Xn; N lower and higher doses in
(cancelled at national WG 3600 - 9000 Xn; N nurseries and sowed or planted
level in 30/09/2010) (*) rice, respectively
Ridges (Monocotyledonous and Dicotyledonous)
Glyphosate
(ammonium salt)
(some formulations were SG 272 - 3600
Apply when weeds are well
cancelled at national level
developed by using a bell glass
in 14/08/2008) (*)
during crop cycle or after
Glyphosate Is; N
harvest; apply lower and higher
(isopropylammonium
doses to control annual and
salt)
SL 540 – 3600 perennial weeds, respectively
(some formulations were
cancelled at national level
in 26/08/2010) (*)
Algae
Copper sulphate
(some formulations will
XX 750 - 1875
be cancelled at national
As soon as algae became
level in 31/02/2012) (*)
perceptible; apply by spraying or
Copper and calcium Xn; N
by placing jute bags in the
sulphate
entrance of irrigations ditches
(some formulations will WP 1700
be cancelled at national
level in 30/04/2011) (*)
Table 1. Herbicide active ingredients and chemicals recommended in plant protection to
control rice field weeds (adapted from: DGADR, 2009). Abbreviations: Form., formulation
[EC, emulsifiable concentrate; FG, granules; OD, oil dispersion; SC, irritant; SG, water
soluble granules; SL, aqueous liquid solution; WG, exempt of classification; XX, others; WP,
wettable powder]; Concent., concentration; TC, toxicological classification [C, corrosive; Is,
exempt; N, nocive and dangerous to the environment; Xi, irritating or sensitizing; Xn,
nocive]. Observations: (1)It must be applied in a mixture with 0.75 L.ha-1 of the commercially
available wettable adjuvant Dash HC® (adjuvant concentration should not exceed 0.5% in
low volume applications); (2)Treated rice for human consumption should be cleaned; (*)
DGADR, 2010. Cancelamento de AVs e APVs (Circular 16/2004) – Exhaustive Cancellation List of
All Active Ingredients in Portugal Since 01/01/2001 (Last Review: 10 June, 2010). Direcção-Geral
de Agricultura e Desenvolvimento Rural; Ministério da Agricultura, do Desenvolvimento
Rural e das Pescas, 23 pp. (in Portuguese).
effect was more remarkable with the highest concentration of Ordram. Concerning to
carbohydrate content, it was shown that Ordram increased this organic fraction whereas
Basagran decreases it. Photosynthesis (PmChl) and dark respiration (RdChl) normalized to Chla
were inhibited by both herbicide formulations in a time- and dose-response manner within
the experiment time, and higher Ordram concentrations full stopped O2 evolution after 48 h.
Pointing to safety environmental precautions, the findings obtained with our study suggest
the reduction or even ban of molinate from the agro-ecosystem rice field because of its
strong inhibitory action on soil autochthonous microflora, mainly on the important
diazotrophic primary producers, the cyanobacteria. Together with pulse-amplitude-
modulation (PAM) fluorimetric routine parameters, namely maximum photosystem II (PS
II) quantum efficiency (Fv/Fm), effective quantum efficiency of PS II for a light-acclimated
sample (ФPSII), and photochemical quenching (qP; proportion of light excitation energy
converted to photochemical act by the active PS II reaction centres), part of the results
published by Galhano et al. (2009) were previously presented to the overall scientific
community in the 15th European Bioenergetics Conference held in Dublin, from 19 to 24 July
2008 (Galhano et al., 2008). Relevant findings related to Basagran and discussed in the
meeting are displayed in Figure 1 carpet-plot.
But we wanted to go further on and test the effects of the herbicides on other cyanobacteria
strain isolated and subsequently identified by suitable molecular biology tools (Galhano et
al., 2010a). So, the next step was the assessment of toxicity of Basagran and Ordram on
Nostoc muscorum, an abundant and well characterized cyanobacterium from Mondego River
Valley rice fields. Once again, in a short-term exposure experiments during 72 h with a
concentration range from 0.75 to 2 mM, the toxicity of commercial formulations on growth
and some biochemical and physiological parameters cited before were studied (Galhano et
2 mM - 72 h
1.5 mM - 72 h
0.75 mM - 72 h
0 mM - 72 h
2 mM - 48 h
1.5 mM - 48 h
0.75 mM - 48 h
0 mM - 48 h
2 mM - 24 h
1.5 mM - 24 h
0.75 mM - 24 h
0 mM - 24 h
ΦPSII
Pm Chl
Fv/Fm
PBP
qP
Rd Chl
D.W.
Car.
Carbohyd.
Protein
Chla
Fig. 1. Effect of Basagran on dry weight (D.W.), chlorophyll a (Chla), carotenoids (Car),
phycobiliproteins (PBP), protein, carbohydrates, photosynthetic rate (PmChl), dark respiration
rate (RdChl) and fluorescence parameters of A. cylindrica after exposure for 24, 48 and 72 h.
Relative values are means ± SE of at least three independent experiments. The plotted values
are visualised by the number of the contour lines, with successive lines corresponding to
values differering by 0.05 (here above zero, i.e. bigger than the control).
al., 2010d). The results almost entirely obtained in this study confirmed the mode of action
of both herbicides on cyanobacteria: 1) molinate was more toxic than bentazon to growth,
respiration, Chla, Car, and PBP contents; 2) protein content increased with both herbicides
but the effect was mostly evident at higher molinate concentrations (1.5-2 mM); 3) the
herbicides had contrasting effects on carbohydrates content – molinate increased it whereas
bentazon caused a decrease of this organic fraction; 4) both photosynthesis and respiration
were inhibited by Ordram and Basagran.
At this point of our research we were intrigued about the insufficient information on the
biochemical mode of action of both herbicides at cellular level, particularly concerning
bentazon. We knew from previous works that bentazon acts as an inhibitor of
photosynthesis by blocking the electron transfer flow in the PS II and CO2 fixation. The
blockage of PS II induced by bentazon in the presence of light induces secondary effects on
several metabolic pathways, such as the production of singlet and triplet Chl energized
states, as well as various reactive oxygen species (ROS) like e.g. the singlet oxygen (Macedo
et al., 2008). The very recent reviews of Latifi et al. (2009) and Pospíšil (2009) on oxidative
stress science that came to us almost at the same time were very exciting and inspiring, thus
contributing to the next follow up step. Therefore, by interlinking these reviews, we
hypothesized that bentazon, like most environmental stresses e.g. heavy metals, high light,
UV-B, heat, salinity and drought, induced the production of ROS in cyanobacteria, causing
Fig. 2. Effect of molinate on the activities of (A) SOD, (B) CAT, (C) APX, and (D) GST of A.
flos-aquae after exposure to bentazon for 0 and 72 h. The values (%) relative to controls are
means ± SE of three to six independent experiments. Results of the one-way ANOVA
factorial analysis. Values with a common letter are not significantly different according to
Tukey’s test (P<0.05).
oxidative damage. The obtained results confirmed the formulated hypothesis, since the
activities of antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT),
ascorbate peroxidase (APX), and glutathione S-transferase (GST) increased in a time- and
Basagran dose-response manner and were higher than those in the control samples after 72
h for a concentration range of 0.75 to 2 mM. On the basis of these data and information
available elsewhere we proposed a hypothetical mechanistic model for Basagran-induced
oxidative stress on A. cylindrica (Galhano et al., 2010c). A similar trend was attained with the
active ingredient of Basagran i.e. bentazon in an Aphanizomenon flos-aquae strain isolated
from “Quinta do Seminário“ rice fields, also in the Baixo Mondego River Valley region (Fig.
2). Acute and short-term (72 h) experiments also demonstrated that the active ingredient
caused a time- and concentration (0.15-0.25 mM) dependent decrease of A. flos-aquae growth,
photosynthetic pigments, total protein, carbohydrates, photosynthesis and respiration
(Galhano, V., et al., 2010; unpublished results).
Meanwile, we did not forget the antioxidant system machinery response of cyanobacteria
exposed to the formulation Ordram in acute and short-termed experiments (72 h). Contrary
to Basagran, the thiocarbamate dramatically decreased the activity of all antioxidative stress
enzymes tested in a time- and concentration-dependent manner within a concentration
range of 0.75 to 2 mM. The collapse of both enzymatic (e.g. SOD, CAT, APX, GST) and non-
enzymatic (e.g. glutathione pool and total carotenoids) antioxidants was evident after 72
hours’ exposure to the highest Ordram concentrations. A radical decline in saturated fatty
acids was also observed in this study (Galhano et al., 2010b).
7. Conclusions and future prospects

The present environmental concerns about rice field herbicide residues in water, soil and
rice foodstuffs will probably not vanish in the next years. Not enough has been done to
reduce the risks caused by herbicide pollution in rice agriculture. Even though the switch to
low-dose agents has significantly reduced herbicide consumption, most surface water and
groundwater samples still contain herbicides, sometimes at levels harmful for human health
and for environment. At present, it is not possible to assess the future risks to human beings
and to environment caused by the hazardous properties of herbicides used today and the
trends will vary from country to country (OECD, 2008). Notwithstanding, to guarantee
minimal negative side-effects on rice field ecosystems other than the soil-plant systems,
herbicides should have no or low toxicity, except for the target weeds. Improved
formulations will be needed to reduce off-target deposition, improve retention on target,
and enhance uptake and translocation (Arias-Estévez et al., 2008). As many European rice
fields are located in natural parks or environmentally protected areas, the future of rice in
the European countries will most likely be interlinked to the development of new varieties
and environmentally and economically sustainable methods of production, which allow to
increase rice yield and quality by improving water and fertilizer efficiency and minimizing
the use of crop protection products like herbicides (Ferrero, 2007; Ferrero & Tinarelli, 2007).
At present there is a very considerable literature related to herbicide effects on the flora and
fauna of rice fields but a conspicuous lacuna related to rice field biodiversity affected by this
kind of xenobiotics still exists. Ecological studies contrasting intensive irrigated rice systems
reported in this review with the traditional rainfed rice lands have not been carried out so
far. As a result of a heavy dependence on selective herbicides for weed control in rice fields
worldwide, a serious problem has emerged in the last years: several weed species have
evolved resistance to herbicides, including the most pernicious grass weed, Echinochloa spp.,
becoming resistant to rice gramicidines (Olofsdotter et al., 1998; Vidotto et al., 2007; Gressel
& Valverde, 2009). So far, some mechanisms of evolved resistance of rice weedy species are
still unknown (Dyer & Weller, 2005). Therefore, in future weed management programs,
Gressel & Valverde (2009) recommended the use of transgenic herbicide-resistant rice
cultivars to better achieve the control of weeds that have evolved herbicide resistance.
Interestingly, some organisms that have evolved in natural ponds near rice fields are now
being used as biological control agents in rice culture, as for example in Japan, where the
problem of annual weeds infesting paddy fields has been countered by the introduction of
several species of tadpole shrimp (Triops spp.) which agitates the soil surface, uproots weed
seedlings, creates turbid water (which compromises photosynthesis) and consumes weed
buds (Williams, 2006). Therefore, nowadays, as in the future, the commonly accepted best
approach to manage rice field weeds is to follow an IWM strategy that includes good land
preparation, good water management, a competitive crop, and a judicious herbicide use
(Monaco et al., 2002; Upadhyaya & Blackshaw, 2007; Demont et al., 2009).
The use of biological control agents (natural enemies and pathogens) (Castle et al., 2006)
and/or biologically-based products (allelochemicals) (Belz, 2007) should also have to be
implemented. The use of bioherbicides are also interesting alternatives for use in rice IWM
programs (Charudattan et al., 2002; Kendig et al., 2003). A suitable and periodic water
quality monitoring together with the improvement of good agricultural practices will be
advisable in future IWM programs.
More important yet, rice researchers and farmers must go one step further and rapidly to an
era of precision farming, which helps to reduce the cost of production and improve
productivity on an ecologically sustainable basis. They should launch a movement for
achieving an evergreen revolution in rice farming systems based on ecologically sustainable
and location-specific precision farming technologies (Pretty, 2005; Swaminathan & Rao,
2009). Dr. Norman E. Borlaug, The Nobel Prize in Peace of 1970, called it the “Blue
Revolution“ of the 21st century to complement the so-called “Green Revolution“ of the 20th
century in order to feed the growing world population (Borlaug, 2004).
In conclusion, we must say that nowadays, not only the scientific community, but also the
general public, including rice farmers and extension workers, should be aware of the need
for a continual review of rice field herbicides once they have been authorized to be lunched
into the market, mainly due to their unpredictable effects on both the environment and
human health. We think that this timely and up-to-date review can significantly improve the
information in this research area and contribute to a better understanding of the effects of
rice field herbicides on non-target organisms, which inevitably will lead to a rationalization
of their use in future integrated weed management programs.
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3
Transient Effect of the Herbicide

Flumioxazin on Physiology of
Vitis vinifera L. cv. Pinot Meunier
Bigot Aurélie1, Clément Christophe2 and Vaillant-Gaveau Nathalie2
1Laboratoire
d'Eco-Toxicologie, URVVC-SE, EA 2069, Université de Reims
Champagne-Ardenne, UFR Sciences Exactes et Naturelles, Bâtiment 18,
Moulin de la Housse – BP 1039, F-51687 REIMS Cedex 2
2Laboratoire de Stress, Défenses et Reproduction des Plantes,
URVVC-SE, EA 2069, Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne,

UFR Sciences Exactes et Naturelles, Bâtiment 18,
Moulin de la Housse – BP 1039, F-51687 REIMS Cedex 2
France
1. Introduction
Pesticides are widely used to control pests and diseases in crop production. Flumioxazin
(fmx), or 2-[7-fluoro-3,4-dihydro-3-oxo-4-(2-propynyl)-2H-1,4-benzoxazin-6-yl]-4,5,6,7-
tetrahydro-1H-isoindole-1,3(2H)-dione, is a N-phenylphthalimide herbicide registered for
pre-emergence control of broadleaved weeds in peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.), soybean
(Glycine max L.), sorghum (Grichar, 2005) and as an early pre-plant burndown treatment in
cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) (Main et al., 2003).
Fmx inhibits protoporphyrinogen oxidase (protox) in the chlorophyll biosynthetic pathway,
resulting in light-induced membrane lipid peroxidation (Scott et al., 2001). In the presence of
protox inhibitors, tetrapyrroles accumulate, especially protoporphyrin IX (proto IX). Protox
inhibition leads to the accumulation of its substrate protoporphyrinogen, which is readily
oxidized to proto IX by oxidative enzymes. Proto IX is a quite effective photosensitizer that
transfers absorbed light energy to molecular oxygen to form singlet oxygen. The singlet
oxygen peroxidizes lipids leading to the destruction of cellular membranes (Moreland, 1999).
Fmx is a pre-emergence herbicide applied on soil at the end of winter at a concentration of 5
mM. Fmx inhibits the development of redroot pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus), lambsquaeter
(Chenopodium album), jimsonweed (Datura stramonium), morningglory (Ipomoea spp.), nutsedge
(Cyperus spp.) and prickly sida (Sida spinosa L.) (Nagano, 1999; Niekamp et al., 1999).
Fmx enters plants mainly throughout root and tolerant crop species avoid its injury by rapid
detoxication metabolism (Yoshida et al., 1991). Fmx is applied to control adventive plants
but the presence of such molecules in the foliage of non-target crops and in the soil has been
reported (Jame et al., 1999). Little information is available on the effect of fmx on crop
physiology, especially in grapevine, although it is one of the most frequently used
herbicides in vineyards. We showed that fmx dramatically affects grapevine physiology in
vitro (Saladin et al., 2003a, b, c, d). Various concentrations of this herbicide have a negative
impact on vine plantlet leaf growth, as revealed by tissue dehydration and cell membrane
alteration, decrease in osmotic potential and accumulation of proline. Moreover, fmx
treatment results in a reduction of plantlet growth and photosynthesis and further induces
some perturbation in leaf carbohydrate partitioning (Saladin et al., 2003b). Proteomic
analysis of grapevine under fmx stress suggested that photosynthesis-related proteins,
enzymes involved in photorespiration and enzymes of sugar metabolism were impaired
(Castro et al., 2005). However, these results were obtained with juvenile plantlets grown in
vitro and thus have to be considered cautiously before being extended to the whole plant
cultivated in vineyards.
The aim of this study is to further determine the effects of fmx treatment on the
photosynthetic characteristics of grapevine cutting leaves. The combined measurements of
chlorophyll fluorescence and gas-exchange rates were proved to be a useful approach for
distinguishing stomatal versus nonstomatal effects, as well as for estimating the importance
of various types of energy use, such as thermal dissipation and photorespiration
(Hendrickson et al., 2004).
2. Materials and methods

2.1 Plant material, growth conditions
Canes of Vitis vinifera L. cv. Pinot Meunier were collected in winter, treated with cryptonol
(2% v/v) to prevent contamination and stored in the dark at 4 °C for a minimum of two
weeks. They were then cut into fragments to obtain two consecutive fertile buds and one
sterile bud (Mullins, 1966; Mullins & Rajasekaran, 1981). The sterile bud was soaked for
three min in a 0.1% (w/v) 3-indol butyric acid aqueous solution in order to stimulate
rhizogenesis. Then, the cuttings were placed in 300 ml pots containing perlite: sand (1: 2) at
25 °C and 75% relative humidity in the greenhouse, with a 16 h photoperiod at a
photosynthetic photon flux density of 400 μmol m-2s-1 (Lebon et al., 2005).
2.2 Fmx treatments

Plants were daily irrigated with a nutrient solution optimized for grapevine culture (Coïc &
Lesaint, 1971). After eight weeks, when the cuttings had eight leaves, the fmx solution
(commercial herbicide Pledge®) was sprayed only one time on the soil with different
solutions of fmx in water: 0.5 mM, 5 mM (concentration recommended by the manufacturer)
or 50 mM. Simultaneously, the soil of control cuttings was sprayed with water.
2.3 Growth measurements

At the end of the experimentation, ten plants per treatment were harvested, separated into
shoot and root parts, and their fresh weights were determined.
2.4 Measure of gas exchanges

The net photosynthetic rate (Pn), the stomatal conductance (gs), the intercellular CO2
concentration (Ci) and the transpiration rate (T) were measured using a portable infrared
gas analyser (LI-Cor Model 6400, Lincoln, NE, USA). The infrared gas analysis system was
equipped with a clamp-on leaf cuvette that exposed 6 cm2 of leaf area. Light, temperature
and humidity were 400 µmol m-2 s-1, 25±1 °C and 30% respectively.
Transient Effect of the Herbicide Flumioxazin on Physiology of Vitis vinifera L. cv. Pinot Meunier 75
Photosynthetic light response curves: Response of Pn to photosynthetic photon flux (PPF)

was measured by illuminating the leaf at decreasing PPF (from 2000 to 0 μmol m-2 s-1) until
Pn was constant. The apparent quantum yield of CO2 fixation (ΦCO2) was calculated as the
slope of the linear portion of the response curves between 0 and 100 µmol m–2 s–1 PPF. CO2
was maintained at a constant level of 360 mmol l-1 using an LI-6400-01 CO2 injector (LI-Cor
6400 Lincoln, NE, USA) with a high pressure liquefied CO2 cartridge source.
2.5 Chlorophyll fluorescence measurements

The chlorophyll a fluorescence of the leaves was quantified on attached leaves with an
IMAGING-PAM Chlorophyll Fluorometer (Walz, Effeltrich, Germany). The measuring
system applies array of blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs) (peak wavelength, 470 nm) for
saturating light pulses. The frequency of the pulses was adjusted to 10 Hz. Measurements
were carried out at maximal distance between the camera and the leaf, corresponding to a
25 x 34 mm area. The image captured by the charge-coupled device (CCD) camera was
composed of 640 x 480 pixels.
During the whole experiment, the measurements were systematically performed on the
adaxial side on the central parts of the young leaves. The leaves used for measurements
were pre-conditioned in the dark. The initial fluorescence (Fo) was obtained after 0.5 hour of
dark adaptation. Maximal fluorescence (Fm) was obtained with a saturating flash (1 s, 13 000
µmol m-2 s-1). The ratio of variable to maximal fluorescence (Fv/Fm) was calculated. The
protocol for fluorescence measurement was similar to the one described by Genty et al.
(1989), but the measurements were performed on attached leaves. The relative quantum
yield of PSII (ΦPSII) at steady state is defined as (F'm–Fs)/F'm where Fs and F'm are respectively
steady-state fluorescence and maximum fluorescence in the light. ΦPSII represents the
number of electrons transported by a PSII reaction centre per mole of quanta absorbed by
PSII. Both Photochemical (qP) and total non-photochemical quenching (qNP) were calculated
according to van Kooten & Snel (1990). The Stern-Volmer equation (NPQ) was used as an
indicator of the activity of energy dissipation in the pigment bed of PSII. NPQ was
proportional to the effective rate constant for energy dissipation in the antennae as well as in
the concentration of quenching centres (Demmig-Adams et al., 1996).
Fluorescence light response curves: Response of Fv/Fm, QP and QNP to PPF (the light
response curve) were measured by illuminating the leaf with actinic light at increasing PPF
(0 to 1200 µmol m-2 s-1).
2.6 Chlorophyll assay

Chlorophyll contents were determined at the end of the experiment. Leaf slices were
dissected and pigments were extracted under overnight continuous agitation in 80% (v/v)
acetone amended with 0.5% (w/v) MgCO3 to prevent chlorophyll acidification at 4°C.
Crude extract was centrifuged at 10,000 g for 10 min at 4°C, and the supernatant was used to
estimate spectrophotometrically pigment concentrations according to the absorbance
coefficients determined by Lichtenthaler (1987). Results were expressed in mg g-1 fresh
weight (FW).
2.7 Statistical analysis

Five replicates plants per treatment and three replicate measurements per plant were carried
out. All data were analysed using the Mann & Whitney test at the 0.05 probability level.
3. Results
3.1 Growth
In the event of fmx excess (5 and 50 mM), the plant growth is inhibited (Fig. 1). The leaves
growth is more affected than the root growth.
Fig. 1. Leaves and root fresh weight of grapevine after the spraying of various fmx
concentrations. Each value is the mean of 15 measurements ± SD.
3.2 Gas exchanges

Photosynthetic responses of grapevine grown with various herbicide concentrations were
analysed to determine whether fmx modifies Pn, gs, T and Ci. The Pn decreased
significantly after one day at 0.5, 5 and 50 mM fmx (Fig. 2A). Fifteen days after spraying
with 5 and 50 mM fmx, Pn was steady and equal to zero. gs was significantly affected by
fmx (Fig. 2B). Detectable inhibition of gs occurred after one day using 5 and 50 mM fmx and
after three days at 0.5 mM fmx. Whatever fmx concentration, the treatment leads to the
closure of stomata in grapevine after three days and 15 days after, gs was equal to 0 for 5
and 50 mM. Transpiration of grapevine following fmx treatment was also reduced
significantly at 0.5, 5 and 50 mM after two days (Fig. 2D). Ci was not affected with 0.5 mM
fmx, but Ci increased at 50 mM after 3 days and at 5 mM fmx after 5 days (Fig. 2C). At 0.5
mM fmx and after 5 days, Pn and T increased and after 45 days, they were equal to control.
Fig. 2. Changes in net photosynthesis (Pn) (A), stomatal conductance (gS) (B), intercellular
CO2 concentration (Ci) (C), and transpiration rate (T) (D) in leaves of grapevine after the
spraying of various fmx concentrations. Each value is the mean of 15 measurements ± SD.
Photosynthetic light response curves
To clarify the nature of the mechanisms involved in plant adaptation to the treatment, both
CO2 distribution in the leaf and the capacities of mesophyll to assimilate atmospheric CO2
were analyzed after ten days. The study of these processes was performed by analysing the
light response curve and by measuring Pn variations in response to the increase of CO2
concentration after ten days of herbicide stress application. The leaves of the treated plants
showed a drastically lower photosynthetic capacity than the control leaves. Similarly,
saturating PPF and apparent quantum yield of CO2 fixation (ΦCO2) showed a significant
decrease with increasing fmx concentrations (Table 1). Cuttings treated with 50 mM fmx did
not respond to the PPF because the plants died. Also, dark respiration and compensation
point decreased when the fmx stress increased. In addition, photosynthesis was saturated at
10.86 µmol m–2 s–1 in the control and light-saturated net CO2 assimilation rate (Asat)
decreased by 15% and 98% using 0.5 and 5 mM fmx respectively. Using the high PPF, the
slope of curves was null (Table 1), meaning that there was no photoinhibition. The ratio
ΦPSII/ΦCO2 was inversely correlated to the efficiency of light involvement for carbon
fixation. It was higher in leaves grown at 5 mM fmx concentration (Table 1), indicating that
the light was less efficient in treated cuttings.
Fmx concentrations
Control 0.5 mM 5 mM 50 mM
Apparent quantum yield
0.044±0.002a 0.041±0.006a 0.006±0.007b -
of CO2 fixation (ΦCO2)
Dark respiration
1.10±0.54 a 1.31±0.34 a 0.622.±0.710b -
Rd (μmol m-2 s-1)
Compensation point
26.32±1.30 a 31.67±3.01 b 101.42±10.01 c -
Γ (μmol)
Asat (μmol m-2 s-1) 10.86±1.28 a 9.14±0.93 b 0.139±0.055 c -
PPF (μmol m-2 s-1) for Asat 1000 a 500 b 250 c -
Slope with
-0.0003±0.0008 a 0.0003±0.0001 a 0.0005±0.0003 a -
PPF > 1500 μmol m-2 s-1
ΦPSII/ΦCO2 15.43 a 12.92 b 50.33c -
Table 1. Analyses of photosynthetic light response curves: the apparent quantum yield of
CO2 fixation (ΦCO2), dark respiration (Rd), compensation point (Γ), light-saturated net CO2
assimilation rate (Asat), PPF (μmol m-2 s-1) for Asat, slope with PPF > 1500 μmol m-2 s-1 and
ratio ΦPSII/ΦCO2 of grapevine with various flumioxazin concentrations after ten days. The
grapevine treated with 50 mM of fmx were dead. Statistical analyses were carried out using
the Mann and Whitney test. Means for a considered parameter were not significantly
different when followed by the same letter (P ≥ 0.05).
3.3 Chlorophyll fluorescence

All chlorophyll fluorescence parameters strongly dropped as the fmx concentration
increased (Fig. 3). The Fv/Fm ratio used as the means of maximal photochemical efficiency
of PSII was not modified in the controls nor in the 0.5 mM fmx treated cuttings, whereas it
dropped down to zero after four days using 5 and 50 mM fmx (Fig. 3A). Similarly ΦPSII
slowed down significantly after four days of 5 and 50 mM fmx treatments (Fig 3B).
Quenching was also affected in the same way: qP and qNP decreased significantly after ten
days using 5 and 50 mM fmx (Fig. 3C, D). There was no PSII activity after 10 days using 50
mM fmx and after 15 days using 5 mM.
Identification of fmx damage in the leaf
Picture of the fluorescence showed a marked decrease in fluorescence emission when the
cuttings were exposed to the highest concentrations of fmx (Fig. 4). Fm images allowed early
detection of fluorescence variations than Fv/Fm images. 0.5 mM fmx treatment induced
only a slight fluorescence decline in the leaves during the whole treatment (Fig. 3). More
drastic modifications appeared in the veins of leaves from four days using 5 mM fmx (Fig.
4). Using 50 mM fmx, the fluorescence decline appeared significant after four days in the
veins and next spread rapidly throughout the entire leaf, the damages spread throughout
the mesophyll (Fig. 4).
Fluorescence light response curves
Figure 5 presents the changes in light response curves of chlorophyll fluorescence in leaves
ten days after fmx treatment. The responses of Fv/Fm, QP and QNP to PPF were measured
by illuminating the leaf with actinic light at increasing PPF 0 to 1200 µmol m-2 s-1. Treated
plants responded less strongly to the light than the control. Fv/Fm and QP decreased with
Fig. 3. The Chl fluorescence parameters of PSII (relative units) in leaves of grapevine after the
spraying of various fmx concentrations. Each value is the mean of 15 measurements ± SD.
increasing light intensity while QNP increased. The fluorescence kinetics showed that the
increase of fmx concentration led to a decrease in the maximal efficiency of PSII
photochemistry and a decrease in the coefficients of photochemical and non-photochemical
quenchings.
3.4 Chlorophyll contents

Fmx leads a decrease in the total chlorophyll, chlorophyll a and b concentration and in the
carotenoid concentration. We measured a decline in the ratio chlorophyll a/chlorophyll b
(Table 2).
Fmx concentration
Control 0.5 mM 5 mM 50 mM
Chl tot (mg.g FW) 1.728±0.259 0.995±0.302 0.593±0.198 0.021±0.016
Chl a (mg.g FW) 1.368±0.168 0.749±0.211 0.464±0.136 0.018±0.014
Chl b (mg.g FW) 0.359±0.097 0.245±0.112 0.128±0.076 0.002±0.008
Carot (mg.g FW) 0.628±0.057 0.348±0.083 0.263±0.055 0.037±0.006
Chl a / Chl b 3.927±0.594 3.378±0.976 2.972±0.644 0
Table 2. Chlorophyll total, a, b and carotenoid concentration and chlorophyll a / chlorophyll
b ratio with various fmx concentrations. Each value is the mean of 15 measurements ± SD.
0 mM 0.5 mM
5 mM 50 mM
Fig. 4. Fluorescence imaging of the dynamic evolution of abiotic stress induced 4 days after
flumioxazin treatment. A grapevine leaf was 30 min dark-adapted and submitted to
saturation pulse. A photograph of maximum fluorescence (Fm) was captured. Data have
been mapped to the colour palette. The false colour code ranges from black (0.000) to pink
(1.000), as shown at the bottom of the images.
4. Discussion
These results provide new insights into the effects of fmx herbicide on grapevine physiology
through the analysis of numerous parameters. We have demonstrated a transient fmx effect
on Pinot Meunier physiology. The answer of this cultivar was different that observed with
the Chardonnay (Bigot et al, 2007). They complement preliminary information on the stress
effects of this herbicide on plant physiology in vitro (Saladin et al., 2003a, b, c, d; Castro et al.,
2005) and help to further understand how action of herbicide acts on non-target grapevine.
The soil-applied herbicide is known to be a peroxidizing agent, through the inhibition of
protoporphyrinogen IX oxidase in the chlorophyll biosynthetic pathway (Scott et al., 2001).
It appears that fmx affects other metabolic functions i.e. all the photosynthetic parameters
we evaluated. It induces a strong net photosynthesis inhibition and a parallel decrease of
stomatal conductance and transpiration. The photosystem II activity is also affected.
Fig. 5. Fluorescence light response curves: QP (A), QNP (B), Fv/Fm (C), to PPF (0 to 1200 μmol
m-2 s-1) in leaves of grapevine after ten days with various fmx concentrations.
Fmx inhibits CO2 assimilation
All the photosynthetic parameters of grapevine cutting leaves were significantly reduced
after 25 days of fmx treatment. Net photosynthesis and transpiration reduction were
associated with decline of stomatal conductance. The photosynthesis decrease in leaves may
be caused by stomatal closure. However, the reduction of Fv/Fm and the quantum yield of
CO2 assimilation indicate that the efficiency of photochemistry is also impaired in grapevine
treated with 5 and 50 mM fmx.
There is a strong relationship between photosynthetic electron transport and carbon fixed by
plants (Genty et al., 1989). ΦPSII/ΦCO2 is an estimate of the relationship between the rate of
electron transport and carbon fixation. If four electrons are consumed per mol CO2 fixed and
if the light is equally distributed between the two photosystems, ΦPSII/ΦCO2 should
theoretically be 8 minimum. Experimentally, ΦPSII/ΦCO2 greater than 8 is obtained,
meaning that electrons are also used for other processes than photosynthesis, such as
photorespiration, N assimilation, or pseudocyclic electron transport (Genty et al., 1989).
Fmx affects chlorophyll a fluorescence
The fluorescence arising from chlorophyll is almost exclusively associated with PSII
(Schreiber et al., 1994). Since PSII functioning is sensitive to a wide range of environmental
variations, chlorophyll fluorescence provides numerous information on the effects of

stresses on plants (Schreiber et al., 1994). Our results clearly show that fmx significantly
inhibits the quantum yield of PSII electron transport (ΦPSII) in grapevine cuttings. We also
demonstrate that such a decrease in ΦPSII was associated to the alteration of qP and qNP. A
decrease in qP induced by fmx indicates a higher proportion of closed PSII reaction centres,
i.e., an increase in the proportion of the reduced state of QA, (Genty et al., 1989), which
probably generates a decrease in the proportion of available excitation energy used for
photochemistry (Havaux et al., 1991). Concomitant with the reduction of Fv/Fm, we
observed that qNP decreased drastically with increasing fmx concentrations, suggesting that
the fmx treatment does not involve non-radiative energy dissipation.
In leaves of grapevine cuttings, the capacity for CO2 assimilation decreases to almost zero
after five days whatever fmx concentration. However, after ten days of 0.5 mM fmx
treatment, while there is negligible CO2 assimilatory capacity, ΦPSII remains at
approximately 12% when compared to control leaves. This suggests that a certain rate of
non-cyclic electron transport is required to maintain CO2 assimilation. An alternative way to
CO2 assimilation for electrons would be oxygen reduction by photorespiration and/or a
Mehler reaction (Brestic et al., 1995). Changes in fluorescence yield in grapevine leaves are
also associated with modifications in the antenna pigments, in the efficiency of excitation
trapping at the active centres of PSII, or in changes in the thylakoid membrane (Calatayud &
Barreno, 2001). The in vitro application of fmx to grapevine induced, on the one hand,
disorganization of internal photosynthetic membranes (Saladin et al., 2003a) and affected, on
the other hand, an oxygen-evolving enhancer protein and a LHCII type III chlorophyll a/b
binding protein, a major component of light-harvesting antennae complex of PSII (Castro et
al., 2005).
Fmx treatment on the soil, provokes leaf fluorescence damages that first occur in the veins
and next spread throughout the mesophyll. Fmx treatment induces depression of
photosynthesis in grapevine and involves also heterogeneity of leaf photosynthesis. Such
heterogeneity may be the consequence of patchy stomatal closure and/or collapse of part of
the mesophyll due to loss of turgor, associated with a low lateral CO2 diffusion capacity
(Cornic & Massacci, 1996). It also results in decreases in the photosynthetic efficiency and
capacity of leaves. These observations further suggest that either fmx or a by-product
penetrate the plant throughout the roots and are thus distributed in the whole plant through
the veins. These results are consistent with Castro et al. (2005) who found significant
changes in root and shoot proteome and who suggest that the herbicide could act
systemically in grapevine tissues, probably via root uptake.
5. Conclusion
We have demonstrated a transient fmx effect on grapevine physiology characterized by
strong increases of Pn, gs and ΦPSII at 0.5 and 5 mM fmx after 45 days. The grapevine was
able to partially overcome the damages caused by herbicides (Saladin & Clément, 2005). In
the vineyard the herbicide caused mild stress (Saladin et al., 2003c, d). It may be explained
by a detoxification of the herbicide in the rootstock and/or a low fmx uptake by the roots,
which is due to a deeper root system or different soil adsorption characteristics (Saladin et
al., 2003d). Moreover, in the vineyard fmx was applied at the end of the winter, when canes
have no leaf and when the sap flow is low.
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Weeds, 1: 69-75
4
Unexpected Side Effects of Herbicides:

Modulation of Plant-Pathogen Interactions
Andreas Kortekamp
DLR Agricultural Research Station, Department of Phytomedicine
Neustadt/Weinstrasse
Germany
1. Introduction
Herbicides are widely used as an important alternative to prevent excessive growth of
weeds in agricultural crop land, particularly where conservation tillage is adopted. Weeds
reduce crop yield and quality, interfere with cultivation and harvest operations and seem to
be the most economically important of all pests with respect to sales of pesticides
worldwide. As an interesting side effect, the biological activity of herbicides extends beyond
their effect on target organisms and herbicides may influence plant-pathogen interactions
through their effect on the pathogen, the plant, or on the surrounding soil organisms
including symbiotic interactions. This phenomenon was first observed in the early 1940s by
Smith et al. (1946) and described in more detail since 1960. Several studies examining the
direct effects of various herbicides on plant pathogens and disease development have been
published.
The objective of this chapter is to summarise publications in which herbicide applications
have resulted in a direct effect on fungal plant pathogens in vitro or in the field or on disease
development by influencing the metabolism of the plant. The question that arises is if the
direct or indirect effect of herbicides on microorganisms is a general feature of these
agrochemicals, also provoking some kind of stress that leads to a reprogramming of the
plant’s physiology, or if the observed effect relates to a distinct mode of action within a
given plant-pathogen relationship. In some cases, herbicide-resistant plants were used to
specify the effect on pathogens and plants when herbicides are applied at field rates. Even
though the application of field doses may represent the true situation in the field where
herbicide-resistant crops are planted, the effect of sublethal doses on non-transformed plants
and pathogens remains more or less obscure. Thus, some hormetic effects, although defined
as side effects of putatively toxic compounds but playing an important role regarding plant
health, plant growth, or even harvest, can not be explained. Some, if not many herbicides
seem to provoke hormetic effects (Duke et al., 2006). Hormesis refers to stimulatory effects
caused by toxic compounds. Paracelsus, an ancient leader in toxicology, declared that all
things are poison and are not poison. Only the dose matters and it is only the dose that
makes a thing not to be a poison. He considered that substances, although toxic at higher
concentrations or doses, can be stimulatory or even beneficial when used at low doses. Even
though this phenomenon was recognised a long time ago, hormesis was mainly discussed in
the biomedical literature, especially in toxicology and radiation biology. Sublethal doses of
toxic compounds or radiation, for instance, were found to provoke stimulatory responses
instead of reducing the vitality of human cells (Calabrese & Baldwin, 2002). However,
hormesis is not restricted to mammals and can be found within all groups of organisms,
from higher plants and animals to bacteria and fungi (Calabrese, 2005). Interestingly,
herbicides seem to induce hormesis in both, plants and pathogens (Duke et al., 2006).
Stimulations have been shown for various physiological and biochemical parameters such
as gene expression and enzyme activity (Ahn, 2008), growth, biomass, and protein content
(reviewed in Duke et al., 2006), and chlorophyll content in plants (Kortekamp, 2010).
Several highly informative reports considering side effects of herbicides have been
published in recent years (e.g. Duke et al., 2007; Sanyal & Shrestha, 2008). However, a big
part of the work was done with herbicide-resistant plants, not representing biochemical
processes in non-transformed plants as mentioned above. Furthermore, mainly pathogens
able to grow on artificial media were used. Even though the direct effect of the active
compound, the additive(s) and/or the formulated product can be tested in vitro very easily
in most cases, only a few details about the mechanisms that are involved when the pathogen
enters its host are known. Moreover, especially the underlying mechanisms playing an
important role in case for biotrophic pathogens (that can not be investigated without the
respective host) are still far from being well known. Therefore, some examples, e.g. the
grapevine-downy mildew interaction representing a biotrophic plant-pathogen relationship,
are picked out to throw some light on these highly sophisticated plant-pathogen-herbicide
interactions.
2. Herbicides with antifungal properties

2.1 Glyphosate
Glyphosate (N-[phosphonomethyl]glycine), mainly sold under the trade name Roundup, is
a systemic broad-spectrum herbicide that inhibits 5-enolpyruvyl shikimate 3-phosphate
synthase (EPSPS), a key enzyme in the biosynthesis of aromatic acids and secondary
metabolites. Blockage of this pathway results in massive accumulation of shikimate in
affected plant tissues leading to a deficiency of significant end-products such as lignins,
alkaloids, and flavonoids and a decrease in CO2 fixation and biomass production in a dose
dependant manner (Olesen & Cedergreen, 2010). EPSPS is also present in fungi and bacteria,
but not in animals, and organisms with glyphosate-sensitive EPSPS may be affected by
glyphosate. In plants, glyphosate is readily translocated throughout the plant within a few
days after treatment and thus affects roots or rhizomes even after foliar application. One
reason for the popularity of glyphosate is that glyphosate-resistant plants had been
developed. In such a case, glyphosate can be applied over the top to glyphosate-resistant
plants as a postemergence herbicide to kill unwanted weeds without affecting the crop. In
most cases, the use of glyphosate on resistant crops reduces the need for pre-emergence
herbicides and other postemergence herbicides.
Some studies have shown that the application of glyphosate on glyphosate-resistant plants
alters the susceptibility of such plants towards plant pathogens. Reports of both enhanced
and reduced disease severity have been published and glyphosate seem to have
preventative and curative properties. Furthermore, the formulation and adjuvants used to
enhance the efficiency of the active compound can dramatically affect germination, growth,
and propagation of fungal plant pathogens (Smith & Hallett, 2006; Weaver et al., 2006;
Weaver, et al., 2009; Wyss et al., 2004). Interestingly, glyphosate has also been reported to
Unexpected Side Effects of Herbicides: Modulation of Plant-Pathogen Interactions 87
control mammalian pathogenic fungi (Nosanschuk et al., 2001) and was active against
apicomplexan parasites that cause diseases such as malaria and toxoplasmosis (Roberts et
al., 2002).
2.1.1 Soil pathogens

There are several reports indicating that glyphosate inhibits fungal species involved in
soilborne diseases. Sclerotium rolfsii, for instance, is a common soilborne plant pathogen
known to persist on crop residues. Banana growers noted that rotting residues inadvertently
sprayed with glyphosate had little mycelial growth and fewer sclerotia than those not
sprayed with the herbicide. Growth of Sclerotium rolfsii was retarded on culture plates
amended with benomyl or glyphosate, each at the commercial rate of application. Both
amended media reduced the radial growth of S. rolfsii compared to the control; however,
glyphosate-amended medium had the greater inhibitory effect (Westerhuis et al., 2007).
Radial growth of other pathogens such as Pythium ultimum and Fusarium solani f.sp. pisi was
also retarded with increasing concentrations of the herbicide (Kawate et al., 1992), which
also referred to conidial germination and sporulation in F. solani f.sp. glycines (Sanogo et al.,
2000). In contrast to the results described above, Harikrishnan and Yang (2001) found no
negative effect of glyphosate on vegetative growth of several Rhizoctonia solani isolates and
anastomosis groups. However, the herbicide influenced the production of fruiting bodies of
this pathogen. The number of sclerotia produced was higher but these sclerotia remained
smaller in the presence of the herbicide compared to the untreated control.
Even though inhibitory effects of glyphosate on several plant diseases have been reported,
some pathogens were unaffected and/or glyphosate increased disease severity of host
plants. In some cases, glyphosate affected growth and reproduction of a given pathogen in
vitro but showed an adverse effect in the field. Glyphosate inhibited, for instance, the
development of Nectria galligena mycelium in vitro but increased the number of lesions when
apple shoots were inoculated with a mycelium derived from a medium containing
glyphosate (Burgiel & Grabowski, 1996). Thus, even though glyphosate exhibit a negative
effect towards distinct pathogens in some test systems, this herbicide may show other effects
in vivo. In greenhouse studies using glyphosate-resistant sugar beet, increased disease
severity was observed following glyphosate application and inoculation with Rhizoctonia
solani and Fusarium oxysporum (Larson et al., 2006). This increase in disease was not fungal
mediated, since there was no direct effect of glyphosate on both fungal species as tested in in
vitro studies. Thus, the herbicide seems to reduce the plant’s ability to protect itself against
pathogens. Glyphosate was also shown to be phytotoxic to sugarcane and herbicide
treatment resulted in increased disease severity caused by Pythium arrenomanes
(Dissanayake et al. 1998). Furthermore, glyphosate application caused injury and death of
Lolium multiflorum as a result of increased Pythium root rot (Kawate and Appleby, 1987).
Even sublethal doses of glyphosate inhibited the expression of resistance in soybean to
Phytophthora megasperma f. sp. glycinea (Keen et al., 1982), in bean to Colletotrichum
lindemuthianum (Johal & Rahe, 1990), and in tomato to Fusarium spp. (Brammal & Higgins,
1988). Furthermore, glyphosate applied to the soil increases the disease symptoms caused by
Cylindrocarpon sp. in grapevine (Whitelaw-Weckert, 2010).
Despite the fact that glyphosate may have a direct effect on a crop plant and the respective
pathogens, repeated glyphosate use has also an impact on the microbial community
composition. Repeated applications favour species belonging to the group of Proteobacteria
in glyphosate-treated soils than occurring in untreated control soils (Lancaster et al., 2010);
glyphosate mineralisation was reduced when glyphosate was applied several times.
Gimsing et al. (2004) found that glyphosate mineralisation rates are positively correlated
with Pseudomonas spp. population size. However, results of Lancaster et al. (2010) indicate
that a repeated application of glyphosate is associated with an increase of those soil
microorganisms capable of metabolising the herbicide. Altered microbial community may
repress Pseudomonas species such as the beneficial species P. fluorescens and may modulate
plant-pathogen interactions as well.
2.1.2 Leaf pathogens

There are several cases of inhibitory effects of glyphosate on certain leaf diseases in various
crops. Transgenically modified wheat with tolerance to glyphosate showed very low
infection rates regarding leaf rust caused by Puccinia triticina and stem rust caused by
P. graminis f.sp. tritici when treated with field doses one day prior to inoculation with the
pathogen (Anderson & Kolmer, 2005). The leaf rust control by glyphosate decreased with
reduced application rates and longer periods of time between herbicide application and rust
inoculation indicating a direct toxic effect. However, control of leaf rust in wheat
conditioned by glyphosate is effective for at least 21 days (Anderson & Kolmer, 2005), but
how glyphosate inhibits rust infection was not investigated. The herbicide may act as a
systemic fungitoxic compound itself or may induce a systemic resistance, since also non-
treated leaves were protected after herbicide application. In wheat straw, Sharma et al.
(1989) reported an inhibition of Pyrenophora tritici-repentis pseudothecia production by
glyphosate. Glyphosate has been shown to reduce sporulation, growth, and disease
development caused by other cereal fungal pathogen such as Septoria nodorum on wheat
(Harris & Grossbard, 1979), Rhizoctonia root rot (Wong et al., 1993), and take-all of wheat
caused by Gaeumannomyces graminis, as well as Rhynchosporium secalis and Drechslera teres on
barley (Toubia-Rahme et al., 1995; Turkington et al., 2001).
Feng et al. (2005) showed by using glyphosate-resistant wheat and soybeans that rust
infections and symptoms caused by Puccinia striiformis f.sp. tritici, Puccinia triticina, and
Phakopsora pachyrhizi, respectively, can be suppressed when plants had been sprayed with
formulated glyphosate. The authors proposed that when rust spores became exposed to the
herbicide, glyphosate was able to inhibit fungal EPSPS, thus, through the same mechanism
described for its herbicidal activity. Their studies with glyphosate-resistant wheat revealed
that rust control activity of glyphosate is not mediated through the induction of SAR
(systemic acquired resistance) genes, but that glyphosate provided both preventative and
curative activities in greenhouse experiments and in the field. However, rust control seemed
to depend on the systemic glyphosate concentration in the host plant during germination of
rust spores and the first infection events. Thus, rust spores just entering the plant in order to
receive nutrients have to be exposed to a lethal concentration of glyphosate. Furthermore,
field data obtained from glyphosate-resistant soybeans suggest that rust control by
glyphosate is influenced by environmental conditions, and rust races may differ in
glyphosate sensitivity (Feng et al., 2008). Also species-specific differences in glyphosate
sensitivity seem to exist, so that rust control in soybean requires higher doses than rust
control in wheat (Feng et al., 2008). There are also intra-specific variations in R. solani as
shown by Verma and McKenzie (1985).
Since glyphosate is originally used as an herbicide to prevent growth of unwanted weeds,
the use of fungi and bacteria as biological control agents was tested as an alternative to
chemical herbicides or, much more interesting, in combination with herbicides. In many
cases, weed control and disease incidence were enhanced when the biocontrol agent was
applied after glyphosate treatment (Boyette et al., 2006; Boyette et al., 2008a; Boyette et al.
2008b). The authors demonstrated that an application of glyphosate prior to Myrothecium
verrucaria provided better weed control in kudzu (Pueraria lobata), redvine (Brunnichia ovata),
and trumpetcreeper (Campis radicans). This was also the case for green foxtail, which was
sufficiently controlled when treated with glyphosate prior to Pyricularia setariae inoculation
(Peng & Byer, 2005). These results suggest that timing of glyphosate application in relation
to combined treatment with a bioherbicide is important. Wyss et al. (2004) reported that
certain pesticides and their adjuvants affected spore germination and growth of Phomopsis
amaranthicola, an effective bioherbicides against Amaranthus species. Several herbicides such
as glyphosate had also negative effects on spore germination of P. setariae (Peng & Byer,
2005). Thus, one strategy to overcome direct toxic effects of herbicides is a sequential rather
than simultaneous application of the synthetic herbicide and the bioherbicides. Applying
glyphosate prior to pathogen application would allow the absorption, translocation, and the
full action of the herbicide (with minimised degradation) and reduces its possible toxicity to
the biocontrol agent. Furthermore, glyphosate interactions with bioherbicides were found to
be synergistic. Sharon et al. (1992) showed that glyphosate suppressed the plant’s defence
by lowering phytoalexin production and biosynthesis of other phenolics. Even a sublethal
dose of glyphosate suppressed the shikimate pathway in sicklepod (Cassia abtusifolia)
infected with Alternaria cassiae, thus reducing the resistance of this weed (Sharon et al.,
1992). Numerous examples in the literature have correlated production or transformation of
preformed phenolic compounds and plant defence. In most cases, an activation of the
enzyme phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) plays a pivotal role, and compounds that
inhibit PAL activity have caused increased susceptibility to disease (Hoagland, 2000). This
seems also to refer to crop plants such as soybean. Glyphosate was able to block resistance
to Phytophthora megasperma, even in an incompatible interaction by lowering the glyceollin
production, an important phytoalexin and part of the resistance machinery in soybean (Keen
et al., 1982).
2.2 Glufosinate ammonium

The non-selective herbicide glufosinate ammonium is an ammonium salt of
phosphinothricin and used as a postemergence contact herbicide currently being marketed
under the trade name Basta® or Liberty®. Glufosinate ammonium efficiently kills various
kinds of plants, since it is a glutamic acid analog that inhibits glutamine synthetase by
irreversible binding (Hoerlein, 1994). Glutamine synthetase is also a target to control
bacteria pathogenic to humans such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Nilsson et al., 2009). The
inhibition of glutamine synthetase in plants results in an accumulation of toxic ammonium
that disturbs electron transport systems and induces production of free radicals (Krogmann
et al., 1959). Free radicals in turn cause lipid peroxidation and cell death (Devine et al., 1993;
Hess, 2000).
Glufosinate ammonium resistant plants have been produced successfully by introducing a
bar gene from the soilborne microbe Streptomyces hygroscopicus or the pat gene from S.
viridochromogenes. The genes encode the phosphinothricin acetyl transferase, which converts
glufosinate ammonium to a nonphytotoxic acetylated metabolite (Murakami et al., 1986;
Thomson et al., 1987). Glufosinate ammonium-resistant crops allow the control of weeds
through an application of suitable amounts of the herbicide. As a beneficial side effect,
glufosinate ammonium can also reduce fungal diseases in plants. Wang et al. (2003) had
shown that glufosinate significantly reduced disease development of Rhizoctonia solani and
Sclerotinia homoeocarpa on transgenic bentgrasses expression the bar gene under controlled
conditions. Glufosinate ammonium also reduced Pythium blight caused by Pythium
aphanidermatum in transgenic bentgrasses expressing the bar gene, even though the herbicide
did not alter mycelial growth in vitro (Liu et al., 1998).
In rice, two important diseases, blast and brown leaf spot, were also diminished in
transgenic rice when treated with glufosinate ammonium (Ahn, 2008). The herbicide
inhibited the formation of appressoria of the two pathogens Magnaporthe grisea and
Cochliobolus miyabeanus in a dose-dependant manner; but the same treatment did not affect
conidial germination of both pathogens. However, glufosinate ammonium almost
completely inhibited mycelial growth of both fungi in vitro and triggered the transcription of
pathogen related (PR) genes and hydrogen peroxide accumulation in rice and Arabidopsis
thaliana (Ahn, 2008). Furthermore, a pretreatment with glufosinate ammonium 24 h prior to
infection greatly increased blast protection. These results indicate that the herbicide is able
to activate the resistance response of the plant, and that the induced mechanisms are more
effective after a time lag between application and infection. Thus, both direct inhibition of
pathogen infection and activation of the defence system by glufosinate ammonium seem to
be responsible for disease protection in transgenic rice. Other reports also showed that
treatments with glufosinate ammonium enhanced resistance against rice sheath blight
caused by R. solani on bar-transgenic rice (Uchimiya et al., 1993). In that case, herbicide
treatment led to a substantial suppression of blight symptoms, even when applied two days
after inoculation, indicating a curative capacity of glufosinate ammonium.
Even though the direct effects of glufosinate ammonium on plant pathogens are not well
understood in most cases, this herbicide may inhibit glutamine synthetase activity in fungi
or fungal like organisms similar to inhibition of glutamine synthetase in plants. Consistent
with amino acid biosynthesis being the primary target of glufosinate ammonium, inhibition
of glutamine synthetase in the presence of the herbicide leads to a reduced nitrogen
metabolism, a reduced hyphal protein content, and thus to a restricted growth and biomass
yield of various Trichoderma species (Ahmad et al., 1995). Furthermore, especially the
expression of those genes involved in protein biosynthesis and energy production seem to
be important for oomycetous pathogens during germination and at the onset of a biotrophic
or hemibiotrophic infection. Whereas the amino acid biosynthetic genes are expressed at
basal levels during release of zoospores (that are produced in sporangiospores or
sporocysts), they are upregulated in germinated cysts of Phytophthora species, indicating a
requirement of elevated amino acid production and metabolism at the early infection
events. Among those genes expressed at early infection stages, glutamine synthetase was
also upregulated in germinated cysts of P. nicotianae (Shan et al., 2004). During the
biotrophic phase of the P. infestans-potato interaction, the free amino acid pool within the
plant leaf increases, that corresponds with the expression of host amino acid biosynthesis
genes (Grenville-Briggs & Van West, 2005; Grenville-Briggs et al., 2005). As infection
progresses, there is a decrease in the level of free amino acids within the infected plant tissue
and a corresponding increase in the expression of both host and pathogen amino acid
biosynthesis genes (Grenville-Briggs & Van West, 2005; Grenville-Briggs et al., 2005) which
attests the need of high levels of amino acids for an sufficient growth of the pathogen.
Interestingly, growth and propagation of oomycetous pathogens such as P. infestans and
Pythium ultimum were also inhibited by glufosinate ammonium in vitro, especially when
cultivated on media containing low amounts of nutrients (Kortekamp, 2008).
Direct inhibition of mycelial growth was also observed for several fungal species putatively
pathogenic to grapevine. Botrytis cinerea, Guignardia bidwellii, Penicillium expansum, and
Phomopsis viticola were exposed to various concentrations of glufosinate ammonium in an in

vitro assay (Albrecht & Kortekamp, 2009). The herbicidal compound caused reduction of
mycelial growth in a dose-dependant manner as it was shown for other phytopathogenic
fungi. However, G. bidwellii seem to be extremely sensitive, since mycelial growth was
reduced about of 80%, even when the pathogen was exposed to a 500fold diluted solution of
glufosinate ammonium normally applied to the field. Even though the pathogen
P. expansum seemed to be less sensitive towards this herbicidal compound with regard to
mycelial growth, spore production of this fungus was nearly completely inhibited when
exposed to the same low concentration used to suppress growth of G. bidwellii, maybe
allowing an effective control of this challenging pathogen late in the growing season. An
application of glufosinate ammonium also caused severe effects on growth and
development of the obligate biotrophic grapevine pathogen Plasmopara viticola in a dose-
dependant manner (Kortekamp, 2008; Kortekamp, 2010). High doses were unacceptable
phytotoxic, but low doses did not cause any visible negative effect on grapevine leaf
samples. Moreover, low doses increased chlorophyll concentrations as a result of a
hormetic-stimulatory response.
Control 0,05 mM
0,15 mM 0,3 mM
Fig. 1. Mycelial growth of P. viticola 7 day post inoculation. Incubation of leaf discs on
glufosinate ammonium led to a retarded hyphal growth in a dose-dependant manner.
Even though germination of sporangiospores and zoospore release of the pathogen was not
effected when exposed to low concentrations, spreading of the intercellular mycelium was
reduced also leading to a dramatically reduced sporulation (Kortekamp, 2010). However,
higher doses up to the rate normally applied to the filed completely inhibited each
developmental step of the disease cycle. Interestingly, glufosinate ammonium exhibited
preventative and curative features. Pre- and postinfectional treatments resulted in
significant reduced sporulation rates. The inhibitoric effect of glufosinate ammonium on
spore production decreased with increasing time intervals between inoculation and
treatment, since the pathogen was able to establish a dense network of hyphae within the
infected tissue and started to sporulate after few days. However, if the herbicide was
applied prior to inoculation, the preventative effect increased with increasing time intervals
between treatment and inoculation. This suggests an activation of defence mechanisms in
the plant. Alternatively or in addition, an application of the herbicide might cause an

uncomfortable and improper environment due to a reduced level of amino acids, reduced
nitrogen availability in general, an altered pH and/or an accumulation of ammonium.
Especially changes in the pH, nitrogen availability, and ammonium concentrations have
been suggested as a regulatory factor for colonisation of pathogenic fungi.
Ammonification (the active secretion of ammonium) of the host tissue leading to an
alkalinisation of the host environment has been suggested to be a key factor in the
enhancement of pathogenicity of several fungi such as Alternaria and Colletotrichum (Duan et
al., 2010; Eshel et al., 2002; Prusky et al., 2001). Both fungi are necrotrophic pathogens that
are able to degrade cells or cell components to receive small fragments suitable for their own
nutrition. This degradation of host cells seem to depend on suitable pH values, since most
lytic enzymes are pH-sensitive regarding their maximum activity. Furthermore, changes in
host pH are signals activating the production of pathogenicity factors via the regulation of
gene expression (Kramer-Haimovich et al., 2006). It was recently shown that ammonium
secretion and accumulation plays a key role as a pathogenicity factor during infection of
tomato by Colletotrichum species and induces the transformation of the biotrophic to a
necrotrophic infection (Alkan et al., 2008). Furthermore, addition of ammonium to a plant-
pathogen system induces appressorium formation in Alternaria alternata and enables the
pathogen to overcome defence mechanisms even in a resistant tobacco cultivar (Duan et al.,
2010). Ammonium accumulation in plants is also associated with senescence promotion due
to a decrease of glutamine synthetase activity (Chen and Kao, 1996; Chen et al., 1997). Plant
tissues undergoing senescence are suitable resources for necrotrophic pathogens and
saprophytes but do not represent adequate environments for biotrophic pathogens which
rely on living host cells. Thus, high ammonia levels seem to favour necrotrophic fungi but
maybe suppress the growth of biotrophic pathogens such as P. viticola on grapevine.
2.3 Triazine herbicides

The principle mode of action of triazine herbicides is the inhibition of photosynthesis. The
triazines were shown to inhibit PSII but have no effect on PSI (Trebst, 2008). Several effects
of triazines on soil organisms, especially on fungi causing soilborne diseases, were reported
in the 1960s and 1970s. Especially atrazine had high inhibitory effects on Fusarium
moniliforme, F. oxysporum, and Aspergillus species (Curl et al., 1968; Bozarth and Tweedy;
1971; Kabana and Curl, 1970; Rattanakreetakul et al., 1990). Several Aspergillus species were
also repressed in soil by cyanazine, an herbicide that inhibits the growth of at least six other
important soil fungi at field doses (Abdel-Fattah et al, 1983). Interestingly, this effect was not
observed in artificial media. However, atrazine and other triazine herbicides seem to have
an impact on growth and the production or viability of spores and fruiting bodies in soil
cultures and on artificial media. Beam et al. (1977) demonstrated that enzyme activities and
mycelial growth of Rhizoctonia solani were significantly reduced by prometryn and
sclerotium production of Sclerotium rolfsii was reduced or even repressed by atrazine. This
was also the case for S. sclerotiorum when triazine herbicides were applied to soil or media.
Atrazine, simazine, and metribuzin inhibited mycelial growth or the development of normal
apothecia and sclerotia at low concentrations (Casale and Hart, 1986). In another study,
sclerotia germination was stimulated by triazine herbicides (Radke and Grau, 1986).
Simazine and atrazine enhanced stipe formation but stipes and apothecia were malformed,
whereas metribuzin enhanced stipe and mycelial growth without malformations. These
herbicides also induced the germination of Cochliobolus sativus spores which resulted in a
loss of viability (Isakeit and Lockwood, 1989). C. sativus (Bipolaris sorokiniana) is the causal
agent of a wide variety of cereal diseases. This pathogen can infect roots, leaves, stems,
flowers, and head tissues just like other Cochliobolus species. Even though C. sativus was
greatly affected by triazine herbicides, these herbicides had no influence on germination and
viability of conidia of other Cochliobolus species such as C. heterostrophus, C. carbonum, and C.
victoriae (Isakeit and Lockwood, 1989). There may be species differences among the genus
Cochliobolus. Russin et al. (1995) reported that atrazine did also not reduce the production
and germination of microsclerotia of Macrophomina phaseolina in sorghum but reduced
fungal growth. Despite the fact that atrazine and other triazines could have a direct effect on
fungal pathogens, they are able to modulate plant-pathogen interactions due to changes in
the physiology of the plant. Atrazine applications to sugarcane plants growing in soils
infested with Pythium arrenomanes resulted in increased root and shoot growth, even though
root colonization by P. arrenomanes was unaffected by the herbicide. Furthermore, root rot
symptom severity was not reduced. However, atrazine inhibited mycelial growth of P.
arrenomanes in vitro when applied at the label rate (Dissanayake et al., 1998). The mechanism
of root and shoot growth stimulation of triazine herbicides was shown to be an increase in
the activity of nitrite reductase and transaminase (Ries et al., 1967) and seem also to refer to
pea and sweet corn (Wu et al., 1972). Even though triazine and maybe other triazine
herbicides are able to inhibit P. arrenomanes in vitro, such an effect was not observed in the
field. If both, the herbicide and the pathogen are present, growth stimulation by atrazine
seems to be greater than growth reduction induced by P. arrenomanes. Other data recently
published indicate that herbicide treatments, especially when applied at field rates, may
lower the effect of the fungicide. Heydari et al. (2007) conducted two field experiments to
investigate the impact of three preemergence herbicides on the efficacy of commonly
fungicides against Rhizoctonia solani. In one trial, the effectiveness of fungicides on fungal
pathogenicity was reduced in the presence of prometryn and two dinitroaniline herbicides.
The authors suggested that the herbicide-mediated suppression of fungicidal activity
occurred perhaps because herbicides concentrations in the soil were high shortly after
application but diminished gradually due to inactivation (Heydari et al., 2007). However,
the fact that herbicides interfere with fungicidal activity of other pesticides may also be due
to the presence of variable soil factors including texture, pH, temperature, moisture, and
organic matter, which all might have in influence on microbial activity in soil.
Hill and Stratton (1991) tested the antifungal capacity of metribuzin towards Alternaria
solani. Metribuzin was used for both preemergence and postemergence control of weeds in
potatoes that can be affected by A. solani. The results presented for metribuzin indicated that
this herbicide is relatively nontoxic towards A. solani in vitro. Interestingly, the herbicide
interacted in an additive manner when applied at low doses together with a fungicide but
antagonistically at higher doses. Thus, the type of interaction between triazine herbicides
and fungicides seems to depend on the concentration of the components in mixtures.
Reasons for this are still far from being well understood.
2.4 Dinitroaniline herbicides

Dinitroaniline herbicides are selective, wide-spectrum herbicides, which are used
extensively in vegetable and field crops. The herbicidal effect results from an uptake by
roots and the negative effect on root development. Dinitroaniline herbicides disrupt mitosis
by binding to plant tubulin to form a complex, thus, inhibiting the formation of
microtubules (Strachan & Hess, 1983).
Dinitroanilines have been reported to reduce disease incidence by different pathogens in

various crops such as cherry, which can be affected by several Phytophthora species leading
to a crown rot (Wilcox, 1996). Dissanayake et al. (1998) and Canady et al. (1986) reported
that pendimethalin and trifluralin inhibited mycelial growth of Pythium arrhenomones and
root colonization of Macrophomia phaseolina, respectively. However, both herbicides seem to
be able to increase disease incidence of seedling damping-off caused by Rhizoctonia solani in
cotton (Neubauer & Avizohar-Hershenson, 1973) and germination of sclerotia produced by
Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (Radke & Grau, 1986). Trifluralin is also able to increase the severity
of Fusarium root rot, since it induces hypocotyl swelling in soybean, which allows a more
successful penetration of the pathogen Fusarium oxysporum (Carson et al., 1991). Even
though trifluralin showed no effect on damping-off of cotton seedlings, pendimethalin
lowered the effectiveness of fungicides applied in combination with the herbicide (Heydari
et al., 2007).
In contrast to the results mentioned above, dinitroaniline herbicides may provoke a
remarkable increase in resistance of pretreated plants to soil-borne pathogens, such as
Fusarium species, even if applied at very low concentrations (Grinstein et al., 1976). Thus,
this effect can not surely be attributed to a direct fungitoxic mode of action. However, the
increase in resistance correlates with the amount of herbicide applied and correlates
negatively with the production of ethylene. Ethylene seems to play an important role in
inducing certain disease symptoms of wilt diseases (Cronshow & Pegg, 1979; Cohen et al.,
1986) by predisposing plant tissues to the damage of lytic enzymes or other fungal-derived
pathogenicity factors. Even though a dose-dependent suppression of ethylene production
and an induction of resistance in Fusarium-infected plants may be a result of different
mechanisms, dinitroanilines are capable to induce the production of antifungal compounds
leading to an occlusion of the pathogen (Grinstein et al., 1984).
Beside the effects of dinitroanilines on soil-borne pathogens, these herbicides seem also to
interfere with the phyllosphere microflora. Population and species composition of microbial
communities on leaf surfaces are mainly influenced by physico-chemical characteristics of
the leaves. However, specific environmental conditions and agrochemicals can modify the
leaf surface and, thus, its microflora. Shukla et al. (1988) showed that potato leaves treated
with herbicides harbored lower population compared to the untreated control. Especially
Penicillium brevicompactum, Fusarium oxysporum, Mucor racemosus, and Rhizopus species were
repressed after fluchloralin (Basaline®) application, whereas other species such as
Oidiodendron echinulatum were isolated only from herbicide treated plants. This indicates
that some fungal species were directly affected by selected herbicides, but others are favored
and find a more convenient habitat when the population of (most) other fungi diminished
due to the effect of the herbicide. Interestingly, also bacterial populations seem to be affected
by herbicides. In case of untreated potatoes, the population increased with time whereas the
population decreased initially after an application of fluchloralin and other herbicides but
recovered from herbicide treatment rapidly (Shukla et al., 1988).
2.5 Quaternary ammonium herbicides

The site of action for quaternary ammonium herbicides such as paraquat and diquat is in the
chloroplast. Paraquat is known to act on the PS I within the photosynthetic membrane. The
free electrons from the PS I react with the paraquat ion to give a free radical form that
interferes with oxygen leading to superoxides. The production of reactive oxygen species
(ROS) in turn results in lipid peroxidation and photobleaching (Duke, 1990). Thus, paraquat
acts in the presence of light and the herbicidal activity increases with increased light
intensity. Inhibitory effects of paraquat on mycelial growth of pathogens were reported in
Rhizoctonia solani (Black et al., 1996), Rhizopus stolonifer (Wilkinson and Lukas, 1969),
Sclerotium rolfsii (Kabana et al., 1966), Septoria nodorum and S. tritici (Harris & Grossbard,
1979; Jones & Williams, 1971), and to a lesser extend in Fusarium moniliforme
(Rattanakreetakul et al., 1990). Paraquat seems to enhance the toxicity of fungicides as
reported by Awadalla & El-Refaie (1994). In pot tests, damping-off caused by R. solani was
better controlled by fungicides when the soil was treated with paraquat or simazine. Both
herbicides increased the toxicity of fungicides against mycelial growth of the pathogen
maybe due to an increased concentration of ROS in the plant.
2.6 Protoporphyrinogen oxidase (PPO) inhibitors

This herbicide group consists of a large number of compounds that cause an uncontrolled
autooxidation of protoporphyrinogen and a rapid lipid peroxidation (Sandmann & Böger,
1982; Duke, 1990). Therefore, these compounds were termed as peroxidising herbicides.
They have a contact action and cause leaf burn, desiccation, cell death, and therefore also
growth inhibition (Matringe et al., 1992). Several studies have reported that PPO inhibitors
enhance the defence mechanisms in plants leading to a decrease in disease severity. Some of
these results have been recently reviewed by Sanyal and Shrestha (2008). Nelson et al. (2002)
conducted some experiments to determine the response in soybean after an inoculation with
Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and an application with several PPO inhibitor herbicides. Lesions
caused by S. sclerotiorum exhibited smaller sizes when treated with PPO inhibitors.
Furthermore, some of these herbicides induced an increase in phytoalexin production, but
only in leaves and not in stems (Nelson et al., 2002). Furthermore, even though these
experiments include glyphosate resistant plants that should not differ in their response
regarding a PPO inhibitor application, these plants produced more phytoalexins than near-
isogenic glyphosate susceptible cultivars. Lesion size was not only reduced by all PPO
inhibitors on the treated leaf but also on non-treated leaves of the same plant. The authors
suggest that the herbicides induced a systemic resistance response and that these herbicides
mimic a hypersensitive response due to an increased production of reactive oxygen species
(ROS). The generation of ROS in turn can result in lipid peroxidation and cell wall
lignification leading to a reinforcement of cell walls.
2.7 Other herbicides

Antifungal effects or effects on disease development have been reported for several other
classes of herbicides including amide herbicides such as propyzamide (Burgiel &
Grabowski, 1996), carbanilate herbicides such as desmedipham (Pakdaman et al., 2002),
chloroacetanilide herbicides such as acetochlor,, alachlor, and metolachlor (Cohen et al.,
1996; Russin et al., 1995), diphenyl ether herbicides such as lactofen (Dann et al., 1999), and
phenoxy herbicides such as clodinafop and 2,4-D (Pakdaman et al., 2002). Most of them
showed broad antifungal effects and were able to inhibit the growth of fungal pathogens
belonging to different taxonomical groups. Thus, their activity against phytopathogens or
symbiotic organisms does not depend on their specific mode of action, even though the
toxicity towards fungi may differ with regard to a given pathogen or distinct plant-
pathogen interactions.
3. Herbicide-bacteria interactions
Once herbicides are released into the environment, mainly to affect weeds as their primary
targets, they have to be degraded and eliminated during time to avoid long-lasting negative
effects regarding soil microbiology or groundwater safety. Since a large number of
herbicides have been introduced during the past four decades, the fate of these compounds
is becoming increasingly important. Thus, several results describing the metabolism of
herbicides by microorganisms in soil and water have been published. Especially Bacillus and
Pseudomonas species showed high capacities to degrade various herbicides (Wang et al.,
2008; Moneke et al., 2010). However, herbicides are known to change the microbial
community in soils (Sapundjieva et al., 2003), including those species relevant for symbiotic
interactions with plants (Khan et al., 2004), and will surely affect phytopathogenic bacteria.
This topic was excluded from this review and has to be considered in more detail elsewhere.
4. Conclusion
The mechanisms of herbicide-pathogen interactions are not well understood in most cases.
Some herbicides seem to have fungitoxic or at least fungistatic properties and affect mycelial
growth, production of spores or fruiting bodies, or spore germination, whereas others
provoke indirect effects on soil and leaf organisms that are antagonistic to pathogens. In
some cases, herbicides showed no effect in vitro but lowered disease incidence on the
respective host plant. Thus, herbicides may also stimulate the physiology of the plant, e.g.
by altering phytoalexin production, mineral and nutrient composition, or source-sink
relationships. These alterations may lead to a reduced susceptibility due to physiological
changes not favourable for a given pathogen or an induction of resistance and, thus, may
affect the incidence of disease. On the other side, herbicides may cause an increase in
diseases due to direct stimulatory effects on growth and reproduction of the pathogen,
effects on the virulence of the pathogen (Ware, 1980) or by inactivating parts of the defence
battery of the host plant.
Effects of herbicides described in this review are not restricted to distinct fungal pathogens,
since effects have been observed in necrotrophic, hemibiotrophic, and biotrophic species,
and many fungal pathogens are affected by various herbicides applied to different crops.
Furthermore, antifungal capacities of the active compound and/or the adjuvants or the
modulation of the physiology of the plant leading to increased or decreased disease severity
do not depend on the plant tissue affected. Both effects, lowered or enhanced disease
incidence, can be observed in case for phytopathogens infecting leaves, stems or roots.
However, in some cases, results obtained from in vitro experiments differ from those
generated in the field or on the host plant. Thus, future research may also include high
throughput methods, such as chip based technologies, to illuminate all mechanisms
involved in plant-pathogen interactions that are modulated by herbicides. This trilateral
communication has to be considered as a molecular and biochemical crosstalk between the
plant and the pathogen, the plant and the herbicide, and the pathogen and the herbicide.
New information about mechanisms can be obtained by the generation of gene expression
profiles, the observation of physiological and morphological changes at tissue level or even
in single cells, and an analysis of all relevant compounds such as phenolics, phytoalexins,
and proteins (metabolomic approach). In some cases the plant itself and its herbicide-
modulated physiology play the predominant role within a given plant-pathogen interaction.
However, depending on the compound used the pathogen may represent the main target
that will be arrested or even killed by the herbicide.
There are only few reports about additive or even synergistic effects of combined
applications of herbicides together with fungicides (Hill & Stratton, 1991; Schuster &
Schroder, 1990), even though these effects can be expected. With regard to the data
presented by Hill and Stratton (1991) and Heydari et al. (2007), the simultaneous use of an
herbicide and a fungicide to control diseases and weeds could lead to antagonistic
interactions between these two kinds of pesticides. This could cause a reduction in the
efficacy of both the fungicide and the herbicide. It would be useful to determine the
potential herbicide-fungicide interactions in distinct plant-pathogen combinations and to
use herbicides that interact synergistically with fungicides, thus they can be used to lower
the amount of the fungicides necessary to prevent diseases. Unfortunately, only few data on
the ecotoxic effects of pesticide combinations exist, even though considerable data have been
published on the effects of individual agrochemicals towards non-target organisms and
ecological processes. Thus, the investigation of herbicide-induced effects on plant-pathogen
interactions, regardless if applied alone or in combination with other pesticides, requires a
multidisciplinary approach combining plant physiology, plant pathology, biochemistry,
microbiology, and weeds science and represents a highly interesting field in plant science.
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Part 2
Effects on Agro Ecosystems

5
Herbicides Effect on Nitrogen

Cycling in Agroecosystems
Damin, V1. and Trivelin P.C.O.2
1UniversidadeFederal de Goiás, Escola de Agronomia e
Engenharia de Alimentos, Dep. de Ciência do Solo, Goiânia, GO
2Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura, Lab. Isótopos
Estáveis. Av. Centenário, nº 303, Caixa Postal 96,

CEP 13416-000, Piracicaba, SP
Brazil
1. Introduction
With the widespread use of post-emergent herbicides and their increased use in areas under
conservation management systems (no-till and minimum tillage), concerns about
environmental and public health problems due to herbicidal molecules has been growing.
The use of herbicides has been justified by the resultant reduction in production costs
because expenses regarding application and product price are lower with these treatments
compared with existing alternatives. However, studies in the literature have demonstrated
that there can be an increasing need for greater doses of nitrogen (N) fertilizers and
pesticides after herbicides have been applied (Cakmak, 2007; Damin et al., 2008, 2009).
The use of nitrogen fertilizers in doses that are enough to supply the demand of crops is one of
the main practices associated with high productivity. However, these fertilizers are expensive,
and their indiscriminate use can cause the emission of green-house gases (Sherlock et al., 1989),
the contamination of superficial waters with nitrate and the destruction of ozone in the
stratosphere, with N2O as an intermediary (Groffman, 2000). In addition, fossil fuels, which are
non-renewable resource, are consumed in the manufacture of N fertilizers.
Recent research has shown that about 15 to 20% of the N introduced by fertilization can be
lost after plants have been desiccated by herbicides. This losses can be even greater when
the N that was already in the system is considered. Moreover, some laboratory studies have
shown an increase in the emission of N2O, a gas that has a global heating potential 298 times
greater than that of CO2, in areas using desiccants.
Despite the importance of awareness about the effects of herbicides in the nitrogen cycle,
this subject has been seldom discussed and studied in the literature. Within this context, this
chapter will discuss the effects of herbicides in the nitrogen cycle processes that determine
its availability to plants in agricultural systems.
2. Nitrogen in the agroecosystems

In an attempt to minimize the production costs and environmental impacts that occur
because of the use of N fertilizers, the adoption of management strategies that minimize the
N losses in agroecosystems has been proposed. Such strategies include the efficient
application of N at the moment the crop needs it most. N presents a great difficulty,
however, because it is a highly reactive element that is subject to various changes in the soil
and in plants (Moreira & Siqueira, 2006). Most of the changes of N in soil are intermediated
by the microbial community, which fluctuates in both time and space. Therefore, besides
properties such as pH, organic matter and CTC content, N dynamic is influenced by factors
that affect the microbiota. These factors include aeration, water availability and the presence
of toxic or stimulants substances to microorganisms.
The effects of herbicides on soil microbiota depend on the mechanism and other features of
the product; type of metabolism of the microorganism (e.g., photolithotrophic,
photoorganotrophic, chemolithotrophic, chemoorganotrophic), which determines if the
metabolic routes that are affected by the herbicide are present in the microorganism; and
also edaphic and climatic factors. Some herbicides, such as the paraquat, are toxic to biota in
general. Others, such as glyphosate and glufosinate ammonium show low toxicity to non-
target organisms. In fact, an increase in microbial biomass after the application of these
products has been observed in some situations. This result has been attributed to the
products serving as a source of nutrients. It is worth stressing, however, that some studies
have shown that glyphosate is toxic to some organisms, such as certain strains of nitrogen-
fixing bacteria (NFB).
Besides affecting processes of the N cycle that are intermediated by the microbiota, the
herbicides can change the metabolism of N inside the plant, depending on the mechanism of
the product. The herbicide glufosinate ammonium, for example, inhibits the incorporation
of NH4+ in organic compounds. This effect can cause a build-up of NH4+ in vegetal tissue.
Because its ions are toxic to plants, part of the accumulated NH4+ can be exuded through the
roots and/or converted into NH3 and lost in the atmosphere, reducing the N availability in
the system. The exit of N from the plant can increase the C/N relation of the formed stubble,
thus reducing its mineralization rate.
Some of the processes of the N cycle and the effect desiccant herbicides have over them are
presented below.
2.1 Nitrogen losses

Among the main forms of nitrogen loss in agroecosystems are removal by crop, the
volatilization of soil ammonium, the gas loss of nitrogen oxides (NO2, N2O, NO) and
elemental nitrogen (N2), the lixiviation of soil nitrate leaving the root system’s target range
and NH3 loss by the aerial parts of plants.
Sutton et al. (1993) reported that losses of nitrogen by the aerial parts of vegetables can
increase ammonium levels in the atmosphere, noting emission values ranging from 5-15 kg
ha-1 year-1 for N-NH3. This nitrogen output may be responsible for 15-20% of the total NH3
gas emissions (Asman et al., 1998).
The magnitude of nitrogen losses through the aerial parts of crops varies according to each
species. Wetselaar & Farquhar (1980) estimated from research available in the literature that
the total N losses through the aerial parts of wheat, rice, grassy sorghum, cotton and rye
crops were within a range of 16 to 40, 48, 48, 21 and 42 kg ha-1 N, respectively. For barley
crops, Schjoerring et al. (1993) found losses of 1-2 kg ha-1 year-1 of N-NH3 under three
fertilization regimes with N. For corn, Francis et al. (1993) found losses of 45 to 81 kg ha-1 N,
with application rates ranging from 50 to 300 kg ha-1 N. NH3 losses through the aerial parts
of sugar cane were indirectly estimated by Trivelin (2000) at around 50 kg ha-1 year-1. This
number represents half of the dose of N fertilizer applied to the crop sprouts.
Herbicides Effect on Nitrogen Cycling in Agroecosystems 109
Aside from its effects on various species, N losses can be linked to the developmental stages
of plants, N availability in the soil, stomatal conductance, leaf temperature, NH3
concentrations in the atmosphere, ammonium concentrations in the plant, the activity of the
glutamine sinthetase enzyme and environmental stresses (Schjoerring et al., 1998; Parton et
al., 1988). Another important factor that affects not only the intensity but also the way in
which ammonium gas is exchanged among leaves and the atmosphere is the ammonium
compensation point, which was defined by Farquhar et al. (1980). When NH3 concentrations
in the atmosphere are below the ammonium compensation point of the plant, emission will
occur through the leaves; for concentrations above, it is absorbed (Farquhar et al., 1980;
Holtan-Hartwig & Bockman, 1994).
Senescence is the developmental stage that shows the highest NH3 emission potential.
During this stage, there is an increase in protein degradation, and the liberated N is
transferred to the glutamate. Afterward, the glutamate N is converted to NH4+ by the
glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) enzyme. GDH is an enzyme of N metabolism that usually
reaches a higher degree of activity during senescence (Ragster & Chrispeels, 1981; Laurière
& Daussand, 1983). NH4+ is available for transformation in the composts of N transport,
such as glutamine and asparagine (Ghosh et al., 1995; Nakasathien et al., 2000), and some of
the ions are converted into NH3 according to the following balanced reaction:
NH4+ ↔ NH3 + H+ pKa = 9.2

When the pH is 9.2, 50% of the molecules are dissociated (NH4+), and 50% are in the
molecular form (NH3). In the cytoplasm, the pH is usually around 7.2. At this pH value,
only 1% of the molecules are in the NH3 form. However, it is important to stress that the
NH4+ build-up in the cytoplasm can promote H+ exit to the apoplast, transiently increasing
the interior pH of the cell and, consequently, the NH3 concentration (Britto & Kronzucker,
2002). There is evidence that NH3 transport is easier through membranes (Kleiner, 1981),
and that it can be stomatally lost.
2.1.1 Effect of herbicides

Herbicides are used in agricultural areas to induce the senescence of plants. The duration of
the senescence phase deriving from herbicide application is very short, and the intervention
may occur at any developmental stage. Therefore, it is possible that the behavioral standards
of N are different from those observed in natural senescence conditions. Besides inducing
senescence, glyphosate and glufosinate ammonium herbicides also affect the plant’s N
metabolism.
The herbicidal action of glyphosate is attributed to its inhibition of the EPSPs
(enolpyruvylshikimate phosphate synthase) enzyme that is responsible for one of the
synthesis phases of the tryptophan amino acids phenylalanine and tyrosine. However, as a
secondary effect, there is an inhibition in the synthesis of phenolic compounds deriving
from those amino acids, which increases the activity of the PAL (phenylalamine ammonia
lyase) enzyme due to a response effect (Duke & Hoagland, 1985). The PAL acts in the lyase
of phenylalanine and tyrosine amino acids, resulting in the formation of phenolic acids and
NH4+ (Hoagland et al., 1979).
The glufosinate ammonium herbicide inhibits the action of the glutamine sinthetase, which
is responsible for the glutamate synthesis from ammonium and glutamine. This metabolic
route is considered the main form of ammonium assimilation in organic composts
(Schjoerring et al., 1998). Consequently, the application of glufosinate ammonium results in
endogenic NH4+ in the plant (Manderscheid et al., 2005).
Therefore, the increase of NH4+ in plants desiccated with glyphosate and glufosinate
ammonium should not be connected to the induction senescence alone. Damin et al. (2010b)
quantified N losses by Brachiaria decumbens after desiccation with glyphosate, glufosinate
ammonium and paraquat, all of which promoted senescence. However, only the first two
increased the losses of N in the system.
Manderscheid et al. (2005) assessed the ammonium concentration in five weed species after
applying glufosinate ammonium. They observed an NH4+ increase in studied species.
Damin et al. (2008; 2010a) observed losses of around 10 to 20% of applied N fertilizer after
the application of glyphosate and glufosinate ammonium in Brachiaria decumbens and
Pennicetum glaucum (Table 1). In those same studies, a reduction of around 40% of the total-
N in the plant was observed after the application of herbicides.
From a practical point of view, the effect of herbicides on the total N of plants used for soil
covering is important because it can affect the mineralization rate due to a raise in the C:N
ratio, and it can effect the immobilization of N by soil microorganisms, a process that
reduces the nutrient’s availability to plants.
3. N mineralization/immobilization
When organic residue is added to the soil, extra-cellular enzymes are liberated by the biota,
which degrade the residue into substances with smaller molecular weights (monomers).
These monomers are absorbed and metabolized by microbial cells, which transform them
into inorganic forms, a process called mineralization. Mineralization occurs at the same time
as immobilization, which refers to the incorporation of mineral nutrients to the microbial
cells to meet the nutritional demand of the soil microbiota.
Losses on
Above ground
Roots Entire plant Soil soil-plant
Treatments part
system
P. g.1 B. d.2 P. g.1 B. d.2 P. g.1 B. d.2 P. g.1 B. d.2 P. g.1 B. d.2
g m-2
Control 13.8 a 11.5 3.4 a 6.1 a 17.2 a 17.6 a 2.4 b 2.1 b 5.4 b 9.9 b
Glyphosate 10.8 b 8.1 2.7 b 2.9 b 13.6 b 11.1 b 3.4 a 3.4 a 8.0 a 15.1 a
Glufosinate 11.0 b 8.1 2.0 b 2.4 b 12.9 b 10.5 b 4.0 a 3.1 a 8.0 a 16.0 a
LDS (0,05) 2.1 3.8 0.5 1.8 3.0 4.9 0.7 0.8 2.3 4.9
P ** ns * ** ** ** * ** * *
C.V. (%) 19.2 26.3 31.7 32.3 8.9 25.1 28.3 18.9 14.9 24.2
1Measurement of ten replicates. 2Measurement of six replicates. *Means followed by different letters in
columns differ from each other by Tukey’s Test (α = 0.05). **Means followed by different letters in
columns differ from each other by Tukey’s Test (α = 0.01). The total dose of N was 25 g m-2 in pearl
millet and 15 g m-2 in signal grass.
Table 1. Data of N recovered and lost from 15N-labeled fertilizer (Ndff) in the soil-plant
system after herbicide application in Brachiaria decumbens (B.d.) and Pennicetum glaucum
(P.g.). Retrieved from Damin et al. (2010a).
From the incorporation of vegetable residues in soil to their mineralization, several living
organisms act in this process. In the initial phase, the vegetable residues are fragmented into
smaller litter by the soil’s macro-fauna. Subsequently, a diverse microbial community acts to
liberate extra-cellular enzymes, which turn the substances that are easily decomposed into
monomers that can then be absorbed by microbial cells. Substances that are difficult to
degrade, such as cellulose and lignin, are degraded by a more specialized group of micro-
organisms, which compose the secondary and tertiary mineralizers.
Residues that are rich in lignin and polyphenols have slower mineralization rates in the soil
due to the resistance these substances have to degradation (Moreira & Siqueira, 2006;
Oliveira et al., 2002). The C/N ratio also has a major influence on the mineralization rate of
vegetable residues, as it determines the N availability in the microbiota. Crop residues with
a C/N ratio around 15:1 to 20:1 (e.g., soybeans, beans, lupine, forage turnips) tend to
degrade faster than those with a C/N ratio higher than 30:1 (e.g., black oat, pearl millet,
corn, sorghum). Heinzmann (1985) studied the N dynamics after winter green fertilization
with black oat, forage turnip, hairy vetch, lupine and wheat and their effects on soy, corn
and bean crops. He observed that the N liberation from legume and forage turnip residues
occurred in the first weeks, whereas the black oat liberated more N in the blooming and
graining stages.
3.1 Effect of herbicides

In addition to chemical composition, the mineralization of crop residues added to the soil
depends on factors that affect the composition and activity of the decomposing microbial
community. These factors include temperature, humidity, aeration and the presence of toxic
or nurturing substances. Concerning the effect of herbicides on mineralization rates, some
observations should be made: 1) Herbicides can increase vegetable residue decomposition
rates due to a greater detachment of leaves and roots caused by senescence. Thus, they may
have a beneficial physical effect on stubble mineralization (Snapp & Borner, 2005). 2)
However, the increased C/N ratio in the stubble caused by the application of these products
may decrease the mineralization rate. 3) Furthermore, these herbicidal molecules may alter
the soil’s microbial community and cause an increase or a decrease in mineralization,
depending on the affected microorganism populations.
Argenta et al. (2001) observed an increase in the C:N ratio on the aerial parts of black oats 16
days after the application of glyphosate, glufosinate and paraquat. Although the paraquat
did not decrease the N content of the plant during senescence, there was a remobilization of
the nutrient to the reproductive structures and to the root system (Marschner, 1995). With
the increase in the C/N ratio, the stubble mineralization rate can decrease. In fact, Damin et
al. (2009; 2010c) assessed the N decomposition rate present in pearl millet and black oat
stubble after the application of glyphosate and glufosinate ammonium. They observed an
increase in the stubble dry matter remaining on the soil surface and a decrease in N liquid
mineralization (Tables 2 and 3). In their studies, the absorption of N in stubble (enriched
with 15N) by corn plants was also assessed, and the herbicide-treated stubble was observed
to be less effective in supplying N to plants.
The mineralization of organic substances is mainly mediated by chemoorganotrophic micro-
organisms, which should not be damaged by the application of glyphosate and glufosinate
ammonium because these herbicides act on metabolic routes that are typical of lithotrophic
organisms (chemolithotrophic or photolithotrophic). Therefore, the reduction in mineralization
observed by Damin et al. (2009; 2010c) was attributed to the increase in the stubble C/N ratio.
In fact, Acinelli et al. (2002) observed that the application of the recommended doses of
glyphosate and glufosinate ammonium did not interfere in the activity or in the soil microbial
carbon biomass. The application of higher doses than recommended resulted in greater
microbial activity, which can be connected to the death of lithotrophic micro-organisms,
ensuring a competitive advantage to heterotrophs. Similar results were found for glyphosate
by Haney et al. (2000), Ratcliffe et al. (2006) and Zabaloy & Gómez (2008).
Some studies have shown that the N mineralization that is already in the soil is increased by
the application of glyphosate. Grossbard (1985) assessed the effect of glyphosate on soil N
mineralization and observed an increase in mineralization when the herbicide was used.
Haney et al. (2002) evaluated under laboratory conditions the effect of applying atrazine a
mix of atrazine and glyphosate on the mineralization of total-C and total-N present in the
soil. These authors observed a greater C and N mineralization in the soil treated with the
mixture. The results showed that the glyphosate favored the chemoorganotrophic
microbiota, causing an increase in the soil edaphic organic matter mineralization.
In tillage systems in Brazil’s Cerrado, a reduction in deposited stubble mineralization is
desirable because it increases the permanence time of residue over the soil. However, the
lower effectiveness of the residue in supplying N to plants and microorganisms can reduce
productivity when the N supply through fertilization is not appropriate because the
addition of low N content organic residues to the soil results in the immobilization of the
nutrient by the microbiota, reducing its availability to plants. Therefore, the use of
herbicides for covering crop desiccation in tillage system should be considered in the
decision making processes of N fertilization management.
Treatments DM Carbon Nitrogen C:N ΔDM ΔC ΔN

________g per pot______ mg per pot ___________________%__________________
Control 6.5 b 2.6 b 117.2 b 22.6 b 49.9 a 49.4 a 69.6 a

Glyphosate 8.5 a 3.7 a 159.9 a 24.3 b 34.1 b 22.1 b 51.8 b
Glufosinate 9.3 a 3.8 a 160.2 a 28.6 a 28.3 b 23.2 b 49.7 b
F-test ** ** ** * ** ** **
CV (%) 15.5 13.6 16.2 12.4 25.6 30.3 12.3
DM = Dry mass; C = carbon; N = nitrogen; C:N = Carbon to Nitrogen ratio; Δ = (Non-recovered
fraction/ total amount added)*100. Means followed by the same letter in a given column indicates
nonsignificant differences at the 5% level by Tukey test. **, * = Significant at 1% and 5% levels,
respectively.
Table 2. Dry mass, carbon, nitrogen, and C:N ratio in above-ground parts of black oat
treated with herbicides at 101-days-old grown in soil.
4. N exuding through the roots

The rhizosphere may be defined as the soil zone that is influenced by the roots. The
deposition of exuded matter and root fragments in this region favors the growth and
activity of the soil microbial community, which has important functions in cycling and in
the supply of nutrients to plants, especially N. About 15% of the total CO2 set by plants is
deposited in the rhizosphere in a cereal crop cycle (Nguyen, 2003). Sugars, amino acids,
organic acids, phenols, exoenzymes and ions such as NH4+ are the main compounds exuded
by the roots (Kraffczyk et al., 1984; Marschner, 1995; Dakora & Phillips, 2002; Nguyen, 2003;
Paterson, 2003).
Exudation may be an important way for N to exit the plant. Klein et al. (1988) estimated that
the C:N ratio of exuded compounds for the Poaceae family species ranged from 2 to 2.7.
However, other studies have demonstrated that the exuding of compounds containing N is
very low, and the exuded compounds are rich in sugars (Deubel et al., 2000; Paterson, 2003;
Merbach et al., 2003). The main factors affecting the amount and composition of material
exuded from the roots are vegetable species, plant development stage, environmental stress,
nutritional state, injuries, application of chemical products and activity and composition of
the soil microbial community (Marschner, 1995; Holland et al., 1996).
Net N
Treatments Non-recovered Soil – Plant
mineralization
---------------------------------- mg per pot ----------------------------------
Control 201.2 a 52.9 418.0 a
Glyphosate 150.0 b 43.9 383.9 ab
Glufosinate 148.5 b 74.6 368.3 b
F-test ** NS *
CV (%) 8.8 54.6 8.9
-------------------------------------- % ---------------------------------------
Control 42.3 a 11.2 88.8
Glyphosate 35.3 b 10.3 90.2
Glufosinate 33.5 b 16.8 83.1
F-test ** NS NS
CV (%) 8.7 55.4 8.8
Means followed by the same letter in a given column indicates nonsignificant differences at the 5% level
by Tukey’s test; **, * = Significant at 1% and 5% levels, respectively; NS = nonsignificant difference.
Table 3. Net N mineralization, non-recovered fraction and soil-plant recovery of the
nitrogen arising from black oat residue with or without herbicide previous application.
4.1 The effect of herbicides in exudated N

Herbicides may affect some of the mentioned factors and, consequently, root exudation.
Kremer et al. (2005) evaluated amino acid and carbohydrate exudation after glyphosate was
applied to conventional crops and crops genetically modified for herbicide tolerance. They
concluded that the exudation was stronger in both crops after the product was applied.
Similar results were obtained in bean plants that were desiccated with glyphosate (Liu et al.,
1997). These authors found aspartic acid, glutamic acid, serine, glycine, amino butyric acid,
valine, isoleucine, leucine, tyrosine, phenylalanine and proline in the material exuded from
the roots. They observed that the valine, isoleucine and glycine concentrations were higher
in the plants desiccated with the product.
The herbicides that were used as a replacement for the glyphosate also increased root
exudation. Damin et al. (2010b) evaluated the compound exudation containing N and the
root detachment in Brachiaria decumbens plants after the application of glyphosate,
glufosinate ammonium and paraquat. They observed an increase in exudation (Figure 1)
and the detachment of roots after the application of three products. Paraquat, unlike
glyphosate and glufosinate ammonium, does not have its action connected to the N
metabolism of the plant. As all herbicides increase N exudation, this process is probably not
connected exclusively to the product’s active mechanism. Physiologic events characteristic
of senescence could justify the results obtained in this research. However, Kremer et al.
(2005) observed that the exudation of sugars and amino acids was higher in soybeans
genetically modified for tolerance to glyphosate than in the conventional soybeans. In this
case, the increase in exudation was not connected to the development of senescence after the
application of the herbicide.
It is worth stressing that the losses from exudation and root detachment together
represented less than 4% of the N applied to the entire plant and, therefore, they should not
affect in a relevant way the N content of the same plant (Damin et al., 2010b). The
compound N exudation, notwithstanding, may modify the composition and activity of the
soil microbial community due to the supply of carbon sources that are highly soluble and
readily available.
There is a great diversity of microorganisms in the soil, which, according to the kind of
nutrition, may be grouped in photolithotrophic, photoorganotrophic, chemolithotrophic and
chemoorganotrophic. Phototrophic microorganisms (photolithotrophic and
photoorganotrophic) are rare, and chemotrophic microorganisms are abundant in the soil.
All kinds of fungi are chemoorganotrophic, i.e., they use organic molecules as a source of
carbon and energy, whereas bacteria and actinomycetes may come from a variety of groups.
Processes such as nitrification and N biological fixation are mainly mediated by
chemolithotrophic organisms, which use CO2 as a carbon source and obtain energy from
inorganic compound oxidation (Moreira & Siqueira, 2006).
Due to the nutritional type, the supply of easily decomposable organic carbon sources
caused by exudation offers a competitive advantage to chemoorganotrophic
microorganisms, modifying the proportion of microorganism populations in the soil
microbial community. In addition, chemoorganotrophs may be favored by the use of
herbicides such as glyphosate and glufosinate, which act in metabolic routes that are present
only in lithotrophic organisms (photolithotrophic and chemolithotrophic).
Among the chemoorganotrophic microorganisms that are important for agriculture are
the decomposers of organic residues and most of the plants’ pathogens. Kremer et al.
(2005) observed an increase in fungi biomass of the kind Fusarium sp. after the application
of glyphosate to soybeans. Liu et al. (1997) observed an increase in the number of colonies
and a higher development of the Pytium sp. fungi after addition to the environment
through the bean roots cultivated with glyphosate desiccated or exuded herbicide. As the
glyphosate can also be exuded by the roots (Kremer et al., 2005; Tuffi Santos et al., 2008), it
is possible that the population increase of pathogenic microorganisms after the
application of the herbicide is connected to the N compound exudation as well as to the
presence of the herbicide.
Aside from those processes, a higher colonization of roots by pathogenic microorganisms
may be associated with the effects the herbicide has on the plant’s defense system. Liu et al.
(1997) also observed that bean plantlets growing in the middle of Pytium sp. showed a
higher lignin content when glyphosate was not added to the environment. Studies in sterile
environments have shown that the increase in Pythium and Fusarium sp. is connected to the
effectiveness of the glyphosate herbicide (Johal & Rahe, 1984; Levesque & Rahe, 1992;
Levesque et al., 1992; Levesque et al., 1993; Descalzo et al., 1996).
18
16 Check LSD (y axis) = 6.7
exudated N (mg per plant)

14 Glyphosate
12
10
x
y = 26,565*[1-(0,901 )]
8 2
R = 0,990**
6
4 x
y = 4,370*[1-(0,639 )]
2 2
R = 0,978**
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
A
DAA
18
16 Check LSD (y axis) = 6.2
14 Glufosinate
12
x
10 y = 19,591*[1-(0,875 )]
2
R = 0,974**
8
6
4 x
y = 4,370*[1-(0,639 )]
2
2 R = 0,978**
0
0 B 2 4 6 8 10 12
DAA
10
Check
LSD (y axis) = 3.7
8 Paraquat
6 [-(x-1,512) / 0,31]
Y = 8,314 / (1 + e )
2
R = 0,998*
4
2 Y = 3,716 / (1 + e
[-(x-1,379) / 0,391]
)
2
R = 0,999*
0 C
0 1 2 3 4
DAA
Fig. 1. Time accumulated exudation of nitrogen after herbicide application on Brachiaria
decumbens Stapf. A – Glyphosate (Fherb=2.8*/FDAA=13.5**/FHerb x DAA=4.3**); B – Glufosinate-
ammonium (Fherb=4.9*/FDAA=15.4**/FHerb x DAA=4.9**); C – Paraquat
Fherb=6.7*/FDAA=15.2**/FHerb x DAA=3.1*). DAA = days after herbicide application
It is likely that other chemoorganotrophic microorganisms, such as denitrificants, are

favored by the use of glyphosate and glufosinate, as the highest exudation results in
increased C and N availability in both the soil and these herbicidal molecules (unlike
paraquat) do not affect the soil’s chemoorganotrophic microbiota.
5. Nitrification/denitrification
In addition to reducing the agronomic effectiveness of N fertilization, N losses because of the
denitrification-nitrification processes in soil may have a negative impact on the environment
because considerable amounts of N2O are generated in these processes. This gas is considered
the fourth-greatest contributor to the greenhouse effect, although it is present in the
atmosphere and in the stratosphere in small amounts. Moreover, N2O is an intermediary in the
ozone layer destruction process (Tabatabai et al., 1981; Griffith, 2005). It is estimated that
approximately 20% of the global gas emissions of nitrogen oxides and elemental N are
connected to agricultural activity. However, in countries such as Australia, agriculture may be
responsible for 80% of these emissions (Australian Greenhouse Office, 2001).
The main processes that result in the gas loss of N oxides and elemental N are nitrification
and denitrification. During nitrification (in the oxidation of NH4 into NO2), there may be
slight production of nitrous oxide by a chemical dismutation of nitroxyl (NOH) or by the
action of nitrite reductase (Schimdt, 1982; Bremner, 1997). In this case, the formation of N2O
may occur under aerobic conditions, during the nitrification. Although the N2O production
by nitrification might, in some situations, have an emission potential similar to that of the
denitrification process (Granli & Bockman, 1994; Wang et al., 1997), denitrification seems to
be the main N2O source in the soil (Tiedje, 1994).
Biological denitrification is defined as an anaerobic breathing process mediated by
microorganisms that are able to use NO3 or NO2 as final electron acceptors. The main
products of denitrification are N2 and N2O, and the proportion of production of each gas
varies according to the environmental conditions. There are more than 125 bacterial species
that are capable of performing denitrification, including phototrophs, lithotrophs and
organotrophs (the most important group).
The main environmental factors that interfere in denitrification rates are O2 supply, water
content, temperature, organic matter, the presence of organic substances and ammonium
(NH4+) and nitrate (NO3-) concentration (Firestone & Davidson, 1989). A number of studies
have demonstrated that an increase in carbon content results in higher N2 and N2O
emissions. Furthermore, pH may interfere in N2O and N2 emissions, as it affects nitrification,
when it is reduced below 3.5 (Focht & Verstraete, 1977).
5.1 The effect of herbicides in nitrification/denitrification

As discussed in section 4.1, chemoorganotrophic microorganisms may be favored by the
application of some herbicides, and such is the case for glyphosate and glufosinate
ammonium. Laboratory studies have demonstrated the increase of N2O emission in soils
treated with glyphosate (Bollag & Henninger, 1976; Yeomans & Bremner, 1985; Carlisle &
Trevors, 1986), which might be attributable to the herbicide serving as a nutrient source to
organisms and offering a competitive advantage to denitrificants through the killing of
chemolithotrophic microorganisms. However, higher N2O emissions were also observed for
soils with plants desiccated by these molecules (Robertson et al., 1987; Tenuta &
Beauchamp, 1996). This observation may be attributed to the indirect effects of the herbicide
in the rizosphere due to the killing of the plants, such as the increase in promptly available
carbon content and a reduction in the environment’s NO3 absorption, leaving it more
susceptible to microbial attack.
Most nitrifying microorganisms are chemolithotrophic and, therefore, they can show the
metabolic routes present in the plants, including those that were affected by glyphosate or
glufosinate ammonium. Damin et al. (2009) evaluated the NO3- content of two soils
(haplustox and quartpsament) 90 days after the permanence of millet stubble desiccated
with these herbicides. The N-NO3- content in the glyphosate and glufosinate treatments was
reduced in the quartpsament, but not in the haplustox. The haplustox soil had a higher
sorting capacity than the quatzpsament, as it could be noticed in the contents of the clay, the
CTC and the organic matter of soils (Table 4). In fact, the NH4+ availability to nitrifying
microorganisms was lower in the haplustox than in the quatzpsament due to the higher ion
absorption to the colloidal fraction of the soil. Moreover, the glyphosate showed a great
affinity toward the iron and aluminum oxides and the hydroxides (Prata et al., 2000)
common in the oxisoils. The strong connection between the herbicide and these fractions
reduced the bioavailability of the product to the microorganisms.
Some authors have observed a rise in NO3- content in the soil after the plants are killed. This
result can be attributed to a higher availability of NH4+ in the soil as it stops being absorbed
by the plant. Although the decrease in nitrification indicates a damaging effect to the
microbiota, it is important to highlight that the conversion of NH4+ into NO3- in the soil may
promote a higher risk of superficial water contamination by nitrate and a lower availability
of the nutrient to future crops.
NH4+ NO3-
Treatments Quartpsament Haplustox Quartpsament Haplustox
mg per pot
Witness+ 229.7 297.7 117.2baA 31.5 aB
Glyphosate 197.7 331.6 59.3 bA 34.2 aA
Glufosinate 212.6 314.5 82.6 bA 21.4 aB
Average 213.3 b 314.6 a 86.4 29.1
Herbicide F 0.0 ns 3.8*
Soil F 24.3** 43.7**
Interaction F 0.9 ns 4.1*
+Witness (stubble with no application of herbicides); Means followed by the same letter in a given
column indicates nonsignificant differences at the 5% level by Tukey’s test. **, * = Significant at 1% and
5% levels, respectively
Table 4. NH4+ and NO3- content in two soils 90 days after the permanence on the soil of
Pennicetum glaucum stubble desiccated with herbicides (taken from Damin et al., 2009)
6. Biological N fixation
Biological N2 fixation (BNF) is an important entrance path for N in agroecosystems, and it is
the main source of the nutrient in leguminous farming. In these plants, BNF is performed
through the symbiosis between N fixing bacteria (NFB), which break the N2 triple bond
through the action of the nitrogenase enzyme, reducing it to NH3, while the plants supply
photosynthates to the bacteria.
Only a small percentage of prokaryotes are able to accomplish BNF. Among these
prokaryotes, however, there is high morphological, physiological and philogenetic diversity.
In addition, N fixing micro-organisms are found among the heterotrophs, the anoxygenic
phototrophs, the archaebacteria and the cyanobacteria. The main kinds of fixing bacteria,
which are economically important, are Rhizobium and Bradyrhizobium, which are
predominantly chemoorganotrophic metabolic proteobacteria, although there are some
chemolitotrophic strains of Bradyrhizobium japonicum.
6.1 Effect of herbicides

Due to the diverse kinds of metabolism of N fixing bacteria, it is difficult to establish which
conditions are favorable or unfavorable to NFB, as the effects of a determined factor will
depend on the bacteria community present in the soil. This difficulty may be one of the
reasons for the contradictory results in the literature concerning the effect of herbicides on
nodulation.
The growth, survival and nitrogenase activity results vary according to the herbicide doses
applied, the species/strains studied and the experimental conditions (Faizah et al., 1980;
Mallik & Tesfai, 1983; Eberbach & Douglas, 1989; Martensson, 1992; Moorman et al., 1992;
Mallik & Tesfai, 1985; Moorman, 1986). Recently, Santos et al. (2004) observed differentiated
responses in the growth of strains of native Brazilian Bradyrhizobium spp. because of the
application of different commercial formulations of glyphosate. This differentiation reveals
the importance of considering the adjuvant components of those herbicides in impact
evaluations. With soybeans that are tolerant to glyphosate (Roundup Ready, RR), King et al.
(2001) reported that the herbicide increased the number and decreased the weight of nodes.
Jaworski (1972) observed a reduction of BNF after the application of glyphosate.
Some authors have attributed the BNF reduction after glyphosate application to the
inhibition of the EPSPs enzymes in microorganisms (Malkores, 2000). Moorman (1986)
evaluated the effect of glyphosate on the development of Bradyrhizobium spp. in the
environment with and without the addition of amino acids. It was observed that the
herbicide reduced the Bradyrhizobium spp. population only when no amino acids were
added. It is worth stressing, however, that only chemolithotrophic microorganisms, such as
some strains of Bradyrhizobium spp., should show this metabolic route.
Some authors have attributed the BNF reduction after glyphosate application to the
physiological changes caused to the plants. It is common for nutritional disorders to happen
in transgenic soybeans after glyphosate application, and two of them are particularly
important: manganese (Mn) and iron (Fe). The lack of manganese in the tissue may increase
the ureide concentration in the aerial parts, signaling to the BNF to stop fixation (Gordon,
2007). Moreover, the application of the herbicide reduces the production of flavonoids,
substances that stimulate the genetic expression of nodulation.
7. Final consideration
The effect of herbicides on a soil-plant system’s N loss and on the mineralization rates of
vegetable residues should be considered when predicting the N availability to plants, in
nutrient-caused environmental impact studies, in production cost estimations and in
decision making concerning the appropriate time to apply N doses in areas under a tillage
system. This kind of information is important for creating managing strategies that increase
the efficiency of N fertilization and reduce the environmental impacts caused by the use of
fertilizers and herbicides.
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6
Critical Revision and Development

Perspectives of Herbicide Residues Analysis
in Agro Ecosystems
Verónica Cesio1, Lucía Pareja1, Silvina Niell1, Lucia Geis Asteggiante1,
Bernardo Böcking2, Claudio García3, Grisel Fernández4,
Amadeo R. Fernández-Alba5 and Horacio Heinzen1
1Farmacognosia y Productos Naturales, Facultad de Química UDELAR
General Flores 2124, Montevideo 11800,
2Donistar S.C, Col. Rubio, Salto,
3INIA Las Brujas, Las Brujas, Canelones,
4Malherbología EEMAC, Facultad de Agronomía, UDELAR Km366 Ruta 3 Paysandú,
5 Grupo de Investigación de Laboratorio de Residuos de Plaguicidas, Almería, Universidad
de Almería, Cañada de San Urbano s/n, Almeria

1,2,3,4Uruguay
5Spain
1. Introduction
Weeds are defined as plants growing in the inadequate place at the inadequate moment.
They interfere with the normal crop development and can drop down yields dramatically.
Winter cereals show lower losses in average, due to its dense stands and competitive
abilities. But, in summer crops, particularly corn that has low densities per area and lower
initial growth rates than weeds, very high yield reductions are possible. Rice is very
susceptible to weed interferences. There are evidences of production losses from 20 to 96%
(Table 1). Weed control is performed in 100% of rice cultures either manually, mechanically
or chemically. In average, registered losses are around 10% of production even when weed
control has been done. Weed control cost is around 5%. Consequently, the global cost of this
factor is around 15% of production. In sum, this 15% is the negative impact weeds have in
agricultural and food production.
To control losses in the crop production and as support of the new agronomical techniques
for intensive cropping, like no tillage or direct sewing techniques, weed chemical control has
been adopted as a usual technique to improve yields.
2. Herbicide application
Herbicide application timing depends on various factors such as class of herbicide, weed
species aiming to control, mechanic labor, climate, conditions and soil type. This latter factor
is very important, particularly soil preparation, previous and present vegetation, humidity
content on soil surface and temperature that makes probable a quick weed germination. A
% Production
Crop Cause Reference
Decrease
Competition, inadequate
Rice 20-30 (Harri, L., 1994)
weed control. (Brazil)
25 (11pl/m2)
(Smith, R. J., 1968)
Rice 49 (54 pl/m2) Echinocloa colonum
79(269 pl/m2)
Competition, weed control 45 (Chebatarrof N.,
Rice 40
d post crop emergence. 2007)
(Cepeda, S. et al.,
Corn 10-15 Weed resistant to control
1995)
27-40
97 (if the weed is
Corn No weed control at all
Sorghum halepense or (Rossi, A. et al., 1996)
Cynodon dactylon )
Table 1. Losses caused by weeds in rice and corn.
general concept is that the herbicide should be applied when the crop has the maximum
resistance and weeds are in the most susceptible period (Genta and Villamil, 1992).
Herbicide application at pre-emergence stage is closely related with the culture labors of the
soil. Once the crop has been sewed, herbicide application is related with crop development
and how infested are the present weeds.
2.1 Preplant treatment

In rice crops, an herbicide application (i.e. glyphosate) is usually applied in autumn to
control existent weeds when machinery labor is needed. This is a non selective treatment
and it is done in order to prepare the surface for future work such as levees for irrigation.
Probability of weed germination increases with earthwork, favorable conditions of humidity
and crop absence.
After land planting, due to humidity conditions of soil in autumn and winter, often great
amounts of weeds appear and a herbicide is applied to control them (i.e. glyphosate).
2.2 Preemergence treatment

This treatment is done after sowing but before weed emergence. The control consists in
combating the seeds that could be in the first soil layer or seeds that have recently
germinated when a good control can be achieved.
The main advantage of pre-emergence and preplant treatments is eliminating weed
competition in the initial steps of crop development. In general, these treatments are safer
and more consistent than post-emergence ones because in crops that irrigation is needed or
when it has rained it is difficult to apply the product or hoe. Some disadvantages are that
perennial weeds are hard to control and the effectiveness of the products depends on the
kind of soil (organic matter content and pH). Also these products require to be mobilized by
water in soil, so they are not effective under drought conditions.
2.3 Postemergence treatment

Selective products must be used in order to eliminate weeds without damaging the crop.
The class of weed that can be controlled depends on the tolerance of the crop to the
Critical Revision and Development Perspectives of Herbicide Residues Analysis in Agro Ecosystems 127
herbicide. The risk of damaging the crop is high; temperature is one of the factors that
affects the most the effectiveness and volatilization of many post-emergent herbicides, like
clomazone. In general when they are applied weeds have already born. An effective weed
control is sometimes difficult to achieve because there are many factors that must be taken
into account (right climatic conditions, doses, soil humidity level, etc.)
Herbicides are the most employed agrochemicals in agriculture nowadays. Pre or post
emergence, root or leaf absorbed, they are applied in huge amounts to hamper weed
development worldwide. There are many possible molecular targets to exert the herbicidal
action and therefore, herbicides are the vastest group of agrochemicals as there are 53
different chemical families of weed controllers. The most representative herbicide chemical
classes are listed in Table 2.
GROUP OF PERSISTANCE IN
EXAMPLES MODE OF ACTION
HERBICIDES SOIL (DT50)*
Branched chain amino acid
Florasulam 2 - 18 d
synthesis (AHAS or ALS) inhibitors
Amide
Photosynthetic electron transport
Propanil N/A
inhibitor
Dicamba 14 d
Auxin growth regulator
Quinclorac N/A
Bispyribac- Branched chain amino acid
Aromatic Acid < 10 d
sodium synthesis (AHAS or ALS) inhibitors
Aminopyralid 8 – 35 d
Picloram 30 – 90 d
Bipyridiles Paraquat Promotes autoxidation
Dinitroaniline Pendimethalin Microtubule assembly inhibition 3 - 4 mo
Protoporphyrinogen oxidase
Diphenyl Ether Oxyfluorfen 5 – 55 d
inhibitor
Branched chain fatty acid
Imidazolinone Imazapyr 30-150 d
biosynthesis inhibitors
Inhibits 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-
organphosphate Glyphosate 1 - 130 d
phosphate synthase.
Oxazole p-Hydroxyphenyl pyruvate
Topramezone 9 – 81 d
Herbicides dioxygenase inhibitor
MCPA
<7d
2,4-D
<7d
Phenoxy Mecoprop-p Auxin growth regulator
3 - 13 d
Herbicides Dichlorprop-P
<7d
2,4-DB
Fenoxaprop-P-
ethyl 1 – 10 d
Lipid biosynthesis inhibitors
Cyhalofop- 2 – 10 h
butyl 1 – 57 d
Diclofop-
methyl
GROUP OF PERSISTANCE IN
EXAMPLES MODE OF ACTION
HERBICIDES SOIL (DT50)*
Pyrazole
Pinoxaden Lipid biosynthesis inhibitors <1d
Herbicides
Fluroxypyr 5–9d
Diflufenican 36,3 d
Pyridine
Herbicides Branched chain amino acid
Pyroxsulam < 15 d
synthesis (AHAS or ALS) inhibitors
Triazine Photosynthetic electron transport
Atrazine 16 – 77 d
Herbicides inhibitor
Triazolone Carfentrazone- Branched chain amino acid
2,5 – 4 d
Herbicides ethyl synthesis (AHAS or ALS) inhibitors
Propoxycarbaz
12 - 56 d
one-sodium
Branched chain amino acid
Flucarbazone-
synthesis (AHAS or ALS) inhibitors 17 d
sodium
Triazolopyrimid Branched chain amino acid
Flumetsulam ≤ 1 mo
ine Herbicides synthesis (AHAS or ALS) inhibitors
Photosynthetic electron transport
Urea Isoproturon 6-28 d
inhibitor
Amidosulfuron
Bensulfuron-
methyl
Flupyrsulfuron
-methyl-
3 – 29 d
sodium
14 d
Iodosulfuron-
1–5d
methyl-sodium
52 d
Metsulfuron-
10 – 21 d
methyl Branched chain amino acid
Sulphonylureas 11 – 47 d
Pyrazosulfuron synthesis (AHAS or ALS) inhibitors
1–7d
-ethyl
19 d
Sulfosulfuron
3,5 - 5,1 d
Thifensulfuron-
1,5 – 9,4 d
methyl
4–6w
Triasulfuron
Tribenuron-
methyl
Foramsulfuron
Chlorsulfuron
Unclassified Bentazone Photosynthesis inhibition 12 d
Herbicides Clomazone Carotenoid biosythesis inhibition 30 – 135 d
* Degradation half-life: d – days, w – weeks, mo – months; N/A: not available
Table 2. Most representative chemical families of herbicides
Economical aspects
Higher land, use intensity and short crop rotations (or sometimes no rotation at all) plus no
tillage technology leads to an increase in the usage and dependency of agrochemicals. Pests
and weeds problem increases when land use is more and more intensive. Weeds negatively
affect grain production and quality, which declines prices. Also, harvesting becomes
complex and more expensive. Resources competition and allelopathy interferences, like
light, water, CO2 and soil nutrient competition provokes important or complete economic
losses. On top of that, weeds are pest hosts and disseminate crop infections.
2.4 Herbicides trade and usage

In 2009, herbicides represented 75% of agrochemical imports in kg and 59.5% in U$S/CIF,
showing they continue to be the most employed agrochemicals in Uruguay. As shown in
Figure 1, herbicides prevail in agrochemicals world trade. In Uruguay, this tendency is even
stronger when compared to Brazil although Argentina has bigger differences than Uruguay
(63%, 20% and 9% herbicides, insecticides and fungicides respectively) (casafe website).
herbicides
fungicides
inseccides
others
Fig. 1. Agrochemicals world trade (Rana, S. AGROW, 2010)

Herbicides show the higher relative increase when compared to fungicides and insecticides
between 2003 and 2009. Glyphosate accounts for 57% of herbicides total.
As stated above, rice production needs intensive herbicide use. From 141.500 ha of rice crop
analyzed and registered, the 98% (138.000 ha) required the appliance of herbicides with
repeated control treatments in about the 10% of the treated area (Molina et al., 2010). Fields
never used for rice crops were included in the area under treatment, along with pasture,
which despite of doing the adequate rotation, showed the presence of weeds in quantities
above the threshold for economic damage requiring control with herbicides. The active
ingredients used are shown in Table 3.
As shown in Table 4, the most common herbicide treatment is atrazine for corn and
sorghum in mixture with a chloroacetamide in pre-emergence. Post-emergent options such
as imidazolinones (Imazethapyr + imazapyr or imazapic + imazapyr) are preferred for corn
with zero tillage because of straw interactions with pre-emergent herbicides. However, at
present there are only limited numbers of cultivars with tolerance for these herbicides and
so very few hectares had been treated with imidazolinones in the last years. Other post-
emergent options as growth regulators herbicides, the mixture of iodosulfuron plus
foramsulfuron or topramezone had not been extensively adopted. They are more expensive
Products or mixtures applied Area of appliance

(ha) T %
Quinclorac+Clomazone+Propanil 45660 30
Clomazone+Glyphosate 18198 12
Clomazone+Quinclorac 8975 6
Bispyribac-sodium+Clomazone 7521 5
Quinclorac+Clomazone+Propanil+Pyrazosulfuron-ethyl 6964 5
Bispyribac-sodium 5342 4
Clomazone+Propanil 4977 3
Others 52667 35
Total 150.304 100
Clomazone alone or as mixture 118017 79
Quinclorac alone or as mixture 77683 52
Table 3. Active ingredients used in rice production in Uruguay
Crop Herbicide Application

Atrazine
Pre-emergence
chloroacetamides
Corn Iodosulfuron + foramsulfuron
Topramezone Post-emergence
imidazolinonas
Atrazine
Sorghum Pre-emergence
chloroacetamide
Glyphosate Post-emergence
Soybean Imazethapyr pre/ post-emergence
Diclosulam pre/ post-emergence
Pyroxsulam (only wheat) Post-emergence
Flucarbazone (only wheat) Post-emergence
Iodosulfuron Post-emergence
Pinoxaden Post-emergence
Wheat
Diclofop-methyl Post-emergence
and
Barley Fenoxaprop Post-emergence
Metsulfuron Post-emergence
Metsulfuron + Chlorsulfuron Post-emergence
growth regulators (2,4D amine,
Post-emergence
Dicamba, Picloram)
Artificial Flumetsulam Post-emergence
pastures 2,4 DB ester Post-emergence
Table 4. Herbicides most commonly used in extensive crops and artificial pastures in
Uruguay
and their performances had not demonstrated clear advantages compared with the classic
pre-emergent mixture of atrazine+chloroacetamides except in specific weed situations.
There are potential risks of persistence with this treatment including atrazine. In production
systems alternating crops and pastures where corn or sorghum crops grown for silage are
followed by pastures with legumes and grasses or by oats, plant-back period may resulted
insufficient for atrazine dissipation and damage occurrence.
Soybean area, entirely GMO planted crop, is basically treated with glyphosate.
Nevertheless, It has been registered an increased trend to complement glyphosate with
residuals herbicides like imazethapyr or diclosulam looking to reduce number of glyphosate
applications and to broad control spectrum. There is an increasing movement of the big
breeders companies towards the inclusion in the new varieties, some resistant genes against
particular herbicide mode of action. Following the trend initiated by the glyphosate resistant
RR soybean, crop varieties resistant to imidazolinones (rice, corn) glufosinate (rice)
sulphonylureas (sunflower) has been registered. The use of these varieties will boost the use
of the specific herbicides and therefore new challenges on environmental risk assessment on
soil, water and food can be foreseen.
Herbicide options for winter cereals, wheat and barley are various and especially in case of
weed grasses. Number and total use of graminicides has increased markedly. The most used
are pinoxaden, pyroxsulam, iodosulfuron, flucarbazone, diclofop methyl and fenoxaprop.
The use of these herbicides has five-folded since 2006 even though winter crop area has just
doubled during this period, in association with the widespread infestations of grasses in
agriculture lands.
Other herbicides widely used for winter cereals are the sulphonylureas, metsulfuron and
chlorsulfuron as they have a broad spectrum of weed control, may be sprayed early and
have important residual effects, so satisfactory controls are reached in species with
continued emergences fluxes as commonly happens with winter weed species in our
country. However, application of these herbicides implies a risk of persistence as commonly
happens when used in fallow seed-bed preparation without considering the plant-back
guidelines for crop rotation. See for example Bradford et al, 2008. Its low cost and wide
spectrum makes them highly attractive for use in mixtures with glyphosate in fallow seed-
bed preparation for summer and winter crops, being frequent situations of persistence
problems.
These problems, occasional phytotoxicity effects and risk of resistance, have been promoting
a return to traditional growth regulators treatments such as 2,4-D amine in mixtures with
dicamba, picloram, etc. or new options like aminopyralid. Also in artificial pastures use of
herbicides is incremental. The most common treatment in this areas is flumetsulam alone or
in mixtures with 2,4-DB ester.
In this introduction it is shown that herbicide usage has been integrated systematically in
cropping systems, that there is no universal procedure to perform weed control and
different herbicidal combinations are employed in different stages of crop production.
Although some herbicides are used in very low doses, and many of them are designed to
inhibit specific pathways of plant metabolism, their interference with metabolic pathways of
other organisms is a growing concern. Some herbicides are persistent between two cropping
systems and can affect the new crop, notably atrazine and the sulphonylureas. Therefore, for
public health reasons and systems sustainability the knowledge of the level of remaining
herbicide residues has to be ascertained. In the past, sometimes the low dosage of these
compounds hampered a clear determination of their residual level in the different
environmental compartments. Nowadays the development of new sample treatment

procedures either instrumental, like ASE or MASE or not, like QuEChERS, coupled to
hyphenated MS/MS techniques allow the detection of very low levels of these compounds
in different matrices. The present chapter aims to present some characteristics of herbicide
analysis, to explore the reasons why many currently used herbicides have not been included
in the most common Multi Residue Methods developed and to give some insights on the
different aspects that should be considered when trying to include herbicides in a
multiresidue method.
3. Herbicide residues analysis

The analysis of herbicides has been confined to single residue methods, or class herbicide
residue analysis (phenoxyacid herbicides, imidazolinones, sulphonylureas, triazines).
Nevertheless, the real situation is that cationic, anionic, basic or acid herbicides together
with fungicides and insecticides can be applied successively over a crop looking for
different protecting effects. They accumulate in the crop and the environment and when
evaluating their presence in the different compartments they can seldom be determined in
one single analytical procedure. To define the scope of a multirresidue method that will
allow the simultaneous determination of many herbicides belonging to different chemical
classes, the physicochemical properties of the agrochemicals must be carefully evaluated.
The physicochemical properties of some representative herbicides are listed in Table 5.
Vapor
log Ws (mg L-1 ) H
Herbicide Koc log Kow Pressure
20-25°C (Pa m3 mol-1)
(mPa)
2,4-D 60 2.58 -2.83 4.37 1.32 x 10-5 1.86 x 10-2
2,4-DB - - 1.66 - -
Amidosulfuron - 1.63 0.95 5.34 x 10-4 2.20 x 10-2
Aminopyralid - 0.201 3.39 - 9.52 x 10-6
Atrazine 39 – 173 2.50 1.52 1.5o x 10-4 3.85 x 10-2
Bensulfuron-methyl - 0.79 1.83 2.00 x 10-11 2.80 x 10-9
Bentazone 13.3 – 176 -0.46 2.76 - 5.4 x 10-3
Bispyribac-sodium - -1.03 4.87 3.12 x 10-11 5.05 x 10-6
Carfentrazone-ethyl 15 – 35 3.36 1.08 2.47 x 10-4 7.2 x 10-3
Chlorsulfuron 40 -0.99 4.50 3.50 x 10-11 3.00 x 10-6
Clomazone 150 – 526 2.50 3.04 4.19 x 10-3 19.2
Cyhalofop-butyl 5247 3.31 -0.36 9.51 x 10-4 5.30 x 10-2
Dicamba 2 -1.88 > 5.40 6.10 x 10-5 1.67
Dichlorprop-P - -0.25 2.77 2.47 x 10-5 0.06
14000 -
Diclofop-methyl 4.58 -0.10 2.19 x 10-1 0.25
24400
Diflufenican - 4.90 -1.30 1.18 x 10-2 4.25 x 10-3
Fenoxaprop-P-ethyl - 4.58 -0.15 2.74 x 10-4 1.80 x 10-1
Florasulam 2-069 -1.22 3.80 4.35 x 10-7 1.00 x 10-2

Flucarbazone-sodium - -1.84 4.64 < 1 x 10-11 < 1 x 10-6
Flumetsulam 5-182 -0.68 1.69 - 3.7 x 10-7
Flupyrsulfuron-
- 0.10 2.78 1 x 10-8 1 x 10-6
methyl-sodium
Fluroxypyr - -1.24 3.76 1.06 x 10-8 3.78 x 10-6
Foramsulfuron 38 – 151 -0.78 3.52 5.80 x 10-12 4.20 x 10-8
Glyphosate - < -3.20 4.02 < 2.10 x 10-7 1.31 x 10-2
Imazapic - 0.39 3.33 - < 1 x 10-2
Imazapyr - 0.11 4.05 - < 0.013
Imazaquin - 0.34 1.78-2.08 3.70 x 10-12 < 0.013
Iodosulfuron-methyl-
0.80 – 152 -0.70 4.40 2.29 x 10-11 6.70 x 10-6
sodium
Isoproturon - 2.50 1.81 1.46 x 10-5 3.15 x 10-3
MCPA - 2.75 2.47 5.50 x 10-5 2.30 x 10-2
Mecoprop-p 12-025 0.1004 2.94 2.18 x 10-4 1.60
Metsulfuron-methyl - 0.018 3.45 4.50 x 10-11 3.3 x 10-7
Oxyfluorfen 2891 (sand) 4.47 -0.94 - 0.0267
Pendimethalin - 5.20 -0.48 2.728 1.94
Picloram - 1.90 -0.25 - 8 x 10-11
Pinoxaden - 3.20 2.30 - 2 x 10-9
Propanil 239 – 800 3.30 2.11 1.70 x 10-4 0.02
Propoxycarbazone-
28,8 -1.55 4.62 < 1 x 10-10 < 1 x 10-5
sodium
Pyrazosulfuron-ethyl - 3.16 0.99 - 4.20 x 10-5
Quinclorac - -0.74 -1.19 - < 0.01
Sulfosulfuron 33 -0.77 3.21 8.83 x 10-9 3.1 x 10-5
Thifensulfuron-
- 0.02 3.35 9.70 x 10-16 1.70 x 10-5
methyl
Topramezone - -1.52 2.71 - < 1 x 10 -12
Triasulfuron - -0.59 2.91 < 8 x 10 -5 < 2 x 10 -3
Tribenuron-methyl - 0.78 3.31 1.03 x 10-8 5.20 x 10-5
Table 5. Physicochemical and environmental properties of some selected herbicides
As an example, when looking for a procedure that can include the analysis of imidazolinone
residues their peculiar pH behavior has to be considered. The Imidazolinones are
amphoteric molecules that can exist in anionic, neutral or cationic states depending upon the
pH of the environment. The pKa values of imidazolinone herbicides range from 1.9 to 3.9.
When the pH of the extracting solvent is greater than their pKa, these herbicides are usually
present mainly in an anionic state as carboxylates. On the other hand, the acidic functional
group is completely in a non-ionized state when the pH is two units lower than the most
acidic pKa value. Therefore factors such as pH, organic carbon content, and ionic strength
may affect their extractability to perform the analysis. All these factors also affect the fate of
the imidazolinone herbicides in the environment which are relatively persistent in soil with
half-lives ranging from 30 to 150 days and therefore, may have carryover effects on the
rotation system of winter-summer crops. Moreover, it has been reported that the
imidazolinone herbicides show high potential for leaching because of their relatively low
pKa values (1.9–3.9). (Ramezani et al., 2009)
But not only have these factors operated. The matrix characteristics are crucial for the
precision and accuracy of the analysis. Differences in pesticide absorption and recoveries
were found when comparing results from contrasting soils (Boivin et al., 2005).
Environmental samples
The major public health concern on herbicide residues in the environment is due to the fact
that many of them have low Koc and relatively low Kow and therefore, can either lixiviate,
leach or run off and contaminate ground and surface water. Many herbicides have been
identified as endocrine disrupters and they threaten wild life as Atrazine (Barchanska &
Baranowska, 2009). The usual methodology for contaminant analysis in water is the solid
phase extraction either off line or on line coupled with the analytical instrument (GC or
HPLC). The adsorbed compounds are eluted from the stationary phase with a polar organic
solvent and the extract is analyzed directly. This simple procedure allows sample
concentration increasing the limit of detection of the method to ngkg-1 level or ppts,
fulfilling the requirements of the European legislation on drinking water, where pesticide
limits of quantification (LOQs) of 0.025µgL-1, four times lower than the maximum allowed
(0.1µgL-1), are required. To perform the SPE extraction RP C18 silica gel cartridges have been
employed, but the most widely extraction phases employed are polymeric styrene,
polystyrene divinil-benzene polymers or N-vinylpyrrolidone. These cartridges are
commercially available with different brand names. This solid phase has a medium polarity
that allows the selective retention of relatively polar compounds. In this way many different
herbicides belonging to various chemical families (sulphonylureas, anilides, imidazolinones,
phenoxy acids) have been selectively absorbed and quantitatively analyzed. Solid phase
microextraction (SPME) is a very attractive analytical technique for herbicide residue
analysis in water. Serôdio (Serôdio et al., 2004) analyzed 13 herbicides which are endocrine
disruptors performing a micro extraction using a poliacrilate coated sorptive stirring bar for
pesticide extraction, performing a back extraction procedure with acetonitrile to recover all
analytes with high selectivity. A miscellaneous procedure for the selective analysis of
triazine herbicides in water was presented by (Nelson et al., 2004). A portable system based
on immunoextraction and reversed-phase HPLC was developed for the field analysis of
herbicides in groundwater and surface water. Using inmunotemplates to concentrate
atrazine, simazine, and cyanazine and analyzing them through HPLC, a LOQ of a 0.2mg L-
1up to 100mg L-1 were achieved. This procedure can be applied to the high throughput
analysis of water samples as a single determination took less than 8 min. Another type of
class analysis of herbicide residues is the use of molecular imprinted polymers to selectively
extract sulphonylureas in water (Bastide et al., 2005). The highly selective polymer
concentrates the herbicide residues allowing their determination at the sub ppt level.
MIP technique can be coupled to chemiluminscence sensing, taking advantage of the
reaction of many sulphonylureas with luminal+H2O2 as reported by (Xie et al., 2010)
reaching detection levels of 1-10 nM L-1 of sulphonylureas in water. MIP methodology with
its different applications off line, on line or in line has been recently reviewed. Due to the
low application doses of herbicides (Table 6) the development of such polymers offers the
possibility of sub trace analysis for different herbicide classes. Nevertheless, the
improvement of the new LC-MS/MS equipment, allow the detection of many agrochemicals
in water, just by filtrating and injecting the sample.
3.1 Herbicide residue analysis in water

In the last decades, liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) has been largely replaced by solid phase
extraction (SPE). In 2009 Pinxteren et al., compared the performance of SPE and microwave
assisted-solvent extraction (MASE or MAE), both in combination with LC–MS/MS, for the
analysis of 10 pesticides in water. The main conclusion of the study was that SPE has the
potential of larger sensitivity whereas MASE is faster, provides slightly better recoveries,
and represents a promising alternative to conventional off-line SPE concerning low to
medium polar compounds (Pinxteren et al., 2009)
One of the advantages of SPE compared to other techniques is the variety of sorbents
available. As an example, Geiss et al., compared the performance of 21 cartridges packed
with different octadecyl silica, polymeric, modified silica, ion exchange and carbon materials
for the extraction of highly polar organophosphorus pesticides from water. In this study the
polymeric cartridges were found to have the best performance, and the recovery rates
obtained with this material and with the octadecyl solid phases were observed to correlate
with the octanol–water partition coefficient of the pesticides (Geiss & Gebert, 2006). Similar
results were obtained when testing the extraction of nine herbicides from rice paddy fields
water by (Roehrs et al., 2009). Another advantage of SPE is the possibility of automation
(Petrovic et al., 2010).
Herbicides in environmental samples such as river, sea or agricultural water are generally
highly diluted; therefore a high level of enrichment is required for their detection. As the
instruments improve their sensitivity, the pre concentration factor required previous to the
analysis is smaller. In reported literature concerning water analysis, as time pass by, the
amount of sample required for the analysis is smaller with the clear trend to reduce the
sample clean up and pre concentration of the sample.
Ten years ago, Jeannot et al., described two different methods for the analysis of triazines
and sulphonylureas in surface waters. They used 0.5-10 L of sample for a liquid-liquid
extraction with dichloromethane and two different solid phase extractions (SPE) using the
Carbopack B (graphitized carbon black) and the C-18 bonded silica cartridge. The recoveries
for each of these methods varied from 83-93% in liquid-liquid mode with RSD between 2-
10%, 60-96% in SPE mode on Carbopack B with RSD 3-17% and 67-100% in SPE C-18-
bonded silica mode with RSD 2-7% (Jeannot et al., 2000).
In 2003 Zanella et al., validated a method for the determination of 2,4-D, quinclorac,
bentazone, clomazone and propanil in surface and agriculture waters. The method was
applied for levels between 0.1 and 0.5 mgL-1 after a 500-fold-pre-concentration with
recoveries ranging from 85.7 to 109.8 % and RSD of 1.8 to 13.4% analyzed by HPLC with UV
detection (Zanella et al., 2003). HPLC-DAD was also employed for the determination of
these herbicides plus four sulphonylureas, cyhalofop-butyl and bispyribac-sodium but
using an OASIS HLB cartridge in tap and rice paddy field waters (Roehrs et al., 2009). The
concentration level achieved was 1000 fold detecting herbicides at concentration as low as 40
ngkg-1 for tap water and 0.3 µgkg-1 for paddy field water.
Ayano et al., in 2004, described a multianalyte method for the determination of five
sulphonylureas and three ureas in water. The analysis consisted on a SPE extraction with a
polystyrene polymer cartridge (PS2), and ODS C-18-bonded silica cartridge (C-18) and an N-
vinylpyrrolidone polymer cartridge (OASIS). The analytes determination and quantitation
were performed by liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Average
recoveries of the eight analytes from water samples were in the range 70-120% with relative
standard deviations (RSD) below 20% and the LOQs were between 10 and 100ngL-1 (Ayano
et al., 2004).
Carabias-Martínez et al., in 2004, developed a method for the simultaneous determination of
10 sulphonylurea and phenylurea herbicides and one of their most common degradation
products (3-chloro-4-methyl-phenyl urea) in water. In this procedure LC with diode array
UV detection and electrospray mass spectrometry (LC-ESI/MS) in the positive mode were
used for the separation, identification and quantification of the selected analytes. A 1000-
fold-pre-concentration step based on solid phase extraction was applied for the
simultaneous extraction of sulphonylureas and phenylureas from water samples. Three
different types of sorbents were compared, silica-based C-18, Oasis HLB and LiChrolut EN
obtaining the highest recoveries (70-95%) with the Oasis HLB cartridges (Carabias-Martínez
et al., 2004). In 2006, Polati et al., presented the determination of 6 sulphonylureas in surface
water. The methodology consisted on a pre concentration/SPE step using a Strata RP-18 E
and two polymeric phases, Strata-X and Lichrolut EN, followed by HPLC-UV (240nm)-MSn
analysis. After a 1000/1 pre-concentration the LODs were lower than 26.9ngL-1 with
recoveries around 81-113% and RSD in the range 10-22 % (Polati et al., 2006).
Kuster et al., in 2007, described the analysis of 14 polar herbicides in the Ebro river delta,
during the main growing season of rice, by an automated on-line solid phase extraction
followed by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry.
The extraction of the herbicides was performed with polymeric cartridges Hysphere Resin
GP (polydivinilbenzene), 10 mL samples were loaded onto the cartridge and the target
analytes were eluted directly onto the chromatography column. The detection was
performed using a triple quadrupole (QqQ) mass spectrometer and the electrospray
interface was operated in both positive and negative mode. Some of the selected herbicides
presented difficulties in their recoveries such as alachlor, molinate, propanil, diuron,
chlorotoluron, with recoveries below 60% and atrazine, metolachlor, cyanazine with
recoveries higher than 120% (Kuster et al., 2007). When analyzing complex matrixes, with
minimal work up, matrix effects are noticeable in LC-MS/MS methods and can influence
notably the results (identification, quantification and confirmation). The major matrix
interferences are due to co-eluting compounds from the sample matrix that can affect the
analyte ionization process leading to a signal enhancement or signal suppression. Different
approaches have been proposed to overcome matrix effects: sample clean-up, the standard
additions method, use of matrix-matched standards, a simple sample dilution if the
instrument provides enough sensitivity, but the most widely method employed involves the
use of appropriate internal standards. Environmental waters have high sample composition
variability and it is difficult to find representative water samples that can be employed for
blank determinations and method validation. The problem is still present when using the
same type of water (surface, ground) because of their different origin. Therefore, the use of
matrix-matched standards, widely applied in analysis of fruits and vegetables, does not
provide a straightforward solution in the environmental field. If it is not possible to apply
the “dilute and shoot” methodology, the use of analyte isotope-labelled internal standard is
the preferred method to avoid matrix effects influence. This approach has some drawbacks,
as only a limited number of reference standards of all possible contaminants are available
which are also very expensive. Sometimes other compounds with similar chromatographic
properties or structural analogues of the analytes are used but the obtained data is no
always good enough (Marín et al., 2009). These authors compared the matrix effects from
seven different types of water either using HPLC or UHPLC and the use of labeled internal
standards to quantitate 37 pesticides using nine labelled internal standards (I.S). They
concluded that in environmental waters, matrix effect was generally a negative effect but no
general rules can be applied. Only the labelled pesticide as I.S assured a good correction.
Nevertheless for not too loaded waters, the uncorrected values were satisfactory.
In 2009, Mazzella et al. developed a method for the simultaneous determination of 30
triazines, phenylurea and chloroacetanilide herbicides in fresh and estuarine waters, this
work addresses two objectives; the development of an accurate method based on ESI-
MS/MS detection and the investigation of matrix effects. The pre concentration of the
analytes was accomplished by using SPE with Oasis HLB cartridges, with recoveries
between 73 to 122% and RSD ranged from 6 to 22% (Mazzella et al., 2009).
Ouyang et al., evaluated the performance of different SPE sorbents for the analysis of 10
sulphonylureas herbicides. The sorbents studied were: silica-based ODS-C18 and two
polymeric sorbents, Oasis HLB and Cleanert HXN. Analytes determination and quantitation
was carried out with liquid chromatography with electrospray mass spectrometry equipped
with ion trap analyzer. The recovery rates range from 76.6 to 109.1% with RSD between 0.3
to 13.8% with the HLB cartridges which was the best one of the three cartridges evaluated
(Ouyang et al., 2009).
Also gas chromatography, mainly with MS detection, has been extensively employed for the
measurement of herbicide residues in water; different methods had been reported in the
literature.
A GC-MS method was developed for the detection of triazine herbicides (atrazine, cyanazine,
simazine) and their decomposition products (deethylatrazine, deisopropylatrazine) in
environmental waters. The water samples were extracted using an octadecylsilica SPE
cartridge with recoveries and RSD in their acceptable ranges (Ma et al., 2003).
SPME combined with GC-MS was developed and employed for the determination of 10
herbicides (alachlor, atrazine, chlorotoluron, diclofop, diflufenicam, ethofumesata,
isoproturon, linuron, terbutryn and trifluralin) in surface and ground water. Microextraction
was performed with a polyacrylate fiber. It was found that thermally unstable phenylurea
herbicides decompose and the resulting anilines can be used for their identification. The
recovery of herbicides varied between 94±16 and 107±12% and the detection limit was below
1 µg L-1. It was stated that the method is sensitive, reproducible, easy to perform, and can be
applied for the quantitative determination of these herbicides in water (Carabias-Martínez et
al., 2003a; Carabias-Martínez et al., 2003b).
In 2008 Crespo-corral et al., describe the determination of carbamate, phenylurea and
phenoxy acid herbicide residues by gas chromatography after a potassium ter-
butoxide/dimethyl sulphoxide/ethyl iodide derivatization reaction. The method consisted
on the pre concentration of the sample using a C-18 sep-Pack cartridge followed by the
derivatization of the extract for the analysis with GC-FID and GC/MS in electron impact
(EI) and selected ion monitoring mode. The recoveries were in the range 81-99% with RSD
0.9-20.6% (Crespo-Corral et al., 2008).
As a curiosity, phenoxy herbicides have been detected even in rainfall waters in Canada
(Hill et al 2002).
3. Herbicide residues analysis in soil

Because of the possible strong binding of herbicides to the polar or apolar components of soil
and sediment, the use of an appropriate extraction and pre concentration method is the pre
requisite of a reliable chromatographic analysis (Cserháti, 2004). The analysis of pesticides in
solid environmental matrices, such as soil, sewage, sludge and sediments, has been addressed
in much fewer occasions than in water, probably because of the comparatively greater
complexity of the matrices and the absence of environmental quality standards (EQS).
The first and probably the most important step in pesticide residue analysis in soils is soil
characterization. There are many reports in the bibliography showing that the efficiency of
the extraction method is highly dependent not only on the nature of the soil but also the
amount of organic matter in it, being of paramount importance (Merini et al., 2008, Niell et
al., 2010). Many nonpolar herbicides are adsorbed to soil organic matter and the cationic
herbicides bind tightly to humic acids.
3.3 Sample conservation

In case that the soil sample will not be analyzed immediately, freezing to -20ºC is a
reasonable measure. Nevertheless, care should be taken if the moist sample is frozen.
Sample defrosting takes several hours and during this period microbial growth is
exponential and biodegradation of pesticides can occur. Therefore, to prevent the microbial
degradation of herbicides it is advisable to freeze-dry the sample and store it properly
afterwards. Soil samples without water are easy to handle and to subsample to perform the
analysis. To develop the method, the blank soil sample employed has to be treated as the
real samples will be handled. Soils can be either reconstructed adding water or extracted
directly with the extraction solvent. Nevertheless, it has to be considered that the dryness of
the soil increase the clay portion of the soil sorption capacity (Haouari et al., 2006), (Merini
et al., 2008), (He et al., 2006) but when water is added the interaction of the herbicide with
the humic matter of the soil is increased. These authors also found that the recoveries of
2,4DCP were higher as the water amount of the soil was increased. It is desirable therefore
to standardize the water content to the soil by adding a precise amount of water prior of
conducting the extraction of the herbicides trapped in the soil.
3.4 Spiking procedure

During the development and validation of the analytical method for soil analysis, the
spiking procedure is a crucial step for a successful appropriate analytical method. Pesticides
interact in different ways with soils making the reconstruction of that situation in vitro a
difficult task. Given that is almost impossible to overcome handicap, there are other points
that have to be considered: Spiking solvent selection, volume of the spiking solution, sample
homogenization, temperature for solvent evaporation. Merini et al., in 2008, evaluated such
parameters for Argentinean loamy soils. They have found that >80% recovery of 2,4 D was
obtained using 2000 µl of Methanol as spiking solvent but recoveries were lower using
lower volumes. When water was used for spiking, the recoveries dropped down to <50%.
3.5 Extraction solvents

Neutral analytes can be easily extracted using polar organic solvents (MeOH, ACN) or
aqueous (MeOH:H2O, (CH3)2CO:H2O) solutions of organic solvents. Ionic herbicides need
water solutions to extract them from soils. In many cases, in order to minimize Van der
Waals interactions between clay and humic acids, electrolytes like KCl can be employed to
give enough ionic force to the solution to displace the herbicides from the soil. In some
cases, the electrolyte also gives an adequate pH to get the most soluble form of the herbicide
and to break the interaction with charged soils particles. Particularly sulphonylureas can be
easily extracted with MeOH: Aq.0.1M (NH4)2CO3 (1:9) from different types of soils having
either low or high organic matter content. Nevertheless, the method failed to yield good
recoveries from other compounds like cyhalofop-butyl or bentazone. Also ionic compounds
like bispyribac sodium cannot be recovered properly (Niell et al., 2010). The most employed
herbicides nowadays cannot stand a thermally conducted extraction using methodologies
such as MASE or Soxhlet. Pressurized Solvent Extraction and supercritical CO2 extraction
with polar solvents as modifiers are methodologies usually reported for herbicide analysis,
but room temperature extractions either ultrasonic or shaker stirred still are the preferred
methodologies to perform herbicide extraction from soils. (Baugros et al., 2009; García-
Valcarcel & Tadeo, 2009). An example of the influence of the extraction solvents and
extraction methodology is shown in the following example. Six chemically different
herbicides residues (three sulphonylureas, bentazone, bispyribac-sodium and cyhalofop-
butyl) were extracted from four soils of different compositions commonly employed for rice
cultivation in Uruguay. The results are shown in Figure 2
Loam Clay soil High OM Loam Clay soil Low OM
120 100
90
100 80
recoveries
80 70
recoveries
60 60
50
40 40
20 30
20
0 10
0
n
p
n
n
e
ac
ro
fo
ro
on
ro
op
n
ac
n
ib
lo
lf u
fu
on
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ro
ro
ro
az
of
yr
ib
ha
lf u
fu
ul
az
fu
su
su
al
yr
nt
sp
ul
ul
ns
su
nt
Cy
yh
sp
et
ns
Be
zo
os
Bi
Be
et
Be
C
Bi
M
Be
az
ra
r
Py
Py
Loam soil Low OM Clay soil High OM
100 100
80 80
recoveries
recoveries
60 60
40 40
20 20
0 0
n
n
n
p
n
n
e
ac
ac
ro
fo
ro
ro
fo
ro
on
ro
on
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ib
ib
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lf u
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lf u
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az
az
yr
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ha
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ul
ul
su
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ns
ns
Cy
Cy
et
et
Be
zo
Be
zo
Bi
Bi
Be
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M
M
ra
ra
Py
Py
Fig. 2. Recoveries of herbicides from different soil types using two different extraction
solvents and two different sitrring procedures (Heinzen et al, unpublished)
MeOH: AcOEt (7:3),Ultrasonic bath for 15 minutes
MeOH: 0.1 M (NH4)2CO3 (1:9; v/v), magnetic stirred.
MeOH: AcOEt (7:3), magnetic stirred.
Herbicide recoveries depend on the soil type and the extraction procedure. Different
recoveries were observed for the herbicides depending On the type of soil. As a general
trend it can be observed that the amount of organic matter usually decreases herbicide
recoveries either in clay or loamy soils and the recoveries from loam soils are better than
those obtained from clay soils. Aqueous solution of high ionic strength with 10% Methanol
gave better recoveries when extracting herbicides from clay soils. Even if the same solvent is
used, the stirring method, either ultrasound or magnetic stirring, influences the overall
herbicide recovery.
Synthetic herbicides are active at very low doses. Table 6 shows the usual application doses
of imidazolinones, sulfonylureas and some individual compounds that are employed
worldwide.
Herbicide kg ha-1 kgm-2(x10-6)

Sulphonylureas 0.3-0.5 3-5
Imidazolinones 0.1-0.35 1-3.5
Alachlor 0.5-2.0 5-20
Clomazone 1.1 11
Metribuzin 0.57 6
Quinclorac 5-10 50-100
Table 6. Application dose of herbicides per area unit
The concentration of the herbicide applied per m2 is within the mg range. Taking into
account that usually a 1 kg soil sample is made from mixing many subsamples that covered
approximately a 10x20 cm of the superficial soil, the amount of herbicide to be detected is in
the sub milligram range or ppbs.
In a miniaturized protocol, usually less than 20 g of soil are employed for residue analysis.
The detection and quantitation procedure must be sensitive enough to detect the
compounds under investigation at such level. The physicochemical properties like the
Henry´s law constant and Kow shows that most of the herbicides are either polar or not
volatile enough to be GC-analyzed. Nevertheless, in the past, GC/ECD, NPD or sQuad MS
operating in the SIM mode detectors were the method of choice to quantify the
agrochemicals searched. In many cases, a derivatization step was mandatory as for phenoxy
auxin herbicides sometimes indirect detection of the analytes was the only option:
thermolabile herbicides like ureas are detected as the corresponding anilines (Berrada et al.,
2004). Phenylureas, can be determined directly by GC but some derivatization reactions
have been reported to obtain less polar and more volatile compounds. Some of the reagents
commonly used are the alkyl iodide and heptafluorobutyric anhydride (HFBA), where the
latest one gives very stable derivatization products with a high ECD response. This family of
pesticides can also be determined as their thermal decomposition products (isocyanates)
that may be obtained quantitatively under closely controlled conditions (Tadeo et al., 2000).
Phenylureas also decompose to the corresponding anilines in the GC injection port. This
property was applied (Berrada et al., 2004) for the GC determination of phenylureas after
MSPE extraction from vegetables with a polyacrilate fiber.
The other old instrumental approach was to use HPLC coupled to UV and fluorescence
detectors and later on sQuadMS. The fluorescence detector is very sensitive and selective,
and applying pre or post column derivatization, very complicated analytes like glyphosate
and AMPA have been routinely analyzed worldwide since twenty years ago.
On the other hand UV detection has many interferences from the soil matrix as it is neither
as sensitive nor as specific towards analytes in complex mixtures. Nevertheless, they have
been used for years. (Patsias et al., 2002, Niell et al., 2010) Normally, the detection level is
Not lower than 0.1mgkg-1L-1 in the injected sample. Therefore, sample size must be
increased and the extracting solution concentrated in order to get enough analyte to be
detected. The main disadvantage is that the other matrix components also concentrate,
yielding noisy chromatograms and the herbicide peaks are difficult to identify and in many
cases impossible to quantify if a S/N 10:1 has to be reached. HPLC/MS operating in the SIM
mode is a more powerful analytical tool and many problems had been solved using this
approach, but mainly focused on single residue analysis. The MS detector is also a universal
one and interferences from matrices are common, driving to false positives in many cases.
LC-MS/MS techniques are the most powerful methods for pesticide trace analysis
particularly herbicides. They offer the possibility of selectively analyze the fragmentation of
an ion which was ionized in the first MS cycle. The selectivity achieved and the sensitivity is
also remarkable. This advance in the detection and quantitation of trace compounds boosted
the strict EU-regulations on contaminant levels allowed in different food matrices. Screening
of contaminants is performed mainly with Time of flight instruments (ToF), in MS or
MS/MS modes. ToF instruments can determine exact masses for the compounds detected
and therefore, unequivocal identification of the analyte is performed. Sorbents used for on-
line SPE or MSPE extraction have included both traditional (alkylbonded silica and
polymers) (Djozan & Ebrahimi, 2008) and novel molecular imprinted polymers (MIP)
materials. MIPs have been proven to be valuable materials for the selective extraction of
pesticides (the template molecule and structurally related compounds). The inherent
selectivity of the molecular recognition of these materials allows a high degree of sample
clean-up to be achieved (Cacho et al., 2009). Zhang et al., reports the preparation of a new
non-covalently bonded MIP and its evaluation for pre concentration of metribuzin in soil
samples, this MIP was prepared by in-situ polymerization using methacrylic acid (MAA) as
the functional monomer and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EDMA) as cross-linker. An on-
line procedure was, furthermore, employed for the quantitative determination of metribuzin
with pre concentration on the monolithic polymer pre-column. MIP can be combined with
stir bar extraction for the determination of nicosulfuron (Yang et al., 2010), achieving a
sensitivity for water and soils at the nM level. The sample preparation consisted on the
maceration of 25 g of soil sample with acetone: water (4:1), followed by filtration and later
extraction with dichloromethane in the presence of 20% sodium chloride solution. This
sample solution was concentrated and analyzed directly with the on-line procedure. The
effectiveness of the MIP was evaluated by LC (Zhang et al., 2009).
In 2008, Lesueur et al., compared four different extraction methods for the analysis of 12
herbicides and two transformation products. The methods were a) ultrasonic solvent
extraction (USE) consisting on the extraction of 20g of sample with a 1:2 solution of
water/acetonitrile, b) a PLE experiment where 5g of sample were mixed with 1g of silica gel
and extracted with acetonitrile/acetone (1:1), c) QuEChERS method and d) European Norm
DIN 12393. The analyses were performed by using a LC tandem mass spectrometry system
equipped with an electrospray ionization interface operated in positive mode. The lowest
recoveries were obtained with the USE method; on the contrary the higher recoveries were
obtained with QuEChERS method, between 27-120%. Nevertheless, the lowest limits of
detection were obtained with the European Norm DIN 12393 and the highest with
QuEChERS and PLE methods (Lesueur et al., 2008).
In 2009, Wu et al., analyzed four sulphonylureas by dispersive solid-phase extraction (dSPE)

followed by dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) and HPLC. The dSPE-
DLLME procedure consisted on the extraction of 10 g of soil with 20 mL acetone/0.15 M
NaHCO3 (2:8) vigorously shaken for 30 min. For dSPE 0.15g of C-18 per 10mL extract was
added and shaken. For the DLLME 5mL aliquot of the extract were mixed with 60µL
chlorobenzene (as extraction solvent), after vortexing and centrifugation the chlorobenzene
residue was dissolved in acetonitrile and analyzed by HPLC. The recovery rates varied from
76-93% with RSD from 5 to 7%. The authors noticed that compared with other conventional
sample preparation methods, this analytical technique offers advantages such as simplicity,
ease operation, relatively short analysis time, and lower consume of solvent (Wu et al.,
2009). Ionic fluids, one of the most popular class of green solvents, are interesting solvents
for performing DLLME of herbicides either in water or soil and food aqueous extracts. A
room temperature ionic liquid, 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate
([C6MIM][PF6]), was used as extraction solvent and Triton X 114 was used as dispersant. A
mixture of 175µL of ([C6MIM][PF6]) and 50µL 10% Triton X 114 was rapidly injected into the
20mL honey sample by syringe. Herbicides (chlortoluron, prometon, propazine, linuron and
prebane) residues were quantified below the 0.01 mgkg-1 range (Wang, 2010).
Sulphonylureas have been detected in Canadian wetlands sediment where no agriculture
activities had been performed (Degenhart et al., 2010) and in a real situation, a Multirresidue
method by Pressurized Liquid Extraction and GC of vineyard soils allowed the
simultaneous and GC allowed the simultaneous determination of two herbicides, three
fungicides and two Insecticides at ppb level (Schreck et al., 2008).
Diez et al., studied the soil dissipation kinetics of 12 herbicides used on a rain-fed barley
crop, the extraction of the soils was carried out with a mixture of acetone, water, and acetic
acid (30:7.5:0.3) followed by the analysis in a GC/MS. The extraction method was previously
validated for the extraction of 40 herbicides in soils, with recoveries between 71-108% and
RSD in the range 0.6-8% (Díez et al., 2008; Díez & Barrado, 2010). The determination by GC-
(ITD)MS/MS of triazines, alachlor and metabolites from soils was also performed after
Microwave Assisted Extraction (Vryzas et al., 2007).
3.6 Herbicide residues analysis in cereals.

Analysis of herbicide residue involves different steps such as extraction, interference
removal, determination of the herbicide residues and their confirmation. All these analysis
are generally performed by using several analytical techniques.
The determination of herbicides was initially carried out by colorimetric and
spectrophotometric methods but the sensitivity was not enough to meet the regulations and
therefore more sensitive methods have been created in order to reach the limits of detection
demanded.
The extraction techniques used for the analysis of herbicide residue in cereals depends on
the characteristic of the matrix and the polarity of the herbicides.
In recent years, the development of multiresidue methods (MRM) has taken a high profile,
however, there are several pesticides that cannot be included in MRM thus single residue
methods (SRM) has to be implemented, which means more workload and expenses for the
laboratories (Poulsen et al., 2009).
Some examples of herbicides which need these kinds of SRM are glyphosate and their
metabolites, acidic herbicides or trazines. Table 7 summarizes different MRM which involve
the determination of herbicides in cereals used during cereals cropping, while in Table 9 the
main single extraction methods for some important herbicides are also presented.
Another important factor that the analyst has to take into account is whether the sample
suffered an industrial process or if it is raw material. During cereal processing specially
during the milling step a big part of the fats components, which are generally found in the
bran, are lost. This is an advantage from an analytical point of view, because the sample
treatment will not be so exhaustive.
3.7 Extraction and clean-up

Extraction of herbicides from food depends on their polarity and also on the type of matrix.
Generally it consists on the homogenization of the sample with an organic solvent alone or
mixed with water or pH adjusted, using an ultrasonic bath, a blender or a homogenizer
(Lambropoulou & Albanis, 2007).
After the extraction process generally a clean-up procedure is carried out in order to remove
the co-extracted compounds that may act as interference during the chromatographic
analysis, causing problems in the detection and quantitation of the analytes.
As discussed before, extraction of residues from food depends strongly on the polarity of
the selected herbicides, but also on the selectivity and sensitivity of the detection technique
employed in their determination.
Nowadays, one of the most used MRM method is QuEChERS (Quick, Easy, Cheap,
Effective, Rugged and Safe) but for certain herbicides the use of PSA during the clean-up, or
the pH during the extraction causes low recoveries due to poor extraction or chemical
interaction with the PSA sorbent. Therefore, several modifications have been implemented
in order to improve the recoveries for these kinds of herbicides (CRL website; Anastassiades
et al., 2003; Lehotay et al., 2005).
Despite the fact that in routine analysis laboratories prefer the use of few methods with a
wide scope, some pesticides, especially some kinds of herbicides require particular
extraction conditions and / or clean-up.
The most used herbicides in cereal cropping belong to the phenoxy, phenyl and
sulphonylurea families of herbicides. Nevertheless, there are some others like glyphosate,
propanil, bentazone (a banned herbicide within the EU) that are also widely used
(Herrmann et al., 2006).
This section is focused on the analytical techniques for the determination of most of these
herbicides.
The phenoxy herbicides are widely applied as salts or esters but they decompose by
hydrolysis, in the plant, to their respective acids thus the extraction of these herbicides is
generally carried out with high polarity organic solvents such as MeOH, EtOH or mixtures
with water. However these herbicides are best analyzed when they are extracted as their
free acids. In general, both acid and basic hydrolysis followed two different strategies. On
one hand, samples are hydrolyzed and the free acids extracted with an organic solvent. On
the other hand, the parent herbicide and its conjugates are extracted by organic solvents and
subsequently hydrolyzed.
Table 7 summarizes the main methodologies used for the analysis of these herbicides in
cereals.
Extraction
Matrix Clean-up Ref. Analytical Technique
Procedure
Liquid Chromatography
Unpolished Pressurized Liquid LLE/SPE:ENVI- (Itoh et al., Atmospheric Pressure
Rice Extraction Carb/LC-NH2 2009) Photoionization mass
spectrometry
Polished QuEChERS (1% (Niell et al., Liquid chromatography
---
rice HAc in MeCN) 2010) DAD detection
tandem mass
(Díez et al., spectrometry
Barley QuEChERS MSPD: PSA, MgSO4
2006) Gas Chromatography-
time of flight-mass
spectrometry
SPE: BondElut® PSA Liquid
Unpolished Supercritical Fluid over Sep-Pak® (Kaihara et Chromatography-
Rice Extraction Florisil column al., 2002) Electrospray Ionization
connected in tandem mass spectrometry
Gas Chromatography
CH2Cl2 ultrasonic (Pengyan et mass spectrometry by
Rice SPE: Florisil
bath al., 2006) selected ion monitoring
mode
Liquid
Cooked
MeCN, shaker, (Lee et al., Chromatography-
polished ---
ultrasonic bath 2009) Electrospray Ionization
rice, wheat
mass spectrometry
MSPD: PSA, MgSO4/ (Liu et al., Gas Chromatography
Rice QuEChERS
GPC 2007) mass spectrometry
(Libin et al., Gas Chromatography
Rice QuEChERS MSPD: PSA, MgSO4
2006) mass spectrometry
Supelclean ENVI-18 Liquid
cartridge/Supelclean (Takatori et Chromatography-
Rice QuEChERS
ENVI-carb II/PSA al., 2008) Electrospray Ionization
cartridge. mass spectrometry
Gas Chromatography
MSPD: PSA, MgSO4, (Nguyen et mass spectrometry by
Rice QuEChERS
GCB al., 2007) selected ion monitoring
mode
Gas Chromatography
Unpolished Ethylacetate, (Zhang et mass spectrometry by
GPC/ SPE Florisil
rice homogenizer al., 2006) selected ion monitoring
mode
Gas Chromatography
MSPD: PSA, MgSO4, (Nguyen et mass spectrometry by
Rice QuEChERS
GCB al., 2008) selected ion monitoring
mode
Extraction
Matrix Clean-up Ref. Analytical Technique
Procedure
a. ENVI-18
a. Gas Chromatography
cartridges/ENVIcarb
Rice, mass spectrometry,
cartridges/Sep-Pak
wheat, Accelerated Solvent (Pang et al., b. Liquid
NH2 cartridge
maize, Extraction 2006) Chromatography-
b. Sep-Pak Alumina
barley, oats Electrospray Ionization
N cartridge/Sep-Pak
mass spectrometry
NH2 cartridge
a.Water/1% formic
acid in MeCN Ultraperformance liquid
b. Water/1% formic (Mol et al., Chromatography
Maize ---
acid in MeOH 2008) electrospay ionization
c. Water/1% formic mass spectrometry
acid in acetone
Liquid
MeCN:acetone:light
(Pizzutti et Chromatography-
Soybean petroleum (1:1:1), GPC
al., 2007) Electrospray Ionization
homogenizer
mass spectrometry
LLE (MeCN,
Gas Chromatography.
ethylacetate, 1M (Hirahara et
Soybean SPE: SAX/PSA Detectors FPD, ECD,
phosphate buffer al., 2005)
MSD
pH 7
Wheat,
Buffered (Herrmann Gas Chromatography
Rye, Rice, MSPD: PSA, MgSO4
QuEChERS et al., 2006) Ion trap Detection
Maize
Citrate Buffered MSPD: PSA, MgSO4, (Walorckyk, Gas Chromatography
Wheat
QuEChERS C-18 2007) mass spectrometry
Electrospray
Water/MeOH, (Klein &
Wheat flour NaCl/ChemElut Ionization/atmospheric
Ultra Turrax Alder, 2003)
pressure ionization mass
spectrometry
Citrate buffered
Wheat QuEChERS CRL
Freezing (optional) Electrospray mass
Flour Basic Hydrolysis webpage
spectrometry
(optional)
Citrate Buffered MSPD: PSA, MgSO4, (Walorckyk, Gas Chromatography
Wheat
QuEChERS C-18 2008) mass spectrometry
Table 7. Main methodologies used for the multiresidue analysis of herbicides in cereals.
Herbicides like molinate, atrazine, diuron are normally included and determined in many of
the MRM methods listed above along with insecticides and funguicides (Cervera et al., 2010).
The following example (Figure 3) shows the multiresidue analysis using HPLC-MS/MS of
fifteen herbicides currently employed in rice production. Table 8 summarizes the most
relevant analytical features of the analyzed pesticides.
tR Quantitation Confirmation Fragmentor CE1 CE 2

Pesticide Mode of action
(min) MRM1 MRM2 (V) (eV) (eV)
Azimsulfur 447.1/178.1 425.0 / 182.1 120 / 90 10 15
Sulphonylureas 17.3
on
Bensulfuro 411.1 / 182.0 411.1 / 149.0 150 20 15
Sulphonylureas 18.7
n-methyl
Bispyribac pyrimidinyloxyben
19.2 453.1 / 297.1 453.1 / 179.1 150 15 20
sodium zoic acid
261.0 / 205.0 261.0 / 188.0 90 10 20
Bromacil uracyl 14.2
Clomazone unclassified 19.4 240.1 / 125.0 240.1 / 89.0 150 20 60
Cyhalofop- aryloxyphenoxypro
10.4 357.8 / 256.0 357.8 / 302.0 150 / 165 40 12
butyl pionic
Fluroxypyr pyridine 14.5 255.0 / 181.0 255.0 / 209.0 120 20 15
Imazapic imidazolinone 9.6 276.1 / 163.2 276.1 / 145.0 150 30 40
Imazapyr imidazolinone 6.5 262.1 / 149.1 262.1 / 217.0 150 30 30
Imazaquin imidazolinone 14.3 312.1 / 199.0 312.1 / 153.2 90/150 30 50
Imazosulfu
Sulphonylureas 18.6 413.1 / 156 413.1 / 153.0 150 20 5
ron
Molinate thiocarbamate 21.4 188.2 / 126.1 188.2 / 55.1 80 10 20
Pyrazosulfu
Sulphonylureas 20.3 415.1 / 182.1 415.1 / 139.1 120 / 90 25 50
ron-ethyl
Propaquiza aryloxyphenoxypro
26.3 444.1 / 371.1 444.1 / 100.1 140 15 15
fop pionic
quinolinecarboxylic
Quinclorac 14.4 242.0 / 223.0 242.0 / 161.0 90 10 40
acid
Table 8. Instrument acquisition data used for the analysis of the selected herbicides by LC-
QqQ/MS tR, retention time, CE, collision energy.
Fig. 3. Analysis of the selected herbicides by LC-QqQ/MS after different QuEChERS

procedures at 5μgkg-1 (Pareja et al, unpublished)
For conditions see Table 8.
Different QueChERS based procedures allowed a good extraction and clean up of the
complex rice matrix at very low levels, with recoveries ranging between 60-120% ( Pareja et
al, 2009)
4. Single residue methods

%Recovery
Analyte Matrix Extraction Procedure: SRM Ref.
(% RSD)
Glyphosate 3 g of wheat with 25 mL water were
extracted twice by ultrasonication. The extract was
centrifuged and filtered. The clean up was performed
Glyphosate, by using a polystyrene reverse phase column. (Anderse
89, 93, 90
chlormequa, Wheat Chlormequat, mepiquat 10 g of sample was extracted n et al.,
mepiquat with MeOH/water/acetic acid by ultraturrax. The 2007)
centrifuged extracts were clean-up on a SPE-C-18
column with MeOH/water/ammonium acetate
buffer.
1 g of grain flour with 20 mL water were vortexed for
1 min. Overnight standing extraction and then
centrifuged for 10 min. Clean up: 1 mL of the extract
was loaded into a preconditioned 100 mg C-18- (Hogend
88-99
Glyphosate Cereals bonded silica cartridge. The cartridge was placed on oorn et
(5.3-7.1)
top of a calibrated tube. 1.5 mL of the supernatant was al., 1999)
transferred into the cartridge and by means of over
pressure passed through the cartridge and collected
into the tube.
25 g of sample were extracted with 40 mL
acetonitrile/0.1M hydrochloric acid (80:20) and mixed
Fenoxaprop
for 10 min on a shaker. The extract was filtered and (Lucini &
-p-ethyl, 74.1-98.3
Rice the paper washed twice with acetone. The filtrate was Molinari,
isoxadifen- 83.3-100.9
loaded onto the Chemelut CE250 column and eluted 2010)
ethyl with 150 mL cyclohexane/ethylacetate, the eluate
evaporated to dryness.
3 g of flour were packed into a 11 mL extraction cell
Wheat and extracted with EtOH at 100 atm at 120 ºC with an
extraction time of 15 min divided as follows:
Chlormequ and (Marches
preheating (1min), heating (8 min directly set by 83-99
at, other e et al.,
microprocessor on the grounds of the selected
Mepiquat cereals temperature value), static step (5 min) and purging (1 2009)
flour min). Subsequent to extraction 50 µL of IS solution
were added to each sample.
PMAE. 2 g of sample with 20 mL MeOH were placed
in the extraction vessel. The magnetron power was set
at 100% (600 W). The extraction temperature increased
gradually until it reached 105 ºC in that moment the 71.9-83.7
extraction was performed for 10 min. After the (5.3-10.6)
completion of the extraction the vessels were allowed
71.5-80.6
Cereal- to cool at room temperature for 20 min. The extract
(6.9-12.9) (You et
Triazines based was filtered and the sediments were rinsed 3 times
38.9-74.9 al., 2007)
foods with MeOH. The mixture was dried by rotatory
evaporator at 45 ºC and redissolved in acetonitrile. (3.8-9.4)
AMAE. 2 g of sample were refluxed with 40 mL 64.5-74.2
MeOH for 20 min in a modified household microwave (3.3-5.6)
oven with 30 % output maximum power of 800 W and
a distilling flask fitted with water cooling condenser
tube. The extract was filtered and the sediments were
%Recovery
(% RSD)
rinsed three times with MeOH. The mixture was dried
by rotatory evaporator at 45 ºC and redissolved in
acetonitrile.
UE 2 g of sample with 40 mL MeOH were placed into
a 100 mL flask and extracted in a water bath and
sonicated for 90 min. After completing extraction the
extract was filtered and the flask rinsed three times
with MeOH. The mixture was dried by rotatory
evaporator at 45 ºC and reconstituted in acetonitrile.
SE 2 g of sample were placed in a glass soxhlet
thimble and 40 mL MeOH were added in a 100 mL
flask, The flask was fitted with water cooling
condenser tube and immersed in a water bath. SE was
carried out for 2 h at 100 ºC. After that the extract was
filtered and the sediments were rinsed three times
with MeOH. The mixture was dried by rotatory
evaporator at 45 ºC and rsuspeded in acetonitrile.
QuEChERS. 10 g of rice with 5 mL water were
vortexed for 1 min. 10 ml 0.5 % acetic acid in MeCN
were added and shaken two times in vortex. 4 g
13 phenoxy MgSO4, 1.0 g of tri-Na, 0.5 g di-Na citrate and 1g of (Koesuk
45-104
acids Rice NaCl were added, vortexed and centrifuged. Clean wiwat et
(< 13.3)
herbicides up: an aliquot of the extract with 250 mg C-18, 100 mg al., 2008)
of alumina neutral and 1.5 g MgSO4, were shaken and
centrifuged. 5 mL of the solution were concentrated to
dryness and reconstituted for analysis.
Solvent Extraction/SPE. 10 g of rice were homogenized
with 50 mL MeCN for 2 min, and filtered into a mixing
cylinder and sealed with a stopper, 10 g of NaCl were
added and shaked, and the phases were allowed to
15
stand for 20 min. A 25 mL portion of the supernatant 75.3-104.3 (Mou et
phenylureas Rice
was evaporated to dryness, and dissolved in 2 mL n- (1.5-9.6) al., 2008)
herbicides hexane. Clean up: the extract was transferred to a
Florisil SPE column and eluted with 5 mL acetone:n-
hexane (40:60), then concentrated to dryness and
dissolved in MeCN: water (1:1) for analysis.
Solvent Extraction. 15 g of sample with 4 mL of water
and 30 mL acetone were placed in a centrifuged bottle
homogenized using an ultra turrax for 30 s at 13500
rpm. Then 30 mL hexane and 30 mL dichloromethane
were added to the bottle and homogenized for further
Cereal 1 min at 13500 rpm. The matrix and extract were
(Winrow
grains separated by centrifugation for 2 min and the extract 94-100
Isoproturon et al.,
and decanted into a 200 mL volumetric flask. The matrix (0.8-5.8)
was resuspended in 30 mL acetone, 30 mL
2003)
pasta
dichloromethane and 30 mL hexane and extracted
again for 1 min. The 2nd extract was mixed with the
previous one and made up to 200 mL with
dichloromethane. A 4 mL aliquot was transferred into
a borosilicate glass culture tube, 50 µL of 50%
%Recovery
(% RSD)
propylene glycol in acetone was added and the
mixture evaporated under a nitrogen stream. The
residue was reconstituted with 1 mL dichloromethane
and placed onto a SPR cartridge containing 200 mg
aminopropyl sorbent. The sample tube was rinsed
successively with 0.5 mL dichloromethane and 2 mL
dichloromethane/MeOH (99:1). The combined eluates
were evaporated to nearly dryness and the residue
reconstituted in 1 mL MeOH for analysis.
5 g of sample were extracted with 0.1M NaOH
(2x25mL) in a sorvall homogenizer, the extract was
filtered and the filter cake washed twice with 5 mL of
the basic aqueous solution. The extract was mixed
with 25 mL saturated sodium chloride solution and
the pH lowered to near 5 by the addition of 2 M
H2SO4, the solution let stand for 15 min and the liquid (Sánchez-
Phenoxy Cereals
decanted. Then the pH of the solution was lowered 95.5-104.0 Brunete
acids (plant
again to 1 the solution was transferred to a separatory (1.4-10.3) et al.,
herbicides samples) funnel and extracted with diethyl ether (2 x 50 mL).
1994)
The organic phase was extracted with 0.5 M NaHCO3
(2 x 25 mL), the combined aqueous solution acidified
to pH 1 by adding carefully 3M H2SO4 (10 mL) and
extracted with CHCl3 (2 x 25 mL). The organic phase
was filtered through Na2SO4 and solvent concentrated
to dryness under vacuum.
Rice 5 g of milled rice and 40 mL water were sonicated
for 3 min, after resting for 30 min it was centrifuged
for the AG1-X8 anion exchange chromatography.
Soybean 5 g of soybean sprouts with 25 mL water
were mixed in a shaker for 10 min, after resting for 1
min 15 mL acetone were added and centrifuged for
the AG1-X8 anion exchange chromatography.
30 mL of soybean extract or rice extract were applied
onto a preconditioned AG1-X8/ Dowex 1-X2 column
which was first washed with 15 mL 40 % acetone and
eluted by repeated elution with 15 mL of 0.5 N HCl
Glyphosate, 72-119 (6.7-
five times. Each pooled eluate was dried under
Gluphosina Rice, 9.6) (Tseng et
reduced pressure at a temperature lower than 55 ºC
te and their soybean 86-101 (4.7- al., 2004)
for the derivatization reaction and Florisil clean-up.
metabolites Florisil clean-up of the derivatization products: 6.5)
derivatives in mixed standard solution were dissolved
in 1 mL ethylacetate and applied to a Florisil cartridge
(500 mg, 6 mL) previously conditioned with 5 mL
ethylacetate. The cartridge was eluted with 10 mL
ethylacetate followed by 10 mL of acetone, 10 mL
acetone / MeOH (1:1) mixture, 10 mL acetone /
MeOH (1:2) mixture and 10 mL MeOH. Each pooled
fraction of mix standard solution was dried under
reduced pressure and then dissolved in 1 mL
ethylacetate for analysis.
%Recovery
(% RSD)
PLE 7 g of sample were mixed with 4.5 g of
hydromatrix and placed in a 34 mL extraction cell and
extracted with dichloromethane/n-hexane (1:4)
solution. The PLE conditions were as follows: pressure
1500 psi, heating time 5 min, purge volume 60%,
purge time 100 s, 2 static cycles, static time 6 min. The
total extraction time was 21 min, the extract were
evaporated to dryness in a rotavapor at 40-50 ºC and
(Carabias
the dry residue reconstituted with 5 mL
Trazine 106-125 -Martínez
Wheat dichloromethane/n-hexane/acetone (1:1:1). The clean-
herbicides (6-18) et al.,
up was performed using OASIS MCX cartridges
conditioned with 10 mL dichloromethane, once the 2007)
retention step has been completed the cartridges were
dried under vacuum for 10 min. The elution of the
retain compounds was accomplished with 4 mL of
25% ammonia solution /MeOH (15:85). The organic
phase was then dried under a stream of nitrogen at 40-
50 ºC and reconstituted in 0.5 mL of MeOH/water
(1:1) for analysis.
Table 9. Main methodologies used for the single residue analysis of herbicides in cereals.
(Pareja el al unpublished)
Glyphosate is a highly polar herbicide, very soluble in water and insoluble in most organic
solvents. For this reason its extraction is generally performed with water or
water/chloroform, sometimes at acidic pH, but in this process different components of the
matrix are co-extracted thus a clean-up procedure is required (Tadeo et al., 2000).
In Table 9 three different analytical methodologies for the determination of glyphosate in
cereals are described. Hogendoorn et al., in 1999 described the rapid determination of
glyphosate by means of pre-column derivatization with 9-fluorenylmethyl chloroformate
and coupled column liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection. The overall
recovery of this herbicide was 86% with a RSD of 9.5%. This procedure implies the
extraction with water followed by a clean-up step in a C-18 bonded silica cartridge. The
extract was then subjected to derivatization and analysis (Hogendoorn et al., 1999).
In 2004 Tseng et al., reported the analysis of this herbicide and its metabolites in rice and
soybean by extraction with water or acetone followed by a clean-up in an AG1-X8/ Dowex
1-X2 anion exchange column and then a single derivatization with trimethylortoacetate in
the presence of HAc. The derivative products were then purified using a Florisil cartridge.
The detection of these analytes was made by using a gas chromatograph with flame
photometric detector. The recoveries and RSDs were 72% and 6.5% for rice and 86% and 6.5
% for soybean respectively with a limit of detection of 20 µgkg-1 (Tseng et al., 2004).
In 2007, Andersen et al., organized an intercomparison study for the determination of
glyphosate and other herbicides in wheat. The authors described the procedure used by
their laboratory for the analysis of these herbicides as follows; the extraction of the analytes
with water and then a clean-up step online on a polystyrene based reverse phase column
and separated by ion chromatography-HPLC tandem mass spectrometry. The average
recovery was 96% with a coefficient of variation of 4% (Andersen et al., 2007).
The EU-CRL for SRM in Stuttgart used a straightforward methanol extraction at pH<2 of
wheat flour to validate a new multi class residue method for traditionally analyzed
herbicides and metabolites using SRM like glyphosate, AMPA and gluphosinate and MPPA.
This procedure was used to analyze some fruits and vegetables matrices.
Glyphosate shares structural similarities with amino acids and therefore has low UV
absorption and fluorescence is low and also presents the disadvantage that vaporizes easily
upon heating. Thus, it presents difficulties in the quantification by high performance liquid
chromatography (LC-UV), LC fluorescence detection and gas chromatography. The analysis
of this herbicide by gas chromatography requires its derivatization, this procedure involves
the use of trifluoroacetic anhydride (TFAA) and trifluoroethanol, TFAA and diazomethane
or HBFA and 2-choroethanol (Tadeo et al., 2000).
Gas and liquid chromatography with classical detectors.
Gas chromatography is widely used in the analysis of herbicide residues, due to the high
selectivity and sensitivity of the detection systems.
The classical detectors most often used are the flame ionization detector (FID), nitrogen-
phosphorus detector (NPD), Thermo ionic detection, electro capture detection (ECD), but in
the last decade MS coupled to GC has been the choice for the analysis of herbicides,
especially in MRM methods (Tadeo et al., 2000).
The NPD is employed for herbicides containing nitrogen, such as triazines, dinitroanilines
or chloroacetamides, this detection system allows limits of detection in the range of
µg-mg kg-1.
In the case of ECD, this detector has high sensitivity for halogenated compounds, although
its linear range is narrow. It has been used in the analysis of halogenated phenoxyacids,
benzonitriles, dinitroanilines, glyphosate and multiresidue analysis, frequently after
derivatization.
Liquid Chromatography (LC) is very useful for polar, thermally labile and low-volatility
pesticides which in general cannot be directly analyzed by GC, so LC is preferred instead of
the use of derivatization techniques.
Most pesticides, including those not easily analyzed by GC, can also be separated by high-
performance liquid chromatography without the need of chemical derivatization.
phenylureas, organophosphorus pesticides, triazines, quaternary ammonium compounds
and chlorinated phenoxy acids are examples of pesticides submitted to LC analysis
(Thurman et al., 2005).
Conventional LC detectors such as the UV detector are, however, not selective enough for
pesticide analysis in complex matrices. Moreover, selective detectors such as fluorescence
detection can only be applied after derivatization.
GC-MS/MS and LC-MS/MS
Over the last 20 years liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS) techniques have
advanced dramatically in their sensitivity, specificity and reliability. Detection of sub-ppt
concentrations is becoming routine for many organic analytes and methods achieving
detection of a few hundred femtograms of some analytes have been reported. Such progress
Is mostly due to the development of hyphenated LC–tandem MS techniques, which are
today the methods of choice for the determination of trace organic analytes in food and
environmental samples. Such growth in the use of LC–MS/MS for the analysis of organic
contaminants in environmental matrices has been compelled by the need for high-quality
data on their occurrence in the environment at very low concentration levels (Petrovic
et al., 2010).
5. Conclusion
Herbicides are integrated to the general cropping systems. Routine herbicide application in
intensive crop production is performed following a more or less strict calendar but the
number of applications can be more frequent if a weed suddenly threatens the culture. The
rotational no-tillage based productive system winter crop-summer crop uses many
herbicides like atrazine, sulphonylureas and imidazolinones that can accumulate in soils
and in a carry-over phenomenon injure the newly planted crop. Herbicides can be found in
every environmental compartment but their occurrence in water, soils and crops are of
paramount importance from a toxicological point of view. Herbicides that have low Kow
and Koc, can be found in water, either ground or surface through run off, leaching or
lixiviation. Therefore herbicides can be found not only in the application site as they migrate
through water flows. On the other hand, high Koc and /or Kow herbicides remain trapped
in soils. Many different analytical methodologies have been developed to determine
pesticide residue concentrations. Herbicide residue analysis is not only a valuable tool to
evaluate threshold damage limits for the carry over phenomenon but also their residual
levels knowledge are fundamental to evaluate the sustainability of the global
agroecosystem. The development of chromatographic hyphenated MS/MS techniques allow
the broadening of MRMs scope and therefore, lower detections limits with high accuracy
have been reached for a high number of pesticides, but the most commonly developed
MRM include only few herbicides. The challenges of herbicide residue analysis are the low
application dose of the active substances and therefore, sample handling and clean-up
procedures are still the bottle neck of the analytical methodologies. Selective clean up
procedures have been developed to isolate and concentrate the searched compounds during
the last years. In this context, an increasing amount of methods for different food and
environmental matrices have been published. New analytical procedures based on selective
polymer extraction (MIP, SPME) are interesting possibilities. As general procedure, SPE
extraction is the method of choice for water. Nevertheless, for herbicide residue analysis in
soil, the type of soil determined the scope and clean up methodology to follow. After the
success of the GMO soybean RR glyphosate-resistant variety, the trend for new crop
varieties introduction is based on their selective resistance to specific herbicides like
imidazolinones or gluphosinate and sulphonylureas. If these herbicides will be applied in
no-tillage production systems at the same ratio as glyphosate is nowadays, environmental
issues will probably arise, as imidazolinones and sulphonylureas are semi persistent
molecules.
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7
Prevention of Herbicides Pollution Using

Sorbents in Controlled Release Formulations
Fernández-Pérez, M., Villafranca-Sánchez, M.,
Flores-Céspedes, F. and Daza-Fernández, I.
University of Almería
Spain
1. Introduction
At present, the consume of great quantities of herbicides for crop protection is supposing an
important challenge for the maintenance of the welfare state. The correct use of such
substances will contribute to protect the natural resources avoiding environment pollution
and harm on the public health.
In spite of the great effort made by the agrochemical industry in the last decades,
developing new biodegradable herbicides, and producing new types of formulations such
as concentrated in suspension, granules, soluble liquids, and so, there are still important
problems derived from the immediate release of the active principles which compose them.
Over 95% of sprayed conventional formulations of herbicides reach another destination than
their target species, including nontarget species, air, water, bottom sediments, and food
(Mogul et al., 1996). This situation leads to toxicity risks near the crops as a result of the high
concentrations of active applied mass, as well as by the losses of active ingredients as a
consequence of processes such as biodegradation, chemical degradation, photolysis,
evaporation, surface runoff, and percolating groundwater, without considering the specific
danger of these formulations to the applier by inhalation or absorption through skin.
The result of trying to compensate such losses is a tendency showing the use of excessive
quantities of these dangerous chemical substances. This situation is an important economic
loss and, at the same time, it is perilous for human health as well as for environment (Mogul
et al., 1996).
2. Important
In the agrochemical industry the use of controlled release formulations (CRFs) could be a
potential solution for low efficacy and environmental pollution derived from the use of
conventional pesticide formulations (Scher, 1999). The aims of CRFs are to protect the
supply of the agent, to allow the release of the agent to the target at a controlled rate, and to
maintain its concentration in the system within the optimum limits, over a specified period
of time, thereby providing great specificity and persistence (Flores Céspedes et al., 2007).
The parameters that affect the properties of CRFs depend on the nature and type of polymer
used. Despite of several polymers employed in CRFs natural polymers such as starch,
ethylcellulose, lignin, chitosan and alginate, are preferred to synthetic polymers because of
their non-toxic, low cost, free availability, and biodegradability characteristics (Fernández
Pérez et al., 2004; 2010).
Alginate gel has been applied to produce an effective CR carrier of drugs (Liew et al, 2006)
and pesticides (Fernández Pérez et al., 2000; 2004; 2005) because it forms strong gels in
aqueous media and is bioerodible.
In this chapter, discussion is focused on the use of several sorbents as modifying agents in
the preparation of alginate-based controlled release formulations of herbicides. The addition
of sorbents such as natural and activated clays, humic acid, activated carbon or mineral
carbon in CRFs shows that the encapsulation efficiency increases and a better control on
release profiles of active ingredient is reached. Therefore, they reduce the environmental
pollution by eliminating the need for widespread distribution of a large amount of
herbicides at one time.
3. Information
3.1 Herbicides
Herbicides decrease growth, seed production and competitiveness of susceptible weeds, are
an integral part of management systems for agricultural practices. Systemic widely soil-
applied herbicides have been selected in this study. IUPAC name, applications and action
mode are summarized in Table 1.
Herbicide IUPAC name Applications/action mode

[3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1- Widely soil-applied herbicide for general
Diuron
dimethylurea] weed control
Selective triazine herbicide used to control
[2-chloro-4-(ethylamine)-6- broadleaf and grassy weeds. It is also used as
Atrazine
(isopropylamine)-s-triazine] a non-selective herbicide on non-cropped
industrial lands and on fallow lands.
[3-[4-isopropylphenyl)- 1,1- Selective, systemic herbicide used in the
Isoproturon
dimethylurea] control of annual grasses and broadleaved.
[5-amino-4-chloro-2-phenyl- Selective herbicides, to be absorbed
Chloridazon
3(2H)-pyridazinone] predominantly by the roots, with
translocation to all plant parts. They are used
[4-amino-3-methylthio-6-ter-
Metribuzin for the control of annual broad-leaved weeds
butyl-1,2,4-triazin-5(4H)-one]
in field and vegetable crops.
Table 1. Selected herbicides.
Herbicides applied in the field have several fates, including uptake by plants, degradation in
plants or soil, off-target, movement, immobilization and unintended deposition in the
environment. In a well-planed management system, herbicide should effectively control
weeds with little or no adverse environmental effects. Nevertheless, high amounts of
herbicides used in agronomic practices lead to the existence of polluted groundwater
sources, mainly through leaching process. The most important elements that condition a
herbicide to be susceptible to leach, being a potential pollutant in groundwater, are the
properties of the herbicide, taking sorption and persistence in soil as the most relevance
ones. Soil persistence of an herbicide is measured through half-life time in soils (DT50, time
Prevention of Herbicides Pollution Using Sorbents in Controlled Release Formulations 159
required for the herbicide to be degraded to a 50% of the initial amount of the herbicide in
soil). Herbicides are ranked on the basis of DT50 as non-persistent when DT50 is under 30
days, slightly persistent when DT50 is between 30 and 100 days and persistent when DT50 is
over 100 days. In this way, high half-life herbicides are mainly persistent and thus they
possess great lixiviation potential to groundwaters. In addition, as previously mentioned,
the sorption capacity of soil by a determined herbicide is an important factor that also affects
potential to polluted groundwaters. The different models used to predict herbicide
movement in soil take the constants describing the sorption process (Kd and Kf) as key input
in the aforementioned models (Jury et al., 1987). Therefore a specific constant can be
calculated for each herbicide, known as Koc, which is a partition coefficient in relation to
organic carbon in soil (O.C.) according to the equation.
Kf
K oc = × 100 (1)
O.C .
Some physical-chemical properties of the herbicides selected in this study are shown in
Table 2 (PPDB, 2009).
Molecular
Watersolubility Log Koc Soil DT50 Vapor pressure
Herbicide weight
(mg L-1) Kow (mL g-1) (days) (mPa)
(g mol-1)
Diuron 233.1 36.4 (25 ºC) 2.84 1067 75.5 1.10·10-3
Atrazine 215.7 33 (22 ºC) 2.50 100 75 3.85·10-2
Isoproturon 206.3 65 (22 ºC) 2.50 122 12 3.15·10-3
Chloridazon 221.6 340 (20 ºC) 1.19 199 31 < 0.01
Metribuzin 214.3 1050 (20 ºC) 1.60 38 11.5 0.06
Table 2. Physical-chemical properties of selected herbicides.
To evaluate leaching potential (LP) of a non-ionic herbicide, the Koc and DT50 values can be
used in the following equation 2 (Guftason, 1989).
LP = log(DT50 soil) × (4 - log(K oc ))

(2)
According to the values obtained through the application of this equation, herbicides can be
classified as it follows: Non-leachers (LP < 1.8), transitional/intermediate leachers (1.8 < LP
< 2.8) and leachers (LP > 2.8). LP parameters for diuron, isoproturon, chloridazon,
metribuzin and atrazine have been obtained using the aforementioned equation. These
values were 1.83, 2.07, 2.54, 2.57 and 3.75 for diuron, isoproturon, chloridazon, metribuzin
and atrazine, respectively. It is clear that atrazine is a leacher due to its high LP value and
diuron, isoproturon, chloridazon, metribuzin are right between transitional/intermediate
leachers. Consequently diuron, isoproturon, chloridazon, metribuzin have been found to
leach, and atrazine has been widely confirmed by the widespread detections in surface
water and groundwater (Buchanan et al., 2009).
The risk of pollution resulting from rapid runoff and leaching of these relatively highly
soluble herbicides can be minimized through their application in controlled release
formulations (CRFs).
3.2 Alginate
Alginates constitute a family of linear binary copolymers, consisting of (1 / 4) linked β-D-
mannuronic acid (M) and α-L-guluronic acid (G) residues (see Fig. 1a and b). Chemical
composition and sequence may vary widely between algae species and even between
different parts of the algae and the time of year when it is harvested. (Gombotz & Wee,
1998). Alginate has been determined to be a true block copolymer with no regular repeating
unit; i.e. the alginate molecule consisted of M-blocks, G-blocks and stretches of blocks of a
predominantly alternating structure.
The capability of this copolymer to form stable biodegradable gels in the presence of
divalent cations has been known and studied extensively since the seventies. These gelation
properties can be attributed to the simultaneous binding of the divalent cations such as Ca2+
to different chains of α-l-guluronate blocks (G-blocks) (Figure 2). As a result of their
configuration, these chains form electronegative cavities, capable of holding the cations via
ionic interactions, resulting in the cross-linking of the chains into a structure resembling an
“egg box” (Papageorgiou et al., 2006).
Alginate has been used successfully for many years in the food and beverage industry as a
thickening agent, a gelling agent and a colloidal stabilizer. Alginate also has several unique
properties that have enabled it to be used as a matrix for the entrapment and/or delivery of
a variety of products on many fields including agriculture, food, cosmetics, construction,
pharmacology, analytics, biotechnology, and medicine (Liew et al., 2006).
Fig. 1. The structure of the chemical units of alginate; mannuronic acid (a), guluronic acid (b)
and mannuronic-guluronic chain (c).
Fig. 2. Alginate gel formation, guluronic acid homopolymers in solution (a), binding
between homopolymers chains by Ca2+ ions (b), gel formation by binging homopolymeric
chains by Ca2+ ions (c).
3.3 Sorption and sorbents

Sorption is one of the main retention phenomena that determine the transport,
transformation, and biological effects of herbicides in the environment. Besides, sorption is
one of the methods which have been applied for removing organic and inorganic pollutants
from waters using sorbents with highly developed surface properties. These types of
sorbents can be also used as modifying agents in controlled release formulations to obtain
different release profiles. The potential use of sorbents such as natural and acid-trated bentonite,
a mineral carbon such as anthracite, and an activated carbon as modifying agents in alginate-
based controlled release formulations of herbicides has been evaluated (Villafranca-Sánchez et
al., 2000; Garrido-Herrera et al., 2006; Flores-Céspedes, et al., 2007).
Bentonites is a well-known silicate which include a significant group of natural materials
mostly composed from fine-grained particles of minerals from the group dioctahedral
smectite-montmorillonite. Viraraghavan and Kapoor (1994) noted that the abundance and
low cost of bentonite make it a strong candidate as a sorbent for the removal of heavy metals
and organic contaminants from wastewaters. The composition of bentonite varies, though it
consists mainly of montmorillonite. Montmorillonite clays have the smallest crystals, the
largest surface area and the highest cation exchange capacity. Thus montmorillonite clays
would be expected to have the highest sorptive capacity. Crystallochemical formula of
bentonite:
[Si4+7.36Al3+0.64]T [Al3+3.18Fe3+0.32 Mg2+0.687]OO20(OH)4X+0.76

Previous studies have shown that acid treatments given to the clays produced an increase in
the specific surface area of the samples (González-Pradas et al., 1991) and also improve their
adsorptive characteristics (Jovanovic & Janackovic, 1991; González-Pradas et al., 1993).
Activated carbon in its broadest sense includes a wide range of processed amorphous
carbon-based materials. It is not truly an amorphous material but has a microcrystalline
structure. The activated carbons in general have a strongly developed internal surface and
are usually characterized by a polydisperse porous structure consisting of pores of different
sizes and shapes. These structural properties make activated carbons excellent adsorbents.
The adsorption capacity of an activated carbon is determined by the physical or porous
structure but strongly influenced by the chemical structure of the carbon surface. Carbon-
oxygen surface groups are by far the most important surface groups that influence the
surface characteristics such as the wettability, polarity, and acidity, and the physico-
chemical properties such as catalytic, electrical, and chemical reactivity of these materials.
Anthracite is an intriguing feedstock for premium carbon materials; indeed, anthracite is
essentially a carbon material. Most anthracites contain 92–98% carbon, virtually all of which
is present as aromatic carbon in large polycyclic sheets. These sheets may contain 30 or more
fused aromatic rings, resulting in extraordinary properties such as highly ordered carbon
that also exhibits a high ultra-microporosity pore volume. The microporosity of anthracites
makes them useful in, e.g., water filtration applications and sorption process.
Surfacearea MicroporeVolume C.E.C pH
(m2 g-1) (mL g-1) meq/100g
B 65.46 15.04 65.63 9.02
B0.5 182.97 42.03 76.88 1.87
B1.0 298.84 68.65 73.75 1.84
B2.5 484.78 111.36 54.38 2.19
An 23.40 5.37 8.87
C 858.07 197.11 9.11

B: natural bentonite; B0.5: bentonite treated with H2SO4 0.5 M; B1.0: bentonite treated with H2SO4 1.0 M;
B2.5: bentonite treated with H2SO4 2.5 M; An: anthracite; C: activated carbon
Table 3. Physical-chemical characteristics of sorbents.
3.4 Controlled release formulations of herbicides

3.4.1 Preparation of controlled release formulations (CRFs)
Herbicides CRFs were prepared based on the gelling properties of the alginate in the
presence of divalent cations. It was made up of formulations in water containing different
percentages of technical grade herbicide, sodium alginate (A), bentonite (B) or acid-treated
bentonite (B0.5, B1.0,B2.5), anthracite (An) and activated carbon (C) (shown in Table 4).
A.I. A B B0.5 B1.0 B2.5 An C

Herbicide Formulation
(%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%)
AA 0.60 1.40
AAB 1.20 1.40 5.00
Atrazine
AAB0.5 1.20 1.40 5.00
AAB2.5 1.20 1.40 5.00
DA 0.60 1.40
DAB 1.20 1.40 5.00
Diuron
DAB0.5 1.20 1.40 5.00
DAB2.5 1.20 1.40 5.00
IA 0.67 1.87
IAB 1.19 1.87 3.28
Isoproturon IAB0.5 1.19 1.87 3.28
IAB1.0 1.19 1.87 3.28
IAB2.5 1.19 1.87 3.28
ClA 0.28 1.47
ClAB 1.17 1.39 4.75
Chloridazon ClAAn 1.17 1.39 4.75
ClAC 1.17 1.39 4.75
ClABC20 1.17 1.39 3.29 1.46
MA 0.28 1.47
MAB 1.17 1.39 4.75
Metribuzin MAAn 1.17 1.39 4.75
MAC 1.17 1.39 4.75
MABC20 1.17 1.39 3.29 1.46
Table 4. Percentage (by weight) of the components of CR formulations containing herbicides

(water to 100%).
The alginate-sorbent mixtures were vigorously stirred and then were dropwise added to a
gellant bath of 0.25 M CaCl2 using the apparatus described by Connick (1982). The resulting
beads were filtered and dried first at room temperature and then in an oven to constant
weight.
Characteristics of dry granules such as active ingredient content, calcium content, granule
size, average weight and encapsulation efficiency are shown in Table 5.
Active Average Average Encapsulation

Ca2+
Herbicide Formulation ingredient weight diameter Efficiencya
(%)
(%) (mg/granule) (mm/granule) (%)
AA 19.34 - 0.93 0.78 90.91
AAB 11.60 10.90 2.49 1.52 98.74
Atrazine
AAB0.5 12.33 10.85 2.62 1.62 96.32
AAB2.5 13.01 10.54 2.92 1.82 97.30
DA 21.53 - 0.90 1.08 98.85
DAB 12.75 8.30 2.66 1.38 98.56
Diuron
DAB0.5 13.09 9.25 2.77 1.54 98.33
DAB2.5 13.57 13.36 2.77 1.80 98.56
IA 15.85 10.10 1.49 1.22 98.46
IAB 13.77 20.50 2.34 1.58 97.21
Isoproturon IAB0.5 13.80 23.10 2.48 1.60 91.92
IAB1.0 13.65 22.70 2.66 1.73 98.04
IAB2.5 14.06 25.00 2.68 1.79 99.27
ClA 7.18 16.37 0.94 0.99 74.91
ClAB 12.13 3.99 2.28 1.17 92.66
Chloridazon ClAAn 13.17 4.77 2.54 1.25 92.44
ClAC 12.72 5.32 3.02 1.73 99.67
ClABC20 11.93 5.76 2.57 1.30 93.61
MA 4.00 16.84 0.72 0.95 38.12
MAB 9.78 6.93 2.22 1.17 75.98
Metribuzin MAAn 11.31 10.55 2.16 1.23 79.86
MAC 11.84 6.88 2.69 1.66 90.24
MABC20 10.95 7.08 2.02 1.19 80.14
a Encapsulation efficiency= (amount of herbicide in dry product / amount of herbicide in formulation
processed) x 100
Table 5. Characteristics of CR granules (dry products) containing atrazine, diuron,
isoproturon, chloridazon and metribuzin.
3.4.2 Water uptake test

Water uptake behavior, including swelling ratio and water uptake kinetics, is a very
important property for an alginate-herbicide delivery vehicle, because it has a great
influence on controlled delivery behaviour. The swelling behavior of the CR granules was
studied by using the method of Franson and Peppas (1983). As an example, the water uptake of
the granules containing diuron and chloridazon vs. time is shown in Figure 3.
The presence of a higher amount of microporosity in granules increases the amount of water
uptake in formulations containing sorbents as modifying agents (Fernández Pérez et al.,
2005). The extent of swelling of the anthracite, bentonites and activated carbon determines
the volume occupied in the matrix and the area that can interact with the diffusing
molecules of herbicide. Thus, water uptake and intensity of interactions of the herbicide
with anthracite, bentonites and activated carbon could affect the diffusion through the
granules, and hence, the release of the active ingredient. For granules without sorbents, it is
necessary to consider that there are not additional bonds with other components of matrix
on drying; thus expansion by swelling process is possible (Flores-Céspedes et al., 2007).
1.0
0.8
Water Uptake (g/g dry granule)

0.6
0.4 DA
DAB
DAB0.5
0.2 DAB2.5
0.0
0 10 20 30 40 50
Time (hours)
(a)
1.6
1.4
1.2
Water uptake (g/g dry granule)
1.0
0.8
0.6
0.4 ClA
ClAB
0.2 ClAAn
ClAC
ClABC20
0.0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Time (hours)
(b)
Fig. 3. Water uptake of diuron (a) and chloridazon (b) granules over time (error bars
represent the standard deviation of three replicates).
3.4.3 Sorption studies

The effect of incorporation of different sorbents into alginate-based formulations on the rate
of herbicide release can be evaluated through the study of the interactions between the
active ingredients and the sorbents. Sorption isotherms of herbicides with natural bentonite,
acid-treated bentonite, anthracite and activated carbon were compared using the Kf
parameter of the Freundlich equation. The Kf and n values were calculated from the least-
square method applied to the linear form of the Freundlich equation and their values are
summarized in Table 6.
Kf
Herbicide Sorbent n r
(mg kg-1)
B 0.28 1.15 0.998
Atrazine B0.5 80.86 0.62 0.996
B2.5 46.34 0.54 0.994
B 2.58 0.69 0.970
Diuron B0.5 11.08 0.50 0.987
B2.5 13.00 0.74 0.991
B 0.48 0.72 0.979
B0.5 8.53 0.75 0.987
Isoproturon
B1.0 8.50 0.78 0.998
B2.5 13.43 0.79 0.999
B 4.09 0.92 0.999
Chloridazon An 1.41·103 0.26 0.960
C 2.03·105 0.09 0.974
B 0.53 1.17 0.983
Metribuzin An 0.55·103 0.20 0.996
C 1.16·105 0.14 0.964
Table 6. Freundlich coefficients, Kf and nf, for the sorption of herbicides on the bentonite and
acid-treated bentonites, anthracite and activated carbon samples.
Sorption capacities (Kf) of the acid-treated bentonite samples were higher than that obtained
with natural bentonite for diuron, isoproturon and atrazine. Sulfuric acid treatments to the
bentonite resulted in higher efficiencies of sorption due to the increase of the specific surface
of the acid treated samples. A slightly increase of Kf values for acid-treated bentonites is
observed for diuron and isoproturon as acid treatment increases. For atrazine, the lower pH
generated and the higher cation exchange capacity of B0.5 sample compared with these
observed for B2.5 lead to a higher sorption capacity for the first. The decrease of the pH leads
to a greater protonation of atrazine and then a greater sorption takes place by a cation
exchange mechanism.
Sorption of chloridazon and metribuzin on bentonite produce the lowest Kf values and the
higher was obtained for the activated carbon, being intermediate the values obtained of Kf
for the sorption of the herbicides on anthracite. The Kf values for sorption of chloridazon
and metribuzin on activated carbon are approximately 102 times higher than those obtained
for sorption on anthracite and approximately 105 times higher than those obtained for
sorption of herbicides on bentonite. The highest porosity and surface area of the activated
carbon compared with those obtained for the anthracite and bentonite samples could
explain the higher sorption capacity of activated carbon for the herbicides. The higher value
of Kf obtained for anthracite, with regarding to bentonite, seems to be related to the higher
affinity of the surface of anthracite by herbicides (Andrésen et al., 2004).
3.4.4 Water release kinetics

Water release experiments, made as a static immersion water test, let to obtain a deeper
understanding of the release mechanism of the herbicides from CRFs.
Figures 4, 5 and 6 showed the cumulative release of atrazine, chloridazon and metribuzin,
respectively, from alginate-bentonite based CR granules and the solubility profile for
technical grade product.
100
Cumulative atrazine released (%)

75
50 Technical atrazine
AA
AAB0.5
AAB2.5
25
0
0 25 50 75 100 125
Time (days)
Fig. 4. Cumulative release of atrazine from alginate-bentonite CR granules into static water.
100
Cumulative chloridazon released (%)
80
60
Technical chloridazon
ClA
40 ClAB
ClAAn
ClAC
20 ClABC 20
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180
Time (hours)
Fig. 5. Cumulative release of chloridazon from alginate CR granules into static water.
100
Cumulative metribuzin released (%)
80
60
Technical metribuzin
MA
40
MAB
MAAn
MAC
20
MABC 20
0
0 20 40 60 80
Time (hours)
Fig. 6. Cumulative release of metribuzin from alginate CR granules in water.

The influence of the modifying agents such as natural and acid-treated bentonite, anthracite
and activated carbon, appears clearly defined for all CR systems prepared. The presence of
the sorbents produce a slower release rate in comparison to the CRFs prepared without
these modifiers, being higher the decrease in the release rate of active ingredient for the
sorbent with higher sorption capacity.
To evaluate the influence of the modifiers on the release rate of herbicides from CR granules,
the release data must be analysed using diffusion-controlled models. The decline in the
release of herbicide with time observed in Figures 4, 5 and 6 is probably due to an increase
in the distance through which dissolved molecules have to diffuse as the depleted zone
advances to the center of the matrix. In diffusion-controlled matrix systems this usually
means that the release is proportional to the square root of time. Alginate-sorbents
formulations could be described as systems containing finely divided solute particles, which
are uniformly dispersed within the matrix phase. Higuchi (1963) originally analyzed
analogous systems, such as drugs dispersed in a stationary matrix, e.g. semisolid ointment.
The application of the model proposed by this author, involves that, (1) a pseudo-steady
state exists, (2) the active ingredient particles are small compared to the average distance of
diffusion, (3) the diffusion coefficient is constant, and (4) a perfect sink condition exists in
the external media. In these conditions, the following equation was derived for spherical
monolith systems, assuming Fickian diffusion (y = kt1/2) (Higuchi, 1963):
⎡ ⎛ 2/3 ⎤
1/ 2
⎢ 1- ⎜ 1- Mt ⎞ 2 Mt ⎥ 1/ 2
⎟ - ⎛ 1 ⎞
⎢ ⎝ M0 ⎥
= K H t1 / 2
⎠ 3 M0
⎢ ⎥ KH = ⎜ P ⎟ (3)
⎢ 2 ⎥ ⎜ C r2 ⎟
⎢ ⎥ ⎝ 0 ⎠
⎣⎢ ⎦⎥
Mt/M0 is the fraction of active ingredient released at time t and KH is a constant that
depends on the radius of the sphere (r), the initial concentration of the active ingredient (C0),
and the permeability of the matrix (P). KH values and correlation coefficients were obtained
Herbicide Formulation KH× 102 (h-1/2) r P × 104 (mg h-1mm-1)
ClA 4.90 0.999 0.65

ClAB 4.37 0.999 1.50
Chloridazon ClAAn 3.78 0.999 1.30
ClAC 0.09 0.985 0.00061
ClABC20 2.92 0.996 0.66
MA 10.00 0.999 1.33
MAB 7.34 0.998 3.36
Metribuzin MAAn 6.36 0.998 2.71
MAC 0.36 0.986 0.0081
MABC20 5.20 0.998 1.57
Table 6. Constants from fitting Higuchi equation to the release data of chloridazon and
metribuzin in water and matrix permeability parameter.
by applying the model proposed by Higuchi to release data. As examples, the values for the
formulations containing chloridazon and metribuzin are presented in Table 6 together with
values of matrix permeability.
The values of P for the granules that contain modifiers, in general, decrease as the herbicide
sorption capacity of the modifiers increases. This variation order for P values is in
agreement with those observed when the release rate was evaluated from the CR granules.
This coincidence suggests that the factors which affect and control the permeability and the
release of active ingredient from the different granules studied should be the same, and
therefore produced by the presence of modifying agents as anthracite, bentonite, acid-
treated bentonite and activated carbon.
Ritger and Peppas equation was used to obtain the time taken for 50% of the herbicides to be
released (T50). This equation is used to relate the amount of active ingredient released as an
exponential function of the release time (Ritger and Peppas, 1987).
Mt
= Kt n (4)
M0
Mt/M0 is the percentage of active ingredient released at time t, K is a constant that

incorporates characteristics of the macromolecular network system and the active
ingredient, and n is a diffusional parameter, which is indicative of the transport mechanism.
The values of K and n and the correlations coefficients for atrazine, chloridazon and
metribuzin are presented in Table 7. Values of n close to 0.43 are indicative of Fickian
diffusion in spherical monolithic matrixes (Ritger and Peppas, 1987). Slightly different
values than 0.43 of n could be explained by the complexity of the heterogeneous system
involved together with the capacity of the sorbent to interact with the active ingredient.
According to n values, the release of herbicide from the alginate-based CR formulations into
water is due to diffusion where the sorption capacity of sorbent for herbicide and
formulation permeability are the most influential factors.
T50 values, calculated from K and n constants, are presented in Table 7. The order of
variation in T50 parameter for the different groups of prepared system is explained if we
consider that the extent of the interactions between herbicides and modifying agents will
affect the diffusing process and so on the release rate of herbicides from the alginate-based
granules. This aspect has been quantified with sorption experiments of herbicides with
bentonite, acid treated bentonite, anthracite and activated carbon samples. A higher sorption
capacity result in a slower release of herbicide.
Taking into account the variation shown for T50 values by the different systems prepared,
this study might be useful for selecting the most appropriate formulation, depending on the
environmental factor that affect the herbicide mobility. This can be useful to prevent the
polluting environmental risk derived from the use of herbicides mainly in soils with a low
sorption capacity, where the herbicides shows a greater potential to cause groundwater
pollution. In this sense, herbicides mobility from CRFs can be evaluates through leaching
experiments in soil columns. Mobility of diuron, isoproturon and atrazine from an alginate-
bentonite controlled release formulation in layered greenhouse soil (i.e., native soil,
amended soil, peat, and sand) was researched. These studies indicate that the use of CR
granules reduces the vertical mobility of herbicides into the soil layer columns and also
diminish its presence in the leachate compared to the technical and commercial products
(Fernández-Pérez et al., 1999; Villafranca-Sánchez et al., 2000).
Herbicide Formulation K (days)-n n r T50 (days)

AA 0.15 0.53 0.999* 9.69
Atrazine AAB0.5 0.11 0.42 0.997* 36.78
AAB2.5 0.13 0.40 0.996* 29.01
K × 102 (h-n) n r T50 (h)
ClA 14.47 0.51 0.992 11.23
ClAB 14.01 0.49 0.991 13.59
Chloridazon ClAAn 10.75 0.51 0.996 19.81
ClAC 0.50 0.46 0.987 2·104
ClABC20 12.66 0.45 0.996 21.03
MA 24.96 0.55 0.993 3.54
MAB 16.65 0.58 0.992 6.71
Metribuzin MAAn 15.91 0.56 0.996 7.77
MAC 3.64 0.33 0.991 2·103
MABC20 16.77 0.53 0.994 7.89
Table 7. Constants from fitting the empirical equation Mt/Mo= Ktn to the release data of
herbicides in water.
4. Conclusions
Different sorbents have been applied as modifying agents to produce alginate-based CRFs
of potential pollutant herbicides. The encapsulation efficiency increases and a better control on
release profiles of active ingredient is reached with the use of these sorbents. The release of
herbicides from the CRFs into water may be due to diffusion where the sorption capacities
of sorbent for herbicide, water uptake and permeability of the formulations are the most
influential factors. Concerning to the sorption capacities, the release is affected not only by
the addition of natural bentonite and anthracite to the CRFs but also, and in a greater extent,
by the addition of sorbents with higher sorption capacity such as acid-treated bentonites
and activated carbon. The wide range of T50 values obtained was due to the different
physical-chemical properties of the herbicides and also by the addition of sorbents. Taking
into account the variation of T50 values, it is possible to select the most appropriate
formulation, depending on the environmental factor that affected herbicide mobility.
Therefore, the risk of pollution resulting from rapid runoff and leaching of relatively highly
mobile herbicides can be minimized through their application in sorbents-alginate-based
CRFs.
Significant potential exists to improve conventional methods of herbicide applications by
the use of sorbent mixtures with different sorption capacity to modulate the release profiles
of herbicides in alginate-based CRFs. Besides, low-cost lignin-sorbents mixtures coated with
biodegradable polymers could be developed to obtain new CRFs of herbicides.
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potential from standard indices of soil chemical adsorption and biodegradation. J.
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Part 3
Herbicides in Soil
8
The Fate of Herbicides in Soil

Sonia Blasioli, Ilaria Braschi and Carlo E. Gessa
Department of Agroenvironmental Sciences and Technologies, University of Bologna
Italy
1. Introduction
The agrochemical spreading is a common and essential agricoltural practice to obtain high
quality, large harvests.
Agrochemicals are classified according to the target organisms designed to be controlled
(insects, weeds, fungi). Of all the target organisms, weeds cause by far the greatest economic
loss due to their interference in crop production. It is not surprising therefore, that
herbicides are the most common class of agrochemicals in the world (48% of the total
expenditure) and in Europe (43%) outstripping fungicides (35%) and insecticides (14%).
Europe, Asia, and the United States are the largest consumers of agrochemicals; in Europe,
France has the biggest agricoltural areas, and is the highest-ranking country for pesticide
consumption followed by Germany and Italy (see http://www.croplife.org/ and
http://www.ecpa.be).
Bad agricoltural practice and accidental spreading of high doses of agrochemicals can
determine toxic effects in humans and the environment; pesticides can accumulate in
organisms and achieve critical concentrations for the human and ecosystem health.
Agrochemicals were used for the treatment of human diseases like malaria and typhus.
However, high doses of some pesticides can be highly toxic to humans. Laboratory
experiments have shown that the administration of high doses of pesticides to animals can
cause cancer, mutagenesis, and even death; moreover, exposure to low doses can cause skin
irritation and breathing problems. In the “infamous” case of DDT, for instance, which was
introduced onto the market in 1940 for the malaria and typhus control, the central nervous
system was attacked causing loss of memory, tremblings, and personality changes.
Paraquat, a dipyridylic herbicide, is an extremely toxic systemic pesticide; it can enter in the
body by inhalation, ingestion or direct contact. It is expecially toxic to the lungs, but can
cause gastrointestinal apparatus, kidney, liver, and heart disorders and the weakening of
other organs with vital functions.
Plants that are sensitive to pesticide molecules may show signs of growth inhibition and loss
in biomass even as far as necrosis, but may be able to develop resistance to certain pesticides
(see http://www.weedscience.org; Yuan et al, 2007). Agrochemicals may also have a toxic
effect on nontarget plants (Madhun & Freed, 1990) when transported away from the treated
site (soluble herbicides or surface erosion).
Soil and aquatic ecosystems contain a multitude of microorganisms. After pesticide
spreading, microbic activity may be reduced. However, in some situations an enhancement
in microbial activity may occur (Lewis et al., 1978; Pozo et al., 1994).
The leaching of soluble and highly mobile molecules, wilful discharge in underground wells
and accidental dumping in water bodies contribute to water contamination. Carabias
Martinez et al. (2000) monitored the concentration of fifteen herbicides selected owing to
their frequency of use, the amounts used, their toxicity and their persistence in river basins
in the provinces of Zamora and Salamanca (Spain). After six months, the presence of six out
of the fifteen herbicides monitored, was detected at levels ranging from the detection limit
to 1.2 μg/L. The presence of these herbicides was related to agricultural activities as well as
the kind of crop and its treatment period.
The prediction of herbicide movement and fate in soils represents an important strategy in
limiting their environmental impact (Figure 1). Physical, chemical, and biological processes
regulate herbicide mobility and degradation in soil: rainfall and irrigation water can move
herbicides along the soil profile; sites negatively charged of clay mineral surfaces and/or
organic matter can adsorb herbicides in their cationic form at soil pH; microbial activity can
promote herbicide transformation. Different transfer and degradation processes which
control the movement and the fate of pesticides in the environment are reported in the Table
1. Except physical processes, other processes depend on soil characteristics.
Fig. 1. The fate of agrochemicals in the environment.

The Fate of Herbicides in Soil 177
Process Consequence Factors

Movement (processes that relocate agrochemicals without changing their structure)
Physical drift Movement due to wind action Wind speed, drop sizes
Loss due to evaporation from Vapor pressure, wind speed,
Volatilization
soils, plants, and waters temperature
Removal due to interaction with Clay content, organic matter,
Adsorption
soils, plants, and sediments moisture
Uptake by plant roots or animal Cell membrane transport,
Absorption
ingestion contact time
Horizontal and vertical Water content, soil texture,
Leaching movement downward through clay and organic matter
the soil contents
Rainfall, wind speed, sizes of
Erosion Wind and water action
clay and organic matter
Degradation (processes that modify the chemical structure)
Assorption of sunlight Chemical structure, intensity
Photochemical
(i.e., ultraviolet radiation) and duration of exposure
Environmental factors (pH,
Microbial Degradation by microorganisms moisture, temperature)
organic matter content
pH modifications, same
Chemical Hydrolysis and redox reactions factors as microbial
degradation
Adsorption capacity,
Metabolism Adsorption by plants or animals metabolism, interactions with
microorganisms
Table 1. Movement and degradation processes of agrochemicals in the environment

(Pierzynski et al., 2000).
2. Chemico-physical parameters affecting the fate of herbicides in soil

The fate of herbicides such as that of any organic molecule released into the environment is
determined by their chemico-physical characteristics.
Solubility. The solubility of an herbicide is important in predicting its behaviour in water and
its mobility in soil. Agrochemical water solubility is a function of temperature, pH, and ionic
strength and is affected by the presence of other organic substances such as the dissolved
organic matter (DOM) (Pierzynsky et al., 2000). Two methods are frequently used to
estimate organic molecule solubility based on i) chemical structure (Kps) and ii) the n-
octanol/water partition coefficient (KOW). n-Octanol/water coefficients are determined by
the following equation which highlights that there is an inverse relationship between
solubility and KOW:
⎛ mg ⎞
concentration of organic chemical in octanol ⎜ ⎟
KOW = ⎝ L ⎠ (1)
⎛ mg ⎞
concentration of organic chemical in water ⎜ ⎟
⎝ L ⎠
Persistence. The persistence of an herbicide is defined as the time in which the molecule
remains in the soil and is usually expressed as half-live. Half-live (t1/2) refers to the time
required to halve the organic molecule concentration compared with its initial level.
Half-life values are important in understanding the potential environmental impact of a
chemical; in fact, a molecule which degrades quickly, has a low t1/2 value and thus the
impact of this species on the environment is reduced if the degradation products are
harmless. On the contrary, the environmental impact of species with a high t1/2 value can be
substantial even if the molecule is only moderately toxic.
The prediction of herbicide half-life and thus, its persistence in the environment is an
important parameter in agronomic practice because it supplies information on the residual
activity of agrochemicals which could cause damages to the successive crops.
For a first order reaction, the half-life is determined by the following equation:
0.693
t1/2 = (2)
k
where k is the kinetic constant of the degradation reaction involving the agrochemical.
Volatilization. Volatilization of organic molecules is responsible for the transfer of molecules
from aquatic and soil environments into the atmosphere. As with the solubility, it is
important to know the contribution of agrochemical volatilization in predicting its residual
amount and thus, its persistence in the environment.
The volatilization of herbicides from waters depends on the chemical and physical
properties of the molecules in question (e.g., vapour pressure and solubility), their
interaction with suspended materials and sediments, the physical properties of the water
bodies (depth, turbulence, and velocity) and any water-atmosphere interface properties.
The solubility of a gas dissolved in an aqueous solution is well defined by the Henry
constant, calculated using the homonymous equation:
Pgas
KH = (3)
C aq
where KH is the Henry constant, Pgas is the gas partial pressure and Caq is its concentration in
the aqueous phase. For high KH values, the molecule prefers to leave the liquid phase in
order to pass into the atmosphere. This constant is useful to describe the agrochemical
fugacity from a water body but also from soil solid components which are always
surrounded by water in adsorbed form.
The rate of volatilization can be indicated as half-life, which is the time required to halve the
organic molecule concentration in water compared with its initial value. The volatilization
half-lives of different molecules are reported in the table 2.
Factors that influence the volatility of organic molecules from soils include the chemical and
physiochemical properties of the pollutant (i.e., vapour pressure, solubility, the structure
and nature of the functional groups, and adsorption-desorption characteristics),
concentration, soil properties (soil moisture content, porosity, density, and organic matter
and clay contents) and environmental factors like temperature, humidity, and wind speed.
Volatilization Agrochemical t1/2

Low Dieldrin 327 d
3-bromo-1-propanol 390 d
Medium Phenantrene 31 h
Pentachlorophenol 17 d
DDT 45 h
Aldrin 68 h
Lindane 115 d
High Benzene 2.7 h

Toluene 2.9 h
O-xylene 3.2 h
Carbon tetrachloride 3.7 h
Table 2. Volatilization rates of some organic molecules (Pierzynsky et al., 2000).
Photolysis. Photochemical reactions involve sunlight radiation and play an important role in
the degradation of molecules on soil surfaces and in aquatic environments. Photolysis in the
soil is difficult to determine because of the heterogeneous nature of soils and low sunlight
penetration. Nevertheless, it is an important herbicide degradation process in soil since it is
always active.
In water as well as in soil, photolysis can occur either by direct or indirect processes. In
direct photolysis, sunlight is absorbed directly by organic molecules which alter its chemical
structure. The indirect process occurs in the presence of natural photosensitive species such
as nitrates or humic acids which can absorb the light and subsequently transfer excitation
energy to the organic molecule.
Biodegradation. Herbicide biodegradation is due to microorganism activity and is a function
of those properties which influence microbial activity such as temperature and pH: a
temperature or pH decrease slows down the biotic degradation rate since under such
conditions microbial activity is reduced. This could explain the presence of certain
molecules such as antibiotics, in the deeper layers of soils and waters (Gavalchin & Katz,
1994; Van Dijk & Keukens, 2000).
Adsorption-desorption. The ability of herbicides to adsorb on soils and sediments and their
tendency to desorb are the most important factors affecting soil and water contamination.
Adsorption depends on both molecule and soil chemico-physical properties. In soil, the
surfaces responsible for adsorption are colloidal particles and among these, organic matter
and clays. Organic matter, due to its chemical affinity with agrochemical molecules, has the
greatest adsorption strength towards these species; high surface area and the interlayer
charge of clays, such as expandable phyllosilicates, make these sorbents good for organic
molecules.
Adsorption on clays or organic matter can occur with the following interactions: van der
Waals forces, hydrogen bondings, dipole-dipole interactions, ionic exchange, covalent
bondings, protonation, ligand exchange, cationic and H2O bridging, and/or hydrophobic
interactions.
Cationic species adsorb on soil by electrostatic attraction while anionic molecules can adsorb
on positively charged soil colloids, even if the adsorption of negative species is less strong
than on the negatively charged clay surfaces. In acidic soils, herbicides which have amino
groups can protonate to quaternary ammonium ions (-NH3+) and form H-bonds with the
oxygen atoms of the phyllosilicate surfaces or with nitrogen atoms of organic matter;
molecules which have acidic functional groups remain in a neutral form (COOH).
Nonpolar molecules can interact with the hydrophobic moieties of soil organic matter: this
hydrophobic bond is responsible for the strong adsorption of DDT and organochloride
insecticides on soil organic matter.
The strength of adsorption affects molecule mobility along the soil profile and thus, its
bioactivity, persistence, biodegradation, leaching, and the volatilization process. The
adsorption of an agrochemical onto the soil components can be considered as the first step
towards its chemical degradation.
Organic molecule adsorption modeling by soils is frequently done using adsorption
isotherms.
Adsorption isotherms are built by measuring the residual concentrations of pollutant in
aqueous solution at the equilibrium point, after the adsorption on soil of different initial
concentrations. For each concentration point, the adsorbed molecule concentrations are
determined by the difference between initial and equilibrium concentrations. Adsorption
data are commonly fitted using two different models described by the Langmuir and
Freundlich equations.
The Langmuir equation is:
x K bC
= l (4)
m 1 + K lC
where x/m is the mass of organic molecule adsorbed per unit of soil weight; C is the
equilibrium concentration of the organic molecule; Kl is the Langmuir constant that is
related to binding strength. The linear form of the Langmuir equation is:
C 1 C
= + (5)
x / m Klb b
If a plot of C/(x/m) vs C is a straight line, then the adsorption data satisfy the Langmuir
equation, and b can be calculated from the slope and Kl from the intercept.
The Freundlich equation is:
x
= K f C 1/n (6)
m
where x/m and C are the same as above; Kf and n are empirical constants.
The Kf value is a measure of the extent of adsorption whereas the 1/n value indicates the
affinity of organic molecule for the sorbent surface. If the 1/n value is lower than 1, there is
high affinity between the adsorbate and the adsorbent. If 1/n is equal to 1, the solute is equally
distributed between the solution and adsorbent surface. If the 1/n value is higher than 1, the
adsorption is called “cooperative” because there is cooperation between the adsorbed
molecules and the new molecules approaching the surface to promote the adsorption.
The linear form of the Freundlich equation is obtained by logarithmic transformation:
⎛x⎞ 1
log ⎜ ⎟ = log K f + log C (7)
m
⎝ ⎠ n
A plot of log (x/m) vs log C should produce a straight line, with 1/n being equal to the slope
and Kf the intercept.
For many organic molecules, especially nonpolar species, adsorption can be constant, that is
the adsorbed concentration is proportional to the equilibrium concentration. The Freundlich
equation can be simplified:
x /m
Kd = (8)
C
where Kd is the distribution constant. The adsorption constant can be normalized to the
organic carbon content of the soil (fOC = OC%/100): the new constant is know as KOC which
is independent of soil type and specific to a given pollutant. The constant is calculated using
the following equation:
Kd
KOC = (9)
fOC
Adsorption isotherms. Adsorption isotherms of organic molecules are divided into four
classes, according to the nature of the initial curve portion (Giles et al., 1960). The four
classes are know as H (high affinity), L (Langmuir type), C (constant partition), and S
(sigmoidal or with an “s” form) isotherms (Figure 2). The L curves are the best known: the
initial curvature shows that as more sites in the substrate are filled, it becomes increasingly
difficult for solute to find an available vacant site. The H isotherm is a special case of L
curve, where the solute has a high affinity for the surface especially at low concentrations.
The C curves are characterized by the constant partition of solute between the liquid and
solid phase; the constant partition is independent of concentration right up to the maximum
possible adsorption, where an abrupt change in the slope to a horizontal plateau occurs. The
initial part of the S curves describes contrary conditions in comparison with the other
isotherms: the more solute has already been adsorbed, the easier it is for additional amounts
to become fixed. This implies a side-by-side association between adsorbed molecules,
helping to hold them to the surface. This has been called “cooperative adsorption”.
Abiotic and biotic transformations. Both abiotic and biotic reactions are responsible for the
transformation of herbicides in soils and waters. One of the two processes may be dominant,
but usually both of these participate simultaneously in molecule degradation. The principal
abiotic reactions that occur in water are hydrolysis, oxidation-reduction, and photolysis; in
sediments, hydrolysis and redox reactions may prevail. Redox reactions in aquatic
environments can be mediated by direct or indirect photolysis or catalyzed by metal species.
In soil, abiotic reactions occur in the liquid phase (i.e. soil solution) and at the solid-liquid
interface. In soil solution, hydrolysis and redox reactions are the most common abiotic
transformations; these reactions are catalyzed by clays, organic matter and metal oxides.
Fig. 2. The four main classes of isotherms. From left to right: high affinity (H), Langmuir (L),
constant partition (C) and S curves.
Biotic reactions are classified as: i) biodegradation (contaminants are used as a substrate for
microorganism growth); ii) cometabolism (contaminants are transformed by metabolic
reactions without being used as an energy source); iii) accumulation (contaminants are
accumulated in microorganisms); iv) polymerization or conjugation (contaminants are
bonded to other organic molecules); v) secondary effects of microbial activity (contaminants
are transformed by secondary microbial effects such as pH and redox changes) (Bollag &
Liu, 1990).
Biodegradation is considered the principal mechanism for the conversion of organic
molecules into CO2, H2O and mineral salts.
Although these reactions are mediated by microorganisms, abiotic processes are also
involved, especially in transformations related to categories iv) and v).
Braschi et al. (2000) have investigated the degradation of primisulfuron, a sulfonylurea
herbicide, in microbial communities enriched with soils polluted by herbicide. The authors
find that the degradation reaction of primisulfuron firstly occurs by means of hydrolysis
and photolysis processes and that the role of microorganisms subsequently becomes
important in the degradation of the herbicide metabolites.
3. Soil inorganic phase: clay minerals

Soil solid phases are almost totally characterized by inorganic components (fragments of
rocks, primary and secondary minerals, amorphous materials); the organic component is
only a small fraction.
Minerals are the most diffuse inorganic species in the lithosphere. From a chemical point of
view, they are classified as: i) silicates formed by oxygen and silicon and ii) nonsilicates,
such as oxides, carbonates, phosphates, sulphates.
Silicon tetrahedron is the building unit of silicates: different classes of silicates are obtained
by the polymerization of building units.
Layered aluminosilicate minerals, known as clay minerals, have a profound influence on
many soil chemical reactions because of their high active surface area. They have regular
layers of tetrahedral and octahedral sheets: tetrahedral sheets are comprised of silicon and
oxygen atoms with three out of every four oxygen atoms shared between adjacent
tetrahedra. There are two types of octahedral sheets: dioctahedral and trioctahedral.
Dioctahedral sheets have two out of every three octahedral sites occupied, most often by the
trivalent Al cation. Trioctahedral sheets have all octahedral sites occupied by divalent
cations, which are commonly Mg ions. Clays have structures that are either 1:1, 2:1, or 2:1:1
layers of tetrahedral and octahedral sheets. 1:1 clay minerals have one tetrahedral and one
octahedral sheet held together by sharing an apical tetrahedral oxygen. 2:1 clay minerals
have an octahedral sheet posed between two tetrahedral sheets. 2:1:1 layered clays are
similar to 2:1 clays with an additional dioctahedral or trioctahedral sheet between the 2:1
layers (Pierzynski et al., 2000).
The expansion property after water adsorption is typical to the 2:1 arrangement. In 1:1 clays,
the oxygens of octahedral sheet bond with the oxygens of the tetrahedral sheet by means of
H-bondings: this arrangement does not permit good expansion in water for this clay. In 2:1
clays, no hydrogen bonds are formed between the oxygens of tetrahedral and octahedral
sheets; a weak repulsion develops and distributes over the surface, allowing the clay
minerals to expand easily in water (Figure 3).
Fig. 3. Different arrangements of clay minerals: 1:1 on the top, 2:1 on the bottom.
Clay minerals contain active sites for adsorption which are localized in the tetrahedral sheet,
and are formed by siloxanes (siloxane cavity). This cavity is bordered by six sets of lone-pair
electrons (from the oxygen atoms) that give a nucleophilic character to the surface: polar or
positively charged species can interact with this highly negative surface (Sposito, 1984).
Water can occupy the siloxane cavity by pointing the hydroxylic group inside the cavity; the
polarization inducted by the surface, makes the water molecules strongly polarized and
then reduces their mobility. The siloxane cavity extends along the whole tetrahedral sheet
giving high adsorption properties to clays.
Clays can have a permanent negative charge which comes from isomorphous substitutions
and a variable pH dependent charge. Isomorphous substitution occurs when an element
substitutes for another in the mineral structure, such as Al3+ substituting Si4+. If an element
of a lower charge is substituted for an element of a higher charge, a permanent negative
charge develops in the clay mineral: the net negative charge electrostatically attracts positive
and polar species. The variable charge is due to the presence of surface hydroxylic groups
that can lose or accept protons as a function of soil solution pH.
Cations in the soil solution are bonded to the surface of clay minerals by electrostatic
interactions and can return in solution by the substitution of other cations or by dilution.
The most representative exchange cations are K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, and Na+. Other cations, such
as organic cations, are bonded onto clay minerals as a function of their affinity for the
surface and their concentration in the soil solution.
Cations adsorbed onto clay surfaces are surrounded by hydration water. This water is more
acidic than the water in the soil solution because cations attract the hydroxylic groups of
water and move the water dissociation equilibrium towards higher values. This results in a
decrease of 2-3 units of hydration sphere pH in comparison with the soil solution. The
surface acidity effect is an important factor in the adsorption processes of herbicides which
have nitrogen groups: in fact, the nitrogens contained in some agrochemical structures can
be protonated by acidic surfaces and agrochemicals can be adsorbed by cationic exchange.
4. Soil organic matter

The organic components of soils are characterized by:
• vegetable and animal residues which are partially degraded and in transformation;
• the biomass of living organisms;
• materials of the neogenesis.
Vegetable and animal residues are slowly decomposed by microbial attack on molecular
and ionic compounds which can be transformed by polycondensation in macromolecules
with complex and unknown chemical structures: these are known as humic substances.
Humic substances have colloidal dimensions, high specific areas and are able to adsorb
molecules or ions. The dark colour of humic compounds promotes the sunlight radiation
absorption and thus, the increase of soil temperature.
Organic matter plays an important role in the chemistry of soils: it covers the pores created
by roots or pedofauna action by stabilizing the soil structure. Organic matter affects the
water flow into the pores (capillary porosity): in fact, the coexistence of hydrophilic and
hydrophobic properties in the same structure makes organic matter a material which is able
to retain moisture or to repel the water by decreasing its flow along the pores. Moreover,
organic matter forms macroscopic aggregates (“cements”) with inorganic species (i.e. Fe and
Al oxides and hydroxides) which stabilize the soil structure.
Finally, the organic matter can interact with agrochemicals by H-bondings, van der Waals
forces, H2O bridgings, and hydrophobic bondings.
5. Dissolved organic matter, DOM

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) is defined as “the amount of organic matter that is able to
dissolve in the field conditions”. DOM plays an important role in the biogeochemistry of
carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorous, in pedogenesis and in the transport of pollutants in soils
(Kalbitz et al., 2000).
The source of virtually all DOM in soils is photosynthesis; this includes both recent
photosynthate (throughfall, leaf litter, root exudates, decaying fine roots) as weel as the
leaching and decomposition of older, microbially processed soil organic matter (McDowell,
2003). DOM ranges in age from hours to days, to decades and even up to thousands of
years.
Sinks of DOM include microbial transformation and immobilization, mineralization (to CO2,
inorganic N, etc.), precipitation, and adsorption on mineral surfaces.
Microbial soil communities are the most important agents in DOM formation.
Guggenberger et al. (1994) studied DOM fractionation and structure and demonstrated that
microbial metabolites constitute a significant portion of DOM. According to these studies,
the carbohydrate fraction of DOM is chemically different from that in plant residues or bulk
humus, in that DOM carbohydrates have a higher proportion of hexose- and deoxysugars
than pentose sugars. Since pentose sugars are rarely found in microbial cells, DOM may be
predominantly of microbial origin.
Zsolnay (1996) and Tipping (1998) have supposed that the DOM can be partitioned into
mobile and an immobile fractions according to the pore sizes of the soil matrix. Only the
mobile DOM fraction in macro- and mesopores is subjected to convective transport by
seepage. DOM in micropores is immobile and interacts with the mobile fraction by diffusion.
Several field studies (Jardine et al., 1989; Michalzik et al., 2000) have shown that the DOM
concentration and flux in soil solutions decrease significantly with soil depth because DOM is
adsorbed along the soil profile. High molecular weight fractions are preferentially adsorbed
when compared with low molecular weight components (Gu et al., 1995). The presence of
aromatic rings, carboxylic acids, N- and S-containing groups, and amino acid residues in
organic molecules increases the adsorption capacity (McKnight et al., 1992). Adsorption
involves the free surfaces of colloidal minerals and the presence of organic matter which has
already been adsorbed further reduces DOM adsorption (Kalbitz et al., 2000).
Anions in soil solutions, such as sulphate and phosphate, compete with DOM for adsorption
sites (Tipping, 1981). Kaiser & Zech (1997) and Beck et al. (1999) confirmed the role of
phosphate in DOM removal from adsorption sites: this behaviour is also observed when the
phosphate concentration is lower than the concentrations of other anions. Competition
between sulphate and DOM for adsorption sites is evident when the sulphate concentration
is higher than 10 mM (Kaiser & Zech, 1998).
Polyvalent (Al3+, Fe3+, Ca2+ and Mg2+) or monovalent (Na+ e K+) cation activity affects the
solubility of organic matter (Baham & Sposito, 1994). Chemical reactions between anionic
functional groups of organic molecules and solution cations can reduce the surface charge
density, alter the structural conformation of the adsorbed species, and consequently reduce
solubility. At high concentrations of ions in solution, these processes increase and the
solubility of organic matter is reduced by flocculation (Tipping & Woof, 1990).
Various environmental factors influence DOM concentrations and fluxes in soils. Temperature
is always a factor regulating DOM microbial production (Mulholland et al., 1990).
One of the most consistent findings in both field and laboratory studies is that DOM
concentrations increase following rewetting after dry periods (Lundquist et al., 1999;
Tipping et al., 1999; Zsolnay et al., 1999). It is likely that reduced rates of decomposition in
dry soils cause microbial products to accumulate. This, together with cell death and lysis,
can contribute to high DOM concentrations in the soil leachate after dry periods.
The significant effect of precipitation and water fluxes on DOM is the DOM release at the
beginning of large rainfall events. Storm events can alter DOM concentration and flux: high
pore water velocity leads to low contact times between the soil solution and the solid matrix
and creates chemical and physical nonequilibrium conditions. These conditions increase the
DOM concentration in the soil solution leaving the soil poor in organic matter.
Land use changes, such as afforestation, liming, and fertilization, converting forests into arable
sites, and other management activities influence DOM dynamics by i) changing the input of
organic matter, ii) changing the substrate quality and iii) altering the rates, extent, and
pathways of microbial degradation and the synthesis of organic matter (Cronan et al., 1992).
The understanding of the dynamics and fluxes of DOM in soils is important in limiting the
loss of organic matter from the soil, improving agronomic practices, and reducing the
environmental impact of substances adsorbed on the DOM, such as agrochemicals.
5.1 The effect of DOM on the fate of herbicides

The water solubility of herbicides is one of the most important physical properties
controlling the transport and fate of chemicals in aquatic systems (Chiou et al., 1986). The
formation of soluble complexes between agrochemicals and DOM can be considered
responsible for the transport of pollutants towards water bodies. Previous studies have
indicated that low concentrations of dissolved and/or suspended particulate-bound natural
organic matter in water can significantly enhance the solubility and stability of many
hydrophobic organic compounds, notably DDT and some polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs)
(Wershaw et al., 1969; Hassett and Anderson, 1979; Caron et al., 1985).
Chiou et al. (1986) observed the water solubility enhancement of solutes characterized by
low water solubility such as DDT, 2,4,5,2’,5’-PCB, trichlorobenzene, and lindane, due to
their interaction with the dissolved humic and fulvic acids extracted from soil and aquatic
sediments. The effectiveness of DOM in enhancing solute solubility appears to be largely
controlled by DOM molecular size and polarity.
In the presence of soil, contradictory results have been obtained in studies concerning the
effect of DOM on the behaviour of cationic or positively ionisable pesticides in soil and
waters probably owing to different experimental conditions (Pennington et al., 1991;
Barriuso et al., 1992; Klaus et al., 1998; Seol & Lee, 2000).
The nature of DOM (exogenous or endogenous) influences the adsorption and desorption of
dimefuron, atrazine and carbetamine (Barriuso et al., 1992). The authors observed that DOM
chemico-physical properties, like organic carbon content, pH, and conductivity, strongly affect
herbicide adsorption. Moreover, different DOM additions to soils (pretreatment with DOM
solution before herbicide adsorption or preincubation of DOM solution with herbicide before
soil addition) influences adsorption as a function of herbicide solubility. Increased adsorption
of less soluble atrazine and dimefuron, after soil pretreatement with DOM solution, can be
explained by an increase in soil adsorption capacity related to the increase of soil C content via
adsorption of some organic compounds from DOM solutions. The fate of the highly soluble
carbetamide is different: its adsorption decrease can be explained by the coverage of soil
hydrophilic sites by DOM organic compounds adsorbed during the preincubation.
Pennington et al. (1991) observed an opposite behaviour of the DOM: no interactions
between the DOM extracted from different soils and the herbicides bromacil, metribuzin,
alachlor, were observed. Diquat and paraquat are weakly adsorbed on DOM and their
adsorption onto soils is not affected by the presence of soluble organic matter.
Despite the negative charge of negatively ionisable pesticides, which constrains them in the
soil liquid phase and subsequently, in water courses, only a few studies on their behaviour
in soil in the presence of DOM have been conducted (Spark & Swift, 2002; Said-Pullicino et
al. 2004).
Although the interactions of pesticides with DOM are affected by the ionic strength of the
solutions, DOM is often used in laboratory trials, after the removal of salts, i.e. as a purified
organic fraction, or further fractionated in humic and fulvic acids (Spark & Swift, 2002;
Chiou et al., 1986). Metals bound to DOM constituents or contained in free form are lost
during the purification procedure, and rarely purified DOM has been studied as a function
of both the ionic strength and saline composition (Carter & Suffet, 1982).
5.2 Case study: The fate of cyhalofop herbicide in soils treated with DOM from
composts
Cyhalofop-butyl (butyl(R)-2-[4-(4-cyano-2-fluorophenoxy)phenoxy]propionate, ClincherTM),
is an acetyl CoA carboxylase inhibitor for post-emergence control of barnyard grass
(Echinochloa spp) and silver top (Lepthochloa fusca) in rice (Buendia et al., 1998; APVMA,
2005). The esters of aryloxyphenoxyalkanoic acids act as pro-herbicides. The formulation as
esters facilitate the uptake through the plant cuticle and, once inside the plant, are
transformed within a few hours into their acidic form, i.e. the active herbicide (Hendly et al.,
1985; Ferreira et al., 1995). In soils, cyhalofop-butyl is quickly transformed into its more
soluble negatively ionisable acidic form (Jackson & Douglas, 1999).
The potential for contamination of water bodies is high in areas where rice is cultivated in
flooded conditions (Celis et al., 1998; Charizopoulos & Papadopoulou, 1999; Cerejeira et al.,
2000, Miao et al., 2003). Agrochemicals applied to aquatic environments such as paddy-
fields are matter of concern due to their potential leaching (Boesten & van der Linden, 1991;
Müller et al., 2007) and persistence in soil and waters (Braschi et al., 2003).
The addition of organic amendments to the soil is an agricultural practice that is considered
to potentially affect the fate of pesticides in soil (Cox et al., 2001; Hesketh et al., 2001), by
introducing a remarkable amount of exogenous soluble organic matter. The extent to which
exogenous DOM is involved in transportation through the soil is yet to be understood.
The effect of exogenous DOM from two composts on the behaviour of cyhalofop-butyl (CB)
and cyhalofop-acid (CA) (Figure 2) was studied in two different soils (a paddy-field
sediment, and a forest soil, Table 3) by means of solubility tests, determination of
adsorption-desorption isotherms in soils, leaching experiments on soil columns (for
experimental details, see Blasioli et al., 2008). To study the effect of the saline component on
herbicide behaviour in soils, DOMs were used without any desalting treatment or pH
modification.
Cyhalofop-butyl degradation is slow in the paddy-field sediment and leads to the
cyhalofop-acid formation; in the forest soil, the degradation is faster and three byproducts
were detected (cyhalofop-acid, -amide, and –diacid, Figure 2). The degradation is mediated
by microorganisms as confirmed by the cyhalofop-butyl stability in autoclaved soils.
The water solubility of cyhalofop-butyl is unchanged in DOM solution at pH 6.0. This
probably results from the highly hydrophilicity of these DOMs in contrast with the
completly hydrophobic character of CB molecule. On the contrary, the solubility of CA
doubles suggesting interaction with the DOMs. Since at working pH (about 6.0) cyhalofop-
pH TOCa CECb
Soil
H2O CaCl2 (g kg-1) (cmol(+) kg-1)
Paddy-field
6.00 5.50 14.0 2.00
sediment
Forest soil 7.10 6.80 73.0 9.90
Table 3. Summary of the characteristics of investigated soils. a TOC: Total Organic Carbon;
b CEC: Cationic Exchange Capacity (modified from Blasioli et al., 2008).
acid, characterized by a pKa of 3.8 (APVMA, 2005), mostly exists in anionic form, a
molecular interaction, responsible for this increase in solubility, must occur despite the
repulsion between DOM and CA negative charges. Similarly to water and cation bridgings
formed between the carboxylate groups of humic substances and the soil phases in the
presence of base metals (Sposito, 1984), polar and/or ionic interactions between metal
cations-rich DOM and CA anionic moiety may be assumed to be responsible for the increase
of CA solubility.
O O
NC F O NC F O
O OH
CH3 CH3
O O
cyhalofop-butyl (CB) cyhalofop-acid (CA)
O O O O
F O F O
H2N OH HO OH
CH3 CH3
O O
cyhalofop-amide (CAm) cyhalofop-diacid (CD)

Fig. 2. Structure of cyhalofop-butyl and its byproducts.
The adsorption of cyhalofop-butyl and cyhalofop-acid is higher on the forest soil than on the
sediment (Table 4). The pretreatment of soils with DOM solutions significantly decreases the
cyhalofop-butyl adsorption but increases that of the acid. Since the DOM does not interact
with the cyhalofop-butyl, the adsorption decrease may be due to the occupation by the
DOM of soil sites available for the pro-herbicide.
The adsorption of acid is reversible on the paddy-field sediment but not reversible on the
forest soil before and after soil pretreatment with DOM solutions. Reversible adsorption can
be explained by two mechanisms: i) DOM which was previously adsorbed on soil surfaces
increases the number of organic sites available to interact with CA by polar/ionic
mechanisms; ii) the addition of base cations increases the base metal saturation degree of the
sediment, hence linking CA carboxylate moiety to a higher extent via cation and water
bridges (Sposito, 1984).
On the forest soil, the amount of adsorption sites available for hydrophobic interaction with
CA does not vary as a consequence of DOM adsorption on the soil. This is reasonably
supported by the very high content of organic matter in forest soil (TOC 73.0 g kg-1, Table 3).
Cyhalofop-butyl Cyhalofop-acid
Sample
Kd KFads
L kg-1 μg(1-1/n) mL1/n g-1
Paddy-field sediment 1.30 0.52
Paddy-field sediment +
n.a. 4.70
DOMA
Paddy-field sediment +
n.a. 2.60
DOMM
Forest soil 3.34 3.00

Forest soil + DOMA 0.85 4.90
Forest soil + DOMM 0.61 3.50
Table 4. Distribution coefficient of cyhalofop-butyl and Freundlich constants for cyhalofo-
acid adsorbed in soils. n.a.: not available because no adsorption was observed (modified
from Blasioli et al., 2008). DOMA and DOMM extracted from compost A (blend of winery
byproducts) and M (blend of municipal solid waste), respectively.
The increases of the adsorption extent after pretreatment of forest soil with DOMs may be
due to the ionic content of DOM solutions whose cationic component, complexing the
negatively charged groups, lowers the repulsion between the negative charges and hence
favours hydrophobic interactions of both soil organic matter and CA.
Adsorption data interpretation has been confirmed by CA leaching experiments on soil
colums (Figure 3). The leaching of column with DOM solutions reduces the mobility of
cyhalofop-acid in both soils. In fact, on the paddy-field sediment, which is poor in organic
matter, the increase in base metal saturation degree due to DOM addition, promotes cation
and water brigding formation with the carboxylate CA group. On the forest soil, which is
rich in organic matter, the metals contained in the DOM, decrease the electrostatic repulsion
between the soil organic matter and the carboxylate groups of the cyhalofop in acid, amide,
and diacid forms, by reducing their mobility along the soil profile.
Further confirmation for the adsorption data was obtained by eluting the soil columns
with K+ and Ca2+ solutions (the most representative monovalent and divalent cations
found in DOMM solution). In both soils, the K+ ion reduces the mobility of cyhalofop–acid
whereas the Ca2+ ion decreases the mobility in the paddy-field sediment but not in the
forest soil. The difference in the binding activity of the two cations in the adsorbed form
towards the carboxylates can be explained. In fact, while in adsorbed form K+ may give
rise to a cation bridge with carboxylates due to the formation of an inner-sphere complex,
Ca2+ forms a water bridge, a weaker outer-sphere complex mediated by water molecules
(Sposito, 1984; Theng, 1982). The different strength between the K- and Ca-complexes may
be responsible for the best CA retention in soils eluted with K ions in comparison with Ca
ions.
In conclusion, the saline component of compost extracts seems to account to a large extent
for the increased adsorption of the anionic herbicide cyhalofop-acid in both paddy-field and
forest soils, generating highly reversible complexes with the former and non-reversible
complexes with the latter, both involving the CA carboxylate group.
Fig. 3. Mobility of cyhalofop-acid and byproducts along the paddy-field sediment and forest
soil column profiles leached with exogenous dissolved organic matter (DOMA or DOMM) or
metal (K+ or Ca2+) solutions (mean of two replicates) (modified from Blasioli et al., 2008).
6. Conclusions
The prediction of the movement and the fate of herbicides in soils represents an important
strategy in limiting their environmental impact. The chemico-physical properties of
herbicides affect their behaviour in soil and regulate their interaction mechanisms with
organic and inorganic soil phases. Among these, dissolved organic matter plays an
important role: DOM influences the mobility of herbicides by complex interactions that can
facilitate or reduce the movement of chemicals along the soil profile.
The knowledge of soil phase characteristics and the mechanisms involved in herbicide
transformation can help to understand the fate of herbicides in soil.
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9
Environment Behavior and Fate

of a Novel Pyrimidynyloxybenzoic
Herbicide ZJ0273 in Aerobic Soil
Haiyan Wang, Yanfei Zhang, Man Yu, Juying Li, and Qingfu Ye
Zhejiang University, Institute of Nuclear Agricultural Sciences,
Hangzhou, 310029
China
1. Introduction
Herbicides are universally used in crop production all over the world. Although herbicides
are developed to be biologically active to weeds, their residues are frequently found in
plants, soils, and surface and underground waters, where they may bring about a risk
concern for human health, ecosystems, or the productivity of subsequent crops (Walker et
al., 1997; Vithala & White, 1996).
ZJ0273, propyl 4-(2-(4,6-dimethoxypyrimidin-2-yloxy)benzylamino) benzoate (shown in Fig.
1), is a new broad-spectrum herbicide (Lu et al., 2004; Yang et al., 2008). It is marketed under
the trade names of Youli (EC) and Youli II (SC) in China, and both products were registered
for use in oilseed rape in 2003. In recent years, the herbicide has been rapidly adopted for
use in China with the cumulative application area reaching 666,667 hectares in 2009.
Applications of the herbicide at the dosage of 40-60 g a.i. ha-1 are commonly used to achieve
effective control (80-90%) in rape fields against pre- and post-emergence weeds, including
equal alopecurus (Alopecurus aequalis Sobol.), crickweed (Malachium aquaticum L.), chickweed
(Stellaria media L.), redroot amaranth (Amaranthus retroflexus L.), japanese alopecurus
(Alopecurus japonicus Steud.), annual bluegrass (Poa annua L.), common polypogon (Polypogon
fugax Nees ex Steud.), and spinefruit buttercup (Ranunculus muricatus L.) (Tang et al., 2005).
ZJ0273 greatly inhibits acetolactate synthase (ALS) in vivo and it has little inhibitory effect
on ALS in vitro, which differs from the typical commercial ALS inhibitors, such as
sulfonylurea and pyrimidine salicylic acid herbicides.
Study on environmental behavior and fate for new agrochemicals in soil is an indispensable
requirement for safe use of pesticides on food crops (Langenbach et al., 2000, 2001; Fent et
al., 2003; Mordaunt et al., 2005). A series of issues, such as extractable residues, bound
residue formation and mineralization of herbicides, as well as persistence time of parent
compound, are of the most important concern. Many studies showed that soil-bound
residues of herbicides, such as sulfonylurea herbicides, may cause damage to rotation or
substitution crops (Moyer et al., 1990; Ye et al., 2003, 2004). In Europe, the Uniform
Principles (CEC, 1997) state that in laboratory tests, if non-extractable soil residues are
formed at > 70% of the initial dose after 100 days with mineralization to CO2 at < 5%, there
will be no authorization unless it is demonstrated that no accumulation of residues occurs in

soil under field conditions (Craven, 2000; Craven and Hoy, 2005). In addition, it is important
to understand if mineralization will detoxify agrochemicals with polyaromatic rings.
However, up to now, relative information on ZJ0273 is still not well documented.
MeO OMe MeO OMe

14 14
C C
B B
N N N N
O 14
C O
14 14
H C C
C C H
N 14 14
C C N
14
C
A A
CO 2Pr-n CO 2Pr-n
[pyrimidine-4,6-14C] ZJ0273 [benzyl-U-14C] ZJ0273
Fig. 1. Structures of radiotracers, ZJ0273 with asterisks marking the position of 14C.
Therefore, from the above, the aim of the present study, by using multi-14C-labeled propyl 4-
(2-(4,6-dimethoxypyrimidin-2-yloxy)benzylamino)benzoate, was to investigate
environmental behavior and fate of the herbicide, characterize the fate processes,
persistence, degradation pathways, bound residues formation, mineralization of ZJ0273, as
well as plant availability and phytotoxicity of bound residues of ZJ0273 in well-
characterized soils under aerobic conditions.

2.1 Chemicals
Propyl 4-(2-(4,6-dimethoxy[4,6-14C]pyrimidin-2-yloxy)benzylamino)benzoate ([pyrimidine-
4,6-14C] ZJ0273; radiochemical purity 99.4%; chemical purity 98.1%; specific activity 3.77 ×
107 Bq/mmol) and propyl 4-(2-(4,6-dimethoxypyrimidin-2-yloxy)[phenyl-U-
14C]benzylamino)benzoate ([benzyl-U-14C] ZJ0273; radiochemical purity 98.9%; chemical
purity 98.1%; specific activity 3.74 × 107 Bq/mmol), were synthesized according to the
methods of Yang et al. (2008 & 2009). The chemical purity was analyzed by high
performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and the radiochemical purity was determined
by HPLC-liquid scintillation counting (LSC), and thin layer chromatography-isotope
imaging analysis (TLC-IIA) (Yang et al., 2006 & 2009).
2.2 Soils
Three different agricultural soils were used in the incubation experiment. The soils included
a Red clayey soil (S1), a Fluvio-marine yellow loamy soil (S2) and a Coastal saline soil (S3).
The soil samples were taken from the surface layer (0-15 cm) in fields from different quarters
of Zhejiang Province, China. The bulk soil samples were air dried, mixed, and passed
through a 1-mm sieve before use. Some basic physicochemical characteristics of the soils
were determined using standard methods (Nelson and Sommers, 1982; Gee and Bauder,
1986) and are given in Table 1.
Environment Behavior and Fate of a
Novel Pyrimidynyloxybenzoic Herbicide ZJ0273 in Aerobic Soil 197
2.3 Incubation experiments

To characterize the fate processes of the herbicide ZJ0273 in aerobic soils, two multi-position
14C labelings, [pyrimidine-4,6-14C] ZJ0273 and [benzyl-U-14C] ZJ0273 were employed in this
study. Test vessels for the degradation study were 500-mL glass flasks. For each soil, a test
system of three replicates was used. Prior to the application of [pyrimidine-4,6-14C] ZJ0273,
3×300 g of soil (dry weight equivalent) was weighed for each soil and placed in sealed
polypropylene bags, and the soil moisture content was adjusted to about 30% of the field
water holding capacity by addition of distilled water. The test soils were then pre-incubated
at 25±1 °C for 10 d to allow the microorganisms to acclimatize. After the initial acclimation,
15.0 mg of [pyrimidine-4,6-14C] ZJ0273 (3.77×107 Bq/mmol) and 15.0 mg of non-labeled
analogue were dissolved in methanol, and 5.0 mL (1.340×105 Bq) was added to each soil
sample. After the applied herbicide was thoroughly mixed, the treated soil samples were left
in a fume hood to allow the evaporation of methanol and then transferred into incubation
vessels. The water content of the spiked soil samples was adjusted to 60% of the water
holding capacity by adding distilled water. Each incubation flask was connected to a series
of air-tight test tubes, which allowed for the scrubbing of CO2 from the inlet air (with 5.0 M
NaOH, two traps) and for maintaining constant soil moisture, and entrapment of volatiles
(with 1.0M H2SO4/glycol, 5/10 v/v, one trap) and 14CO2 (with 10mL of 0.5M NaOH, two
traps) (Fig. 2; EPA, 2002). During incubation, a slow and continuous air flow was
maintained in all systems at 25±2 °C. At different time intervals (5, 10, 20, 30, 45, 60, 75, 90
and 100 d after treatment), the traps and a subsample of the treated soils (10.0 g, air-dried
weight equivalent) were removed to determine the radioactivity associated with extractable,
non-extractable residue, and 14CO2, as well as the fraction of [pyrimidine-4,6-14C] ZJ0273
remaining in the parent molecule form. The treatment and sampling for [benzyl-U-14C]
ZJ0273 followed the same procedures as given above for [pyrimidine-4,6-14C] ZJ0273, except
that 1.326×105 Bq of radioactivity was amended in each 300 g soil sample.
Soil type
Property S1 S2 S3
Red clayey soil Fluvio-marine yellow loamy soil Coastal saline soil
pH (H2O) 4.20 7.02 8.84

OMa (g kg-1) 8.40 30.50 9.50
Total N (%) 0.34 2.90 1.80
CECb (cmol kg-1) 6.62 10.83 10.17
Clay (%) 39.0 8.0 24.3
Silt (%) 41.1 71.2 71.1
Sand (%) 19.9 20.8 4.6
P (mg kg-1) 3.21 25.20 10.80
a Organic matter;
b Cation Exchange Capacity.
Table 1. Basic physical-chemical properties of the soils.
Fig. 2. Experimental set-up for monitoring bound residues of [pyrimidine-4,6-14C] ZJ0273 and
[benzyl-U-14C] ZJ0273 during incubation with fresh soil.
2.4 Extractable residue and parent compound

The soil subsamples were transferred to 100-mL polypropylene centrifuge tubes, and
consecutively extracted with solvents with decreasing polarity by following a protocol
similar to Mordaunt et al. (2005). The soil samples were shaken in each solvent (50 mL) for
24 h, using the following solvents in a successive order: 0.01 mol/L CaCl2,
acetonitrile/water (9:1, v/v), methanol, and dichloromethane. At the end of the extraction
period, the sample was centrifugated, supernatant collected and the final volume brought
up to 50.0 mL. From the extracts obtained from the first three extraction steps, an aliquot of
1.0 mL was withdrawn and mixed in 10.0 mL of scintillation cocktail A and analyzed for 14C
activity (dpm) using LSC. The dichloromethane extract from the final extraction step was
condensed to dryness and then the residue was dissolved in 50 mL methanol. An aliquot of
1.0 mL was withdrawn for analysis of radioactivity. The radioactivity of total ER was the
sum of radioactivity determined after each extraction step.
The CaCl2 extract was further adjusted to pH 3.0 and partitioned with dichloromethane (1:1,
v/v) for three consecutive times. The dichloromethane phase was combined and condensed
on a vacuum rotary evaporator at 40 oC until dry and the residue was pooled with those
from the other three extraction steps. The combined supernatants were then condensed to
about 1.0 mL on a vacuum rotary evaporator at 40 oC and centrifuged at 18,000 g for 15 min.
A 20-μL aliquot was injected into a Waters HPLC and the eluted fraction corresponding to the
parent compound peak was manually collected at the outlet for measurement of 14C. The HPLC
system was composed of a Waters 600 multi-solvent delivery unit, a Waters 996 photodiode
array (PDA) detector operating at 301 nm and 254 nm, a Diamonsil C18 column (5-μm, 250 ×
4.6 mm, Dikma Technologies, Beijing, China), and a C18 guard column. The column
temperature was maintained at 30 °C. The mobile phase A and B were made of H2O (HPLC
grade) and methanol, respectively, both containing 0.1% acetic acid. The elution was
achieved at the flow rate of 1.0 mL min-1 using a gradient program (minutes/%A: 0/80, 0-
40/25, 40-80/25, 80-90/0) and was collected and mixed with 10.0 mL of scintillation cocktail
A. Their 14C radioactivity was determined by LSC.
2.5 Bound residue

After the sequential extraction, residual soils were left in a fume hood overnight to allow the
evaporation of organic solvents and a 1.0-g aliquot of the air-dried soil was combusted to
14CO2 on a biological oxidizer (OX-600, R.J. Harvey Instrument Corp., Hilldale, NJ, USA),
followed by measurement of 14C radioactivity by LSC to determine the amount of bound

residue formed in soils. The total time of oxidation was 4.0 min, the combustion temperature
was 900 oC and the catalyzer temperature was 680 oC. The 14CO2 evolved from combustion
was trapped in 15 mL of scintillation cocktail B and the radioactivity was determined by
Quantulus 1220 ultra-low Level liquid scintillation spectrometer (ULLLSS; Quantulus 1220,
Wallac, Turku, Finland). The derived 14C activity was defined as non-extractable or bound
residue in this study. The 14C recovery of the combustion method was determined to be ≥
92.5% from analysis of samples spiked with known radioactivity of 14C labeled ZJ0273.
2.6 Measurement of mineralization to 14C-CO2

At each sampling interval, 14CO2 in the incubation flask was swept into the traps by purging
each system with air for two hours to ensure that 14CO2 was thoroughly trapped by the
NaOH solution. The NaOH traps were exchanged with new solution, and the contents from
the two used traps were combined and diluted into the volume of 50 mL with H2O, after
which 2.0 mL of the solution was mixed in 10 mL of scintillation cocktail A. After the
samples were kept in dark for 24 h (to remove chemiluminescence), 14C measurement was
carried out on the ULLLSS, due to the relatively low radioactivity, which was calibrated
with 14C-standards to correct for any quenching effect.
2.7 MS analyses
To elucidate the structures of the intermediates, LC-MS/MS analysis was carried out on a
Micromass Quattro micro API™ with a HPLC detector and triple quadrupole mass analyzer
for determining mass-to-charge ratio (m/z) for a wide variety of analytes (Waters, Milford,
MA, USA). Control of the instruments and calculation was made using MassLynx V4.1
software (Waters). The instrument was operated in positive ESI ionization mode. Operating
conditions were optimized by constantly introducing a standard solution of the above-
mentioned compounds to the HPLC flow via a T-connector with a split ratio of 1:1. The
signal was optimized on the total ion current in MS mode by changing cone-, capillary-,
extractor- and RF lens voltages in the source and resolution and ion-energy in the analyzer.
At the same time the collision voltages and resolution in the second quadrupole were
optimized. The structures of the intermediates were determined by comparing with mass
spectral data of intermediate standards.
2.8 Plant availability experiment

Rice and corn were used for the plant availability assay. The soils containing BR from the
above were mixed with fresh soils at three different ratios so that the initial contents of 14C-
BR of ZJ0273 were 0.6, 1.2 and 1.8 nmol g-1 dried soil corresponding to 11.2, 22.4, and 33.7 Bq
g-1 dried soil. The mixed soils (130 g dry weight equivalent) were placed in 200-mL plastic
pots for cultivation of corn and Petri dishes (d = 12 cm) for rice cultivation. After the soil
moisture was adjusted to 60% and 80% of the maximum field water holding capacity for
corn and rice, respectively, five germinated corn seeds were sown into each pot and 30
germinated rice seeds were sown into each Petri dish. The pots and Petri dishes without
amendment of 14C-BR soil were similarly prepared and used as the control. Five replicates
were set up for each treatment. Corn and rice seedlings were cultivated under the same
greenhouse conditions (25/20 oC, day/night; humidity, 80%; light, 12 h/ 12h), with
irrigation every day. Visual inspection and photo taking were carried out at 5, 7 and 14 d
after sowing. All seedlings were harvested at 14 d after sowing. The height of shoots was
measured. Each seedling was divided into shoots and roots. The roots were washed with tap
water. All the plant parts were dried at 60 oC to a constant weight. Aliquots of five dried rice
plants and individual corn plant were combusted on the biological oxidizer and the released
14CO was absorbed in 15 mL liquid scintillation cocktail B. The radioactivity was measured
2
by ULLLSS to estimate the amount of BR that was accumulated by the plant. The recovery
efficiency of the above combustion procedure was > 95%.
2.9 Characterization of released residues

After cultivation of rice and corn seedlings, the soils that were amended with BR at 1.8 nmol
g-1 were extracted using the procedure given in Section 2.4 and the extracts were further
characterized for the composition of the released residues by the method of Section 2.7.
2.10 Phytotoxicity assays

The phytotoxicity of the released compounds from BR was evaluated using rice as the
indicator species. The stock solutions of pure M1(38.1 mg), M3 (27.6 mg) and ZJ0273 (42.3 mg)
were prepared in 1.0 mL dimethyl formamide (1%), and diluted to a final volume of 100 mL
with distilled water after addition of 1.0 mL isopropyl alcohol (1%), 0.5 mL TW-80 (0.5%) and
1.0 mL methanol (1%). Five treatment solutions (0.5, 1, 2.5, 5 and 10 µM) were prepared by
diluting the stock solution with distilled water. After germination at 25 oC in Petri dishes
containing filter papers moistened with distilled water, 20 seeds of rice were placed in the Petri
dishes and treated with 9 mL of the compounds derived from the BR at the five
concentrations. After cultivation in an illuminated incubator (25/20 oC, day/night; humidity,
80%; light, 12 h /12 h) for 7 d, shoot height of rice seedlings was measured. Two different
blanks were used. In blank 1, rice seeds were exposed to solutions containing carrier-solvents
but no ZJ0273 or its metabolites. In control 2, rice seeds were exposed to water only. Each
treatment was replicated 5 times. The inhibition ratio (IR) was expressed as IR = 1-(shoot
height of treated rice / shoot height of control). A three parameter logarithm equation (y = a -
b*ln(x + c)) was fitted to the data of inhibition ratio as a function of herbicide concentration by
nonlinear regression using Origin 7.5 (Microcal Software, Northampton, MA).

All measurements were in three replicates and the arithmetic means and standard errors of
means (means ± SEM) were calculated from the repeated measurements. Significance
between treatments was determined by a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) using
Origin 6.0 (Microcal Software, Northampton, MA, USA).
3. Results and discussion

3.1 Mass balance
Mass balance was conducted to calculate the amount of 14CO2 (mineralization), extractable
residue, and bound residue for both 14C labels. Throughout the entire incubation, mass
Incubation
Soil CaCl2 CH3CN:H2O CH3OH CH2Cl2
Days
S1 13.8±5.3 75.6±5.8 8.2±0.9 1.7±0.4

5d S2 11.9±0.9 76.4±1.9 7.2±0.8 2.6±0.5
S3 16.7±3.2 66.6±1.3 9.97±2.5 2.8±1
S1 11.4±3.9 76.6±3.8 9.6±0.3 1.3±0.3
10d S2 11.8±2 74.7±1.6 8.5±0.6 1.8±0.3
S3 14.1±1.4 70.6±1.2 8.4±1.4 2.9±0.4
S1 12.6±3 73.8±3.6 9.5±0.9 1.7±0.2

20d S2 19.2±3 61.7±2.5 0.8 2.6±0.4
S3 23.5±9.8 57.6±10.1 8±1.2 2.7±0.5
S1 15.5±4.9 75.1±5.6 6.4±0.3 0.9±0.8

30d S2 36.6±5.3 48.6±5.4 5±0.9 1.1±0.2
S3 35.8±7.5 47.5±7.9 6.2±0.9 1.5±0.4
S1 20.2±7.8 67.4±11.1 5.2±0.7 1.4±0.2

45d S2 34.6±7.9 40.6±1 4.2±0.1 1.1±0
S3 39.8±2.7 36.9±8.2 5.5±1.1 2±1.4
S1 30.4±7.4 54.9±9.9 3.8±1.3 4±0.3

60d S2 34.9±0.6 36±1.2 4.2±0.5 1.5±0.5
S3 32.6±1.9 30.4±6.2 3.8±0.5 1.1±0.3
S1 24.4±7.3 61±10.6 4.6±1.5 1.3±2.9

75d S2 39.3±2.3 26.7±1.2 4.1±0.1 1.5±0.2
S3 35.6±2.2 24.5±5 3.6±0.9 2±1.3
S1 36.3±2.7 35.9±6.3 2.8±0.7 0.9±0.4

100d S2 33.8±2.4 18±2.9 3.6±0.6 2.5±1.6
S3 30.8±.38 15.7±0.7 3±0.2 0.7±0.2
Table 2. Dissipation of extractable residue of [pyrimidine-4,6-14C] ZJ0273 and its metabolites

after four-step extraction in soils
balances as percentage of the initially added 14C radioactivity were from 90.0±5.8% to
104.4±4.6%, which indicated good mass recoveries for the procedures utilized in this study.
3.1.1 Extractable residue (including parent compound and metabolites)

It is manifested that extraction efficiency of 14C activity immediately after application of 14C-
labeled ZJ0273 ranged from 91.1 to 100.1% for [pyrimidine-4,6-14C] ZJ0273 and from 92.3 to
99.0% for [benzyl-U-14C] ZJ0273 in the three tested soils. During the first 30-d incubation, the
fraction of total extractable residues (ER) from all extraction steps in the three soils was over
90% of the initially applied 14C for [pyrimidine-4,6-14C] ZJ0273. Nevertheless, total ER
experienced a more dramatic downward trend during the next 30 d period, especially in S2
and S3 (Table 2). The lag phase observed was similar to the phenomenon which was found
in other studies (Roeth, 1986; Smith and Lafond, 1990). Pesticide degradation in soils was
generally mediated by microorganisms and microbial degradation was commonly
characterized by an initial lag phase due to adaptation of the microbes (Gevao et al., 2000).
At 100 d after treatment, total ER declined to 75.9% for S1, 57.9% for S2 and 50.2% for S3. As a
consequence, the level of total ER of [pyrimidine-4,6-14C] ZJ0273 in the acidic S1 soil was
significantly higher than that in the neutral S2 and alkaline S3 soils (p < 0.05). Throughout the
experiment, however, , there was no significant discrepancy in ER dissipation trends
between the two 14C labels (p ≥ 0.05) according to the comparison of data.
Extractable 14C residue was further analyzed for the fraction of parent compound. Data
analysis demonstrated that the fall of the parent compound in both [pyrimidine-4,6-14C]
ZJ0273 and [benzyl-U-14C] ZJ0273 treatments complied with a first order decay model, with
the regression coefficient R2 being 0.98 to 0.99 (p < 0.01, data not shown). The estimated
first-order half-lives were 51.0, 20.1 and 17.6 d for S1, S2 and S3, respectively, for the
[pyrimidine-4,6-14C] ZJ0273 treatment. Almost identical half-lives (53.7 d, 20.4 d and 17.2 d
for S1, S2 and S3, respectively) were obtained for the [pyrimidine-4,6-14C] ZJ0273 treatment (p
< 0.05). However, other scientists discovered diverse results in 2,4-D degradation by two
multiple-position 14C-labels. For instance, Gaultier et al. (2008) used [ring-U-14C] 2,4-D (R2,4-
D) and [carboxyl-14C] 2,4-D(C2,4-D) to measure degradation rates of 2,4-D, finding that
rates of R2,4-D degradation in soils were limited more by sorption than rates of C2,4-D
degradation. Smith and Muir (1980) and Xie et al. (1997) presented 15–20% more [ring-U-
14C] 2,4-D bound to soil compared with [carboxyl-14C] 2,4-D. In this study, for both labels,
the dissipation of the parent compound was positively correlated with soil pH (p < 0.001).
Accordingly, ZJ0273 was more stable and resistant to transformation under acidic
conditions. The similarities observed for the two labels offered evidence that the behavior of
the parent compound was independent from the labeling position, which, as expected, was
a direct validation of the rigorousness of the experimental procedures used in this study.
The slower degradation in the acidic soil may attribute to the following factors. First and
foremost, the propyl group of ZJ0273 is prone to break and thereby forming 4-(2-(4,6-
dimethoxypyrimidin-2-yloxy)benzylamino)benzoic acid under alkaline condition, while it is
probably impossible to take place in acidic soil. Second of all, the acidic soil S1 had a lower
OM content than soils S2 and S3, and it is likely that the lower OM resulted in a reduced
formation of bound residue between OM and the parent molecule, or a higher level of free
parent compound. Last but not least, it is also likely that there were differences in microbial
populations and makeup because of various soil pH conditions, which generated slower
transformations in the acidic soil.
At the first few sampling intervals, the majority of ER was extracted by acetonitrile-water,
whereas relatively small fractions were from other extractions. Mordaunt et al. (2005)
depicted that a significant large portion of ER was derived from CaCl2 extraction for
atrazine, dicamba, and isoproturon, but from acetonitrile-water extraction for lindane and
trifluralin. The difference was attributed to the differences in pesticide aqueous solubility.
Specifically, the water solubility is 33 mg L−1 for atrazine, 6500 mg L−1 for dicamba, and 65
mg L−1 for isoproturon, but much lower for lindane (7.3 mg L−1) and trifluralin (0.2 mg L−1).
Compared with these pesticides, the aqueous solubility for ZJ0273 is substantially lower at
1.5mg L−1 and the very low solubility would probably implicate the association of most ER
with the acetonitrile-water extract during the initial phase of the incubation experiment. On
the contrary, the fraction from the CaCl2 extraction step gradually rose as incubation time
further increased. For instance, from 5 d to 100 d after the treatment, the fraction of CaCl2
extracted residue rocketed from 13.8% to 36.3% for [pyrimidine-4,6-14C] ZJ0273 (Table 2).
Correspondingly, a similar phenomenon was found in the sequential extractions for the
[benzyl-U-14C] ZJ0273 treatment. In our previous study, several metabolites, such as 2-(4,6-
dimethoxypyrimidin-2-yloxy)benzoic acid (M1), 4-(2-(4,6-dimethoxypyrimidin-2-
yloxy)benzylamino)benzoic acid (M2), 4-(2-(4,6-dimethoxypyrimidin-2-
yloxy)benzamido)benzoic acid (M3) and 4,6-dimethoxypyrimidin-2-ol and/or 4,6-
dimethoxypyrimidin-2(1H)-one (M4), were identified. All of these metabolites (log P=1.40–
4.11) were more polar than the parent compound (log P=5.04), which induced the
conclusion that the increased recoveries of 14C by CaCl2 extraction suggested accumulation
of polar metabolites in the soils.
3.1.2 Mineralization
The cumulative mineralization rates of [pyrimidine-4,6-14C] ZJ0273 and [benzyl-U-14C] ZJ0273
in three aerobic soil over time was present in Fig. 3. As can be seen from the graph that
mineralization of both labels displayed a lag phase lasting from the beginning to about 20 d
after the treatment. This lag phase coincided with what was observed in dissipation of
extractable residues, suggesting that time was in need for the acclimatization of microbial
degraders of this compound. After 20 d, mineralization increased with incubation time, and
appeared to accelerate towards the end of the incubation. Mineralized fractions of
[pyrimidine-4,6-14C] ZJ0273 or [benzyl-U-14C] ZJ0273 were substantially higher in S2 and S3
than in S1 at the same interval time. At the end of 100-d incubation, the total fraction
mineralized in S1 came least at less than 1.2% of the applied activity for [benzyl-U-14C]
ZJ0273, with S2 at 7.7% and S3 at 9.9%. In soils treated with [pyrimidine-4,6-14C] ZJ0273, at the
end of 100-d incubation, only 0.5% mineralization occurred in S1, while the cumulative
mineralization rate was 6.6% for S2 and 5.0% for S3. The overall mineralization rates of
[pyrimidine-4,6-14C] ZJ0273 and [benzyl-U-14C] ZJ0273 were correlated with soil pH (p < 0.05)
and organic matter content (p < 0.05). The soil S1 was more acidic (pH 4.20) and also had less
organic matter than the other two soils (Table 1), which may have brought about limited
microbial activity in this soil and hence a limited mineralization potential (Boivin et al.,
2005). The slow mineralization of ZJ0273 in acidic soil and implications for risk assessment
and management merit were further investigated. Mineralization to 14CO2 was found to be
consistently greater with [benzyl-U-14C] ZJ0273 than with [pyrimidine-4,6-14C] ZJ0273 in the
same soil throughout the incubation. For instance, at the end of the 100-d incubation, the
mineralized fractions of [pyrimidine-4,6-14C] ZJ0273 reached 6.6% for S2, and 5.0% for S3,
while the corresponding fractions of [benzyl-U-14C] ZJ0273 were 7.7% for S2, and 9.9% for S3.
These differences suggested that, under the same conditions, mineralization of ZJ0273
involved more active ring cleavage at the benzyl ring than that at the pyrimidine ring.
12
11
CO2 (% of applied radioactivity)

10
C-ring S1
9 C-ring S2
8 C-ring S3
7 B-ring S1
B-ring S2
6
B-ring S3
5
4
3
2
14
1
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Incubation Days after application
Fig. 3. Mineralization of [pyrimidine-4,6-14C] ZJ0273 and [benzyl-U-14C] ZJ0273 in three soils
3.1.3 Bound residue

The time-dependent accumulation of bound residue in soils for the two labels was presented
in Fig. 4. The fraction of BR following treatment of [pyrimidine-4,6-14C] ZJ0273 increased
rapidly in all three tested soils. The fraction of BR in S1 was found to be significantly smaller
than in the other two soils (p < 0.01) and BR formation was correlated with soil pH (p < 0.05).
At the end of 100-d incubation, BR represented around 35.3% of the initially applied 14C in
40
C-ring S1 C-ring S2 C-ring S3
Bound Residue of ZJ0273 (% of applied radioactivity)
35
B-ring S1 B-ring S2 B-ring S3
30
25
20
15
10
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Incubation Days after Application
Fig. 4. Formation of bound residue after treatment of [pyrimidine-4,6-14C] ZJ0273 and [benzyl-
U-14C] ZJ0273 in aerobic soils
S3, 28.1% in S2, and 17.5% in S1, which were far lower than the 70% as described as the non-
accumulative criteria in the directive by CEC (1997). The formation of soil-bound residues
for many pesticides has been reported to be mediated by the activities of soil
microorganisms (Smith & Philips, 1975; Haider, 1983; Krause et al., 1985). During the entire
incubation, ANOVA analysis showed that there was no significant difference in BR
formation between the two 14C labels (p ≥ 0.05), which implies that formation of BR in soils
involved parent compound and/or metabolites with both pyrimidine and benzyl rings,
rather than metabolites with a single ring.
3.2 Identification of degradation intermediates

The highest radioactivity measured by HPLC and ULLLSS was found in the samples at 60
DAT. For the [pyrimidine-4,6-14C] ZJ0273 treatment, as shown in Fig. 5A and 5C,
radioactivity was detected in five peaks at the retention time (tR) of 10, 40, 47, 55, and 70
min. Other components that were not radio-labeled were not further identified. For [benzyl-
U-14C] ZJ0273 treatment, only four radioactive peaks at the retention times (tR) of 40, 47, 55,
and 70 min were detected while the peak at 9.80 min was absent (Fig. 5D). The radioactive
intermediate peaks were found in both [pyrimidine-4,6-14C] ZJ0273 and [benzyl-U-14C] ZJ0273
treatments, suggesting that they could be possible degradation products of ZJ0273. Further
structure analysis was conducted with the assistance of LC-MS/MS.
The parent ZJ0273 had a retention time of 70 min, and its mass spectrum included ion
fragments at m/z 245(C13H13N2O3), 424[M+H]+, and 446[M+Na]+. The selected ion
chromatography of m/z 424 included the major ions (m/z, %) of 364 (85), 245(100), and
185(10), which were consistent with the structure of standard ZJ0273 (Yang et al., 2009; Han
et al., 2009a).
The peak at 47 min appeared in the HPLC trace and in the total ion chromatogram of
degradation products of ZJ0273 (Fig. 5A and 5B), and was identified in the LC-MS/MS
chromatogram. The mass spectrum of the intermediate at 47 min revealed m/z
245(C13H13N2O3), 382[M+H]+, and 404[M+Na]+, which was consistent with the structure of
compound M1 with a molecular weight of 381. The selected ion chromatography of M1
included the major ions (m/z, %) of 107 (35), 160 (30), 185 (20), 214 (15), 245 (100), and 319
(10) (Table 3). The fragment ion (m/z 245) and two ion adducts (m/z 382(C20H20N3O5),
404(C20H19N3O5Na)) were simultaneously monitored, and the extracted ion chromatogram
showed three peaks (m/z 382, 404 and 245), which rose and fell synchronously. The
extracted ion chromatogram showed that this compound appeared to be 14C-4-(2-(4,6-
dimethoxypyrimidin-2-yloxy)benzylamino)benzoic acid. This was confirmed by comparing
the retention time of this compound in HPLC with that of a standard of 4-(2-(4,6-
dimethoxypyrimidin-2-yloxy)benzylamino)benzoic acid.
Compound M2 that appeared at 55 min in the LC-MS chromatogram was identified. The
mass spectrum of the metabolic intermediate at 55 min reveals m/z 396[M+H]+, and
418[M+Na]+, which is consistent with the structure of compound M2. The selected ion of
m/z 396 included the major ions (m/z, %) of 107 (20), 139 (20), 185 (30), 230 (20), 245 (100),
300 (20), and 364 (80) (Table 3). The fragment ion (m/z 245) and three ion adducts (m/z
107(C7H7O), 185(C11H9N2O), 364(C20H18N3O4Na)) were monitored simultaneously at the
optimal conditions, and the extracted ion chromatogram showed two peaks (m/z 396 and
418) consistent with the standard of M2. In addition, this compound was found radioactive
in both treatments of [pyrimidine-4,6-14C] ZJ0273 and [benzyl-U-14C] ZJ0273, indicating that
both the pyrimidine and benzyl rings were contained in the structure of M2. As M2 had a tR
of 55 min and matched the mass spectra of the standard, the intermediate compound was
thus confirmed as 14C-4-(2-(4,6-dimethoxypyrimidin-2-yloxy)benzamido)benzoic acid.
Proposed
MS spectrum ions of the selected ion (m/z)
degradation FW tR(min)
(%, abundance)
compound
M1 381 47 107(35),160(30),185(20),14(15),245(100)
107(20), 139(20), 185(30), 230(20), 245(100),

M2 395 55
300(20), 364(80)
M3 276 40 107(45), 139(100), 153(75), 170(35), 259(35)
M4 156 10 100(55), 125(30), 139(100), 141(30)
Table 3. HPLC-retention times (tR), mass spectra of ZJ0273 and its major degradation
products in aerobic soils.
The peak for compound M3 appeared at 40 min in the chromatogram and in the total ion
chromatogram of the LC-MS of ZJ0273 metabolites (Fig. 5A and 5B). The mass spectrum of
the metabolite at 40 min revealed m/z 259(C13H11N2O4), 277[M+H]+, and 299[M+Na]+ (Table
2). The selected ion of m/z 277 included the major ions (m/z, %) of 107 (45), 139 (100), 153
(75), 170 (35), and 259 (35). The fragment ion (m/z 259) and two ion adducts (m/z 277
(C13H13N2O5), 299(C13H13N2O5Na)) were monitored simultaneously. The intermediate was
found radioactive in both [pyrimidine-4,6-14C] ZJ0273 and [benzyl-U-14C] ZJ0273 treatments,
which showed that the structure of M3 contained both pyrimidine and benzyl rings. The
HPLC retention time of this component was in accordance with the standard of 2-(4,6-
dimethoxypyrimidin-2-yloxy)benzoic acid. Comparison of the extracted ion chromatogram
with the mass spectrum of the authentic standard further verified M3 as 14C-2-(4,6-
dimethoxypyrimidin-2-yloxy)benzoic acid with a molecular weight of 276.
The peak of compound M4 appeared at 10 min in the chromatogram and in the total ion
chromatogram of LC-MS of ZJ0273 degradation products (Fig. 5A and 5B). The mass
spectrum of this compound at 10 min revealed m/z 157[M+H]+, which was consistent with
the structure of compound M4 with a molecular weight of 156. The selected ion
chromatograph of 157 included the major ions (m/z, %) of 100 (55), 125 (30), 139 (100), and
141 (30) (Table 3). Since the compound was found only in the [pyrimidine-4,6-14C] ZJ0273
treatment, it should contain the pyrimidine ring. The extracted ion chromatogram, when
compared with mass spectrum of an authentic standard confirmed the degradation product
M4 to be 4,6-dimethoxypyrimidin-2-ol, a keto-enol tautomer of 4,6-dimethoxypyrimidin-
2(1H)-one, as described by Chang et al. (2007).
3.3 Proposed degradation pathways

As illustrated in Fig. 6, there were two possible metabolic pathways resulting in the
degradation of ZJ0273. In all three aerobic soils, the parent compound was initially
hydrolyzed and de-esterified by cleavage of the propyl group to form M1. Since the side
chain carbon atom of the benzene ring tended to be oxidized abiotically or biotically,
carbonylation occurred. After that, conjugation between the π orbital of the phenyl group or
Fig. 5. Charts of HPLC, TIC of LC-MS, and radioactive chromatogram obtained from an
extract of 14C-ZJ0273 degradation products. (A) HPLC chromatogram at the wavelength of
254 nm and 301 nm; (B) LC-MS ESI+; (C) Radioactive chromatogram of elution of
[pyrimidine-4,6-14C] ZJ0273 degradation products at 60 DAT; (D) Radioactive chromatogram
of elution of [benzyl-U-14C] ZJ0273 degradation products at 60 DAT.
H3CO OCH3
N N
O ZJ0273
H
N
O
OCH2CH2CH3
H3CO OCH3
HN N
H3CO OCH3 O
N N
tautomerisation
M1
Pathway 1 H3CO OCH3
keto-enol
O
H
N N N
O
COOH
OH
H3CO OCH3
Pathway 2
O
N N
M4
H3CO OCH3
M3 OH
N N
O M2
H
N
O
COOH
CO2+ Soil-bound residues
Fig. 6. Degradation pathways of ZJ0273 in aerobic soils. Pathway 1 showed the route of
ZJ0273→M1→M3→M4; Pathway 2 followed the other route of ZJ0273→M1→M2→M3→M4.
the pyrimidine ring and the p orbital of the oxygen atom in the compound M3 was the
dominant reaction. As the conjugation force of the pyrimidine ring was stronger than that of
the phenyl ring, the fragments were supposed to be M4 and salicylic acid.Then M4 was
ultimately decomposed to carbon dioxide. The second degradation pathway was also
initiated by the hydrolysis to form M1. The carbon atom of the benzylamine group with
higher activity was readily acylated to generate M2 with an amide group. In the
intermediate M2, the amino group was an easy-to-leave group and was hydrolyzed with
acid and/or base catalysts, which was followed by carboxylated with the phenyl ring and
cleaved to form the main degradation product M3. The M3 was transformed as described in
the first step to yield M4, and finally mineralized to CO2.
3.4 Bioavailability and phytotoxicity of bound residue

3.4.1 Plant availability and phytotoxicity
In order to explore plant availability and potential phytotoxicity of BR from ZJ0273, visual
characterization and quantitative analysis including measurement of plant height, dry
weight of shoot, root, and total plant of rice and corn seedlings were employed after
exposure to soil BR fromZJ0273. Compared with the control, growth depression of rice
seedlings by the BR was observed at the concentration of 1.8 nmol g-1, while no inhibition
occurred at the concentration of 0.6 or 1.2 nmol g-1 in all soils at 5 d after treatment (DAT).
After growing in BR amended soils for 7 d, growth of rice was significantly impeded at all
concentration levels in the test soils and the suppression aggravated with growing
concentrations. At 14 DAT, leaf chlorosis and growth inhibition of rice seedlings were
recorded (Fig. 7a), which indicated a more pronounced inhibition compared with that at 7
DAT. Plant height, dry weights of shoot, root and the whole plant of rice seedlings
decreased dramatically as the BR amendment rate increased in all the three soils at 14 DAT
(Table 4), supporting the visual observations. These results demonstrated that ZJ0273
and/or its degradation products released from BR in the soils imposed severe phytotoxic
impacts on the rice seedlings. Analysis of 14C radioactivity in rice seedlings 14 DAT
witnessed a rise in 14C content in shoot, root and the whole plant with increasing
amendment rates, coinciding with the drop in the plant height and dry weight (Table 5). It is
suggested that the accumulation of the released chemicals from BR of ZJ0273 in the soils
made great contribution in inhibiting plant growth. The total 14C activity in the root reached
a maximum in the soils amended with BR at 1.2 nmol g-1, indicating that absorption of BR-
derived chemicals was suppressed beyond this amendment rate (Table 5).
Over the whole process of cultivation, no significant visual growth depression of corn
seedlings was observed 14 DAT in any treatment (Fig. 7b). Determination of plant height,
dry weights of shoot, root and whole plant of corn seedlings further justified the visual
observations (Table 5). Compared with the control, no significant inhibition was found in
the plant height, dry weight of shoot, root and whole plant (p > 0.05, Table 5). Quantification
of 14C radioactivity in different parts of corn seedling revealed that the total amount of 14C in
shoot and root increased with the rise of the BR amendment rate in the test soils (Table 6).
The radioactivity of 14C on a dry biomass basis was higher for the shoot of corn at a higher
BR amendment rate, but no significant increase was gained for the root when the
amendment rate increased from 1.2 to 1.8 nmol g-1 (Table 6).
Conc. shoot Root Total weight

Soil height(cm)
(nmol g-1) (mg) (mg) (mg)
0 40.5±1.6 152±13 72±2 227±13
0.6 43.3±1.3 166±15 79±8 243±21
S1
1.2 40.2±1.1 155±13 77±5 232±17
1.8 40.4±1.5 162±13 80±5 238±14
0 34.3±1.7 120±14 82±7 197±10
0.6 34.8±1.1 123±11 88±6 210±14
S2
1.2 33.8±1.6 116±11 84±4 212±28
1.8 32.1±1.3 110±10 86±7 208±16
0 38.2±2.0 176±21 74±6 252±26
0.6 38.9±2.3 179±20 68±6 259±30
S3
1.2 37.6±1.8 169±19 70±5 240±25
1.8 37.1±2.0 168±22 72±7 248±21
Table 4. Bioavailability and phytotoxicity of bound residue derived from ZJ0273 on corn
seedlings.
Conc. Height Shoot Root Total

Soil
(nmol g-1) (cm) (mg) (mg) Weight (mg)
0.0 26.0±0.2 37.2±0.7 7.3±0.2 44.4±0.8
0.6 18.5±0.2 25.4±0.3 6.0±0.1 31.5±0.6
S1
1.2 17.4±0.2 22.6±0.2 5.3±0.1 29.0±0.4
1.8 15.8±0.2 19.2±0.3 4.6±0.1 24.5±0.4
0.0 26.5±0.3 35.4±0.7 7.7±0.2 42.9±1.0
0.6 17.3±0.2 19.1±0.5 5.9±0.3 25.2±0.8
S2
1.2 14.9±0.1 15.3±0.5 5.2±0.1 20.1±0.7
1.8 11.9±0.2 12.6±0.7 3.4±0.1 16.0±0.7
0.0 25.5±0.3 38.9±1.0 6.9±0.2 45.9±1.2
0.6 20.5±0.4 29.3±0.6 5.6±0.1 32.0±1.4
S3
1.2 14.8±0.2 17.5±0.6 4.9±0.1 22.6±0.8
1.8 12.4±0.2 15.5±0.6 3.0±0.1 18.4±0.7
Table 5. Bioavailability and phytotoxicity of ZJ0273 bound residue on rice seedlings.
After plant cultivation and the subsequent extraction in Section 2.4, decreases in the
radioactivity of 14C in the whole soil indicated the fraction of BR released. The fractions of
14C released after rice planting were 68.3%, 57.0%, and 61.1% of the applied activity,
respectively, for S1, S2 and S3 amended with BR at 1.8 nmol g-1. The released amounts were
considerably greater than those in the corresponding soils grown with corn, which ranged
from 32.6% to 38.9%. The inhibition caused by the BR on rice seedlings in the different soils
followed the order S1 > S3 > S2, similar to the order for the fractions of 14C released. The
interactions between pesticides, along with their metabolites, and soils are extremely
complicated and may change with soil pH, microbial community and soil enzyme activity
(Khan, 1982; Dec & Bollag, 1988). During the cultivation, different soil conditions for corn
and rice may have contributed to the different release rates of BR. Furthermore, much larger
amounts of the released 14C were absorbed into the corn plants than rice seedlings, despite
the amount of 14C per dry biomass was smaller for corn. All in all, the lower accumulation
rates of BR-derived residues on a biomass basis may have led to the insignificant injury in
corn seedlings.
3.4.2 Characterization of released residues

Extractable products from soils amended with BR after planting of rice or corn were
resolved on HPLC and the radioactivity was measured in the eluted fractions. The retention
times of the three radioactive peaks coincided with those for the authentic standards for
parent ZJ0273 (70 min), M1 (47 min) and M3 (40 min). Both M1 and M3 are degradation
products that were previously identified upon degradation of ZJ0273 in soil. The metabolite
M1 was a hydrolysis product of ZJ0273 and its further metabolism may lead to the
formation of M3, which belongs to the first degradation pathway mentioned above. ZJ0273
and its degradation products may bind to the soil through physical and/or chemical
interactions such as van der Walls forces, ligand exchange, charge-transfer complexes,
hydrophobic partitioning, and covalent bonding. The formed soil BR of ZJ0273 could be
Conc. Shoot Root Shoot Shoot

Soil
(nmol g-1) (Bq g-1) (Bq g-1) (Bq) (Bq )
0 0 0 0 0
0.6 6.8±0.4 18.0±1.6 1.2±0.1 1.3±0.1
S1
1.2 12.7±0.8 38.7±2.6 2.0±0.2 2.8±0.2
1.8 16.2±0.9 38.4±2.6 2.7±0.2 3.5±0.4
0 0 0 0 0
0.6 24.4±3.4 31.9±2.3 2.3±0.3 3.8±0.4
S2
1.2 45.6±4.1 62.9±2.8 3.3±0.4 6.3±0.6
1.8 75.5±6.6 62.8±6.3 6.9±0.6 8.1±1.2
0 0 0 0 0
0.6 11.5±0.7 30.0±1.7 2.2±0.2 2.0±0.2
S3
1.2 16.5±1.0 45.1±2.5 2.7±0.2 2.8±0.3
1.8 20.3±2.7 48.1±1.9 2.8±0.3 4.2±0.4
Table 6. 14C radioactivity in corn seedlings.
Fig. 7. (a). Effects of bound residues of 14C-ZJ0273 on growth of rice seedlings in soils at 14 d
after application; (b). Effects of bound residues of 14C-ZJ0273 on growth of corn seedlings in
soils at 14 d after application.
released by physico-chemical mechanisms or through biochemical processes. However, in

this study it was found that only M1, M3 and ZJ0273 were released from the soil BR upon
planting and the relative ratios of the three compounds varied with soil types and plant
types. In the extractable residues, ZJ0273 and its degradation products M1 and M3
constituted 6.9-10.7%, 14.8-17.7%, and 68.0-77.1%, respectively (see Fig. 8), for soils grown
with corn, as compared with 15.1-31.0%, 25.6-39.8%, and 38.3-45.1% in rice growing soils. In
all soils, M3 was the dominant compound released from soil BR derived from ZJ0273.
Conc. Shoot Root Shoot Root

Soil
(nmol g-1) (Bq g-1) (Bq g-1) (Bq) (Bq)
0 0 0 0 0
0.6 35.7±0.9 61.9±2.6 0.52±0.03 0.23±0.01
S1
1.2 71.5±2.6 100.1±5.3 1.03±0.08 0.31±0.02
1.8 110.7±4.4 129.1±2.6 1.28±0.08 0.32±0.01
0 0 0 0 0
0.6 61.5±1.6 214.0±6.3 1.35±0.07 1.33±0.07
S2
1.2 130.3±2.0 373.7±15.1 1.97±0.07 2.15±0.08
1.8 203.5±8.2 387.9±8.0 2.59±0.10 1.36±0.07
0 0 0 0 0
0.6 27.4±1.2 63.3±2.3 0.75±0.04 0.36±0.02
S3
1.2 66.1±2.6 101.1±2.0 1.31±0.07 0.51±0.02
1.8 114.3±5.2 121.2±3.5 1.62±0.12 0.40±0.02
Table 7. 14C radioactivity in rice seedlings.
3.4.3 Phytotoxicity of the released compounds

Phytotoxicity of ZJ0273 and the two identified compounds 4-(2-(4,6-dimethoxypyrimidin-2-
yloxy)benzylamino)benzoic acid and 2-(4,6-dimethoxypyrimidin-2-yloxy)benzoic acid was
further evaluated by measurement of the shoot height of rice seedlings exposed to solutions
containing these compounds. No significant differences were found in the shoot height of
rice seedlings exposed to control 1 and control 2 solutions. Thus, the inhibition ratio was
calculated based on control 2. No significant inhibition effect was observed on rice by ZJ0273
at 0.5 and 1 µM (see Fig. 8). However, the plant height decreased at 2.5 µM of ZJ0273 and the
inhibition reach 28.9% at 10 µM. The inhibition effect caused by M1 and M3 both increased
with the growth of concentration. At the same concentration, the inhibition rate followed the
order of 2-(4,6-dimethoxypyrimidin-2-yloxy)benzoic acid (M3) > 4-(2-(4,6-
dimethoxypyrimidin-2-yloxy)benzylamino)benzoic acid (M1) > ZJ0273, with the inhibition
rate at 10 µM reaching 75.5%, 86.0%, and 28.9% for M1, M3, and ZJ0273, respectively. The
IC50 values of M1, M3 and ZJ0273, defined by nonlinear regression of rice shoot height over
the treated doses, were assessed to be 1.93, 0.49 and 33.16 µM, respectively (see Fig. 8).
Results of the phytotoxicity assay suggested that M1 and M3 were more biologically active
than the parent ZJ0273 against rice. It may be further concluded that it was the degradation
products of ZJ0273, M3 in particular, that possibly imposed the inhibition effect on the
growth of rice seedlings.
Fig. 8. Inhibition of ZJ0273 (- d -, y = -23.58 + 21.45 * ln(x + 2.27), R2 = 0.9643), M1 (- e -, y =

37.69 + 17.13 * ln(x + 0.12), R2 = 0.9954) and M3 (-s-, y = 68.12 + 8.30 * ln(x - 0.38), R2 = 0.9969)
on growth of rice seedling measured as reductions in shoot height.
Previous studies have shown that ZJ0273 inhibits the synthesis of the branched-chain amino
acids in a susceptible plant in vivo and the inhibition effect is counteracted by the addition
of branched-chain amino acids, while no inhibition is detected under in vitro conditions.
These results suggest that ZJ0273 is a pro-herbicide and it is the metabolites of ZJ0273 in the
plant that contribute to the inhibition on ALS (Chen et al., 2005). Far more severe inhibition
effect of M3 on ALS was studied in preliminary studies (unpublished). The IC50 of M3 on
the ALS of the etiolated pea shoots was estimated to be 0.39 µM (Yukio et al., 1996).
Therefore, the cause of phytotoxicity to rice from soil BR of ZJ0273 may be attributed to the
release of ZJ0273, M1, and M3 from the soil BR and the subsequent inhibition on the
biosynthesis of amino acids in plants due to the inhibition of ALS primarily by M3.
4. Conclusion
As a novel acetolactate synthase potential inhibitor, ZJ0273 had short to intermediate
persistence in aerobic soils, with half-lives ranging from 17.2 to 53.7 d for the parent
molecule. The disappearance of the parent compound was accompanied with production of
metabolites, formation of BR and mineralization to CO2. The overall transformation of
ZJ0273 appeared to closely rely on soil properties such as pH and organic matter content. In
an acidic soil with low organic matter content, ZJ0273 was degraded much slower with
limited mineralization and reduced formation of BR. Use of 14C labels at different positions
provided similar and hence confirmatory information on the behavior of the parent
compound and formation of BR. However, mineralization of [benzyl-U-14C] ZJ0273 was
consistently greater than that of [pyrimidine-4,6-14C] ZJ0273under the same conditions,
suggesting that ring cleavage at the benzyl ring was more active than the pyrimidine ring.
Judging from the information of BR and mineralization, ZJ0273 met the non-accumulative
criteria as stated in the directives by the Commission of the European Communities (BR <
70% of the initial dose after 100 d with mineralization to CO2 at > 5%).
In this study, four aromatic intermediates of ZJ0273, 4-(2-(4,6-dimethoxypyrimidin-2-
yloxy)benzylamino)benzoic acid, 4-(2-(4,6-dimethoxypyrimidin-2-yloxy)benzamido)benzoic
acid, 2-(4,6-dimethoxypyrimidin-2-yloxy)benzoic acid, and 4,6-dimethoxypyrimidin-2-ol,

were identified. Two possible metabolic pathways could lead to the degradation of
ZJ0273.On the one hand, in all three aerobic soils, the parent compound was initially
hydrolyzed and de-esterified by cleavage of the propyl group to form 4-(2-(4,6-
dimethoxypyrimidin-2-yloxy)benzylamino)benzoic acid. Since the side chain carbon atom of
the benzene ring tended to be oxidized abiotically or biotically, carbonylation occurred.
Conjugation was the dominant reaction in the compound 2-(4,6-dimethoxypyrimidin-2-
yloxy)benzoic acid, which was ultimately decomposed to carbon dioxide. On the other
hand, the degradation pathway was also initiated by the hydrolysis to 4-(2-(4,6-
dimethoxypyrimidin-2-yloxy)benzylamino)benzoic acid, which was readily acylated to
generate 4-(2-(4,6-dimethoxypyrimidin-2-yloxy)benzamido)benzoic acid, then, to form the
main degradation product 2-(4,6-dimethoxypyrimidin-2-yloxy)benzoic acid, which then was
transformed to yield 4,6-dimethoxypyrimidin-2-ol, and finally mineralized to CO2.
Meanwhile, plant availability and phytotoxicity of soil bound residues of herbicide ZJ0273
showed that only ZJ0273 and its two degradation products M1 and M3 were identified in
the extract of the released residues from BR after planting of corn or rice. Phytotoxicity assay
of the three compounds revealed that M3 played a dominant role in the inhibition effect on
the growth of rice seedlings. In the extractable residues released from BR, the most
biologically active M3 made up of the largest fraction in all soils. Therefore, it may be
concluded that the main cause of phytotoxicity from exposure to soil BR of ZJ0273 is related
to the release of ZJ0273 and its degradation products and the subsequent inhibition on ALS
by M3. The elevated accumulation of 14C on a biomass basis in rice as compared with corn
provided an explanation to the occurrence of phytotoxicity only in the former. Results from
this study clearly showed that when a field previously treated with ZJ0273 is subsequently
used for planting of rice, there would be an increased likelihood for herbicide induced
phytotoxicity. This hypothesis is valuable since it helps to select the succeeding rotation
crops to prevent yield losses.
All these findings provided the basic information that might be useful for assessing the
factors related to the environmental fate and behavior of this commonly used herbicide.
However, absorption, translocation, distribution, residue in the oilseed rape metabolism,
and mode of action of the herbicide still remain unknown, which are well worth studying
in the near future.
5. References
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Paulson, D.L.; Lui, S.Y.; Bollag, J.M. (1985). Microbial transformation of the
herbicide metolachlor by a soil actinomycete. J. Agri. Food Chem., 33, 584-589.
Langenbach, T.; Schroll, R.; Paim, S. (2000). Fate and distribution of 14C-atrazine in a tropical
oxisol. Chemosphere, 40, 449-455.
Langenbach, T.; Schroll, R.; Scheunert, I. (2001). Fate of the herbicide 14C-terbuthylazine in
Brazilian soils under various climatic conditions. Chemosphere, 45, 387-398.
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pesticide residues: observations on compound differences, measurement and
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Moyer, S.R.; Esau, R.; Kozub, G.C. (1990). Chlorsulfuron persistence and response of nine
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Nelson, D.W.; Sommers, L.E. (1982). Total carbon, organic carbon, and organic matter. In:
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applications on the rate of microbial degradation. ACS Symposium Series, 426, 14-22.
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radioactivity from prairie soils treated with carboxyl- and ring-labelled [14C]2,4-D.
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chlorsulfuron is determined by herbicide availability and persistence in soils. Aust.
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Nucleatae Sinica, 20(5), 423-428 [in Chinese].
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10
Application of a Laboratory Bioassay for

Assessment of Bioactivity of ALS-inhibiting
Herbicides in Soil
Anna M. Szmigielski1, Jeff J. Schoenau1, Bryce G.L. Geisel1,
Frederick A. Holm2 and Eric N. Johnson3
1Soil Science Department, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK
2Plant Sciences Department, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK
3Agriculture and AgriFood Canada, Scott, SK
Canada
1. Introduction
Acetolactate synthase (ALS) herbicides inhibit the biosynthesis of branched chain amino
acids (valine, leucine and isoleucine) in sensitive plants. The ALS-inhibitor group of
herbicides includes sulfonylureas, imidazolinones, triazolopyrimidines, pyrimidinyl
oxybenzoates , and sulfonylamino carbonyl trizolinones. They control a wide spectrum of
broadleaf weeds and grasses and are commonly used in cereal and pulse crops, soybean and
rice. Tolerant plants rapidly metabolize ALS-herbicides to an inactive product while
sensitive plants show little or no metabolism of ALS-herbicides (Sweetser et al., 1981). ALS
inhibition is a biological pathway that exists only in plants and not in animals, and therefore
the ALS-inhibiting herbicides are considered to be safe (Colborn & Short, 1999). Because of
the very high plant toxicity of ALS-inhibiting herbicides to susceptible plants, the
application rates of these herbicides are remarkably low, typically between 3 to 150 g ai/ha
(Senseman, 2007) making these herbicides environmentally attractive. The bioavailability of
ALS-herbicides to plants is soil dependent, and the efficacy in weed control may decrease in
soils of high organic matter and clay content and low pH. Dissipation of ALS-herbicides
varies greatly with environmental conditions, soil characteristics and type of herbicide.
Although the half-lives are relatively short, the small residual quantities remaining in soil
may be of agronomic concern due to the high potency of these herbicides at low
concentrations. The expected levels of soil residual ALS-inhibiting herbicides one year after
application are at or below one part per billion concentrations. Addressing concerns
regarding possible damage to successive crops requires the ability to detect extremely low
concentrations of these herbicides in soil.
2. Plant bioassay techniques

Herbicide residues in soils can be determined by plant bioassays or by chemical methods.
Chemical methods are specific, sensitive and quantify the total amount of herbicide residue
in soil (Klaffenbach & Holland, 1993; Galletti et al., 1995; Stout et al., 1997; Szmigielska et al.,
1998; Smith, 1995). However, they may be costly, requiring extraction solvents and
sophisticated analytical equipment, and can be time consuming as well. Plant bioassays are
simple, inexpensive, and measure a phytotoxic portion of soil residual herbicide which
typically varies with soil type and plant species. Also, because bioassays are non-specific,
the effect of all residual herbicides present in soil is measured by bioassays (Johnson et al.,
2005). Parameters that are frequently assessed in plant bioassays are root or shoot length,
fresh or dry weight of roots or shoots, leaf area or plant height, visual estimation of plant
injury, physiological and morphological effects such as photosynthetic activity, water
consumption, or chlorosis (Horovitz, 1976). These measurements are assessed relative to a
control sample which is needed because of the variation in plant growth in soils of different
properties. Therefore, having a control soil that is identical in properties to the treated soil is
considered essential for accuracy of a bioassay.
Various plant species have been used in bioassays for the determination of ALS- herbicides
in soil, primarily using root measurements because of the inhibiting effect of ALS-herbicides
on cell division at the root tips of susceptible plants. Some of the crops that have been used
are corn for chlorsulfuron (Anderson & Humburg, 1987; Groves & Foster, 1985; Hsiao &
Smith, 1983; Morishita et al., 1985), sunflower for MON-37500 and triasulfuron (Hernández-
Sevillano et al., 2001), lentil for metsulfuron (Szmigielska et. al., 1998), and canola for
imazethapyr (Szmigielska & Schoenau, 1999). Eliason et al. (2004) reported a sensitive
bioassay using oriental mustard (Brassica juncea L.) as an indicator plant for flucarbazone.
The mustard root bioassay was further improved by Szmigielski et al. (2008) and was used
in Canadian prairie soils for investigation of other ALS-inhibiting herbicides that included
imazamox-imazethapyr, sulfosufuron, florasulam, pyroxsulam and thiencarbazone. In this
bioassay, oriental mustard plants are grown in 50 g soil. Soil is wetted to 100% field
capacity, hand-mixed and transferred to a 2-oz Whirl-Pak bag. Subsequently, the soil in the
Whirl-Pak bag is gently packed to form a layer that is approximately 8 cm deep and 1 cm
thick (Fig. 1).
Fig. 1. Mustard root length bioassay performed in Whirl-Pak bags.

Application of a Laboratory Bioassay for Assessment of Bioactivity of ALS-inhibiting Herbicides in Soil 219
(a) (b)
Fig. 2. (a) Mustard plants grown in control (uncontaminated) soil; (b) Mustard plants grown
in treated (contaminated) soil.
Six oriental mustard seeds are planted per bag and plants are grown for three days in a
fluorescent canopy. Plants are harvested after opening the bag and washing the soil away
from the roots with water, and the length of roots is measured with a ruler. Root lengths in
soils free of ALS-inhibiting herbicides are consistent among soils, and are in the
approximate range of 7 cm ± 1 cm. A root length of 6 cm or less is considered to be
indicative of herbicide residue present in the soil (Fig. 2). Because this bioassay is completed
in three days, the reduction of root length is primarily due to the herbicide presence in soil
as the effect of the nutrient status of the soil is minimized.
3. Effect of soil properties on herbicide phytotoxicity

Soil characteristics have a major influence on the bioavailability of ALS-inhibiting herbicides
mainly because they affect sorption of herbicides to soil constituents. Most important
properties in this regard are soil organic matter content, pH and texture. For studies of the
relationships between herbicides, soil properties and plant species, dose-response curves
based on a log-logistic regression model are frequently used (Seefeldt et al., 1995):
y = C + (D - C)/(1 + (x/I50)b) (1)

where y = plant response, x = herbicide concentration, C = lower limit of log-logistic curve,
D = upper limit of log-logistic curve, I50 = concentration corresponding to 50% plant growth
inhibition, and b = slope of the curve around the I50 value. I50 values can be estimated from
the dose-response curves and can be used for examining relationships of herbicide
phytotoxicity with factors such as soil characteristics, plant species or type of herbicide.
Organic matter in the form of humus is colloidal in nature with a highly reactive surface
containing many functional groups capable of binding herbicide molecules. Reduced
phytotoxicity of flucarbazone (Eliason et al., 2004; Geisel et al., 2008), imazethapyr
(Szmigielska & Schoenau, 1999), metsulfuron (Szmigielska et al., 1998), pyroxsulam and
thiencarbazone (Szmigielski A.M., unpublished) in Canadian prairie soils of high organic
matter content was explained by increased herbicide sorption. Using mustard root bioassay,
dose-response curves were constructed for these herbicides and the I50 values were
estimated. An example of varying dose-response curves with soil organic carbon content for
pyroxsulam in Canadian prairie soils is shown in Fig. 3. Correlations of the I50 values with
soil properties revealed that phytotoxicity of these herbicides was primarily related to soil
organic carbon. However, soils used in the above studies had a broad range of organic
carbon content but a relatively narrow range of soil pH. The narrow range of soil pH might
have limited an assessment of the effect of soil pH on phytotoxicity of ALS-herbicides, as
herbicide sorption to soil surfaces has been reported to be also pH-dependent. ALS-
inhibiting herbicides are weak acids with pKa values in an approximate range of 3 to 5
(Senseman, 2007); therefore in soil solution at pH lower than the pKa value, these herbicides
exist predominantly in nonionic form, whereas at pH values higher than the pKa, they are
ionized. When these herbicides are in anionic form, their solubility in water increases and
higher herbicide concentration is present in soil solution resulting in higher herbicide
phytotoxicity. Soil pH also affects the ionic charges of the organic matter and clay colloids,
with higher pH increasing the negative charge. Therefore, soil adsorption of weakly acidic
herbicides generally decreases as soil pH increases due to repulsion of the herbicide anions
from the negatively charged organic and clay surfaces. The relationship of herbicide
adsorption and soil pH has been shown for many ALS-inhibiting herbicides including
chlorsulfuron (Mersie & Foy, 1985), imazaquin and imazethapyr (Renner et al., 1988; Che et
al., 1992; Loux & Reese, 1992; Goetz et al., 1986), imazapyr (Wang & Liu, 1999; Wehtje et al.,
1987), and chlorimuron (Goetz et al., 1989). The effect of clay content on herbicide
bioavailability is similar to the effect of organic matter in that the high surface area of clay
can increase herbicide sorption and may further reduce herbicide bioavailability.
100
80
Root Length Inhibition (%)
60
40 soil 1 (%OC 0.9, pH 7.9)

soil 2 (%OC 1.6, pH 7.2)
soil 3 (%OC 1.5, pH 7.1)
20 soil 4 (%OC 2.6, pH 7.8)
soil 5 (%OC 2.3, pH 5.3)
soil 6 (%OC 6.6, pH 6.0)
0
0 1 2 3
Pyroxsulam (ppb)
Fig. 3. Dose-response curves for pyroxsulam in Saskatchewan (Canada) soils as determined

by the mustard root length bioassay under laboratory conditions.
The reduced phytotoxicity associated with high organic carbon and clay content and low
soil pH may result in decreased efficacy of ALS-inhibiting herbicides. However, these soil
characteristics may contribute to minimizing the injury to rotational crops by lowering the
phytotoxicity of ALS-herbicide residues remaining in soil one year after application.
Because soil properties vary within the farm field landscape, the bioavailability of ALS-
herbicides is affected by field topography (Schoenau et al., 2005). Studies of metsulfuron
(Szmigielska et al., 1998), imazethapyr (Szmigielska & Schoenau, 1999) and flucarbazone
(Eliason, 2003;) in Canadian prairie soils revealed that in lower slope positions, herbicide
phytotoxicity was decreased as compared to the upper slope positions in the same farm field
(Fig. 4). Reduced phytotoxicity in the lower slope soil is explained by the higher organic
matter and clay content and lower pH compared to the upper slope soil. Thus, potential
landscape effects on the phytotoxicity of ALS-herbicides should be taken into consideration
when herbicides are applied to fields of variable topography.
80
b a
a
60 b
Root Length Inhibition (%)
a
b
40
a
a Upper slope soil (%OC 0.7, pH 7.9)

20 b Lower slope soil (%OC 2.2, pH 6.9)
0
a
0 5 10 15 20
Flucarbazone (ppb)
Fig. 4. Effect of landscape positions on phytotoxicity of flucarbazone in a soil from southern

Saskatchewan (Canada); means for each flucarbazone concentration followed by the same
letter are not significantly different at p ≤0.05.
4. Herbicide dissipation under laboratory and field conditions

Herbicide dissipation in soils is influenced by environmental conditions and soil properties
(Walker, 1991). The two primary mechanisms of ALS-herbicide dissipation are microbial
degradation and chemical hydrolysis. Both these processes are dependent on soil water and
temperature with faster dissipation occurring in moist and warm soils, particularly for
herbicides that dissipate mainly through microbial processes (Beckie & McKercher, 1989;
Joshi et al., 1985; Walker & Brown, 1983; Brown, 1990). Furthermore, experiments showed
that degradation of ALS-herbicides is faster in non-sterile, microbially active soils than in
sterile soils. The sterile degradation is slower and is due solely to chemical hydrolysis (Joshi
et al., 1985).
Soil properties such as organic matter content, soil pH and texture play an important role in
the dissipation of ALS-herbicides. High organic matter and clay content decrease the
dissipation rate by limiting the amount of herbicide available in soil solution for
biodegradation because of the adsorption process. A low soil pH tends to increase the
persistence of ALS-herbicides as herbicide’s adsorption to soil particles is enhanced under
acidic conditions. Also, at low soil pH the ALS-herbicides are likely to exist as neutral
molecules which are less soluble in water than ionized molecules, thus further reducing the
amount of herbicide available for degradation.
Generally, the pattern of dissipation of ALS-herbicides is biphasic both under laboratory
and field conditions (Brown, 1990; Loux et al., 1989; Hill & Schaalje, 1985; LaFleur, 1980;
Eliason et al., 2004). In the biphasic dissipation process, initial rapid dissipation is followed
by a slower dissipation rate at lower residual concentrations. In the rapid stage of
dissipation, the readily available portion of the herbicide is degraded, whereas in the slow
stage, the remaining molecules are tightly adsorbed to the soil particles and are less
available for dissipation. (Zimdahl & Gwynn, 1977). A two-compartment (bi-exponential)
regression model is frequently used to describe dissipation of ALS-herbicides in soil (Hill &
Schaalje, 1985):
kr
C = C0 exp[-(ks + kr)t] + C0 --------------- {(exp[-kst] – exp[-(ks + kr)t]} (2)
ks + kr - kd
where C = herbicide concentration remaining in soil after time t, C0 = initial herbicide
concentration, kd = dissipation rate constant, ks = surface loss rate constant, and kr =
retention rate constant.
Herbicide half-lives can be estimated from the dissipation curves and their relationships
with parameters such as environmental conditions or soil characteristics can be examined,
as the half-lives of ALS-herbicides vary greatly with temperature, moisture, soil type, and
also with herbicide type. Goetz et al. (1990) found half-lives for imazethapyr to range from
192 to 318 days in a silty-clay soil and from 78 to 270 days in a silty-loam soil both incubated
at different soil moisture and temperature conditions. Chlorsulfuron half-life was longer at
lower temperature (229 days at 10 C and 62.5 days at 40 C) and varied with soil pH (88.5
days at pH 6.2 and 144 days at pH 8.1) (Thirunarayanan et al., 1985). For amidosulfuron
half-life values ranged from 14 days in a loamy sand incubated at 30 C to 231 days in a clay
incubated at 10 C (Smith & Aubin, 1992). Beckie & McKercher (1989) reported half-lives for
DPX-A7881 herbicide to increase from 33 to 214 days in a soil with pH adjusted from 5.5 to
8.1. Using the mustard root bioassay, Eliason et al. (2004) studied flucarbazone dissipation
in Canadian prairie soils of contrasting properties under laboratory conditions of 25 C and
moisture content of 85% field capacity. Flucarbazone half-lives ranged from 6 to 110 days
and half-lives were significantly correlated with soil organic carbon with longer half-lives in
soils of higher organic carbon. Johnson E.N (unpublished) found that the half-life for
flucarbazone dissipation under field conditions in a loamy textured Dark Brown Chernozem
was approximately 11 days and was not dependent on flucarbazone application rate (Fig. 5).
Although half-lives of ALS-herbicides are generally short under optimal conditions of
moisture and temperature, under conditions of drought and/or cold weather the ALS-
inhibiting herbicides may persist in soil and may carry over to the next growing season at
levels that cause injury to rotational crops.
30
Flucarbazone remaining in soil (ppb)

0.5X application rate
25 1X application rate
2X application rate
20
15
10
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
Days
Fig. 5. Field dissipation of flucarbazone in a loamy textured Dark Brown Chernozem soil
(organic carbon 2.3%, pH 5.3) in central Saskatchewan (Canada) at different application
rates.
5. Predicting potential carry-over injury to subsequent crops

For rotational crop damage to occur, a herbicide must have sufficient persistence in soil,
must be available to plants at a phytotoxic level, and the rotational crop must be susceptible
to the residual concentration of the herbicide remaining in soil at the time of planting
(Hartzler et al., 1989). Because of the high potency of the ALS-herbicides, the minuscule
residual levels may remain active and may exert an effect on sensitive crops. Moyer et al.
(1990) reported that when chlorsulfuron was applied in wheat on alkaline soils of relatively
low organic matter in Alberta (Canada) at the recommended level of 40 g ai/ha, successive
crops were affected; the required time for recropping barley, canola, pea, bean, flax, potato,
alfalfa, sugar beet and lentil ranged from 2 to 7 years. In another study in Alberta (Moyer &
Esau, 1996), imazamethabenz reduced the yield of sugar beet seeded 1 year after
application, while imazethapyr application increased the risk of yield loss of flax, corn,
meadow bromegrass, mustard, sunflower, timothy, wheat, canola, sugar beet and potato
seeded between 1 to 3 years later. Crops that were reported as very sensitive to sulfonylurea
herbicides are lentil, sugar beet and turnip, and as sensitive are alfalfa, canola, corn, flax,
garden cress, lettuce, mustard and sunflower (Smith, 1995; Moyer & Hamman, 2001).
Typically, ALS-herbicides remaining in soil one year after application are at very low
concentrations and are difficult to detect by analytical methods. Therefore plant bioassays
are frequently used for the determination of bioactive herbicide residues. For the results of a
bioassay to be most reliably interpreted, plant response in contaminated soil should be
compared to the plant response in a control (uncontaminated) soil. However, having a
control soil sample identical in properties to treated soil may be a problem especially in
testing farm field soils. To overcome this difficulty, a designated non-contaminated soil may
be used as a control as described by Watson & Checkel (2005). In their method the target
crop, a check crop and a sensitive crop are planted in both the soil submitted for testing and
a check soil, and the symptoms consistent with herbicide damage are reported.
In the mustard root length bioassay reported by Szmigielski et al. (2008), root lengths in
non-contaminated soils are uniform among soils, thus the need for a control sample is
eliminated. This method is not intended to determine ALS-herbicides quantitatively but
rather to “red-flag” the soils for potential presence of herbicide residues. For flucarbazone
that was applied in replicated field trials in western Canada, comparison of the results of the
mustard root bioassay and chemical analysis with the yield of subsequent crops revealed
that the bioassay was a better predictive tool for yield reduction than chemical analysis (89%
and 27% agreement, respectively). While these results showed that the mustard root
bioassay provides a good level of accuracy in predicting injury, 6% of the results were false
positive and 5% were false negative. False positives (flucarbazone detected by the bioassay
but no crop injury observed in the field) pose no risk of crop damage; however they would
restrict re-cropping options. False negatives (no flucarbazone detected by the bioassay but
crop injury observed in the field) could represent significant crop damage and loss of
income for the grower.
Interpreting bioassay results and making re-cropping recommendations is a complex task
and should be approached with caution (Watson & Checkel, 2005). Soil field sampling is
critical for the bioassays because a single sample may not be representative of the whole
field unless a sample is carefully obtained either by using a composite sample from different
locations in the field or by sampling different parts of the field separately. Factors such as
soil characteristics (organic matter content, pH and texture), farm field topography,
previous herbicide use, crop history and weather conditions should be considered together
with the bioassay results when determining which crops to grow in the following year.
6. Herbicide interactions after successive field applications

Repeated applications of ALS-inhibiting herbicides may result in interactions of the residues
existing in soil from previous years with a herbicide that is applied in succession. Combined
effect of two or more herbicides may be additive if actual and expected responses are similar,
may be synergistic if the actual response is greater than the expected, and may be antagonistic
if the actual response is less than the expected (Colby, 1967). Because many ALS-herbicides
have residual properties, a potential for interactions exists with successive applications.
Limited research has been conducted on the crop response from repeated applications of the
same ALS-herbicide or different ALS-herbicides. Moyer & Hamman (2001) reported that
residues of MON 37500 herbicide combined with either imazethapyr or metsulfuron, or
trisulfuron resulted in additive injury to sugar beet. Johnson et al. (2005) reported that the
application of ALS-herbicide can predispose the following crop to higher levels of
phytotoxicity from postemergence ALS-herbicide application.
Interactions of imazamethabenz, flucarbazone, sulfosulfuron and florasulam in combination
with imazamox/imazethapyr in western Canadian soils were investigated in laboratory
experiments (Geisel, 2007) and field trials (Geisel et al., 2008). In the laboratory experiments,
soils were amended with individual herbicides and combinations of herbicides, and their
effect on mustard root length inhibition was measured. The interactions between the
investigated herbicide combinations were additive: the expected (calculated) responses and
the actual (observed) responses to each pair of herbicides were the same, as seen in Fig. 6 for
the imazamox/imazethapyr and florasulam combination.
100
80
Root Length (% of control) Observed response
Expected response
60
40
20
0
0.1 1 10
Florasulam (ppb)
Fig. 6. Mustard root response (as % of control) for florasulam in combination with
imazamox/imazethapyr in a Dark Brown clay textured Chernozem soil from southern
Saskatchewan (Canada).
In the field trials, herbicides were applied sequentially over the course of 2 years; in the first
year only imazamox/imazethapyr was applied and in the second year imazamethabenz,
flucarbazone, sulfosulfuron or florasulam was added to the plots. All plots were sampled in
the third year before the next crop was seeded and the herbicide residues were determined
with the mustard root bioassay. Similar to observations for the laboratory experiments, in
the field trials herbicide residue combinations showed additive injury.
As application of ALS-herbicides in successive years is becoming a frequent practice,
producers need to be aware of the fact that the bioactivity of the herbicide residues
persisting in soil from previous years may add to the bioactivity of the applied ALS-
herbicide and that this practice may result in increased risk of injury to subsequent crops
that are sensitive to both herbicides.
For some herbicides, repeated applications may also lead to enhanced degradation.
Enhanced degradation occurs when a herbicide is applied to a field that received a prior
treatment of the same herbicide (Roeth et al., 1989; Walker & Welch, 1991). It is believed that
enhanced degradation is a result of microbial adaptation which consequently increases the
rate of microbial activity. Enhanced degradation helps in minimizing the concentration of
residual herbicide that may persist in soil to the following season. However, it may also
result in reduced weed control in the year of application (Johnson et al., 2005).
7. Conclusions
Plant bioassays are an effective tool in research and in soil testing because they detect the
phytotoxic amount of herbicide present in soil. A laboratory bioassay based on the root
length inhibition of oriental mustard for detection of ALS-herbicides is simple and quick; it
is completed in three days and uses only 50 g of soil per replication. With measurements
generally requiring 4 replications, the total amount of soil needed to perform the bioassay is
200 g. Root development in a Whirl-Pak bag is not restricted as the bioassay is completed
before the roots grow to the bottom of the bag, therefore root reduction is only due to the
presence of an ALS-herbicide. Recovery of roots from soil is very easy because soil is
removed from roots by a gentle stream of water after the bags are cut open, and roots do not
get damaged or broken before being measured. Consequently, the results of the bioassay are
reproducible (coefficient of variation of approximately 6% based of 4 replications) and
sensitive (detection limit of approximately 1 ppb).
The mustard root bioassay was successfully used to examine activity and behavior of
several ALS-inhibiting herbicides in soils of the Canadian prairies. Phytotoxicity and
persistence of ALS-herbicides was found to be mainly affected by organic matter content in
prairie soils: higher organic matter content results in decreased phytotoxicity and in slower
dissipation. Thus efficacy in weed control in the season of application will be lower and
potential for herbicide carry-over to the next season will higher in soils of high organic
carbon. A study of carry-over injury showed that a mustard root bioassay is a useful
technique for predicting potential crop damage due to residual ALS-herbicides. Laboratory
and field evaluations of the effects of combinations of different ALS-inhibiting herbicides in
soil showed that interactions among residues in prairie soils are additive.
8. References
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11
An Electrochemical Approach to Quantitative

Analysis of Herbicides and to the Study of
Their Interactions with Soils Components
Ana Valeria Juarez, Julieta Soledad Riva and Lidia Mabel Yudi
Departamento de Fisicoquímica, Facultad
de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Nacional
de Córdoba, Instituto de Investigaciones en
Fisicoquímica de Córdoba (INFIQC)
Argentina
1. Introduction
Triazine herbicides are an important group of pesticides. Most of these compounds derived
from the heterocyclic shown in Figure 1. It has three nitrogen atoms in positions 1, 3 and 5
and different substituents in position 2, 4 and 6. These triazines have a protonation –
deprotonation site on the nitrogen atom labeled 5 in Figure 1. Substituents of different
compounds are shown in table 2.
R1
1 3
N N
H H
N N N
R3 5
R2
Fig. 1. Chemical structure of s-triazine core, substituent in R1 : Cl, SCH3 or OCH3; R2 and R3:
hydrocarbons chains.
These herbicides have been extensively applied to pre and post-emergence weed control.
Many studies were focused on ecological and health hazards of these compounds and their
toxic effects are very well known. For this reason, the use of some triazine pesticides has
been banned in some countries or their permitted levels in drinking water is very low, so
that analytical procedures for quantitative determination of several triazines, as well as their
degradation products, at low levels are often requested.
In this sense, several analytical techniques have been developed, like HPLC (Katsumata et
al., 2006), CG-MS, capillary electrophoresis (Frías et al., 2004), solid-phase micro-extraction
coupling with GC, LC, ion mobility spectrometry (Garcia Galan et al., 2010; Mohammadi et
al., 2009; Sanchez Ortega et al., 2009; Quintana et al., 2001) and with HPLC (Zhou et al.,
2009; See et al., 2010), immunosensors (Bahnd et al., 2005) and multi-biosensor based on
immobilized Photosystem II (Touloupakisa et al., 2005; Dong et al., 2009), micellar
electrokinetic chromatography (Zhang et al., 2008), tandem techniques (Beale et al., 2009;
Tsang et al.,2009; Lacina et al., 2010) cyclic voltammetry (Fuchiwaki et al, 2009; Zapardiel et
al., 2000) and differential-pulse polarography (Ignjatovic et al., 1993; Kubo et al., 2008; Vaz et
al., 1996) on solid electrodes, photosynthetic electron transport (PET) electrochemical
biosensors (Campàs, et al., 2008; Preuss & Hall, 1995), PET colorimetric detection (Brewster
& Lightfield, 1993; Shao et al., 2002) and adsorptive stripping voltammetry in dispersed
media (Pedredo et al., 1995).
In the last years, the environmental pollution by pesticides has become in a serious problem
especially in aquatic ecosystems, due to their heavy use in agriculture and to their
persistence. The half-lives of herbicides vary from weeks to several months and, under
environmental conditions, they are usually degraded to compounds with better water
solubility. Indeed, the most important physicochemical properties of these pesticides and
their degradations products are the solubility in water and the capacity to be retained by
soils (Aelion & Mathur, 2001; Besse-Hogan et al., 2009). So that, the use of agricultural
chemicals requires knowledge of their stability and transformation in the environment as
well as their influence on micro-organisms. These s-triazine herbicides and some of their
degradation products are used by water and soil microbes as a source of energy (alkyl
fragments) and nitrogen (amine fragments) (Lyapchenko et al., 2004). For this reason, not
only the development of new sensitive and selective analytical techniques for the
determination of s-triazine herbicides and their metabolites in the environment, but also the
recognition of their interactions with different elements, especially with heavy metals
cations and organic compounds present in soils, are important problems in modern s-
triazine chemistry. The study of complex formation or adsorption behavior between
herbicides and cations or organic molecules contained in soils is an important topic because
it determines pesticide mobility, its bioavailability and its effectiveness. Regarding to the
interaction with inorganic species, Al(III) is a cation present in most soils, and several
authors have studied its complexes with different herbicides in aqueous solutions or in
complex model systems, which closely simulate those found in soils by using pure
montmorillonite or montmorillonite covered by different amounts of OH-Al species
(chlorite-like complexes) as adsorbents (Sannino et al., 1999). Several methods were
employed in these investigations: macroscopic and molecular scale techniques,
potentiometric titration data combined with EXAFS, ATR-FTIR and NMR, as well as
spectroscopic data (Jonsson, 2007).
The present chapter is focused in the progress made in the s-triazine quantification as well
as in the study of their interactions with inorganic compounds of soils employing
electrochemical methods applied at the interface between two immiscible electrolyte
solutions (ITIES) (Juarez & Yudi, 2003; Juarez & Yudi 2008; Juarez & Yudi 2009).
The interface between two immiscible electrolyte solutions and the transport of different
ions across it are an important branch of electrochemistry because of their importance in the
examination of heterogeneous kinetics and potential analytical applications (Reymond et al.,
2000). This methodology is used as an appropriate electroanalytical technique for
quantitative determination of organic ions. The possibility of working in an oil/water
system overcomes problems such as the low solubility of many organic compounds, like the
case of s-triazines, in water. Moreover, the traces quantification of pesticides in different
kind of samples requires pre-concentration techniques. In the past few years, new
An Electrochemical Approach to Quantitative Analysis
of Herbicides and to the Study of Their Interactions with Soils Components 231
techniques were developed like liquid-liquid extraction, solid phase extraction, molecular
imprinted polymers and carbon nanotubes, among others. These pre-concentration
procedures were employed before the quantification of the pesticide, coupled to different
techniques like GC-MS, capillary electrophoresis, non-aqueous capillary electrophoresis and
micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography (Katsumata et al., 2006; Sambe et al, 2007;
Zhou et al., 2006; Carabias-Martínez et al, 2006; Hu et al., 2009; Pinto et al., 2010; See et al.,
2010). In this sense, the use of a combined procedure consisting in a previous pre-
concentration stage, followed by square wave voltammetry at a water/1,2-dichloroethane
interface has achieved to improve the detection limit for s-triazines quantification (Juarez &
Yudi, 2009). The pre-concentration of the analyte in the organic phase is possible due to its
high solubility and partition coefficient in this solvent.
On the other hand, voltammetry at ITIES has proven to be a valuable tool to elucidate the
stoichiometry of complex formation (Reymond et al., 1998; O’Dwyer & Cunnane et al., 2005;
Azcurra et al., 2003; Caçote et al., 2004; Rahman et al., 2001; Yudi et al., 1992) and to identify
and evaluate successive complex formation at the interface (Kakiuchi & Senda, 1991;
Kakiuchi, 1993; Reymond et al., 1998). With the purpose of contributing to the knowledge of
the interaction between Prometryne and soils components, the complex formation of the
herbicide PROM with Al(III) cation at the water / 1,2 – dichloroethane interface, has been
studied and the results are presented in this chapter (Juarez & Yudi, 2008).
2. Methodology
2.1 Liquid-liquid Interfaces
The interface between two immiscible electrolytes is one with its own dynamics. The
structure of double layer in these interfaces has been studied since 1939. Over the years, the
information obtained was used to develop a clearly defined model of the liquid-liquid
interface (Girault, 1987). Surface tension measurements (Girault & Schiffrin, 1983) and
capacitance (Samec at al., 1983) provides access to important interfacial parameters. The
model proposed from these results, considers an interfacial area on which the molecules of
both solvents are mixed. The penetration of ions in the solvent mixture zone (ZMS) depends
on their hydrophobicity or hydrophilicity (Girault & Schiffrin, 1984). Figure 2 schematizes
two immiscible solutions (α and β) with an ion Xz+ in common. Under these conditions a
potential difference is generated determined by the Nernst-Donnan equation (Koryta, 1979):
RT ⎡ ax z+ ⎤
α
Δαβ ϕ = ⎡⎣ μ Xo z+ (α ) − μXo z+ ( β ) ⎤⎦ / zX F + ln ⎢ β ⎥ (1)
zX F ⎢ a z + ⎥⎦
⎣ x
RT ⎡ ax z+ ⎤
α
Δαβ ϕ = − ΔGtro ,,αX→z+β / zX F + ln ⎢ β ⎥ (2)
zX F ⎢ a z + ⎥⎦
⎣ x
where ϕ is the internal potential, μ X0 z+ (α ) and μ X0 z+ ( β ) are the standard chemical potentials,
zX is the ion charge and aαX z+ and aXβ z+ are the Xz+ activities in both phases α and β,
respectively. ΔGtr0,,αX→z+ β is the Free Energy difference of solvatation for the Xz+ ion in α and β,
respectively, which is related to the standard transfer potential of Xz+ ion according to
equation 3.
α β
B1A1 B2A2
XA1 XA2
Fig. 2. B1A1 and B2A2: base electrolytes in α and β phases, respectively. Xz+: transferable
cation between both phases.
ΔGtro ,,αX→z+β
Δαβ ϕ xoz+ = − (3)
zx F
In absence of current flux, the equilibrium condition is established and the potential
difference, Δαβ ϕ eq , is determined by equation 1. If a potential difference greater than the
equilibrium potential is applied, by an external source, to the system, two processes occur:
the charging of the double layer and the ion transfer trough the interface. Figure 3 shows the
voltammetric profiles obtained when a linear potential sweep is applied at the
aqueous/organic interface in presence and absence of a semi hydrophobic Xz+ cation. The
transfer of base electrolyte, between the two phases, limits the potential window (grey line).
Within this potential window, the interface behaves as an ideal polarizable electrode. The
presence of semi hydrophobic Xz+ ions, in the system, gives rise to positive and negative
current peaks when their transfer from aqueous to organic phase, and vice versa
respectively, occurs at potential values within the limits of potential window, as can be seen
in black line in Figure 3.
1,0x10-5
Xz+
w Xz+
o
5,0x10-6
I/A
0,0
-5,0x10-6 Xz+
w
Xz+
o
-1,0x10-5
0,1 0,2 0,3 0,4 0,5 0,6 0,7
E/ V
Fig. 3. Voltammetric profiles obtained when a linear potential sweep is applied at the
interface between two immiscible solutions: (grey) Base electrolytes present in both phases;
(black) base electrolytes and a semi hydrophobic cation. w: aqueous phase, o: organic phase.
2.2 Charge transfer reactions between liquid / liquid interfaces

One of the characteristics of the ITIES is the diversity of charge transfer reactions which can
be studied by electrochemical methodologies (Girault, 1993). These charge transfer reactions
can be classified into three main categories:
• Direct ion transfer,

• Assisted ion transfer,
• Electron transfer.
2.2.1 Direct ion transfer

In this case, an ion present in the aqueous phase is transferred to the organic phase (or vice
versa) according to equation 4, favored by polarizing the interface.
X(zw+) ⎯⎯
←⎯
⎯
→
X(zo+) (4)
From a phenomenological point of view, an ion transfer reaction includes three major steps
(Reymond, 2000):
1. mass transfer from the bulk of one phase to the interface (mainly diffusion),
2. electrochemical ion transfer reaction,
3. mass transfer in the other phase away from the interface.
When a linear potential sweep is applied and a reversible diffusion controlled ion transfer
from the aqueous to the organic phase occurs, the current - time dependence is given by
(Nicholson & Shane, 1964; Bard & Wiley, 1980):
1/ 2
⎛ zFv ⎞
I (τ ) = zFAc Xw* DXw1/ 2 ⎜ ⎟ π χ (τ )
1/ 2
(5)
⎝ RT ⎠
where cXw* is Xz+ concentration in the bulk of aqueous solution, A is the interfacial area in
cm2, DXw is the diffusion coefficient in aqueous phase, τ = (zF/RT)νt, t is time, ν is the sweep
rate in Vs-1, z is the ion charge F, R and T are the Faraday constant, the universal constant
and the temperature, respectively, and χ (τ ) is the current function. When the current signal
reaches a maximum value, π 1/2 χ (τ ) is equal to 0.4463 and the peak current is proportional
to Xz+ concentration, to the square root of Dx andν, according Randles-Sevcik equation (Bard
& Wiley, 1980):
1/2
⎛ zFv ⎞
I p = 0.4463zFAc Xw *DXw 1/2 ⎜ ⎟ 25°C (6)
⎝ RT ⎠
The peak potential, ΔφP, is related to standard transfer potential according to equation 7:
1/2
RT ⎛ Dw ⎞
ΔφP − Δφ1/2 = ΔφP − Δφ o ' + ln ⎜ ⎟ (7)
zF ⎝ Do ⎠
Where Δφ1/2 is the half-wave polarographic potential and Dw and Do are the diffusion
coefficients of Xz+ in both phases.
2.2.2 Facilitated ion transfer

In the case of a highly hydrophilic ion, its transfer from the aqueous to the organic phase
does not occur within the potential window due to the high positive value of free energy for
this process. However, this transfer can occur when a ligand present in the organic phase
acts as a complexing agent for the ion. In this way, the ion-ligand complex formation in
organic phase, decreases the free energy for ion transfer.
Depending on the different concentration ratios and association constants, different types of
facilitated ion transfer reactions can be envisaged, as described below (Girault, 1993).
ACT (aqueous complexation followed by transfer): Complex formation occurs in aqueous
phase, previous to charge transfer.
X(zw+) + sL( w ) ⎯⎯
←⎯
⎯
→
XLzs(+w )
(8)
XLzs(+w ) ⎯⎯
←⎯
⎯
→
XLzs(+o )
TOC (transfer followed by complexation in the organic phase): Complex formation occurs in
organic phase after the ion transfer.
X(zw+) ⎯⎯
←⎯
⎯
→
X(zo+)
(9)
X(zo+) + sL( o ) ⎯⎯
←⎯
⎯
→
XLzs(+o )
TIC/TID (transfer by interfacial complexation/dissociation): Heterogeneous charge transfer

occurs by interfacial complex formation or dissociation.
X(zw+) + sL( o ) ⎯⎯
←⎯
⎯
→
XLzs(+o ) (10)
Equation 11 describes the reversible half-wave potential for a facilitated transfer process
when the following conditions are fulfilled:
a. c L < c Xz+ (the ligand concentration is lower than cation concentration).
b. High Partition coefficient for the ligand, so that its aqueous phase concentration is
negligible.
c. High complex formation constant, so that the free ion concentration in organic phase is
negligible (Girault, 1993).
1/2
⎛ RT ⎞ ⎡ DL( o ) ⎤ ⎛ RT ⎞ ⎡ K XLzs+ ⎤
o
Δ owφ1/2
tr
= Δ owφX0 z+ + ⎜⎜ ⎟⎟ ln ⎢ ⎥ + ⎜⎜ ⎢
⎟⎟ ln w ⎥ (11)
⎝ zX F ⎠ ⎢⎣ DXLzs+ ( o ) ⎥⎦ ⎝ zX F ⎠ ⎢⎣ c X z+ ⎥
⎦
Where Δ owφX0 z+ is the standard transfer potential of free Xz+ ion, DL and DXLz are the
s
o
diffusion coefficients of ligand and complex, respectively in organic phase, K XL z+ is the
s
w
complex constant formation in organic phase and c X z+ is the ion free concentration in
o w tr
aqueous phase. This expression allows obtaining K XLz+ from the variation of Δ o φ1/2 with
s
Xz+ concentration in water.
Moreover, equation 12 relates the half-wave potential with cation and ligand concentration,
in aqueous and organic phase respectively. From the slope values of Δφ1/2 vs ln cL plots, it is
possible to obtain the complex stoichiometry, providing c Xwz+ is constant (Homolka et al.,
1982; Samec et al., 1982):
RT RT 1 DL( o )
− (s − 1)ln cLo = Δφ1/2 − Δφ o + (ln c Xwz + ln s ) + ln − (s − 1)ln 2 (12)
zF zF 2 DX z+ ( w )
Where s is the complex stoichiometry and the other parameters have the same meaning.
The i / time variation for a facilitated transfer process is given by (Homolka et al., 1982):
1/ 2
⎛ zFv ⎞
I (τ ) = s −1 zFAcLo DL1/ 2 ⎜ ⎟ χ (τ ) (13)
⎝ RT ⎠
The current function takes different values depending on the stoichiometry of the complex
formed. Table 1 resumes the parameters of this function at the peak potential.
Stoichiometry (cation: ligand)

Parameter
1:1 1:2 1:3
z( ΔφP1 – Δφ1/2)/ V 0.02825 0.0710 0.0988
z( ΔφP2 –Δφ1/2 )/ V -0.03075 -0.0161 -0.0135
z ΔφP / V 0.0590 0.0871 0.1123
χ P1 0.4463 0.3533 0.3033
χ P2 -0.2760 -0.2206 -0.1910
⏐χ P2⏐/χ P1 0.618 0.625 0.630
Table 1. Parameters of adimensional current function, χ(τ) at the peak potential calculated
for a reversible charge transfer and different complex stoichiometry, P1 and P2 correspond
to positive and negative peaks respectively.
2.2.3 Electron transfer

The first evidence of electron transfer at liquid/liquid interfaces were found by Guainazzi et
al (Girault, 1993; Guainazzi, 1975). They could reduce Cu(III) in aqueous phase to Cu(0)
using hexacarbonylvanadate tetrabutylammonium in 1,2- dichloroethane. Moreover, Samec
et al. (Samec et al., 1977) measured the oxidation current of ferrocene in nitrobenzene by the
ferricianure reduction in aqueous phase. Also, electron interfacial transfer has been applied
for the electropolymerization in liquid/liquid interfaces, with the purpose of studying the
polymerization mechanism, permeability of polymers to ions and new synthetic routes.
(Gorgy et al., 2002; Cheng & Corn, 1999; Rieger et al., 2006; Johans et al., 2002; Marecek et al.,
2005; Maeda et al., 2001; Cheng et al., 2000; Fantini et al., 2003)
The equation describing the electron transfer process when hemicouples are present at each
phase (α and β) , is given by:
O 1α + R 2β ⎯ ⎯→
←⎯⎯ R 1α + O 2β (14)
2.3 Voltammetric techniques

A briefly explanation of the basic voltammetric techniques, cyclic voltammetry (CV) and
Square Wave Voltammetry (SWV), applied to liquid/liquid interfaces is carried out below.
The polarization of liquid/liquid interfaces requires the use of four electrodes system
similar to the electrochemical cell shown in Figure 4.
Fig. 4. Glass cell employed for electrochemical measurements.

In this system two Ag/AgCl reference electrodes are immersed in each phase to control the
applied potential, ΔE, and two Pt counter electrodes allow the current flowing along the
system.
In this way, the electrochemical cell containing only the base electrolytes, can be
schematized as follows:
TPhAsCl TPhAsDCC LiCl

Ag AgCl AgCl Ag
1x10-2 M (w) 1x10-2 M (o) 1x10-2 M (w)
1 2 3
TPhAsDCC is tetraphenyl arsonium dicarbolylcobaltate salt employed as organic base
electrolyte in 1,2-dichloroethane and TPhAsCl is tetraphenyl arsonium chloride salt
dissolved in water and employed as reference solution for the Ag/AgCl electrode
corresponding to the organic phase. The contact between these two solutions generates an
ideal non-polarizable interface (labeled 2 in the scheme) and a potential difference ( ΔφINP )
dependent of TPhAs+ concentration in both phases is established.
The Galvani potential difference ( Δ owφ ) at the o/w interface is related to the applied
potential (ΔE) by the following equation:
Δ owφ = ΔE + ΔEref
w O
− ΔEref + Δφinp (16)
w o
Where ΔEref and ΔEref are the potential differences at interfaces 3 and 1 in the cell scheme
and ΔφINP is the difference potential at the non-polarizable interface 2.
The potential-time profiles for the electrochemical techniques employed in this case are
shown in Figure 5.
Cyclic and SW voltammograms were recorded using an Autolab (Eco-Chemie, Utrecht,
Netherlands) equipped with a PSTAT 30 potentiostat and the GPES 4.3 software package.
Typical SW instrumental parameters, unless otherwise stated, were: square-wave frequency
f=8–40Hz, square-wave amplitude ESW=35 mV and scan increment dE=3mV.
b
a d
τ
Potential
Potential
E sw
r
dE
ΔI = I d - I r
Time Time
Fig. 5. a- Potential –time profile for Cyclic Voltammetry. b- Potential-time profile for Square
Wave Voltammetry.
The base electrolyte solutions were 1.0x10-2 M LiCl (Merck p.a.) in ultrapure water and
1.0x10-2 M tetraphenyl arsonium dicarbollyl cobaltate (TPhAsDCC) or tetrapentyl
ammonium tetraclorophenyl borate (TPnATPhB) in 1,2-dichloroethane (DCE, Dorwill p.a.).
The pH of the aqueous phase was adjusted within the range of 1.50 – 8.00 by addition of
HCl (Merck p.a.) and LiOH (Merck p.a.) respectively.
All the herbicides employed were of analytical grade. Table 2 resumes the physicochemical
properties of the s-triazines studies.
Substituent Water
MW
Compound pKa solubility log P
R1 R2 R3 g.mol-1
mg.L-1
ATR Cl C2H5 C3H7 215.68 1.68 30 2.70
PRO Cl C3H7 C3H7 230.09 1.85 5 2.91
PROM SCH3 C3H7 C3H7 241.37 4.05 33 3.34
Table 2. Physicochemical parameters for s – triazines. ATR: Atrazine. PRO: Propazine.
PROM: Prometryne
3. Results
3.1 Electrochemical behavior of Triazines
As first step, the study of electrochemical behavior of s-triazines herbicides at a water/DCE
interface was performed. Figure 6 shows the voltammetric response for the three s-triazines
studied: Atrazine (ATR), Propazine (PRO) and Prometryne (PROM). In all cases a reversible
ion transfer is observed. The positive peak potential, Ep+ and the difference peak potential,
ΔEp = Ep+-Ep- = 0.060 V, were constant with sweep rate, ν. The positive peak current, Ip+, is
proportional to ν1/2, as expected for a reversible diffusion controlled mechanism. The
differences in currents values observed in the figure would be arising from different
equilibrium concentrations of each species at the present pH conditions. Taking into account
the partition coefficient (P) and acid constant (Kaw) values for the herbicides (table 2) and pH
conditions, it is possible to obtain the fraction of the protonated, HX+, and neutral species, X,
w w
of the herbicides ( α HX + , α X ) in water and the fraction of neutral species into the organic
phase ( α Xo ). For the present pH values (0.80 and 0.88), α Xo is equal to 0.983 and 0.987 for
ATR and PRO respectively. In the case of PROM α Xo = 0.686 and α HX w
+ = 0.313 at pH 1.05. In
this case, both species coexist at this pH and different transfer mechanisms can take place
which determine the current values.
40
30
20
10
I / µA
-10
-20
PROM
ATR
-30 PRO
0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7
E/V
Fig. 6. Cyclic voltammogram obtained at v = 0.050 Vs-1 for ATR, PRO and PROM. Aqueous
phase composition (apc): 1.00 x 10-2 M LiCl + 5.00 x 10–4 M s-triazine (⎯⎯ PROM, pH = 1.05;
− − − PRO, pH = 0.88; ⋅⋅⋅⋅⋅⋅⋅ ATR, pH = 0.80). Organic phase composition (opc): 1.00x10-2 M
TPhAsDCC. Reprinted from Electroanalysis 15(2003)1481, A.V. Juarez and L.M.Yudi,
Copyright (2003) with permission from Wiley.
There are two possible mechanisms that could be responsible for the voltammetric response
observed as described by eq. 4 and 10: direct transfer of the protonated herbicide or H+
transfer from aqueous phase, facilitated by the herbicide present in the organic phase. As
can be deduced from the eq. mentioned above, the dependence of peak potential and
current with experimental conditions (such as herbicide concentration, pH) allows the
determination of the mechanism. In that sense, the dependence of Δ owφ1/2tr
and I+p with both,
herbicide concentration and pH was analyzed.
A facilitated proton transfer mechanism (reaction 10) is favored when the species X
predominates over HX+ (i.e. at pH >> pKaw conditions) and when this neutral species is
highly soluble in organic phase. In this way, the necessary condition under which the
facilitated proton transfer occurs can be written as (Homolka et al., 1984):
K aw ⋅ PX / c H
w
+ >> 1 (16)
w w
where c H + is the bulk concentration of the proton in the aqueous solution. If c H + is higher
than that of the neutral triazine (X) in the organic phase, the charge transfer process is
controlled by the diffusion of X towards the interface. In this case, the reversible half– wave
transfer potential, Δ owφ1/2
tr
, is given by equation 11 (Homolka et al., 1984). Then, a linear
w tr
variation of Δ o φ1/2 with pH (slope = 0.059 V) is predicted for a facilitated proton transfer
w o
mechanism provided the condition c H + >> c X is fulfilled.
Figure 7 shows the variation of Δ owφ1/2 tr

with pH for ATR (a), PRO (b) and PROM (c) at
several sweep rates. In all systems, the herbicide was added to the aqueous phase. In the
case of ATR and PRO, a linear dependence is observed in the whole range of pH analyzed.
This is an indication that facilitated proton transfer is occurring in both cases, although the
s-triazines were dissolved in aqueous phase, at pH < pKaw. Under these experimental
conditions, a direct transfer of HX+ species from the aqueous to the organic phase would be
expected. Nevertheless, according to equation 16, the condition is fulfilled in the whole pH
range studied. So, whatever the phase in which ATR or PRO are dissolved, the partition
equilibrium favors the transfer of the neutral species to the organic phase. From this phase,
they act as proton acceptor and facilitate the transfer to the organic phase (reaction 10). From
the intercept value in Fig. 7 and equation 11, the dissociation constant of protonated herbicide
o o
in the organic solvent, K XLz , can be calculated. In this way, K a = 4.60 x 10
-9 and 7.03 x 10-9 were
s
obtained for ATR and PRO, respectively. These values are approximately 106 folds lower than
those for aqueous phase, as expected due to the low permittivity of organic media.
In the case of PROM, the behavior is quite different, because it has a Kaw value lower than
the other herbicides. For pH > 2.00 a facilitated proton transfer is observed, similar to the
case of ATR and PRO. While an inflection is observed in Figure 7 at pH 2.00, below this
value, Δ owφ1/2
tr
is independent of pH demonstrating a change in the transfer mechanism.
0.20
0,16
0.18
(a) ATR (b) PRO
0.16
/ V
0,14
/ V
0.14
1/2
1/2
0,12
tr
0.12
tr
Δ oΦ
Δ oΦ
0.10
w
0,10
0.08
0,08
0.06
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 0,0 0,2 0,4 0,6 0,8 1,0 1,2 1,4
pH pH
0,12
(c) PROM
0,08
/ V
1/2
0,04
tr
Δ oΦ
w
0,00
-0,04
1 2 3 4 5 6
pH
Fig. 7. Plot of Δ owφ1/2
tr
vs. pH for s-triazines: (a) ATR; (b) PRO; (c) PROM. Δ owφ1/2
tr
values were
obtained at different sweep rate: (T) 0.010 Vs-1; (z) 0.050 V.s-1; (S) 0.100 Vs-1. apc: 1.00x10-2
M LiCl + 5.00x10–4 M s-triazine. opc: 1.00x10-2 M TPAsDCC. Reprinted from Electroanalysis
15(2003) 1481, A.V. Juarez and L.M.Yudi, Copyright (2003) with permission from Wiley.
On the other hand, from plots of Ip+ vs triazine concentration is possible to obtain the
diffusion coefficients of the herbicides in the organic phase, as predicted by eq. 13, if a linear
relationship is obtained. For this purpose, the experimental conditions were selected to
ensure that the facilitated proton transfer is the occurring mechanism, so that, in all cases the
pH values ensure the condition of αXo≅ 1. Figure 8 shows the plots of Ip+. vs concentration
obtained for the three herbicides. As can be seen, a linear relationship is obtained with
correlation coefficients 0.999, 0.992 and 0.996 for ATR, PRO and PROM respectively, in the
concentration ranges 2.50x10-5M < cTriaz < 2.50x10-4 M (PRO and PROM) and 2.50x10-5M <
cTriaz < 5.00x10-4 M (ATR). From the slope values obtained from these curves, DX values
equal to 1.56 x 10-6, 8.83 x 10-7 and 2.90 x 10-6 cm2 s-1 were calculated for ATR, PRO and
PROM respectively (equation 13).
20
10
15
I p / μA
I p / μA
10
+
+
5
(b) PROPAZINE
(a) ATRAZINE
0 0
0.0 5.0x10
-4
1.0x10
-3
1.5x10
-3
2.0x10
-3 0,0 5,0x10
-4
1,0x10
-3
1,5x10
-3
w w
c HERBICIDE
/M c HERBICIDE
/M
20
15
I p / μA
10
+
(c) PROMETRINE
5
0
0.0 5.0x10
-4
1.0x10
-3
1.5x10
-3
w
c HERBICIDE
/M
Fig. 8. Plot of Ip+ vs. triazine concentration: (a) ATR, pH 1.20; (b) PRO, pH 1.20; (c) PROM,
pH 2. 00. v = 0.050 V s-1. Reprinted from Electroanalysis 15(2003) 1481, A.V. Juarez and
L.M.Yudi, Copyright (2003) with permission from Wiley.
The results obtained demonstrate that quantitative analysis of ATR and PRO can be carried
out at a liquid – liquid interface provided these species partition in the organic phase and
w o
the pH of aqueous phase satisfy the condition c H + >> c X . In this case, facilitated proton
transfer is the electrochemical process responsible for the faradaic current, which is
proportional to s - triazine concentration in organic phase. For PROM quantification two
experimental conditions could be used: at pH ≥ 2.00, peak current is proportional to PROM
concentration in organic phase as described above for ATR and PRO, while at pH < 2.00
protonated PROM in aqueous phase and neutral PROM in organic phase coexist, as can be
expected for the fraction values calculated. Then, both processes could be occurring and
determining the peak current value. For this reason, the latter experimental condition is not
the best to carry out PROM quantification.
3.2 Prometryne quantification

From the results shown in the previous section, employing cyclic voltammetry technique,
the detection limit (DL) obtained for the herbicides studied was 2.50x10-5 M. This value is
not lower enough for trace quantification. In that sense a more sensitive electrochemical
technique is required. For these purpose, square wave voltammetry (SWV) experiments
were carried out at liquid/liquid interfaces (Juarez et al., 2005).
As mentioned above, PROM facilitates proton transfer from the aqueous to the organic
phase under the condition pH ≥ 2.00. PROM has a high partition coefficient, log P = 3.34,
which promotes the partition equilibrium to the organic phase where it acts as a proton
acceptor.
3.2.1 Calibration curves before and after pre-concentration procedure

The calibration curve of PROM before pre-concentration experiments was plotted
employing ΔIp values from SWV experiments at f = 8 Hz and pH 2.50. From this curve it was
possible to determine a linear range from 1.00x10-6 M to 5.00x10-4 M with a correlation
coefficient of 0.9999. The detection limit (DL) reached under these experimental conditions
was 1.50x10-6 M, determined from standard deviation of a set of three replicates.
The DL value obtained is lower than that employing Ip values from cyclic voltammetry
experiments, but it is not lower enough to determine trace levels of PROM. For this reason, a
pre-concentration treatment was developed. This procedure consists in concentrate the
herbicide in the organic phase before the electrochemical measurements were performed.
For this purpose, 500.00mL of aqueous phase containing different concentration of PROM
was stirred with three aliquots of 10.00 mL of DCE. The resulting 30.00 mL of organic
solution was evaporated at room temperature in a rotary evaporator to reduce the volume
to 2.0 or 3.0 mL. Then, 5.00 mL of solution was prepared with this extract and TPhAsDCC
adding DCE up to the final volume. The pH of herbicide aqueous solution was fixed at 8.00
to ensure that the neutral form of the analyte predominates, and to favor a complete
extraction to the organic phase. The concentration range was 1.0x10-8 M to 2.40x10-7 M in
aqueous solution (corresponding to a range of 1.00x10-6 M to 2.40x10-5 M in organic phase
after the extraction). The variation of ΔIp with the herbicide concentration in aqueous phase
is shown in Figure 9. A linear range from 8.0x10-8 M to 2.4x10-7 M was obtained. The
correlation coefficient was 0.9858 and DL = 1.0x10-7 M was determined from standard
deviation of a set of three replicates. As can be seen, the pre-concentration treatment allows
an increase of the analytical signal.
It is important to remark that the extraction procedure of the herbicide not only decreases
the detection limit, but also allows the possibility of purification of the samples. This
advantage can be very useful in the analysis of real samples, because they could have
interferents or other hydrophilic contaminants which would not transfer to the organic
phase. Thus, it is possible to isolate the herbicide from the real aqueous matrix to the organic
phase for its quantification.
1.2
I p / μA 1.0
0.8
Y=A+B*X
Par Value Error
A 0,25519 0,05523
0.6 B 3,62632E6 308437,817
R SD N P
0,98584 0,04252 6 2,99432E-4
-8 -7 -7 -7 -7 -7
5.0x10 1.0x10 1.5x10 2.0x10 2.5x10 3.0x10
[PROM] aqueous phase
/M
Fig. 9. Calibration curve of PROM employing pre-concentration treatment. apc: LiCl 1.00x10-
2 M, pH 2.00; opc: TPhAsDCC 1.00x10-2 M + x PROM. This organic phase was obtained from
pre-concentration of PROM aqueous solutions in the concentration range: 1.0x10-8 M -

2.4x10-7 M (showed in x-axis). SWV parameters: f = 8 Hz, Esw = 35 mV, dE = 3mV. Reprinted
from Electroanalysis 21(2009)767, A.V. Juarez and L.M.Yudi, Copyright (2009) with
permission from Wiley.
3.2.3 Standard addition method

The addition of standards was carried out on a pre-concentrated sample obtained from an
aqueous solution containing 1.0x10-8 M PROM. Different aliquots of a 2.00x10-3 M PROM
solution to the organic pre-concentrated phase were made. Figure 10 shows the square wave
voltammograms obtained after the additions of the standard solution. The ΔIp values
obtained after each addition are shown in Figure 11 as a function of PROM added
concentration. The correlation coefficient obtained from linear regression was 0.997. From x-
axis intercept, a 1.0x10-6 M initial concentration in the organic pre-concentrated phase was
determined. Certainly, this concentration value corresponds to PROM 1.0x10-8 M in the
original aqueous phase. So that, these results allow concluding that standard addition
method is appropriated for the quantification of PROM in pre-concentrated samples.
3.3 Prometryne-Al(III) interactions

The interaction between herbicides and soils compounds affect the adsorption, transport and
degradation processes and, in consequence the fate of the herbicides in the environment.
Al(III) is a cation present as important inorganic component of soils, so that its interaction with
PROM was analyzed employing cyclic voltammetry at liquid/liquid interfaces.
As mentioned in methodology section, equations 11 and 12 relate the transfer potential with
stoichiometry and complex formation constant. The analysis of transfer potential and
current allows elucidating the charge and stoichiometry of the complex formed (Homolka et
al., 1982; Samec et al., 1982; Reymond et al., 1998; Iglesias et al., 1998; O’Dwyer & Cunnane,
2005; Katano et al., 2000; Azcurra et al., 2003; Dassie et al., 1999; Caçote et al., 2004; Rahman
et al., 2001; Yudi et al., 1992) as well as to obtain thermodynamic (Samec et al., 1982;
2.1
7
6
1.4
I/ μA 5
4
0.7
3
0 1 2
0.0
0.25 0.30 0.35 0.40 0.45 0.50 0.55
E/ V
Fig. 10. SWV voltammetric profiles obtained after standard addition of a PROM 2.00x10-3 M
solution to the organic pre-concentrated phase. apc: LiCl 1.00x10-2 M, pH 2.00, f 8 Hz. opc:
TPhAsDCC 1.00x10-2 M + PROM (obtained by pre-concentrating a 1.0x10-8 M PROM
aqueous solution), with the following aggregates: 0: 0 µL; 1: 10 µL; 2: 20 µL; 3: 30 µL; 4: 40
µL; 5: 50 µL; 6: 60 µL; 7: 70 µL. SWV parameters: f = 8 Hz, Esw = 35 mV, dE = 3mV. Reprinted
from Electroanalysis 21(2009) 767, A.V. Juarez and L.M.Yudi, Copyright (2009) with
permission from Wiley.
2.0
1.6
1.2
ΔI p / μ A
0.8
Y=A+B* X
Par Value Error
0.4 A 0.07866 0.02787
B 61149.44757 1752.64848
R SD N P
0.0 0.99754 0.04451 8 <0.0001
0.0 1.0x10
-5
2.0x10
-5
3.0x10
-5
[PROM] added
/M
Fig. 11. Variation of ΔIp with PROM concentration for standard addition experiments. The
experimental conditions are the same than those in Fig. 8. Reprinted from Electroanalysis
21(2009) 767, A.V. Juarez and L.M.Yudi, Copyright (2009) with permission from Wiley.
Reymond et al., 1998; Iglesias et al., 1998; Caçote et al., 2004; Yudi et al., 1992; Koryta, 1979;
Ferreira et al., 2006; Dassie & Baruzzi, 2002) and kinetic data (Samec et al., 1982; Seno et al.,
1990; Sabela et al., 1994; Beatti et al., 1995; Shao & Mirkin, 1997, Homolka et al., 1984) of
facilitated ion transfer. The global process of the Xz+ ion transfer is given by equation 10. In
this way, experiments changing ion and ligand concentration can be used for studing
transfer mechanism as well as charge and stoichiometry of the complex and also, the
complex formation constant.
With the aim of elucidating the complex formed between Al and PROM, experiments at
different pH values: 1.50, 3.60, 4.50 and 5.30 were carried out. The relation Al:PROM was 3:1
in all cases. From the analysis of voltammetric response obtained at these pH values it was
concluded that a competition between Al(III) and H+ takes place: at low pH values, H+
transfer prevails while at high pH values the facilitated transfer of Al(III) is observed.
When the Al:PROM relation changes, the complex formed in the organic phase depends on
the cation and PROM concentration. Thus, depending on the PROM concentration, two
different processes were observed: when the ligand concentration is lower than the
concentration of the both cations, H+ transfer is the only process observed at pH values
between 1.50 and 4.50. It is worthwhile to note that even when the Al(III) concentration is
higher than the H+ concentration, H+ transfer prevails. This fact indicates a higher formation
constant value for HPROM+ with respect to Al(III)-PROM. On the other hand, if the ligand
concentration is higher than the H+ and Al(III) concentrations, the transfer of both cations is
observed. In this case, the voltammograms obtained shows two overlapped waves. One of
the process is due to Al(III) transfer facilitated by PROM.
3.3.1 Determination of the Al(III) transfer mechanism

Scheme 1 shows one of the experiments carried out with the purpose to establish the
transfer mechanism of the Al:PROM complex.
Aqueous
phase shaken
in System I
PROM + Voltammograms
Al(III) TPhAsDCC (2)
LiCl 1x10 -2M 1x10-2 M
pH 3 60 Fresh Sol
Voltammograms
TPhAsDCC
(1) System II
1x10-2 M
LiCl 1x10 -2 M
Fresh Sol
[PROM] 1x10 -3 M pH 3.60
[Al(III)] 6x10 -4 M
pH 3.60 Voltammograms
Both phases have been Aqueous phase TPhAsDCC (3)
Shaken in
shaken during 30 min
Organic phase
system I System III
System I
Scheme 1. An experiment carried out for determination of transfer mechanism. Reprinted
from Electrochim. Acta, 54 (2008) 530, A.V. Juarez and L.M.Yudi, Copyright (2008) with
permission from Elsevier.
Both solutions of system I were shaken to establish the partition equilibrium and then, the
electrochemical measurement was taken. After this, both phases were separated and
electrochemically analyzed. Figure 12 compares the voltammograms obtained for system I
(see scheme 1) with those obtained for system II (Figure 12 (a)) and III (Figure 12 (b)). From
these results, it is possible to conclude that the total amount of PROM in the system prevails
in the organic phase after agitation, even in the presence of Al(III) in the aqueous phase, and
that cation transfer occurs by a facilitated mechanism. This mechanism is confirmed by the
analysis of voltammetric parameters ( Ip+, E p+ and ΔEp ).
100 a) System I
System II
80 Base voltammogram
60
I / μA
40
μ
20
-20
0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8

E /V
a) (….) Voltammogram for base solutions: apc: 1.00x10-2 M LiCl, pH = 3.60. opc: 1.00x10-2 M
TPhAsDCC. (..__..__..) Voltammogram for System I: apc: 1.00x10-2 M LiCl + 6.00x10-4 M
Al(NO3)3 + 1.00x10-3 M PROM, pH = 3.60. opc: 1.00x10-2 M TPhAsDCC. (___) Voltammogram
for System II: apc resulting from the agitation of system I, opc: 1.00x10-2 M
TPhAsDCC.(fresh solution).
100 b) System I
System III
80 Base voltammogram
60
40
I / μA
20
-20
0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8

E /V
b)(….) Voltammogram for base solutions: apc: 1.00x10-2 M LiCl, pH = 3.60. opc: 1.00x10-2 M
TPhAsDCC. (..__..__..) Voltammogram for System I: apc: 1.00x10-2 M LiCl + 6.00x10-4 M
Al(NO3)3 + 1.00x10-3 M PROM, pH = 3.60. opc: 1.00x10-2 M TPhAsDCC. (___) Voltammogram
for System III: apc: 1.00x10-2 M LiCl, pH = 3.60 (fresh solution). opc: resulting from the
agitation of system I. Sweep rate= 0.050 Vs-1. Reprinted from Electrochim. Acta, 54 (2008)
530, A.V. Juarez and L.M.Yudi, Copyright (2008) with permission from Elsevier.
Fig. 12. Voltammetric profiles corresponding to the experiment described in scheme 1.
3.3.2 Determination of the complex stoichiometry

With the aim to determine the stoichiometry of Al:PROM complex, experiments changing
the ligand concentration were performed. Figure 13 shows the voltammetric response
obtained. The pH value was fixed at 4.50, and the cation concentration was higher than
ligand concentration employed to avoid H+ competition. Under these experimental
conditions, the dependence of current with ligand concentration is given by eq. 13,
whenever, a reversible diffusion controlled transfer occurs. As can be seen, the peak current
increased with PROM concentration and Ep+ shifts to more negatives values as predicted by
equations 12 and 13. To carry out these experiments it was necessary to change the organic
electrolyte, and TPnATClPhB was employed because it allows increasing the positive limit
of the potential window. In this way, a better determination of the peak potential of Al(III)
transfer could be done. As a consequence of the increase in the positive limit, a second
process was observed around E = 0.800 V as the concentration of ligand increased. This
process could be likely due to H+ facilitated transfer.
-4
30 1.00x10 M
-4
3.20x10 M
-4
6.00x10 M
20 1.00x10
-3
M
-3
3.00x10 M
10
I / μA
-10
-20
0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0
E/V
Fig. 13. Voltammetric profiles corresponding to Al(III) facilitated transfer by PROM at
different concentrations of ligand. Apc: 1.00x10-2 M LiCl + 1.00x10-2 M Al(NO3)3, pH = 4.50.
opc: 1.00x10-2 M TPATPhClB + x M PROM, x = (___) 1.00x10-4 M; (....) 3.20x10-4 M; (.__.__.)
6.00x10-4 M; (__ __) 1.00x10-3 M; (..__..__..) 3.00x10-3 M. Sweep rate= 0.050 Vs-1. Reprinted from
Electrochim. Acta, 54 (2008) 530, A.V. Juarez and L.M.Yudi, Copyright (2008) with
permission from Elsevier.
Plots of Ip vs square root of sweep rate are linear as predicted by eq. 13 for this kind of ion
transfer. With the purpose to calculate the stoichiometry and the charge of the complexes,
the slopes of these plots at different ligand concentrations were obtained. Figure 14
compares the theoretical slope values obtained for different complexes and the experimental
values obtained in this case. From the analysis of this figure, it is possible to conclude that
PROM:Al(III) complex stoichiometry changes with the ligand concentration, while the
charge of the transferred species is constant and equal to 2. The charge and stoichiometry
complex can also be deduced from eq 12. From the analysis of Ep vs log [PROM] variation
-4
1.2x10
exper. slope
-4
Z: 2, S: 2
1.0x10 Z: 2, S:3
Z: 3, S: 2
V -1/2
8.0x10
-5 Z: 3, S: 3
1/2
-5
6.0x10
Slopes / As
-5
4.0x10
-5
2.0x10
0.0
0.0 2.0x10
-4
4.0x10
-4
6.0x10
-4
8.0x10
-4
1.0x10
-3
[PROM] / M
Fig. 14. Plot of experimental and theoretical slope values Ip/v1/2 vs. [PROM]. Experimental
slope: (•). Theoretical slopes for the following values of z and s: (S) z: 2, s: 2; (◊) z: 2, s: 3; ()
z: 3, s: 2; (∇) z: 3, s: 3. Aqueous phase composition: 1.00x10-2 M LiCl + 1.00x10-3 M Al(NO3)3,
pH = 4.50. Organic phase composition: TPhAsDCC 1.00x10-2 M + PROM n M. Sweep rate=
0.050 Vs-1. Reprinted from Electrochim. Acta, 54 (2008) 530, A.V. Juarez and L.M.Yudi,
Copyright (2008) with permission from Elsevier.
(not shown), a slope value equal to 0.062 V/dec was obtained, in a concentration range
between 3.20x10-4 M to 1.00x10-3 M. This value approximates to the theoretical value
corresponding to a complex with a charge +2 and a stoichiometry of 1:3 (Homolka et al.,
1982).
4. Conclusions
This chapter resumes the results obtained from the electrochemical study of s-triazines
herbicides at liquid-liquid interfaces. These herbicide compounds (Atrazine, Propazine and
Pometryne) can be quantitatively analyzed from the electrochemical transfer current at the
water/1,2-dichloroethane interface.
Regarding to the transfer of ATR and PRO, a facilitate proton transfer from aqueous phase
trough the interface to form the protonated species in the organic phase was observed. In
these cases, transfer potential varies with pH as predicted by theory and peak current is
proportional to triazine concentration in organic phase and independent of the pH (for
w o
cH + > c L conditions). For these two species it was possible to calculate the acid dissociation
constant in organic phase, K ao , from the intercepts in the graph of Δ owφ1/2
tr
vs pH. The values
obtained were 4.60 x 10 and 7.03 x 10 for ATR and PRO, respectively.
-9 -9
PROM behavior is quite different and depends on the pH values. At low pH values, the
transfer of protonated PROM from aqueous to organic phase can occur. Under these
conditions, the peak potential is independent on the pH and peak current is proportional to
protonated fraction of PROM, which decreases as pH increases up to pH = 2.00. Above this
value, the process change to a facilitated proton transfer, showing a behavior similar to that
observed for ATR and PRO.
Calibration curves for these species, employing cyclic voltammetry, show detection limits
of 2.50 x 10-5 M. This limit must be lowered to be able to apply this electrochemical
methodology to the analytical determination of ATR, PRO and PROM in waste water or soil
samples. However, the experimental conditions found so far were used to apply square -
wave voltammetry technique at a liquid – liquid interface.
In that sense, the electrochemical response of PROM, employing SWV technique at liquid-
liquid interface, was studied. The detection limit found was 1.50x10-6 M. This DL value is
still very high for trace determinations of PROM required in environmental studies
compared with other available techniques. However, one of the advantages of this system is
the possibility of pre-concentrate the herbicide in the organic phase. Extraction procedures
to the organic phase are possible due to the high partition coefficient of PROM and high
solubility in 1,2-DCE. The aqueous:organic volume ratio equal to 500:30 and the later
reduction of the volume of the organic phase enriched with PROM, by a factor of 6, yield an
overall pre-concentration factor of 100. The detection limit could be lowered to 1.0x10-7 M
under these experimental conditions. The concentration ranges from 1.0x10-6 to 5.0x10-5 M,
without pretreatment, and between 8.0x10-8 to 2.4x10-7 M, carrying out the pre-concentration
procedure previous to electrochemical measurement, were used for the calibration curves.
On the other hand, the standard addition method is highly efficient in this kind of systems
and presents several advantages like less use of reactive and easy sample manipulation. A
linear response in the concentration range between 1.0x10-6 to 2.7x10-5 M with correlation
coefficient of 0.997 was obtained. The lower concentration value, in this case, corresponds to
an aqueous PROM solution 1.0x10-8 M.
It is worthwhile to discuss the practical aspect of the procedure here proposed. In this sense,
the extraction and pre-concentration methods developed by other authors (Herzog et al.,
2008; Berduque & Arrigan, 2006; Berduque et al., 2005; Collins et al., 2008; Kim & Amemiya,
2008) have several practical advantages over the present procedure, as the use of low
organic phase volume, among others. Nevertheless, the results obtained in this study justify
evaluating the possibility of carrying out PROM pre-concentration following the thin film
approach (Kim & Amemiya, 2008) or the electrochemistry modulated liquid – liquid
extraction procedure (Berduque & Arrigan, 2006; Berduque et al., 2005; Collins et al., 2008;
Kim & Amemiya, 2008).
Regarding to the study of the interaction between PROM and Al(III) at the water /1,2-DCE
interface, it was possible to determine the charge and stoichiometry of the complex formed.
A facilitated Al(III) transfer through the liquid - liquid interface takes place, depending on
pH and PROM concentration. From the analysis of the experimental results, a competition
of H+ and Al(III) for the ligand is observed. At low pH values (pH<2.00), only H+ transfer
occurs, a pH higher than 4.50 only Al(III) is transferred, and at intermediate pH values, the
transfer of both cations takes place. To determine the stoichiometry of the Al:PROM
complex, the experiments were carried out at pH 4.50 because no H+ transfer was observed
under these conditions. From the experimental results, we conclude that the stoichiometry
depends on PROM concentration: 1:3 at cPROM ≥ 3.00x10-4 M and 1:2 for cPROM < 3.00x10-4 M,
while the charge of the transferred species is 2+. Therefore, the ion forming the complex
with the herbicide, at pH 4.50, is Al(OH)2+. This statement is supported by the fact that
Al(OH)2+ is one of the predominant species at this pH value.
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12
Application of Bioassays in
Studies on Phytotoxic Herbicide
Residues in the Soil Environment
Tomasz Sekutowski
Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation – National Research Institute,
Pulawy Department of Weed Science and Tillage Systems, Wroclaw
Poland
Science is food for the mind

War and Peace, L. Tolstoy 1869
1. Introduction
The primary aim of the application of herbicides is to protect plantations against the
competitive action of many weed species found in the field of a given crop. Herbicides may
be used both directly to the soil and in foliar applications. In relation to the type and method
of application (single vs. split dose) a portion (in foliar applications) or the entire amount (in
soil-applied agents) of herbicide reaches the soil (Praczyk & Skrzypczak, 2004; Woźnica,
2008). Each active ingredient in a herbicide which penetrates the soil medium, undergoes
certain biophysical and biochemical processes. At the time the herbicide active ingredient
enters the soil it is separated between the solid phase (soil particles) and the aqueous phase
(soil solution). In the soil medium only this portion of the active ingredient is available to
plants, which is found in the liquid phase. However, herbicide molecules adsorbed or
chemically bound with the solid phase are not absorbed by plants. Under field conditions
this balance is constantly disturbed as a result of the action of the edaphone and through
changes in temperature and moisture content of soil, which affects the availability of
herbicide to weeds and crops (Vicari et al., 1994; Sadowski, 2001).
Depending on the applied cultivation regime and climatic and soil conditions observed in a
given vegetation season only a portion of herbicide active ingredient residue found in the
soil is available to plants and under advantageous conditions may exhibit phytotoxic action.
Thus the determination of the level of residue, degradation rate and translocation of
herbicide active ingredients in the soil is so significant both for the agricultural practice and
for the protection of the agricultural environment (Sadowski et al., 2002; Sadowski &
Kucharski, 2004).
At the selection of a detection technique the most important criterion in the evaluation is the
concentration, at which a given analyte may be found in the tested sample. Instrumental
methods, such as gas chromatography (GC) or liquid high performance chromatography
(HPLC), make it possible to determine the total content of active ingredients in the soil at the
time of the application or several weeks after the application of herbicides (Ahmad &
Crawford, 1990; Sadowski, 2001; Sadowski et al., 2001a; Kucharski & Sadowski, 2006). This
problem appears when the herbicide is used once or several times in the vegetation season
in small doses of <50 g/ha, since already at the moment of application the level of herbicide
active ingredients is slight and does not exceed 10-2 mg/kg (Sadowski et al., 2002). The
evaluation of risk resulting from the occurrence of herbicide residue in the soil medium
until recently was based only on the results of chemical analyses, which supplied
information on the presence, content and type of the chemical substance, preventing an
evaluation of harmful ecological effects of the herbicide residue. Thus the traditional,
chemical approach to the assessment of the level of herbicide residue in the
agrophytocenosis for well over a decade has been supplemented by ecotoxicological
analyses. In such analyses the level of herbicide residue is evaluated on the basis of a
specific, comprehensive response of standard indicator organisms to the active ingredient
varying both chemically and in terms of its concentration, contained in the tested soil
sample. In such analyses the biotest methods is used with the application of e.g. a plant
biodetector. This method is to determine a biologically effective level of the herbicide active
ingredient residue immediately after application, as well as to follow the dynamics of
decline for this substance in the soil environment in the course of several months or even for
more than a year. Biotests also facilitate an objective evaluation of the level of residue, due
to the fact that all higher plants have a certain sensitivity to different xenobiotics (e.g.
herbicides) found in the soil environment. The phytotoxic effect of active ingredients
originating from herbicides may be observed on the basis of the reduction of dry or fresh
weight of roots or aboveground parts (stems, leaves) of test plants (Günther et al., 1993;
Stork & Hannah, 1996; Sarmah et al., 1999; Sadowski et al., 2002; Demczuk et al., 2004;
Sekutowski & Sadowski, 2005; 2006; 2009). Thanks to the wide-scale application of the
bioindication method using plants it is possible to evaluate the degree of contamination not
only for the soil, but also for the entire agrophytocenosis (Dećkowska et al., 2008).
2. The behavior of herbicides in the soil environment

Active ingredients of herbicides, after penetrating to the soil, are separated between the
solid phase (soil particles) and the liquid phase (soil solution). In the soil only this portion of
the active ingredient is available to plants, which is found in the soil solution within the
rhizosphere. In turn, herbicide molecules adsorbed or chemically bound with the solid
phase are not available to plants. They may constitute a certain reserve, which under
advantageous climatic conditions may become available to plants. Availability of these
active ingredients in the soil fluctuates constantly, since they are removed from the soil
solution as a result of immobilization, elution or diffusion. Bounding of these chemical
substances by the soil sorption complex is a factor determining their occurrence and through
accumulation may significantly alter their deposition time in the soil environment. Under
field conditions this equilibrium is constantly disturbed by changes in temperature,
moisture content, cultivation measures and the soil entomofauna, which has a crucial effect
on the amount of the herbicide active ingredient which is available to weeds or crops within
a specified period of time. On the one hand, the process of binding reduces mobility of these
residues in the soil profile and their penetration to aquatic zones, while on the other hand, it
reduces the possibility of their removal from soil using plants themselves and soil
microorganisms (Sadowski et al., 2001a, 2002; Praczyk & Skrzypczak, 2004; Woźnica, 2008).
The process of degradation and translocation of herbicide active ingredients depends on
many environmental and soil factors, which determine their adsorption and absorption in
Application of Bioassays in Studies on Phytotoxic Herbicide Residues in the Soil Environment 255
the soil. Such factors include the type of soil, mechanical composition (particularly the
content of clays and zeolites), temperature, moisture content, content of organic matter
(humus), pH of soil as well as the content of soil entomofauna biomass (Walker & Welch,
1989; Vicari et al., 1994; James et al., 1999; Sarmah et al., 1999; Sadowski & Kucharski, 2004).
The sorption capacity of herbicides is defined by the index of soil sorption of the herbicide
(Kd) and sorption of the herbicide to organic carbon (Koc). Active ingredients of herbicides
characterized by very high mobility in the soil environment have Koc < 100 ml/g (clopyralid,
nicosulfuron, sulfosulfuron, sulcotrione, dicamba), while herbicides with Koc >2000 ml/g
exhibit poor mobility (trifluralin, diquat, pendimethalin, diclofop, fenoxaprop-P) (Praczyk &
Skrzypczak, 2004; Woźnica, 2008).
The translocation of herbicides in the soil profile is frequently disturbed by crops themselves
or by weeds, absorbing water from the soil solution. Since a portion of the root system of
plants frequently reaches a depth of 50 - 60 cm and has a very big suction power we may
often observe the process of leaching or even the movement of residue of certain herbicides
(e.g. chlorsulfuron) from deeper soil layers towards the rhizosphere (Walker et al., 1989;
Sadowski et al., 2001b). In the opinion of Sadowski & Kucharski (2004), elution of herbicide
active ingredients being derivatives of sulfonylurea (chlorsulfuron, sulfosulfuron) and
phenoxyacetic acid (2.4 D, MCPA) from the soil profiles is strongly dependent on the initial
moisture content and the absorbing capacity of soil. They showed in their studies that with
an increase in the initial moisture content of soil, the degree of leaching for these substances
increased markedly, reaching a certain maximum. When soil reached the maximum water
capacity (under field conditions this process is observed during heavy rains), then the
percentage of leached active ingredient of a herbicide is markedly reduced. Also Beckie &
McKercher (1990), Oppong & Sagar (1992) and Günter et al. (1993) were of an opinion that
apart from moisture content, also absorbing capacity of soil has a decisive effect on
herbicide mobility. In their studies Günter et al. (1993) showed that in soil with poor
absorbing capacity metsulfuron and triasulfuron were subjected to elution much faster than
in soil with a high absorbing capacity. Mobility was also dependent on the active ingredient
itself, with metsulfuron being much more active than triasulfuron.
Also the depth to which herbicide active ingredients penetrate under field conditions is not
specifically defined, since it depends on many factors (e.g. absorbing capacity,
granulometric composition, cultivation measures). On the basis of studies concerning the
translocation of herbicide active ingredients Helling & Turner (1968) determined the relative
mobility index of herbicides (Rf), dividing them into five classes. In another study Walker &
Welch (1989) showed that chlorsulfuron (ALS group) was capable of penetrating to a depth
of 50 cm 63 days after application, despite the fact that a bigger part of its residue was
detected in a layer up to 25 cm deep. In turn, another active ingredient from the same
chemical group, i.e. triasulfuron, did not penetrate deeper than 10 cm, and its residue
remained at that depth throughout the entire period of the experiment (125 days).
Stability of active ingredients of herbicides in the soil is also dependent on its physico-
chemical properties and on the course of degradation dynamics. A very important indicator,
which defines potential persistence of the herbicide active ingredient in the soil
environment, is the half-life period (DT50). It is a time period required for the degradation of
the active ingredient to half its initial concentration in soil. The value of DT50 is a
characteristic feature of individual active ingredients of herbicides and it may range from
several days (e.g. quizalofop-P, mesotrione, MCPA) to as long as several months (e.g.
trifluralin, ethofumesate, pendimethalin). Most active ingredients of herbicides used in
agricultural plantations has DT50 of less than 60 days (e.g. florasulam, clomazone,
clopyralid, bentazone), while in vegetable growing it is below 20 days (e.g. clethodim,
cycloxdim, metazachlor, pyridate) (Praczyk, 2004; Praczyk & Skrzypczak, 2004; Woźnica,
2008). Half-life (DT50) is only a rough indication of the potential persistence of herbicide
active ingredients in soil. Under field conditions degradation of a herbicide and its
translocation may occur faster or much slower, since it is a result of interactions between
chemical properties of the active ingredient itself and moisture content, temperature,
absorbing capacity of soil, pH and soil microorganisms. Thus the risk of persistence and
translocation of herbicide active ingredients in soil may not be considered only on the basis
of one of the above mentioned parameters (e.g. DT50, Koc, Rf), as under field conditions the
interactions of all these factors affect the rate of chemical and biological processes, which in
turn determine the behavior of active ingredients of herbicides in the soil environment.
Table 1 presents characteristics of selected active ingredients of herbicides, which have a
decisive effect on their behavior in the soil environment.
Active Group Solubility in DT50 KOC Rf movement index

ingredient HRAC water [mg/l] [days] [ml/g] in soil environment
quizalofop-P A 0.4 <1 1024

florasulam B 6360 (pH 7) 2-18 4-54
small
trifluralina K1 0.22 60-132 2500-13700
(Rf = 0.0-0.34)
diquat D 700000 1000 >32000
pendimethalin K1 0.3 30-150 6700-29400
amidosulfuron B 9 (pH 5.8) 3-29 33.7
clomazone F3 1100 15-45 104-608
medium
ethofumesate N 50 15-250 97-245
(Rf = 0.35-0.64)
alachlor K3 242 15-30 170-200
MCPA O 734 5-6 25-157
sulfosulfuron B 1627 (pH 7) 11-47 5-89
metamitron C1 1700 7-70 91-392
large
bentazone C3 570 12-45 13-176
(Rf = 0.65-1.0)
mesotrione F2 2200 3-7 19-390
clopyralid O 143 14-56 4.6
Source: Helling & Turner, (1968); Praczyk & Skrzypczak, (2004); Woźnica, (2008); modified
Table 1. Examples of active ingredient of herbicides and selected physico-chemical
properties affecting their behavior in soil
Annually repeated application of herbicides in the same field may affect the dynamics of
degradation and translocation, as well as the level of residue of their active ingredients.
After penetrating into the soil the action of a herbicide on a crop or weeds is determined
within the rhizosphere by the degree of availability and the sensitivity of the plant to the
active ingredient. Strong vertical translocation of certain active ingredients of herbicides
several days after application, particularly in lessive soils may be dangerous for the soil
environment due to the possible penetration into the ground waters causing their
contamination (Beckie & McKercher, 1990; Sadowski & Kucharski, 2003). Thus studies are
necessary which would facilitate an evaluation of a threat posed by the application of
herbicides in relation to agrophytocenosis. In ecotoxicology the adopted methods for the
determination of the levels of bioavailable phytotoxic residue of herbicide active ingredients
in soil include biotests, due to their high efficiency, relatively very high sensitivity and
limited testing costs in comparison to instrumental methods (Fahl et al., 1995; Hollaway et
al., 1999; James et al., 1999; Sadowski et al., 2002; Sadowski & Kucharski, 2004; Sekutowski &
Sadowski, 2006). Plant species exhibiting high sensitivity to the action of selected active
ingredients of herbicide, such as Sinapis alba, Fagopyrum esculentum, Sorghum saccharatum,
Lepidium sativum, Helianthus annuus, Zea mays or Cucumis sativus are used as detectors. In
particular cases biotests may also provide information on transport and on the situation of
applied active ingredients (Günther et al., 1993; Sadowski & Kucharski, 2004). We may find
numerous examples in literature concerning applications of plant biodetectors in studies on
herbicide active ingredient residue (Günther et al., 1993; Stork & Hannah, 1996; Sarmah et
al., 1999; Sekutowski & Sadowski 2005; 2006; 2009).
3. Division of biological methods used in studies on the soil environment

Analytical methods using biological material are becoming promising alternatives for
conventional analytical methods and in certain cases they may even replace them (Hollaway
et al., 1999). They are commonly applied mainly due to their specificity and low unit costs.
In toxicological analyses we may distinguish two groups of applications for biological
methods in the assessment of the effect of xenobiotics (e.g. herbicides) on the soil
environment:
a. bioanalytical tests, which are connected with the use of biological organisms as
receptors of specific chemical substances, e.g. herbicides. Due to the method of the
utilization of the biological component we distinguish:
- biosensors, in which the biological component is the active element (e.g. an enzyme,
antibodies – ELISA test),
- biotests, in which a whole plant organism or its part (e.g. seeds, roots) are the control
and measuring element (Hollaway et al., 1999; van Wyk & Reinhardt, 2001).
b. biomonitoring, which may be conducted in two ways:
- through the formation of passive accumulation samplers based on typical analytical
tests of biological samples,
- through observation of plant or animal bioindicators (Fahl et al., 1995; Alonso-Prados et
al., 2002).
4. Bioassay
Bioassay or biotest (Greek bios – life + Latin testari - indicate) may be defined as an
experimental biological sample (the whole organism or its part), which aim is to detect a
toxic substance found in the environment or to identify its harmful action, by quantitative
determination of the effect of the tested substance in relation to the control object.
In studies conducted using biotests three methods are typically applied, with the first two
being conducted under controlled (laboratory) conditions, while the third being run using a
population of organisms living under natural conditions (in situ).
a. phytotoxicity tests conducted in a laboratory, during which the substance exhibiting

phytotoxic action is artificially introduced to the tested object (e.g. soil). Next the test is
performed with an appropriately selected indicator organism e.g. a plant (a phytotest).
Thus collected results are a source of information on toxicity of a given substance under
controlled conditions. The main aim of such a test is to calibrate the biotest, which will
next be used to estimate phytotoxicity of tested samples (e.g. collected from
contaminated areas).
b. phytotoxicity tests conducted at a laboratory on the basis of respective samples (e.g.
soil) collected from contaminated areas. Phytotoxicity of such samples is compared
with the phytotoxicity of reference samples (biotests). On this basis the interval is
determined, within which residue e.g. of herbicides may have an adverse effect on
crops (e.g. residual effect).
c. phytotoxicity tests conducted on the site in which a population of sensitive organisms is
living (conditions of their natural occurrence) (Kuczyńska et al., 2005, Namieśnik &
Szefer 2009).
Moreover, biotests may be classified in terms of the used organism (e.g. bacteria, plants,
animals), which constitute the active element of the test. In ecotoxicology in studies on the
residue of different xenobiotics (e.g. herbicides) the most frequently applied include plants
and their seeds, due to the specific action of the tested preparations and in view of the
humane, economic and practical aspects.
On the basis of the dose ↔ final effect dependence, which may be expressed e.g. by the
reduction of fresh or dry weight of the test plant in comparison to the control object, we may
determine values of indicators being a quantitative measure of phytotoxicity of the tested
substance. Phytotoxic action of active ingredients contained in herbicides may be
determined using such indicators as ED10, ED50 or ED90 (effective dose), i.e. determining the
concentration of the active ingredient causing a specific biological effect at 10%, 50% or 90%
its maximum value. Another applied indicator is index IC50 or IC90 (inhibition
concentration), i.e. the concentration of e.g. herbicide in the soil environment, which causes
a reduction of fresh or dry weight of the test plant (roots, stems, leaves) by 50% or 90% in
comparison to the control (not treated with this herbicide).
The dose ↔ final effect dependence may also be used to predict risk, i.e. to determine the
dose and persistence of herbicide residue, at which the probability of phytotoxic effects is
high or small. An example exhibiting this dependence may be here a study conducted by
Sadowski et al. (2007) or Sadowski & Sekutowski (2008), referring to the phytotoxic action of
herbicide active ingredient residue on successive crops. Those authors using biotests
showed that herbicide residue in soil may be hazardous for successive crops at two critical
moments. The first refers to resowing, i.e. situations when for different reasons, most
frequently independent of the farmer, the plantation is eliminated. In turn, the other
moment refers to residue persisting in soil and exhibiting phytotoxic action immediately
after the crop is harvested or even for the next several months. A similar phenomenon on
fields in which chlorsulfuron and metsulfuron were applied, observed in the form of
extensive damage to sugar beet or rape plantations found in the period of 2 successive years,
was reported by Walker & Welch (1989) and Walker et al. (1989). The above mentioned
effect is manifested only because crops (e.g. beet, rape) exhibit very high sensitivity to
herbicides from the ALS group. Plant species with a narrow range of tolerance (stenobionts)
characterized by high sensitivity to specific chemical groups or active ingredients of
herbicides are referred to as indicator species or bioindicators. Thus biotests are very often
used in biomonitoring, to evaluate the consequences potentially caused by herbicides on

individual elements of agrophytocenosis (e.g. crops, soil or water).
4.1 Criteria for the selection of a bioindicator

Species of indicator plants should be characterized by a narrow range of responses and
exhibit high sensitivity to specific chemical substances, with their response being specific
and adequate to the concentration of the chemical substance and easily observable (e.g.
strong inhibition of root growth).
Bioindicators should meet the following requirements:
- common occurrence,
- a wide range of distribution,
- a long life cycle or several generations within a year,
- being easily recognizable,
- genetic homogeneity,
- high sensitivity to specific chemical substances,
- stability and repeatability of responses,
- low unit costs and easy laboratory culture.
In turn, plant bioindicators used in phytotests should have the following characteristics:
- small and even seeds,
- uniform germination power and energy of seeds,
- a short emergence period (1-2 days),
- a short vegetation period,
- high biomass of stems, leaves or roots,
- high sensitivity in relation to one chemical group (e.g. phenoxy acids, sulfonylurea).
When selecting a bioindicator for a test it is also necessary to take into consideration the age
and sensitivity of individual tissues to the tested herbicide. A similar opinion was also
expressed by Shim et al. (2003) and Demczuk et al. (2004), who in their studies conducted
using different weed species and Cucumis sativus plants observed a diverse response of
individual plant tissues to tested active ingredients of herbicides. They showed that
sensitivity to residue of sulfonylurea herbicide depended to a considerable degree on the
age of tissues and their location. The youngest roots and leaves of test plants turned out to
be most sensitive.
Thus one of the basic guarantees of an appropriately conducted biotest is the selection of an
appropriate test plant. An example of a dependence between the phytoindicator and the
response to the herbicide active ingredient is presented in Fig. 1-2. In the analyses 3 test
plants were used, i.e. Sinapis alba, Fagopyrum esculentum and Cucumis sativus, as well as 2
active ingredients of herbicides belonging to different chemical groups (phenoxy acids – 2.4
D and sulfonylurea – nicosulfuron). For the detection of 2.4 D residue Cucumis sativus
proved to be most suitable, since root growth inhibition by 50% (IC50) occurred already at a
concentration of 0.18 mg/kg. For the two other species, i.e. Sinapis alba and Fagopyrum
esculentum, IC50 ranged from 0.4 to 0.5 mg/kg (Fig. 1).
In turn, in the detection of nicosulfuron residue the highest sensitivity was found for the test
with the use of Sinapis alba. Root length reduction by 50% (IC50) occurred already at a
concentration of 0.125 mg/kg. Sensitivity of the test (IC50) with the use of Fagopyrum
esculentum and Cucumis sativus was markedly lower and amounted to 0.25 mg/kg for
Fagopyrum esculentum and 0.55 mg/kg for Cucumis sativus, respectively (Fig. 2).
100
90 Sinapis alba
Fagopyrum esculentum
80 Cucumis sativus
Roots lenght reduction [%]
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0 0.025 0.05 0.125 0.25 0.5 0.75 1 1.2
2.4 D concentration in the soil [mg/kg]
Fig. 1. 2.4 D effect on the tested plant in terms of roots lenght reduction
100
90 Sinapis alba
Fagopyrum esculentum
80 Cucumis sativus
Roots lenght reduction [%]
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0 0.025 0.05 0.125 0.25 0.5 0.75 1 1.2
Nicosulfuron concentration in the soil [mg/kg]
Fig. 2. Nicosulfuron effect on the tested plant in terms of roots lenght reduction
4.2. Conventional bioassays

A conventional bioassay, used in the detection of herbicide active ingredients in soil,
consists in the sowing of seeds of a test plant (adequately sensitive to the tested substance or
chemical group) into the soil sample containing the residue. Examples of procedures
required for the establishment of such a bioassay are presented in a diagram in Fig. 3.
1 2 3
Drying of soil moisture to Add water to get the Alignment moisture

the presumed assumed humidity throughout the batch of
soil (24 h in a closed
container)
4 5 6
Spraying the soil layer Thoroughly mix Filling containers with

(0.5-1.0 cm) soil sprayed
7 8 9
Set of test plants
Sowing the test plants Determination of dry weight
of test plants
Source: Sadowski et al., (2002); modified

Fig. 3. Example diagram of a conventional bioassay setting
4.2.1 Availability of herbicide active ingredients to plants

The bioassay method is also used in the determination of values of ED50, ED90 or IC50, IC90.
The duration of a conventional bioassay depends to a considerable degree on the test plant,
or rather on the tested part of the bioindicator (roots, leaves) and the active ingredient of a
given herbicide, and it may range from 7 days (roots) to 14 days (leaves, stems). After a
period of 7 or 14 days from the establishment of the test fresh and then dry weight of roots
or leaves and stems is determined (by cutting and drying at a temperature of 1050C, and
weighing on an analytical scale). Next the percentage loss of fresh and dry weight is
calculated in relation to the control plants (sown into the soil containing no herbicide), while
thus collected results for the dependence between weight loss in the phytotest and the
concentration of the herbicide active ingredient in the soil are used in the graphic
presentation of this dependence (Fig. 4).
Figure 5 presents an example of a phytotest using Cucumis sativus established in soil
containing different concentrations of chlorsulfuron. Results recorded from the bioassay
constitute a source of information on the toxicity of chlorsulfuron under controlled
conditions. The theoretical objective of such a test is to determine IC50 for chlorsulfuron and
to calibrate the phytotest, which will next be used in the estimation of phytotoxicity of
100 Fresh weight

Dry weight
90
trendline (dry weight)
trendline (fresh weight)
Weight reduction in test plants [%]
80
70 R2 = 0.9018
60
50 9
55
R = 0.7
2
40
30
20
10
0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2
Sulfosulfuron concentration in soil [mg/kg]
Fig. 4. Changes fresh and dry weight of Sinapis alba under the influence of different
sulfosulfuron concentrations in soil
Control
0.100
1.500
0.750
0.020
0.050
0.100
0.150
0.250
0.500
chlorsulfuron [mg/kg]
Fig. 5. Te effect of chlorsulfuron on fresh weight reduction of Cucumis sativus (determination

of IC50)
samples of soil collected from a field containing residue of chlorsulfuron (the practical
objective). Thanks to this test it will al be possible to determine whether in that field plants
from family Cucurbitaceae will be exposed to the phytotoxic action of chlorsulfuron residue.
4.2.2 Distribution of herbicide active ingredients in the soil profile

Knowledge on the translocation and distribution of active ingredients in the soil profile and
factors affecting this process is required both for the protection of the soil environment and
a more efficient use of herbicides. Most studies in this field have been conducted mainly
using lysimeters. Unfortunately, the primary drawback of the lysimeter model is connected
with the high cost of one assay and limitations related with the collection of soil samples,
resulting from the disruption of the soil profile in the lysimeter column. After several
samplings the lysimeter column has to be refilled with a new undisturbed soil profile. In
turn, analyses conducted under laboratory conditions using bioassays do not have such
limitations. Moreover, they are more efficient and provide the experimenter with more
flexibility and control over a much bigger number of parameters observed during the
process of herbicide translocation. Soil collected from such a model is used as a substrate for
bioassays and the filtrate may be used in chemical analyses. This method makes it possible
to determine in a very precise way the distribution of phytotoxic residue of herbicide active
ingredients in the soil profile. Another advantage of this model is the possibility of arbitrary
modeling of irrigation in the soil profile, which facilitates a comprehensive evaluation of the
residue balance in the soil – water system. Figure 6 presents an example diagram of such a
model in action, in which the bioassay method was used to determine the distribution of
herbicide residue.
In the opinion of Sadowski & Kucharski (2004) the degree of leaching and as a consequence
the distribution of a portion of herbicide active ingredients depends on the initial soil
moisture content. Figure 7-8 presents the distribution of certain active ingredients of
1 2 3
Drying of soil moisture Alignment moisture

Add water to get the throughout the batch
to the presumed assumed humidity
of soil (24 h in a closed
container)
4 7 Sowing the test plants

0 9
Water
2
Phytotoxic
4 residues of
Herbicide the herbicide
application active
6 ingredient
5 6
10
Leachate of
instrumental
analysis 8
Source: Günther et al., (1993); Sadowski & Kucharski, (2004); modified

Fig. 6. The application of the phytotest method to determine residue of herbicide active
ingredients in the soil profile
Initial humidity of soil = 0%
pendimethalin
dichlorprop-P
chlorsulfuron
sulfosulfuron
isoproturon
2.4-D MCPA
2
Depth of soil profile [cm]
10
12
14
- visible phytotoxic effects
Source: Sadowski & Kucharski, (2004); Sekutowski & Sadowski, (2006); modified
Fig. 7. Rate of translocation of active ingredients depending on initial soil moisture content
Initial humidity of soil = 2%

pendimethalin
dichlorprop-P
chlorsulfuron
sulfosulfuron
isoproturon
2.4-D MCPA
2
Depth of soil profile [cm]
10
12
14
- visible phytotoxic effects
Source: Sadowski & Kucharski, (2004); Sekutowski & Sadowski, (2006); modified
Fig. 8. Rate of translocation of active ingredients depending on initial soil moisture content
herbicides depending on changes in the initial soil moisture content. Most active
ingredients, which were transferred on air dry soil (0% moisture content) were detected by
test plants (Sinapis alba) mainly in the surface soil layer (Fig. 7). The highest leaching level
was found for isoproturon (0-11 cm), while the least leached substance turned out to be
pendimethalin (0-3 cm). An increase in the initial soil moisture content by 2% caused a
marked shift of residue deeper within the soil profile practically for all the tested active
ingredients. Only pendimethalin residue remained at the same level (Fig. 8).
From the practical point of view the distribution of the main portion of herbicide active
ingredients, as well as the degree of their leaching to deeper soil layers are highly
significant, since they determine the effectiveness of herbicides (particularly those soil-
applied). Moreover, they also determine the degree of herbicide translocation outside the
root zone, which may increase the risk of their being transferred to ground waters
(Sadowski & Kucharski, 2004).
4.2.3 Dynamics of degradation of herbicide active ingredients in soil

Dynamics of degradation occurs most intensively in the surface soil layer (0-20 cm) and it is
closely related with the processes of degradation and translocation of herbicide active
ingredients. In this layer the intensity of biological and chemical processes is dependent to a
high degree on the temperature and soil moisture content, as well as the tillage systems
(Sadowski, 2001; Sadowski & Kucharski, 2004; Rola & Sekutowski, 2005). In order to
determine the dynamics of degradation and translocation of herbicide active ingredients in
the soil, at specified time intervals samples are collected, onto which test plants
(phytoindicators) are sown. An example of a phytotest for different herbicide active
ingredients is presented in Fig. 9.
An example given here presents an experiment conducted using the bioassay method (with
Sinapis alba as a phytodetector) under field conditions referring to the dynamics of
translocation and degradation of rimsulfuron depending on the tillage method applied. In
the first 6 weeks after application no marked differences were observed in the course of the
dynamics of rimsulfuron degradation depending on the tillage method used. Accelerated
Test plant – Sinapis alba
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
1 = Control
2 = foramsulfuron + iodosulfuron (45 g/ha + 1.5 g/ha)
3 = nicosulfuron (60 g/ha)
4 = rimsulfuron (12 g/ha)
5 = rimsulfuron (15 g/ha)
6 = tifensulfuron (11.5 g/ha)
7 = dicamba + rimsulfuron (240 g/ha + 7.5 g/ha)
Fig. 9. Degradation of different active ingredients of herbicides in the 0-20 cm soil layer
(biotest method)
100
Reduced tillage
Initial rimsulfuron concentration in the soil [%]
90
Conventional tillage
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Weeks after rimsulfuron application
Source: Sekutowski, (2009)
Fig. 10. Rimsulfuron degradation rates in the 0-20 cm soil layer (mean in the years 2005-
2007)
translocation and dynamics of degradation was found as late as 7 weeks after application
and it was markedly diversified depending on the tillage systems (Fig. 10).
The presented examples of the application of plants as phytodetectors in the bioassay
method more precisely illustrate the phytotoxic action of herbicide active ingredients (even
those found in trace amounts) for agrophytocenosis than their concentration in soil
determined using chemical analyses. A similar opinion was presented by Hollaway et al.
(1999), who in their studies concerning the detection of sulfonylurea herbicide residue in soil
using three methods, i.e. bioassay, ELISA and HPLC, stated that a bioassay using Pisum
sativum and Lens culinaris plants as bioindicators was most sensitive. Biotests detected
residue of sulfonylurea herbicides at 0.1 – 1.0 mg/ha soil, ELISA at 0.1 – 10 mg/ha, while
HPLC at 3 – 10 mg/ha, respectively.
Depending on soil and climatic conditions only a portion of residue contained in soil is
available to plants. Biotests used in biomonitoring make it possible to evaluate whether this
part of residue may exhibit phytotoxicity towards agrophytocenosis.
The presented examples of conventional phytotests using different plants and their seeds as
phytodetectors, conducted according to standardized national procedures, frequently
happen to be complicated, they require considerable laboratory space and are time-
consuming (BN-83 9180-25, 1983; BN-83 9180-27, 1983; BN-84 9180-30, 1984; PN-ISO 17616,
2010). For several years now ready-to-use tests (toxkits) have been commercially available,
sold in the form of packages, allowing the evaluation of phytotoxicity of tested samples
within a short time (1-3 days). They contain cryptobiotic forms of bioindicators (e.g. seeds of
plants – PhytotoxkitTM), coming from standard breeding, which may be stored for 6 months
and when needed prepared for the test within a very brief time (Phytotoxkit, 2004).
4.3 Phytotoxkit microbiotest

The necessity to conduct analyses of many soil samples within a relatively short time has led
to the introduction of miniature phytotoxicity tests, called microbiotests or second
generation tests, as alternatives for conventional phytotests. An example of such a
microbiotest is a rapid (72 h) test - PhytotoxkitTM (Phytotoxkit, 2004). Professor Guido
Persoone (with a team of co-workers) from the University of Ghent in Belgium was the
creator of the toxkit tests (Persoone, 2005). The principle of such a phytotest is based on
germinating seeds of Sorghum saccharatum, Lepidium sativum and Sinapis alba, which as a
result of contact with the tested herbicide active ingredient found in soil exhibit a specific
reaction (a lack of germination or reduced root length). The use of standard seeds facilitates
test standardization and maintenance of reproducible results irrespective of the laboratory,
at which analyses are being conducted. The specific nature of PhytotoxkitTM results in the
omission of all labor-consuming activities connected with conventional biotests, thus
considerably reducing the time required to obtain the reading (from 14 to 3-5 days).
Moreover, this test makes it possible to obtain a direct measurement of root length using
image tools, thanks to which a graphic presentation of the dependence between root length
reduction in phytodetectors and the phytotoxic concentration of tested herbicide active
ingredients is faster and much easier in comparison to a conventional biotest. This test
makes it also possible to more comprehensively estimate the phytotoxic effect of herbicide
residue not only on the soil environment, but also on the entire agrophytocenosis. An example
of a PhytotoxkitTM tst conducted using a standard set of plants is presented in Fig. 11.
The diverse chemical character of herbicides prevents the use of only one type of a
PhytotoxkitTM containing standard phytodetectors supplied in the kit. Due to the specific
response of different plant species to the presence of herbicide active ingredients belonging
to different chemical groups it is necessary to supplement knowledge on the applicability of
other plants. Thus the test is very often modified, which consists in the replacement of
standard test plants with other plant species, such as e.g. Helianthus annuus, Cucumis sativus
or Fagopyrum esculentum. Thanks to the modification of PhytotoxkitTM it was possible to
extend the collection of plants potentially applicable in the determination of herbicide
residue, e.g. derivatives of benzoic acid, phenoxy acids and sulfonylourea (Fig. 12).
Similarly as in case of conventional biotests, PhytotoxkitTM may be used in the
determination of values of ED50 and IC50 and the determination of the level of residue, rates
of degradation and translocation of herbicide active ingredients in soil. An example in this
respect may be an experiment conducted using a modified PhytotoxkitTM under laboratory
conditions, consisting in the determination of ED10 and ED50 for dicamba. The run biotest
Test containers -
Sorghum saccharatum Sinapis alba
PhytotoxkitTM
Fig. 11. PhytotoxkitTM with standard test plants.
Helianthus annuus Cucumis sativus Fagopyrum esculentum
Fig. 12. PhytotoxkitTM with alternative test plants.

showed that significant differences in the reduction of root length in Fagopyrum esculentum
and Cucumis sativus were obtained for concentrations ranging from 0.025 mg/kg to 0.25
mg/kg. The strongest response to the tested substance was recorded for Fagopyrum
esculentum, while it was weakest in case of Sinapis alba. The detoxication capacity in relation
to dicamba in Fagopyrum esculentum (ED50) was eliminated already at a concentration of
0.125 mg/kg, while a further increase in the concentration of the tested substance in soil (1.2
mg/kg) resulted in root length reduction by 99%. In turn, ED50 for the other two species, i.e.
Cucumis sativus and Sinapis alba fell within the range of 0.25 – 0.5 mg/kg soil (Fig. 13).
100
Sinapis alba
90 Fagopyrum esculentum
80 Cucumis sativus
Root lenght reduction [%]
70
60
50 ED50
40
30
20 ED10
10
0
1.2 1 0.75 0.5 0.25 0.125 0.05 0.025 0
Dicamba concentration in the soil [mg/kg]
Source: Sekutowski & Sadowski, (2009)
Fig. 13. The effect of dicamba on root length reduction in tested plant
The above example very well shows the response (sensitivity) of the phytodetector to the
tested active ingredient of the herbicide. In analyses using plants as detectors, it is crucial to
select an appropriate plant for the tested herbicide active ingredient. A sufficiently sensitive
plant detector makes it possible to conduct tests on microresidue of 0.01 mg/kg soil.
4.4 Sets of biotests (batteries)

The selection of an appropriate biotest in studies on agrophytocenosis depends on the type
of required information, the concentration of herbicide active ingredient residue in the
analyzed sample of soil (water), as well as the species-specific sensitivity of the tested plant.
In case of the use of only one phytodetector species the estimated phytotoxicity reflects the
sensitivity of only this one tested species. Such a procedure may result in an error connected
with an underestimation of phytotoxicity of the analyzed herbicide active ingredient in
relation to the entire agrophytocenosis. This risk may be minimized thanks to the
application of a battery of biotests, which action is based on the use of plant species of
different sensitivities to active ingredients of herbicides belonging to one chemical group.
Batteries of tests may be formed within one test (e.g. PhytotoxkitTM), which may include
several species of test plants exhibiting different sensitivity to a given chemical group.
Moreover, sets of batteries may be established within several tests using different
biodetectors of varying sensitivity to the same chemical group, e.g. PhytotoxkitTM → ELISA
→ HPLC (Hollaway et al., 1999).
5. Conclusion
Bioassays are methods commonly applied in ecotoxicology in the determination of the levels
of bioavailable phytotoxic residue of herbicide active ingredients in soil. Tests with the use
of rapidly germinating seeds have several very important advantages, as they are cheap and
easy to perform, they do not require expensive laboratory equipment and they yield
reproducible results. The phytotoxic effect of herbicide active ingredient may be stated on
the basis of the dynamics of germination, seedling growth, reduction of dry or fresh weight
of roots or aboveground parts (stems, leaves) of test plants. On the basis of selected
parameters, such as the reduction of root length, the toxic effect of herbicide active
ingredients may be determined already after approx. 24 h, while the dynamics of root
growth - after 3-5 days from the onset of the test (PhytotoxkitTM). In turn, the reduction in
fresh or dry weight of aboveground parts of plants may be established after approx. 10-14
days (a conventional biotest).
Unfortunately, drawbacks of such a method include first of all the fact that it is impossible
to identify the tested active ingredient. This problem may be solved by using different
biological factors forming a set of biotests (PhytotoxkitTM → ELISA → HPLC), which will
make it possible to precisely determine the herbicide active ingredient. It also needs to be
stressed that biotests with the application of rapidly germinating seeds of selected plant
species may be a good supplementation or even an alternative to classical instrumental
measurements, used in the detection of phytotoxic residue of herbicide active ingredients in
soil.
Probably the scope of bioassay application within the next few years will be increasing and
thus collected information will constitute the basis for the initiation of analyses using
classical analytical methods.
6. Acknowledgement
I would like to express my gratitude to Prof. J. Sadowski for providing me with literature
and for his valuable remarks and suggestions in the course of preparation of this
manuscript.
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13
Adsorption and Photochemical Behaviour of

the Herbicide Monuron on Clay Surfaces
Hafida Mountacer1, Laila Tajeddine1 and Mohamed Sarakha2
1Laboratoire
des Sciences de L'Environnement et Développement,
Université Hassan 1er, Settat
2Laboratoire de Photochimie Moléculaire et Macromoléculaire,
UMR CNRS 6505, Université Blaise Pascal, F-63177 Aubière Cede

1Morocco
2France
1. Introduction
The intensive use of pesticides on large areas of agricultural soil has given rise to concern
about their fate in the environment. For many years, their presence as well as their
environmental impact has attracted much attention due to the wide use of such compounds
in agriculture and household applications (Beck et al., 1993; Serrano et al., 2005; Mansour,
1993). Less than 1% of total applied pesticides reach the target pests, the vast majority being
dispersed in the different environmental compartments (water, air and soil) but mainly in
aquatic environment via agricultural runoff or leaching (Pimentel, 1995). The application of
herbicides on agricultural soils is a well-established and effective practice to control weed
growth. They represent about 50% of the demand for agricultural chemicals; their prolonged
use involves the risk of their retention in crops and soils. Soil is an ultimate reservoir for
these products, whether applied directly or received indirectly from spray drift and residues
of treated sites (Barbash & Resek, 1996). These products can be the subject of various
transformations and they can react with different fractions of soil minerals or organic.
Mineral soil colloids play an important role in adsorption of polar organic compounds,
mainly due to the high surface areas associated to their small particle size and, in the case of
Smectites, because they have internal (expandable) surfaces accessible to water and polar
organic molecules such as pesticides (Lagaly, 1994; Cox et al., 1995; Lee & Kim, 2002). These
clay minerals possess layered structures and the presence of interlayer space thus gives a
sterically constrained reaction environment for pesticide molecules when intercalated
(Caine et al., 1999). Iron is one of the most abundant transition metals in soil and is
considered to play a large role in photoinduced redox reactions generating active oxygen
species such as .OH (Sherman, 1989). The clay surface is also covered with humic substances
that represent 60%−70% of soil organic matter, probably via formation of clay–metal–
organic complexes. These complexes are characterized by the presence of stable radical
species detected by ESR (Senesi & Schnitzer, 1977).
Regarding the presence of these substances in soil, they may either contribute to the
degradation of the pesticide through the formation of reactive species (Albanis et al., 2002)
or be involved as inhibitors by a screen effect phenomenon (Hebert & Miller, 1990).
The present work reports the results of monuron (3-(4-chlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea)

adsorption onto some selected clays followed by its degradation induced by light solar
excitation.
O
CH
3
Cl NH C N
CH 3
Monuron
Monuron is an herbicide from the group of phenylurea derivatives widely used as an
inhibitor of photosynthesis and it is used mainly for the total weed control of non-crop
areas. This chemical is characterized by long life times in the environment; its persistence is
rather high about 10 months (Khan, 1980) which means that there is a potential risk of
waters contamination. Not much information can be found on monuron adsorption and
photoreactivity at the surfaces clays and soils.
The aims of the work are first to assess the influence of different components of soils clay of
Moroccan region and commercial clays, montmorollonite and kaolin, in adsorption of a
monuron herbicide and second to study the photodegradation process of monuron at the
surface of some montmorillonite clays.
2. Part I: Adsorption studies of monuron on surface clays

2.1 Introduction
The sorption of pesticides by soil colloidal particles is of great interest in the transport of
these compounds in runoff, surface and ground waters, because this particulate matter can
act as a carrier of organic contaminants from point sources (Hermosin et al., 1993), and that
is also affected by the solid/solution ratio (Cox et al., 1996). Batch sorption experiments
were carried out under various conditions to determine the influence of solution chemistry
(herbicide concentration, pH and solid-liquid ratio).
2.2 Materials and methods

2.2.1 Adsorptive molecule
Monuron was purchased from Aldrich standards with a purity of 99%. It is a crystalline solid
with a vapor pressure of 0.067mPa (25°C) and water solubility 230mg/l (Zhou et al., 2001)
Monuron concentrations were determined by high performance liquid chromatography HPLC
Water equipped with two pumps type 510, UV- VIS detector with standard diode arrays 996
and a sampler type 717. The unit is controlled by Millennium software. The column used was
C8 phase reverse grafted by silica of granulometry 5µm, length 250m and internal diameter of
4.5 mm. The mobile phase was Methanol and water 60/40 at flow rate of 1mL/min. Under
these experimental conditions, the retention time of monuron was 6.5 min.
The herbicide solutions were prepared with ultra pure water (Millipore MilliQ) of resistivity
18.2 MΩcm-1 and the pH has been measured using a pH-meter JENWAY 3310 equipped
with a combined electrode of Orion type.
2.2.2 Mineral sorbents

Clays extracted from soils: The clays were extracted from the first 20cm of tow Moroccan
soils from Settat and Berrechid. The soil samples were air dried and sieved to pass 2 mm
mesh. Physicochemical properties are given in table1.
Adsorption and Photochemical Behaviour of the Herbicide Monuron on Clay Surfaces 275
Origin of soil pH CEC(10-2meq/g) OM% Clay % Sand % Limon% Silt%

Settat 7.8 27.17 3.7 30.4 26.3 35.5 15.4
Berrechid 7.95 23.10 2.15 19.5 37.4 21.8 19.5
O.M: Organic Matter
CEC: Cation Exchange Capacity
Table 1. Selected physical and chemical characteristics of soil
The clay fraction of the soils (< 2μm particle size fraction) was obtained by sedimentation
using method developed by Tessier and Collaborators (Robert & Tessier, 1974; Robert,
1975). In the followings, the clays extracted from Settat and Berrechid are named CESS and
CEBS respectively.
Pure clays: Adsorption experiments with pure clays are also carried out for monuron, the
minerals used as model adsorbents were potassic montmorillonite: K-M and kaolin: Ka.
Both were purchased from Fluka chemistry AG and they were used as received.
Major elements were analyzed by X-ray fluorescence using AXIOS-P analytical equipment.
The chemical composition of all studied clays fraction is summarized in table 2.
Clay K-M Ka CEBS CESS

٪ SiO2 71,42 45,41 32,743 41,445
٪ Al2O3 14,362 35,066 13,139 16,22
٪ Fe2O3 2,992 0,652 3,95 4,612
٪ MnO 0,016 0,012 0,069 0,078
٪ MgO 1,412 0,211 1,513 2,133
٪ CaO 0,207 0,052 16,937 10,558
٪ Na2O 0,372 0,13 0,228 0,326
٪ K2O 1,722 1,453 2,257 3,032
٪ TiO2 0,518 0,054 0,426 0,644
٪ P2O5 0,049 0,108 0,334 0,782
Table 2. Chemical composition of the studied clays
2.2.3 Adsorption studies

Adsorption of monuron on clays was carried out by the batch equilibration technique (Sukul
& Spiteller, 2000) using various mass adsorbent-solution volume ratio and at the desired
herbicide concentration, the suspensions were shaken in centrifuge tubes at a known time
and then centrifuged at 3500rpm for roughly 10min. The resulting was then filtered through
0.45μm cellulose membranes and the filtrate was analyzed by HPLC Water under the
condition mentioned in paragraph 2.1.
Difference between Ce and Ci were assumed to be due to adsorption. Adsorption isotherms
were obtained by plotting the amount of herbicide adsorbed (Cs = mmolkg-1 clay, Ce (mM)).
2.3 Results and discussion

2.3.1 Characterization of studied clays
The Cation Exchange Capacity CEC and Surface Specific Area SSA are important
characteristics of clays. CEC represents the overall quantity of charges available on the
exchanger material. It is related to the surface density of charges through the SSA. For the
sorbents having no organic matter, SSA is anticipated to become a sorbent characteristic

most likely to reflect sorption capacity.
Table 3 gathers the CEC and SSA values for different minerals used. These results indicate
that montmorilonite represent the major fraction of soil clays and have been confirmed by
some other characterization method.
Mineral Ka K-M CESS CEBS

CEC (meq/100g) 5,72 60,72 52,47 47,25
SSA (m2.g-1) 5 166 60 21
Table 3. Cation Exchange Capacity and Surface Specific Area for clay minerals
The Infra Red spectra were obtained with Perkin Elmer 2000 spectrophotometer. The clay
pastilles were prepared with KBr (0.1%). Infra Red spectrums of clays are illustrated in
Figure 1.
1041
530
472
3621
3420
Ka
472
530
1041
K -M
472
530
912
C ESS
1041
1380
CEBS
3500 3000 2500 2000 1500 1000 500

-1
W av e n u m b ers cm
Fig. 1. IR spectrum of kaolin (Ka), K-montmorillonite (K-M), Clay extracted from Settat and
Berrechid soil (CESS) and (CEBS).
The kaolin spectrum reveal an intense band at 3621 cm-1 corresponding to stretching vibration
of OH groups coordinated to Al-Al pairs and another band located at 3420cm-1 corresponding
to the H2O-stretching vibrations (Russell & Fraser, 1994). However, CESS and CEBS spectra
present a broad band located at 1382cm-1 that can be attributed to the presence of carbonate
solid phases (Gueu et al., 2007). Such results are also confirmed by XRD analysed.
Moreover, all the spectra show a large band around 1041cm-1 equivalent to Si-O-stretching
(Madejova & Komadel, 2001). The double band observed at 530 and 472cm-1 was related to
Al-O-Si and Si-O-Si deformations (Madejova et al., 2002).
XRD measurements were performed using a Philips X-Ray diffractometer employing nickel
filtered CuKά radiation. The X-Ray powder diffraction pattern of clays is given in Fig.2.
The principal equidistance of the most intense lines as well as the hkl plans relative to these
rays are presented in table 4.
The comparison of experimental dhkl and those taken from JCPDS chart show that CESS and
CEBS are composed of several mineralogical phase; montmorillonite, saponite, chlorite,
illite, quartz and calcite (table III and figure 2). These soils clays have similar mineralogical
phases with different percentages. saponite and calcite represent the major phase of CEBS.
However, CESS is rich of illite and montmorillonite.
001
M
002
005
020
M
M
K -M
Q
M/I
I
Ch
S/C
M
Ch
M
S
CESS
S/C
M/M-Ca
Ch
S
I
001
CEBS
002
K
K
Ka
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
2 T h e ta
M: Montmorillonite, Q: Quartz, I: Illite, Ch: Chlorite, S: Saponite, C: Calcite and Ka: Kaolin
Fig. 2. XRD pattern of clays studies
K-M Ka CEBS and CESS

dhkl hkl dhkl Hkl dhkl hkl Mineralogical phase
9,94 001 7,15 001 10,1 001
Montmorillonite
4,48 002 3,58 002 4,48 002
3,35 005 2,39 003 4,26 * Quartz
2,56 020 1,79 004 3,04 005 Saponite + Calcite
2,13 004 1,49 060 2,13 134 Saponite
2,89 005
Chlorite
************ ************** 2,28 133
2,46 004 Illite
Table 4. Basal distances obtained for clays
2.3.2 Adsorption kinetics

In order to determine the optimum contact time for monuron adsorption onto clays,
equilibrium concentrations were measured at definite times. As can be seen from Figure 3.
12
K -M
10
8
CESS
C (mmol/kg)
6 Ka
4 CEBS
s
0
0 5 10 15 20 25
t( h )
Fig. 3. Effect of contact time on adsorption

From figure 3, when the equilibrium time was increased, the amount of adsorption was also
increased. Under our experimental conditions, the equilibrium was reached within 6h for K-
montmorillonite (K-M), within 10h for kaolin (Ka), clay extracted from Settat soil (CESS),
and clay extracted from Berrechid soil (CEBS).
Adsorption kinetics is usually controlled by different mechanisms. The most limiting ones are
the diffusion mechanisms. The initial curved portion is attributed to a rapid external diffusion
or boundary layer diffusion and surface adsorption, while the linear portion represents a
gradual adsorption stage due to intraparticle diffusion. This starts to decrease due to the low
concentration in solution as well as fewer available adsorption sites (Guibal et al., 2003).
2.3.3 Adsorption isotherms

Figure 4 and 5 show monuron adsorption isotherms in commercial clays and soils clays. Most
of the curves do not reach the plateau of saturation when the solid/liquid ratio was 5mg/ml.
Only 11.97 mmol of monuron was adsorbed in one Kg of K-montmorillonite. This is
equivalent to 9.4%. The amounts of monuron adsorption in CESS, CEBS and kaolin, were 6.8,
5.4 and 5.8mmol/Kg respectively with corresponding percent adsorptions; 5.1, 4.01 and 4.3.
In order to optimize the design of an adsorption system, it is important to establish the most
appropriate correlation for the equilibrium curves. In this respect, the equilibrium
experimental data for adsorbed monuron on clays were studies using Freundlich equation.
The Freundlich equation (Freundlich, 1906) is an empirical equation employed to describe
heterogeneous systems; characterized by the heterogeneity factor nf, describes reversible
adsorption, and is not restricted to the formation of the monolayer,
Cs =KfCenf
Where Kf is the adsorption capacity evaluated at 1mM Ce and nf is the intensity factor,
expressing the slope of the adsorption isotherm.
A linear form of the Freundlich expression can be obtained by taking logarithms of the
equation:
logCs = logKf + nf.logCe,
12 K -M
10
8
Cs (mmol/kg)
6 Ka
0
0,0 0,1 0,2 0,3 0,4 0,5 0,6 0,7
C e(m m ol/l)
Fig. 4. Monuron adsorption isotherms on K-montmorillonite and kaolin
7 CESS
6
CEBS
5
Cs (mmol/kg)
4
0
0 ,0 0 ,1 0 ,2 0 ,3 0 ,4 0 ,5 0 ,6 0 ,7
C e (m m o l/l)
Fig. 5. Monuron adsorption isotherms on clays extracted from soils CESS and CEBS
1,0
0,8
0,6
0,4
0,2 CESS Y = 1.055*X + 1.0274

log(Cs)
2
R = 0.983
0,0
-0,2
CEBS Y = 0.953*X + 0.8111
2
-0,4 R = 0.974
-0,6
-0,8
-1,6 -1,4 -1,2 -1,0 -0,8 -0,6 -0,4 -0,2 0,0
log(Ce)
1,2
1,0
0,8
0,6
0,4 K-M Y = 0.952*X + 1.288

log(Cs)
R2 = 0.992
0,2
0,0
Ka Y = 1.171*X + 0.984
-0,2 R2 = 0.988
-0,4
-0,6
-1,6 -1,4 -1,2 -1,0 -0,8 -0,6 -0,4 -0,2 0,0

log(Ce)
Fig. 6. Freundlich isotherms adsorption on K-M, Ka, CEBS and CESS

Therefore, the plots of logCs vs logCe for the adsorption of monuron onto clays were
employed to generate the intercept value of Kf and the slope of nf.
Figure 6 illustrate Freundlich isotherms for studied clays.
The adsorption isotherms of monuron followed the Freundlich equation with a high
regression factor (R2>0.98). Table 5 contains the adsorption coefficients values Kf and nf
extrapolated from Fig.6
Clay Kf nf R2
K-M 19,4 0,952 0,992
Ka 9,64 1,171 0,983
CESS 10,6 1,055 0,974
CEBS 6,47 0,953 0,988
Table 5. Freundlich sorption coefficients Kf and nf of monuron adsorption onto clays

The adsorption capacity of monuron was in the following order:
K-M > CESS> CEBS > Ka

Kf values indicated that adsorption capacity of CESS is better than that of CEBS. This
difference can be attributed to CEC and specific surface area; these parameters are the most
key factors influencing adsorption on clays. High CEC of CESS suggests that this clay has
strong ability for cation exchange. By consequent this clay has an important adsorption
capacity when compared to the CEBS
The value of nf is smaller than 1 for K-M and CEBS clays, it’s reflecting favourable
adsorption then the sorption capacity increases and new adsorption sites occur. For Ka and
CESS clays the value of nf is larger than 1, the adsorption bond becomes weak and
unfavourable adsorption takes place, as a result of the decrease in adsorption capacity (Jiang
et al., 2002; Tsai et al., 2003).
In order to determine the adsorption type, the Dubinin-Radushkevich equation can be
expressed as follows (Dubinin, 1960):
Ln Cs = ln Xm –kε2,
Where ε (Polanyi Potential) can be written as:
ε = RTln(1+1/Ce),
Cs is the amount of pesticide adsorbed per unit weight of adsorbent (mol/g), Xm is the
adsorption capacity (mol/g), Ce is the equilibrium concentration of pesticide in solution
(mol/L), k is the constant related to adsorption energy (mol2/kj2), R is the gas constant
(kJ/mol K), T is temperature (K).
Radushkevich and Dubinin (Radushkevich, 1949; Dubinin, 1965) have reported that the
characteristic sorption curve is related to the porous structure of the sorbent. The constant, k,
is related to the mean free energy of sorption per mole of the sorbate as it is transferred to
the surface of the solid from infinite distance in the solution (Hasany & Choudhary, 1996).
A plot of lnCs vs ε2 should be linear. The values of Xm and k were calculated from intercept
and slope of this plot. The results are summarized in Table 6.
Clay Xm x 104 (mol/g) k x 102 R2 E(kJ/mol)

K-M 2.4 0.93 0.989 7.33
Ka 2.2 1.14 0.996 6.62
CESS 1.8 1.04 0.972 6.93
CEBS 0.85 0.91 0.952 7.41
Table 6. The sorption parameters of Dubinin-Radushkevich equation for monuron on clays
The values of k increased from 0.91 x 10-2 to 1.14 x 10-2 in clays. The mean free energy change
of adsorption (E) can be considered as the free energy change during the transfer of one
mole of molecule from infinity in solution to the surface of the solid particles. Its value can
be evaluated from the following equation:
E = - (2k)-0.5
It should be noted that magnitude of E is useful for the estimation the adsorption type. If
this value is found within 8-16kj/mol, adsorption type can be explained by ion exchange
(Singh & Pant, 2004; Mahramanlioglu et al., 2002). The values of E estimated in the present
study are 6.62, 6.93, 7.33 and 7.41 kJ/mol. for kaolin, clay extracted from Settat soil, K-
montmorillonite and clay extracted from Berrechid soil respectively. The adsorption type
under our experimental conditions can be considered as a physical adsorption (Paul & Long,
1957). However, the forces involved are intermolecular forces (Van Der Waals forces), and
which do not involve a significant change in the electronic orbital patterns of the involved
species. The adsorbed molecule is not affixed to a specific site at the surface but is free to
undergo translational movement within the interface. It is predominant at low temperature,
and is characterized by a relatively low energy of adsorption.
2.3.4 Initial pH effect

The amount of herbicide adsorbed on each adsorbent as a function of pH was also
investigated (Figure7).
It is apparent that adsorption is independent on the pH of the solution. The pKa of monuron
is too weak, it is about -0.082 (Ozcan et al., 2004), and does not have ionisable functions.
8 ,5
K -M
8 ,0
7 ,5
7 ,0
6 ,5
CESS
Cs (mmol/kg)
6 ,0
5 ,5
5 ,0
Ka
4 ,5
CEBS
4 ,0
3 ,5
3 ,0
2 4 6 8 10
pH
Fig. 7. pH effect on monuron adsorption by clays

Therefore the pH does not influence its sorption to the clays. However it’s probable that pH
affects the surface charge of clays; in the acidic medium, the H+ ion can competitively
exclude the adsorption of pollutant by exchanging with cation on the surface or in the
interlayer region of the clay. When the pH value of the solution was increased, the surface of
the adsorbent becomes negatively charged. According to the reported results (Yu et al.,
2001), no significant attraction is observed between herbicide molecules and negatively
surface.
2.3.5 Effect of the ratio solid/liquid

In order to select the best conditions of monuron adsorption in clays support, the influence
of adsorbent/solution ratio on the capacity of adsorption were carried out at solid/liquid
ratio ranging from 1 to 12 mg/ml. figure 8 presents the obtained results.
40
30
Cs (mmol/l)
20
K -M
10 Ka
CESS
CEBS
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
S /L (m g /m l)
Fig. 8. Solid liquid ratio effect on monuron adsorption by clays

As clearly shown, the results indicate that the dispersion of the clays particles in suspension
is modified according to the ratio S/L used. Clays have a better capacity of monuron
adsorption in the range of 5-7mg/ml, the increase of ratio solid/liquid more than 7mg/ml
allows the reduction of the rate of adsorption. Contact surface increases and the solute
reaching the sorption sites of the different components when adsorbent/solution ratio
increases. At a given mass, an aggregation phenomenon of the clay particles between them
will be present that would decrease the total adsorbent surface and the rate of monuron
adsorption (Mountacer et al. 2008).
2.3.6 Conclusion
Interaction between mineral sorbents and monuron herbicide is influenced by the dispersion
conditions used in the preparation of the mixture. The favourable adsorption was realized at
the following optimal conditions: contact time was 10 hours and sorbent/solution ratio was
in the range of 5-7 mg/ml but pH does not have any effect on monuron adsorption onto
clays studied.
The present work confirms that the mineralogical characteristics of clays play an important
role in the retention of pollutants. A correlation between the maximum adsorption, CEC and
SSA of all sorbents was found. The adsorption capacity of monuron was in the following
order: K-M > CESS> CEBS > Ka
3. Part II: Photodegradation process of monuron adsorbed on surface clays

3.1 Introduction
Photodegradation by solar light excitation is a process that pesticide may undergo once
dispersed in the environment. The study of these abiotic transformations makes an
appreciable contribution in determining the final fate of these xenobiotics. However, the
phototransformation of herbicide adsorbed by clays in absence of water is an important
question. Kinetic photodegradation of monuron was studied in various clay matrices: K-
montmorillonite, Fe(III) exchanged montmorillonite (Fe(III)-montmorillonite) and
montmorillonite complexed with humic acid (HA-montmorillonite) complexes. The nature
of intermediate products during the photodegradation was investigated in order to compare
the efficiency of different clays supports and to elucidate the mechanism of organic
substrate photodegradation.
3.2 Materials and methods

3.2.1 Clay samples
The mineral used as a model adsorbent was K-montmorillonite (K-M), purchased from
Fluka chemistry AG. Fe(III)-montmorillonite (Fe-M) and HA-montmorillonite (HA-M) were
prepared by adsorption using the method developed by Cox and Koskinen (Cox &
Koskinen, 1998). Clay minerals were analyzed by X-ray Fluorescence using AXIOS-P
analytical equipment. The chemical composition of clay fractions is summarized in Table 7.
Composition (%) Clay

K-M Fe-M HA-M
SiO2 71,42 66,861 70,354
Al2O3 14,362 15,024 14,276
Fe2O3 2,992 5,342 2,999
MnO 0,016 0,019 0,017
MgO 1,412 1,609 1,426
CaO 0,207 0,102 0,2
Na2O 0,372 0,322 0,434
K2O 1,722 1,557 1,696
TiO2 0,518 0,496 0,503
P2O5 0,049 0,052 0,047
Table 7. Chemical composition of clay fractions obtained by X-Ray fluorescence
Adsorption of monuron on clay samples was carried out by the batch equilibration technique,
using 100 mg clay and 30 ml of pesticide solution at 0.5 mmol L-1. The suspensions were
shaken in centrifuge tubes for 10 hours and then centrifuged at 3500 rpm for 10 min. The solid
was recovered and transferred to desiccator for vacuum drying during 24 h.
3.2.2 Irradiation experiments

30 mg of pesticide-clay was irradiated in Suntest set up at different times, the pesticide was
extracted from each irradiated sample by 1 ml of methanol, agitated for 10 min and filtered
through 0.45 μm cellulose membranes. The procedure was repeated for all clay complexes
prepared.
3.2.3 Analytical procedure

The photodegradation of monuron and the formation of the photoproducts were followed
by high performance liquid chromatography. LC/MS analyses were carried out with Q-
TOF-Micro/water 2699 from CRMP centre at the Blaise Pascal University. It is equipped
with an electrospray ionization source (ESI) and a Waters photodiode array detector. Each
single experiment permitted the simultaneous recording of both UV chromatogram at a
preselected wavelength and an ESI-MS full scan. Data acquisition and processing were
performed by MassLynx NT 3.5 system. Chromatography was run using a Nucleosil
column100–5 C18 ec (250 9 4.6 mm, 5 lm). Samples (5–10 lL) were injected either directly or
after evaporation of the solvent for better detection
3.3 Results and discussion

3.3.1 Absorption spectrum of the studied pesticide
The absorption spectrum of monuron is given in Fig 9. It shows a maximum at 245 nm with
a molar absorption coefficient of 17800 mol-1L cm-1 and a small shoulder at 280 nm. The
comparison with the solar light emission (represented here by the emission spectrum from
the suntest lamp) clearly shows a very weak not negligible overlap. Such overlap permits a
direct excitation of monuron from the sunlight.
2,0
M onuron
Suntest
1,5
Absorbance
1,0
OPP
0,5
0,0
20 0 25 0 3 00 3 50 4 00
λ , nm \b
Fig. 9. The absorption spectrum of monuron in aqueous solution and the emission spectrum
of suntest (xenon lamp)
3.3.2 Characteristics of clay fractions

The method used for determining CEC, which involves the complete exchange of the
naturally-occurring cations by ammonium, is a standard method for CEC determination.
Table 8 shows the values of CEC for the different studied minerals clay.
Mineral fraction K-M Fe-M HA-M

CEC (meq/100g) 60.72 53.64 70.52
Table 8. Cation exchange capacity of clay minerals
The values consigned in Table 8 shows that the CEC of montmorillonite enriched by iron is
low compared with that of K-montmorillonite. This result is due to the difficulty in moving
the ferric cations by the ammonium cations. Moreover, the presence of the humic acid
complexed with montmorillonite increases its capacity of cation exchange. This result is well
correlated with those of many authors who showed that the CEC of the organic matters is
higher than that of minerals clay (Baize, 1988).
The examination of IR spectra of clay fractions reveals the principal absorption bands; a
slight band at 3631 cm-1 which is due to the stretching vibration of structural OH groups
coordinated to Al-Al pairs. Adsorbed water gives a broad band at 3420 cm-1 corresponding
to the H2O-stretching vibrations (Russell & Fraser, 1994). The broad band around 1041 cm-1
corresponds to Si-O-stretching (Madejova & Komadel, 2001). The 530 and 472 cm-1 is related
to the Al-O-Si and Si-O-Si deformations (Madejova et al., 2002). Results obtained are shown
in Fig. 10.
1041
472
530
3631
1041
F e -M
472
530
3631
A H -M
1041
472
530
3631
K -M
4000 3500 3000 2500 2000 1500 1000 500

-1
W a v e n u m b e rs c m
Fig. 10. IR spectra of K-M, Fe-M and HA-M.

d005=3.35
d001=9.96
d001=15.02
F e-M
d002=4.48
d002=7.04
d 001 =9.93
A H -M
d 001 =9.95
K -M
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
2 T eth a
Fig. 11. XRD pattern of K-M, Fe-M and HA-M.

The spectra show also a widening of the band centred at 1041 cm-1 in AH-M and a stressing
of the latter for Fe-M. Additionally, the band located at 472 cm-1 became more marked in the
case of the complex Fe-M. This result confirms the exchange of potassium by iron, while this
band weakened in the case of AH-M because of the interaction of humic acids in clay layer
(Tajeddine et al., 2010).
The XRD measurements were performed using a Philips X-ray diffractometer employing
nickel filtered CuKa radiation. The X-ray diffraction pattern of clay fractions is given in
Fig.11. The equidistance appears to vary regularly according to the rate of hydration and the
nature of exchanged cation. With the introduction of iron in montmorillonite, the reticular
distance corresponding to plane 001 was evolved from 9.45 to 15.04. This indicates that the
specific surface area was also increased. The presence of the equidistance 9.4 characteristic
of K-M in the spectrum of Fe-M indicates that the substitution of K+ by Fe3+ was not
complete.
3.3.3 Photodegradation experiments of monuron adsorbed on surface clays

3.3.3-a Kinetics of monuron dispappearance in presence of humic acid (HA)
The kinetics of monuron disappearance on K-montmorillonite and HA-montmorillonite are
shown in Fig. 12.
600
500
K-M-monuron
400 AH-M-monuron
C(mg/kg)
300
200
100
0
0 20 40 60 80
t(h)
Fig. 12. Kinetics of disappearance of monuron irradiated on K-M and HA-M.

As clearly shown in Fig. 12, the photodegradation rate of monuron is slower for
montmorillonite complexed with humic acid than that for K-montmorillonite alone. This is
primarily due to the fact that light attenuation was more obvious by montmorillonite
complexed with humic acid than K-montmorillonite. The absorption of the incidental light
by the pesticide is quasi-total in the experiment of K-M. Kinetics and half lives of these
experiences are given in Table 9.
The results show that the disappearance rate of monuron decreased from 18.4 to 9.09
mg kg-1 h-1 by the complexation of humic acid to K-montmorillonite. Its indicates that the
presence of humic acid, complexed with K-montmorillonite, protects pesticide from
photodegradation, due to the screen effect or light attenuation effect.
The phototransformation of monuron sensitized by the humic substances into aqueous
medium was studied by Richard and Bengana (Richard et al., 1997). They showed that no
k(mg kg-1h-1) kapp(h-1) t1/2
K-M 18.4 0.032 21h 35min

monuron
HA-M 9.09 0.018 38h 54min
Table 9. Rate constants and half-life times of OPP and monuron irradiated onto K-M and
HA-M
consumption of monuron was observed when it was irradiated alone at 365 nm with black
light lamps. By contrast, monuron was degraded when it was irradiated in the presence of
Fulvic acid or Humic Acid. It was observed that without oxygen no reaction takes place and
that the rates of transformation are lower in oxygen-saturated than in air-saturated
solutions. It was suggested that reactive excited triplet states of humic substances abstract
an electron or a hydrogen atom (Canonica et al., 1995). The hydrogen atom is then
transferred onto oxygen which is reduced into hydroperoxyl radical or superoxide anion;
oxygen is thus needed for the chromophores to be regenerated. At high concentrations,
oxygen quenches efficiently the triplets and inhibits the consumption of substrates. It is
concluded that in this case a hydrogen atom transfer between oxidant excited states of
humic acid and monuron occurs.
Under the current conditions, inhibitive processes, such as for example the auto-inhibition
can also contribute in the reduction of the total process effectiveness (Vulliet et al., 2001).
AH* + AH → AH + AH*
3.3.3-b Kinetics of monuron disppearance
The photodegradation kinetics of monuron adsorbed by Fe(III)-montmorillonite complexes
are presented in Fig. 13.
600
500
400
C(mg/kg)
300
K-M-monuron
200 Fe-M-monuron
100
0
0 20 40 60 80
t(h)
Fig. 13. Kinetics of disappearance of monuron irradiated on K-M and Fe-M

The presence of iron related to montmorillonite has a negative effect on the degradation rate
of monuron. Table 10 illustrates the kinetics and the half lives of these experiences.
As shown in Table 10 the half-life times of monuron photodegradation were 43 and 78 hours
for K-montmorillonite and Fe(III)-montmorillonite, respectively. The slow degradation can
be explained by the absorption of light by Fe3+, these ions cause a competition with the
pesticide molecule.
k(mg/kg.h) kapp(h-1) t1/2

monuron K-M 18.4 0.032 21h, 35min
Fe-M 9.09 0.018 38h, 54min
Table 10. Rate constants and half-life time of monuron irradiated onto K-M and Fe-M
In aqueous medium Mest'ankova and collaborators have noted that the direct photolysis of
Monuron was negligible: no photodegradation of monuron occurred in the absence of Fe(III)
(Mest'ankova et al., 2004). The kinetics of monuron degradation are strongly dependent on
Fe(III) concentration. The disappearance of monuron became faster when the concentration
of Fe(III) increased from 1.0x10-4 to 1.0x10-3mol.l-1. This effect can be correlated with the
increase of the monomeric species present in Fe(III) solution. However at highest Fe(III)
concentrations, 1.0x10-2 and 5.0x10-2mol.l-1, a decrease of the rate of monuron disappearance
was observed when compared to the kinetics of the reaction with Fe(III) concentration equal
to 1.0x10-3moll-1. These results illustrate the importance of the speciation of iron in aqueous
solution. Indeed, the nature of the iron present in the environment is a parameter which can
catalyse or induce pesticides photodegradation. Also, it should be noted that the method of
introduction of iron into clay depends on the photochemical behaviour of pesticides; when it
is added with clays, the pollutants photodegradation is accelerated. These results have been
found in the studies carried out by Menager (Menager et al., 2009). However in our study
iron was introduced between the layers of montmorillonte (Tajeddine et al., 2010).
3.3.4 Identification of photoproducts

The photoproducts formed in the irradiation of monuron adsorbed onto K-montmorillonite
after 35 min irradiation were investigated by LC/MS analysis. Fig.14.
0 ,0 3 0
Monuron
0 ,0 2 5
0 ,0 2 0
0 ,0 1 5
P2
0 ,0 1 0
0 ,0 0 5 P3
P1
0 ,0 0 0
0 5 10 15 20
R e t e n t io n t im e (m in )
Fig. 14. Chromatogram of the methanol extract of the monuron irradiated on

montmorillonite during 35 hours
Three photoproducts were identified by the molecular ion and mass fragment ions. The
structures of the main photoproducts are presented in table 11. In addition to these
compounds, some other products were detected but it was not possible to determine their
structure due to their low concentration.
Molecular Retention
Photoproduct Structure
weight (m/z) time (min)
P1 O
N-(-chloro-4-chlorophenyl)- CH
Cl NH C
3
232 14
N’,N- N
CHO
dimethylurea
O
CH
P2 Cl
3
NH C N
N-(4-chlorophenyl)-N’- CH
212 12.5
3
formyl, N-dimethylurea
Cl
O
P3 CH
3
N-(-hydroxy-4-chlorophenyl)- Cl NH C N
214 9.4
N’,N- C H3
dimethylurea OH
Table 11. Photoproducts obtained by irradiation of monuron adsorbed onto K

montmorillonite
3.3.5 Photodegradation mechanism

Based on the intermediate products listed in table 11, the possible degradation pathway for
monuron irradiated onto K-montmorillonite is proposed in schema 1.
Upon light excitation, the first step was initiated by the substitution of a hydrogen atom by a
chlorine atom. This reaction occurs at the aromatic group. The formation of the two other
products may attributed to the attack of the hydroxyl radicals, formed through the
excitation of iron (III) species, to either the aromatic moiety or the methyl group of the
amine moiety. In the latter case, the formation of the final product can be explained by
oxidation of the methyl group to aldehyde function-N (CH3)2. This mechanism has been
demonstrated in the most studied of phenylurea herbicides transformation (Macounova et
al., 2003). It has been characterized as a majority path in the mechanism of
photodegradation of aqueous monuron (Mest'ankova et al., 2004).
Some minor products may be formed from the photoproduct 2. The addition of OH on the
aromatic cycle reacts rapidly with oxygen to form intermediates radical. These react with the
radicals formed after the opening of the aromatic ring (Pramuro & Vicenti, 1993). The
disappearance of the aromatic structure might be due to the formation of a carbene by removal
of HCl as was proved in the case of linuron irradiated onto the sand and clay (Richard &
Bengana, 1996) and the case of 4 chlorophenol-irradiated in water (Oudjehani & Boule, 1995).
Schema 1. Phototransformation mechanism of monuron irradiated onto montmorillonite
4. Conclusion
The photo-transformation of monuron adsorbed on montmorillonite and irradiated under
simulated sunlight is not sensitized by the humic acids and iron. On one hand, humic acid
decreased the rate of monuron disappearance is slower owing to a screen effect
phenomenon. On the other hand, the presence of iron cannot act an efficient photo inducer
of monuron herbicide elimination from dry phase. However, in humid systems, Fe3+
appeared to be a good photocatalyst for the removal of monuron from water (Hana 2004).
From the analytical point of view, the Principal photoproducts identified by HPLC/MS/MS
initially formed by irradiation of monuron adsorbed onto K-montmorillonite were; a
product of oxidation of a methyl group (N-(4-chlorophenyl)-N’- formyl, N-dimethylurea), a
product of hydroxylation on the level of the aromatic nucleus (N-(-hydroxy-4-
chlorophenyl)-N’,N-dimethylurea )and the 3rd product obtained by a photo-substitution of
a hydrogen atom of the aromatic nucleus by a chlorine atom (N-(-chloro-4-chlorophenyl)-
N’,N-dimethylurea).
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14
Application of Diflufenican Herbicide on Soils

Amended with Different Organic Wastes
Manuel Tejada1, Marina del Toro1, Isidoro Gómez1 and Juan Parrado2
1Grupo
de investigación “Edafología ambiental”. Departamento de
Cristalografía, Mineralogía y Química Agrícola, E.U.I.T.A.
Universidad de Sevilla, Crta de Utrera km. 1, 41013 Sevilla
2Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular. Facultad de Farmacia.
Universidad de Sevilla, C/ Prof. García González 2, 41012 Sevilla,

Spain
1. Introduction
Pesticides are important tools in agriculture that help to minimize economic losses caused
by weeds, insects and pathogens and have greatly improved food production (Farenhorst,
2006; Song et al., 2008; Romero et al., 2010). The ideal outcome of pesticide use occurs when
a pesticide accomplishes the purposes for which it was applied and then rapidly breaks
down into harmless components, such as carbon dioxide and water. However, extensive use
of pesticides in conventional agricultural practices has increased dramatically over time and
the potential negative effects on human health and the environment are now of concern
(Renaud et al., 2004; Majumdar & Singh, 2007; Song et al., 2008).
According to El-Nahhal (2003), achieving proper weed control needs some incorporation
usually via rainfall or irrigation and movement of the active ingredients through the soil
profile. However, movement of the active ingredients may be associated with three
problems: (1) dilution of herbicide in the zone of weed seed germination and accumulation
in the root zone of the crop which may cause crop injury, (2) reduction of herbicidal activity
due to distribution of the active ingredient below the root zone of the target weeds and (3)
possible contamination of ground water. Thus only a small fraction of the applied herbicide
contributes to the desired activity. These problems may result in repeated applications
and/or increasing the applied rate, increasing cost and potential for ecological damage.
In Europe, pesticides are considered hazardous substances in accordance with current
legislation regarding water (Directives 2000/60/EC, 2006/11/EC). Because of this, public
concern over the residues of pesticides in environment, food and related commodities has
increased over the last decades (Majumdar & Singh, 2007).
The presence of pesticides in groundwater has grown considerably in the last few years (Cox
et al., 1997, Renaud et al., 2004; Carabias Martínez et al., 2000; Gomides Freitas et al., 2008). The
relatively high water solubility and not readily degradable of these chemicals makes them
potentially mobile in soil and surface and ground waters vulnerable to contamination
(Carrizosa et al., 2001; El-Nahhal, 2003). For this reason it is of maximum interest that the
development of agricultural strategies be directed to the decrease in pesticide movement.
However, pesticides pollution is not only limited to groundwater. Several studies on

widely-used pesticides such as benomyl, chlorothalonil, dinocap, chlorpyrifos, metsulfuron-
methyl, 2,4- D, glyphosate, MCPA, etc. have already shown that pesticide application leads
to changes in soil nutrient levels and alterations to soil microbial activity, diversity and/or
genetic structure (Edwards, 1989; Chen et al., 2001; Pandey & Singh, 2004; Zabaloy &
Gómez, 2008; Černohlávková et al., 2009). Consequently, disturbances of microbial
communities ensuring several key ecological processes in soil such as organic matter
degradation and nutrient cycling, could harmfully altered soil fertility and sustainable
agricultural productivity. Therefore, population size, enzymatic activity and biodiversity of
certain systematic and physiological groups of microorganisms may serve as bioindicators
of changes taking place in the soil following herbicide application.
Many soil enzymes can be used as potential indicators of soil quality for sustainable
management because they are sensitive to ecological stress and land management practices
(Tejada et al., 2009; 2010). Enzymes may react to changes in soil management more quickly
than other variables and therefore may be useful as early indicators of biological changes
(Bandick & Dick, 1999; Masciandaro et al., 2004).
Dehydrogenase activity has been proposed as a measure of overall microbial activity
(Masciandaro et al., 2001), since it is an intracellular enzyme related to oxidative
phosphorylation processes (Trevors, 1984). García et al. (1997) found that dehydrogenase
activity is a good index of the soil microbial biomass in semiarid Mediterranean areas.
Respect to the hydrolases enzymes, urease is involved in the hydrolysis of urea to carbon
dioxide and ammonia, which can be assimilated by microbes and plants (Kizilkaya &
Bayrakli, 2005). β-glucosidase catalyzes the hydrolysis of β-D-glucopyranoside, an
important source of energy for soil microorganisms (Turner et al., 2002; Kizilkaya &
Bayrakli, 2005). Phosphatase is the enzyme involved in the hydrolysis of organic
phosphorus to different forms of inorganic phosphorus (Amador et al., 1997; Kizilkaya &
Bayrakli, 2005). Arylsulphatase is the enzyme involved in the mineralization of ester
sulphate in soils (Pascual et al., 1998; Kizilkaya & Bayrakli, 2005).
There have been many investigations into the mechanisms by which herbicides are adsorbed
by soil components of soil, particularly the clay minerals and organic matter. Sorption of
herbicides is determined by the complex interrelationship between the physiochemical
properties of the adsorbate, the nature of soil constituents and the experimental and
environmental conditions under which sorption occurs (Ying & Williams, 2000).
An increasing number of studies conducted at the field scale, with lysimeters or in the
laboratory have shown that organic matter is the main soil component contributing to the
sorption of herbicides (Renaud et al., 2004) and sorption is one of the main processes that
reducing the mobility of these chemicals in soils, the addition of exogenous organic matter
to soil land has been suggested as a possible method to reduce herbicide movement (Sheng
et al., 2001; Ben-Hur et al., 2003). Application of organic carbon to soils in the form of
compost, sludge, efluent and crop residues is a common practice, because of its low costs
and recycling of nutrients (Majumdar & Singh, 2007; Song et al., 2008). The use of organic
wastes to enrich soils of low organic matter content and to aid as nutrient input can modify
surfaces of soils and subsurface materials promoting sorption of herbicides and retarding
their movement as a secondary effect.
However, the influence of organic matter on soil properties and sorption process depends
upon the type, amount and dominant components of the added organic materials (Tejada et
Application of Diflufenican Herbicide on Soils Amended with Different Organic Wastes 297
al., 2007, 2008). This aspect is of great interest, since it supposes an important advance in the
behavior of the herbicides in the soil after addition of different sources of organic matter.
Organic amendment can also affect the soil microbiota and soil enzymes production and
therefore, biodegradation of pesticides by enhancing microbial activity and thus
biodegradation, although the increase in sorption with the organic amendment can also
protect the pesticides from biodegradation (Cox et al., 1997). Thus, organic wastes affecting
both soil properties and microbial populations, generating a more complex herbicide
behaviour in the soil system (Romero et al., 2010).
The objectives of this study were (1) to evaluate the sorption and mobility of the diflufenican
herbicide in a soil amended with two organic wastes, and (2) to study the influence of these
organic wastes on the diflufenican herbicide polluted soil, by analyzing their effects on soil
enzymatic activities.

2.1 Soils, organic wastes and herbicide characteristics
The soils used in this experiment were a Xerollic Calciorthid and a Typic Xerofluvent (Soil
Survey Staff, 1987). The main characteristics of both soils are shown in Table 1.
Soil pH was determined in distilled water with a glass electrode (soil:H2O ratio 1:2.5). Soil
texture was determined by the Robinson’s pipette method (SSEW, 1982). Soil total N was
determined by the Kjeldhal method (MAPA, 1986). Soil total C was determined by the
method of Yeomans & Bremner (1988). Cation exchange capacity was determined with 1 M
ammonium chloride solution in ethanol/water (60:40, v/v) at pH 8.2 (Tucker, 1954
Xerollic Calciorthid Typic Xerofluvent

pH 7.7 ± 0.2 7.6 ± 0.1
Clay (g kg-1) 382 ± 15 180 ± 12
Silt (g kg-1) 332 ± 27 131 ± 15
Sand (g kg-1) 286 ± 39 689 ± 21
Textural class Clay loam Sandy loam
Total N (g kg-1) 0.83 ± 0.04 0.41 ± 0.03
Total C (g kg-1) 6.4 ± 0.5 2.6 ± 0.7
C/N ratio 7.7 ± 2.1 6.3 ± 1.2
Cation exchange capacity (cmolc kg-1) 11.3 ± 1.1 4.1 ± 0.6
Table 1. Main features of the experimental soils (mean ± standard error). Data are the means
of four samples
The organic wastes applied were the organic fraction of a municipal solid waste (MSW) and
cow manure (CM). The general properties of the organic wastes are shown in Table 2.
Organic matter was determined by dry combustion, according to the official methods of the
Spanish Ministry of Agriculture (MAPA, 1986). Humic and fulvic acids-like were extracted
with 0.1 M sodium pyrophosphate and 0.1 M sodium hydroxide at pH 13 (Kononova, 1966).
The supernatant was acidified to pH 2 with HCl and allowed to stand for 24 h at room
temperature. To separate humic acids-like from fulvic acids-like, the solution was
centrifuged and the precipitate containing humic acids-like was dissolved with sodium
hydroxide (Yeomans & Bremner, 1988). After the removal of humic acids-like, the acidic
filtrate containing the dissolved fulvic acid-like fraction was passed through a column of
XAD-8 resin. The adsorbed fulvic was then recovered by elution with 0.1 M NaOH, desalted
using Amberlyst 15-cation-exchange resin, and finally freeze-dried. The carbon content of
humic and fulvic acids-like were determined by the method described. Total N was
determined by the Kjeldhal method (MAPA, 1986). After nitric and perchloric acid
digestion, total Ca, Mg, Fe, Cu, Mn, Zn, Cd, Pb, Ni and Cr concentrations were determined
by atomic absorption spectrometer and K was determined by atomic emission spectrometer,
according to MAPA methods (1986).
MSW CM
pH (H2O) 6.2 ± 0.3 8.3 ± 0.2
Organic matter (g kg-1) 469 ± 15 764 ± 29
Humic acid-C (mg kg-1) 1030 ± 17 461 ± 13
Fulvic acid-C (mg kg-1) 711 ± 10 631 ± 24
Total N (g kg-1) 17.3 ± 1.3 29.2 ± 2.1
Fe (mg kg-1) 815 ± 38 407 ± 28
Cu (mg kg-1) 82.6 ± 9.8 24.2 ± 1.8
Mn (mg kg-1) 75.6 ± 8.1 14.1 ± 1.2
Zn (mg kg-1) 134 ± 13 10.3 ± 1.6
Cd (mg kg-1) 1.1 ± 0.3 0.28 ± 0.09
Pb (mg kg-1) 82.4 ± 3.6 5.3 ± 0.8
Ni (mg kg-1) 13.6 ± 1.5 2.4 ± 0.6
Cr (mg kg-1) 19.4 ± 1.7 0.29 ± 0.04
Table 2. Organic wastes chemical characteristics (mean ± standard error). Data are the
means of four samples
Table 3 shows the acidic functional group contents of humic acids isolated from both
organic wastes. The carboxyl group content was estimated by direct potentiometric titration
at pH 8, the phenolic hydroxyl group content was estimated as two times the change in
charge between pH 8 and pH 10, and the total acidity was calculated by addition (Ritchie &
Perdue, 2003).
The herbicide used in this experiment was the diflufenican (Brodal®, Bayer CropScience).
Diflufenican (2',4' - dichloro-2 - (α,α,α -trifluoro-m-toly-loxy) nicotinanilide, C16H11F5N2O2)
is a pre- and early post-emergence herbicide used for the selective control of broad leaf and
grass weeds in winter cereals, with lower solubility in water than glyphosate and variable
half-life in the environment (15 to 30 weeks) (Ashton et al., 1994). Brodal® physical and
chemical properties are shown in Table 4.
Total acidity COOH Phenolic-OH

(mol kg-1)
MSW 4.29 ± 0.04 3.19 ± 0.03 1.10 ± 0.03
CM 2.81 ± 0.02 2.00 ± 0.03 0.80 ± 0.01
Table 3. Acidic functional group contents (mean ± standard error) of humic acids isolated
from MSW and CM. Data are the means of four samples
Diflufenican 500 g l-1

Ingredients:
Propane-1,2-diol 50 g l-1
Appearance: A viscous, light brown liquid suspension
Odour: Characteristic slightly sweet
pH: 7.5 to 8.5 (undiluted)
Vapour pressure: 4.25 x 10-3 mPa (diflufenican) at 25 ° C
Vapour density: Not available
Boiling point: Greater than 100°C
Freezing/melting point: Not available
Solubility: Miscible with water
Density: 1.175 g ml-1 at 20° C
Flash Point: > 100° C
Flammability (explosive) limits: Not available
Auto-ignition temperature: Not available
Partition coefficient (octanol/water): Diflufenican: Log POW= 4.2
Table 4. Physical and chemical properties of Brodal®. The date are taken from Bayer
CropScience
2.2 Experimental layout

2.2.1 Field experiments
For the field experiments and for each soil, the experimental layout was a randomized
complete block design with four replications with a total amount of 24 plots, with each plot
measuring 4 m × 3 m. Six treatments were used:
1. C, control soil (non organic amendment and without the application of herbicide)
2. C+H, plots non organic amendment and with application of herbicide
3. C+CM, plots organic amendment with CM and without the application of herbicide
4. C+MSW, plots organic amendment with MSW and without the application of herbicide
5. C+CM+H, plots organic amendment with CM and with the application of herbicide
6. C+MSW+H, plots organic amendment with MSW and with the application of herbicide
The CM was applied at a rate of 5 t ha-1 (fresh matter), whereas MSW was applied at a rate
of 8.1 t ha-1 (fresh matter), in order to apply the same amount of organic matter to soil. The
herbicide dose used was 200 ml ha-1). The dose used was 200 ml ha-1. Organic wastes were
applied to the soil 1 month before applying the herbicide. Organic wastes were
mechanically mixed with the soil, allowing the organic wastes to reach up to 25 cm from the
soil surface
At 3, 15, 45, 90, 120, 150, 180, 210 and 250 days after applying the herbicide to soil,
diflufenican was measured. To extract diflufenican we used the method described by Tejada
(2009). Five grams of soil was shaken with 20 ml of 90:10 v/v methanol:H2O for 1 h at 25 ± 1º
C. After allowing the soil to settle, pesticide concentrations were determined by HPLC using
a column Merck C18 ultrasphere (250 x 4.6 mm x 5 µm and 80 Å). The pesticide was eluted
with a mobile phase of acetonitrile:H2O:orthophosphoric acid of 85:15:0.25. The flow rate
and wavelength were 1 ml min-1 and 220 nm. The temperature was constant at 25 °C using a
Model 234 Column Oven Heater. The injected volume was 50 µl.
Also, the activity levels of four soil enzymes were measured at 3, 15, 45, 90, 120, 150, 180, 210
and 250 days after applying the herbicide to soil. Dehydrogenase activity was measured by
reduction of 2-p-iodo-3-nitrophenyl 5-phenyl tetrazolium chloride to iodonitrophenyl

formazan (García et al., 1993). Urease activity was determined by the buffered method of
Kandeler & Gerver (1988) using urea as substrate. β-Glucosidase activity was determined
using p-nitrophenyl-β-D-glucopyranoside as substrate (Masciandaro et al., 1994).
Phosphatase activity was measured using p-nitrophenyl phosphate as substrate (Tabatabai
& Bremner, 1969).
2.2.2 Laboratory experiments

For the laboratory experiments and for each soil, sorption studies and leaching experiments
in methacrylate columns were made.
For sorption studies and for each experimental soil, the treatments used were:
1. C, non-organic amended control soil (10 g of soil)
2. C+CM, soil amended with CW at rate of 10% (10 g of soil + 1 g of CW)
3. C+MSW, soil amended with MSW at a rate of 16.3% (10 g of soil + 1.63 g of CW)
Diflufenican sorption was determined according to Cabrera et al. (2009) criteria. Triplicate
samples (5 g) of the unamended and organic amended soil (C, C+CM and C+MSW) were
treated with 10 ml of diflufenican (50%:50%, v/v) solution (initial concentrations, Ci,
ranging from to 50 µM in 0.01 CaCl2). Previously, it was determined that equilibrium was
reached in less than 24 h, and that no measurable degradation occurred during this period.
Equilibrium concentrations (Ce) in the supernatants were determined by HPLC. Sorption
isotherms were fitted to Freundlich equation (Cs=Kf x Ce1/nf) and sorption coefficients Kf
and 1/nf were calculated.
The diflufenican analysis were performed following the methodology previously described.
The system to determine diflufenican leaching in soils, consisted of 30-cm long X 3.1 cm i.d.
methacrylate columns filled with 20 cm of soil. Glass wool plus 10 g of sea was placed on the
bottom of the columns to prevent losses of soil and contamination of leachates with soil
particles. The columns were hand-packed with 180 g of soil without and with organic
wastes (10 g of MSW and 10.9 g of CM) with the intention of applied the same amount of
organic matter and 10 g of sea sand was placed on the soil surface.
The columns were saturated with water, allowed to drain for 24 h, and then the amount of
diflufenican corresponding to an application rate of 2 kg ha-1 was applied to the top of the
columns. Daily, the columns were leached with 200 mm d-1 of distilled water and the
leachates were collected and filtered. The diflufenican concentration was analyzed by HPLC
at 1, 3, 7, 10, 15, 20 and 30 days after the application of herbicide to soil. The leaching
experiment was conducted in triplicate.

Data were submitted to two-way ANOVA with treatment and sampling time as factors
using the Statgraphics Plus 2.1 software package. The means were separated by the Tukey’s
test, considering a significance level of P<0.05 throughout the study. For the ANOVA,
triplicate data were used for each treatment and every incubation day.
3. Results
3.1 Field experiments
During the experimental period and for both soils, the diflufenican soil contents applied as
Brodal® presented higher values in clay loam texture soil than for sandy loam texture soil
(Figure 1). The slow diflufenican degradation makes think that the degradation of the
diflufenican is not carried out in short time, indicating that this degradation happens
superior at one time to the 250 days. For both soils, the diflufenican contents were
decreasing progressively in soils amended with organic matter. However, this decrease
depended on soil type and organic matter type applied. At the end of the experimental
period and compared with the unamended soil, the diflufenican content significantly
decreased 25.5% and 41.2% in the amended with CM and MSW, respectively, whereas for
the sandy loam texture soil the diflufenican content significantly decreased 32.5% and 50.2%
in the amended with CM and MSW, respectively.
Table 5 shows the evolution of soil dehydrogenase activity during the experimental period.
The results indicated that at the end of the experiment and compared with the control soil,
the dehydrogenase activity significantly decreased in the non-organic amended polluted
soils (59.4% for the clay loam texture soil and 53.8% for the sandy loam texture soil),
reflecting the adverse effects of the herbicide on this intracellular activity. Also and
compared to the control soil, in non-polluted soil the application of organic matter increased
significantly the dehydrogenase activity. However, this increase depended of the soil type
and organic matter applied to the soil. For the Xerollic Calciorthid soil and at the end of the
incubation period, the dehydrogenase activity increased 92.9% and 80% in soil amended
with MSW and CM, respectively, whereas for the Typic Xerofluvent soil, the dehydrogenase
activity increased 93.5% and 82.4% in soil amended with MSW and CM, respectively. The
application of herbicide in organic-amended soils decreased dehydrogenase activity.
However, this decrease was lower than for the non-amended herbicide polluted soil. At the
end of the experiment and for the clay loam texture soil, the dehydrogenase activity
significantly decreased 23.9% for the C+MSW+H treatment (compared to the C+MSW
treatment), followed by 24.7% for the C+CM+H treatment (compared to the C+CM
treatment), whereas for the sandy loam texture soil, the dehydrogenase significantly
decreased 18.3% for the C+MSW+H treatment (compared to the C+MSW treatment),
followed by 20.4% for the C+CM+H treatment (compared to the C+CM treatment).
Similar to the dehydrogenase activity, at the end of the experimental period the urease
activity decreased in the non-organic polluted soils compared to the non-organic unpolluted
soils (32.5% for the Xerollic Calciorthid soil and 28.6% for the Typic Xerofluvent soil) (Table
6). At the end of the incubation period, the application of organic matter to unpolluted soils
significantly increased the soil urease activity. Again, this increase was higher for MSW-
amended soils than for CM-amended soils. Also, the application of herbicide in organic-
amended soils decreased urease activity. For the Xerollic Calciorthid soil, the urease activity
decreased 15.4% for the C+MSW+H treatment (compared to the C+MSW treatment),
followed by 21.9% for the C+CM+H treatment (compared to the C+CM treatment), whereas
for the Typic Xerofluvent soil, the urease activity decreased 15% for the C+MSW+H
treatment (compared to the C+MSW treatment), followed by 19% for the C+CM+H
treatment (compared to the C+CM treatment).
The evolution of β-glucosidase and phosphatase activities was very similar to the enzymes
described (Tables 7 and 8). The application of diflufenican in organic-amended soils
decreased both enzymatic activities. Again, this decrease was higher in the sandy loam
texture soil than the clay loam texture soil. Also, the application of organic matter to soils
contaminated with the herbicide increased both enzyme activities compared with the non-
organic amended polluted soils.
Fig. 1. Evolution of diflufenican (mean ± standard errors) in Xerollic Calciorthid (A) and
Typic Xerofluvent (B) during the experimental for all experimental treatments
Column followed by the same letter(s) are not significantly different (p<0.05)
Xerollic Calciorthid
3 15 45 90 120 150 180 210 250
C 2.5b† ± 0.4 2.4b ± 0.6 2.3b ± 0.3 2.1b ± 0.3 2.1b ± 0.4 2.0b ± 0.5 1.9b ± 0.4 1.8b ± 0.3 1.7b ± 0.5
C+H 2.2b ± 0.7 1.9b ± 0.3 1.7b ± 0.4 1.4a ± 0.5 1.1a ± 0.4 0.92a ± 0.15 0.88a ± 0.13 0.72a ± 0.17 0.69a ± 0.11
C+CM 2.8b ± 1.0 3.2bc ± 0.9 4.0bc ± 1.2 4.7c ± 1.1 5.4c ± 1.4 6.1c ± 1.7 7.0c ± 1.8 7.8c ± 1.9 8.5d ± 1.1
C+MSW 2.9b ± 0.8 3.3bc ± 1.1 4.3bc ± 1.0 5.0c ± 1.2 5.9c ± 1.1 6.5c ± 1.6 7.6c ± 1.6 8.5d ± 1.5 9.6d ± 1.5
C+CM+H 2.2b ± 0.5 2.6b ± 0.8 3.3bc ± 1.1 3.7bc ± 1.3 4.1bc ± 1.6 4.6c ± 1.0 5.3c ± 1.2 5.9c ± 1.1 6.4c ± 0.9
C+MSW+H 2.3b ± 0.6 2.8b ± 1.0 3.7bc ± 1.0 4.2bc ± 0.9 4.9c ± 1.5 5.5c ± 1.3 6.1c ± 1.0 6.9c ± 1.3 7.3c ± 1.2
treatments. INTF: 2-p-iodo-3-nitrophenyl formazan

Typic Xerofluvent
C 2.0b† ± 0.5 2.0b ± 0.6 1.8b ± 0.8 1.7b ± 0.6 1.6b ± 0.3 1.6b ± 0.4 1.5b ± 0.3 1.4b ± 0.4 1.3b ± 0.4
C+H 1.7b ± 0.3 1.5b ± 0.5 1.3b ± 0.2 1.1a ± 0.2 0.96a ± 0.11 0.89a ± 0.14 0.75a ± 0.13 0.67a ± 0.16 0.6a ± 0.11
C+CM 2.3b ± 0.4 2.6b ± 1.0 3.5bc ± 1.3 4.0bc ± 1.1 4.6c ± 1.2 5.3c ± 1.0 5.9c ± 1.3 6.5c ± 1.2 7.4c ± 0.9
C+MSW 2.4b ± 0.3 2.9b ± 0.9 3.9bc ± 1.2 4.8c ± 1.3 5.9c ± 1.0 6.9c ± 1.3 7.8d ± 1.6 8.6d ± 1.7 9.3d ± 1.5
C+CM+H 2.1b ± 0.7 2.3b ± 0.6 2.9b ± 1.5 3.4bc ± 1.1 4.0bc ± 1.0 4.4bc ± 1.2 4.9c ± 1.0 5.4c ± 1.2 5.9c ± 1.1
C+MSW+H 2.2b ± 0.5 2.5b ± 0.7 3.3bc ± 1.0 3.8bc ± 0.8 4.3bc ± 0.9 5.1c ± 1.1 5.6c ± 1.6 6.5c ± 1.5 7.6c ± 1.3
Application of Diflufenican Herbicide on Soils Amended with Different Organic Wastes
†Different letters following the numbers indicate a significant difference at P<0.05

Table 5. Evolution of dehydrogenase activity (µINTF g-1 h-1) (mean ± standard errors) in
Xerollic Calciorthid and Typic Xerofluvent during the experimental for all experimental
303
304
3 15 45 90 120 150 180 210 250
C 1.6† ± 0.3 1.5b ± 0.2 1.2ab ± 0.3 1.2ab ± 0.2 1.1ab ± 0.3 1.0ab ± 0.2 0.91a ± 0.11 0.84a ± 0.13 0.77a ± 0.11
C+H 1.5b ± 0.6 1.3b ± 0.5 1.1ab ± 0.2 0.95ab ± 0.19 0.88a ± 0.12 0.79a ± 0.18 0.68a ± 0.16 0.60a ± 0.16 0.52a ± 0.12
C+CM 1.7b ± 0.4 1.8b ± 0.4 2.3b ± 0.6 2.5bc ± 0.9 2.6bc ± 1.0 2.8b ± 0.6 2.9bc ± 0.9 3.0bc ± 0.7 3.2c ± 0.9
C+MSW 1.7b ± 0.2 1.8b ± 0.7 2.5bc ± 0.5 2.7bc ± 0.8 3.0bc ± 0.7 3.2c ± 0.7 3.4c ± 1.0 3.7c ± 0.9 3.9c ± 1.0
C+CM+H 1.7b ± 0.5 1.7b ± 0.5 2.0b ± 0.4 2.1b ± 0.3 2.1b ± 0.6 2.2bc ± 0.7 2.3b ± 0.5 2.4bc ± 0.6 2.5b ± 0.4
C+MSW+H 1.7b ± 0.4 1.6b ± 0.3 2.2b ± 0.6 2.4bc ± 0.5 2.5bc ± 0.5 2.7bc ± 0.4 2.9bc ± 0.8 3.2c ± 0.7 3.3c ± 0.6
Typic Xerofluvent
C 1.3b† ± 0.2 1.2b ± 0.3 0.98ab ± 0.12 0.88ab ± 0.15 0.76ab ± 0.11 0.68a ± 0.10 0.59a ± 0.12 0.50a ± 0.13 0.42a ± 0.11
C+H 1.2b ± 0.3 1.0b ± 0.1 0.90ab ± 0.15 0.82ab ± 0.16 0.74ab ± 0.17 0.62a ± 0.10 0.50a ± 0.11 0.44a ± 0.13 0.30a ± 0.09
C+CM 1.4b ± 0.3 1.5b ± 0.2 1.6b ± 0.4 1.7b ± 0.4 1.8b ± 0.5 1.9b ± 0.5 2.0b ± 0.8 2.0b ± 0.9 2.1bc ± 0.6
C+MSW 1.4b ± 0.2 1.6b ± 0.4 1.8b ± 0.4 2.2bc ± 0.8 2.5bc ± 0.4 2.9bc ± 0.7 3.2c ± 1.1 3.6c ± 1.2 4.0c ± 1.1
C+CM+H 1.3b ± 0.2 1.3b ± 0.2 1.4b ± 0.3 1.4b ± 0.3 1.3b ± 0.2 1.5b ± 0.2 1.6b ± 0.2 1.6b ± 0.3 1.7b ± 0.5
C+MSW+H 1.4b ± 0.3 1.6b ± 0.3 1.9b ± 0.5 2.2bc ± 0.9 2.5bc ± 0.6 2.7bc ± 0.8 2.9bc ± 0.9 3.2c ± 1.0 3.4c ± 0.9

Calciorthid and Typic Xerofluvent during the experimental for all experimental treatments
Table 6. Evolution of urease activity (µmol NH4+ g-1 h-1) (mean ± standard errors) in Xerollic
3 15 45 90 120 150 180 210 250
C 5.6b† ± 1.9 5.6b ± 1.8 5.5b ± 1.3 5.4b ± 1.1 5.3b ± 1.4 5.1b ± 1.2 4.9b ± 1.1 4.8b ± 1.3 4.7b ± 1.5
treatments. PNP: p-nitrophenol

C+H 5.2b ± 1.5 5.0b ± 1.1 4.5ab ± 0.9 4.0ab ± 1.1 3.3a ± 0.8 2.9a ± 1.0 2.5a ± 0.8 2.3a ± 1.0 2.0a ± 1.2
C+CM 6.7b ± 1.8 8.0b ± 1.6 10.8c ± 1.1 12.5c ± 1.4 14.6c ± 1.5 16.6c ± 1.7 18.7c ± 1.5 20.5c ± 2.0 22.6d ± 2.6
C+MSW 6.8b ± 2.0 8.2b ± 2.0 11.9c ± 1.6 13.8c ± 1.7 15.4c ± 1.6 17.8c ± 1.6 20.2c ± 2.4 22.9d ± 1.8 25.0d ± 2.8
C+CM+H 6.5b ± 1.5 6.9b ± 1.6 8.8b ± 1.0 9.7bc ± 1.5 11.8c ± 1.1 14.1c ± 1.4 15.6c ± 1.6 16.7c ± 1.6 18.2c ± 2.1
C+MSW+H 6.6b ± 1.8 7.5b ± 2.1 10.0bc ± 1.8 12.1c ± 1.2 14.6c ± 1.3 15.7c ± 1.8 17.6c ± 2.2 18.8c ± 1.7 21.0c ± 1.9
Typic Xerofluvent
C 3.8bc† ± 1.1 3.7bc ± 1.3 3.4b ± 0.9 3.3b ± 1.0 3.2b ± 1.1 3.0b ± 0.6 2.9b ± 1.3 2.8b ± 1.1 2.6b ± 1.0
C+H 3.6bc ± 1.3 3.5b ± 1.1 3.1b ± 0.8 2.7b ± 0.8 2.4b ± 0.7 2.1a ± 0.4 1.7a ± 0.5 1.4a ± 0.5 1.2a ± 0.19
C+CM 4.0bc ± 1.6 4.5c ± 1.5 6.7c ± 1.5 8.0c ± 1.4 9.2c ± 1.5 10.3cd ± 1.9 11.5d ± 1.7 12.7d ± 1.6 14.8d ± 1.8
C+MSW 4.1bc ± 1.2 4.8c ± 1.6 7.2c ± 1.3 8.9c ± 2.0 10.1cd ± 1.9 11.5d ± 1.6 13.0d ± 1.6 14.8d ± 1.3 16.9d ± 1.5
C+CM+H 3.9bc ± 1.0 4.2c ± 1.2 5.4c ± 1.1 6.2c ± 1.6 7.5c ± 1.6 8.6c ± 1.1 9.7cd ± 1.8 11.0d ± 1.2 12.2d ± 1.2
C+MSW+H 3.9bc ± 1.3 4.5c ± 1.3 5.9c ± 1.9 7.0c ± 1.5 8.2c ± 1.8 9.9cd ± 1.3 11.0d ± 2.0 13.1d ± 1.1 14.3d ± 1.3
Application of Diflufenican Herbicide on Soils Amended with Different Organic Wastes

Table 7. Evolution of β-glucosidase activity (µmol PNP g-1 h-1) (mean ± standard errors) in
305
306
3 15 45 90 120 150 180 210 250
C 21.8b† ± 2.3 21.7b ± 2.0 21.2b ± 2.3 20.8b ± 2.2 20.5b ± 2.6 20.1b ± 2.4 19.7b ± 2.0 19.4b ± 1.7 19.0b ± 1.2
treatments. PNP: p-nitrophenol

C+H 21.0b ± 1.9 19.8b ± 1.6 17.8a ± 1.6 16.7a ± 1.5 15.5a ± 1.6 14.7a ± 1.4 13.6a ± 1.7 12.4a ± 1.5 11.1a ± 1.6
C+CM 22.2b ± 2.0 23.1b ± 1.7 26.2bc ± 2.1 27.9c ± 2.2 29.1c ± 3.0 30.2c ± 2.6 31.4c ± 2.9 32.5c ± 3.0 34.1c ± 2.9
C+MSW 22.4b ± 2.4 23.7b ± 2.5 27.0bc ± 1.8 28.4c ± 2.3 30.2c ± 1.7 31.8c ± 2.6 33.0c ± 2.1 34.6c ± 2.5 35.9d ± 2.4
C+CM+H 21.7b ± 2.0 22.0b ± 1.8 22.9bc ± 2.4 24.0bc ± 2.4 25.0bc ± 2.8 25.8bc ± 1.9 26.5bc ± 2.6 27.4c ± 2.7 28.5c ± 2.0
C+MSW+H 21.7b ± 2.2 22.3b ± 2.4 24.4bc ± 2.2 25.4bc ± 2.1 26.1bc ± 1.4 27.5c ± 2.0 28.8c ± 1.7 29.7c ± 2.0 31.0c ± 2.6
Typic Xerofluvent
C 18.7b† ± 1.2 18.5b ± 1.3 18.2b ± 1.4 17.9b ± 1.1 17.5b ± 1.9 16.6b ± 1.4 16.1b ± 1.5 15.7b ± 1.7 15.2b ± 1.4
C+H 18.2b ± 1.6 17.1b ± 1.5 15.1b ± 1.1 14.0a ± 1.4 13.2a ± 1.0 12.0a ± 1.8 11.1a ± 1.3 10.2a ± 1.6 9.4a ± 1.1
C+CM 19.2b ± 1.3 19.9b ± 1.1 22.5bc ± 1.4 23.7c ± 2.0 24.9c ± 2.1 26.6c ± 1.4 27.8c ± 2.7 28.9c ± 1.9 30.0c ± 2.6
C+MSW 19.4b ± 1.5 20.3b ± 1.8 23.6c ± 2.3 24.9c ± 1.8 26.5c ± 2.0 28.9c ± 1.7 30.6c ± 2.1 33.1c ± 2.7 35.0d ± 2.4
C+CM+H 19.1b ± 1.7 19.5b ± 1.6 21.1b ± 2.2 22.0bc ± 1.2 22.7bc ± 2.0 23.6c ± 2.2 24.6c ± 1.5 25.4c ± 2.6 26.1c ± 1.9
C+MSW+H 19.1b ± 1.8 19.8b ± 1.8 21.8b ± 1.8 22.9bc ± 1.6 24.2c ± 1.2 25.0c ± 1.9 26.6c ± 2.3 28.6c ± 2.2 30.5c ± 2.0

Table 8. Evolution of phosphatase activity (µmol PNP g-1 h-1) (mean ± standard errors) in
3.2 Laboratory experiments

For both soils, sorption isotherms of diflufenican on C, C+MSW, and C+CM treatments are
shown in Figure 2. The results indicated that sorption of diflufenican on the clay loam
texture soil was higher than the sandy loam texture soil. Also and for each experimental soil,
the sorption of diflufenican on organic amended soils increased compared to non-organic
amended soil. For each organic amended soil, the herbicide sorption with MSW was higher
than with CM.
Concentrattion in soil (µg kg)
160 (A)
-1
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
-1
Concentration in soil solution (µg ml )
C C+MSW C+CM
Concentrattion in soil (µg kg)
160 (B)
-1
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
-1
Concentration in soil solution (µg ml )
C C+MSW C+CM
Fig. 2. Diflufenican sorption isotherms for Xerollic Calciorthid soil (A) and Typic
Xerofluvent (B) soil. Symbols are experimental data points, whereas lines are the Freundlick-
fit sorption isotherms
Sorption isotherms were fit to the Freundlich equation and sorption coefficients Kf and 1/nf
were calculated (Table 9). For non-organic amended soils, the Kf values were highest for
Xerollic Calciorthid soil than for the Typic Xerofluvent soil. For both experimental soils, the
results indicated that Kf values significantly increased in organic amended soils than for
non-organic amended soils. However, diflufenican sorption was higher in soils amended
with MSW than with CM. Also, the 1/nf coefficients significantly decreased in organic
amended soils than for non-organic amended soil. For organic amended soils, the 1/nf
coefficient was higher in the soil amended with MSW than for CM.
Kf 1/nf R2
C 7.94a† ± 1.2 0.89b ± 0.08 0.982
C+M 28.45b ± 2.3 0.77a ± 0.11 0.974
C+MSW 34.72b ± 2.8 0.81a ± 0.07 0.981
Typic Xerofluvent
C 5.76a† ± 0.96 0.93b ± 0.05 0.978
C+M 24.69b ± 2.8 0.81a ± 0.09 0.984
C+MSW 30.15b ± 2.7 0.87a ± 0.06 0.993
Table 9. Freundlich sorption coefficients Kf and 1/nf (mean ± standard errors) for
diflufenican in unamended and organic amended soils.
Figure 3 shows the cumulative diflufenican leachates applied to unamended and organic-
amended soil columns. At the end of the experiment, the diflufenican leachates were higher
in the Xerollic Calciorthid soil than in the Typic Xerofluvent soil. Diflufenican leachates
significantly decreased in organic-amended soils. However, this decrease depended of the
organic matter type applied to the soil. For the Xerollic Calciorthid soil, the maximum
concentratin of diflufenican in leachates was reduced from 7.4 µM for the unamended soil,
to 4.1 µM or 4.9 µM for the MSW or CM-amended soil, whereas for the the Typic
Xerofluvent soil the maximum concentratin of diflufenican in leachates was reduced from
8.9 µM for the unamended soil, to 5.8 µM or 6.2 µM for the MSW or CM-amended soil For
both soils, no significant differences between the herbicide in leachates for organic-amended
soils exits.
4. Discussion
Firstly, our results suggested that the herbicide time persistence depended of the soil texture
type. The highest contents of diflufenican occurred in the clay loam texture soil probably
due to adsorption of the herbicide with the clay, and therefore, the herbicide leachates were
lowest in the clay loam texture soil than in sandy loam texture soil. These results are in
agreement with those obtained by Singh et al., (2002), Renaud et al. (2004), Yen et al. (2003)
and Flores et al. (2009), who suggested that when in low soil organic matter content, texture
plays a fundamental role in the adsorption process of pesticides in soil. Also, these results
suggest that the diflufenican persistence time was higher in the clay loam texture soil than in
sandy loam texture soil. These results are in agreement with those obtained by Rouchaud et
al. (1998) and Flores et al. (2009), who suggested that in soils with low organic matter
content the herbicide adsorption, persistence and mobility depends mainly on soil texture.
Also, our results indicated that the diflufenican herbicide caused a toxic effect on soil
enzymatic activity. These results are in agreement with those obtained by Tejada (2009),
which observed the toxic effect of this herbicide in microcosm studies. Therefore, the study
of soil enzymatic activities are an essential tool for knowing the state of soil pollution
(Gianfreda et al., 2005; Tejada et al., 2007, 2008, Tejada, 2009). Since the diflufenican content
12 (A)
10
Diflufenican (µmol )l
-1
d
8 d
6 d c
c
c
4 c
c c c
2 b b b bc c
a a a ab a a
0
20 60 140 200 300 400 600
S S+MSW S+CM
12 (B)
10 d
Diflufenican (µmol )l
-1
d
8
c c
c
6 c c
4 bc bc
b b b
2 b b b
a a a ab a a
0
20 60 140 200 300 400 600
S S+MSW S+CM
Fig. 3. Cumulative diflufenican leachates (mean ± standard errors) in unamended and

organic amended treatments for Xerollic Calciorthid soil (A) and Typic Xerofluvent (B) soil.
Column followed by the same letter(s) are not significantly different (p<0.05)
was higher the clay loam texture soil than in sandy loam texture soil, the inhibition of soil
enzymatic activities in soil was higher in the Calciorthid Xerollic soil than in the Typic
Xerofluvent soil.
The application of organic matter in unpolluted soils significantly increased enzymatic
activities (Ros et al., 2003; Ferreras et al., 2006, Tejada et al., 2010). Soil microorganisms
degrade organic matter through the production of a variety of extracellular enzymes, which
explains the increase in enzymatic activities observed after the application of vermicomposts
to the soil. However, this increase in soil enzyme activity was higher in the MSW than in the
CM-amended soil. According to Tejada et al. (2010), the organic matter with higher fulvic
than humic-acids contents is degraded more rapidly in the soil, promoting more positively
the biological properties.
The application of the herbicide in MSW and CM-amended soils caused a decrease in the soil
enzymatic activity inhibition. The diflufenican sorption isotherms and Freundlich sorption
coefficients obtained in this study, suggested that organic matter play a fundamental role in
the sorption of the herbicide in agricultural soils, probably as a result of the humic substances
containing several major functional groups, such as carboxyl, phenolic, alcohol and carbonyl
(Sluzny et al., 1999; Datta et al., 2001) According to Rouchaud et al. (1998) and Flores et al.
(2009), when soils have a high content of organic matter, herbicide adsorption, persistence and
mobility in soil depends mainly on the organic matter, whereas soil texture playing a more
secondary role. However, our results also suggested that the chemical composition of the
organic matter influenced in the diflufenican sorption.
Several studies of metal complexation with organic matter indicated that the sorption of
heavy metals increased when the humic acid-like content increased in the organic matter,
compared to the fulvic acid content, probably due to the humic acid-like possess a higher
number of carboxylic groups than fulvic acid (Tejada et al., 2007, 2008).
The diflufenican sorption isotherms and Freundlich sorption coefficients indicated higher
herbicide sorption in MSW than for CM-amended soils. Therefore, and similar to the heavy
metals complexation, the sorption of herbicide increased with the humic acid content in the
organic waste applied to the soil. The higher sorption probably caused a higher decrease of
herbicide in the soil solution, and therefore, lowest availability of diflufenican availability
for the soil microorganisms. This fact probably is the responsible of the increase in the soil
enzymatic activities.
Also, the adsorption of the herbicide in organic-amended soils produced a decrease of the
leachates herbicide. Since the diflufenican adsorption in soils amended with organic matter
rich in humic acids was higher, herbicide losses were lower in soils amended with MSW
than with CM.
5. Conclusions
It can be concluded that the diflufenican adsorption, persistence and mobility depends
mainly on soil texture. Since the herbicide adsorption was higher in in the clay loam texture
soil than in sandy loam texture soil, the leaching losses were highest in sandy loam texture
soil than in clay loam texture soil. Also, the diflufenican herbicide caused a negative effect
on soil enzymatic activities. The application of organic matter to the soil is a good
environmental practice because decrease the diflufenican concentration in leachates and
decreased the enzymatic activities inhibition. However, the beneficial effect depended of the
organic matter chemical composition. The herbicide decrease was higher in MSW than for
CM-amended soils. These results indicated that the addition of organic materials with a
higher humic acid concentration may be considered a good strategy for decreased the
diflufenican environmental pollution.
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15
Impacts of Biochar (Black Carbon)

Additions on the Sorption and
Efficacy of Herbicides
Alegría Cabrera Mesa1 and Kurt A. Spokas2
1IRNAS-CSIC
2United States Department of Agriculture – Agricultural Research Service
1Spain
2USA
1. Introduction
The aim of this chapter is to review the effect of biochar on the fate and efficacy of
herbicides. The increasing use and need of energy worldwide, together with the depletion of
fossil fuels make the search and use of renewable energy sources a priority. Biomass is
recognized as a potential renewable energy source, and pyrolysis is considered the most
promising thermo-chemical conversion of biomass into bioenergy products (Özçimen &
Karaosmanoğlu, 2004). Burning biomass in the absence of oxygen (pyrolysis) yields three
products: a liquid (bio-oil), solid, and a gas (Bridgwater, 2003), with the traditional use of
these products as renewable fuel and energy sources. Biochar currently lacks a universal
definition, as can been seen in the range of definitions in the literature. According to
Azargohar & Dalai (2006) biochar can be considered the solid product of pyrolysis and Sohi et al.,
(2010) define it as biomass-derived char intended specifically for application to soil. Warnock et al.
(2007) defined biochar as the term reserved for the plant biomass derived materials contained
within the black carbon (BC) continuum. We recommend that the term biochar be defined as
the solid residual remaining after the thermo-chemical transformation of biomass whose
main intended purpose is as a means of C sequestration. However, to retain the “biochar”
classification there are two restrictions: 1) biochar itself cannot be used as a fuel source
(although the utilization of the energy during production of the biochar is acceptable and
encouraged) and 2) excludes those forms of black C derived from non-renewable (fossil fuel)
resources [e.g. coal, petroleum, tires] (Lehmann et al., 2006).
The origin of charcoal in the environment can be natural or synthetic. In the first case,
wildfire and volcanic processes are responsible for its formation (Scott, 2010; Scott &
Damblon, 2010); meanwhile in the second case, thermal processes such as combustion and
pyrolysis convert biomass into a char (residual solid product). Pyrolysis is described by
Bridgwater (2003; 2006) as thermal decomposition in absence of oxygen, and is always the
first step in the processes of gasification and combustion. Production of charcoal is favored
by low temperatures and very long residence time conditions (Bridgwater, 1992). According
to Goldberg (1985) black carbon is produced by the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels
and vegetation that comprises the range of products of char, charcoal, graphite, ash, and
soots, so biochar can be considered as a heterogeneous mixture of solid residues (Figure 1)

(Hedges et al., 2000; Forbes et al., 2006; Jones et al., 1997; Spokas, 2010). In a study
comparing oxidative stability of soot versus biochar, using a reference thermal stability
method (OTC-375) (Gustafsson et al., 1997; 2001; Elmquist et al., 2004) it was observed that
synthetic chars did not survive this analytical condition, with nearly 100% of the C oxidized
at 375 oC. Thereby, the authors concluded that pyrolysis biochars are of a lower stability
when compared to the natural chars (soot) in environmental sediments (Elmquist et al.,
2006). In a recent review, this variability in the stability of biochars was placed in context of
the spectrum of potential black C products with the molar ratio of oxygen: carbon (O:C)
being suggested as a surrogate for biochar stability in soils (Spokas, 2010).
Oxygen to carbon (O:C) molar ratio

0 0.25 0.5 0.75 1.0
Graphite Soot Charcoal (Coal) Char Biomass

0.6
0.2
Biochar can span this product spectrum (0.0 to 0.6)
Fig. 1. Spectrum of black C products based on the oxygen to carbon ratio in the residual
solid product. Adapted from Hedges et al. (2000), Bansal & Goyal (2005) and Spokas (2010).
For Bansal & Goyal (2005), activated carbon is a term that includes a wide range of
processed amorphous carbonaceous materials with increased microcrystalline structure.
Common parent materials for activated carbon are nutshells, peat, wood, coal (lignite or
bituminous), and petroleum coke (Hassler, 1974). Activated carbon’s superior adsorptive
properties are due to their high surface area, micropore structure, high porosity, high
sorption capacity, and high degree of surface reactivity (Pradhan & Sandle, 1999).
Preparation of activated charcoal involves two steps: 1) the carbonization of the raw
material (typically at temperatures below 800 ºC) in an inert atmosphere, followed by 2) the
activation by chemical or thermal methods of the carbonized product (Hassler, 1974; Yalcin
& Sevinc, 2000). Chemical treatments both provide an opportunity to unify the surface
behavior as well as to customize the overall surface area and porosity of the activated char
(Hassler, 1974; Szymanski et al., 2002; Marsh & Rodríguez-Reinoso, 2006).
In summary, biochar properties are attributed to its characteristics, which depend on the
pyrolysis conditions, temperature and time, as well as the feedstock used. There is renewed
interest in the soil application of biochar as a means of increasing C sequestration and
combating climate change. Biochar is a carbon-rich residue and the C is in a form that is more
resistant to degradation than the original parent biomass whose primary purpose is as a
vehicle for C sequestration, but the stability of the biochar spans the entire black C spectrum
(e.g. Spokas, 2010). The land areas that are targeted for biochar applications are primarily
agricultural land, due to the potential positive secondary impacts that biochar additions have
on overall soil fertility as well as plant growth and yield (e.g. Busscher et al., 2010; Chan et al.,
2007; Glaser et al., 2002; Novak et al., 2009; Sohi et al., 2010; Piccolo et al., 1996).
The application of organic materials to soils has been known for some time to increase
herbicide sorption and reduce efficacy (e.g. Birk & Roadhouse, 1964; Weber et al., 1969).
Impacts of Biochar (Black Carbon) Additions on the Sorption and Efficacy of Herbicides 317
Overall, there is the assumption that increased soil sorption could reduce leaching of
agrochemicals to groundwater, thus improving overall water quality. On the other hand,
increased sorption leads to decreased efficacy of soil applied herbicides thereby eliminating
the residual action of these chemicals for weed management. The reader is encouraged to
consult other chapters in this book, as well as Kookana et al. (1998), Gevao et al. (2000) and
Laird & Koskinen (2008) for a review of herbicide sorption and fate in the soil environment.
The impacts on the fate and dissipation of herbicides with biochar additions is still a
developing research area, with only a limited number of biochars and soils that have been
evaluated to date. To overcome this shortcoming, this chapter will review the existing
literature and compile the results of the individual studies to examine if any overall
conclusions can be gleamed from the data to date. In particular, production conditions (e.g.
temperature, pyrolysis type, residency time) as well as parent material (biomass type) will
be compiled to assess any dependency on these parameters as a function of herbicide
efficacy, dissipation, and sorption. This review will provide insights for the future directions
of herbicide-biochar research.
2. Charcoal, coal, ash and activated carbon: non-biochar additions

As mentioned in the introduction, biochar is the specialized name given to the spectrum of
charred biomass products that are intended as a means of C sequestration. However, there
has been some research conducted with non-biochar materials (e.g. activated charcoal
applications and wood ashes). Activated charcoal starts as charred C prior to the activation
process (e.g. steam, acid, or base activation) that optimizes sorption. Occasionally, the
source of the C does not also fall within the biochar definition of a biomass (e.g. fossil fuels
[coal], used tires, etc.).
There are minor differences in the overall chemical composition of activated charcoals
compared to biochars, with the only significant difference being biochars possess higher
oxygen contents (5-25%; e.g. Della Rocca et al., 1999; Brewer et al., 2009; Spokas & Reicosky,
2009; Zimmerman, 2010) than the corresponding activated charcoal (<10%; Yalcin & Sevinc
2000; Otowa et al., 1997) and natural black C forms (<7%; Hargrave et al., 1986; Ghetti, 1986;
Hofrichter et al., 1997). The most striking difference is in surface area, with activated
charcoals typically being >1000 m2 g-1 and biochars are often two orders of magnitude
smaller (<50 of m2 g-1; e.g. Della Rocca et al., 1999; Brewer et al., 2009; Spokas & Reicosky,
2009; Zimmerman, 2010). Thereby, activated charcoals possess an increased potential for
herbicide and other organic chemical sorption, as illustrated by activated charcoal’s use as
absorbent for analytical chemistry quantification methods (e.g. Betz et al., 1989).
2.1 Effect of carbonaceous materials on pesticide sorption

Sorption is one of the main processes that determine the fate of pesticides applied to soils.
Soil sorption is characterized by a partition constant Kd, which is the concentration of
pesticide in the solid phase divided into the pesticide concentration at the liquid phase at the
equilibrium (Wauchope et al., 2002). Sorption isotherms of organic compounds on soils or
amended soils are usually fitted to the Freundlich model, especially when the adsorption
takes place on heterogeneous surfaces (Calvet, 1989):
Cs = Kf Ce1/n (1)
where Cs is the concentration of pesticide sorbed, Ce is the equilibrium aqueous-phase

concentration, Kf is the Freundlich capacity coefficient, and 1/n is the Freundlich exponent,
which describes the degree of nonlinearity of the isotherm. When n=1, the Freundlich
model reduces to a linear model.
Sorption isotherms can also be fitted to a Langmuir model, which assumes that the sorbent
surface has a finite number of sorption sites and the sorptive energy is the same in all the
sites (i.e. all sites are identical). Furthermore, each sorptive site is occupied only by a single
molecule and there are no interactions between the sorbed molecules. Thereby, the
maximum sorption a monolayer of sorbates on the surface of the sorbent can be given by:
q = QbCe/1+bCe (2)
where q is the amount of sorbed pesticide per unit mass of soil, Ce is the equilibrium
pesticide concentration in solution, Q is the Langmuir adsorption capacity, and b is the
Langmuir affinity coefficient.
Among the carbonaceous materials more used as soil amendments are chars, especially
wheat char, charcoal, ash, and activated carbon. Pesticide sorption increases in all cases
when soils are amended with the carbonaceous materials (Table 1). Wang & Xing (2007)
hypothesized that the sorption of organic compounds to un-charred biomass is dominated
by absorption mechanisms, whereas adsorption becomes the dominant process with charred
materials, largely due to the newly created atomic surfaces and micropores. In the case of
wheat char and atrazine, one of the herbicides most used worldwide, the Kf value sorption
on the amendment was 2012 (Loganathan et al., 2009), and the Kf increased by a factor of 5
in a sandy loam soil and of 4.3 in a clay loam soil, when both soils were amended with 1%
(w/w) of wheat char. Sorption of pentachlorophenol, an organochlorine compound used as
herbicide, insecticide, fungicide, algaecide, and disinfectant, was studied on three soils with
different amendments (char, humic acids and peat), by Li et al. (2009). The highest sorption
of pentachlorophenol in all the soils was observed when the soils were amended with char,
followed by humic acids, and peat. Sorption was a function of organic carbon content (Li et
al., 2009). The authors reported a 2.5-20 fold increase in the Kf values following the char
addition. Zhang et al. (2006) studied the sorption of the pesticide benzonitrile in soil, wheat
char and soil amended with the char at a rate of 1% (w/w) with the results of 40.5, >99, and
96.5% respectively, sorbed of the total of the pesticide initially applied. The wheat char was
the dominant sorbent phase in the soil amended system, attributing approximately 90% of
benzonitrile sorption to the wheat char and 10% to the soil. The sorption of benzonitrile on
ash, 1% (w/w) amended soil and unamended soil was studied by Zhang et al. (2004), and a
10 fold increase was observed in the pesticide sorption on the silt loam soil amended with
the wheat char. Sorption of the herbicide diuron on soil, char, ash, and amended soil has
also been studied (Toth & Milham, 1975; Sheng et al., 2005; Yang et al., 2004; 2006; and Yang
& Sheng, 2003a; 2003b). In the study by Toth & Milham (1975), ash was found to adsorb
appreciable quantities of diuron from solution. Yang & Sheng (2003a) observed an increase
in the sorption of diuron which ranged between 400-2500 times, when wheat and rice ash
were used as sorbents and compared to the sorption on a silt loam soil. Increasing amounts
of char added to soil, from 0.01 to 1% (w/w), resulted in an increase in sorption, directly
proportion to the ash content.
Aged ash was compared as sorbent to fresh or non aged amendment by Yang & Sheng
(2003b), and diuron sorption was found to decrease in the aged ash due to the competitive
sorption of the dissolved organic matter present in the aged amendment. The competitive
Author Pesticide Amendment Soil Effec t
Silty clay
Loganathan et al., Wheat char (1% w/w) SL, 9% clay , 1.3% OC ↑ Sorption ↓ Desorption
Atrazine
2009 12.9% C, SA 10.1 m2 g-1 CL, 32% clay, 2.1% OC ↓ Mineralization slurries
Zhang et al., 2006 Benzonitrile Wheat char (1% w/w) SiL, 23% clay, 1.2% OC ↑ Sorption ↓ Degradation
Willow woods shavings SiL, 27% clay, 2.6% OC
activated carbons)
Li et al., 2009 Pentachlorophenol char 400ºC, 2h (2% w/w) CL, 32% clay, 0. 9% OC ↑ Sorption
SA 292 m2 g-1 SiL, 11% clay, 0.8% OC
Diuron Bromoxynil Wheat char (1% w/w)
Sheng et al., 2005 SiL, 23% clay, 1.2% OC ↑ Sorption
Ametryne SA 10.1 m2 g-1
Yang et al., 2006 Diuron Wheat char SA 10.1 m2 g-1 SiL, 23% clay, 1.2% OC ↑ Sorption ↓ Degradation
Atrazine
Qiu et al., 2009a Wheat char (0.1-1% w/w) SL ↑ Biodegradation
Dichlobenil
Zhang et al., 2005 Benzonitrile Wheat char SiL, 23% clay, 1.2% OC ↑ Biodegradation
Fenuron Metoxuron Diuron
Isoproturon Linuron Black carbon Determination BC-water
Sobek et al., 2009
Chlorotoluron Metobromuron (Fork-lift diesel soot) distribution coefficients
Chlorbromuron Monolinuron
2,4-D 2,4-D ↑ Sorption low pH
Black carbon (Rice straw)
Qiu et al., 2009b Prometon Prometon ↑ Sorption high pH
SA 1085 m2 g-1
Propanil Propanil no pH effect
↑ Sorption Diur >AC no pH
Diuron Commercial AC SA 776 m2 g-
1
ffect
Yang et al., 2004 Bromoxynil
↑ Sorption Brom >AC <pH
Ametryne Wheat carbon SA 310 m2 g-1
↑ Sorption Ametryne >AC > pH
Burned rice straw ↑ Sorption > ↑ Concentration
Xu et al., 2008 Clomazone SiL
(0.01-1% w/w) ↓ Availability to barnyardgrass
Yamane and Green,
Ametryne Charcoal SiC (subsoil) ↑ Sorption > high pH
1972
Mukherjee, 2009 Atrazine Charcoal (2.5% w/w) SL, 17% clay, 0.4% OC Slightly ↑ dissipation
Prometon, Prometryn 2,4-D, Coal ↑ pesticide retention
Crepeau et al., 1991 SL, 10% clay, 0.4% OC
Impacts of Biochar (Black Carbon) Additions on the Sorption and Efficacy of Herbicides
Carbofuan Dinoseb, Feanmiphos AC > activated carbon ↓ leaching

Sudhakar & Dikshit,
Endosulfan Wood charcoal Determination sorption kinetics
1999
Sudhakar & Dikshit, Endosulfan Atrazine Competitive sorption
Table 1. Summary of studies involving non-biochar materials (charcoals, coal, ash and
Wood charcoal
2010 Monocrotophos Effect of pH, Cl. fertilizer, DOM
319
Notes: AC: Activated Carbon; SA: Surface Area; SL: Sandy loam; CL: Clay loam,; SiL: Silt loam; SiC:
320

Keerthinarayana & Sorption kinetics. Effect speed
Lindane Wood charcoal
Bandyopadhyay, 1997 concentration, sorbent size,
Rice straw ash, 11.4% OC ↑ Sorption ↓ Genotoxicity,
Cui et al., 2009 Pentachlorophenol Sediment
(1-10% w/w) except high concentration
Hiller et al., 2007 Wheat ash, 11.8% C SL, 11% clay, 1.2% OC ↑ Sorption
MCPA
2008 (1% w/w) S, 0.6% clay, 0.5% OC ↓ Desorption
Wheat ash, 11.8% C SL, 11% clay, 1.2% OC ↑ Sorption ↓ Desorption
Hiller et al., 2009 MCPA
(1% w/w) S, 0.6% clay, 0.5% OC ↓ Degradation
Sorption > intermediate T
Deltamethrin
Al Qodah et al., 2007 Oil shale ash Effect concentration, pH,
Lambda-Cyhalothrin
particle size, speed, T
Rice ash, 6%OC
Yang and Sheng, 2003a Diuron SiL, 23% clay, 1.2% OC ↑ Sorption
Wheat ash 14%OC (0.01- 1%/w)
Diuron ↑ Sorption Aging effect
Yang and Sheng, 2003b Wheat ash 14% OC (1% w/w) SiL, 23% clay, 1.2% OC
Atrazine Herbicide competition
Area; SL: Sandy loam; SiL: Silt loam; S: Sandy)

Wheat ash 77% OC Metals slightly
Wang et al., 2009 2,4,6-Trichlorophenol
SA 410 m2 g-1 ↓ sorption and ↑ desorption
Wheat ash 13% C ↑ Sorption ↓ Desorption
Zhang et al., 2004 Benzonitrile SiL, 23% clay, 1.2% OC
(1% w/w) SA 10.1 m2 g-1 ↓ Biodegradation
2,4-D CA SA 380 m2 g-1 Effect contact time, particle size,
Gupta et al., 2006
Carbofuran AC SA 710 m2 g-1 concentration, pH, temperature
AC SA 1200 m2 g-1 AC→dieldrin sequestration in
Dieldrin (0.02-0.08% w/w) SiL, 9% clay, 2.2% OC soil. No effect on plant uptake
Hilber et al., 2009
except 0.08%
Domingues et al., 2007 α-cypermethrin AC SA 972 m2 g-1 ↑ Sorption
MCPB Imazalil Bentazone Effect pH on sorption
Hu et al., 1998 MCPP Dinoseb PCP AC SA 1340 m2 g-1 Acidic ↓Sorption ↑pH
Imidacloprid Linuron Basic ↑Sorption ↑pH
AC 95.4% C ↑Sorption ↓Leaching
Guo et al., 1993 Alachlor S, 5% clay, 0.9% OC
(0.5-2.1 t C ha-1) (-) Degradation
Atrazine AC 95.4% C ↑ED50 with > AC concentration
Guo et al., 1991 S, 5% clay, 0.9% OC
Alachlor (0.5-2.1 t C ha-1) (-) Degradation bioactvity
Table 1. (Continued) (AC: Activated Carbon; CA: Carbonaceous adsorbent; SA: Surface
DDT DDD AC TOG SA 935 m2 g-1 Water SorptionDesorption
Hale et al., 2009
DDE DDMU ACRS SA 900 m2 g-1 Sediment Sequestration DOM ↓Sorption
AC TOG SA 935, F400 SA 1100 Effective to sequester
Tomaszewski et al., 2007 DDT Sediment
AC830 SA 900, ACRS SA 900 DDT from sediment
Aldicarb Lindane Effect of pesticides and fulvic
Lafrance et al., 1991 AC
Pentachlorophenol and humic acids on sorption
Aldrin Dieldrin Heptacchlor Efficient removal
Bandala et al., 2006 Activated vegetal carbon
Heptachlor Epoxide pesticides from water
Simazine Simetryn AC Coal based
Matsui et al., 2003 Sorption kinetics
Asulam AC Wood based
Ametryn Aldicarb
Ayranci and Hoda, 2005 AC-cloth SA 2500 m2 g-1 Effective to pesticide removal
Dinoseb Diuron
Table 1. (Continued) (AC: Activated Carbon; SA: Surface Area)

Impacts of Biochar (Black Carbon) Additions on the Sorption and Efficacy of Herbicides
321
sorption with atrazine was also studied, and a slight decrease in diuron sorption in presence
of atrazine in the soil and in the amendment was also observed. The effect of the pH on
pesticide sorption on the organic amendments was also studied by Li et al. (2009) with the
result of an increase of sorption with the decrease in pH, which changes the
pentachlorophenol species, and increases the static repulsion between the sorbent surface
and the anionic form of the pesticide. However, it has been suggested that the presence of
oxygenated groups on char could mask the impact of pH on the sorption of herbicides
(Tessmer et al., 1997). Yang et al. (2004) did not observe any effect of pH on diuron sorption
on activated carbon, due probably to the low density of functional groups on the surface of
the activated carbon. Sheng et al. (2005) examined wheat char and 1% (w/w) char amended
soil and hypothesized that the London forces between herbicide molecules and the
electrically neutral char surface did not change with the pH. However, Yang et al. (2004)
observed a decrease in diuron sorption with the pH increase on wheat char, because of the
alteration of the surface charge properties by the deprotonation of the functional groups
over the pH range. Contrary to the above charcoal studies, Sheng et al. (2005) also reported
the same pH effect when diuron was sorbed only to soil, attributing the fact to the increase
of the dissociation of the acidic groups with the increase in pH, increasing the hydrophilic of
the organic matter, and reducing diuron sorption. Furthermore, Sheng et al. (2005) and Yang
et al. (2004) also examined the pH effect on the sorption of the herbicides ametryne and
bromoxynil. Both observed that sorption of bromoxynil on soil, wheat char, activated carbon
and char-amended soil was higher at low rather than at high pH. The pKa of this compound
is 4.06, so at pH< 4.06 the herbicide is in the molecular form and at pH>4.06 in anionic form.
The deprotonation of the phenolic hydroxyl group and the interactions and repulsion
between the anion and the charge of the soil or amendment surfaces are the responsible for
the sorption decrease with increasing pH of bromoxyinil. Ametryne is a basic herbicide,
with pKa of 4.1, at pH< 4.1 the compound is mostly in cationic form and at pH > 4.1 in
molecular form. Sheng et al. (2005) studied the effect of 2 pH values, 3 and ~6.5, and found
higher sorption of ametryne at lower pH on soil, wheat char and wheat char amended soil,
in this case, the higher sorption occurs when the pesticide is in ionic form, due probably to
electrostatic interactions of ametryne cations and the charges of the soil or char surface.
Yang et al. (2004) included a value more of pH= 4 in the study and observed a different
effect of pH on ametryne sorption. Ametryne sorption on activated carbon increased with
the increase in pH, as result of the deprotonation of the herbicide molecule at low pH.
However, when the sorbent was wheat char the highest sorption was observed at the
intermediate pH, followed by the lower pH and the higher pH. The authors considered that
the increase in sorption when the pH increased from 2 to 4 is due to the net result of the
adsorption increase because of the ametryne deprotonation and the desorption decrease
because of deprotonation of the functional groups of the sorbent surface. Yamane & Green
(1972) also reported an increase on ametryne sorption on a silty clay soil when charcoal was
added. Higher sorption of the herbicide at lower pH on the non amended soil was observed,
but with the addition of charcoal to the soil the effect of pH on sorption of ametryne was the
opposite, increasing the herbicide affinity for charcoal with protonation. For clomazone, a
rice crops herbicide, Xu et al. (2008) reported an increase in sorption with the addition of
burned rice straw to the soil, with an increase of 1.5 and 3 times in the Kf values when a silt
loam soil was amended with the 0.1 and 0.5% (w/w) respectively. The acidic herbicide
MCPA and the effect of wheat ash as soil amendment on its sorption were studied by Hiller
et al. (2007; 2008; 2009). The authors observed that the isotherms of MCPA on wheat ash
fitted to a Langmuir equation, but sorption on soil and ash amended soil did not fit to any
model and calculated the Kd values, with a 15 and 10 fold increase when the sandy loam and
the sandy soil were amended with 1% (w/w) of wheat ash. Activated carbon was used as
amendment of a sandy soil for sorption of the herbicide alachlor (Guo et al., 1993). The soil
was amended with the waste activated carbon at a rate of 0.5-2 t C ha-1, increasing the value
of Kf by a factor of 5-14 as compared with the non amended soil. Digested sewage sludge
and animal manure were also studied as amendments, but waste activated carbon was more
efficient in alachlor sorption. Konstantinou & Albanis (2000) examined the impact of coal
fly-ash additions on the impact of 6 herbicides (atrazine, propazine, prometryne, propanil,
molinate, propachlor). Their particular coal fly-ash had a carbon content of 2%, which is
significantly lower than the typical charcoal. They showed that the adsorbed amounts of
herbicides increased with the amount of fly ash addition, up to the amount sorbed by the
“pure” fly ash. The adsorption coefficient (Kf) was exponentially related to the fly ash
percent.
2.2 Effect of carbonaceous materials on herbicide desorption

The process of desorption has been less studied as compared to sorption. A pesticide that is
sorbed to soil particles has to be desorbed to be available for transport and degradation.
Desorption of atrazine in one step, successive steps and followed by solvent extraction for
soil, char and char amended soil was performed by Loganathan et al. (2009). The multiple
steps desorption was more efficient than the one step process, showing hysteresis in the
sandy loam and clay loam soils and the amended soils. After the successive steps and
solvent extraction desorption the amount of atrazine remaining sorbed on the char amended
soils were higher than in nonamended soils. The successive desorption isotherms could be
fitted to the Freundlich, Langmuir, and a combination of both equations. Desorption of
MCPA is influenced by the presence of wheat ash in a sandy and sandy loam soil,
decreasing MCPA desorption from 77 to 21% in the non amended and wheat ash amended
sandy loam soil, and from 45 to 11% in the non amended and amended sandy soil (Hiller et
al., 2007; 2008; 2009). MCPA desorption at high concentration (57 mg L-1) the percentage of
herbicide desorbed from the wheat ash was similar to the percentages desorbed from the
amended soils, however, at the low concentration (5.7 mg L-1) decreased the desorption of
MCPA from the amendment. This fact could be propably due to the limited number of
sorption sites of high energy binding available, which are occupied first at low
concentration; to the extent of concentration is increasing, these sites are not available and
herbicide molecules are retained to low energy sites and can be desorbed more easily. The
same amendment was used for the desorption study of benzonitrile by Zhang et al. (2004).
These authors evaluated the herbicide desorption from the nonamended soil and from the
amendment, and observed a similar desorption of benzonitrile, but with different kinetics,
slower desorption from wheat ash than from the silt loam soil, because of stronger sorption
of benzonitrile on ash surface than on soil organic matter. Karanfil & Kilduff (1999)
observed that the surface acidity (by activation) was a vital factor in the sorption of
hydrophobic compounds. Increases in acidity caused a corresponding increase in surface
polarity, which correspondingly resulted in reduced sorption. Konstantinou & Albanis
(2000) also observed that the amount of herbicide desorbed with water decreased with
increased fly-ash content. Thereby, indicating that the amount of potential available
herbicide in the soil system decreases but fly-ash could be utilized to reduce the mobility of
the herbicide in the soil system.
2.3 Effect of carbonaceous materials on pesticide degradation

The addition of organic amendments to soil can have contrasting effects on pesticide
biodegradation; some authors have reported an increase as result of the microbial
stimulation by the amendments, and others report a degradation decrease with the
amendment, due to a lower pesticide bioavailability to microorganisms because of the
increase in sorption.
For the herbicide atrazine, Loganathan et al. (2009) reported a decrease in mineralization of
the herbicide in the 1% (w/w) wheat char amended soils as compared to the soils slurries,
attributing the atrazine bioavailability decrease to the increase in sorption of the herbicide
on the char amendment. Guo et al. (1991) suggested that atrazine and alachlor degradation
could be inhibited by the presence of waste activated carbon, and stimulated by other
uncharred amendments, such as municipal sewage sludge and manure. An increase on
atrazine degradation by the addition of organic amendments to a sandy loam soil was also
reported by Mukherjee (2009). Among the amendments studied, charcoal was included,
although it was the amendment that had a lower decrease in atrazine degradation, as
compared to rice straw, sawdust and farm yard manure. Qiu et al. (2009a) observed
enhanced degradation of atrazine increasing the amount of wheat char added to the sandy
loam soil from 0.1 to 1%. These increases were hypothesized to result from the nutrients
present in char, and especially P, which could stimulate the microorganisms’ activity
thereby enhancing the biodegradation. Coapplication of another herbicide, dichlobenil
resulted in a reduction of atrazine degradation in the soil and char amended soils, in
comparison with the degradation of atrazine applied as the only herbicide. The suppression
on the degradation of one herbicide by the metabolism of the other one applied could be
due to the toxicity of the second compound or its metabolites, or by the competition for
nutrients (Qiu et al., 2009a). Similar results were obtained for dichlobenil degradation as the
only herbicide and coapplied with atrazine. Yang et al. (2006) observed a decrease and
slower degradation of diuron in the 0.5% char amended soil as compared to the soil non-
amended, with degradation lower than 40% and 55% respectively of the amount of diuron
initially applied and after 10 weeks of study. Bioavailability of diuron to soil
microorganisms was decreased by the presence of wheat char in the soil, due to the increase
in herbicide sorption. For the weak acidic herbicide MCPA, a decrease in biodegradation
because of wheat ash amendment was also reported by Hiller et al. (2009). The half-life of
MCPA increased by a factor of 4.5 in the sandy loam soil with the 1% (w/w) wheat ash
amendment, and correspondingly increased by 2.6 times in the sandy soil. The lower
degradation of MCPA in the amended soils might be due to the increase in sorption, but
also to the lower desorption observed.
Biodegradation of benzonitrile has been extensively studied by Zhang et al. (2004; 2005;
2006). In the first study a decrease in the biodegradation of benzonitrile in the 1% (w/w)
wheat ash amended soil was reported. During the study the authors proved that there was
no abiotical degradation of the organic compound and dissolved organic C did not affect its
biodegradation. Reduction in the benzonitrile biodegradation was due to the combination of
increased sorption and slow sorption from the ash and the acclimation period of the
microorganisms. In the second study, initial degradation of benzonitrile was faster in the the
soil amended than in the soil free of char, because of the dissolved nutrients of the wheat-
residue derived char, which stimulated the cell growth and degradation in the amended
soil. Degradation process was followed by a slower phase due to the adsorptive decrease by
the presence of char. In the last work the authors studied the effect of initial benzonitrile
concentration on the degradation. In the non-amended soil higher degradation was
observed at lower benzonitrile concentration, however, in char amended soil, the higher
initial concentration, the higher degradation. At the highest concentration a higher
degradation was observed in the amended soil as compared to the non amended one, which
could be attributed to the increase and stimulation of the microbial activity by the nutrients
of the char. No significant pH effect was observed for benzonitrile degradation in char and
char-amended soil, probably due to the high affinity sorption of benzonitrile by char that
did not vary with pH.
2.4 Effect of carbonaceous materials on pesticide leaching

The addition of rich carbon amendments to soils can decrease pesticide leaching, as
consequence of the increase in sorption. Crepeau et al. (1991) studied the mobility of the
pesticides: 2,4-D, carbofuran, dinoseb, fenamiphos, prometon and prometryn in a sandy soil,
two charcoals and the soil amended with three charcoals and activated carbon at three rates:
4:1, 7:1, and 10:1 (dry weight soil/weight coal carbon). The highest retention of the
pesticides was observed with the activated carbon at the rates of 7:1 and 10:1. Leaching of
pesticides also decreased with the addition of charcoal to the sandy soil. Leaching of
alachlor was studied by Guo et al. (1993) in three different conditions, unsaturated flow,
saturated flow and alternation of saturated and unsaturated flow in soil amended with
activated carbon, municipal sewage sludge and animal manure at three rates of C content.
In all cases the highest alachlor retention and recovery at the end of the study was observed
in the waste activated carbon amended soil, which is in accordance with the higher sorption
reported by the authors.
3. Impacts of biochar additions

The use of biochar as soil amendment is highly recommended because of the properties and
benefits this amendment provides to soil and environment. As it was previously mentioned,
among the properties of biochar are its high stability to degradation, and nutrient retention.
Numerous works deals with the effect of biochar on soil properties (Warnock et al., 2007;
Chan et al., 2007; 2008; Asai et al., 2009; Novak et al. 2009; 2010; Steinbeiss et al., 2009; Van
Zwieten et al., 2010; Busscher et al., 2010; Sohi et al., 2010; Gaskin et al., 2010; Singh et al.,
2010). There are limited studies (Table 2) detailing the effect of biochar soil amendments
(fitting the definition of biochar) on pesticides and agrochemicals fate. Due to the fact that
biochar is a black C the studies outlined in Section 2 (Table 1) are also applicable.
The use of biochar could contribute to the increase of pesticides sorption on soil, decreasing
its mobility and reducing the contamination risks of surface and ground waters. The
knowledge of biochar properties, which depends on the feedstock and pyrolysis conditions,
is vital (Section 1). The characterization of biochar used in studies should be conducted and
this data should be included in the manuscript, which would enable the comparison of the
effects of the amendment on the pesticides behavior in soils across different studies. This
comparison would allow the determination of the optimum pyrolysis conditions to yield
biochar with the most appropriate properties to reduce the environmental contamination
risks associated with the use of agrochemicals.
3.1 Effect of biochar on herbicide sorption

Triazine herbicides are among the more studied pesticides in the works about the effect of
biochar on pesticide sorption. Spokas et al. (2009) observed an increase on atrazine sorption
when a sandy loam soil was amended with 5% (w/w) biochar. The biochar was produced
by fast pyrolysis at 500 ºC of sawdust and had a surface area of 1.6 m2 g-1. The effect of
biochar on atrazine sorption was greater at lower atrazine concentrations, and no effect of
biochar addition was observed at the highest concentration of atrazine studied (17 μg mL-1).
These authors also studied the sorption of acetochlor, a chloroacetanilide herbicide, and
reported a greater sorption of the herbicide in the soil amended with biochar, increasing the
Freundlich Kf value from 4.1 to 6.6 μg1-1/n mL1/n g-1 with the amendment.
Wang et al. (2010) studied the effect of biosolids and two biochars on terbuthylazine
sorption on sandy volcanic ash soil and forest topsoil. Pine (Pinus spp.) wood was the
feedstock for both biochars, BC350 was produced at 350 ºC and BC700 at 700 ºC and were
applied to soil at a rate of 1% (w/w). Sorption isotherms of terbuthylazine on soil and soil
amended was described by a Freundlich model. The highest increase in sorption was
observed when the soil was amended with BC700, followed by BC350. The authors found
that the organic matter in the amendments had higher sorption capacity to the herbicide
than endogenous organic matter in the landing soil, with lower content on organic carbon
(OC). Sorption of atrazine to biochar was studied by Cao et al. (2009) and Cao & Harris
(2010). The biochar feedstock was dairy manure and was produced at 200 and 350 ºC in the
first study and in the second were included the temperatures of 100 and 500 ºC. Sorption of
atrazine in the first study was higher on BC200 than on BC350, which was correlated to the
organic carbon content (31 and 26% respectively) and the polymer aliphatic fraction. No
significant differences were observed by the authors on the sorption of atrazine in single or
binary solute (with Pb) systems when the adsorbent were the biochars, indicating limited
sorption competition between Pb and atrazine. In the second study, the higher sorption of
atrazine was observed with BC200, with higher OC content than BC350, but lower than
BC100. It is thought that the lower sorption in BC100 with higher content on OC is due to
the suppression of sorption by high dissolved organic C competing for sorption sites.
Zheng et al. (2010) have also studied the sorption of two triazine herbicides, atrazine and
simazine, on biochar. The feedstock of this biochar was green waste which was a mixture of
maple, elm and oak woodchips and bark. The pyrolysis temperature was set at 400 ºC and
biochar was separated in different fractions according to the particle size. Higher and faster
sorption of atrazine and simazine occurred with the smaller particle size of biochar. The
authors also reported an increase in sorption affinity of the biochar for the herbicides with
the decrease in the solid/solution ratio and higher sorption at pH < 7, but, no pH effect at
values ≥ 7 was observed. Sorption isotherms of the herbicides as single or double solute
system were adjusted and fit to Freundlich models, and competitive sorption was observed
for both herbicides. According to Zheng et al. (2010) biochar can be considered a
heterogeneous sorbent with combined adsorption and partition mechanisms, which occurs
on carbonized and non-carbonized fractions of the biochar. A biochar produced from red
gum wood at two temperatures (450 and 850 ºC) were used to study the sorption of the
pesticides diuron and pyrimethanil on soil by Yu et al. (2006 and 2010) respectively. The
sandy loam soil was amended with BC450 at rates from 0.1-5% (w/w) and from 0.1 to 1%
for BC850. The sorption data were fitted to a Freundlich model and it was reported that
there was an increase in the non-linearity behavior of the sorption with the increasing
amendment rate, at the highest biochar rate data was better described by a Langmuir model.
Reference Pesticide Biochar Soil Effect

Red gum wood chips
↓ Dissipation ↑DT50
450 ºC 2h (0.1-1% w/w)
Yu et al., Carbofuran > BC 850
SA 27 m2 g-1 SL, 11% clay
2009 Clorpyrifos ↓ Plant uptake
850 ºC 1h (0.1-1% w/w)
↓Bioavailability
SA 566 m2 g-1
Red gum wood chips ↑ Sorption + > amount
450 ºC 2h (0.1-5% w/w) BC 850
Yu et al.,
Diuron SA 27 m2 g-1 SL, 11% clay ↑ Sorption irreversibility
2006
850 ºC 1h (0.1-1% w/w) > amount BC 850 >
SA 566 m2 g-1 microporosity
Spokas et Atrazine Sawdust 500ºC (5% w/w) SiL, 23% clay, ↑ Sorption ↓ Dissipation
al., 2009 Acetochlor SA 1.6 m2 g-1 2.6% OC ↓ Bioavailability
C, 49.4% clay,
Jablonowski Hardwood 450-500ºC 3.2%OC
Atrazine ↑ Mineralization C Soil
et al., 2010 (0.1-5% w/w) SA 200 m2 g-1 SiL, 7.8%
clay, 1.3%OC
Cao et al., Dairy manure, 200 ºC 4h, 350 ºC
Atrazine ↑ Sorption BC 200
2009 4h
S Landing
Pinus radiata wood
soil, 1.2% OC
Wang et al., Commercial charcoal 350ºC (1% ↑ Sorption BC 700
Terbuthylazine Forest
2010 w/w) ↓ Desorption
topsoil, 5.1%
Sawdust 700 ºC (1% w/w)
OC
Cotton straws
↓ Dissipation> 1% BC
450ºC 2h (0.1-1% w/w)
Yang et al., Chlorpyrifos 850
SA 3.9 m g
2 -1 CL, 33% clay
2010 Fipronil ↓ Bioavailability ↓ Plant
850 ºC 1h (0.1-1% w/w)
uptake
SA 159 m2 g-1
Red gum wood chips
↑ Sorption + > amount
450 ºC 2h (0.1-1% w/w)
Yu et al., BC 850
Pyrimethanil SA 27 m2 g-1 SL, 11% clay
2010 ↑ Sorption irreversibility
850 ºC 1h (0.1-1% w/w)
> amount BC 850
SA 566 m2 g-1
↑ Sorption
Sopeña et ↓ Desorption ↑Hysteresis
Isoproturon Eucalyptus sp (0.1-1% w/w) SL , 1.3% OC
al., 2010 ↓ Degradation↓
Mineralization
DM BC 100ºC 4h
SA~1.8 m2 g-1
Cao &
Atrazine BC 200ºC 4h SA~2.7 m2 g-1 ↑ Sorption BC 200
Harris, 2010
BC 350ºC 4h SA~7 m2 g-1
BC 500ºC 4h SA~13 m2 g-1
> faster sorption <
Elm, oak, maple particle size BC
Zheng et Atrazine
woodchips and barns Competitive sorption
al., 2010 Simazine
450ºC SA 6.7-7.6 m2 g-1 solid/solution , pH effect
pH<7
Notes: SA: Surface area; BC: Biochar; DM: Dairy Manure; SL: Sandy loam; SiL: Silt loam; S: Sandy; C:
Clay; and CL: Clay loam.
Table 2. Summary of biochar amendment studies on herbicide fate
The amount of diuron sorbed did increase with the biochar amount added to the soil.
Biochar additions, even small additions, increased diuron sorption as compared with the
non-amended soil. This clearly illustrates that presence of carbonaceous material, even in
small amounts, can dominate sorption of organic compounds in soils. Similar results were
obtained for the sorption of pyrimethanil on the same soil and using the same amendments
rates and biochars (Yu et al., 2010). Higher sorption was observed in the soil amended with
BC850, as compared to the amended BC450 soil, which is in accordance with the surface
area of biochar, 566 and 27 m2 g-1, respectively. The authors suggested that sorption of the
pesticide on the biochar amended soil was a combination of surface adsorption and
absorption into biochar micropores. The increase of sorption and non linearity of the
isotherms with the increase of biochar amendment was also observed by Sopeña et al. (2010)
in the study of isoproturon sorption in a sandy loam soil. Biochar feedstock was red gum
wood, but no further information about the biochar production and characteristics was
reported thus limiting the comparison to other biochar results.
3.2 Effect of biochar on pesticide desorption

Studies of pesticide desorption have been reported by Yu et al. (2006; 2010), Wang et al.
(2010), and Sopeña et al. (2010). In this first study of Yu et al. (2006), diuron desorption
isotherms for a sandy loam soil amended with different rates of biochar produced at 450 and
850 ºC were fitted to Freundlich models. Sorption-desorption hysteresis on the amended
soils was observed, and irreversibility of the sorption increased with the increase in the
amount of biochar applied to the soil. Sorption irreversibility was greater in the soil
amended with the highest rate of BC850, which was attributed to the higher micro-porosity
of this amendment as compared to BC450. In the second study pyrimethanil desorption was
calculated as the percentage of the initial amount of herbicide adsorbed on the soil free of
biochar and on the amended soil. Isotherms were not calculated and neither adjustment to
any sorption model was performed. The authors observed a decrease on the percentage of
pyrimethanil desorbed when the amount of biochar increased in the amended soils and
lower herbicide desorption from the soil amended with BC850 than with BC450. The lower
desorption reported for the BC850 could be due to the higher surface area (566 vs. 27 m2 g-1)
and the higher number of micropores, maximum peak of pore size distribution at 0.49 vs. 1.1
nm, as compared to BC450. Desorption isotherms of terbuthylazine in unamended and
amended soils were well described by the Freundlich model (Wang et al., 2010). The authors
reported a lower desorption of terbuthylazine adsorbed on the soils treated with biochar,
especially with BC700, than in the soils no amended. These biochars were not characterized,
as to surface area and microporosity, but again the biochar produced at higher temperature
shows a slower and lower desorption of the herbicide adsorbed. In case of isoproturon
desorption the data also fitted well to Freundlich model and lower desorption of the
herbicide with the increase in the biochar/soil ratio was observed by Sopeña et al. (2010).
3.3 Effect of biochar on pesticide degradation

The effect of biochar on the dissipation and degradation of pesticides in amended soils has
been reported for the herbicides atrazine (Spokas et al., 2009; Jablonowski et al., 2010),
acetochlor (Spokas et al., 2009), isoproturon (Sopeña et al., 2010), and the insecticides
chlorpyrifos (Yu et al., 2009; Yang et al., 2010), fipronil (Yang et al., 2010), and carbofuran
(Yu et al., 2009). Spokas et al. (2009) reported a lag phase of 11 days in the dissipation of
atrazine in the non-amended and biochar amended silt loam soil. After that time dissipation
was greater in the unamended soil. An increase in the degradation of atrazine was found by
Jablonowski et al. (2010), in a clay soil adapted to atrazine, and amended with biochar from
hardwood at 450-500 ºC. The increase in mineralization and degradation of the herbicide is
attributed to the stimulation of the soil microflora by the nutrients provided by biochar.
Spokas et al. (2009) did not observe any lag phase for acetochlor dissipation, and the
amendment of soil with biochar decreased the herbicide dissipation. The time of
disappearance of the 50% of the initial amount of herbicide applied (DT50) was calculated
and increased from 9.7 days in the non amended soil to 34.5 d in the biochar amended soil.
An increase in persistence of isoproturon in a sandy soil with biochar amendment was also
reported by Sopeña et al. (2010) and DT50 increased from 2.2 d in the unamended soil to 5.6 d
in the 2% (w/w) biochar amended soil. The amendment of a clay loam soil with biochar
produced at 450 and 850 ºC from cotton straws also caused a decrease in chlorpyrifos and
fipronil dissipation (Yang et al., 2010). The dissipation decrease was higher with the higher
content of biochar, and BC850 was more effective in reducing the loss of both insecticides.
Under non sterilized conditions chlorpyrifos DT50 increased from 21 to 44 and 56 d with the
1% (w/w) BC450 and BC850 amendments, respectively. Furthermore, fipronil DT50
increased from 27 d in the non amended soil to 48 and 60 d with the 1% BC450 and 850,
respectively. Under sterilized conditions DT50 were 2 and 3 times higher for chlorpyrifos and
fipronil, which implies that degradation of the pesticides is mainly biotic. It was suggested
that the decrease in pesticide dissipation in the soils was due to the lower bioavailability of
chlorpyrifos and fipronil to the soil microorganisms, because of an increase in sorption and
lower desorption promoted by the biochar. Yu et al. (2009) also reported a decrease in
carbofuran and chlorpyrifos dissipation in a sandy loam soil when the soil was amended
with biochar produced from red gum wood chips at 450 and 850 ºC. These authors also
found a decrease in pesticide dissipation with the increasing content of biochar, being BC850
more effective in the reduction of the insecticides dissipation. Carbofuran DT50 increased
from 12 d in the non amended soil to 33 d in the 1% (w/w) BC850 amended soil and for
chlorpyrifos the increase in DT50 was from 12 to 43 d with the addition of 1% BC850 to the
soil. The effect of the presence of plants on the insecticides dissipation was also studied,
with the result of faster loss of pesticide residues with the presence of plants in all soils, and
especially in the soil amended with BC850. This could be due to the combination of effects of
uptake by the plants and increase in degradation of the pesticides, because of the
stimulation of microbial and biochemical activity.
3.4 Effect of biochar on pesticide plant uptake

Little research is reported on the effect of biochar on plant uptake of pesticides. Yu et al.
(2009) used spring onion to study the effect of the biochar produced from red gum wood
chips at 450 and 850 ºC as amendment of a sandy loam soil on the plant uptake of
chlorpyrifos and carbofuran. In the study of Yang et al. (2010) Chinese chives uptake of
chlorpyrifos and fipronil from a clay loam soil amended with biochar prepared from cotton
straw residue at 450 and 850 oC was determined. In both studies higher biomass production
was observed in the cultivated soils amended with biochars than in the control soils, with
the BC850 resulting in a larger increase than the BC450 amendment. In the soils spiked with
carbofuran, greater biomass was produced from spring onion than in the soils spiked with
chlorpyrifos. Soils cultivated with Chinese chives produced higher biomass in the soil
spiked with chlorpyrifos as compared with fipronil. It was shown in the two studies that
BC850 was more effective in reducing the uptake of the insecticides by the plants. The total
amount of plant uptake of the pesticides in the whole plant or in parts of the plant decreased
with the increasing content (0.1, 0.5, 1% w/w) of biochar in the soil, being the 1% BC850
treatment the most effective in the reduction of the total pesticide plant uptake (75% for
carbofuran and 90% for chlorpyrifos in case of spring onion, and 52% for fipronil and 81%
for chlorpyrifos in Chinese chives) as compared with the control or non amended soil.
4. Impact of biochar characteristics

There are several studies about pyrolysis conditions and biochar properties focused on soil
quality improvement, but as mentioned above, reports on the study of biochar on the effect
of pesticides fate are scarce. Thus, it is difficult to assess all the factors that predict biochar
properties for the increase in sorption and retention, and decrease in leaching and mobility
of herbicides to avoid environmental pollution associated to the use of agrochemicals.
However, some trends can be elucidated from the available data.
4.1 Type of pyrolysis process

The first condition that appears to have an influence on herbicide sorption is the type of
pyrolysis process. Biochar properties can be very varied and depend on the feedstock, the
conditions of the thermal process used, and the changes post-pyrolysis caused by aging or
activation treatments (Laird et al., 2009). The yield of gas, liquid or solid products also
depends on the thermal process conditions. The yield of biochar follows the order: slow
pyrolysis > intermediate pyrolysis > fast pyrolysis > gasification. The slow pyrolysis process
implies low temperature, around 400 ºC, and residence times of several minutes. The
temperature of the fast and intermediate pyrolysis processes is moderate, around 500 ºC,
and the residence time is of ~1 second and 10-20 s, respectively. In gasification the
temperature is higher, around 800 ºC and the residence time is longer, more than 5 minutes
(Bridgwater, 2006). Although the process with lower temperature yields the higher amount
of char, temperatures lower than 400 ºC produces biochar with low pH, CEC, and small
surface area, which make it not suitable for improving soil quality (Lehmann, 2007), or
increasing pesticide sorption on soil, decreasing its dissipation and availability (Yu et al.,
2006; 2009; 2010; Wang et al., 2010; Yang et al., 2010). According to Sohi et al. (2010)
feedstock is an important factor to determine the function of biochar in soil, but there is no
consensus about the optimal feedstock in terms of soil use and energy production. The
concentration of bases in biochar depends on the mineral content of the biomass used, and
the ash content of the biochar on the type of feedstock, for example, softwood produces a
biochar with lower content on ash than hardwood and corn or wheat wastes (Laird et al.,
2009). Woody chars are considered to be more highly condensed, more aromatic and with
higher surface area as cotton straw derived chars (Yang et al., 2010).
4.2 Pyrolysis temperature

Temperature is a key factor on biochar properties, such as surface area, microporosity, and
stability. Brewer et al. (2009) reported different physical and chemical properties of the chars
produced by fast pyrolysis and gasification than from the chars prepared by slow pyrolysis.
The process temperature determines the type of carbon present in the biochar, being
reaction time less decisive. In the studies, which deal with the effect of biochar on pesticide
sorption, dissipation and bioavailability in soils, the authors report better properties to the
biochar produced at higher temperature, as consequence of the higher surface area and
microporosity. Yu et al (2006) observed higher hysteresis and sorption irreversibility of
diuron with the biochar produced at 850 ºC as compared to the one produced at 450 ºC. The
microporosity was greater in BC850 than in BC450, and diuron molecules sorbed could be
retained in the micropores or have caused a slow and prolongued sorption phase, which
may have led to the apparent hysteresis due to non equilibrium process. Yang et al. (2010)
considered that temperature is more important than feedstock material on the biochar
effectiveness in treatment of contaminated soils. Wang et al. (2010) observed a higher
sorption of the herbicide terbuthylazine in the soil amended with biochar produced at 700
ºC than at 350 ºC, although the feedstock was the same. In Fig. 2 we have plotted the data of
Freundlich Kf parameter for some pesticides sorbed to the biochar and temperature
pyrolysis. Granted there are a limited number of studies with sufficient data to compare, but
the hypothesis is that higher temperature biochars appear to possess a higher capacity for
sorption than the lower temperature biochars. However, since there are limited studies that
present sufficient characterization data on the biochar, this conclusion requires further
investigation.
12000
10000
Kf (mg Kg-1)/(mg L-1)1/n
8000
6000
4000
2000
300 400 500 600 700 800 900

Tª (ºC)
Fig. 2. Freundlich sorption parameter Kf correlated with the pyrolysis temperature (Ta).
[Data of sorption on char from Zheng et al., 2010 (Table 2); Li et al., 2009, (Table 1); Aroguz,
2006 and Hameed et al., 2009].
4.3 Surface area

Fig. 3 displays the overall relationship between surface area and observed Kf sorption
coefficient for various biochars. There is a relationship between surface area and sorption.
However, due to the scatter in the graph, there is the suggestion that surface area is not the
fundamental parameter and potentially the chemistry of the surface groups would be a
better predictor variable as has been shown for activated charcoals (e.g. Bello et al., 2002).
5. Conclusions
Overall, the comparison of the impact of biochar on herbicide sorption is narrow due to the
limited number of studies utilizing biochar. Furhermore, the lack of information within
these studies to properly characterize the biochar material used further limits the ability to
compare results. However, based on the analogous observations with non-biochar materials
(Table 1), the overall conclusions are that biochar additions (Table 2) will:
• increase sorption,
• decrease dissipation rates,
• decrease leaching and movement of the herbicide in the soil, and
• reduce the bioavailability of the herbicide, which could lead to reduced efficacy.
1,8e+5
1,6e+5
1,4e+5
Kf (mg kg-1)/(mg L-1)1/n
1,2e+5
1,0e+5
8,0e+4
6,0e+4
4,0e+4
2,0e+4
0,0
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200
Surface area (m2 g-1)

Fig. 3. Freundlich sorption parameter Kf correlated with the surface area determination of
the biochar. [Data presented from Zheng et al., 2010 (Table 2); Li et al., 2009; Qiu et al.,
2009b; Wang et al., 2009, (Table 1); Aroguz, 2006 and Hameed et al., 2009].
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Part 4
Herbicides in Aquatic Ecosystems

16
Effects of Herbicide Glyphosate and

Glyphosate-Based Formulations on
Aquatic Ecosystems
Gonzalo Luis Pérez1, María Solange Vera2 and
Leandro Andrés Miranda1
1IIB-INTECH UNSAM CONICET
2UBA CONICET
Argentina
1. Introduction
Public awareness of worldwide increase herbicides use and their adverse effects on
ecosystems has been growing over the past decades. Herbicides may reach water bodies via
agricultural runoff and leaching processes, as well as by direct applications to control
noxious aquatic weeds. Once in the aquatic ecosystems, herbicides may reduce
environmental quality and influence essential ecosystem functioning by reducing species
diversity and community structures, modifying food chains, changing patterns of energy
flow and nutrient cycling and changing the stability and resilience of ecosystems. The aim of
this chapter is to provide a general notion of the current knowledge concerning the direct
and indirect effects of glyphosate and commercial formulations of glyphosate on aquatic
ecosystems. Glyphosate based products are the leading post-emergent, systemic and non-
selective herbicides for the control of annual and perennial weeds in the world. Here, we
present a revision of their toxicity to non-target species of algae, aquatic plants, protozoa,
crustaceans, molluscs, fish and amphibians. In addition, we describe the importance of each
group of organisms in the functioning and health of aquatic ecosystems. With this
information, a conceptual framework can be developed contributing to enhance our
attention and concern about human impacts on ecosystems.
2. The scenario where glyphosate appeared on stage

The transition from biologically based to intensive-chemical based agricultural production
systems advanced in North America and Europe soon after World War II. This change was
supported by growing availability of inorganic fertilizers and organically synthesized
pesticides. Afterwards, this type of agriculture has been adopted by other major crop
production areas throughout the world during the 1960s and 1970s. The intensive cropping
systems are characterized as large-scale production enterprises that utilize high inputs of
chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Little emphasis is given to managing soil organic matter
through use of traditional crop rotations, cover crops, or organic soil amendments that are
central to maintaining the biological activity and allowing the long-term preservation of
agroecological systems in biologically based cropping systems (Yamada et al., 2009). One of
the most significant inputs necessary for successful intensive crop production are herbicides
for management of the variety of weed infestations especially encountered in row cropping
systems. This technology was rapidly adopted because most weeds could be controlled
when matched with selective herbicides, which were compatible with the crop, and was
considered more cost-effective than cultural methods of weed management. In this scenario
the herbicide glyphosate appeared on stage.
Glyphosate under the trade name Roundup® was introduced in the marked by Monsanto
Company during the 1970s. It was initially registered as a broad-spectrum, non selective,
systemic herbicide for certain non-crop and plantation crop uses (fallowed fields, orchards,
vineyards and timber plantations) and for the control of annual and perennial weeds before
the emergence of agronomic crops (Folmar et al., 1979; Woodburn, 2000). The development
of minimum and no-tillage cultivation systems (zero-till) for row-cropping systems greatly
expanded the use of herbicides, such as glyphosate, as it became standard practice to apply
herbicides to growing weeds in fields prior to planting. This “burndown” application
eliminated the need for traditional tillage (such as plow tillage) and allowed farmers to plant
crop seeds directly into soil beneath a mulch of dead plant residues. The no-till practice was
rapidly adopted around the world and really booming in some countries of South America
like Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay (Altieri & Pengue, 2006). The reasons for the
rapid growth of this practice are manifold, but the most important aspects are mainly
economical (less work for field preparation, few expenses on fuel and machinery and higher
profits). Important ecological aspects have been also pointed out. Non-till practice improves
soil quality avoiding organic matter lost (Bayer et al., 2006) and water evaporation, despite
of an increment in the use of herbicides. In addition, this cultivation system protects soil
from erosion. For example in the southern of Brazil, no-till practice was adopted to reduce
extensive soil erosion resulting from intensive row-cropping (Bolliger et al., 2006).
However, glyphosate became the most widely used herbicide worldwide with the
introduction of genetically modified (GM) glyphosate-resistant (GR) crops (Woodburn,
2000). Monsanto’s glyphosate-tolerant Roundup Ready (RR) soybean was the first GR crops
to be commercialized (Dill et al., 2008). In 1996, RR soybean was commercially available for
the first time in the USA. These crops greatly improved conventional farmers' ability to
control weeds, since glyphosate could be applied before seeding and sprayed several times
during growth without damage the crop. Nowadays, glyphosate has established itself as the
leading herbicide for the control of annual, perennial weeds and volunteer crops in a wide
range of different situations (Woodburn, 2000). The arrival of GR soybean was followed by
GR cotton, maize, canola, alfalfa and sugarbeet (Dill et al., 2008). These transgenic solutions
(GR seeds + glyphosate) lead a sharp increase of worldwide areas under GR crops with
concomitant increase of glyphosate use. The worldwide GR hectares planted during 1998 to
2008, increased from about 15 millions to more than 130 millions (Dill et al., 2008; James,
2008). Under these circumstances, only in USA, glyphosate usage increased from 3 106 kg of
a.i. (active ingredient) in 1987 to more than 54 106 kg of a.i. in 2007 (Fig. 1). The two other
countries with large areas under GR crops are Argentina and Brazil, however data set
concerning glyphosate use in these countries are scarce.
The reported substantial increase in the global use of glyphosate has been also related with
other items like herbicide price cuts and aggressive marketing, as well as the increased
reliance on herbicides for weed control (Pengue, 2005). The latter issue is represented in the
occurrence of weed population shifts toward less sensitive species and the evolution of
Effects of Herbicide Glyphosate and Glyphosate-Based Formulations on Aquatic Ecosystems 345
60
IN USA mainly agriculture
Glyphosate usage (millons kg of a.i.) 50
arrival of GR crops
at first (non-crops uses)
40
30
20
no-till
10
from 1970s
0
1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008
Years
Fig. 1. Evolution of glyphosate usage in USA. Sources: USEPA, USDA.
herbicide-resistant weed populations. Glyphosate has been used worldwide since 1974 and,
despite its widespread and long-term use, no case of evolved resistance to glyphosate under
field conditions had been identified by 1993 (Holt et al., 1993). However, in 1996 the first
case of weed resistance to glyphosate was documented in two accessions of the rigid
ryegrass Lolium rigidum, from an orchard in Australia (Powles et al., 1998; Pratley et al.,
1999). Since then, an increasing number of cases of glyphosate resistant biotypes have been
reported. Currently, 14 GR weeds have been documented worldwide (Van Gessel, 2001;
Pérez & Kogan, 2002; Powles, 2008; Binimelis et al., 2009; among others). Consequently, the
average of glyphosate application per Ha showed a marked global increase associated with
the appearance of a growing number of tolerant or resistant weeds. Bonny (2008) pointed
out that the amount of glyphosate spread over the total US soybean land raised from less
than 0.1 Kg/Ha in 1990 to more than 1.4 kg/Ha in 2006. Higher application rates (up to 5.6
a.i. kg/Ha) have been reported by Giesy et al. (2000). Regarding the use of other herbicides,
at first the rapid growth in the use of glyphosate was accompanied by a decrease in the
consumption of other former herbicides. However, for example in Argentina the
consumption of the herbicides atrazine and 2.4-D, have risen again during the growing
seasons of (2005-2006) (Binimelis et al., 2009). These observations coincide with Bonny (2008)
who concluded that the total amount of herbicides applied per Ha in USA decreased
initially between 1996 and 2001, but tended to rise afterwards.
3. Glyphosate (the molecule)

3.1 Chemistry
The chemical (technical–grade) name of glyphosate is N-(phosphonomethyl) glycine
(IUPAC), an acid that belongs to chemical group of Phosphonoglycine or more generic:
Organophosphonate herbicides (Fig. 2). Its main degradation product is the metabolite
aminomethyl phosphonic acid (AMPA).
Glyphosate is an aminophosphonic analogue of the natural amino acid glycine and the
name is a contraction of glycine, phos-, and -ate. The molecule has several dissociable
hydrogens, especially the first hydrogen of the phosphate group. Technical-grade
glyphosate has relatively low solubility in water (1.2 % at 25 ° C), and is insoluble in other
solvents. Strong intermolecular hydrogen bonds stabilize the crystal lattice, causing the low
water solubility. Various salts of glyphosate have much higher solubility, and do not lose
any of the herbicidal properties of the parent compound (Franz, 1985). Glyphosate is
commonly formulated in its form of isopropylamine salt (IPA salt), though other related
chemical form are also commercialized. Glyphosate concentration is commonly expressed as
mg a.i./L or mg a.e./L, where: a.e. (acid equivalents). Glyphosate is an unusual herbicide,
in that essentially no structurally related compounds show any herbicidal activity
(Hollander & Amrhein, 1980; Franz, 1985), whith the exception of glyphosine, which has
reduced herbicidal effects but shows some interesting plant growth regulatory effects, such
as enhancing ripening of sugar cane (Franz, 1985). The herbicidal properties of glyphosate
were reported in 1971 (Baird et al., 1971). The compound was found during a study of the
herbicidal effects of tertiary aminomethylphosphonic acids derived from various primary
and secondary amines (Moedritzer & Irani, 1966). Only two of the compounds produced
showed some herbicidal activity, but both had very low unit activities. Attempts to find
other tertiary aminomethylphosphonic acids with improved herbicidal activity failed. As a
last resort, it was suggested that degradation of the two compounds might give rise to a
common, active metabolite (contrary to the general trend that metabolism reduces toxicity).
Glyphosate was among the possible metabolites of the two compounds, and was found to
have extremely high herbicidal activity (Franz, 1985).
Fig. 2. Glyphosate molecule (as an acid and IPA salt).
3.2 Mode of action and biochemistry

Glyphosate is a systemic herbicide that is phloem mobile and is readily translocated
throughout the plant. From the leaf surface, glyphosate molecules are absorbed into the
plant cells were they are symplastically translocated to the meristems of growing plants
(Laerke, 1995). Unlike many contact herbicides, phytotoxic symptoms of glyphosate injury
often develop slowly. Visible effects on most annual weeds occur within two to four days
and may not occur for 7 days or more on most perennial weeds. Visual symptoms are a
gradual wilting and yellowing of the plant which advances to complete browning and
finally with the total deterioration and death of the plant.
Although glyphosate may ultimately perturb a variety of biochemical processes including
protein synthesis, nucleic acid synthesis, photosynthesis and respiration, the primary mode
of action of glyphosate was localized to the shikimate pathway of aromatic amino acid
biosynthesis, a pathway that links primary and secondary metabolism. Its mode of action is
the competitive inhibition of the enzyme 5-enolpyruvylshikimate 3-phosphate (EPSP)
synthase, a chloroplast-localized enzyme in the shikimate pathway (Steinrücken & Amrhein,
1980; Bode et al., 1984a; Rubin et al., 1984). This inhibition prevents the production of
chorismate, which is the last common precursor in the biosynthesis of numerous aromatic
compounds in bacteria, fungi and plants. Essential aromatic amino acids are used by plants
in protein synthesis and to produce many secondary plant products (e.g. growth promoters,
growth inhibitors, lignin precursors, flavonoids, tannins, and other phenolic compounds).
The major end products are the amino acids phenylalanine, tyrosine, and tryptophan.
Evidence for the involvement of this pathway in glyphosate toxicity has come from a variety
of studies in a wide range of microorganisms, plant cell cultures and plants (e.g. Jaworsky,
1972; Haderlie et al., 1977; Gresshoff, 1979; Duke et al., 1980; Hollander & Amrhein, 1980;
among others). Glyphosate caused a massive accumulation of shikimate in treated cells and
tissues (Amrhein et al., 1980; Berlin & Witte, 1981; Bode et al., 1984; Rubin et al., 1984). These
studies narrowed the possible site of action to three enzymes, involved in the conversion of
shikimate to chorismate. The enzyme that was finally implicated was EPSP synthase; its
inhibition by glyphosate is competitive with phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP), and non-
competitive with respect to shikimate-3-phosphate with a single glyphosate binding site on
the enzyme.
3.3 Commercial formulations of glyphosate

When the toxicity of herbicides is discussed, the focus is mostly on the active compound (in
this case glyphosate acid or glyphosate salts). However, herbicides are formulated to
increase their efficacy against target plants. Commercial glyphosate based herbicides
contain other components, which are called inert ingredients. These inert ingredients are
mainly surfactants, solvents and antifoam compounds. Shortly, surfactant refers to
chemicals that have pronounced surface activity in aqueous solutions that can decrease
surface tension and perturb membrane permeability or transport function of membranes
including permeability to glyphosate (Riechers et al., 1994). Antifoam compounds are
chemical additives that reduce and hinder the formation of foam in industrial process
liquids. Numerous contributions have demonstrated that inert ingredients in glyphosate
formulations have several folds higher toxicity on non-target organisms than glyphosate
alone (e.g. Folmar et al. 1979; Wan et al. 1989; Cedergreen & Streibig, 2005; among others).
Therefore, glyphosate formulations are chemical mixtures and must be considered as
mixtures in toxicity assessments. In this context, studies regarding specific toxicity or
generalization about toxicology of inert ingredients (e.g. surfactants) must to be conducted
on glyphosate, inert ingredient and commercial formulation separately. The lack of such
data will render any predictions about the effects of the formulations on glyphosate highly
uncertain (Diamond & Durkin, 1997).
Glyphosate concentration, as well as nature and concentration of inert additives, depend on

commercial formulations; though available information about inert ingredients in
glyphosate products is commonly not listed on the label. The commercial formulation of
glyphosate, Roundup®, is a most popular brand name for glyphosate herbicides. Roundup®
contains IPA salt of glyphosate (35-50 %) plus inert ingredients. Roundup® concentration is
commonly expressed as mg a.i./L or mg a.e./L of glyphosate, while also as mg of
Roundup® (whole product) per L. We considered 1 mg a.i./L equal to 0.75 mg a.e./L
(Relyea, 2006).
The surfactant in Roundup®, as well as in some other glyphosate based products, is the
highly toxic polyethoxylated tallowamine compound (Smith & Oehme, 1992; Giesy et al.,
2000). This material is referred to in the literature as MON0818, or polyoxyethyleneamine
(POEA), present at about 15% in Roundup®. Presumably POEA is a derivative of tallow, a
complex mixture of fat from the fatty tissue of cattle or sheep. Other trade names of
glyphosate based herbicides include Aquamaster®, Filedmaster®, Touchdown®, Glyphos®,
Duramax®, Durango®, Glyphomax®, Fosato®, Ron-do®, Vision®, Rodeo®, Sulfosato®, etc.
4. Glyphosate in aquatic environments

4.1 Offsite movement and direct applications
The use of herbicides and other chemical agents in agriculture may result in accidental
introduction into waters. When it is applied as post emergence spray, herbicides may enter
aquatic systems through accidental offsite movement in herbicide spray drift, or through
transport in leaching and surface run-off.
Particularly, under field conditions, glyphosate is usually assumed to be rapidly and tightly
adsorbed to soil. Consequently, glyphosate is unlike to leach into ground waters or runoff
significantly into surface waters following application. In several laboratories (Rueppel et
al., 1977; Crisanto et al., 1994; among others) and some field studies (Roy et al., 1989), the
immobility of glyphosate in soils has been demonstrated. In contrast, other field studies
showed detectable concentrations of glyphosate in flume and streams after applications.
Even thought it was only restricted to a relatively brief window of time (about 1 day post
application), due to the fast dissipation kinetics of glyphosate in the field. In natural waters,
glyphosate dissipate rapidly (half lives < 4 days) being removed from water due to
adsorption to suspended particulates followed by subsequent sedimentation and or
biodegradation. However, longer half lives were reported in hard waters, where glyphosate
residues could be measured after 11 days post application (Pérez et al., 2007).
Edwards et al. (1980) reported important glyphosate concentrations in runoff from natural
rainfall following early springtime treatments in no-tillage agriculture soils. The highest
concentration of glyphosate in runoff waters (5.2 mg/L) was found in runoff occurring 1 day
after treatment at the highest rate (8.6 Kg/Ha of Roundup®) (Edwards et al., 1980). The
maximum amount of glyphosate transport by runoff was 1.85% of the amount applied, most
of which occurred during a single storm on the day after application. In addition, Feng et al.
(1990) found in a treated watershed, a dramatic increase of glyphosate concentrations (about
1.1 and 1.5 mg/L) in two oversprayed streams in response to first rainfall event 27 h post
application. Authors attributed their observations to several source of input mobilization of
residues in ephemeral stream channels feeding the tributary; wash off of unabsorbed
residues from overhanging vegetation, surface runoff and subsurface flow. Regarding
POEA residues, based on adsorption and degradation data, leaching and runoff potential is
expected to be small. POEA strongly adsorb to soil (Giesy et al., 2000), although little
information about POEA offsite movement is nowadays available.
Offsite movement of glyphosate is also possible through spray drift (e.g. Payne et al., 1990;
Payne, 1992). Although the spray drift of pesticides is not compound specific, this is relevant
when non-target effects of glyphosate based herbicides are considered, and several studies
have specifically addressed the issue. Some studies reported that the spray deposition
decreased to around 10 % of the application rate in the first 30 m and less to 5 % at a
distance of 200 m (Payne et al., 1990; Riley et al., 1991). Other studies suggested that drift
rates would be greater. For instance, residues have been measured 400 m downwind from
applications sites (Yates et al., 1978; Payne & Thompson, 1992).
Considering offsite movement of glyphosate from treated soils through drift and run-off,
Giesy et al. (2000) estimated an acute scenario considering worst-case exposure conditions.
The estimate was based on two assumptions, (a) that runoff (2%) from 10 Ha field treated at
the maximum single use rate of Roundup® entered to 1 Ha pond (2 m deep) and (b) that 10%
of maximum single application rate per hectare entered the pond through drift, assuming
aerial application. Based on these assumptions, maximum concentrations of Roundup® in
natural water would range from 0.27 to 0.41 mg/L (Giesy et al., 2000). However, clearly
higher concentrations in surface waters could be expected if assumptions are changed. For
instance, some authors have reported that glyphosate can be readily desorbed from soil and
has the potential to be extensively mobile in the soil environment. Adsorption of glyphosate
to soil particulates is determined by chemical and physical characteristic of soils, which in
turn affect the potential for off-target movement of the herbicide through water runoff or
subsurface flow. Interestingly, given that glyphosate is bound to soil through its phosphonic
acid moiety, the addition of inorganic phosphorus could potentially release glyphosate from
soil particles through competition for sorption sites (Franz et al. 1997; Pechlaner, 2002).
Piccolo et al. (1994) reported in an experimental study with some European soils that
desorption varied from around 15 to 80% of the absorbed herbicide according to the soil
characteristic. These observations, as well as supposing higher rates of terrestrial uses and
higher spray drift due to weather conditions, could elicit elevated off-target movements of
glyphosate formulations in to water ecosystems. Particularly, these impacts will be more
important in ponds, ephemeral streams and ditchbank areas of irrigation canals due to their
low water volume, and higher perimeter and area /volume proportions.
On the other hand, some glyphosate based herbicides (e.g. Rodeo® and AquaMaster®) were
specially formulated to be used as aquatic herbicides, and have been employed extensively
to control noxious aquatic weeds and algal blooms (Seddon, 1981; Diamond & Durkin, 1997;
Siemering et al., 2008). For this purpose, glyphosate based herbicides are directly applied in
aquatic ecosystems and their residues can be expected to be higher than that resulting from
agricultural and other non aquatic uses. Furthermore, glyphosate can move considerable
distances in canal or stream waters affecting undesired places (Duke, 1988). Fifty-eight
percent of applied glyphosate was detected at distances 8 and 14.4 Km downstream from
sites of introduction (Comes et al., 1976). Regardless herbicide sources, it is very important
to set up the amount of glyphosate that have been measured in the field. Unluckily, there
are few relevant field data on the concentration of glyphosate in aquatic habitats. The
highest concentrations that have been observed in nature were: 1.24 mg a.e./L (Newton et
al., 1994); 1.54 mg a.e./L (Couture et al., 1995); 2.8 mg a.e./L (Legris & Couture, 1989) and
5.2 mg a.e. /L (Edwards et al., 1980 ).
4.2 Toxicity of glyphosate based herbicides in aquatic environments

4.2.1 Toxicity assessment
In this chapter, we extensively reviewed published contributions about glyphosate, glyphosate
formulations and surfactants effects on non-target aquatic organisms. Different parameters
(lethal and sublethal effects) were evaluated in reviewed studies to characterize the hazard of
chemicals (e.g. mortality, growth, biomass, 14C uptake, weight, density, length, pigments,
mobility, reproduction, metabolism, etc). Results were expressed as LC (concentration lethal to
10% and 50% of test organisms), EC (effective concentration causing specified effects in 10%
and 50% of test organisms) and IC (inhibition concentration to specified effects in 10% and 50%
of test organisms). In addition, when available, values of NOEC (no observed effect
concentration) and LOEC (lowest observed effect concentration) were pointed out.
When dose-response curves were not available or were not calculated due to experimental
design (e.g. field studies carried out in micro- and mesocosms), contributions were
described as concentrations of treatments and obtained outcomes (generally in % of control
values). A complete resume of published outcomes in acute and chronic tests and field
experiments were listed in tables (from Table 1 to Table 6). Concentrations were
preferentially expressed as were originally reported in each reviewed contribution.
In order to relate the aquatic toxicity of the herbicide to realistic exposure levels, the
expected environmental concentration (EEC) was taken as a reference value. We considered
a EEC of 2.6 mg a.i./L, (following Relyea, 2005). Similar values were estimated by other
authors: 1.87 mg a.i./L (Chen et al., 2004) and 3.73 mg a.i./L (Perkins et al., 2000); though
higher values were also evaluated (e.g. 10. 13 mg a.i./L; Mann and Bidwell, 1999).
4.2.2 Effects on non-target aquatic plants and algae

Herbicides are manly designed to kill unwanted terrestrial plants. Consequently the most
sensitive group of aquatic non-target organisms is expected to be aquatic plants and algae.
Aquatic plants and algae play a pivotal role for the function of aquatic ecosystems (Scheffer
et al., 1993). Aquatic plants aid in stabilizing the sediment both in lakes and running waters,
and their presence affects sedimentation rates, flow velocity, nutrient uptake and
recirculation. In addition, they provide refuges for insects, crustaceans and fish, and act as
substrates for surface-living microorganisms, snails and other epiphyte grazers. Microalgae
(phytoplankton and periphyton communities) provide the basis for a range of food-webs in
the aquatic environment and are therefore fundamental to the functioning of aquatic
ecosystems (Wetzel, 2001).
Single species test in algae and aquatic plants treated with glyphosate alone (i.e. technical
grade acid or salts of glyphosate), showed a wide range of EC and IC values; indicating
different sensibilities. Microalgae presented EC50 values for glyphosate treatments ranging
from 0.68 mg a.e./L in the diatom Skeletonema costatum (Malcolm Pirnie, 1987) to around 600
mg a.e./L in the green algae Chlorella pyrenoidosa (Maule & Wright, 1984) (Table 1). It is
important to clarify that these values indicate the concentration that elicited the 50 % of
reduction in the evaluated parameter. Some works showed that 10 % of reduction (EC10)
could be reached between 3 to 16 folds lower concentrations than EC50. For instance, 10%
growth inhibition in the green algae Scenedesmus subpicatus was observed in treatments with
1.6 mg/L of glyphosate acid (Vedrell et al., 2009). In addition, Christy et al. (1981) reported a
10% growth inhibition in Chlorella sorokiniana at the concentration of 2 mg a.e./L. Regarding
macrophytes, generally lower values of EC and IC were reported, indicating a higher
sensibility. For example, IC50 and EC50 values ranged from 0.22 mg a.i./L for Myriophyllum
aquaticum (Turgut & Fomin, 2002) to 46.9 mg/L for Lemma minor (Cedergreen & Streibig,
2005) (Table 1).
The relative toxicity of glyphosate itself vs. commercial formulations and surfactants only can
be evaluated in studies specially designed to this purpose. In general, commercial
formulations (e.g. Ron-do® and Roundup®) were more toxic than glyphosate alone. For
example, Tsui & Chu (2003) observed a 7 folds higher toxicity of Roundup® than the IPA salt of
glyphosate in the green algae Selenastrum capricornutum (Table 1). Alike results were reported
for Selenastrum capricornutum and the macrophyte Lemma minor, showing 4 folds higher
toxicity of Roundup® than glyphosate (Cedergreen & Streibig, 2005). Lower differences in
toxicity were registered by other authors (e.g. Sáenz et al., 1997; Sobrero et al., 2007), reporting
between 1.2 to 1.8 folds higher toxicity of commercial formulations than active ingredient
(Table 1). POEA itself contributed to Roundup® toxicity with values ranged from about 45%
for Skeletonema costatum to 85 % for Selenastrum capricornutum (Tsui & Chu, 2003).
Numerous studies have been published about pesticide toxicity assessment on microalgae,
using single species tests. However, Bérard et al. (1999) demonstrated that single-species
tests may fail to predict indirect or system responses to toxicants, such as changes in
population competition or succession. According to these authors, studies focusing on the
whole natural community provide more reliable predictions about herbicide safety in
aquatic environments. In studies assessing communities, significant direct and indirect
effects of commercial glyphosate formulations have been reported. For example, Schaffer &
Sebetich (2004) reported an increment of 161 % in net primary production for phytoplankton
community treated with 0.13 mg a.i./L of Rodeo® (commercial formulation without POEA).
In contrast, Goldsborough & Brown (1988), registered a 50% of reduction in periphyton
primary production at values varying from 35.4 to 69.7 mg a.i./L of Roundup® (Table 1).
However, in this contribution, 4 of the 6 treated ponds showed a reduction in the mean
values of primary production with much lower concentrations (a dosage of 0.89 mg a.i./L).
In microcosms experiments with natural marine microbial community, significant effects in
species number and relative abundance of phytoplankton were observed at 10 μg a.i./L of
Roundup® (Stachowski-Haberkorn et al., 2008). Comparable results were obtained by Pesce
et al. (2009), reporting changes in riverine algal communities exposed to about 10 μg/L of
glyphosate alone, in a microcosms experiment. In addition, mesocosms studies showed
remarkable results with a single pulse application of Roundup® at concentrations of 6 and 8
mg a.i./L (Pérez et al., 2007; Vera et al., 2010). Even if these two contributions assessed
herbicide effects in worst case scenarios, glyphosate concentration at the end of the
experiments (11 and 14 days respectively), were around 2 mg a.i./L and effects were still
clearly observed. At day 11, significant differences were observed in chemical and biological
variables (Pérez et al., 2007). For example, we observed changes in phytoplankton
assemblage fractions, with a reduction of micro and nanophytoplankton densities (2.5 folds)
and a concomitant increase of picocyanobacteria (PICY) densities (40 folds) accompanied by
an increase of primary production. These results can be expected by either direct effect of
herbicide (differences in sensibility among species) or indirect effects duo to interspecific
competition. In addition, Vera et al. (2010) found that Roundup® produced a clear delay in
periphytic colonization in treated mesocosms. The periphytic mass variables: dry weight
(DW), ash-free dry weight (AFDW) and chlorophyll a, were always higher in control
mesocosms. Despite the mortality of algae, (mainly diatoms), cyanobacteria was favoured in
treated mesocosms. We also observed that Roundup® produced a long term shift in the
typology of mesocosms, ‘‘clear’’ turning to ‘‘turbid’’ state due to an eutrophication process.
AQUATIC ALGAE & ASSESSED STUDY ASSESSED EFFECTS CONCENTRATION

REFERENCES
PLANTS CHEMICAL TYPE PARAMETER (mg/L) ##
- Phytoplankton and Periphyton
Chlorococcumhypnosporum 96h EC50 = 68.0
Gly. (acid) SST (7 d.) Growth Maule & Wright, 1984
Chlorella pyrenoidosa 96h EC50 = 590.0
Skeletonema costatum Gly. (acid) SST (7 d.) Biomass EC50 = 0.64; NOEC = 0.28 Malcolm Pirnie, 1987
Goldsborough & Brown,
(Periphyton community) Roundup® LTNC (4 h.) NPP 4h EC50 = (between 35.4 to 69.7)
1988
Gly. (IPA salt) 96h EC50 =10.2; NOEC = 2.0
Scenedesmus acutus SST (4d.) Density Sáenz et al., 1997
Ron-do® 96h EC50 = 9; NOEC = 3.2
Ankistrodesmus sp Rodeo® SST (10 d). Density 96h EC50 = 74.0 Gardner et al., 1997
0.13 mg/L elicited NPP Schaffer & Sebetich,
(Phytoplankton community) Rodeo® LTNC (6 h.) NPP
increment 2004
Gly. (IPA salt) 96h EC50 =41.0
Selenastrum capricornutum Roundup® SST (4 d.) Growth 96h EC50 =5.81 Tsui & Chu, 2003
POEA 96h EC50 =3.91
Skeletonema costatum Roundup® SST (4 d.) Growth 96h EC50 = 1.85 Tsui & Chu, 2003
POEA 96h EC50 =3.35
Gly. (n.c.) 48h EC10 = 95.5; 48h EC50 = 270.0 Cedergreen & Streibig,
Selenastrum capricornutum SST (2 d.) Growth
Roundup® 48h EC10 = 13.6; 48h EC50 = 64.7 2005
(Phytoplankton & 6 mg/L elicited changes in
Roundup® MES (11 d.) Density # Pérez et al., 2007
periphyton community) community structure
Community 10 μg/L elicited a reduction in Stachowski-Haberkorn
(Microbial community) Roundup® MIS (7 d.)
structure # species number. et al., 2008
Community ~ 10 μg/L elicited changes in
(Microbial community) Gly. (n.c.) MIS (14 d.) Pesce et al., 2009
structure # algal community structure.
Chlorella sacchorophila 72h EC10 = 3.0;72h EC50 = 46.6
Gly. (acid) SST (3 d.) Growth Vedrell et al., 2009
Scenedesmus subspicatus 72h EC10 = 1.6; 72h EC50 = 26.0
8 mg/L elicited changes in
(Periphyton community) Roundup® MES (42 d.) Density # Vera et al., 2010
community structure
- Macrophytes
Gly. (acid) 14d IC10 = 0.59;14d IC50 = 0.84
Myriophyllum sibiricum SST (14d.) Root length # Roshon et al., 1999
Roundup® 14d IC50 = 1.22
14d EC50 = 0.22 (for growth)
Myriophyllum aquaticum Gly. (n.c.) SST (14d.) Growth & chl a # Turgut & Fomin, 2002
14d EC50 = 0.22 (for chl a)
Gly. (n.c.) 7d EC10 =3.8; 7d EC50 = 46.9 Cedergreen & Streibig,
Lemma minor SST (7 d.) Growth
Roundup® 7d EC10 =3.5; 7d EC50 = 11.2 2005
Weight & length 21d IC50 = 1.0 (for weight)
Myriophyllum spicatum Roundup® SST (21 d.). Sánchez et al., 2007
# 21d IC50 = 2.8 (for length)
Gly. (acid) 10d IC10 =4.6; 10d IC50 = 20.5
Lemma gibba SST (10 d.). Growth # Sobrero et al., 2007
Roundup® 10d IC10 =2.5; 10d IC50 = 11.6
Abbreviations and acronyms: gly. (glyphosate); n.c. (not clarified); n.a (not available); d. (days); SST
(single species laboratory tests); LTNC (laboratory tests with natural communities), MES (mesocosms
studies); (MIS) microcosms studies; SSFE (single species field experiments); chl a (chlorophyll a); NPP
(net primary production). Notes: (##) Effects concentrations were expressed as mg/L of formulation,
mg a.i./L or mg a.e./L, see bibliographic references to clarify. (#) Several parameters were assessed in
these contributions; remarkable examples of the reported outcomes were listed in tables.
Table 1. Effects of glyphosate, different commercial formulations of glyphosate and POEA
on algae and aquatic plants
4.2.3 Effects on non-target aquatic bacteria and protozoa

The majority of the available pesticide data regarding aquatic microorganisms is for algae.
Far fewer pesticide studies exist for aquatic bacteria and protozoa. Aquatic bacteria and
protozoa (e.g. amoeboids, flagellates, ciliates and sporozoans) have key roles in the
functioning of aquatics environments. Shortly aquatic bacteria occupy an important position
in the aquatic food web since they are major actors in the decomposition of dead material,
and thereby in the recycling of nutrients and carbon. They are extremely important in “Lake
metabolism”, being involved in mineralization processes and in the chemical transformation
of elements between reduced and oxidized forms Protozoans are ecologically important as
key links in food chains. Ubiquitous in aquatic environments, protozoans prey upon algae,
bacteria, and other organisms and are themselves consumed by animals such as
microinvertebrates. Thus, the ecological role of protozoa in the transfer of bacterial and algal
production to successive trophic levels is very important (in the traditional food web and in
the microbial loop). On the other hand, some protozoa are important as parasites and
symbionts of multicellular animals.
Concentration effects of glyphosate itself on bacteria and protozoa varied widely and seem
to indicate low sensibility (Table 2). For instance, EC50 values obtained in treatments with
glyphosate ranging from 18.2 mg/L for the bacteria Vibrio fischeri (Bonnet et al., 2007) to
386.0 mg a.e./L for the ciliate Tetrahymena pyriformis (Tsui & Chu, 2003) (Table 2). However,
lower concentrations have been reported to produce observable effects (Everett &
Dickerson, 2003). These authors registered a LOEC value of 5 mg/L for the parasite ciliate
Ichthyophthirius multifiliis treated with glyphosate acid.
Roundup® showed higher toxicity than glyphosate for bacteria and protozoa in the revised
bibliography. Tsui & Chu (2003) reported 6 folds higher sensibility of Vibrio fischeri to
ASSESSED TYPE OF ASSESSED EFFECTS CONCENTRATION

MICROORGANISMS REFERENCE
CHEMICAL STUDY PARAMETER (mg/L) ##
-Bacteria and Protozoa
Ichthyophthirius Gly. (acid) NOEC = 2.5, LOEC = 5.1 Everett & Dickerson,
SST (5 h) Mortality
multifiliis Roundup® NOEC = n.a., LOEC = 0.07 2003
Gly. (acid) NOEC = 10.1, LOEC = n.a. Everett & Dickerson,

Tetrahymena thermophila SST (24 h) Mortality
Roundup® NOEC = n. a., LOEC = 0.31 2003
Brachionus calyciflorus Gly. (n.c.) SST (24 h) Growth # 24h EC50 =28.0 Xi & Feng, 2004
Gly. (IPA salt) 5min EC50 =162.0
Vibrio fischeri Roundup® SST (5 min.) Growth 5min EC50 =24.9 Tsui & Chu, 2003
POEA 5min EC50 =10.2
Tetrahymena pyriformis Roundup® SST (40 h.) Growth 40h EC50 =29.5 Tsui & Chu, 2003
POEA 40h EC50 =4.96
Euplotes vannus Roundup® SST (48 h.) Growth 48h EC50 =23.5 Tsui & Chu, 2003
POEA 48h EC50 =5.0
Roundup® NOEC = 0.05, LOEC = 0.1 Pettersson & Ekelund,
Euglena gracilis * SST (7 d.) Velocity #
Avans® NOEC = 0.05, LOEC = 0.1 2006
Gly. (acid) 15min EC50 =18.2

Vibrio fischeri SST (15 min.) Bioluminescence Bonnet et al., 2007
AMPA 15min EC50 =53.4
Gly. (acid) Enzyme 45min EC50 =87.9
Tetrahymena pyriformis SST (45 min.) Bonnet et al., 2007
AMPA activities # 45min EC50 =166.5
Abbreviations and acronyms: see Table 1. Notes: (*) Euglena gracilis is a mixotrophic green flagellated;
although in this resume was grouped with protozoa; see Table 1 for other notes.
Table 2. Effects of glyphosate, different commercial formulations of glyphosate, AMPA and
POEA on bacteria and protozoa
Roundup® than to glyphosate acid. In addition, these authors observed 2.7 and 13 folds
higher sensibility of the ciliates Euplotes vannus and Tetrahymena pyriformis to Roundup®,
respectively. In addition, the ciliate parasite Ichthyophthirius multifiliis showed an
accentuated response, being several times more sensible to Roundup® (Everett & Dickerson,
2003) (Table 3). Values of EC50 obtained in Roundup® treatments ranged from 23.5 to 29.5
mg a.e./L (Tsui & Chu, 2003); though lower values produced observable effects. For
example, Everett & Dickerson (2003) registered LOEC values of 0.07 and 0.31 mg a.e./L for
two ciliates. Besides, values of 0.1 mg a.i./L of Roundup® and Avans® (other glyphosate
commercial formulation) elicited reduction of at least 50% in the swimming velocity of
Euglena gracilis (Pettersson & Ekelund, 2006).
AQUATIC ASSESSED STUDY ASSESSED EFFECTS CONCENTRATION

REFERENCES
INVERTEBRATES CHEMICAL TYPE PARAMETER (m/L) ##
-Crustaceans (copepods, cladocerans and amphipods)
Daphnia magna Roundup® SST (48h) Immobilization 48h EC50 = 3.0 Folmar et al., 1979
Gammarus pseudolimnaeus Roundup® SST (48h) Mortality 48h LC50 = 62.0 Folmar et al., 1979
Roundup® 96h EC50 = 8.5
Daphnia pulex SST (96 h.) Immobilization Servizi et al., 1987
POEA 96h EC50 =2.0
Daphnia magna Ron-Do® SST (48h) Immobilization 48h EC50 = 61.7 Alberdi et al., 1996
Daphnia spinulata Ron-Do® SST (48h) Immobilization 48h EC50 = 66.2 Alberdi et al., 1996
Survival and 0.75 mg/L elicited survival and
Simocephalus vetulus Vision® SST ( 8 d) Chen et al., 2004
reproduction # reproduction reduction
Rodeo® 48h LC50 = 415.0
Ceriodaphnia dubia Roundup bioactive® SST (48 h.) Mortality# 48h LC50 = 81.5 Tsui & Chu, 2004
Roundup® 48h LC50 = 5.7
Rodeo® 48h LC50 = 225.0
Hyalella azteca Roundup bioactive® SST (48 h.) Mortality# 48h LC50 = 120.0 Tsui &Chu, 2004
Gly. (IPA salt) 48h LC50 = 415.0
Ceriodaphnia dubia Roundup® SST (48 h.) Mortality 48h LC50 = 5.4 Tsui &Chu, 2003
POEA 48h LC50 = 1.2
Gly. (IPA salt) 48h LC50 = 49.3
Acartia tonsa Roundup® SST (48 h.) Mortality 48h LC50 = 1.77 Tsui & Chu, 2003
POEA 48h LC50 = 0.57
POEA (5:1) 48h LC50 = 0.18
Daphnia magna POEA (10:1) SST (48 h.) Mortality 48h LC50 = 0.097 Brausch et al., 2007
POEA (15:1) 48h LC50 = 0.85
-Molluscs (snails and mussels)
Growth and 1 mg/L elicited growth increment
Pseudosuccinea columella Gly. (n. c.) SST (12 d.) Tate et al., 1997
hatching # and 10 mg/L inhibited hatching.
0.1 mg/L elicited an increment in
Pseudosuccinea columella Gly. (n. c.) SST (12 d.) Metabolism Tate et al., 2000
free amino acids.
Utterbackia imbecillis Roundup® SST (24 h.) Mortality # 48h LC50 = 18.3 Conners & Black, 2004
-Others (insects and worms)
Gly. (acid) 48h EC50 = 55.0
Chironomous plumosus Roundup® SST (48h) Immobilization 48h EC50 = 18.0 Folmar et al., 1979
POEA 48h EC50 = 13.0
0.05 mg/L elicited increase in sGST
Gly. (acid)
Bioaccumulation activity. Contardo-Jara et al.,
Lumbriculus variegatus SST (2-4 d.)
& enzyme action 0.05 mg/L elicited an increase in 2009
Roundup Ultra®
sGST activity.
Abbreviations, acronyms and notes: see Table 1
on aquatic invertebrates
Surfactant POEA itself resulted more toxic to bacteria and ciliates (between 2.4 to 5.8 folds)
than Roundup® (Tsui & Chu, 2003); though the degradation product of glyphosate (AMPA)
resulted less toxic than glyphosate acid (Bonnet et al., 2007).
4.2.4 Effects on non-target aquatic invertebrates

Invertebrates comprise a large group of aquatic species with a wide variety in shape and size,
and evolved to utilize different habitats and resources (e.g., insects, worms, snails, hydroids,
crustacean, etc.). They can be practically divided in micro and macro groups. Micro-
invertebrates (zooplankton) are keystone species (e.g. as food for predators and top-down
controller of phytoplankton, periphyton and detritus) (Montenegro Rayo, 2004). The micro-
invertebrates (rotifers and copepods) are usually more abundant in number of individuals, but
their smaller size limit their impact to size discrimination of phytoplankton rather than a
reduction of total algal biomass (Scheffer, 1998). Large cladocerans (e.g., Daphnia spp.) can feed
efficiently on a wide range of particle types and sizes. Moreover, cladocerans are also
important as a major food source for many fish species and predatory invertebrates. Some
crustacean species (e.g., shrimps, crabs and crayfish) are important as food resource for men.
Insects are foraging on zooplankton, periphytic algae, and detritus and themselves prey for
fish and waterfowl. In addition, aquatic molluscs (i.e. snails and mussels) have also a
significant importance in aquatic environments and in human life (e.g. parasite vectors;
invasive species; top-down controller of phytoplankton, periphyton and detritus; source of
food to higher trophic levels, as well as human food resources) (Brönmark & Hansson, 2005).
Aquatic invertebrates seem to have low sensibility to glyphosate itself (Table 3). Values of LC50
obtained in treatments with glyphosate ranged from 49.3 mg a.e./L for the marine copepod
Acartia tonsa to 415 mg a.e./L for the cladoceran Ceriodaphnia dubia (Tsui & Chu, 2003).
However, Tate et al. (1997 and 2000), reported remarkable results in the snail Pseudosuccinea
columella (an intermediate snail host of Fasciola hepatica) treated with lower glyphosate
concentrations (0.1, 1 and 10 mg/L). Concentrations of 1 mg/L elicited an increment in the
growth in the third-generation of snails, as well as 0.1 and 10 mg/L elicited an inhibition of
eggs hatching, abnormalities and polyembryony (Tate et al., 1997). Same authors observed
significant differences in the metabolism of P. columella. Glyphosate concentrations of 0.1
mg/L induced about 2 folds increment in five free amino acids (Tate et al., 2000). In addition,
Contardo-Jara et al. (2009) reported significant increment in the enzymes activities (sGST and
SOD) of worm Lumbriculus variegatus at 0.05 and 0.1 mg a.i./L of glyphosate.
On the other hand, invertebrates showed higher sensibility to commercial formulations. For
instance, Roundup® showed between 3 folds to 76 folds higher toxicity than glyphosate
itself. Values of LC50 obtained in Roundup® treatments ranged from 1.5 mg a.e./L for the
amphipod Hyalella azteca (Tsui & Chu, 2004) to 62.0 mg a.i./L for other amphipod Gammarus
pseudolimnaeu (Folmar et al., 1979) (Table 3). In addition, 0.7 mg a.e./L of Vision® (a
commercial formulation containing POEA) elicited a 100 % of mortality and more than 50 %
reduction in total neonates per female in the cladoceran Simocephalus vetulus at values of pH
= 7.5 (Chen et al., 2004).
Sublethal effects were observed at much lower concentration of Roundup (1.1 μg/L) in the
Clam, Ruditapes decussates, showing histological alterations (Abdel-Nabi, et al., 2007; El-
Shenawy, et al., 2009).
The surfactant POEA was several times more toxic for invertebrates than glyphosate itself
and Roundup®. For example, Folmar et al. (1979) reported almost 1.4 folds higher toxicity of
POEA relative to Roundup® in the midge larvae Chironomous plumosus; contributing with
about 66 % of the Roundup® toxicity. Higher values were reported by Servizi et al. (1987)
and Tsui & Chu (2003), being POEA 3 and 5 folds more toxic than Roundup®, respectively.
POEA can contribute with more than the 90% of Roundup® toxicity (Tsui & Chu, 2003) On
the other hand, commercial formulations without POEA (e.g. Ron-Do®, Rodeo® and
Roundup bioactive®) showed lower toxicity (Alberdi et al., 1996; Tsui & Chu, 2004) than
other formulations (Table 3).
4.2.5 Effects on non-target aquatic vertebrates

Fishes are well appreciated in human societies in many ways (e.g., economical, recreational,
ecological). In many countries, commercial fishing has a large economic importance as national
food supply and as an export product. Fishes are one of the most demanded pets and there are
a lot of people who enjoy sport fishing. This vertebrate group has an amazing diversity in
morphology, size and color, which reflects their life history adaptations (e.g., feeding behavior
reproduction and habitat selection). It is well known that fish populations have both direct and
indirect effects on ecosystem function and structure in general (e.g., nutrient dynamics and
cycling, zooplanktonic community composition), and especially in freshwater ecosystems
where they are top consumers on lower trophic levels (e.g., piscivore, planktivore, benthivore
fish) (Scheffer, 1998; Montenegro Rayo, 2004; Brönmark & Hansson, 2005).
The major groups of amphibians found in lakes and ponds are frogs, toads and salamanders.
Some species live their whole life in freshwater whereas other species are completely terrestrial
and depended on water for their reproduction. Most tadpoles have a feeding apparatus that
allows them to trap bacteria, phytoplankton, and other small particles suspended in the water.
Many species also graze on periphytic algae and some species even have mouth parts adapted
for a predatory feeding mode. Salamanders start to feed on zooplankton but as they grow they
include larger invertebrates in their diet and some species even prey on tadpoles. Tadpoles,
frogs, toads and salamanders are important source of food for fish and birds.
Aquatic fish and amphibians appear to have low sensibility to glyphosate itself (Table 4 and
5). Values of LC50 obtained in glyphosate treatments ranged from 130 mg a.i./L for the
channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus (Folmar et al., 1979) to 620 mg a.i./L for the carp Cyprinus
carpio (Neškovic et al., 1996) (Table 4). In amphibians, values of LC50 obtained with
glyphosate (IPA salt) treatments, varied from 340 to 460 mg a.e./L in four tadpoles of
Australian frogs (Table 5). However, lower values where obtained in treatments with
glyphosate as an acid, reporting values of LC50 from 82 to 121 mg a.e./L (Mann & Bidwell,
1999). Similar toxicity was registered for Roundup® Biactive, a commercial formulation
without surfactant POEA (Mann & Bidwell, 1999).
Wide differences were observed in the toxicity of glyphosate itself and commercial
formulations. In fish, values of LC50 obtained with Roundup® treatments ranged from 2.3 mg
a.i./L for the fathead minnows Pimpehales promelas (Folmar et al., 1979) to 14.5 mg /L for
Ictalurus punctatus (Abdelghani et al., 1997). Treatments with Vision® showed middle LC50
(10.42 mg a.i./L) for the rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss (Morgan & Kiceniuk 1992). In
addition, values of 4 and 12 mg a.i./L of Eskoba III Max® (a commercial formulation with
unknown surfactant) elicited the 25 % and 20% of mortality in juveniles of Pejerrey Odontesthes
bonariensis and adults of Tosquero Jenynsia lineata respectively; though not lethal effects were
observed in glyphosate treatments (Pérez & Miranda unpublished) (Fig. 3). However, much
lower concentrations of Roundup® have shown to cause effects in the biometry, metabolism
and enzyme activities of fish. For instance, Glusczak et al. (2007) reported a significant
decrease in AChE activity (enzyme presents in cholinergic synapses and motor end plates) and
TBARS levels (a measure of oxidative stress) in the brain of silver catfish Rhamdia quelen
exposed to 0.2 and 0.4 mg/L. Besides, significant reduction in the biometry of Piava Leporinus
obtusidens was observed in treatments with 1 mg/L, eliciting a reduction of length (15%) and
weight (50%) (Salbego et al., 2010). Other recent study, indicated molecular responses for the
flounder Platichthys flesus treated with low doses of herbicide cocktail (< 10 μg/L of
glyphosate) during a long-term contamination (62 days) (Evrard et al., 2010).
ASSESSED ASSESSED EFFECTS CONCENTRATION

VERTEBRATES STUDY TYPE REFERENCE
CHEMICAL PARAMETER (mg/L) ##
Fish
Gly. (acid) 96h LC50 =140.0
Oncorhynchus mykiss Roundup® SST (96h) Mortality 96h LC50 =8.3 Folmar et al., 1979
POEA 96h LC50 =2.0
Gly. (acid) 96h LC50 =97.0
Pimpehales promelas Roundup® SST (96h) Mortality 96h LC50 =2.3 Folmar et al., 1979
POEA 96h LC50 =1.0
Gly. (acid) 96h LC50 =130.0
Ictalurus punctatus Roundup® SST (96h) Mortality 96h LC50 =13.0 Folmar et al., 1979
POEA 96h LC50 =13.0
Oncorhynchus mykiss Roundup® SSFE (96h) Mortality 96h LC50 =52.0 Hildebrand et al., 1982
Roundup® 96h LC50 =8.5
Oncorhynchus mykiss SST (96h) Mortality Servizi et al., 1987
POEA 96h LC50 =3.2
Roundup® 96h LC50 =8.1
Oncorhynchus nerka SST (96h) Mortality Servizi et al., 1987
POEA 96h LC50 =2.6
Morgan & Kiceniuk,
Oncorhynchus mykiss Vision® SST (96h) Mortality 96h LC50 =10.2
1992.
Cyprinus carpio Gly. (acid) SST (96h) Mortality # 96h LC50 =620.0 Neškovic et al., 1996
Ictalurus punctatus Roundup® SST (96h) Mortality 96h LC50 =14.5 Abdelghani et al., 1997
Lepomis macrochirus Roundup® SST (96h) Mortality 96h LC50 =13.0 Abdelghani et al., 1997
Metabolism & 0.2 mg/L elicited a decrease in
Rhamdia quelen Roundup® SST (96h) Glusczak et al., 2007
enzyme activity# AChE and TBARS.
Mortality & Carmo Langiano &
Prochilodus lineatus Roundup® SST (96h) 96h LC50 =13.7
physiology # Martinez, 2008
Biometry & 1 mg/L elicited a decrease in
Leporinus obtusidens Roundup® SST (90 d.) Salbego et al., 2010
enzyme activity# length and weight and AChE
Molecular and
Platichthys flesus Roundup® + AMPA SST (62 d.) 0.16 μg/L elicited liver injury Evrard et al., 2010
physiology
Gly. (IPA salt) Not observed lethal effect
Pérez & Miranda
Odontesthes bonariensis SST (96h.) Mortality 4 mg/l elicited the 25% of
Eskoba III Max® (unpublished)
mortality
Gly. (IPA salt) Not observed lethal effect
Pérez & Miranda
Jenynsia lineata SST (96h.) Mortality 12 mg/l elicited the 20% of
Eskoba III Max® (unpublished)
mortality
on fish.
Comparable outcomes with treatments of Roundup® and Glyphos® (other commercial
formulation containing POEA) were reported for amphibians (Table 5). In laboratory tests,
values of LC50 varied from 2.6 mg/L of Glyphos® for tadpoles of the hylid Scinax nasicus
(Lajmanovich et al., 2003) to 11.6 mg a.e./L of Roundup® for tadpoles of Litoria moorei (Mann &
Bidwell, 1999). Middle concentrations (8 mg a.i./L) caused 100% of mortality in tadpoles of the
toad Rhinella arenarum (Pérez & Miranda unpublished) exposed to Eskoba III Max® (Fig. 6),
though LC values of 3.2 mg a.i./L were reported for this toad exposed to Roundup Ultra-Max
(Lajmanovich et al., 2010). However, lower concentrations have shown significant effects in
mortality and growth. For instance, Chen et al. (2004) reported 100 % of mortality in tadpoles
of Rana pipiens treated with 0.75 mg a.e./L of Vision® at pH of 7.5. Cauble & Wagner (2005)
observed 50% of mortality for tadpoles of Rana cascadae treated with 1.94 mg a.i./L of
Roundup® and an earlier metamorphosis time with 1 mg a.i. /L (Table 5). In addition, 2 mg
a.i./L significantly reduce the survival and growth in three of five tadpoles exposed to
Roundup® (Relyea, 2004). The same author reported in a mesocosms experiment a 100% of
mortality for the Rana sylvatica and Hyla versicolor tadpoles and around 98 % of mortality for
Rana pipiens and Bufo americanus tadpoles due to a direct herbicide effect (Relyea, 2005).
Tadpoles seem to be more sensible to commercial formulations than juveniles and adults.
Odontesthes bonariensis Jenynsia lineata

100 100
Survival (% of control)
80 80
60 60
40 40
20 20
0 0
24 h. 48 h. 72 h. 96 h. 24 h. 48 h. 72 h. 96 h.
Time (hours) Time (hours)
Rhinella arenarum 4 mg a.i./L

100
8 mg a.i./L
80
12 mg a.i./L
60
40
20
0
24 h. 48 h. 72 h. 96 h.
Time (hours)
Fig. 3. Acute lethal effects of Eskoba III Max® on two fish species (Odontesthes bonariensis and
Jenynsia lineata) and on tadpoles from Rhinella arenarum
POEA itself resulted more toxic than Roundup®, being this surfactant the more noxious
component of several commercial formulations. Different authors concluded that the high
mortality in fish and amphibian are actually due mainly to POEA surfactant and not to
glyphosate itself (Folmar et al., 1979; Servizi et al., 1987; Perkins et al., 2000). In the fish
Pimephales promelas, the relative contribution of glyphosate acid to the toxicity of Roundup®
was about 30% (Folmar et al., 1979), while glyphosate (as IPA salt) was not toxic for 5
species of Australian frogs, and therefore without any contribution to Roundup® toxicity
(Mann & Bidwell, 1999). In fish, values of LC50 obtained in POEA treatments varied from 1
to 13 mg a.i./L (Folmar et al., 1979; Servizi et al., 1987), being these values up to 4 fold more
toxic than Roundup®. Besides, Perkins et al. (2000), found LC50 values of 6.8 mg a.e./L for
POEA treatments in African Xenopus laevis tadpoles, showing 1.8 fold higher toxicity than
commercial formulation.
ASSESSED STUDY ASSESSED EFFECTS CONCENTRATION

VERTEBRATES REFERENCES
CHEMICAL TYPE PARAMETER (mg/L) ##
-Amphibians (frogs and toads)
Gly. (IPA salt) 48h LC50 = > 400
Lymnodynastes Roundup® 48h LC50 = 3.0

SST (48 h.) Morality Mann & Bidwell, 1999
dorsalis Roundup® Biactive 48h LC50 = > 400
Touchdownt® 48h LC50 = 12.0
Gly. (IPA salt) 48h LC50 => 373
Heleioporus eyrei SST (48 h.) Morality Mann &Bidwell, 1999
Roundup® Biactive 48h LC50 => 427
Gly. (IPA salt) 48h LC50 = > 466
Crinia insignifera SST (48 h.) Morality Mann & Bidwell, 1999
Roundup® Biactive 48h LC50 = > 494
Rodeo® 96h LC50 = 5407
Xenopus laevis Roundup® SST (96 h.) Morality 96h LC50 = 9.4 Perkins et al. 2000
POEA 96h LC50 = 2.7
Scinax nasicus Glyphos® SST (96 h.) Morality # 96h LC50 = 2.6 Lajmanovich et al., 2003
0.75 mg/L elicited 100 %
Rana pipiens Vision® SST (8 d.) Morality # Chen et al., 2004
mortality
Rana pipiens Not observed significant effects
2 mg/L reduce survival &
Rana clamitans
growth
Mortality 2 mg/L reduce survival & Relyea, 2004
Rana catesbeiana Roundup® SST (16 d.)
& growth growth
Bufo americanus 2 mg/L reduce growth
Hyla versicolor Not observed significant effects
Rana sylvatica 3.8 mg/L elicited 100% mortality
Rana pipiens 3.8 mg/L elicited 98% mortality
Mortality Relyea, 2005
Bufo americanus Roundup® MES (15 d.) 3.8 mg/L elicited 98% mortality
& biomass #
Hyla versicolor 3.8 mg/L elicited 100% mortality
Pseudacris crucifer Not observed significant effects
Mortality & 1.94 mg/L elicited mortality and
Rana cascadae Roundup® SST (42 d.) Cauble & Wagner, 2005
metamorphosis# earlier metamorphosis times
Gly. (IPA salt) Not observed significant effects Pérez & Miranda
Rhinella arenarum SST (96h.) Mortality
Eskoba III Max® 8 mg/L elicited 100% mortality (unpublished)

on frogs and toads.
5. Conclusions
• Reviewing the available information on toxicity of glyphosate and its formulations on
different groups of aquatic organisms, we have concluded that they are hazardous to the
aquatic environment. Several contributions reviewed here reported significant effects of the
herbicide at concentrations lower than EEC (2.6 mg a.i./L). Herbicide could be very noxious
in standing waters like ponds, or in irrigation canals and impounded waters, where EEC can
be reached. In these scenarios, toxicity could be exacerbated by other stressors and water
characteristics (e.g. high temperature and pH, low O2 concentration, presence of clay
colloids, water hardness and other chemicals). Besides, toxicity also has showed to depend
on organism life stage.
• Overall, ecotoxicological sub-lethal endpoints based on behavioral traits (e.g., predator
avoidance, feeding, and locomotion) and other endpoints (e.g. growth, reproduction and
metabolism) seem to be more sensitive indicators of effects (i.e. reporting lower effective
concentrations) and give more insights into patterns of toxicity than survivorship tests (i.e.
lethality). In addition, in doses dependent effects studies, commonly results are expressed as
LC50 or EC50. However, it is not possible to predict, for instance, if the 10 % of mortality or
reduction in growth (i.e at lower herbicide concentration) do not have significant effects on
population and eventually in the community. On the other hand, studies focused in natural
or assembled communities (e.g. microcosm and mesocosms experiments) have provided
interesting and significant outcomes regarding direct and indirect herbicide effects that
could not be reached in single species laboratory tests. Although these laboratory tests are
an essential protocol to rapidly identify the direct impacts of pesticides on organisms, they
prevent an assessment of effects on organisms embedded in their natural ecological
contexts.
• Glyphosate itself (as acid or salt) is generally considered to be slightly or moderately
toxic to aquatic organisms (i.e., LC50 or EC50 between >1 to < 100 mg/L). However, some
algae and aquatic plants showed higher sensibility, being glyphosate very toxic (EC50
between >0.1 to < 1 mg/L). Aquatic plants seem to be more sensitive to glyphosate than
microalgae. The high toxicity of glyphosate in algae and aquatic plants is related with the
mode of action of this compound (an herbicide) that interferes with plant metabolisms. On
the other hand, much lower glyphosate toxicity was observed for other aquatic organisms
(i.e. bacteria, protozoa, invertebrates, fish and amphibians). However, snails and worms
seem to be exceptions; showing significant effects in growth, reproduction and metabolism
at concentrations of < 1 mg/L of glyphosate.
• Commercial formulations and specially those containing the surfactant POEA, showed
higher toxicity than the active ingredient itself for all the aquatic organisms studied.
Roundup® showed to be up to 7 folds more noxious than glyphosate in algae and aquatic
plants, up to 13 folds in protozoa, up to 42 folds in fish, up 70 folds in crustaceans, and up to
130 folds in frogs and toads. Algae and aquatic plants, showed significant effects with
concentrations < 3 mg a.i./L. however, lower values were registered in studies of
periphyton and micro plankton communities. Roundup® concentration of 10 μg a.i./L
elicited changes in marine microbial community structure and 0.13 mg a.i./L of Rodeo®
caused an increment in periphyton primary production. In addition, significant effects at
concentrations relevant to environmental toxicity thresholds were also observed for other
groups of aquatic organism. In protozoa, Euglena gracilis showed high sensibility, with 0.1
mg a.i. /L of Roundup® and Avans® eliciting significant sublethal effects. Different species
of crustaceans showed lethal effects with values lower than 3 mg a.i./L of Roundup®. In
Frogs and toads, relevant concentrations of glyphosate based products (< 2 mg a.i./L)
elicited lethal and sublethal effects. Fish seems to be less sensitive to commercial
formulations, though some contributions showed significant sublethal effects in metabolism

and enzyme activity at concentrations (< 2.5 mg a.i./L) of Roundup®
• The high toxicity observed for several commercial formulation of glyphosate was
generally related with the content of POEA. In protozoa and invertebrates, POEA
contributed with more than the 80% of Roundup® toxicity. Crustaceans showed values of
EC50 and LC50 that ranged from 0.097 to 2 mg/L of POEA. In fish, glyphosate only
contributed to the toxicity of Roundup® with around 30%, and values of EC50 ranged from 1
to 13 mg/L of POEA. In frogs and toads POEA seems to be the most toxic compound in
commercial formulations. Glyphosate alone (as IPA salt) was not toxic for 5 species of
Australian frogs (LC50 > 343 mg a.e./L) and therefore contributed little to Roundup® toxicity.
In contrast, POEA could show lower contribution in algae and aquatic plants (as from about
46%).
• Stated the hazard of glyphosate and commercial formulations of glyphosate on aquatic
environments and ecological implication of the effects reviewed here, we stressed the
paucity of contributions studying the effects of glyphosate on several potential endangered
aquatic species (e.g. hydroids, sponges, worms, flatworms, insects, and urodela species). We
also emphasize the necessity of studies in natural communities or in assembled
communities in order to evaluate direct and indirect effects upon different trophic levels.
• Finally we consider that glyphosate and commercial formulations of glyphosate could
have particularly significant disruptive effects to waterbodies like ponds. Ponds have been
widely recognized as very important freshwater habitats. These relative small and shallow
still aquatic environments are very rich in genetic and taxonomic biodiversity; they are
important refuges for amphibians and also for a bewildering variety of plants and animals,
including many scarce and endangered species. In addition ponds are important places for
insects hatching, fish larvae and juveniles refuges and net sites for wetland birds.
6. Acknowledgments
We thank Dr. Horacio Zagarese for help and support, as well as to CONICET (Consejo
Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas) for financial assistant.
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17
The Impact of Herbicides on Benthic

Organisms in Flooded Rice
Fields in Southern Brazil
Joele S. Baumart and Sandro Santos
Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, 97105-900 Santa Maria, RS
Brazil
1. Introduction
Agricultural production is always directly associated with the use of agrochemicals to
control the harmful organisms that attack the crops and reduce the harvest. In spite of their
benefits, the use of agrochemicals usually causes great problems, considering that these
often-toxic chemicals are used in large quantities over large areas, and generally persist in
the environment for some time (Prime et al., 2005).
As a consequence of agrochemical application, water quality and aquatic biodiversity have
been compromised due to the destructuring of the physical and chemical environment and
alteration of the natural dynamics of the biological communities (Goulart & Callisto, 2003).
According to Biggs et al. (2007), it is highly important to regulate the use of an agrochemical
and its action against non-target organisms in the aquatic environment. However, specific
data on the occurrence and population dynamics of aquatic organisms in agricultural areas
are very limited.
Studies by Mesléard et al. (2005) indicate that the use of herbicides, insecticides, and
fertilizers can modify the feeding pattern and alter the development of animal communities
present in rice fields, especially the invertebrates. Because they are sedentary organisms and
have relatively short life cycles (compared to fish), benthic macroinvertebrates are
considered good indicators of water quality. Due to their short life cycles, they express more
rapidly the changes in the environment through changes in structure of their populations
and communities (Rosemberg & Resh, 1993). Because they also have great biological
diversity, they tend to exhibit a greater variability of responses to different kinds of
environmental impacts (Rosemberg & Resh, 1993). Another aspect refers to adaptive
strategies to environmental instabilities of the environment, in general, resilience and
persistence. A resilient biota can rapidly recolonize areas disturbed by flooding; and a
persistent biota demonstrates a good capacity to resist disturbances (Winterbotton et al.,
1997).
The use of herbicides can indirectly influence the zoobenthic community, since, as seen in
experiments carried out by Moreby & Southway (1999), the use of selective herbicides
against a species of weed is essential to conserve the invertebrates that feed on plants. The
use of broad-spectrum herbicides risks negative effects on the food chain of these herbivores
and thus causing an imbalance in the community.
The herbicide Quinclorac (3, 7 – dichloroquinoline -8-carboxylic acid) has a relatively high
persistence in rice crops compared to other herbicides (Reimche et al., 2008). Marchezan et
al. (2003) found Quinclorac in the water of rivers in central Rio Grande do Sul in
considerable concentrations, sufficient to harm the local benthic community.
Other products, that are widely used in irrigated rice fields in southern Brazil are the
herbicides Bispyribac-sodium {sodium 2,6-bis-[(4,6-dimethoxypyrimidin-2-yl]benzoate} and
a formulated mixture of the herbicides Imazethapyr and Imazapic [(RS)-5-ethyl-2-(4-
isopropyl-4-methyl-5-oxo-2-imidazolin-2yl) nicotinic acid and (RS)-2-(4-isopropyl-4-methyl-
5-oxo-2-imidazolin-2-yl)-5-methyl nicotinic acid]. However, there are no data available
about their effect on the environment (MAPA, 2009).
Considering that irrigated rice fields are large shallow lakes during the growing season, and
tend to shelter a considerable aquatic fauna, studies in these areas can contribute
considerably to elucidate the real impact of the agrochemicals used in this crop. The aim of
this study was to investigate the impact of the use of commercial formulations of the
mixture of the herbicides Imazethapyr + Imazapic (ONLY®), Bispyribac-sodium
(NOMINEE 400SC), and Quinclorac (FACET PM) on the density and abundance of different
groups of benthic organisms present in irrigated areas. The influence of agrochemicals on
water quality as indicated by selected physical and chemical parameters, and the period of
action of these agrochemicals on the community were evaluated.
2. Material and methods

The study was carried out in an experimental marshy area belonging to the Plant
Technology Laboratory of the Federal University of Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil,
during the 2007/08 irrigated-rice growing season. The block was constituted by four plots
(treatments) and each experimental unit measured 8 x 6 m, including refuge (48 m2). In these
areas the following herbicides were used (treatments): TO – Imazethapyr (75.ha-1) +
Imazapic (25.ha-1) (ONLY®); TB – Bispyribac-sodium(50.ha-1) (NOMINEE 400 SC); TQ –
Quinclorac (375.ha-1) (FACET PM); and TC – Control.
The experimental units were separated by embankments with irrigation and individual
drainage. The rice seed IRGA 422 CL was sowed at a density of 130 kg per ha, in a direct
system, using a sowing machine with rows separated by 0.17 m. The fertilizer was applied
according to the soil analysis and recommendations (SOSBAI, 2005). The herbicides were
applied on the dry soil, with rice in the three-to-four-leaf stage.
The area was irrigated one day after the application of the post-emergent herbicides, and the
water level was maintained at 0.10 m during the entire experiment. To avoid loss of water
due to lateral infiltration, a wide guard embankment was constructed, keeping a canal with
water between the plots and around the experiment, with the same hydraulic load as the
plot.
The benthic macroinvertebrates were collected with the help of a cylindrical PVC sampler,
0.10 m in diameter (area 0.01 m2) and 0.10 m long. The collections were made 28 and 84 days
after the entry of water into the plots; these dates correspond to the growing period and the
pre-harvest (drying the area to begin the harvest). For each treatment and on each day, 12
samples were collected.
The sampling points, in each treatment, were chosen in a universe of 42 points that
corresponded to one sample per m2 of the area cultivated.
The Impact of Herbicides on Benthic Organisms in Flooded Rice Fields in Southern Brazil 371
After the collection, the material was suitably packed, labeled, and taken to the laboratory,
where it was washed in 0.25 mm sieves and repacked in plastic bottles, adding Rose Bengal
stain. After 20 minutes in the stain, the material was fixed with absolute ethyl alcohol.
After fixing, the animals were sortted and identified to the lowest taxonomic level possible,
using specialized references (Fernandez & Dominguez, 2001; Costa et al. 2006). For each
sample, the population density of each taxonomic group was recorded. All the material was
stored in the collection of the Carcinology Laboratory of UFSM. The species were separated
into four trophic guilds: predator, detritivore, filter-collector or catcher-collector, and
herbivore scraper or perforator. This classification was based on Merrit & Cummins (1996),
Callisto and Esteves (1998), Marinoni (2001), and Silva et al. (2009a).
The water was collected for analyses of the physical and chemical parameters on days 3, 7,
14, 21, 28, 42, 56, and 84 after the plots were flooded, comprising the entire period of
cultivation. In each sampling period, the following analyses were done: pH, with a Hanna
pH meter (HI8424); total hardness, according to APHA (1992); and temperature and
dissolved oxygen (YSI oximeter model Y5512). The turbidity was measured with a
PoliControl turbidimeter.
During the cultivation, samples of water were collected 1, 2, 3, 7, 14, 21, 28, 42, 56, 77, 84, and
90 days after the plots were flooded; day 90 was the day of harvest. After each collection, the
labeled samples were taken for chemical analysis in the Group of Research Analyses of
Residues and Pesticides laboratories of UFSM. The concentrations of herbicides were
determined by means of High Performance Liquid Chromatography, with detection by the
arrangement of diodes (HPLC - DAD), using methanol and water as the mobile phase and a
C-18 column, according to the method described by Zanella et al. (2002).
The physical and chemical data were evaluated through a two-way ANOVA (time and
treatment), and the means were compared by a t test (p<0.05). A PCA analysis was used to
assess possible correlations between the physical and chemical parameters and the
pesticides applied in the field.
The density data for the main groups were submitted to a Shapiro-Wilk analysis, and after
satisfying the criteria and/or were transformed for data standardization, they were
submitted to a one-way ANOVA, and the means were compared by a t test (p<0.05). An
ANOSIM was applied to assess if there was similarity in the macroinvertebrate community
composition among the treatments and the sampling days. This test was also used to assess
if there was similarity in the fauna composition of the trophic guilds among the treatments
and the sampling days. The Bray-Curtis index was used to construct the similarity matrix.
For these analyses, the programs PAST 1.82b (Hammer et al., 2001) and BioEstat 5.0 (Ayres
et al., 2007) were used. To assess the period when the herbicides might affect the benthic
community, a PRC (Principal Response Curve) was constructed, using the statistical
program R (vegan package).
3. Results
3.1 Abiotic data
The abiotic data were measured on specific dates, which covered the entire period of rice
culture. The statistical analyses showed no differences among treatments, but there were
differences among the sampling days (Table 1). The PCA showed no correlation among the
parameters analyzed. The highest dissolved oxygen content was recorded on day 42,
11.90mg.L-1, in the treatment with Quinclorac. The pH remained between 6 and 7, during
almost the entire experiment; although the variability was low, the differences among
sampling days were significant (Table 1).
The water temperature varied from 34.2°C on the first day of experiment to 17.7°C on the
last one, in January and April, respectively. Hardness was highest on days 21 and 28, with
O2D (mg.L-1)
3 c 7 a 14 c 21 b 28 a 42 d 56 cd 84 a
TO 6.90 3.50 5.43 4.50 4.10 11.40 7.40 3.90
TB 6.50 3.60 7.27 6.00 2.90 11.10 7.30 3.40
TQ 6.60 4.10 5.98 6.30 4.50 11.90 6.60 3.30
TC 7.50 4.40 6.86 4.20 5.40 11.70 9.10 2.50
pH
3 cd 7e 14 de 21 ab 28 c 42 bc 56 bc 84 a
TO 6.81 7.30 7.08 6.83 6.73 6.60 6.40 6.37
TB 6.74 6.90 7.17 6.81 6.62 6.52 6.74 6.15
TQ 6.73 7.19 7.03 6.22 6.60 6.25 6.47 6.21
TC 6.78 7.04 6.82 5.98 6.58 6.44 6.49 6.12
Water Temperature in ºC
3f 7e 14 c 21 b 28 c 42 d 56 d 84 a
TO 34.20 26.67 22.38 20.23 22.13 23.77 23.60 17.80
TB 33.53 26.57 22.42 20.23 22.10 23.57 23.33 17.80
TQ 33.67 26.63 22.56 20.70 22.27 23.67 23.50 17.75
TC 33.23 26.63 22.50 20.70 22.70 23.57 23.53 17.70
Hardness (mg.L-1 de CaCO3)
3a 7 bc 14 ab 21 c 28 c 42nb 56 a 84 a
TO 17.00 32.00 28.00 40.00 40.00 36.00 24.00 36.00
TB 22.00 36.00 20.00 40.00 40.00 32.00 28.00 32.00
TQ 26.00 32.00 24.00 40.00 36.00 32.00 20.00 24.00
TC 22.00 24.00 24.00 36.00 32.00 36.00 20.00 24.00
Turbidity (NTU)
3 c 7 c 14 bc 21 ab 28 c 42 c 56 c 84 b
TO 22.73 14.00 14.80 6.60 23.90 14.60 17.10 15.90
TB 17.00 18.20 17.60 4.52 23.10 24.20 28.90 8.47
TQ 18.77 17.50 18.40 4.86 18.50 17.00 15.40 6.19
TC 22.40 15.20 12.80 3.92 11.10 9.45 10.00 6.22
Table 1. Santa Maria, Brazil: Physical and chemical parameters analyzed in the irrigated rice
field, on different days after flooding, during the 2007/08 growing season, in experimental
plots in central Rio Grande do Sul. TO, treatment with the herbicide Only®; TB, treatment
with the herbicide Bispyribac-sodium; TQ, treatment with the herbicide Quinclorac; TC,
control treatment. Similar letters indicate statistical similarity.
40 mg. L -1, decreasing from day 42 on. Water turbidity ranged from 2.53 NTU on day 84 to
28.90 NTU on day 56 (Table 1).
3.2 Agrochemical persistence

Quinclorac showed the highest persistence (Table 2), and was detected until 84 days after the
plots were flooded. On this date, however, its concentration was low and it was not detected
on day 90, the day of harvest (on this day, the water sample was collected in the refuge). The
herbicide Only® showed the lowest persistence, and was detected until day 21 (Table 2).
Pesticides Concentration µg. L-1

Treatments/
0 1st 2 nd 3 rd 7 th 14th 21st 28th 42nd 56th 77th 84th 90th
Days
TO 12.9 22.2 16.0 11.7 7.1 3.7 2.4 - - - - - -
TB 8.7 20.8 12.9 10.5 8.9 4.3 1.8 1.2 0.3 0.2 - - -
TQ 138.8 296.7 173.3 107.6 47.0 39.2 38.0 28.2 20.6 9.8 4.9 3.8 -
Table 2. Santa Maria, Brazil: Mean concentrations of agrochemicals in irrigated rice plots
during the 2007/08 growing season. TO, treatment with the herbicide Only®; TB, treatment
with the herbicide Bispyribac-sodium; TQ, treatment with the herbicide Quinclorac. Day 0,
flooding of the experimental plots, and then successive dates.
3.3 Benthic macroinvertebrates

A total of 3763 animals were identified, 1799 in the first collection (day 28) and 1964 in the
second one (day 84). All the taxa identified in the first collection were present in the second.
In the latter, some taxa were identified that were not present in the first collection (Table 3).
In both collections the control treatment (TC) showed the highest density of organisms (no.
ind. m-2), followed by TO, TB, and TQ (Table 4). However, regarding the abundance of taxa
recorded in the second collection, the treatment with the most abundance was TO.
In relation to fauna composition (abundance and diversity), in the first collection the
ANOSIM indicated a similarity in the community composition only between TC and TB and
between TB and TO. In the second collection, all the treatments diffed among themselves
and also differed from the first collection.
The ANOSIM, used to assess if there was similarity in the fauna composition (abundance
and diversity) in each trophic guild when comparing the treatments, showed that some
were similar. The treatment showing the highest differences was TQ. The data for the day 28
collection are given in Figure 1A, and the data from day 84 in Figure 1B. The results for each
guild in the treatments also differed between collections; i.e., the guilds in TC in the first
treatment showed a different community composition in the second, and the same occurred
for TO, TB, and TQ.
The PRC showed that, in general, all the herbicides caused an initial stress on the benthic
community, and this stress decreased with time. At the end of the cultivation, the
community was structured again, except the community that received TQ which continued
to be affected by this herbicide until the end of the cultivation.
4. Discussion
The results showed that the pesticides did not significantly alter the abiotic factors of the
water used in the experiment, considering that there were no significant differences among
treatments, in the same collection. These results differ from those obtained by Faria et al.
(2007), who reported that localities with high rates of contamination by pesticides and heavy
metals, showed pH and O2 values different from contamination-free areas or areas with low
contamination, and attributed this difference to the presence of chemicals in the
environment. Similarly, Schulz & Liess (1999), in a study of streams that supply water for
the field, separated into low, medium, and high impact, also attributed to pesticides the
differences found in the water quality. The influence of pesticides in reducing water quality
was also reported by Molozzi et al. (2006), who evaluated irrigation and drainage water
from rice fields.
In areas of rice cultivation, the oxygen concentration tends to be low, because the water
depth is between 5 and 15 cm. In experiments carried out in the same area of the present
study, in previous years the oxygen concentration was 0.6 to 2.2 mg. L-1 (Golombieski et al.,
2008) and between 2.4 – 4.6 mg.L-1 (Reimche et al., 2008). In this experiment, the variation in
the level of oxygen was 2.4 – 11.9 mg.L-1, and most days it was higher than 6 mg. L-1, a high
level for the area. This may have favored an increase in the abundance obtained in the last
collection, since some taxa are sensitive to low levels of dissolved oxygen.
The values of hardness and alkalinity were higher than in the present study compared to
data from Golombieski et al. (2008) and from Reimche et al. (2008). A difference in the
dissociation of ions of the compounds used in the experiments could explain this disparity.
A factor that may also explain these results is that during the rice cultivation the
temperature was decreasing, and the highest temperature occurred at the beginning of the
study in January 2008, and the lowest temperatures in the last collection, in April. In the
above-cited studies, the temperatures were lower than those recorded in this study, 16.4-23.9
°C (Reimche et al., 2008) and 17.6-25.7°C (Golombieski et al., 2008).
Another factor to consider is the relatively low persistence of the compounds used in this
study. All the herbicides except Quinclorac showed lower persistence than found in some
studies (USEPA, 1996; Stevens et al., 1998; Mesléard et al., 2005; Mize et al., 2008; Reimche et
al., 2008). However, Quinclorac was at least 2.5 times more persistent than observed by
Reimche et al. (2008).
An evaluation of the persistence of pesticides in water of rivers in the region found that the
compounds forming the commercial formulation Only (Imazapic + Imazethapyr) were
present in all the sampling periods (Silva et al., 2009b). These data differ from those obtained
in this study, where the herbicide Only® was measurable until day 21. These results are
similar to those found in the water of rivers in the region of Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, in a
study carried out in 2007, where Quinclorac also persisted during the entire period of rice
cultivation (Grutzmacher et al., 2008). It is possible that these differences in persistence are
due to the management of the rice field. It may be advisable to maintain water in the field as
long as possible (Marchesan et al., 2005; Grutzmacher et al., 2008). It is important to note
that the studies cited here assessed the persistence of pesticides in the field water. If this
persistence were analyzed in the sediment, the values might be different.
During the period of cultivation, the absolute abundance and diversity of the aquatic
community tended to increase. Similar increases were found by other researchers (Schulz
and Liess, 1999; Suhling et al., 2000). The most coherent explanation for this is that, as time
passes, the pesticides become diluted and dissipate, thus decreasing their toxicity to the
aquatic organisms (Schulz & Liess, 1999). However, Molozzi et al. (2007) did was not record
temporal differences in the benthic community in relation to the stages of the rice seedling.
The benthic macroinvertebrate community is composed of many taxa, among which one of
the most studied is the insect family Chironomidae. Some genera of this family are
considered plagues in rice fields, and because of this pesticides have been developed to
minimize their effects. In the present study, all the herbicides tested, although they do not
target these organisms, negatively affected the chironomid population. This influence was
perceptible for the herbicide Only® in the first collection and Bispyribac-sodium in the
second, and for Quinclorac in both. This influence was also evident in other taxa of the
benthic community, mainly in the first collection when the agrochemicals were present in
higher concentrations in the water.
The coleopterans Curculionidae, Dytiscidae, and Hydrophilidae, the dipterans
Ceratopogonidae and Chironomidae, the hemipteran Corixidae, the odonate Aeshnidae, the
trichopteran Odontoceridae, as well as the Collembola, Ostracoda, Annelidae, Nematoda,
and the mollusc Ampullaridae could be classified as persistent. Only the mollusc family
Planorbidae were classified as resilient. The other taxa must be considered occasional, since
they either were not collected in TC or were collected only in the second sampling.
Quinclorac showed a different dynamic than that studied in the laboratory by Crosby (2003),
where it showed low persistence. In the study by Reimche et al. (2008), this pesticide was
detected until the 31st day, with its highest concentration observed on the 7th day with
102 µg.L-1. In the present study, its persistence was higher than the other pesticides
investigated, being detected until day 84 in a concentration of 3.8 µg.L-1 concentration. Its
highest value was on the first day, with 296.7 µg.L-1. The negative influence of this pesticide
was perceptible in this study, since in both collections the treated plot had the lowest
abundance and diversity of taxa compared to the other treatments. This possible influence
was also recorded by Reimche et al. (2008), where the cladoceran assemblage showed a
density variation caused by the stress of the application of this herbicide.
The use of pesticides reduces the availability of food for the benthic macroinvertebrates and
changes the structure of the algae community, and the toxic effect on these food resources
may also be associated with this (Gagneten, 2002). Some studies have suggested the
possibility that the toxic agents to non-target organisms, in the case of herbicides, are the
adjuvants and the surfactants used in the commercial formulation of each pesticide (Tatum
2004; Kitulagodage et al., 2007). However, more studies taking these compounds into
consideration separately are necessary.
In relation to the community composition, it was clear that the pesticides cause alterations in
their composition. This effect was most apparent over the long term, even with the
community recovery. According to Berezen et al. (2005), this potential relationship between
contamination by pesticides and the community structure is based mainly on physiological
differences that affect the life cycle and the species’ mobility. Therefore, each pesticide has a
different effect on the organisms.
In studies in rice fields in France, no significant difference was found between a conventional
area of cultivation and an organic one for the family Chironomidae (Mesléard et al., 2005). This
may have occurred due to a decrease of predators of this group. A decrease in the numbers of
predators was also observed in the present study, and may have been responsible for the
alterations recorded in the proportions among the trophic guilds analyzed. This may have
made possible an increase in the density of detritivores, for instance.
The guild most injured by pesticides was the scrapers, which play an important role in this
ecosystem since they feed on algae, bacteria, fungi and dead organic matter adsorbed on the
substrate surface (Merrit & Cummins, 1996). This result is probably due to the action of the
herbicides on the algae, which serve as food for these animals. Detritivores, which start their
feeding process after the action of microorganisms that make this food more palatable
(Cummins et al., 1989), were recorded in low densities in the first collection; however, at the
end of the culture their densities increased. Detritivores remained in low densities even at
the end of the culture only in the TQ-treated plot, probably because of the effect of this
chemical on the microorganisms needed to increase the palatability of the food.
The data from this study, carried out in area of rice cultivation, reinforce the role of
bioindicators performed by the benthic macroinvertebrates. In addition, as observed here,
abiotic and biotic data not always give similar results when environmental matters are
investigated. However, the combination of these two parameters of analyses can generate
more substantial information on environmental impacts.
Taxa Trophic guild Sampling TC TO TB TQ

Artropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
28 X X X X
Curculionidae HR
84 X X - -
28 X X X -
Ditiscidae P
84 X X -
28 X X - X
Hidrophilidae P
84 X -
28 - - - -
Psephenidae HR
84 - - X -
Diptera
28 X X X X
Ceratopogonidae CF/ CC/ P
84 X X X X
28 X X X X
Chironomidae CF/ CC/ P
84 X X X X
28 -
Tabanidae P
84 - X - X
28 - - - -
Tipulidae P/ D
84 - - X -
Ephemeroptera
28 - - - -
Baetidae CF/ CC
84 - - - X
28 - - - -
Caenidae CF/ CC
84 X - - -
28 - - - -
Leptophlebiidae CF/ CJ
84 - - X -
28 - - - -
Leptohyphidae CF/ CC
84 - X X -
Hemiptera
28 - - - -
Belostomatidae P
84 X - - -
28 - - - -
Corixidae HR
84 X X - -
28 - - - -
Pentatomidae P
84 - X - -
Odonata
28 X - - X
Aeshnidae P
84 X - X X
28 - - - -
Coenagrionidae P
84 X X - -
28 - - X -
Lestidae P
84 - - X -
28 - - - -
Libellulidae P
84 X - - -
28 - - - -
Perilestidae P
84 - X - -
Plecoptera
28 - - - -
Perlidae P
84 - X - -
Trichoptera
28 X X X -
Odontoceridae D
84 X X X -
28 X X X X
Collembola D
84 X X X X
Crustacea
28 X X X X
Ostracoda D
84 X X X -
Arachnidae
28 - - - -
Aranae P
84 - X - -
28 X - - -
Hidracarina P
84 - X - -
Annelida
28 X X X -
Hirudinea P
84 X X X X
28 X X X X
Oligochaeta D
84 X X X X
28 X X X X
Nematoda P
84 X X X X
Mollusca
28 X X X X
Ampullaridae HR
84 X X X X
28 X - - X
Planorbidae HR
84 X X X X
Table 3. Santa Maria, Brazil, 2007/08 growing season: Abundance of taxa identified in the
area of irrigated rice cultivation with different treatments. HR: herbivore scraper, P:
predator, CC: collector catcher, CF: filter collector, D: detritivore, TC: control treatment, TO:
treatment with Only®, TB: treatment with Bispyribac-sodium, TQ: treatment with
Quinclorac. “X” indicates the presence of a taxon in the plot, and “-” indicates its absence.
B
Fig. 1. Santa Maria, Brazil, 2007/08 growing season: Differences in the faunal composition in
each trophic guild, evaluated by ANOSIM (p<0.05). Different letters indicate a statistical
difference. A: collection 28 days after the experiment al plots were flooded, B: collection 84
days after flooding. TC: control treatment, TO: treatment with the herbicide Only®, TB:
treatment with the herbicide Bispyribac-sodium, TQ: treatment with the herbicide
Quinclorac.
Abundance of the taxa

Org. average density.m-2
collected
28ºd 84ºd 28ºd 84ºd
TC 147.81 157.24 15 18
TO 126.54 134.87 12 21
TB 100.66 86.84 12 17
TQ 18.42 43.20 11 11
Table 4. Santa Maria, Brazil, 2007/08 growing season: mean densities (no. ind.m-2) and
abundances of taxa identified in the experimental plots, by treatment.
5. Acknowledgments
To CNPq proc. n° 552546/2007-0 and Pró-Publicações Internacionais / PRPGP / UFSM by
financial support. To Dr. Renato Zanella by the persistence analyses and to our colleagues
for their help in the field works.
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18
Structural and Functional Effects of

Herbicides on Non-Target Organisms in
Aquatic Ecosystems with an
Emphasis on Atrazine
J.F. Fairchild
U.S. Geological Survey,
USA
1. Introduction
Herbicide use has increased dramatically around the world over the past 6 decades
(Gianessi and Reigner, 2007). Few herbicides were in use in the 1950s. However, by 2001
approximately 1.14 billion kilograms of herbicides were applied globally for the control of
undesireable vegetation in agricultural, silvicultural, lawncare, aquacultural, and
irrigation/recreational water management activities (Kiely et al., 2004). Twenty-eight
percent of the total mass of herbicides is applied in the United States, with the remaining 72
percent being applied elsewhere around the globe (Kiely et al., 2004). Herbicides represent
36% of global pesticide use, followed by insecticides (25%), fungicides (10%) and other
chemical classes (Kiely et al., 2004).
Agricultural production accounts for approximately 90% of herbicide use in the U.S. (Kiely
et al., 2004). Gianessi and Reigner (2007) indicated that herbicides are routinely used on
more than 90% of the area designated for large commercial crops including corn, soybeans,
cotton, sugar beets, peanuts, and rice. Increased farm mechanization, technological
advancements in production of inexpensive sources of inorganic nitrogen fertilizer (e.g.,
anhydrous ammonia), and conversion of forest, grassland, and wetland habitats to cropland
has led to a tremendous increase in global food production over the past half-century.
Herbicides have augmented advances in large-scale agricultural systems and have largely
replaced mechanical and hand-weeding control mechanisms (Gianessi and Reigner, 2007).
The wide-spread use of herbicides in agriculture has resulted in frequent chemical
detections in surface and groundwaters (Gilliom, 2007). The majority of herbicides used are
highly water soluble and are therefore prone to runoff from terrestrial environments. In
additon, spray drift and atmospheric deposition can contribute to herbicide contamination
of aquatic environments. Lastly, selected herbicides are deliberately applied to aquatic
environments for controlling nuisance aquatic vegetation. Although aquatic herbicide
exposure has been widely documented, these exposures are not necessarily related to
adverse non-target ecological effects on natural communities in aquatic environments. This
chapter evaluates the potential for effects of herbicides on the structure and function of
aquatic envrionments at the population, community, and ecosystem levels of biological
organization. In this manuscript I examine several critical aspects of the subject matter area:
primary herbicides in use and chemical modes of action; the regulatory process used for
registration and risk assessment of herbicides; data regarding non-target risks and the
relative sensitivity of aquatic plants, inveretebrates, and fish to herbicides; and emerging
areas of science regarding the potential for endocrine-disrupting effects of herbicides on
aquatic vertebrates. Much of the focus of this paper is on atrazine due to the extensive
database which exists regarding its fate and effects.
2. Herbicide production, use, and regulation in the United States

2.1 Herbicide production and use
Agricultural statistics indicate that total herbicide use in the United States has been
relatively stable to declining over the past 2 decades with an approximate average usage of
250 million kilograms per year (Fig. 1) (Kieley et al., 2004). Total herbicide use in the United
States has remained relatively stable over the past 25 years due to the decrease in
application rates of atrazine and the increased use of the low-volume chemicals such as the
acetolactate synthase (ALS) inhibitors (Reade and Cobb, 2002; Menne and Kocher, 2007).
Fig. 1. Trendline in total herbicide use in the United States from years 1982 to 2001. Data
from Kieley et al. (2004).
In 1987, the primary herbicides used in the United States were atrazine, alachlor,
metolachlor, and 2,4-D (Table 1). The major change in herbicide use-trends has been driven
by the significant increase in use of glyphosate due to the development of glyphosate-
resistant crops including soybeans, corn, and cotton. In 2001, glyphosate replaced atrazine
in terms of total product application, followed by the increase in use of acetochlor and 2,4-D
(Table 1).
Structural and Functional Effects of Herbicides on Non-Target Organisms
in Aquatic Ecosystems with an Emphasis on Atrazine 385
Active 2001 1999 1997 1987

Ingredient Rank Range Rank Range Rank Range Rank Range
Glyphosate 1 39-41 2 30-33 3 15-17 9 3-4
Atrazine 2 34-36 1 34-46 1 34-37 1 32-34
Acetochlor 3 14-16 3 14-16 4 14-16 NA NA
2,4-D 4 13-15 4 13-15 5 13-15 4 13-15
Metolachlor-S 5 9-11 8 7-9 NA NA NA NA
Metolachlor 6 12-14 5 12-14 2 27-31 3 20-23
Pendimethalin 7 7-9 6 8-10 6 11-13 7 3-5
Trifluralin 8 5-7 7 8-10 7 10-11 5 11-14
Alachlor 9 3-3 9 3-5 8 6-7 2 25-27
Propanil 10 3-4 10 3-5 9 3-4 8 3-5
Dimethenamid 11 3-4 12 3-4 10 3-4 NA NA
EPTC 12 2-4 11 3-4 11 3-4 6 8-10
Simazine 13 2-3 NA2 NA NA NA NA NA
Dicamba 14 2-3 13 3-4 12 3-4 10 2-3
Sulfosate 15 1-3 NA NA NA NA NA NA
Data from Kiely et al. (2004).
Table 1. List of the major herbicides applied in the United States from 1987 to 2001
categorized by rank and amount of use (million kilograms/year).
There are approximately 220 registered herbicides that can be classified among 15 known
herbicidal modes of action, whereas 48 herbicides have no identified modes of action (Cole
et al., 2000; Read and Cobb, 2002; Menne and Kocher, 2007) (Table 2). The majority of
Herbicide
Target site or Mode of Action #’s Examples of Chemical Classes
Photosystem II 59 Triazines, Phenylureas
Acetolactate synthase 43 Sulfonureas, Imidazolinone
Microtubule and cell division 29 Chloroacetamides, Dinitroanalines
Protoporphyrinogen oxidase 28 Diphenyl ethers, Triazolinones
Auxin mimics 20 Phenoxy acids, Pyridines
Acetyl CoA Carboxylase 16 Aryoxyphenoxypropionates
Phytoene desaturase 11 Pyridazinone
Hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase 3 Triketones, Isoaxazole
Oxidative phosphorylation 3 Dinitrophenols
Cellulose biosynthesis 2 Nitriles, Benzamides
Photosystem 1 2 Bypyridiliums
Auxin transport 1 Phthalamate, Semicarbazones
Dihydropteroate synthetase 1 Carbamates
Glutamine synthetase 1 Phosphinic acids
Lycopene cyclase 1 Dimethylamines
Unknown or not stated 48
Data from Cole et al. (2000), Read and Cobb (2002), and Menne and Kocher (2007).
Table 2. Target sites/mode of action of commercial herbicides ranged by number of
products.
herbicides, however, fall into a relatively small number of groups of modes of action
including inhibitors of the photosystem II photosynthetic reaction; inhibitors of acetolactate
synthase; inhibitors of cellular division; inhibitors of protoporhyrinogen IX oxidase; and the
auxin mimics. These five modes of action are rather non-selective, which has led to
proposed increases in research of herbicides using genomics to develop chemicals with new
and unique modes of action that can be applied at low rates with high efficacy but that will
not result in herbicidal resistance in weeds such as that recently observed with glyphosate
and some acetolactate (ALS) inhibitors (Cole et al., 2000; Moss, 2002). It is anticipated that
these newer modes of action would also have minimal effects on non-target aquatic
organisms.
2.2 Herbicide regulation

Herbicides were first mass-produced in the early 1950s for the deliberate application to the
environment for the control of weeds in agriculture, silviculture, right-of-ways, and turf
lawns (Giannessi and Reigner, 2007). The history of herbicide registration and regulation
has differed around the world depending on the structure of governments, the rate of
scientific advancements, and the social perceptions of the need for environmental
regulation. Over time we have seen major movements in developed countries toward
harmonization of guidelines and requirements for herbicide registration and regulation.
United States: Herbicides and other pesticides have been regulated in the United States for
over 60 years under a series of legislative mandates. Pesticide registrations were originally
regulated under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) which was
enacted in 1948 as an expansion of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) of
1948. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) was responsible for regulation of
pesticides in the U.S. until 1970 when responsibilities were transferred to the newly created
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). Continued concern over the exposure and
effects of pesticides on humans and non-target animals (invertebrates, fish, birds, mammals,
and other wildlife) led to a total revision of the FIFRA in 1972. Substantial changes were
made in 1988 to accelerate the pesticide re-registration process. The establishment of the
Food Quality and Protection Act of 1996 (FQPA) brought further changes to the registration
of pesticides including herbicides (Flynn, 2002; Saundry, 2006). Industrial chemicals were
also first regulated under the FWPCA (1948) but requirements were subsequently revised
under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) of 1976. Over the past decade testing
guidelines for the effects of pesticides and industrial chemicals on non-target organisms
have been harmonized and consolidated within the U.S. EPA Office of Chemical Safety and
Pollution Prevention (OCSPP) (USEPA, 2010).
Europe: Prior to 1991, member states of the European Union (EU) used varying approaches
in the registration and regulation of herbicides and other pesticides which collectively
created a burden to agricultural trade and practices (Flynn, 2002). Therefore, the EU
consolidated the regulation of herbicides and other plant protection products under Council
Directive 91/414/EEC which was formally adopted on July 25, 1993 (Flynn 2002).
Herbicides and other agricultural chemicals used in the European Union are now regulated
under guidelines originally developed under the Organization for Economic Cooperation
and Development (OECD) and more recently by the European Commission (EC;
http://ecb.jrc.ec.europa.eu/). Further refinement of the pesticide registration process in
Europe is expected to occur following the enactment of the Registration, Evaluation,
Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) legislation implemented in June 2007

(REACH, 2007) with a goal of total completion by the year 2015.
Canada: Herbicide regulation in Canada was first enacted under the Agricultural Pest Act of
1927, and was subsequently amended as the Pesticide Products Act (PCPA) of 1939 (Flynn,
2002). In 1995, the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) became a part of Health
Canada which is responsible for the protection of human health and the environment
including pesticide regulation of herbicides. Pesticides are regulated by the Pesticide
Control Products Act (PCPA) of 2002 which was adopted in 2006 and managed by the Pest
Management Regulatory Agency of Health Canada (Canadian Ministry of Justice, 2010).
Tests for regulatory purposes are conducted in general accordance with U.S. and European
guidelines.
2.3 Herbicide registration and the risk assessment process

Philosophically, the tiered assessment testing procedure follows the generalized framwork
for ecological risk assessment that has been developed by a consortium of private,
government, and academic institutions over the past 20 years (Fig. 2) (USEPA, 1998). The
risk assessment process begins with a generalized problem formulation statement. For
example, the problem formulation statement for the registration of an herbicide might by
cast as “The production, application, and use of herbicide X may present an unacceptable risk to non-
target aquatic organisms“. Based on this problem formulation statement, the risk assessment
is conducted using an iterative assessment of the toxicity of an herbicide compared to its
anticipated environmental exposure. Exposure and toxicity data are then integrated in the
risk characterization step. If the risk characterization reveals some degree of concern then
the problem can be re-evaluated with additional research and validation of exposure and
toxicity in order to refine and minimize the risk. Excessive risk, defined as risk that cannot
be managed or reduced, generally results in cancellation or removal of the chemical in the
registration or re-registration process.
Fig. 2. Conceptual model for the framework for ecological risk assessment of herbicides and
other chemicals (Source: USEPA 1998).
Registration of herbicides in the United States considers the potential for impacts on non-
target aquatic organisms and is conducted within a 4-tiered process (USEPA, 2010) (Table 3).
Within each Tier, both toxicity and exposure are measured. The Tier 1 assessment consists of
a comparison of the acute toxicity of an herbicide to a limited number of species potentially
exposed to the maximum application rate of the chemical. The Tier 1 scenario is based on
the assumption of a 10% runoff of a single application of a chemical to a 10-ha field into a 1
ha pond with a depth of 2 m. Fate predictions are made using standard exposure assessment
models including the Pesticide Root Zone Model (PRZM), the Exposure Assessment
Modeling System (EXAMS), and the GENeric Estimated Environmental Concentration
(GENEEC2) models http://www.epa.gov/oppefed1/models/water/). These models
predict a range of environmental exposures based on herbicide characteristics including
water solubility, soil sorption coefficients, volatility, hydrolysis, photolysis, and biological
degadation rates in soil and water. If the exposure/toxicity ratio exceeds 1 then tesing
proceeds at the next highest tier. At each tier the data requirements expand to include more
toxicity testing and additional chemical exposure assessment. Risk assessment at higher tiers
varies depending on need, and can consist of mesocosm studies, field studies, field
monitoring, and additional modeling including probablistic approaches.
Tier Toxicity Assessment Exposure Assessment

1 Acute testing (8 species)1 Deterministic models (GENEEC2)
2 Chronic testing2 Deterministic models (PRZM-3 and EXAMSII)
3 Mesocosm field testing3 Probablistic modeling
4 Field monitoring4 Watershed monitoring/probablistic modeling
1Short term (48h-96h) testing with eight species including 2 species of freshwater fish, 1 species of
saltwater fish, 2 species of freshwater invertebrate, 1 species of saltwater invertebrate, and 2 species of
aquatic plants.
2Includes fish early survival and growth; fish life cycle, and invertebrate life cycle.
3Experimental ecosystem testing under realistic environmental conditions.

4Reports of fish kills and onitoring studies at state/federal level.
Table 3. Example of the tiered assessment process used to assess risk of herbicides and other
chemicals to non-target aquatic species during the pesticide registration process.
In probablistic modeling the probability of effects are compared to the probability of
exposure to get a joint probability distribution of potential risk. Solomon et al. (1996) and
Giddings et al. (2005) have conducted a series of probabalistic risk assessments with the
herbicide atrazine. These probablistic risk assessments were possible due to the extensive
datasabase available regarding the toxicity and environmental exposures to atrazine. A
graphical example of the potential application of a probablistic assessment is presented in
Figure 3. The data regarding probablity of exposure compared to plant and animal species
sensitivity distributions indicates that the highest 20% of atrazine exposures would exceed
the No Observable Effect Concentration (NOEC) values for approximately 10% of aquatic
plant species (approximately 10 ug/L) whereas animals would not be affected. Similar
approaches have been used to demonstrate the low risk of diquat to invertebrate and fish
populations (Campbell et al., 2000). The success of probabalistic modeling is currently being
evaluated and will probably be routinely used in the registration process of new chemicals
in the future based on structure/activity relationships and experience with widely studied
chemicals such as atrazine.
100 100
Atrazine Exposure Exceedance Frequency (%)
90
Cumulative species distribution (%)

80 80
70
60 60
s
al
ts
im
an
an
pl
50
ic
tic
t
ua
ua
Aq
Aq
40 40
Phytoplankton
30
Macrophyte
20 percent highest atrazine exposures
20 20
Benthos
Fish
10
Zooplankton
0 Amphibian 0
0.01 0.1 1 10 100 1000 10000
NOEC (µg/L)
Fig. 3. Illustration of the concept of a an atrazine risk assessment based on joint probability
distributions of measured environmental concentrations of atrazine in relation to the no
observable effect concentrations (NOECs) determined under standardized laboratory
conditions. The cumulative measured environmental exposure distribution is represented
by the continuous line on the left. The other two lines with squares (aquatic plants) and
triangles (benthos, zooplankton, amphibians, and fish) represent the linear cumulative
species sensitivity distributions determined from chonic laboratory tests with atrazine.
Plant data consists of published data from tests based on the endpoint of biomass
production. Animal data consists of published data from tests on endpoints of survival,
growth, or reproduction. The overlap between exposure and toxicity values represents the
relative risk of exposure of plant and animal communities to atrazine. In this case, the
highest 20 percent of atrazine exposures would exceed the NOEC level for aquatic plants
approximately 10% of the time. No risk is anticipated for animals. Data extracted and re-
drawn from Giddings et al. (2005; copyright 2005 by the Society of Environmental Toxicology
and Chemistry (SETAC), Pensacola, FL, USA.) Figure reprinted with permission.
3. Herbicide exposures in aquatic ecosystems

3.1 Empirical measures of herbicide concentrations in water
Extensive use of herbicides in the United States has led to widespread detection of parent
compounds and metabolites in surface and groundwaters (Gilliom, 2007). There are
extensive monitoring networks for herbicides to determine spatial and temporal trends in
concentrations and loads in surface waters in the U.S. Plans for implementation of
monitoring networks in Europe are planned over the next 5 years in association with the
REACH legislation and the European Commission (Rabiet et al., 2010). The U.S. Geological
Survey monitors herbicide concentrations at over 112 monitoring stations on a regular basis
as part of its National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA) and National Stream Quality
Accounting Network (NASQAN) programs. Schnoebelen at al. (2003) monitored monthly
herbicide concentrations at twelve fixed sites in the Eastern Iowa Basins NAWQA study unit
from 1991-1998 and found that two herbicides, atrazine and metolachlor, were found in
100% of samples; acetachlor, cyanazine, alachlor, and bentazon were found in over 50% of
samples (Fig. 4).
Data from Schnoebelen et al. (2003).

Fig. 4. Detection rates of herbicides monitored in Southern Iowa and Northern Missouri.
In one of the most intensive studies ever conducted, Richards and Baker (1993) monitored
the concentrations of 6 herbicides daily at USGS gaging stations in 7 intensively-farmed
Great Lakes tributaries from the months of April to August, 1983-1991 (Table 4).
Concentrations were measured up to 3 times per day during peak exposure periods.
Maximum concentrations of atrazine, alachlor, metolachlor, metribuzin, cyanazine, and
linuron in the Lost Creek river basin were 68, 65, 64, 25, 23, and 13 ugL, respectively.
However, these maximum concentrations were of short duration; maximum concentrations
generally exceeded the 95% percentile concentrations by factors > 3 and exceeded time
weighted mean concentrations by over an order of magnitude. Lerch and Blanchard (2003)
monitored concentrations of atrazine, cyanazine, acetochlor, alachlor, metolachlor, and
metribuzin for 3 yrs (1997-1999) at 21 streams sites in Southern Iowa and Northern Missouri
on an approximate weekly basis from April 15 to July 15. Atrazine was the most frequently
detected herbicide and only rarely exceeded the annual 90th percentile concentration (40
ug/L). These datasets illustrate the short duration of herbicide exposures in midwestern
agricultural streams of the U.S. which are well below the majority of acute (EC50) and
chronic (NOEC) levels for both algae and aquatic macrophytes and fall two orders of
magnitude below levels causing effects on fish, invertebrates, and amphibians (USEPA,
2002; as summarized by Giddings et al., 2005).
River Basin Herbicide and Concentration (ug/L)

(km2)
and
Cropland
(%) Parameter Atrazine Alachlor Metolachlor Metribuzin Cyanazine Linuron
Maumee MAX1 21.45 18.35 26.20 5.77 9.96 7.29
(16,395 95 7.47 3.00 5.32 1.83 1.97 0.00
km2) 50 0.58 0.00 0.28 0.01 0.03 0.00
(76%) TWMC2 1.61 0.54 1.16 0.29 0.38 0.05
Sandusky MAX 24.61 36.13 36.76 9.26 19.87 0.02
(3,240 km2) 95 8.84 3.76 8.59 1.68 1.73 0.29
(80%) 50 0.53 0.00 0.35 0.00 0.00 0.00
TWMC 1.78 0.66 1.65 0.28 0.21 0.03
Honey Cr. MAX 54.04 54.87 95.75 10.52 17.47 15.50
(386 km2) 95 10.85 4.44 9.08 1.28 2.07 0.68
(83%) 50 0.66 0.11 0.35 0.00 0.03 0.00
TWMC 2.33 0.89 1.80 0.24 0.40 0.17
Rock Cr. MAX 48.63 23.40 96.92 15.95 24.77 12.01
(88 km2) 95 6.61 2.16 8.15 1.20 0.71 0.68
(81%) 50 0.21 0.00 0.17 0.00 0.00 0.00
TWMC 1.34 0.39 1.62 0.23 0.18 0.15
Lost Cr. MAX 68.40 64.94 63.64 25.15 22.62 13.44
(11 km2) 95 5.67 1.07 3.08 0.80 1.64 0.00
(83%) 50 0.27 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
TWMC 1.30 0.48 0.62 0.20 0.50 0.05
Cuyahoga MAX 6.80 1.16 5.39 1.49 1.36 5.04
(1,831 km2) 95 0.99 0.24 0.63 0.28 0.27 0.06
(4%) 50 0.09 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
TWMC 0.31 0.04 0.15 0.07 0.05 0.08
Raisin MAX 12.86 7.52 5.91 2.46 3.75 1.92
(2,699 km2) 95 3.91 2.02 1.50 0.37 1.11 0.18
(67%) 50 0.30 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
TWMC 0.76 0.37 0.32 0.11 0.21 0.04
1 Maximum observed concentration (MAX).
2 Time-weighted maximum concentration (TWMC).
Table 4. Concentrations of major herbicides in 7 Lake Erie Tributaries, Apr. 1983 – Dec. 1991.
Data from Richards and Baker (1993).
3.2 Modeling of herbicide concentrations in water

Exposure assessment in the pesticide registration process has primarily relied on use of
deterministic models of worst-case assumptions of application and runoff. Peterson et al.
(1994) modeled worst-case exposure estimates based on direct overspray of a 15-cm wetland
at the maximum application rates of herbicides used in areas such as in prairie wetland
areas of south-central Canada. This would rarely occur under prudent, recommended
application practices. In the U.S. exposures are modeled in the herbicide registration and
risk assessment process using Tier 1 (e.g., GENEEC2) and Tier 2 (e.g., PRZMII, EXAMS-3)
models based on site-specific conditions including herbicide characteristics, application
rates, soil types, slope, and rainfall patterns (USEPA, 2010). These Tier 1 and Tier 2 models
were developed and validated using empirical data derived from edge-of-field studies
conducted during the 1970s to measure the range of potential herbicide exposures in aquatic
systems (e.g., Wauchope, 1978). Similar approaches are used in Europe (Huber et al., 2000).
Over the past decade more sophisticated models have been developed for higher-tier
exposure assessments in the U.S. such as the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT;
Gassman et al., 2007), and the Watershed Regression for Pesticides (WARP; Larson et al.,
2004) and the Spatially Referenced Regression on Watershed Attributes (SPARROW;
Schwarz et al., 2006) models. These higher-tier models use detailed data on soil
characteristics, slope, rainfall patterns, pesticide use, and tillage patterns at various
hydrologic unit scales across the nation. Recent efforts have been made to use these models
to predict atrazine exposures in streams draining watersheds with highest atrazine use in
order to implement site-specific monitoring programs that identify areas requiring
exposure-reduction management plans (USEPA, 2006). Future development and application
of these models will provide cost-effective yet sensitive methods to predict areas of highest
herbicide exposures for use in both ecological and human health risk assessments.
4. Herbicide effects in aquatic systems

4.1 Direct effects on aquatic plants
The direct effects of an herbicide can be measured at either the structural or functional level.
Structural endpoints include static measures of cell numbers, biomass, species composition,
or community diversity. Functional endpoints are measured as changes in rates of biological
processes such as carbon uptake, oxygen evolution, enzyme activity, nutrient cycling,
population growth rates, or changes in system metabolism (e.g., gross production or
community respiration). Both structural and functional endpoints can be measured at
increasing hierarchical levels of biological organization ranging from the cell to the
ecosystem to predict and assess the effects of herbicides on non-target aquatic organisms.
Some functional measurements, such as the rate of enzymatic activity (e.g., peroxidase and
glutathione transferase activity) are made at the plant cellular level and can be valuable in a
research context because they are diagnostic of mode of action and occur rapidly at the
cellular level (Field and Thurman, 1996; Ferrat et al., 2003). However, the utility and
precision of these measurements is often dependent on plant species, herbicide mode of
action, and other factors that make it difficult to use as an assessment endpoint for
prediction of biological effects at higher levels of biological organization.
For regulatory and risk assessment purposes the direct effects of herbicides on aquatic
plants are most often measured under standardized laboratory conditions using biomass
production as the structural measurement endpoint. These studies are conducted under
standardized conditions of lighting, temperature, and nutrient regimes using a relatively

small cadre of species (e.g., algae and duckweed, etc.) (ASTM, 2009a, b). Although
macrophytes are currently not routinely tested there are efforts underway in the U.S.,
Canada, and Europe to develop a standard toxicity test with a Myriophyllum sp. (Knauer et
al., 2008; Kubitza and Dohmen., 2008). Single species laboratory tests are preferred for
regulatory purposes due to their inherent precision, replicability, repeatability and
reproducibility at relatively low monetary costs. Although no species is universally more
sensitive to herbicides than another, these standard tests are commonly used to determine
the toxicity of a chemical, the relative sensitivity of a number of species to a chemical, or the
relative toxicity of a group of chemicals (Fairchild et al., 1997; 1998).
Herbicide effects are usually expressed as the EC50 based on regression analysis of standing
crop biomass (i.e., the effective concentration of herbicide that reduces the amount of plant
biomass at a fixed interval such as 4 days, 7 days, or two weeks). For example, Hughes et al.
(1988) evaluated the effects of atrazine on single species aquatic plant biomass production in
the laboratory over a 5-d period. Responses among species were similar with an average
120-h EC50 of 170 µg/L (95% C.I. 130-230 µg/L). Hughes et al. (1988) further compared the
120-d EC50 to several other possible endpoints including the phytostatic concentration (i.e.,
the concentration totally stopping plant population growth) and the phytocidcal
concentration (i.e., the concentration that results in total plant populaton
mortality/sterilization). The EC50 values were highly conservative compared to 120-h
phytostatic concentrations (average 1,720 µg/L, range 1,450 - 4,970 µg/L) and the 120-h
phytocidal concentrations (>3,200 µg/L, the highest concentration tested). Moreover, plants
recovered at all concentrations once removed to clean water. This study illustrates that the
most commonly used endpoint in aquatic plant ecotoxicology may be useful in comparing
the relative sensitivity of various species under standardized conditions. However, for the
purposes of a risk assessment, plant data must be interpreted totally differently compared to
standard measurement endpoints measured in acute toxicity tests with animals such as
zooplankton and fish where individual mortality is measured (e.g., 96-h LC50). While
herbicides may temporarily suppress growth of non-target algae and macrophytes,
populations quickly recover once exposure is reduced. Therefore, aquatic plants have
intrinsic adaptive factors that allow them to tolerate herbicides in the environment where
exposures are typically low and ephemeral (Table 4).
One of the greatest criticisms of single species tests is that they are ecologically unrealistic.
Singles species tests do not reflect the complexity of natural systems that contain multi-
species communities of algae, bacteria, and other communities in association with natural
sediment and nutrient conditions which provide the biological capacity for structural and
functional redundancy, resilience, and recovery. To overcome the limitations of single
species tests, studies are often conducted in simulated experimental ecosystesms such as
microcosms, mesocosms, and outdoor experimental ponds.
Larsen et al. (1986) examined the effects of atrazine in single species laboratory tests and
experimental microcosms in order to compare the utility of single species tests for predicting
community-level responses under more realistic conditions. Laboratory EC50 values were
determined for 8 species of algae exposed to atrazine for 24 hr using 14C uptake as a
measurement endpoint. Single species EC50 values ranged from 37 - 308 ug/L with an
average response at approximately 100 ug/L atrazine. These same species were studied in
microcosms containing the same eight algal species along with two protozoans, an
amphipod, an ostracod sp., a Daphnia sp., and bacterial/fungal communities in a static
system containing a silica sand substrate. Microcosms were exposed for 60 days to atrazine
at nominal concentrations of 0, 60, 100, 200, and 500 ug/L atrazine. Effects of atrazine were
measured and compared at three intervals: early (days 10 to 20), late (days 53 to 60) and
then averaged across the entire study. Short-term decreases in functional measures of 14C
uptake occurred in the microcosms immediately after dosing in all treatments, but recovery
occurred in the 60 and 100 ug/L treatments within 10 days following treatment. 14C uptake
was reduced at 200 and 500 ug/L throughout the study with little recovery. Functional
measures of algal community effects in the microcosms ranged from 103 - 154 ug/L for 14C
uptake, 126 - 165 ug/L for oxygen production, and from 106 - 164 ug/L for oxygen
consumption, which approximated the average functional responses measured in single
species studies. In contrast, algal biomass measured as chlorophyll a actually increased at
60, 100, and 200 ug/L in a hormetic fashion indicating that functional measures were more
sensitive indicators of stress but not accurate in terms of estimating production of algal
biomass. Single species laboratory tests based on biomass production are now known to be
conservative for prediction of effects in outdoor mesocosms and most probably field effects.
DeNoyelles et al. (1982; 1986) conducted a series of experimental pond studies with atrazine
over a 3-yr period in order to compare the relative structural and functional responses of
natural plant communities to atrazine. Three studies were conducted during this time, with
atrazine exposures at 0, 20, 100, 200, and 500 ug/L. Mesocosms exposed to environmentally
relevant concentrations of 20 ug/L atrazine exhibited short term decreases in algal
functional measures of 14C uptake and dissolved oxygen production but quickly recovered
to control values for the remainder of the studies, and no structural changes in
phytoplankton were ever observed in the 20 ug/L concentration. EC50 values for 14C uptake
and algal biomass were 100 and 82 ug/L, indicating that community structural and
functional measures were similar in sensitivity. Atrazine altered species compositions of
algae at 100 ug/L, but sensitive species were replaced by more tolerant species with no
changes in overall algal biomass or productivity. Both structural and functional changes in
algal communities were observed at 200 and 500 ug/L atrazine; however, these high
concentrations are now known to be environmentally irrelevant. Collectively, the pond
studies indicated that predictions made using the most sensitive algal species under
standardized laboratory conditions overestimated the predicted response of algal
communities in ponds due to species replacement which provided functional redundancy at
concentrations of 100 ug/L atrazine.
Fairchild et al. (1994) examined the effects of atrazine applied in combination with an
insecticide (esfenvalerate) to determine if atrazine would alter the effects of the insecticide
on consumer populations. The dominant macrophyte in the mesocsoms, Najas sp., has been
shown to be sensitive to the herbicide atrazine under laboartory conditions at 24 ug/L (14-d
EC50; Fairchild et al. 1998). Atrazine, applied to ponds at 50 ug/L, shifted the macrophyte
community to a community dominated by Chara sp. Total macrophyte biomass and system
metabolism did not change due to atrazine. Rapid sorption of the strongly hydrophobic
esfenvalerate (T1/2 48 h) by aquatic plants and sediments mitigated the precicted effects of
the insecticide on zooplankton dynamics and bluegill survival/growth. Therefore, alteration
of one measure of ecosystem structure (macrophyte species composition) was mitigated by
another measure of community structure (total biomass) and function (system metabolism)
to remove any adverse effects adverse effects of an insecticide on consumer (bluegill)
populations.
Fairchild et al. (2002) exposed the same experimental pond system to the triazinone
herbicide metribuzin at 0, 9, 19, 38, and 75 ug/L. Najas sp., the dominant macrophyte
species, had been shown to be sensitive to metribuzin in the laboratory at 19 ug/L (14-d
EC50) which was similar to 4 other species of macrophytes (14-d EC50, range 17- 36 ug/L
metribuzin) (Fairchild et al., 1998). Although metribuzin is more toxic to macrophytes (14-d
EC50s ranging from 21-132 ug/L) than atrazine under laboratory conditions the relatively
short half-life of metribuzin (T1/2 = 5) days observed in the ponds resulted in no effects on
water quality, periphyton biomass, macrophyte species composition, macrophyte biomass,
or fish survival/growth.
Numerous other microcosm and mesocosm studies have been conducted with other
herbicides including 2,4-D, hexazinone, linuron, simazine, and terbutryn. Brock et al. (2000)
reviewed the results of a total of 124 microcosm and mesocosm studies of the effects of
herbicides in model aquatic systems. Rigorous evaluation criteria included the following
requirements: 1) the study must have had published single species toxicity data for the
chemical; 2) the study must have included multiple species at different trophic levels; 3) the
study was ideally conducted outdoors to allow the potential for biological recolonization; 4)
the study used an appropriate experimental design (e.g. replication of treatments) ; and 5)
the study must have resulted in a statistically significant lowest observable effect
concentration (LOEC) of an accepted structural or functional endpoint. Very few of the
studies reviewed by Brock et al. (2000) met the strict criteria for acceptance due to statistical
problems, inadequate descriptions of methodologies, or concerns due to methodologies
such as isolation techniques or the availability for recolonization of plants and other
organisms. Significant ecological effects in studies that fully met acceptance criteria were
only observed in cases where exposure concentrations exceeded those considered
environmentaly relevant. Therefore, there is no compelling evidence from these studies that
herbicides are likely to impact aquatic plants in the environment.
Brock et al. (2000) summarized the strengths, weaknesses, and utility of various approaches
for evaluating the statistical and ecological relevance of various test systems that have
historically been used to assess the risk of herbicides to non-target aquatic plants (Fig. 5).
Laboratory single species tests are relatively simple to conduct and exhibit high precision
and reproducibility. Single species laboratory studies are therefore useful for comparing the
relative sensitivity of different species to an herbicide or the relative toxicity of several
herbicides. Studies in microcosms and mesocosms have been a useful approach for
validating laboratory and model predictions of the fate and effects of herbicides in aquatic
environments due to their increasing realism and complexity which approximates
anticipated responses under actual field conditions. However, it could be argued that
additional mesocosm tests with herbicides that meet the Brock (2000) criteria are needed.
From an objective perspective the current tiered testing procedures in use by the USEPA are
useful, cost-effective approach for the risk assessment of herbicides and other chemicals.
Testing at higher tiers currently allows for flexibility in using either mesocosm/field testing
or probablistic modeling of effects and exposure data. Current experience increasingly
indicates that probablistic risk assessment of herbicide effects using single species laboratory
toxicicity data and environmental exposure data similar to that described by Solomon et al.
(1996) and Giddings et al. (2005) (visually illustrated in figure 3) can be used to effectively
evaluate the potential for non-target effects of herbicides in aquatic systems for regulatory
and risk assessment purposes. Although mesocosm tests can be used in the U.S. for
registration purposes, past experience has indicated that these studies are relatively
expensive due to the scarcity of available testing facilities and monetary costs associated
with meeting quality assurance guidelines required by the USEPA. For these reasons,
probabilistic risk assessments using single species laboratory data are increasingly being
emphasized in regulatory programs for herbicide registration and re-registration in both the
U.S. and Europe (Reach, 2007; USEPA, 2010).
High
Precision Accuracy
Simplicity Com plexity
Reproducibility Realism
Low
Lab M ic roco sm M eso cosm Field
Fig. 5. Illustration of the continuum of strengths and weakness of various test systems used
for the risk assessment of herbicides. Figure adapted from Brock et al. (2000).
4.2 Direct effects on invertebrates, fish, and amphibians

Direct effects of herbicides on animals are usually measured at the individual level of
biological organization. As with plants, most herbicide risk assessments using invertebrates,
fish, and amphibians are conducted in the laboratory using standardized species and
methods. Animal tests are somewhat easier to conduct than plant tests because
environmental factors such as nutrient regimes, lighting, and invasion of unwanted test
organisms are less critical. Endpoints can include both structural (e.g., survival) and
functional (e.g., growth and reproduction) measurements.
Few if any environmentally relevant concentrations have been shown to have direct effects on
zooplankton, fish, or amphibians in the laboratory. This is well-illustrated in Figure 3 for the
herbicide atrazine and data provided within two extensive ecological risk assessments of the
chemical (Solomon et al., 1996; Giddings et al., 2005). Similar wide margins of safety have
recently been shown for survival and growth of rainbow trout exposed to the herbicides
picloram, 2,4-D, and clopyralid (Fairchild et al., 2009a, b, c). This is not surprising given the
basic modes of action of herbicides and the phylogenetic differences between plants and
animals. Field monitoring programs conducted by the USGS National Water Qaulity
Assessment (NAWQA) program and the USEPA Environmental Monitoring and
Assessment Program (EMAP) have found degraded aquatic communities in intensively-
farmed watersheds. However, herbicides have never been shown to be associated with or
causal of these effects; excessive levels of nutrients, sediments, and hydrologic alterations
interact to produce these ecological impairments.
One practical way to illustrate the lack of direct effects of herbicides on invertebrates, fish,
and amphibians is to examine the use of herbicides for control of aquatic nuisance plants.
There are approximately 10 herbicides registered for aquatic use by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (Table 5). These registered herbicides represent several different chemical
classes and associated modes of action. Aquatic herbicides are usually used to control native
and non-native macrophytes such as Eurasian millfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum) and other
species that interfere with desired aquatic uses including swimming, boating, and water
delivery/supply. Given this intent, recommended application rates for aquatic herbicides
are much higher than single species EC50s in order to reach a phytostatic or phytocidal
concentration (Table 5).
Recommended Aqueous Bluegill

Application Rate Half-life EC50
Chemical Chemical class (mg/L)1 (d)1 (mg/L)1
Copper Metal 1 2-8 1-12
Endothall Dicarboxylic acid 2-4 1-7 240
Diquat Bipyridilium 0.1 - 0.5 1-4 67
Fluridone Pyridinone 0.010 – 0.020 20 - 80 14
Glyphosate2 Amino-acid derivative 0.5 - 5.0 5 - 10 >1000
Imazamox Imadizolinone 0.005 - 0.025 25 - 50 >120
Imazapyr acid Imadizolinone 1.0 3-5 >100
Penoxsulam Sulfanilamide 0.005 - 0.025 25 - 50 >103
Triclopyr acid Pyridine 1.0 0.5 - 3 148
2,4-D acid Phenoxy acid 1.0 2-6 2600
Atrazine4 Triazine 1.724 3 – 1204 28.3
1Application rate and aqueous half-life data derived from University of Florida accessed on 7/28/2010
at http://plants/ifas/ufl.edu/guide/sup3herb.html.
2Glyphosate is a surface contact herbicide and is not phyto-toxic when applied directly to water.
3Note that atrazine is not registered for aquatic use; value derived from Hughes et al. (1988).
4Values reported in Giddings et al. (2005) as summarized from USEPA (2002).
Table 5. Chemical names, application rates, aqueous half-life, and toxicity of herbicides to
fish (bluegill) registered for aquatic plant control by the USEPA.
It is reasonable to assume that phytocidal concentrations of herbicides such as those
registered and used to remove aquatic plants can induce both direct and indirect effects at
the population, community, and ecosystem levels of biological organization. For example,
when macrophytes are deliberately removed from a system there are major structural
changes in habitat when macrophyte-dominated systems are converted to phytoplankton-
dominated systems. In fact, this is often the stated goal in use of herbicides for control of
nuisance aquatic plants to restore native plants. Research has demonstrated that macrophyte
community structure is a major factor controlling predation rates of higher level consumers
such as largemouth bass on bluegill (Savino and Stein, 1982; Crowder and Cooper, 1982;
Wiley et al., 1984). Loss of aquatic macrophytes following deliberate vegetation removal by
herbicides can also have profound effects on ecosystem function including alteration of
nutrient cycling, decreased water transparency due to wave action and bioturbation, and
depletion of dissolved oxygen concentrations. Many fish kills attributed to registered
aquatic-use herbicides are due to the indirect effects of oxygen depletion. Therefore,
consideration must be given to the timing of application of herbicides in relation to
temperature, dissolved oxygen, and standing crop of macrophyte biomass. Altered nutrient
cycling and increases in turbidity following aquatic plant removal efforts are major
functional indicators of the role of aquatic plants in lakes and reservoirs. However, these are
ecosystem changes that are often accepted by the public in order to meet management and
restoration goals in aquatic systems. These herbicide concentrations used for aquatic plant
control, however, far exceed any environmentally relevant concentrations resulting from
agricultural use.
5. Indirect effects
Indirect effects of herbicides are defined as observed effects on consumer populations such
as invertebrates and fish that are not caused by direct toxicity but rather effects that have
occurred due to adverse effects on primary producers such as algae and macrophytes.
Previous studies have implied that the herbicide atrazine can have indirect effects on
consumer populations in aquatic ecosystems at concentrations as low as 0.1 ug/L (Lampert
et al. 1989). Dewey et al. (1986) reported a decrease in macroinvertebrate emergence in pond
microcosms treated at 20 ug/L atrazine; in addition, Kettle et al. (1987) reported total
reproductive failure in ponds treated at 20 ug/L. However, recent critical reviews of these
studies by Giddings et al (2005) have revealed that the indirect effects observed by Lampert
et al. (1989) on plankton communities were actually due to the effects of a solvent used to
deliver atrazine which drove the system into a heterotrophic state; the indirect effects
reported by Dewey et al. (1986) and Kettle et al. (1987) were not caused by atrazine, but
rather the differential growth and survival of aquatic macrophytes due to the effects of grass
carp (aquatic herbivores) and channel catfish (bluegill predators) that were not disclosed in
the original manuscripts. Therefore, environmentally relevant concentrations of herbicides
such as atrazine are not known to cause indirect effects on aquatic systems.
Recently, researchers have applied bioenergetic ecosystem-based models in order to predict
the direct effects of herbicides on primary producers and ultimately indirect effects on
consumer populations such as fish in an attempt to add ecological realism to the risk
assessment process. Bartell et al. (2000) used the Comprehensive Aquatic Systems Model
(CASM) which is an ecological model based on demographics and bioenergetic equations used
to model the direct and indirect effects of the aquatic herbicide diquat on phytoplankton and
zooplankton populations in Florida lakes. Bartell et al. (2000) showed potential for direct
effects on phytoplankton but little probability for indirect effects of diquat on zooplankton
consumers. Currently, the CASM model is being used to determine locations where
concentrations and exposure durations of atrazine in streams may pose risks to consumer
populations via indirect, dietary effects. This model is being used with intensive monitoring at
selected sites in the re-registration of atrazine in order to identify areas of atrazine exposure
that may require adaptive management actions to reduce risk (USEPA, 2006). However,
ecological process models such as CASM are mathematically complex and require an extreme
level of expertise to use and apply in a regulatory context. Therefore the utility of using
ecological process models for herbicide regulatory purposes is contentious.
6. Emerging areas of research on herbicide effects on endocrine and immune

function in aquatic vertebrates
Over the past decade there has been a tremendous amount of research regarding potential
effects of atrazine on the endocrine and immune function in vertebrates including
amphibians, fishes, and reptiles. Atrazine has been widely studied because of its frequency
of detection in surface and groundwaters (Solomon et al., 1996; Schnoebelen et al., 2003) due
to its widespread application (34-36 million kilograms per year in the U.S.; Kiely et al., 2004),
high water solubility (33 mg/L; Wauchope et al., 1992), and long aqueous half-life (mean
159 + 71 d; range 41-237 d; Giddings et al. 2005). Hayes et al. (2002; 2003) reported that male
larval African clawed frogs (Xenopus laevis) exposed to atrazine at < 1.0 ug/L exhibited
hermaphrodism and altered laryngeal development; in addition, male X. laevis suffered a
10-fold decrease in testosterone levels when exposed to 25 ug/L atrazine. The authors
hypothesized that atrazine induces aromatase that promotes the conversion of testosterone
to estradiol. These publications prompted numerous studies of the effects of atrazine on a
vast array of physiological responses of vertebrates to atrazine. Solomon et al. (2008)
conducted a critical review of over 75 atrazine studies with amphibians to evaluate reported
effects on sexual differentiation, sexual development, male laryngeal development, and
thyroid function; an additional 20 studies of the effects of atrazine on endocrine and
behavioural functions in fishes were also examined. Solomon et al. (2008) concluded that
“based on a weight of evidence of all the data, the central theory that environmentally
relevant concentrations of atrazine affects reproduction, and/or reproductive development
in fish, amphibians, and reptiles is not supported by the majority of observations. The same
conclusions also hold for the supporting theories such as induction of aromatase, the
enzyme that converts testosterone to estradiol”.
Many studies have shown feminization effects in amphibians, fishes, and reptiles when
exposed to the synthetic hormone 17B estradiol which is a standard positive control
chemical for studies of endocrine function and reproductive effects; however, the
metabolism, mode of action, and effects of estradiol are well-studied and known. The same
cannot be said for atrazine. Solomon et al. (2008) found that the majority of studies reporting
atrazine effects on endocrine and immune function contained substantial weaknesses in the
areas of experimental design, methodologies, interpretation, and inferences; no studies have
directly established cause and effect relationships in the laboratory or field based on
established principles of epidemiology. More recently, Rohr and McCoy (2010) conducted a
meta-analysis of the effects of atrazine on freshwater amphibians and fish and indicated that
atrazine reduced size at metamorphosis in 15 of 17 studies in 14 species; reduced immune
function in 33 of 43 studies; altered gonadal morphology in 7 of 10 studies; and altered
spermatogenesis in 2 of 2 studies. However, the exact mechanisms of individual-level effects
and ultimate significance in populations of amphibians, fish, and reptiles remain uncertain.
The existing concerns of the effects of atrazine and other possible chemicals on endocrine
function in aquatic and semi-aquatic vertebrates remain controversial. These concerns led
the USEPA to implement an amphibian metamorphosis (frog) test and a fish short-term
reproduction test for assessment of potential endocrine-disrupting effects of herbicides and
other chemicals on non-target aquatic organisms (USEPA, 2010). Research in this active area
of ecotoxicology continues.
7. Research needs and conclusions

Research and monitoring has indicated that the widespread use of herbicides in modern
agriculture has led to widespread exposures of aquatic organisms in aquatic systems. The
observed high sensitivity of a few species of algae and macrophytes to herbicides has been
used to infer that adverse effects on aquatic ecosystems may occur. Therefore, systematic
assessment procedures that evaluate the fate and effects of herbicides on non-target aquatic
organisms have been developed. Risk assessments of herbicides for registration and
regulatory puroposes consist of single species laboratory toxicity tests and exposure models
within a tiered testing system. Atrazine is currently one of the greatest herbicides of
regulatory concern because it is a generalized inhibitor of photosynthesis, is commonly
detected in aquatic systems, and has a long environmental half-life compared to other
herbicides. Atrazine is occassionally observed in the environment at concentrations of 50
ug/L or higher but exposures at this level only occur over short time durations. The effects
of herbicides on non-target aquatic plant communities in natural environments are likely
attenuated or mitigated due to the adaptive abilities of aquatic plants through acclimation
and recovery following exposures; species substitution; and functional redundancy of
aquatic plant communities. Cases of direct effects of herbicides on plant communities only
occur during the intentional use of registered aquatic herbicides that are deliberately
applied at phytostatic or phytocidal concentrations. Studies of direct and indirect effects of
herbicides on invertebrates, amphibians, and fish exposed to environmentally relevant
concentrations using accepted measurement endpoints of survival, growth, and reproduction
have not shown adverse effects in laboratory, mesocosms, or field situations.
Research regarding the effects of atrazine on endocrine and immune function continues, but
remains highly controversial. Mechanistic and comphrehensive studies of atrazine need to
be conducted under laboratory and field conditions in order to establish cause and effect
relationships. Once these studies are conducted, additional studies will be needed to
determine the ultimate ecological significance of these effects in the field at the population
level of amphibians and fishes.
8. Acknowledgments
Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not
imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. This manuscript was produced using U.S.
Geological Survey funds only; no private or outside funds were solicited or used.
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19
Toxicology of the Herbicide Acrolein:

Risk Assessment in Aquatic Environments
Cristina Montagna, Ana María Pechen de D'Angelo and Andrés Venturino
Universidad Nacional del Comahue
Argentina
1. Introduction
Submersed weeds on irrigation systems reduce water delivery capacity, clog pumps and
structures, rupture canals, increase leakages and losses of water, increase water costs, etc.
(U.S.EPA, 2007). Herbicide applications are a commonly used procedure to control
submersed weeds in irrigation canals because of its practicability, efficacy and cost.
Acrolein, currently registered under the trade name MAGNACIDE® H by Baker Petrolite
Corporation, has been used for many years in the United States (U.S.EPA, 2007), Canada
(MOE, 2005), Australia (Bowmer & Sainty, 1977), and Argentina (Caldironi et al., 2004).
Acrolein, also known as acraldehyde, acrylaldehyde, acrylic aldehyde, allylaldehyde,
propenal, 2-propenal, prop-2-enal, prop-2-en-1-al, is a volatile, colourless, highly flammable
liquid at ordinary temperature and pressure with a pungent odour. Its Chemical Abstract
Service (CAS) number is 107-02-8. The chemical formula for acrolein is C3H4O and the
molecular weight is 56.06. Fig. 1 illustrates its chemical structure. Acrolein has a density of
0.84 g/mL, a water solubility of 206 g/L, and a vapour pressure of (kPa) 29.3 at 20ºC. The
log Kow (octanol/water partition coefficient) is -0.01 (high water solubility) and the log Koc
(organic carbon/water partition coefficient) is 0.5 (low adsorption to soil) (WHO, 1991;
U.S.EPA, 2003; ATSDR, 2007).
Fig. 1. Acrolein chemical structure

MAGNACIDE® H is an herbicide primarily used to remove submersed plants and algae
from irrigation canals and ditches. Species of weeds such as Potamogeton spp., Elodea spp.,
Najas spp., Zannichellia spp., Ceratophyllum spp., Zannichellia spp. and algae such as Anabaena
spp., Chara spp., Cladophora spp., Selenastrum spp., Spirogyra spp., are controlled by
recommended label use rates of the product. According to the “Application and Safety
Manual Acrolein” (Baker Petrolite, 2001), the chemical is applied by injection from the
container with oxygen-free nitrogen gas into the flowing water, and travels downstream as a
wave of treated water until, at some point, the chemical concentration drops to zero.
Effective concentrations range from 1 mg/L to 15 mg/L and the treated area of canal is held
at periods ranging from 30 minutes to 8 hours. Both the concentration and the treatment
time may vary depending on the weed growth condition, water flow rate, temperature, and
application time desired. The label does stipulate that “water treated with MAGNACIDE®
H herbicide must be used for irrigation of fields, either crop bearing, fallow or pasture,
where the treated water remains on the field or held for 6 days before being released into
fish bearing waters or where it will drain into them”. MAGNACIDE® H is a restricted use
pesticide for retail sail to, and use only by, certified applicators or persons under their direct
supervision.
2. Mode of action
Acrolein is a cell toxicant that reacts with several molecules containing sulfhydryl groups,
including proteins, exerting direct cytotoxic effects or interrupting cell signalling pathways.
Acrolein reacts with glutathione (GSH) to produce the adduct glutathionyl propionaldehyde,
and both induce oxygen radical formation in the presence of xantine oxidase and aldehyde
dehydrogenase. The depletion of GSH decreases GSH peroxidase activity, resulting in a lower
level of cellular protection against oxygen radical toxicity (Adams & Klaidman, 1993).
Depletion of GSH inactivates multiple enzymes in the Calvin cycle affecting the
photosynthetic reactions in chloroplasts isolated from Spinacia oleracea L. (Mano et al., 2009). In
isolated rat hepatocytes, concentrations of 0.25 and 0.5 mM of acrolein decrease GSH with a
concomitant lipid peroxidation that impairs the integrity of the cell membrane. Acrolein also
induces apoptosis in the Chinese hamster (Tanel & Averill-Bates, 2007) and human bronchial
epithelial cell, by depletion of GSH and generation of oxidants (Nardini et al., 2002). On the
other hand, Luo et al. (2005) reported that acrolein induces death of PC12 cells, mainly by
necrosis. These authors suggested that the ability of acrolein to induce cell death is closely
related to mitochondrial ROS production and decreased cellular ATP levels. Further, acrolein
conjugation with lysine residues of low density lipoproteins has been suggested as a factor in
the development of atherosclerosis (Uchida et al., 1998)
3. Toxicity on non-target species

Non-target species that are principally exposed to acrolein include aquatic organisms
inhabiting the irrigation canal. Potentially exposed organisms such as fish, invertebrates,
amphibians, etc., are those inhabiting natural surface water that receive treated irrigation
water. Terrestrial receptors that could be exposed to acrolein include mammals, birds,
reptiles, and terrestrial-phase amphibians.
3.1 Aquatic organisms

Acrolein, the active ingredient of MAGNACIDE® H, is acutely toxic to aquatic organisms
(Table 1). The tadpole of the frog Xenopus laevis is the most sensitive aquatic species tested,
with a 96-h LC50 of 7 µg/L (Holcombe et al., 1987). The acute toxicity (LC50 or EC50 ug/L)
reviewed by the U.S.EPA (2009) ranges between 14-320 µg/L and 57-180 µg/L for
freshwater fish and crustacean, respectively. Insects seem to be more tolerant to acrolein
with LC50 values between 600 to 2,800 ug/L (Venturino et al., 2007). Acrolein is also toxic to
cyanobacteria. Several species from this group showed more than 95% of growth inhibition
at a concentration of 1 mg/L of acrolein (Peterson et al., 1994).
Detoxification of [14C] acrolein was studied in exposed fish (Lepomis macrochirus and Ictalurus
punctatus) and shellfish (Elliptio complanata and Orconectes virilis). The mayor metabolites
founded were glycidol, glycerol, 1,3-propanediol, and glyceric acid (Nordone et al., 1998).
Toxicology of the Herbicide Acrolein: Risk Assessment in Aquatic Environments 407
Toxicity (LC50 ug/L) -

Species Group Reference
exposure time
Xenopus laevis Amphibia 7 – 96 hours 1
Catostomus commersoni Fish 14 – 96 hours 1
Pimephales promelas Fish 14 – 96 hours 1
Salmo gairdneri Fish 16 – 96 hours 1
Rhinella arenarum Amphibia 23 – 96 hours 2
Scenedesnus subspicatus Algae* 26 – 72 hours 3
Lepomis macrochirus Fish 33 – 96 hours 1
Oncorhynchus mykiss Fish 38 – 96 hours 2
Daphnia magna Crustacea 51 – 48 hours 1
Amia calva Fish 62 – 24 hours 3
Oncorhynchus tshawytscha Fish 80 – 24 hours 3
Carassius auratus Fish 80 – 24 hours 3
Penaeus aztecus Crustacea 100 – 48 hours 3
Cladophora glomerata Alga* 100 - 24 hours 3
Rasbora heteromorpha Fish 130 – 48 hours 3
Tanytarsus dissimilis Insect 151 – 48hours 1
Aplexa hypnorum Mollusc >151 – 96 hours 1
Micropterus salmoides Fish 160 – 96 hours 3
Heleobia parchappii Mollusc 210 – 96 hours 2
Hyalella curvispina Crustacea 240 – 96 hours 2
Fundulus similis Fish 240 – 48 hours 3
Simulium spp. Insect 600 – 246 hours 2
Anabaena Algae* 690– 24 hours 3
Entosiphon sulcatum Protozoa 850 – 72 hours 3
Chilomonas paramecium Protozoa 1,700 – 48 hours 3
Balanus ebarneus Crustacea 2,100 – 48 hours 3
Biomphalaria glabrata Mollusc 2,500 - 24 hours 3
Chironomus spp. Insect 2,830 – 24 hours 3
Table 1. Acute toxicity of acrolein in aquatic organisms. *reduction in photosynthes.
References: (1) Holcombe et al. (1987), (2) Venturino et al. (2007), (3) Cited in Eisler (1994)
3.2 Terrestrial organisms

According to the review by Eisler (1994), the adverse effects of acrolein depend on the mode
and concentration or dose of administration, and duration of exposure. For example, single
oral doses of 4 and 28 mg/Kg of body weight resulted lethal to guinea pigs and mice,
respectively. The LC50 reported by inhaled acrolein (mg acrolein/L air) during 30 min and 6
hours exposure were 150 and 10.5 for dog and guinea pig, respectively. Adverse effects were
also observed in birds. The oral LD50 of 3-5 months for the mallard, Anas platyrhynchos, was
9.1 mg/kg body weight. Auerbach et al. (2008) reported decreased survival and toxicity to
the forestomach, squamous epithelial hyperplasia in rats and mice (both sexes) exposed 5
days a week during 3 months, by gavage, to 0–10 mg/kg acrolein and 0–20 mg/kg,
respectively. Studies in vitro (mouse embryonic fibroblasts culture) showed formation of
DNA adducts, preferentially at specific nucleotide positions, moderately resistant to DNA

repair. However, the results demonstrated that acrolein was not mutagenic to these cells at
doses sufficient to produce DNA adducts (Kim et al., 2007). Further, rat embryo culture
system treated with acrolein (200 and 250 μM) showed a drastic inhibition of growth
differentiation without teratogenic potential (Schmid et al., 1981).
Conjugation with GSH is one of the two major detoxification pathways of acrolein. The 3-
hydroxypropylmercapturic acid was the principal metabolite found in urine of male Wistar
rats exposed to acrolein inhalation and intraperitoneal administration. To lesser extent, the
metabolite 2-carboxyethylmercapturic acid was determined (Linhart et al., 1996).
Acrolein degrades quickly in soils and in plant tissues regardless of mode of administration.
Most terrestrial crop plants can tolerate 15 mg of acrolein/L of irrigation water (Eisler, 1994).
Nordone et al. (1997) evaluated the accumulation of acrolein in lettuce plants receiving
either a single or multiple applications of 75 ppm [14C]-acrolein in irrigation water. The
results showed that both treatments leave almost no radioactive residues in leaves after 53
days. This study indicates that, under normal use scenarios, irrigation of crops with
MAGNACIDE® H herbicide treated water is highly unlikely to result in the accumulation of
biologically significant levels of acrolein in lettuce. Further, an experiment conducted in a
greenhouse, where pepper plants were irrigated with water treated with 0.25 and 0.50 mM
of acrolein, showed low values of chemical concentration in the extracts of the plants (2-18
ng/gr fresh tissue to undetectable levels within the few hours). The estimated half-life of
acrolein in pepper plants was of 10.3 hours (Caldironi et al., 2004).
3.3 Humans
Liquid acrolein is absorbed by the skin, and is particularly irritating to the eyes. The vapor is
highly toxic and a strong irritant (lachrymator) which acts principally on the mucous
membranes of the eyes, nose, throat and lungs. The vapor concentration tolerable to humans
is 0.1-1 ppm in air and can cause lung injury at 2-4 ppm (Baker Petrolite Corporation, 2001).
The effects of long-term atmospheric exposure of humans to acrolein at tolerable levels are
not known, but the concentrations likely to be found in the environment or workplace
should not affect human reproduction (WHO, 1991). There is inadequate evidence in
experimental animals for the carcinogenicity of acrolein (Group 3) (IARC, 1995).
4. Fate of acrolein after direct application into irrigation canals

The high reactivity of acrolein prevents its persistence in the environment, and its
transportation over long distances (WHO, 2002; U.S.EPA, 2003). Dissipation of acrolein from
aquatic ecosystems includes abiotic and biotic degradation, volatilization, absorption and
dilution.
Acrolein is at equilibrium with the abiotic product 3-hydroxypropanal, and the presence of
both compounds is transient (Nordone et al., 1996). The decay of acrolein and its hydration
product is a first order process in agricultural canals when applied at the recommended
concentrations. The half-life of acrolein in weedy irrigation canals from United States,
Australia, and Argentina was 10.2, 4.3, and 9.63 hours, respectively (Bowmer & Sainty, 1977;
Nordone et al., 1996; Venturino et al., 2007). The U.S.EPA (2007) also reported half-lives of
acrolein between 2 to 20 hours in canals from Washington and Nebraska (U.S.A). Further,
Eisler (1994) summarizes the half-time persistence of acrolein in freshwaters as usually less
than 50 hours, and according to ATSDR (2007) acrolein may persist for up to 6 days. Bioassays
with fish and bacteria have demonstrated that acrolein losses its biocide activity in 120-180
days in different buffer systems at pH 7 and 22ºC (Kissel et al., 1978). Monitoring studies in
United States (U.S.EPA, 2007) showed that the compound can be transported to distances of at
least 61 miles beyond the initial site of application at concentrations that are still active.
At the application rate of 15 ppm acrolein into irrigation canals, the primary microbial
degradation product was 3-hydroxypropanal. Other ephemeral products such as acrlylic
acid, allyl alcohol, propionic acid, propanol, and 3-hydroxipropionic acid were also
identified (Smith et al., 1995).
The high water solubility of acrolein and low estimated Koc suggests that acrolein does not
significantly adsorb to suspended solids and sediment (HSDB, 2010; U.S.EPA, 2007).
Volatilization from water surfaces is expected to be an important fate process based upon
the compound's Henry's Law constant (1.0 x 101 mol atm-1dm-3). Estimated volatilization
half-lives for a model river and lake (1 m deep) were 7.6 hours and 4.6 days, respectively
(HSDB, 2010). In the atmosphere, the primary removal mechanism for acrolein is through
the reaction with hydroxyl radicals with a half-life between 15–20 hours (Faroon et al., 2008).
It is unlikely that acrolein bioaccumulate or bioconcentrate significantly in aquatic
organisms (WHO, 1991). Acrolein was not detected in the tissues of fish (Lepomis macrochirus
and Ictalurus punctatus) and shellfish (Elliptio complanata and Orconectes virilis) exposed
separately to [14C]-acrolein in water (0.02 and 0.1 mg/L for fish and shellfish, respectively),
over a 1-week period, and sampled 1 day after a second exposure. The presence of
metabolites indicated that these species were able to rapidly metabolize acrolein (Nordone
et al., 1998). An estimated Bioconcentration Factor of 3.2 suggests that the potential for
bioconcentration in aquatic organisms is low ((HSDB, 2010).
5. Risk assessment of acrolein application as an herbicide in irrigation canals

We developed a risk evaluation of the use of acrolein in an irrigated valley, where
applications of this compound (MAGNACIDE® H) had been currently performed for more
than 20 years during the spring-summer seasons. The area of study was located in the Río
Colorado valley (Argentina) between 39º10’ to 39º55’S and 62º05’ to 63º55’W. The irrigation
of the area, controlled by the CORFO-Río Colorado cooperative, consists of 331 km of main
canals, 3738 km of both secondary and tertiary canals, and 397 km of drainage canals which
discharge directly to the Argentinean sea. The herbicide had been applied at different target
concentrations and durations. The application scheme of 15 mg/L for 1 hour was used
principally during the first years of use. Afterwards, it was applied at a target concentration
of 4 mg/L for 12 hours. The temperature in water canals ranged from 15 to 22.5ºC during
the application seasons. Water flow rates were regulated currently between 0.20-0.50 m/s,
according to weed proliferation status.
Keeping a tiered approach recommended by ECOFRAM (1999), we divided the ecological
assessment into four tiers: (a) Literature-based screening level ecological risk assessment, (b)
risk assessment with site-specific information, (c) risk assessment with native species, (d)
impact of acrolein on benthic invertebrates (field study).
At tier 1, we compared the maximum predicted peak concentration in the CORFO canals
with acute endpoints such as effective or lethal concentration, from the most sensitive
species of freshwater fish, amphibian, molluscs and crustacean from Table 1. Even though it
has been suggested that LC5 or LC10 may be a more appropriate parameter (EU, 2002), EC50
or LC50 is the data generally available in the literature. Only freshwater organisms were
selected to assess the aquatic risk since they are the principal ecological receptors. Hazard
Quotients (HQ) were calculated using the target concentrations of acrolein in the two
different application schemes. The calculated acute HQ were compared with criteria used
for risk characterization in tier 1 (Urban & Cooke, 1986). The acute HQ estimated for both
application schemes highly exceeded the risk criteria for all groups of organisms evaluated
(Table 2). The tadpole Xenopus laevis and the mollusc Aplexa hyponorum were the most
sensitive and the most tolerant species to acute exposure of acrolein, respectively.
Species Group Acute endpointa (mg/L) HQb
Scheme 1 Scheme 2
Daphnia magna Crustacea 48-h EC50 (0.051) 78.43 235.29
Pimephales promelas Fish 96-h LC50 (0.014) 285.71 857.13
Xenopus laevis Amphibia 96-h LC50 (0.0070) 571.43 1714.29
Aplexa hypnorum Mollusc 96-h LC50 (0.15) 26.67 80.00
Tanytarsus dissimilis Insect 48-h LC50 (0.15) 26.67 80.00
Table 2. Hazard quotients (HQ) for the most susceptible species from representative groups.
HQ were calculated from endpoints and target concentrations of acrolein in two different
application schemes: Scheme 1, 15 mg/L for 1 hour; Scheme 2, 4 mg/L for 12 hour. aAcute
toxicity data cited in Holcombe et al. (1987)], bHQ 0.5 or greater indicates a higher risk
category.
Chronic toxicity data were not used in this study because of the limited information
available and the rapid dissipation of acrolein in treated canals. The risk criteria were highly
exceeded for all of the species analyzed implying that progress to tier 2 was indispensable.
The environmental fate behavior of acrolein was incorporated in tier 2, to provide probabilistic
expressions of the potential risk associated with its use as an herbicide. First, effects of acrolein
on aquatic freshwater organisms were characterized by distribution sensitivity curves
(ECOFRAM, 1999). The acute toxicity data obtained from scientific literature (Holcombe et al.,
1987; WHO, 1992; Eisler, 1994) included 10 species of fish, 1 species of amphibian, 3 species of
crustacean, 2 species of molluscs, 1 species of insect, 2 species of protozoan, and 3 species of
algae (Table 1). According to the Guidance Document on Aquatic Ecotoxicology (EU, 2002),
two algae species from different taxonomic groups should be included for herbicide risk
assessment. Even though photosynthesis inhibition is not an equivalent endpoint, it was
included into the list to compare algae toxicity. The species were ranked by decreasing
sensitivity and the rank was transformed to a percentile [i/(n+1)], where i is the species rank,
and n is the total number of species listed. The probit analysis was performed to obtain the
regression lines and to determine the 10th percentiles. Figure 2 represents the LC50 log-
transformed and the percentiles converted to probabilities from the data set and the
distribution profile of toxicities to organisms. From the fitted line of the distribution for all
species the 10th percentile was 0.011 mg/L which means that 10% of the species have LC50
values lower than this concentration. On the other hand, the 10th percentile from the
distribution of sensitivities to acrolein in animals, excluding the values from algae and weeds,
was 0.0094 mg/L. This analysis suggests that a significant number of aquatic species may be
seriously and unacceptably affected by acrolein concentrations in the canals.
95 All species
Animals
Percent of species 80
60
40
20
-2 -1
10 10 100 101
LC50/EC50 (mg/L)
Fig. 2. Distribution of acute toxicity values for different taxonomic groups of organisms.
Percentile probabilities were calculated from acrolein LC50 or EC50 values for freshwater
organisms (•) (probit regression line Y = 0.8128 + 1.0861X, R=0.9783, N=25; 10th percentile
0.0118 mg/L), or animal freshwater species (∇) (probit regression line Y = 0.9794 + 1.1107X,
R=0.9758, N=20; 10th percentile 0.00938 mg/L).
Next, an estimation of acrolein levels along the canals was considered for risk evaluation.
On the basis of CORFO application data during several application seasons, we estimated
the dissipation of acrolein in the canals. The model applied takes into account the time-space
variability of acrolein concentrations within the canals, applying an exponential equation (1)
that predicts the exposure at different distances from the application site:
[Acrolein]d = [Initial acrolein] x e -[ln2/t1/2 x d (km)/v (km/h)] (1)

where:
[Acrolein]d = Concentration of acrolein at distance d from the application point.
[Initial acrolein] = Concentration of acrolein at the application point.
t1/2 = 9.63 h according to dissipation studies performed on the canals.
v (km/h) = water flow velocity in the canal.
The pulse of acrolein passing through the canal may be visualized as a block with side
heights exponentially decreasing as it is moves by water flux, and length depending on the
application schedules (Fig. 3).
According to this model, the predicted concentrations were calculated at several distances
from the application point in order to analyze theoretical exposures within the water body.
The maximum distance calculated from the application point was 20 km since it is the
approximate span wherein weed control is still effective. The predicted concentration of
acrolein at different distances and the percentage of species whose LC50/EC50 were exceeded
at each concentration is summarized in Table 3. These results showed that a high percentage
of the species are likely to be affected by the herbicide despite the distance from the
application point in the treated canal.
20 A
14,39 mg/L
(0.58 h) 12.18 mg/L
[Acrolein] (mg/L)
15 (2.89 h) 9.89 mg/L
(5.79 h)
10
0
0 2 4 6 8 10
Distance (km)
20 B
[Acrolein] (mg/L)
15
10
1.69 mg/L
5 (12 h)
0
0 2 4 6 8 10
Distance (km)
Fig. 3. Exponential dissipation model.

The exponential dissipation of acrolein was simulated for a model canal with a half-life of
9.63 h and: (A) scheme 1, flow velocity 0.48 m/s, 15 mg/L of the compound applied
continuously during 1 h, or (B) scheme 2, flow velocity 0.25 m/s, 4 mg/L of the compound
applied continuously during 12 hours.
Distance from the Predicted concentration Percent of species with

application point (km) (mg/L) LC50/EC50 exceeded
0 4.00 100
5 2.68 100
10 1.80 88.91
15 1.21 84.46
20 0.81 78.24
Table 3. Predicted concentration of acrolein and percent of species affected. Concentrations
following application of acrolein were estimated for a target concentration of 4 mg/L during
12 hours at the application point and at different points along a canal with water velocity of
0.25 m/sec.
To increase the environmental realism of the tier 2 scenario, different application patterns of
acrolein over six years at CORFO-Río Colorado (N=165 applications) were incorporated to
the analysis. According with the dissipation model, the expected concentrations at the
application point, at 10 km and at 20 km downstream were estimated. The environmental
expected concentration as a cumulative exceedence curve at the above three distances, and
the distribution profile of toxicities is presented in Fig. 4.
0.99 99
Exceedence 0 km
Probability of exceedence
Exceedence 10 km
Percent of species (probit)

0.90 Exceedence 20 km 90
Percent of species
0.50 50
0.10 10
0.01 1
0.001 0.01 0.1 1 10 100
Log [Acrolein]
Fig. 4. Concentration exceedence probabilities and toxicity distribution profile for acrolein
applications at CORFO-Río Colorado canals.
For each concentration on the X axis, this curve indicates the frequency that concentration
was exceeded during the period of time analyzed, and the percentage of species affected.
Therefore, each pair of points (probability and percentage of species) can be associated to a
concentration. For example, during that period, the concentration causing mortality to 73%
of the species (1 mg/L) was exceeded in 55%, 95% and 100% of the applications at 20, 10 and
0 km from the application point, respectively. On the basis of the results here depicted, it
may be concluded that acrolein poses sufficient risk as an herbicide to require a higher level
of assessment. Some of the studies proposed by ECOFRAM (1999) in tier 3 of aquatic risk
assessment are: (a) Acute toxicity studies with additional species, (b) investigation of the
toxicity associated with repeated exposures, (c) chronic toxicity studies, (d) sediment
toxicity studies.
Additional acute toxicity studies with native species, collected nearby the potential site of
exposure to acrolein or obtained from hatcheries, were then performed in tier 3. The last
instar larvae of the insects Chironomus spp. and Simulium spp., the mollusc Heleobia
parchappii, the crustacean Hyalella curvispina, tadpoles of the amphibia Rhinella arenarum, and
juveniles of the fish Oncorhynchus mykiss were selected for the study. The different
organisms were exposed to different concentrations of acrolein. The experimental conditions
and the complete ecotoxicological data listing the LC95, LC50, Lowest Observed Effect
Concentrations (LOEC), and No-Observed Effect Concentrations (NOEC) are published
elsewhere (Venturino et al., 2007). The toad R. arenarum was the most sensitive species
followed by the fish Oncorhynchus myskiss. However, toxicity in both species is almost three
times lower (0.023 and 0.038 mg/L) than in their related counterparts Xenopus leavis and
Catostomus commersoni, (0.007 and 0.014 mg/L), respectively. The native species Chironomus
spp. was the less sensitive to acrolein with the highest LC50 (2.83 mg/L). A probit analysis
on percentile sensitivity distribution for the native species provides an estimation of 0.013
mg/L acrolein as the 10th percentile, which is the concentration eventually affecting 10
percent of native species (Fig. 5). This value is quite similar to the 10th percentile estimated
from the sensitivity distribution using published data for other species (Fig. 2).
99,5
95
Percent of species
70
40
Y = 0.8138 + 1.1041
10 R = 0.9813
N=6
1 10th percentile = 0.01305
0.1
0.001 0.01 0.1 1 10
LC50 (mg/L)
Fig. 5. Distribution of acute toxicity values for different taxonomic groups of native
organisms. (Venturino et al. (2007), with permission of SETAC press).
To compare the ecotoxicological data with field predicted exposure concentrations, a first
approach can be made using the percent mortality obtained at 24 hours with exposures to
0.5 and 1.0 mg/L of acrolein in laboratory tests. These levels were chosen considering the
potential concentration of acrolein approaching 20 km from the application point in the low-
concentration treatment schedule (0.8 mg/L), and the probable exposure time in the canals.
The values obtained, shown in Table 4, indicate an unacceptable risk for fish, amphibians,
and the amphipod H. curvispina, an intermediate risk for snails and black fly larvae, and no
risk for midges.
Species
Acrolein (stage)
(mg/L) toad amphipod snail fish black fly midge
(larvae) (adult) (adult) (juvenile) (larvae) (larvae)
% Death in 24 h
0.5 100% 100% 20% 100% 36% 0%
1.0 100% 100% n.d. 100% 98% 0%
Table 4. Percent of mortality at 24 hours of exposure to 0.5 mg/L and 1.0 mg/L acrolein in
laboratory tests.
To improve the risk assessment, the sensitivity distribution along the distance from the
application point was analyzed. From it, the exceedence probabilities could be assessed as
percentiles of native species affected by acrolein. The two extreme application schedules of
15 mg/L-1h (scheme 1) and 4 mg/L-12h (scheme 2) were chosen, spanning the most of the
alternatives used at CORFO-Río Colorado (Fig. 6). From the probit analysis, it is inferred
that the distances needed for acrolein dilution and degradation to a concentration affecting
no more than a 10% of native species are not physically feasible (175 km for scheme 1; 74 km
for scheme 2). On the other hand, it alerts on the risks posed by both application schemes:
scheme 1 produces an acute exposure (1 h) that probably affects 95% and 90% of native
species at about 11 km and 30 km respectively dowstream the application point. Scheme 2
affects 90% of native species just at the application point. In both cases, the risk probability
decreases linearly with the distances from the application point.
99-
15 mg/L -1h
Percentage of species
90- 4 mg/L -12h
50-
10-
1-
0 40 80 120 160 200
Distance (km)
Fig. 6. Joint probability graph for native species

The use of acrolein as an herbicide against aquatic weeds currently requires periodical
applications during spring-summer seasons. Acrolein exposure in aquatic ecosystems occurs
in pulses, with peak concentrations in the water lasting few hours. Such pulses are applied
periodically, typically every 20-30 days. Repeated exposure assays have been performed
with two native species applying pulse-recovery schemes, simulating the application
frequencies in CORFO-Río Colorado canals (Venturino et al., 2007). The effects were tested
at 96h-LOLC and LC50 values for each species. R. arenarum, which was the most sensitive to
acrolein, presented a significant increase in mortality after the first exposure-recovery cycle,
and the effect was observed after acrolein removal, during the recovery period. According
to this observation, a lower survival rate constant was significantly determined for acrolein
treatments (Table 5). Latency effectively occurred because the onset of mortality was
delayed, becoming evident during the recovery time. No cumulative effects for the repeated
exposures were observed, and the final number of surviving larvae was statistically the
same. Selection of tolerant individuals takes place during the first exposure, then the
remaining sub-population is similar in number for both treated and control groups.
Moreover, R. arenarum tadpoles surviving the three pulses of acrolein arrived to
metamorphosis at the same time and proportion as controls. The intermediate-sensitive
crustacean, H. curvispina, was also subjected to acrolein pulses of 1day-exposure followed by
recovery. No effects were observed on this species, concluding that the short exposures did
not cause cumulative damage or that the recovery time between repeated exposures (6 days)
was enough to overcome the deleterious effects. So, the acute effects of acrolein on H.
curvispina are related to peak duration since the LC50 determined at 96 hours of exposure
(0.24 mg/L) does not cause mortality at the repeated short term exposure of 24 hours.
Treatment group Control LOLC LC50

(0.010 mg/L) (0.023 mg/L)
% Survival:
1st Exposure-Recovery 64.2 ± 4.4 59.2 ± 4.4 53.3 ± 4.2
2nd Exposure-Recovery 58.3 ± 4.4 54.2 ± 3.0 46.7 ± 5.1
3rd Exposure-Recovery 49.2 ± 3.0 50.0 ± 5.2 41.7 ± 6.0
Latency effects YES YES
Mortality rate constant (d) 13.9 ± 0.1 6.8 ± 1.3* 6.9 ± 2.7*
% Metamorphosis 19.0 ± 0.2 20.1 ± 0.2 23.9 ± 5.4
Table 5. Repeated exposure effects of acrolein in R. arenarum. Three cycles of 1 day-exposure
followed by 13 days-recovery in acrolein-free media were evaluated. LOLC: Lowest-
Observed-Lethal Concentration; LC50: Lethal Concentration-fifty. * denotes significant
differences vs. control group, p= 0.018. Data obtained from Venturino et al. (2007), with
permission of SETAC press.
The acute toxicity tests and risk assessment on native species lead to a concern about
acrolein effects in the irrigation canals. Repeated exposure tests showed no cumulative
effects, as population survival remained unchanged with respect to controls after the third
exposure. Other studies at this stage of the evaluation are not recommended for the use of
acrolein as an herbicide. The physical and chemical properties of the compound such as its
high reactivity, its low tendency to partitionate to organic matter, and its low persistence in
the environment do not require sediment toxicity studies as a priority. At this step, the risk
evaluation needs to include field studies to broaden the analysis towards community and
population levels. This category of approach in tier 4 lets the determination of effects on a
variety of organisms in the ecosystem, including the interaction among species and indirect
effects. In the case of the use of acrolein as an aquatic herbicide, a field study on benthic
invertebrates has been designed to establish the safety of the exposure regime of
MAGNACIDE® H at the CORFO-Río Colorado canals (Albariño et al., 2007). These
organisms are prone to human perturbation of the ecosystem, and relatively sedentary if
compared to other organisms such as fish or amphibian. A total of 34 benthic
macroinvertebrates were identified in CORFO-Río Colorado canals. From the study,
spanning two years, it was determined that acrolein was able to reduce community
diversity and abundance during the application seasons. However, the benthic community
was able to recover its ecological attributes two months after ceasing canal treatments with
acrolein. Thus, the use of acrolein as an herbicide would be ecologically acceptable, taking
into account that its toxic effects are reverted in a reasonable time (Campbell et al., 1999).
The directional flux in the lotic systems under study probably allow the recolonization of
the areas where a local perturbation has been introduced, such as the application of the
herbicide, by flowing organisms from upstream sites ( Winterbourn & Townsed, 1998).
6. Conclusions
There are no generally accepted quantitative criteria for evaluating ecological significance
and expert judgement is always required. We have shown here evidences from literature
data and from risk assessment with native species that acrolein used for weed control in
irrigation canals is extremely toxic for most of the living organisms at the recommended
treatment concentrations and conditions. Nevertheless, its presence in the canals is transient
and it has been observed a natural recovery process, mainly operating through the
introduction of species from outside the treated area that minimizes the ecological risk.
Populations of species with a high intrinsic growth rate, such as zooplankton, may rapidly
recover after an acute toxicity event. Species with lower intrinsic growth rate, such as
amphibians and fish, will require longer periods for population recovery. One advantage in
the protection of higher organisms such as birds and mammals is the irritating odour of the
herbicide. The odour prevents them from getting close to the treated area, so these species
are not endangered by the compound.
Taking into account the fact that most population effects derived from the use of acrolein as
an aquatic herbicide are temporary, we conclude that its use is ecologically acceptable
because recovery occurs within a reasonable period of time. In order to minimize the risk on
the ecological receptors, a strict control on the treatment regime, concentration applied,
timing and frequency of application must be ensured. Treated canals must be controlled
during the applications, water release must be prevented until the product has dissipated,
and it must be ensured that water is used only for irrigation purposes.
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20
Genetic Adaptation of
Phytoplankters to Herbicides
Victoria López-Rodas1, Eduardo Costas1 and Antonio Flores-Moya2
1Complutense University
2University of Málaga
Spain
1. Introduction
One of the most important unwanted effects of herbicides is the arising of resistant non-
target organisms. In fact, weeds which are resistant to almost all kinds of herbicides have
been documented and the number of resistant variants is continuously increasing
(http://www.weedscience.org/In.asp). Since phytoplankters (including cyanobacteria and
eukaryotic microalgae) are responsible of the highest fraction of primary production in
aquatic ecosystems (Falkowski & Raven, 1997), they must be highlighted among non-target
herbicide organisms (Koenig, 2001). Unrelenting application of herbicides during recent
decades has resulted in water pollution, with serious environmental implications and
evolutionary consequences due to strong selection pressure on numerous species (Belfiore &
Anderson, 2001). The problem is especially relevant in those freshwater habitats which are
close to agricultural areas; these habitats are usually sinks for a large array of herbicides, so
that phytoplankters are exposed to a multitude of these toxic compounds (Junghans et al.,
2006). In fact, it is considered that herbicides are among the most significant human-
synthesized pollutants in aquatic ecosystems (Koenig, 2001). Moreover, has been proposed
that the emergence of unpredictable novelties could be a distinctive feature of the future
biosphere (Tilman, 1999; Myers & Knoll 2001; Palumbi, 2001) and, consequently, the arising
of resistant-herbicide phytoplankters could be considered as one of the relevant examples of
human-driven selection.
The majority of studies on the effects of herbicides on phytoplankters have been focused on
the degree of tolerance to the herbicides (Shehata et al., 1997; Berard et al., 1999; Kasai, 1999;
Nelson et al., 1999; revised by Koenig 2001; Pinckney et al., 2002). However, adaptation
includes different processes which are not usually discriminated; in particular, adaptation
conferring resistance to herbicides can be achieved by three processes differing in some
particular aspects (Fig. 1).
Under toxic but sub-lethal doses of herbicides, adaptation could be supported by
modification of gene expression occurring in a short time (days to weeks) and within one
organism's lifetime (i.e. physiological adaptation, also called acclimatization; Bradshaw &
Hardwick, 1989); however, some evolutionary studies in bacteria (Cairns et al., 1988; Foster,
2000; Roth et al., 2006) and yeasts (Heidenreich, 2007) have suggested that adaptive
mutations could be a process resembling Lamarckism which, in the absence of lethal
selection, produces mutations that relieve selective pressure. Finally, under lethal doses of
TIMING RESULT
Physiological
adaptation
(acclimatization)
Achieved after
the exposure to herbicide
Post-selective
adaptive mutations
YES
ADAPTATION Achieved before

TO Genetic adaptation
the exposure to herbicide (pre-selective mutations)
HERBICIDES
Immediately after the

NO exposure to herbicide Extinction
Fig. 1. Adaptation strategies of phytoplankton in herbicide-polluted waters (adapted from

Marvá et al., 2010)
herbicides, genetic adaptation supported by selection of new genetic variants originated by
spontaneous mutation (Sniegowski & Lenski, 1995; Belfiore & Anderson 2001; Orr, 2005) is
the only possibility. Although it is assumed that this last mechanism is responsible for the
arising of herbicide-resistant organisms, the empirical evidences are scarce. Thus, the
discrimination of mechanisms involved in adaptation of phytoplankters to herbicides was
addressed in our framework which is focused on evolutionary genetic of adaptation to
anthropogenic pollution. For this purpose, we applied rigorous experimental techniques as
an approach to evolutionary ecotoxicology of phytoplankters.
Here we review the studies which demonstrate the arising of new genetic-variants in
phytoplankters under lethal doses of herbicides, as well as the highest concentrations of
herbicides that allow genetic adaptation (an estimator of the limits of adaptation). It must be
taken into account that the arising of herbicide-resistant phytoplankters is an example of
adaptive evolution (Sniegowski & Lenski, 1995; Palumbi, 2001) and this allows us to
hypothesize about future performance of phytoplankton communities in aquatic ecosystems.
2. Demonstrating genetic adaptation to herbicides: fluctuation analysis

2.1 Fluctuation analysis of the transformation herbicide-sensitive → herbicide-
resistance
The experimental procedure called fluctuation analysis (Luria & Delbrück, 1943) is the best
way to demonstrate if the adaptation to lethal doses of herbicides could take place in wild-
Genetic Adaptation of Phytoplankters to Herbicides 423
strains of phytoplankters and, secondly, to discriminate between acquired adaptations in

response to the herbicides (by acclimatization or putative adaptive mutations) and resistant
cells arising from rare spontaneous mutations that appear prior to the herbicide exposure
(Fig. 1). A modified fluctuation analysis for application to liquid cultures with
phytoplankters (Costas et al., 2001; López-Rodas et al., 2001) has been used to investigate the
origin of herbicide-resistant cells. The modification of the analysis involves the use of liquid
medium containing the selective agent (different kind of herbicides) rather than plating on a
solid medium, as was done by Luria & Delbrück (1943) with bacterial cultures.
Two different sets of experimental cultures are prepared. In the first set (set 1), ca. 100
culture flasks, containing non-selective culture medium, are inoculated with N0 = 101-102
cells (a number small enough to reasonably ensure the absence of pre-existing mutants in
the strain). When each culture reaches Nt = 105-106 cells, it is supplemented with a lethal
dose of herbicide. The dose is previously calculated from a dose-growth rate relationship,
and it is selected a dose 2-4 times higher than that originating the 100% inhibition on growth
rate. For set 2 (set control), 25-50 aliquots of 106-108 cells from the same parental population
are separately transferred to culture flasks containing fresh liquid medium with the
herbicide at the same concentration as set 1 cultures.
In order to maintain lethal doses of herbicides in the cultures, they are centrifuged to form a
pellet of cells in the tube, the medium is decanted and fresh liquid medium with the
herbicide is added each 5 d. All cultures are kept under selective conditions and observed
after 90 d, a period of time long enough to allow resistant cells to grow. At the end of the
experiments, the number of resistant cells in both sets is counted.
Two different results can be found in the set 1 experiment when conducting a fluctuation
analysis, each result being interpreted as the independent consequence of different
phenomena of adaptation (Luria & Delbrück, 1943; Jones et al., 1994). In the first case, if
resistant cells arose during the exposure to the herbicides (i.e. by acclimatization or putative
adaptive mutations), the variance in the number of cells per culture would be low because
every cell is likely to have the same chance of developing resistance (Fig. 2, set 1A).
Consequently, inter-culture (flask-to-flask) variation would be consistent with the Poisson
model (i.e. variance/mean ≈1). By contrast, if resistant cells arose before the exposure to the
herbicides (i.e. genetic adaptation by rare spontaneous mutation occurring during the time
in which the cultures grew to Nt from N0 cells before the exposure to herbicides), a high
variation in the inter-culture number of resistant cells per culture would be found (Fig. 2, set
1B). Consequently, the flask-to-flask variation would not be consistent with the Poisson
model (i.e. variance/mean >1). Obviously, another result (0 resistant cells in each culture)
could also be found, indicating that neither selection on spontaneous mutations that occur
prior to herbicides exposure, nor specific adaptation during the exposure to the herbicides,
took place.
The set 2 cultures are the experimental controls of the fluctuation analysis (Fig. 2). Variance
is expected to be low, because set 2 samples the variance of the parental population. If the
variance/mean ratio of set 1 is significantly greater than the variance/mean ratio of set 2
(fluctuation), this confirms that resistant cells arose by rare mutations that occurred before
exposure to the herbicide. If a similar variance/mean ratio between set 1 and set 2 is found,
it confirms that resistant cells arose during the exposure to the herbicide.
In addition, the fluctuation analysis allows estimation of the rate of appearance of resistant
cells. There are different approaches for accomplishing this estimation (Rosche & Foster,
SET 1
Propagation of
cultures
Addition of herbicide
SET 1A SET 1B
SET 2
Addition of herbicide
Fig. 2. Schematic diagram of the modified Luria & Delbrück (1943) fluctuation analysis. In
the set 1, several cultures each inoculated with small inoculums were propagated until a
high cell density was reached, and then a lethal dose of herbicide was added. If resistant
cells arose by acclimatization or post-adaptive mutations, the number of resistant cells in all
the cultures must be similar (set 1A). If adaptation is achieved by rare mutations (see Fig. 1)
occurring in the period of the propagation of cultures the difference of the number of
resistant cells in each culture must be huge (set 1B). Set 2 samples the variance of parental
populations as an experimental control (adapted from Marvá et al. 2010)
2000). Due to methodological limitations imposed by a fluctuation analysis using liquid
cultures, the proportion of cultures from set 1 showing no resistant cells (P0 estimator; Luria
& Delbrück, 1943) can be used to calculate the mutation rate (μ) by using the equation:
μ = -LogeP0/ (Nt – N0) (1)
2.2 Mutation-selection equilibrium

If the mutation from wild-type, herbicide-sensitive allele to herbicide-resistant allele is
recurrent and, in addition, the herbicide-resistant allele is detrimental in growth rate in the
absence of herbicides, most of these mutants are eliminated sooner or later by natural
selection, if not by chance. At any one time, there will be a certain number of cells that are
not yet eliminated. The average number of such mutants (q, frequency of the herbicide
resistant allele) will be determined by the balance between μ and the rate of selective
elimination, in accordance with the equation from Kimura & Maruyama (1966):
q = μ / (μ+ s) (2)
where s is the coefficient of selection, calculated as:
s = 1- (mSr/ mS s) (3)
where mr and ms are the acclimated maximal growth rates of herbicide-resistance and
herbicide-sensitive cells measured in non-selective conditions, respectively.
3. Example cases of genetic adaptation of phytoplankters to herbicides

Numerous resistant mutants to herbicides have been generated or selected in cyanobacteria
and microalgae (Astier et al., 1979; Erikson et al., 1984; Golden & Haselkorn, 1985;
Johanningmeier & Hallick, 1987; Chamovitz et al., 1991; Trebst et al., 1993; Singh & Singh,
1997; revised by Koenig, 2001). However, the empirical evidence of the arising of herbicide
resistant-mutants in phytoplankters from wild, sensitive-cells by spontaneous mutations has
only been addressed recently by using fluctuation analysis (Table 1).
In particular, when phytoplankton cultures were exposed to herbicides, they became clear
after some days due to total growth inhibition and subsequent massive destruction of the
cells by the lethal effect of herbicides. But after being further incubated a few cultures
became green again, due to the growth of variants that were resistant to the herbicides. By
using the fluctuation analysis, we demonstrated that resistance in different species of
phytoplankters was due to the arising of new genetic variants caused by rare spontaneous
mutation occurring randomly during propagation under non-selective conditions for the
herbicides DCMU, glyphosate, simazine and diquat (Costas et al., 2001; López-Rodas et al.,
2001, 2007; Marvá et al., 2010; see Table 1). Studies on adaptation to other types of
herbicides are being carried out at the present.
μ q
(mutants per cell (no. of resistant cells
Species Herbicide per division) per wild-type cell) Ref.
Cyanobacteria
Pseudanabaena sp. DCMU 2.4 × 10-6 6 × 10-4 1
Microcystis aeruginosa Glyphostate 3.6 × 10-7 65 × 10-4 2
Chlorophyta
Dictyosphaerium chlorelloides DCMU 2.1 × 10-6 21 × 10-4 3
Dunaliella tertiolecta DCMU 3.6 × 10-6 21 × 10-4 1
Scenedesmus intermedius Simazine 3.0 to 9.2 × 10-6 11 to 30 × 10-6 4
S. intermedius Diquat 1.8 × 10-5 83 × 10-6 4
Ref., reference : 1, López-Rodas et al. (2001); 2, López-Rodas et al. (2007); 3, Costas et al.
(2001); 4, Marvá et al. (2010)
Table 1. Mutation rate (μ) and mutation-selection balance (q) of phytoplankters in the
genetic adaptation to different herbicides
Table 1 shows the figures of mutation rate from herbicide-sensitivity to herbicide-resistance

in different species of phytoplankters (ranging from 0.4 to 17.9 mutants per 106 cells per
generation, depending of the species and the herbicide). Since mutation is recurrent in each
generation, new mutant cells are arising continuously. One of the main characteristics of the
herbicide-resistant mutants, in comparison to the wild, herbicide-sensitive organisms is that
the former have significantly lower growth rate than the latter, as reflected by the q figures
in Table 1. It must be taking into account that mutations usually imply an energetic cost that
may affect the survival of adapting populations (Coustau et al., 2000; Vila-Auib et al., 2009).
Consequently, most of resistant-mutants are eventually eliminated by natural selection
(Crow & Kimura, 1970). At any given time, the balance between the continuous appearance
of mutants and their selective elimination determines the number of remaining herbicide-
resistant mutants in algal populations growing in the absence of herbicides. This may be the
case in wild-type populations developing in non-polluted waters. Consequently, the
population would be predominantly a clone line of herbicide-sensitive genotypes,
accompanied by, as a very small fraction, clone lines of herbicide-resistant mutants.
Summarizing, rare spontaneous mutations conferring resistance against herbicide seems to
be enough to assure survival of phytoplankters in herbicide-polluted waters. Moreover, in a
hypothetical future scenario with herbicide-polluted waters, the primary production
supported by phytoplankters could be significantly lower that in the present, as a
consequence of the diminished growth rate of resistant mutants in comparison to wild-type
cells.
4. Testing the limits of genetic adaptation: ratchet protocol

4.1 Theoretical and experimental setup
When genetic adaptation is found via fluctuation analysis, the adaptation is referred to a
given lethal dose of herbicide (usually, 2-4 times higher than that originating the 100%
inhibition on growth rate). However, the potential limit of adaptation to the highest
concentration of the toxic is difficult to estimate via fluctuation analysis, since stronger
selection pressures drastically reduce population size. This constraint can be overcome by
performing experiments that include several values of selection pressure. To this end,
Reboud et al. (2007) developed an experimental model aimed at evaluating the maximal
potential for herbicide resistance evolution in the green microalga Chlamydomonas. This
experiment was based on the use of different herbicide concentrations, which thereby
constituted selection pressures. Furthermore, Orellana et al. (2008) provided a modified
procedure that allowed for maximizing the occurrence of mutants in microalgae and their
selection by applying variable selection pressures. A significant enhancement of this
experimental procedure was achieved by using different replicates of each strain under each
selection condition. This assures repeatability and it is referred as ratchet assays (Huertas et
al. 2010). The protocol aims at reaching equilibrium between strong selection intensity, by
means of ratcheting to increase herbicide dose, and at the maintenance of a population size
large enough to increase probability of rare spontaneous mutations that confer adaptation.
Cultures must be ratcheted only up to a dose that supports population growth. The
experimental procedure is then applied in several independent replicates (Fig. 3).
During the initial phase, replicates of the control cultures containing growth medium and
replicates of cultures for each of the initial doses of herbicide treatment are prepared. Each
culture is transferred to the next concentration when the same net growth of the control
cultures is reached; cultures that do not present net growth are maintained at the same
concentration. A new ratchet cycle is concluded each time that the control cultures are
transferred. The experiment ends after several cycles with net growth occurring only in the
control cultures. At this point the maximal capability of adaptation corresponds to the
maximal concentration of the selective agent that presents net growth (Fig. 3).
Fig. 3. Schematic representation of the ratchet experimental design (Huertas et al. 2010).
Three ratchet cycles are represented but the experiment ends when net growth only occurs
in controls after several ratchet cycles
4.2 Increase in adaptation to simazine in relation to concentration causing 100%

growth inhibition
Huertas et al. (2010) showed differential maximal adaptation to simazine depending on
taxonomic group, ploidy level (haploid and diploid vegetative cells occur in different
taxonomical groups of microalgae), growth rate and habitat (Table 2).
In relation to the taxonomic group, Chlorophyta showed the greatest capacity to adapt to
simazine, while Cyanobacteria did not adapt so well. It was suggested that the difference
could result from the fact that prokaryotic organisms are more adversely affected by
simazine than eukaryotic species (Fournadzhieva et al., 1995). Bacillariophyta and
Haptophyta showed moderate and scarce ability to adapt, respectively.
Adaptation
increase
Species (times) Ploidy level Cell division1 Habitat
Chlorophyta
Scenedesmus intermedius 270 Haploid Rapid Continental
Dictyosphaerium chlorelloides 90 Haploid Rapid Continental
Tetraselmis suecica 10 Haploid Rapid Coastal
Cyanobacteria
Microcystis aeruginosa (3D) 9 Haploid Moderate Continental
M. aeruginosa (6D) 9 Haploid Moderate Continental
M. aeruginosa (7D) 9 Haploid Moderate Continental
Bacillariophyta
Phaeodactylum tricornutum 4.5 Diploid Rapid Coastal
Haptophyta
Emiliania huxleyi (CCMP373) 3 Haploid Slow Oceanic
E. huxleyi (CCMP371) 1.5 Haploid Slow Oceanic
E. huxleyi (CCMP372) 1.5 Haploid Slow Oceanic
Isochrysis galbana 1.5 Haploid Moderate Oceanic
Monochrysis lutheri 1.5 Haploid Moderate Oceanic
1Cell division: rapid, 1 doubling every 3-4 d; moderate, 1 doubling every 4-5 d; slow, 1
doubling every 5-7 d

Table 2. Characteristics implicated in the capability of different phytoplankters to adapt to
simazine. Adaptation increase column shows how much times simazine concentration
causing 100% growth inhibition before the ratchet experiments is higher than that measured
at the end of the experiment (data from Huertas et al., 2010)
The species with the greatest capacity for adaptation to simazine are haploid populations
growing rapidly (Table 2). It is supposed that haploids will respond to selection more
quickly than diploids because non-neutral mutations are expressed immediately. Moreover,
growth rate is also involved in adaptation since a greater number of generations during a
given time allows for more speedy adaptive evolution.
From an ecological point of view, it is very interesting to highlight that clear differences in
adaptation to simazine were found depending on the habitat (Table 2). Thus, the greatest
ability was found in phytoplankters from epicontinental freshwaters (usually, the sink of an
array of herbicides), followed by coastal marine microalgae and, finally, the most sensitive
group was formed by oceanic microalgae (without prior exposure to simazine or other
related compounds). Thus, it can be hypothesized that the capability of phytoplankters to
adapt to simazine depends on a previous evolutionary history. In this way, a sudden
contamination episode could be relieved by freshwater phytoplankters but not by oceanic
phytoplankters.
5. Prospective
Genetic adaptation of phytoplankters to herbicides, as well as the limits of genetic
adaptation, has been addressed in several species of phytoplankters representing some
taxonomical and ecological groups. However, other species must be tested in order to have
an extended view on the occurrence of genetic adaptation. Moreover, different herbicides
are distinguished on the basis of their site and mode of action; in our framework, we tested
the genetic adaptation of phytoplankters to a few of the different type of herbicides but
other types will be addressed in the future.
6. Acknowledgments
The results compiled in this review were obtained in research works financially supported
by the Spanish Ministry of Sciences and Innovation through grants CTM2008-05680 C02-
01/MAR and CGL2008-00652/BOS, and Junta de Andalucía Research Group RNM-115.
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21
Highly Specific Biosensors to Herbicides, based

on Sensitive- and Resistant-Mutants Microalgae
Javier Hernández-Allica1, Daniel Carrera-Martínez1,
Victoria López-Rodas1,2, Antonio Flores-Moya3 and Eduardo Costas1,2
1Algasgen Biotecnología S.L.
2Complutense University of Madrid
3University of Málaga
Spain
1. Introduction
The notion that humankind has changed the biosphere led to the Nobel prize Paul Crutzen
to propose, a decade ago, the new term “Anthropocene” to denote the current interval of
time in the earth dominated by human driven large-scale activities (Crutzen, 2002). The
massive loss of diversity, homogenization of biotas, proliferation of opportunistic species
and unpredictable emergent novelties can be considered among the distinctive features of
the future biosphere (Myers & Knoll, 2001). Intensive agriculture, supported by the massive
use of herbicides, pesticides and compounds with biocidal activity, is a significant cause of
the biodiversity crisis (Tilman, 1999). The impact of these toxic compounds on biodiversity
threatens all ecosystems, being particularly significant in those characterized by a slow
response to change, such as aquatic systems. Phytoplankton are responsible for about half of
the global primary production, driving essential biogeochemical cycles, exporting massive
amounts of carbon to deep waters and sediments in the open ocean and strongly influencing
the water–atmosphere gas exchanges (Rost et al., 2008). Since these organisms represent the
basis of the aquatic food web, the repercussions of the impact on phytoplankton populations
will undoubtedly affect the rest of the components of the trophic web.
Step behind of the risen up of scientific and social concern regarding the environmental
pollution control, developed countries have begun to take legislative actions to protect the
ecosystems from chemical pollution. For the time being, the monitoring of water quality has
generally relied on the collection of spot water samples followed by extraction and
laboratory-based instrumental analysis. These analytical methods usually requires the use of
sophisticated equipment, skilled laboratory personnel, are time consuming, expensive and
difficult to adapt for fieldwork. Besides, this provides only a snapshot of the situation at the
sampling time and fails to provide more realistic information due to spatio-temporal
variations in water characteristics (Rodríguez-Mozaz et al., 2006).
The European Union Water Framework Directive (WFD), one of the most important pieces
of environmental legislation, is likely to transform the way that determination of water
quality is undertaken. Within the next few years, the implementation of the WFD will
require a considerable additional monitoring effort to be undertaken and a wide range of
substances of different chemical groups to be identified. The WFD does not mandate the use
of a particular set of monitoring methods, but aims at ensuring the establishment of an
adequate monitoring program and encouraging the development of new technologies and
more suitable methodologies allowing on-site field monitoring (Allan et al., 2006).
2. Microalgal whole cell biosensors

The need for adequate monitoring programs and early-warning procedures to detect
contaminants has prompted the development of cell-based sensors as an attractive option,
provided the microorganisms used as recognition bioelements are easy to isolate and
manipulate (widely available, non-hazardous), their culture and maintenance is inexpensive
and they provide reliable information on the presence of the target toxic agent. The essence
of a whole cell biosensor is to display a cellular activity sensitive enough to stressed
environments but insensitive to the physico-chemical features of the medium it operates, to
the cell life cycle and to the availability of nutrients. Likewise, it should allow a smooth
integration with an appropriate transducer of the biological signal.
The use of whole cells as biological recognition elements has many attractive advantages
(Orellana 2008): (i) Whole-cell biosensors are usually cheap, because whole cells culturing
and harvesting is easier than isolation and purification of enzymes. (ii) Whole cells are more
tolerant to a significant change in pH, temperature or ionic concentration than purified
enzymes. (iii) A multi-step reaction is possible because a single cell can contain all the
enzymes and co-factors needed for detection of the analyte. (iv) Biosensors can easily be
regenerated or maintained by letting the cells re-grow while operating in situ. (v) Extensive
sample preparation is usually not required.
Green microalgae are the most preferred microorganisms to be implemented as biological
element of recognition of herbicides in biosensors, since they are photosynthetic organisms.
Photosynthesis inhibition estimated by chlorophyll a fluorescence of photosystem II (PSII),
is an excellent indicator that rapidly reflects the toxic effect of certain pollutants. In fact,
more than 50% of commercial herbicides are directed towards the direct inhibition of the
electron transport at the PSII. Taking advantage of this feature, photosystem II (PSII)-based
biosensors are reported to be able to detect herbicides in the environment (Giardi et al.,
2001).
For example, an optical fiber based biosensor was developed for atrazine and endrine
monitoring in water using Scenedesmus subspicatus cells, immobilized on filter paper and
covered with a thin alginate layer hardened with calcium chloride (Frense et al., 1998).
Chlorella vulgaris was immobilized at the tip of an optical fiber bundle placed inside a
homemade microcell (Naessens et al., 2000), or in a rotating support holding up to five
different membranes to increase the number of assays (Védrine et al., 2003), and used for the
detection of herbicides affecting photosystem II (PSII) such as triazines (atrazine, simazine)
or phenylureas (diuron, isoproturon) herbicides at sub-µgL-1 concentration level. Nguyen-
Ngoc et al. (2007) investigated the response of a microalgal biosensor to the herbicide
Diuron® by measuring the variation of the chlorophyll fluorescence of Chlorella vulgaris
strain conveniently entrapped into a sol-gel translucent support. The detection limit was 1
µg L–1 of diuron in water, a value much lower than the 115 µg L–1 limit reported with
bioassays or the 10 µg L-1 limit reached with high performance liquid chromatography with
diode array detector. The microalgae within the silica matrix kept over 95% of their initial
activity after a period of 5 weeks.
Highly Specific Biosensors to Herbicides, based on Sensitive- and Resistant-Mutants Microalgae 435
To date the limiting step in the development of whole cell biosensor is the lack of specificity.
Most algal biosensors have focused on reaching enough sensitivity and improving the signal
measuring and the immobilization methods. Such algal biosensors are sensitive enough,
although they usually present low specificity, exhibiting a summary response over a range
of toxic substances. This lack of specificity represents the weak point of actual algal
biosensors and is an important reason why relatively few have emerged from the laboratory
to become commercially viable methods (Bengtson Nash et al., 2005). On the other hand,
considering the large amount of potentially hazardous substances occurring in the
environment, highly selective biosensor systems (e.g. enzyme biosensors) may also be
regarded as disadvantageous (Podola et al., 2004). Ideally, combining the advantages of
non-selective biosensors able to detect a variety of compounds, with a selective biosensor
also allowing the identification of specific compounds would be the jump for the gap that
separates academic research from field applications. In the following section we will
describe recent developments directed to gain specificity in microalgae optical biosensors,
focusing in the work conducted in our laboratory.
3. Theoretical and experimental setup of herbicide specific biosensors based

on microalgae mutants
We have developed a new approach for increasing specificity of microalgae biosensors. This
method is based in the joint use of two different genotypes from the same species, to detect a
given herbicide: a highly sensitive genotype and, simultaneously, a resistant mutant to
obtain high specificity.
3.1 Screening of herbicide-sensitive and –resistant genotypes

Using diverse functional and taxonomic groups, a screening of phytoplankters has been
addressed to isolate strains highly herbicide-sensitive (López-Rodas et al., 2001; Costas et al.,
2001; López-Rodas et al., 2007; Marvá et al., 2010; Huertas et al., 2010). The toxic effect of the
herbicides has been estimated by calculating the inhibition of the acclimated maximal
growth rate (m) in mid-log exponentially growing cells, in the presence of increasing
concentrations of herbicides (diuron, simazine, diquat, glyphosate and others), by using the
equation of Crow and Kimura (1970):
m = Loge(Nt/N0)/t
where Nt and N0 are the cell numbers at the end and at the start of the experiment,
respectively, and t, is the time that cultures were exposed to different doses of herbicides.
At the same time, we have applied a selection procedure maintaining large populations of
dividing cells (which ensures the occurrence of mutations that confer herbicide resistance)
and a strong selection pressure (which ensures the preservation of such mutations) to isolate
the most herbicide-resistant genotypes. For this purpose, an experimental system based on
the ratchet protocols previously described (Reboud et al., 2007; Orellana et al., 2008; Huertas
et al., 2010; López-Rodas et al., this book) was applied to estimate the maximal capability for
adaptation of different phytoplankton species under increasing doses of different herbicides
(Table 1). The protocol aims at reaching equilibrium between strong selection intensity, by
means of ratcheting to increase herbicide dose, and the maintenance of a population size
large enough to increase probability of rare spontaneous mutations that confer adaptation.
These mutations occur randomly and not through specifically acquired adaptation included
by herbicide (Marvá et al., 2010).
From the herbicide dose-inhibition curve it is possible to calculate the lethal dose that
inhibits each microalgae ancestral population (LD100). The first ratchet cycle starts with three
herbicide concentrations: LD100, 3 LD100 and 10 LD100. Each herbicide ratchet cycle entails a
threefold dose increase. Cultures must be ratcheted only up to a dose that supports
population growth and are exposed to different selection levels. A ratchet cycle was
concluded when no further cell growth was observed in a specific replicate after a period of
100 d. The number of ratchet cycles was therefore species dependent, as growth was a
function of the ability to adapt to the selecting conditions. The experimental procedure was
then applied in several independent experiments for each phytoplankton species.
Species Habitat Ancestral Derived Increase in

populations populations adaptation
(before (after (after
ratchet) ratchet) ratchet)
Emiliania huxleyi (CCMP371) Oceanic 0.10 0.15 1.5
Emiliania huxleyi (CCMP372) Oceanic 0.10 0.15 1.5
Emiliania huxleyi (CCMP373) Oceanic 0.05 0.15 3
Isochrysis galbana Oceanic 0.10 0.15 1.5
Monochrysis lutheri Oceanic 0.10 0.15 1.5
Tetraselmis suecica Coastal 0.15 1.5 10
marine
Phaeodactylum tricornutum Coastal 0.10 0.45 4.5
marine
Scenedesmus intermedius Continental 0.15 40.5 270
Dictyosphaerium Continental 0.15 13.5 90
chlorelloides
Microcystis aeruginosa (3D) Continental 0.05 0.45 9
Simazine concentrations (ppm) measured in triplicates of each strain inoculated with 1.5
x 105 cells from mid-log exponentially growing cultures and exposed to increasing
simazine doses (increase interval = 0.05 ppm).
Table 1. Simazine concentration (ppm) causing 100% growth inhibition measured in ancestral
populations of various phytoplanktonic organisms before the ratchet experiments as well as in
derived populations after the ratchet experiments (data from Huertas et al., 2010).
Table 1 shows the maximal capability of adaptation found by Huertas et al. (2010) using
diverse functional and taxonomic groups of phytoplankters (oceanic and coastal marine
microalgae, and freshwater microalgae and cyanobacteria) to isolate simazine resistant
strains. A simazine concentration causing 100% growth inhibition in ancestral populations
(before the ratchet experiments) is compared between the ancestral populations (before the
ratchet experiments) and the derived populations (after the ratchet experiments). In spite of
species diversity tested here (i.e. Cyanobacteria, Chlorophyta, Bacillariophyta, Haptophyta
isolated from continental, coastal and oceanic microalgae), simazine was able to inhibit
100% growth in all ancestral populations. Adaptation of simazine at doses of 3.1 ppm (or
higher) was only possible because of the occurrence of rare spontaneous simazine-resistant
mutants occurring randomly during replication of organisms before exposure to simazine
(Marvá et al., 2010). Consequently, adaptations obtained by Huertas et al. (2010) in the
ratchet protocol (i.e. up to 40.5 ppm simazine in S. intermedius or 13.5 ppm simazine in D.
chlorelloides) can only be genetically achieved by new mutations that confer resistance.
3.2 Chlorophyll a fluorescence of PSII as biological signal

The approach of using selected herbicide- sensitive and –resistant microalgal mutants was
tested by the development of a microalgal biosensor for the specific detection of herbicides
(diuron, simazine, diquat, gliphosate and others). The inhibition of chlorophyll a
fluorescence of PSII by the herbicides can be used as the biological signal.
For this purpose changes in photosynthetic activity due to herbicide exposure are estimated
by measuring chlorophyll a fluorescence of PSII. Immobilized algae were placed at the tip of
a bifurcated fiber-optic cable (1 m long) in a homemade flow through cell, as has been
described elsewhere (Orellana et al., 2007; Peña-Vazquez et al., 2009 and cites therein), for
the measurements. Algae are kept in darkness for 15 min before irradiation, during that time
the sample was pumped through the flow cell. Then the biosensing layers are irradiated for
5 min with the excitation light and the fluorescence measurement is carried out
immediately. Experimental signals (Fig. 1) are plotted as a function of the analyte
concentration (in logarithmic scale) and the experimental data fitted to a four-parameter
logistic equation (Peña-Vázquez et al., 2009):
I = Imin + [(Imax – Imin) / [1 + ([Analyte]/IC50)b]
Changes in photosynthetic activity due to herbicide can be also estimated after 30 min of
exposure, by measuring fluorescence using a pulse-amplitude modulated fluorometer PAM
2000 (Walz, Effeltrich, Germany), as explained by Schreiber et al. (1986). Maximum
fluorescence of light-acclimated thylakoids (F´m ) was determined after a saturating-white
light pulse, which fully close all PSII reaction centres. The inhibition of F´m was used as an
estimator of the toxic effect of herbicide, according to the formula:
Inhibition (%) = 100 – [100 x (F´m)herbicide/(F´m)control]
where (F´m) herbicide is the maximum fluorescence after 3 min with any given herbicide
concentration, and (F´m) control is the maximum fluorescence of the control without
herbicide after the same period of time. In all the measurements in both herbicide-exposed
and control cells, the irradiance was 80 μmol photons m-2 s-1. In our previous work, we have
always found that maximal fluorescence of light-adapted algae (F´m) from herbicide
resistant mutants is significantly higher than that from sensitive cells.
Fig. 1. Fluorescence response of a Dictyosphaerium chlorelloides membrane to simazine

increasing concentrations in the range of 5 x 10-4 to 10 mg L-1. λexc: 467 nm, λem: 699 nm.
(From Peña-Vázquez et al., (2010), supplemented material).
4. Operative microalgae biosensor

Operative specific herbicide biosensors were obtained by immobilizing microalgae strains
on silicone dishes (CellonTM) (Orellana et al., 2007; Orellana et al., 2008) or by encapsulating
in silicate sol-gel matrices (Peña-Vázquez et al., 2009; 2010). Such procedures allow us long
term stability of cells as determined by a constant F’m values for at least 3 weeks. Thus, the
combined measurement of F’m from the two different genotypes (sensitive and resistant
mutants to a given herbicide) allowed obtaining microalgae biosensor specificity (Table 2).
Microalgae mutant Sensitive Resistant

No herbicide present + +
Target herbicide present - +
Non-target herbicide present - -
+ and – denote high or low F’m signal respectively
Table 2. Selective detection of a target herbicide with a dual sensing head microalgae
biosensor. (Adapted from Orellana et al., 2007).
Peña-Vázquez et al. (2009) performed representative dose response curve in the 5×10-4 – 10
mgL−1 simazine range for sensitive and resistant mutants of Dictyosphaerium chlorelloides
(D.c.) and Scenedesmus intermedius (S.i.) cells immobilized in a silicate sol-gel matrix. The
limit of detection was lower for the D.c. (3.6 µgL-1) than for S.i. (31.0 µgL-1) biosensors.
Further research with the D.c. biosensor showed good performance regarding important
criteria that may be crucial for the implementation of a marketable biosensor (Table 3).
Despite that our D.c. biosensor described above (Peña-Vázquez et al., 2009) does not reach
the European Community directive for herbicide detection (0.1 µgL−1) in drinking water,
when working with short irradiation times (15 min darkness/5 min irradiation), it has been
demonstrated that the use of resistant strains can be a useful tool to improve biosensor
specificity. In the algal biosensor wild-type sensitive cells exhibit a decrease in their
biological response in presence of simazine, while resistant algae work as control exhibiting
a significant smaller decrease. In contrast, under other herbicides such as atrazine or DCMU,
resistant algae exhibit similar response than those of sensitive algae. This pattern
demonstrates that the use of simazine-resistant cells is an appropriate procedure to improve
biosensor specificity.
D.c. biosensor
Detection limit (µgL-1) 3.6
IC50 (µgL-1) 125 ± 14
Dynamic range (µgL−1) 19 - 860
Response time (min) 20
Reversibility Yes
Accuracy High
Table 3. Response to simazine of an optical biosensor based on Dictyosphaerium chlorelloides

(D.c.) immobilized in a sol-gel silicate flow-cell.
5. Prospective
There is a strong need for adequate monitoring programs and early-warning procedures
allowing on-site field detection of herbicides polluting water reservoirs and ecosystems. Our
approach based on the use of resistant strains can be a useful tool to improve microalgae
biosensor specificity. In theory, our mutant selection method opens the possibility to obtain
sensitive and resistant microalgae strain pairs for any target pollutant of interest, including
of course, herbicides and other related pesticides, but also, other important environmental
pollutants such as heavy metals, organics, novel emergent pollutants such as cosmetics and
pharmaceuticals, etc. The way ahead is certainly long, but the ultimate goal of developing
versatile and operative commercial equipments or biochips by means of immobilizing
sensitive and resistant microalgae pairs on bifurcated fibre optic systems or multi-well
plates, for example, appears realistic.
6. Acknowledgments
The results compiled in this review were obtained in research works financially supported
by the Spanish Ministry of Sciences and Innovation through grants CTM2008-05680 C02-
01/MAR and CGL2008-00652/BOS, and Junta de Andalucía Research Group RNM-115.
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22
How Early Diagenesis Reveals In Situ

Biodegradation of Herbicides in Sediment
Devault Damien A.1, Delmotte Sébastien2, Macarie Hervé3,
Dolfing Jan4 and Anschutz Pierre5
1Cemagref,Centre de Martinique, Pôle de Recherche Agro-environnemental
de la Martinique, Quartier Petit Morne, BP 214, 97 285 Lamentin
2MAD-Environnement, Allée des Demoiselles, 33170 Gradignan
3IRD, UMR IMEP (CNRS / IRD), Aix-Marseille Université, Faculté des
Sciences de St. Jérôme, Boîte 441, 13397 Marseille cedex 20

4School of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Newcastle University
Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU England

5UMR Environnements et Paléo-environnements OCéaniques (EPOC)
Université Bordeaux 1, 33405 Talence

1,2,3,5France
4United Kingdom
1. Introduction
Globalisation of environment contamination is one of the actual major concerns.
Concentrated in the developed countries during 1950s and 1960s, the use of pesticides,
particularly the organic ones, has dramatically increased since 1970s (Alavanja, 2009). Agro
chemistry expansion is parallel to diffusion of other technologies involving molecules
proved to be environmental contaminants. Progressive prohibition of indiscriminate use of
chemicals, considered as a threat for human and environmental health, highlights their
persistence and their ubiquity. Although for partly natural contaminants like polycyclic
aromatic hydrocarbons, the question is to dissociate the natural input (fires…) from the
anthropogenic one; the synthesised molecules like herbicides do not give rise to such a
controversy. However, understanding their flux from contaminated parcels and their fate in
the environment requires historical overview that can be achieved through coring. In order
to be informative coring needs to be performed on quiescent, biotic and unconsolidated
growing matrix and for these reasons sediments are the most often sampled.
Coring is performed with the following five aims:
1. Defining the origin of a contamination leaning on the pollutant threat accompaniment
as in source investigation (Koistinen et al., 1997) as in land use concern, distinguishing
agricultural, urban or industrial input (Feng et al., 1998; Secco et al., 2005).
2. Establishing the contamination source (runoff, atmospheric deposition), especially for
arctic areas due to cold condensation (Rawn et al., 2001; Macdonald et al., 2005, de Wit
et al., 2006). For herbicide monitoring, such studies are scarce: even if Henry’s constant
are in favour to volatilization, atmospheric transport enhances photolysis.
3. Performing a retrospective analysis of dated sediment cores to evaluate the historical

fluxes since the 1950s (Harrad et al., 1994; Hong et al., 2003), especially to segregate the
anthropic impact to (bio) geochemical trends (Connor & Thomas, 2003). As, Nylund et
al. (1992) said: “retrospective time trends are essential in the judgement of a pollution
situation”.
4. Defining the state on the contaminant persistence in the environment. This consists to
determine its half life and to estimate the time needed for the exportation of residues
from an upstream watershed (Covaci et al., 2005). This aim can give information on the
efficiency of a decision to ban pesticide use.
5. Estimating the fate of organic pollutants in sediment (Eganhouse et al., 2000; Devault et
al., 2009).
Coring is used to answer to the major question of the fate of contaminants, in molecule as
well as in watershed scale. Instead of heavy metals the presence of which can only be
discussed in terms of speciation, organic pollutants may suffer profound transformations up
to the point of complete mineralization (Bartha, 1971; Ficher, 1974; Pignatello, 1992). Briefly,
the alteration of their chemical structure may be the result of physico-chemical reactions
(photolysis, cryolysis hydrolysis…) and/or biodegradation (e.g. Grover et al., 1997 on
trifluralin, Roberts et al., 2002 on paraquat, Krutz et al., 2010 on s-triazines…).
In soil and sediment, photolysis only occurs on the surface and could be so regarded as
marginal in comparison to biodegradation and hydrolysis, although there are notorious
exceptions such as for example in the case of the herbicide trifluralin that is strongly
vulnerable to sunlight (Grover et al., 1997). Photolysis may also be promoted by the presence
of MnVI and Fe(III) but their concentrations are usually quickly reduced with depth (Knights
et al., 2003). In immerged sediments, the role of hydrolysis in herbicide alteration may be
maximized, but generally speaking, hydrolysis is rarely fast enough to be the predominant
alteration process. In such wet environment, contrarily to soil where dryness event may
restrain microbial flora development, biodegradation appears as the main process responsible
for the alteration of the herbicide structure although some authors have suggested that the
supposed low temperatures in these environments and their negative effect on the microbial
activity should result in an absence of important decrease of their herbicide stock (Mortensen
and Jacobsen, 2004; Grimalt et al., 2004). This however is not supported by experimental work.
In sediment environment, diffusion of dissolved oxygen used as electron acceptor by micro
organisms is limited by early compaction process and local consumption. Then, anaerobic
conditions are usually dominant. In absence of oxygen, bacteria can use several alternative
electron acceptors. This results in a stratification of the bacterial communities corresponding to
the successive use of specific electron acceptors in order of energy yields, which in turns
influences the microbial degradation of organic compounds, in particular the halogenated
aromatic ones. Stratification can be significantly perturbed by benthic biota, enhancing the
sediment part where early diagenesis occurs.
The aim of the present chapter is to provide an overview on a pivotal process for the fate of
herbicide residues -but generally underestimate even not taken into account.
2. Early diagenesis
2.1 Introduction
Sediments record earth surface activities, such as climate or anthropogenic impact on the
environment. Before burial, however, particles deposited in aqueous environments
How Early Diagenesis Reveals In Situ Biodegradation of Herbicides in Sediment 445
experience transformations called early diagenesis (Berner, 1980), which modify the initial
recording. Biological activity of benthic micro- and macro-organisms supports the
mechanisms of early diagenetic reactions. Biogeochemical processes in the first centimetres
below the sediment/water interface change the chemistry and the mineralogy of sediments.
Major diagenetic reactions are processes of oxidation/reduction, dissolution/precipitation,
adsorption/desorption and changes in speciation. The nature and amplitude of early
diagenetic processes depend mostly on physico-chemical properties of overlying waters and
on organic matter flux towards the bottom. The amount of knowledge on early diagenesis
processes is the result of 30 years of science, including pioneer works of Froelich et al. (1979)
on the vertical sequence of red-ox reactions, Berner (1980) on the transport-reaction
coupling, and Aller (1980) on the influence of macro-fauna on reactions and fluxes.
2.2 Biogeochemical processes in modern sediments

Modern sediments comprise the first decimetres below the sediment-water interface. This
compartment contains organic carbon imported from the overlying water column or formed
by benthic producers. Early diagenesis reactions are linked to organic matter mineralization.
The mineralization of organic carbon alters the initial mineralogy and chemistry of
deposited particles and interstitial waters, and determines the benthic cycle of redox species
and the fate of sedimentary organic matter. Oxidation of organic matter requires an electron
acceptor. The preferential use of the electron acceptor that yields the highest amount of free
energy in the terminal step of the bacterially-mediated oxidation of organic matter
constitutes a long-standing paradigm in biogeochemistry (Froelich et al., 1979; Postma &
Jakobsen, 1996) (Table 2, Fig. 1). In undisturbed sediments, this paradigm is reflected in well
documented vertical changes in pore waters and particles chemistry (Fig. 2).
The O2 concentration decreases rapidly below the sediment surface. Nitrate increases in the
oxygen containing layer and then decreases below. The disappearance of oxygen and nitrate
is accompanied by a decline of the Mn-oxide content and an increase in dissolved
manganese, followed deeper down by an increase in dissolved iron. Total sulphur content
increases with depth, whereas sulphate concentration decreases. Deeper down, methane can
reach high concentrations, particularly when sulphate reaches a zero concentration, which is
common in fresh water sediments. This distribution follows the depth sequence of
diagenetic reactions. Oxygen is reduced near the sediment-water interface, followed by the
reduction of nitrate and manganese oxide, then reactive iron oxide (FeASC), sulphate, and
carbon dioxide (Froelich et al., 1979, Postma and Jakobsen, 1996).
Chemical changes produce vertical gradients. Gradients generate fluxes within the sediment
and across the sediment/water interface. Transport mechanisms are diffusion, advection
and mixing. Molecular diffusion is driven by concentration gradients and can be quantified
using Fick’s first law. It is a spontaneous processes carrying species downgradient, that
depends on temperature, gradient, porosity and the nature of the diffusing species. In deep
sediments it represents the main pathway for the transport of dissolved compounds. Bio
diffusion reflects the activity of benthic organisms that adds to passive diffusion in surface
sediments. Mixing by bioturbation produces a transport of particles. Then, the relative
positions of reducing and oxidizing sediment components is shifted. As pointed out by
Aller (1994), such disturbed systems could be better conceptualized as a spatially and
temporally changing mosaic of redox reactions.
The O2 consumption is attributed to oxic degradation of organic matter (reaction 1, Tab. 3)
and the re-oxidation of products from the anaerobic degradation of organic matter (Canfield
20
O
2 –>
H
2O
15
Mn
O2
–>
Fe
(O
Mn
10 NO
2+
H) 3
3 -–
>N
–>
2
Fe
5 SO
2+
CO 4 2-
–
2 –> > H
CH 2 S ΔG °
r = -ΔlogK × 2.3 R T
ΔlogK
0 CO 4
2 –
CH
2O
-5
-10
-15
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
pH
Fig. 1. Δlog K vs. pH plots for selected half redox reactions involved in organic matter
oxidation. Δlog K is the total free energy at a given pH (see Table 1). The vertical distance
between the line of (CH2O) oxidation to CO2 and any line representing reduction of electron
acceptors gives the energy yield. The sequence of redox reaction can be deduced from this
graph. Thermodynamically favourable secondary reactions can be deduced also from this
graph. Temperature: 20°C
Element aqueous phase particulate phase

C(+IV)O2, HC(+IV)O3-, C(+IV)O32-,
C C(-IV) to (+IV)-org , CaC(+IV)O3
C(-IV)H4, C(-IV) à (+IV)–org
N N(+V)O3-, N(+III)O2-, N(0)2, N(–III)H4+, N(–III)-org N(-III)-org
O O(0)2, H2O(-II)
P-org, phosphates (apatite,
P(+V) PO43-, HPO42-, H2PO4-
francolite…), adsorbed-PO43-
S S(+VI)O42-, H2S(-II), S(-II)H- sulfides(-II)
Fe Fe2+ Fe(+III)-oxides, Fe(+II)-sulfides, Fe(+II)CO3
Mn Mn2+ Mn(+III,+IV)-oxides, Mn(+II)CO3
Table 1. Major dissolved and particulate redox compounds involved in early diagenesis
processes. The redox state appears in brackets
1/4 CO2 + H+ + e- = 1/4 CH2O+ 1/4 H2O -0.20

1/4 O2 + H+ + e- = 1/2 H2O +20.75
1/5 NO3- + 6/5 H+ + e- = 1/10 N2 + 3/5 H2O +21.05
1/8 NO3- + 5/4 H+ + e- = 1/8NH4+ + 3/8 H2O +14.90
1/2 MnO2 + 2 H+ + e- = 1/2 Mn2+ + H2O +20.80
MnO(OH) + 3 H+ + e- = Mn2+ + 2 H2O +25.36
Fe(OH)3 + 3 H+ + e- = Fe2+ + 3 H2O +18.31
FeO(OH) + 3 H+ + e- = Fe2+ + 2 H2O +13.60
1/8 SO42- + 5/4 H+ + e- = 1/8 H2S + 1/2 H2O +5.08
1/8 CO2 + H+ + e- = 1/8 CH4 + 1/4 H2O +2.87
Table 2. Redox half-reactions linked to organic carbon oxidation and their logK at 25°C. Free
energy data are from Stumm & Morgan (1996), in kJ/mol : e-- = 0 ; H+ = 0 ; H2O= -237.18 ;
CO2= -394.37 ; CH2O= -152.63 ; O2 = 0 ; NO3-= -111.3 ; N2= 0 ; NH4+= -79.37 ; IO3- = -128 ; I- = -
51.59 ; MnO2= -465.1 ; MnO(OH) = -557.7 ; Mn2+= -228 ; Fe(OH)3 = -699 ; FeO(OH) = -488.6 ;
Fe2+= -91.84 ; SO42- = -744.6 ; H2S= -27.87 ; CH4=-50.79. Example of logK calculation from the
first reaction: logK = -(ΔG°r)/RTln(10) = -0.20, with R = 8.314 J/mol/K, T = 298K, and ΔG°r
= 1/4(-152.63)+1/4(-237.18)-1/4(-394.37) = 1140 J/mol.
Fig. 2. (caption corrected): . Concentration vs. depth profile of dissolved and particulate
compounds involved during early diagenesis and porosity. Example of a sediment collected
in the Bay of Biscay at 550 m water depth. The zero depth corresponds to the
sediment/water interface (modified from Hyacinthe et al., 2001). DIP = dissolved inorganic
phosphorus/ Mn-oxides and reactive Fe(III)-oxides have been extracted from the solid
fraction with an ascorbate reagent (Anschutz et al., 2005). Dissolved species are in µM,
except sulphate in mM. Particulate oxides are in µmol/g.
et al., 1993). The observed thickness of the oxic layer depends directly on flux of labile
organic carbon in the surface sediment.
The peak of nitrate in the oxic layer is attributed to the succession of reactions that lead to
the bacterial nitrification of organic N (reaction 1, Tab. 3) or ammonia that diffuses from
below (reaction 7, Tab. 3). The consumption of nitrate below the oxic layer is due to the
bacterial denitrification (reaction 2, Tab. 3). NH4+ is produced from anaerobic mineralization
of organic-N (reactions 4, 5 and 6, Tab. 3). The production of dissolved Mn2+ and Fe2+ in
anaerobic sediments is attributed to the dissimilate reduction of manganese and iron oxides
by bacteria (reactions 3 and 4, Tab. 3). The peak of Mn-oxides can be attributed to detrital
Mn-oxides and authigenic Mn-oxides precipitate from the oxidation of dissolved Mn2+ that
diffuses from below (Sundby, 1977). The concentration of Mn-oxides decreases abruptly
below the oxic front, reaching values close to zero, which indicate that the Mn-oxides are
totally reduced. The distribution of Fe-oxides shows highest concentrations near the oxic
layer and decreases below. Amorphous manganese and iron oxide phases may be used as
terminal electron acceptors in bacterial oxidation of organic carbon or they may react with
reduced sulphur to form FeS.
The presence of particulate sulphur in continental margin sediments can be mostly
attributed to authigenic iron-sulphide minerals that precipitate during the degradation of
organic matter by sulphate-reduction (reaction 5, Tab. 3) (Berner, 1971; Jørgensen, 1982). The
first compound that generally forms is amorphous FeS. It is subsequently converted to more
crystalline pyrite (Berner, 1970; Schoonen and Barnes, 1991).
Within all possible reactions, recent studies attach more and more importance to metal
oxides, particularly for their role in the benthic cycle of nitrogen (Luther et al., 1997; Aller et
al., 1998; Anschutz et al., 2000). It has been pointed out by several authors that the reduction
of Mn-oxide by diffusing ammonia could be an important process of dinitrogen production
(e.g. Hulth et al., 1999; Anschutz et al., 2000). This pathway could interfere with
dissimilatory Mn-reduction. Dissolved Mn(II) can be oxidized by nitrate (Aller, 1990; Schulz
et al., 1994; Murray et al., 1995; Luther et al., 1997) or by iodate (Anschutz et al., 2000).
Anaerobic nitrate production has been observed in several marine sediments (Aller et al.,
1998; Anschutz et al., 1998; Mortimer et al., 2002 ; Deflandre et al., 2002; Chaillou et al.,
2007). This process is due to oxidation of ammonia by Mn(III)-oxides. Iron oxide presents a
wide speciation variety. The most labile fraction serves as oxidant for reduced compounds
like dissolved ones (Canfield et al., 1992). All these alternatives or secondary reactions are
thermodynamically favourable.
2.3 Interactions between benthic organisms and the sediment

In broad definition, bioturbation is the whole spectrum of physical, chemical and biological
modifications of soils and sediments induced by the biological activities of all kind of living
organisms (fauna, microbes, plants roots). In its strict sense, as it was employed in the first
studies of bioturbation in marine sediments (Gray, 1974; Rhoads, 1974; Self and Jumars,
1978; Aller, 1977, 1980, 1982), it represents the sediment reworking and particularly the
particles dispersal induced by the activities of burrowing animals. The bioturbation
counterpart for solutes is called bio-irrigation, which designates the enhancement of solute
transport in sediments by animal activities as gallery flushing. Even if Darwin had already
shown the importance of worms activities in soils formation and functioning (Darwin, 1881),
the primordial role of bioturbation and bio-irrigation in biogeochemical functioning of
aquatic sediments was recently put forward in 1970’.
Bioturbation is now considered as a major process which drives diagenetic reactions,

benthic landforms formation and biogeochemical cycles at the global scale although local
effects and the scale of the living organisms (Meysman et al., 2006 a).
Tracer concentrations
0 1 0 1 0 1
0 0 0
2 2 2
4 4 4
Depth (cm)
6 6 6
8 8 8
10 10 10
12 12 12
Th-234
14 Pb-210 14 14
16 16 16
D b = 0.1 cm².yr-1 Db = 1 cm².yr-1 Db = 10 cm².yr-1
Fig. 3. Short-lived (Th-234) and long-lived (Pb-230) tracers profiles under various
bioturbation intensities. These profiles are obtained in applying the biodiffusion model with
a sedimentation rate of 0.1 cm.yr-1.
In a general way, biological mechanisms of sediment reworking results from the activities of
feeding, protection and reproduction of benthic animals. They burrow, excavate sediment
and they dig galleries which communicate with overlying water. They often produce
biogenic structures as mucus secretion and faecal pellets deposits resulting from ingestion-
egestion of particles. They also ventilate their galleries to renew water. As consequences:
i. bioturbation generates biological transport of particles between different reactive zones
in sediment on distances varying in the range from the millimetre to the metre (a
classical average depth of bioturbation is about 10 cm, Boudreau, 2004);
ii. as a result of (i), bioturbation generates transport of micro-organisms associated with
sediments between different reactive zones, modifies the bio-accessibility of nutrients
and organic compounds and stimulates competition between bacterial groups by
selective grazing (Aller, 1982; Stief and De Beer, 2002; Mermillod Blondin et al., 2003;
Thullner et al., 2005);
iii. it modifies the sediment composition, e.g. in enriching the faecal pellets with organic
matter as a result of the selective feeding (Brinkhurst et al., 1972; Davis, 1974);
iv. it increases exchange surface with water column and modifies sediment physical
properties as porosity, permeability, compaction and stability (Rhoads, 1974; McCall
and Fisher, 1980; Meadow and Tait, 1989; Sandness et al., 2000; DeDekere et al., 2001;
Ciutat et al., 2006; Rasmussen et al., 1998). As they often actively irrigate their galleries
by flushing, they enhance the exchange of solutes and particles between the
sedimentary compartment and the free overlying water (Ciarelli et al., 1999, Meysman
et al., 2006 b).
Depth sequence of bacterially-mediated oxidation of organic matter (Froelich et al., 1979; De

Lange, 1986)
(O.M. = C106 H263 O110 N16 P)
Oxygen consumption by oxic respiration and nitrate production
138 O2 +O.M. + 18HCO3- → 124CO2 + 16NO3- + HPO42- + 140H2O (1)
Nitrate consumption by denitrification
94.4NO3- + O.M. → 13.6CO2 + 92.4HCO3- + 55.2N2 + 84.8H2O + HPO42- (2)
Reduction of Mn-oxides by anaerobic respiration
236MnO2 + O.M. + 364CO2 + 104H2O → 470HCO3- + 8N2 + 236Mn2+ + HPO42- (3)
Reduction of Fe-oxides and production of ammonia
424FeOOH+ O.M. + 740CO2 + 104H2O → 846HCO3- + 424Fe2+ + 16NH3 + HPO42- (4)
Production of sulphide and ammonia by sulphatoreduction
53SO42- +O.M. → 39CO2 + 67HCO3- + 16NH4+ + 53HS- + 39H2O + HPO42- (5)
Production of methane and ammonia by methanogenesis
O.M. → 53CO2 + 53CH4 +16NH4++ HPO42- (6)
Production of nitrate by nitrification
NH4+ + 2O2 → NO3- + 2H+ + H2O (7)
Oxidation of Mn2+ with oxygen
2Mn2+ + O2 + 2H2O → 2MnO2 +4H+
4Mn2+ + O2+ 6H2O → 4MnOOH + 8H+ (8)
Oxidation of Mn2+ with nitrate
5Mn2+ + 2NO3- + 4H2O → 5MnO2 + N2 + 8H+
10Mn2+ + 2NO3- + 14H2O → 10MnOOH + N2 + 18H+ (9)
Oxidation of Fe2+ with nitrate
5Fe2+ + NO3- + 12H2O → 5Fe(OH)3 + 1/2N2 + 9H+ (10)
Oxidation of Fe2+ with Mn-oxides
Fe2+ + MnOOH + H2O → Fe(OH)3 + Mn2+
2Fe2+ + MnO2 + 4H2O → 2Fe(OH)3 + Mn2+ + 2H+ (11)
Reduction of Mn-oxide with ammonia to give dinitrogen
3/2 MnO2 + NH4+ + 2 H+ → 3/2 Mn2+ + 1/2 N2 + 3H2O
3 MnOOH + NH4+ + 5 H+ → 3Mn2+ + 1/2 N2 + 6 H2O (12)
Reduction of Mn-oxide with ammonia, production of nitrate
8MnOOH + NH4+ + 14H+ → 8Mn2+ + NO3- + 13H2O
4MnO2 + NH4+ + 6H+ → 4Mn2+ + NO3- + 5H2O (13)
Other reactions: Precipitation and dissolution of FeS, CaCO3 and MnCO3
Table 3. List of reactions considered in this work
The biogeochemical effects of bioturbation and bio-irrigation are multiples and often
opposite: as an example, metallic contaminants tend to accumulate in sediment under the
effect of particles reworking and ingestion whereas they are released to overlying water by
the bio-irrigation activities (Banta and Anderson, 2003; Delmotte et al., 2007).
These effects also depend on: (i) the physico-chemical environmental conditions (pH,
oxygen, sediment composition, grain size, temperature…) although they modify them; (ii)
the type of benthic species present that generates different reworking and exchange effects.
The complex interplays between bioturbation and physico-chemical processes make the
multiplicity of effects on biogeochemical functioning not straightforward to study.
Quantification of sediment mixing is classically done using particle-tracers methods. They

are based on the measurement of the vertical distribution of particle tracers within the
sediment column. The underlying principle is that tracers initially deposited at the water-
sediment interface, or placed at some horizon within the sediment column (Gilbert et al.
2003b), are displaced due to action of benthic fauna. The establishment of vertical profiles of
tracers concentration using different methods (sediment cores slicing, image analysis)
allows to monitor the tracers displacements. Sediment reworking coefficients are then
computed using mathematical models that are fitted to the vertical tracer profile. (Goldberg
and Koide, 1962; Guinasso and Schink, 1975; Aller, 1982; Boudreau 1986a ; Boudreau 1986b ;
Wheatcroft et al. 1990 ; Gerino, 1990; Delmotte et al., 2007 ; Meysman et al. 2007). Vertical
mixing was traditionally evaluated using particle-reactive radionuclide such as Pb-210 and
Cs-137 in quantifying long-term (years to decade) and short-term mixing (week to month)
(Robbins et al., 1977, Rice, 1986, Maire et al., 2008). More recently, conservative fluorescent
particles were used to monitor the biological-induced displacements of sediment particles
(Gerino, 1990; Ciutat et al., 2005). Other tracers have also been used such as pollen or
Chlorophyll-a (Gerino et al., 1998; Maire et al. 2008). Some tracers are naturally deposited
with a constant flux or a pulse (radionuclide, Chlorophyll-a) at the sediment-water interface
whereas others are deposited by experimenters.
In the face of complexity and diversity of biological mixing processes, it is often assumed
that when a sufficient number and variety of small-scale mixing events occur within a
sediment interval they can be treated as random particle eddies and quantified in a mixing
coefficient analogous to the physical eddy diffusion coefficient in a fluid. If we consider
vertical mixing over a depth layer of thickness L, the governing tracer equation becomes:
∂C ∂ 2C ∂C
= Db 2 − ω − λC
∂t ∂x ∂x
where x represents the depth into the sediment, C is the concentration or activity of the
selected tracer, Db is the bio diffusion coefficient, ω the burial velocity, and λ the decay
constant of the tracer (λ=0 with a conservative tracer). Suitable solutions of this equation are
fitted to tracer depth profiles, and from this, an optimal estimate for the bio diffusion
coefficient Db is obtained.
A major inconsistency in this analogy is that the path length of particle motion is often both
specific in orientation and large in size scale with respect to chemical or physical property
gradients in the sediment. For instance, sediment particles from depth may be placed
directly at the oxidized sediment-water interface without mixing with material in between.
Moreover, there is an inaccuracy in the time length of sediment reworking. Meysman et al.
(2003) concluded that the bio diffusion analogy can be theoretically justified when the
intrinsic time and length scales of sediment reworking are much smaller than their
observational counterparts. These authors concluded that in many cases, the application of
the bio diffusion model is questionable from a theoretical point of view. Still, in practice,
tracer profiles often look diffusive and the bio diffusion analogy is widely employed to
analyze these profiles. Meysman et al. (2003) refer to this apparently contradictory situation
as the ‘bio diffusion paradox’.
Despite such conceptual inaccuracies, some insight into the consequences of reworking as
compared to simple sedimentation can be gained from the analogy. The cases of a short-
lived tracer (Th-234, t1/2=24.1 days) and a long-lived tracer (Pb-210 t1/2=22.3 years) under
various bio diffusion intensities are illustrated in Fig 3. Steady-state profiles are represented.
Regarding the model coefficients, we retained values in the range of the reported ones in
literature. Values of Db varies from 0.01 to 30 cm².yr-1 for marine environments (Aller, 1982),
with values often in the order of 1 to 10 cm².yr-1. Values for freshwater environments vary in
the same range (Delmotte, 2007). Sedimentation rates can be lower than 0.1 cm.yr-1 in marine
environments and greater than 10 cm.yr-1 in freshwater environments: a value of 0.1 cm.yr-1
is retained.
With a small value of Db (0.1 cm².yr-1), the short-lived tracer profile shows a high decrease in
the first millimetres whereas the tracer reaches a depth of 5 cm with a value 100 times
greater. The long-lived tracer reaches 8 cm with the smaller bio diffusion value; its profile
tends to homogenize on the first 10 cm with a high value of bio diffusion. These simulations
show the importance of bioturbation in term of sediment mixing and displacement of
reactive particles. They can be used to estimate the fate of diverse herbicides (labile or
persistent) in bioturbated sediments.
Note that more complex models of bioturbation were developed to account for the transport
of particles on long distances and simulate the effects of specific modes of bioturbation (e.g.
Boudreau, 1986b; Wheatcroft, 1990; Delmotte et al., 2007, 2008).
Measurements of bio irrigation are based on tracer-methods too. Reactive or conservative
tracers are often injected in the overlying water, and both the concentrations of the tracer in
this compartment and in the sediments are monitored to be modelled. Application of solute
transport models gives coefficients that reflect the intensity of bio irrigation. The simplest
model consists in using the diffusion model with an enhancement factor of the molecular
diffusion of the tracer. For instance, Wang and Matisoff (1997) reported a diffusion
enhancement factor in the range from 2 to 5 by freshwater tubificids, which is a classical
range of value for many irrigating organisms. Freshwater tubificids generate a water
exchange of 25 L.m-2.d-1 (Woods, 1975), which is important but not massively compared to
Nereis diversicolor (Muller, 1776) which may induce 1500 L.m-2.d-1 (Kristensen and Kostka,
2005) or Chironomus riparius (Meigen, 1804) with 80-800 1500 L.m-2.d-1 (Leuch, 1986). Bio
irrigation greatly enhances the flux of dissolved components at the water-sediment interface
and their depth of penetration: as for bioturbation, this process seems primordial in the
cycles of herbicides.
In order to understand the role of fauna activities in the degradation and storage of
herbicides in sediment, the proper model would be a priori the early diagenesis of organic
matter. Aller (1982) early proposed a conceptual model about the role of bioturbation and
bio-irrigation on early diagenesis of organic matter (an adaptation is presented in Fig 4).
This model fits well with the observed results of numerous studies.
Starting from the classical idealization of primary reactions of organic matter degradation,
two major effects of benthos activities can be distinguished: (i) the geometry of solute
diffusion is altered by the presence of burrows and the irrigation of the galleries. As a
consequence, solute reactants and especially oxygen and nitrates are transported deeper in
the sediments and an horizontal gradient of metabolic successions takes place in the walls of
the galleries; (ii) burrow and faecal pellet formation alters reaction and solute diffusion
geometries, creating a mosaic of biogeochemical microenvironments rather than a vertically
stratified distribution. Moreover, it has been shown that ventilation of galleries creates a
dynamic succession of aerobic and anaerobic conditions in the interstitial water (Aller, 1994,
Sun et al., 2002; Gilbert et al, 2003a): in a first step, worms bring oxygen in their galleries by
flushing with water from the overlying water column; in a second step, this oxygen is
consumed by micro-organisms (aerobic oxidation) creating an oxygen depletion and an
Gallery
irrigation
Aerobic oxydation
Nitrate reduction
Manganese reduction
Iron reduction
Sulphate reduction
Methanogenesis
Transport
Idealized mineralization
From Aller, 1982
succession (Froelich,
1979)
Fig. 4. Conceptual view of the effects of bioturbation and bio-irrigation on early diagenesis
of organic matter.
enrichment of water with nitrates; in a third step, nitrates are consumed by micro-organisms
in anaerobic conditions (denitrification); then, worms renew water bringing again oxygen.
This redox oscillation in galleries enhances the organic matter mineralization by a factor 7.
Bioturbation and bio-irrigation deeply modify the biogeochemical functioning of sediments
and hence the global geochemical cycles. As far as we know, the effects of bioturbation on
herbicides geochemistry in sediments were not specifically addressed. Taking into account
the living organisms bioturbating effects, on in-situ fate of this kind of contaminants,
represents a challenge for the future studies and surely improves our comprehension of
geochemical mechanisms of herbicides biodegradation. Numerical modelling of diagenesis
of organic matter including the effects of bioturbation and bio irrigation really started in
1995 with a study of Van Cappellen and Wang. Since this paper, numerous models were
presented (Boudreau, 1996; Soetaert et al., 1996; Meysman, 2001; Wijsman et al., 2002;
Canavan et al., 2006; Delmotte, 2007). Such models allow exploring the influence of
particular and solute transport on the numerous reactive processes, using bioturbation and
bio irrigation coefficients obtained with tracer-methods. This represents a promising way to
understand the fate of herbicides in bioturbated sediments.
2.4 Conclusion
The first decimetre of sediment below the sediment/water interface is an ordered and
dynamic ecosystem. Benthic biogeochemical mechanisms are linked to the mineralisation of
organic matter exported toward the sediment. Reactions and macro benthic activity
determine the sedimentary cycle of carbon, redox species and all reactive components,
including contaminants. All these phenomenon are related and depends on environmental
properties, which vary in space and time. Therefore, studies on early diagenesis must take
into account the complexity of the sedimentary environment and they need a
multidisciplinary approach.
Fig. 5. Examples of two types of dehalorespiration: A. hydrogenolysis of tetrachlorethylene

to trichloroethylene; B. dihaloelimination of 1,2-dichloroethane to ethene.
3. Microbiological degradation in sediment condition

Herbicide degradation pathways are as various as herbicides are numerous and their
chemical structure different.
Many of them, however frequently contain chlorine or bromine groups. Typical examples
are synthesized plant hormone (2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, 2,3,6-trichlorobenzoic
acid…), pentachlorophenol, triazines, chloroacetanilides, hydroxy-benzonitriles, some
substituted ureas (chlortoluron…) and sulfonylureas (chlorsulfuron…), diphenyl-ethers
(bromofénoxime, diclofop-methyl) and pyridylphenylethers (clodinafop-propargyl)
(Häggblom and Bossert, 2003; BCPC, 2007). Microorganisms have evolved a variety of
metabolic strategies for cleaving the carbon halogen bond, including reductive
dechlorination (Dolfing and Tiedje, 1986; Mohn and Tiedje, 1992). Reductive dechlorination
is considered the predominant process in the anaerobic transformation of halogenated
compounds. Although it is also a strategy used by aerobic microorganisms, reductive
dehalogenation is almost exclusively observed in anaerobic environments where both
aliphatic and aromatic organohalides can function as terminal electron acceptors in an
anaerobic respiration process termed (de)halorespiration (Dolfing 1990; Maphosa et al.
2010). Two types of dehalorespiration can be distinguished: hydrogenolysis and
dihaloelimination (Fig. 5). Both require molecular hydrogen or some other source of
reducing equivalents, and both are highly exergonic. Values for the ΔGo' of reductive
dechlorination (hydrogenolysis) of halogenated compounds range from -130 to -180 kJ.mol-1
of halogen removed (Dolfing, 2003), corresponding to redox potentials (E'o) of +260 to +480
mV. This is comparable to the value for the redox couple NO3-/NO2- (E'o = +433 mV), and
substantially higher than the values for sulphate (SO42-/HS-; E'o = -217 mV) and bicarbonate
(HCO3-/CH4; E'o = -238 mV) (Dolfing et al. 2008), which suggests that dehalogenating
organisms will outcompete sulphate reducers and methanogens for reducing equivalents
when these are rate limiting. Thus there are no thermodynamic reasons why halogenated
pesticides and other organohalides should not be biodegradable in the sulphate reducing
and methanogenic layers of anaerobic sediments. There may well be ecophysiological
reasons though. One of them could be that microorganisms simply not yet have had enough
time to evolve the appropriate enzyme systems to catalyze and benefit from the
dechlorination of halogenated pesticides. Although halogenated compounds per se are not
necessarily xenobiotic, many chlorinated pesticides are. Chlorinated compounds tend to be
fairly hydrophobic, and usually adsorb strongly to the sediment matrix. Thus the impetus
for microbes to develop mechanisms to harness the energy locked up in these compounds is
weak. Under those conditions fortuitous, co-metabolic conversion may well be the most
prevalent route (van Eekert et al. 1999). Methanogenic archaea, which obtain energy for
growth by converting hydrogen and acetate into methane, are for example able to degrade
many organochlorines including pesticides (e.g. Jablonski & Ferry, 1992; Jablonski et al.
1996), because some of the co-factors involved in methane formation can fortuitously
dechlorinate them. The methanogens have however no mechanism to harness the energy of
the latter reaction. Co-metabolic transformation of halogenated compounds is typically
much slower than (de)halorespiration (Löffler et al. 1999).
The ΔGo' values quoted above are for standard conditions: pH = 7, 25oC, concentrations of
substrates and products at 1 mol per litre, and gases at a partial pressure of 1 atm (100 000
Pa). Environmental conditions are generally different from that. This is considered in ΔG
values. The rule of thumb for the conversion from ΔGo' to ΔG values in reductive
dechlorination reactions is that every 10-fold change in concentration results in an
adjustment of 5.7 kJ/reaction. Thus, for example, a 100 fold lower product concentration
(e.g. [Cl-] is 10 mM rather than 1 M) results in a 11.4 kJ lower (“more exergonic”) ΔG value,
while a pH of 6 rather than 7 results in a 5.7 higher (“less exergonic”) ΔG value. Molecular
hydrogen levels in methanogenic sediments are generally in the range of 10 to 100 Pa; this
results in adjustments of ~ 17-23 kJ per reaction. It seems reasonable to assume equimolar
concentrations of chlorinated pesticides (e.g. hexachlorobenzene) and their less halogenated
dechlorination product (e.g. pentachlorobenzene), but even if the concentration of the
product would be 1000 fold higher than the concentration of the substrate the adjustment
would still be only 17 kJ.mol-1. Given the fact that for example ΔGo' for the reaction
hexachlorobenzene + H2 → pentachlorobenzene + H+ + Cl- is -171.4 kJ per reaction (Dolfing
and Harrison 1992) such adjustments are relatively minor, and it is safe to conclude that
reductive dechlorination would remain exergonic under environmentally relevant
conditions. Microorganisms in anoxic methanogenic sediments function at ΔG values of -10
to -20 kJ per reaction (Hoehler et al 2001).
Whereas microbiologists traditionally evaluate the thermodynamics of environmentally
relevant reactions in terms of ∆Go’ values, that is at pH = 7, chemists generally express redox
half-reactions in terms of logK values (e.g. Table 2) at pH =0. Following the latter convention
Table 5 lists the logK values of all reductive dechlorination reactions involved in the
sequential dechlorination pathways of hexachlorobenzene to benzene. The logK values,
which range between 8.7 and 11.5, decrease with the number of chlorine atoms carried by
the benzene ring, meaning that dechlorination becomes (slightly) less favourable when the
number of chlorine substituents decreases. Dehalococcoides sp. strain CBDB1 is an example of
an organism that can grow with chlorinated benzenes as electron acceptor (Adrian et al.
2000; Lorah and Olsen, 1999). Presently the only chlorinated benzene congener that appears
to resist being dehalorespired is monochlorobenzene. There is however no thermodynamic
reason why microorganisms should not be able to grow with this compound as electron
acceptor: the hunt is on (Fung et al. 2009).
Dichloroelimination is a special case of reductive dechlorination, where two chloral
substituents are removed from adjacent carbon atoms, while the aliphatic C-C bond is
converted into an unsaturated C=C bond (Fig. 5, Dolfing, 2000). This reaction is of
particular environmental relevance: the first step in the degradation of the organochlorine
lindane (γ- hexachlorocyclohexane) is a dihaloelimination to γ-3,4,5,6-tetrachloro-1-
cyclohexene (Heritage and Mac Rae 1997; Lal et al. 2010). Also, Lorah and Olsen (1999)
have observed that in a freshwater tidal wetland degradation of 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane
involved formation of 1,2-dichloroethylene rather than only classical reductive
½ hexachlorobenzene + ½ H+ + e- = ½ pentachlorobenzene + ½ Cl- 11.53

½ pentachlorobenzene + ½ H+ + e- = ½ 1,2,3,4-tetrachlorobenzene + ½ Cl- 10.63
= ½ 1,2,3,5-tetrachlorobenzene + ½ Cl- 11.21
= ½ 1,2,4,5-tetrachlorobenzene + ½ Cl- 10.83
½ 1,2,3,4-tetrachlorobenzene + ½ H+ + e- = ½ 1,2,3-trichlorobenzene + ½ Cl- 10.11
= ½ 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene + ½ Cl- 11.10
½ 1,2,3-trichlorobenzene + ½ H+ + e- = ½ 1,2-dichlorobenzene + ½ Cl- 10.41
= ½ 1,3-dichlorobenzene + ½ Cl- 10.64
½ 1,2-dichlorobenzene + ½ H+ + e- = ½ monochlorobenzene + ½ Cl- 9.94
½ monochlorobenzene + ½ H+ + e- = ½ benzene + ½ Cl- 8.75
Table 5. Redox half-reactions for reductive dechlorination of hexachlorobenzene to benzene
and their logK at 25oC. Free energy (Gfo) data are from Dolfing and Harrison (1992) and
Stumm and Morgan (1996), in kJmol-1: hexachlorobenzene = 46.0 ; pentachlorobenzene =
45.7 ; 1,2,3,4-tetrachlorobenzene = 55.8 ; 1,2,3,5-tetrachlorobenzene = 49.2; 1,2,4,5-
tetrachlorobenzene = 53.5; 1,2,3-trichlorobenzene = 71.7 ; 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene = 60.5 ;
1,3,5-trichlorobenzene = 56.8 ; 1,2-dichlorobenzene = 84.3 ; 1,3-dichlorobenzene = 81.8; 1,4-
dichlorobenzene = 78.3 ; monochlorobenzene = 102.3 ; benzene = 133.8 ; Cl- = -131.3 ; logK
= -(∆Gor)/RTln(10). For sample calculation see footnote to Table 2.
dechlorination to lesser chlorinated ethanes. This is unfortunate as subsequent anaerobic
degradation of dichloroethylene will give rise to the formation of vinyl chloride, a notorious
carcinogen. The energy yield per mole of reducing equivalents used for dihaloeliminations
is higher than the yield for the corresponding classical hydrogenolysis reactions (Dolfing,
2000) which suggests that where possible this pathway is especially important under
conditions where competition for reducing equivalents is fierce.
A prime example of anaerobic in situ degradation of a pesticide in anaerobic sediments has
been reported for Lake Ketelmeer in the Netherlands (Beurskens et al. 1993). This lake acts
as a sedimentation area for the suspended solids from the river Rhine. Comparison of recent
and archived core layers revealed a 80% loss of hexachlorobenzene and increases in 1,3,5-
trichlorobenzene and 1,3-dichlorobenzene during the 20 years of “in situ” incubation.
Laboratory incubations with these sediments demonstrated that the native microbial
population was catalyzing this reaction and that the organisms involved selectively
mediated the thermodynamic most favourable reactions (Beurskens et al. 1994). Indeed,
thermodynamics has been used successfully to rationalize dechlorination and
dechlorination patterns of organohalogens, but this approach does not always work
(Dolfing, 2003). Thus there is a need for more than “just” thermodynamics to explain and
predict the dechlorination (patterns) or the lack thereof in Nature. With some unfortunate
exceptions pesticides concentrations in the environment are relatively low. Hence it seems
plausible that Nature needs time to respond to the challenge to use these compounds
efficiently, which is as energy source. Meanwhile co-metabolism may well be the route that
nature uses to cleanse itself slowly but steadily. Even for the relative success story of
hexachlorobenzene degradation in Rhine sediments its estimated half life was seven years
(Beurskens et al. 1993).
4. In situ observations of consortia biodegradation efficiency

Euphemistically, margin growth for herbicides in situ biodegradation knowledge remains
important. Bromoxynil, dicamba, 2-4D and atrazine are the only herbicides whose
degradation has been substantially studied in vitro, and data illustrate the pertinence of
electron-acceptor consortium segregation approach.
Bromoxynil is aerobically degraded into 3,5-dibromo-4-hydroxybenzonitrile. Knight et al.
(2003) estimated the microbial degradation under denitrifying, Fe(III)-reducing, sulfidogenic
while 140 days are not enough to observe a significant degradation under denitrifying
conditions, bromoxynil is degraded much faster (40d) under more reduced conditions.
Dicamba anaerobic metabolisation produces 3,6-dichlorosalicylate that is in turn
transformed under methanogenic conditions by O-demethylation in 6-chlorosalycilate.
Unfortunately, those dicamba metabolites accumulate and, as for bromoxynil, their
degradation seems to be drastically less under denitrifying conditions. However, in
sediment, 3- and 5-chlorosalycilate are degraded under denitrifying conditions, revealing
that the position of the chlorine substituent is key for chlorosalicylates degradation in anoxic
environments (Milligan & Häggblom, 2001). In sediment, methanogenic consortia are able to
degrade all the halogenated dicamba metabolites, but under sulphate- and Fe(III)- reducing
conditions micro-organisms are not able to do so, except for the final dechlorined metabolite
(salycilate). Milligan and Häggblom (2001) highlight that sediment ability is due to specific
consortia: the same experiment on agricultural soil did not show any dehalogenation.
Not all sediment floras are the same, though. For atrazine for example, Crawford et al.
(1998) use the presence of indigenous organisms capable of anaerobic atrazine
biodegradation as explanation for the observation that inoculation of a denitrifying
bacterium cleaving the triazine ring enhance the anaerobic mineralization of atrazine
compared to a non inoculated sediment. However, Devault et al. (2009, 2010), comparing in
situ early diagenesis and herbicide vertical profile did not find any evidence of atrazine
degradation under the considered environmental conditions.
Briefly, notwithstanding consortia abilities, biodegradation is theoretically proportional to
energy yield. However, as explained above, microbial degradation of persistent pesticides
tends to increase with decreasing redox potential when dehalogenation processes involving
anaerobic enzymes are involved: thus biotransformation of organohalide contaminants in
situ will vary as a function of the redox conditions within the electron acceptor profile
(Häggblom et al., 2003b; Kuhn et al., 1990; Colberg, 1991).
Biodegradation efficiency depends on:

- Presence of organic carbon. Enrichment of sediment induces an early diagenesis
increase (Crawford et al., 1998, Walker et al., 2001).
- Local flora. Consequently, each sediment consortia should be characterised to estimate
the degradation efficiency. Inoculating is an alternative to give ability to the local biota
(Goux et al., 2000).
- The enzymatic set of each electron-acceptor segregated consortia. By the way, some
consortia could be the less effective for a chemical family and being the most effective
for another.
- Molecule characteristics as conformation influences the degradation efficiency (Milligan
& Häggblom, 2001).
Even if early diagenesis is underestimated process, in situ relating metabolisation could lead
to a metabolic deadlock and metabolite accumulation (harmlessness to proven). Moreover,
degradation by consortia involved in early diagenesis could be effective for molecules
considered as non-degradable as 6-chlorosalycilate –but metabolic pathways are mostly
unknown due the lack of early diagenesis consideration.
-pH and redox modification that could modify the sorption of molecules: even if chemicals
are not degraded, their sorption could be modified directly (Morillo et al., 1997, for
glyphosate and Hermosin & Cornejo, 1993, for 2-4D) or indirectly –due to desorption of
desorbing promoters like Fe(II) (Klupinski & Chin, 2003) or Cu(II) for glyphosate (Morillo et
al., 1997). Desorption could facilitate biodegradation too (Walker et al., 2001) and, therefore
has a major effect on herbicide fate (Daniels et al, 2000).
In the field, early diagenesis is influenced by electron acceptor abundance. Nitrogen fertilisers
are widely used in the same agricultural areas where herbicides are spread. Denitrifying
activity is so reported as a major anaerobic condition in fresh water sediments (Camargo &
Alonso, 2006), which may be beneficial for atrazine removal (Crawford et al. 1998). Inversely,
since sulphate reducers competitively scavenge reducing equivalents, reductive
dehalogenation is often inhibited in the presence of sulphate; as this has been observed in
practice in methanogenic systems (Townsend et al., 1997; Kuhn, 1990). However, microbial
degradation process of organohalogens under sulphate-reduction conditions has also been
reported, as for example in the case of 2-4 dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4 D) (Boyle et al.,
1999). Such occurrences depend on the autochthonous microbial populations, and the degree
to which these populations leave space and opportunities for incoming foreign microbes to
handle contaminants (Goux et al., 2000). Inversely, herbicide presence could inhibit flora as
reported by Isolda & Hayasaka (1991) for simazine or Crawford et al., (1998) for atrazine.
However, those observations could be propitious for a feed-back effect (Laursen & Carlton,
1999): herbicide presence could inhibit consortia activities.
The previous observations however should not give rise to premature optimism. For
instance, early diagenesis consortia had no observable effect on herbicide degradation in the
sediments of an intensive agricultural area where s-triazines, substituted ureas and
chloroacetanilides where widely spread (Devault et al., 2009). Considering sedimentation
and erosion events, coring needs an optimal knowledge on the sampling place. Interpolating
half-life of herbicides in soils and herbicide profiles could inform on the degradation length
but important sedimentation rate induces a rapid evolution of lain matters from aerobic
condition to methanogenesis ones. By the way, if degradation is not obvious, it inform about
the longer remanence of studied herbicides in sediment than in soils. Moreover, it illustrates
the threat of enhanced erosion: under the methanogenic condition reigns abiotic degradation
and desorption (Arildskov et al., 2001). If degradation is observed in the lab for some
consortia, field studies are still too scarce to ensure representativeness and the kinetics of in-
situ degradation remains to establish.
5. Perspectives
Scientific literature about the in situ biodegradation of herbicides in sediments is still limited
but the increase of their release in the environment should highlight sediment as
biodegrading matrix. Coring in order to extrapolate the ancient fluxes, as it was used for the
nowadays banned persistent organic pollutants (POPs), is becoming obsolete considering
the emergence of new molecules with short half-life, especially herbicides. Instead of being
considered as an inert matrix of POPs settling and archiving, sediment role into
biodegradation of emergent pollutants should be increasingly taken into account. Herbicide
degradation in sediment with depth could be considered as a screening of metabolisation
efficiency of segregated consortia. Generalisation of interpretation of vertical profile or in-
lab metabolisation testing could allow to find consortia able to degrade herbicides and to
use them as inocula for the bioremediation of contaminated areas or to determine the fate of
chemicals in lake, lentic and marine area, where contaminated sediment management
becomes of increasing concern.
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Part 5
Toxicological Aspects
23
Risk Estimate of Water Contamination and

Occurrence of Pesticides in the South of Brazil
Sergiane Souza Caldas1, Renato Zanella2 and Ednei Gilberto Primel1
1Federal University of Rio Grande (FURG)
2Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM)
Brazil
1. Introduction
Worldwide pesticide usage has increased dramatically during the last two decades,
coinciding with changes in farming practices and the increasingly intensive agriculture
(Konstantinou et al., 2006). Developing countries represent approximately 30% of the global
pesticide consumer market. Within this group, Brazil is the most important individual
market, with an estimated 6.5 billion dollars per year spent on pesticides, making the
country the second largest consumer of pesticides in the world (Peres et al., 2006). Rio
Grande do Sul State, located in the south of Brazil, is responsible for 10.4% of pesticide
consumption in Brazil (SINDAG, 2006).
The higher the agricultural productivity, the more contamination with pesticides. Pesticides
are a group of artificially synthesized substances which have been used in agriculture to
control pests and to increase production. These substances protect the agricultural crops, but
overuse and incorrect use can pose risks to human health and the environment (Caldas et
al., 2009). The impact of pesticide uses on human health is especially evident in developing
countries, where pesticides are widely used in agriculture. According to the 2005 annual
report of the Brazilian Toxico-pharmacological Information System (Sinitox), 8,000
notifications of cases of human pesticide poisoning had been received annually. The
Brazilian Ministry of Health estimates that for each reported case there are at least 50 non-
reported ones, it increases the annual pesticide poisoning rates to 400,000 cases per year,
with 2,000 deaths (Peres et al., 2006). This human contamination can occur in different ways,
and one of them is through contaminated waters.
Brazil has approximately 10% of the world’s fresh water, with an annual average river flow
of 182,600 m3 s–1. When all areas of the Amazon region are considered, including the
territory in neighboring countries, the outflow is around 272,000 m3 s–1. Although Brazil is
considered rich in water due to its extensive landmass, there is a high disparity in
distribution of this resource among its regions. Moreover, the rapid process of urban
development and increases in agricultural productivity in the last few decades have been
affecting the quality and availability of water (Marques et al., 2007).
The surface water is considered the water stored or flowing on the earth’s surface: natural
bodies of water such as rivers, lakes, and wetlands, as well as constructed (artificial) water
reservoirs such as canals, man-made lakes, and drainage ditches. The quantity and quality
of surface water is important for many activities: consumption, recreation, transportation,

waste assimilation, agricultural production, and industrial use (Whitford et al., 2010).
Groundwater, in the broadest sense, refers to all subsurface water which is also important
for many activities, and represents an important source of drinking water supply in many
countries.
Pesticide residues reach the aquatic environment through direct run-off, leaching, careless
disposal of empty containers, equipment washing, etc; and the water contamination
depends on the physico-chemical characteristics of the compound and the interaction of the
pesticides with soil, surface water and groundwater.
Moreover, the pesticide fate is controlled by numerous simultaneous biological, physical,
and chemical reactions (Whitford et al., 2010). When a pesticide is applied to a field, certain
reactions follow. Foliar-applied pesticides stick to leaves, where they are absorbed. But
rainfall inevitably washes some of the chemical off the leaf surface onto the soil below; and
some may be transformed by sunlight. For instance, pesticides that are tightly sorbed to soil
particles have decreased mobility and are less likely to contaminate groundwater. Pesticides
strongly sorbed to soil particles may travel primarily with eroded soil and enter surface
water, while weakly sorbed pesticides that are more water soluble may be released into soil
water solution and enter surface water as runoff (Whitford et al., 2010). Chemicals, which
are sufficiently resistant to degradation and are adequately soluble to be transported in
water, may reach the water bodies in significant amounts (Konstantinou et al., 2006).
The surface and groundwater contamination by pesticides has been documented in many
papers around the world (Carabias-Martínez et al., 2002; Cerejeira et al., 2003; Hernández-
Romero et al., 2004; D’Archivio et al., 2007; Baugros et al., 2008; Barrek et al., 2009). In some
areas in Brazil, where pesticides are widely used, mainly due to agricultural activities, some
pesticides have been found. In Table 1, results from researches that analyzed sample waters
in Rio Grande do Sul (RS) State, in the south of Brazil, are shown in a summarized way. All
studies found most of the investigated compounds. Normally, the compounds analyzed are
used in rice and tobacco cultures. The herbicide clomazone was investigated in all studies
and found in all, showing the tendency of this compound to be present in water samples,
and the high use of this herbicide in the region. Only one study with pesticides
determination in groundwater was found; it emphasizes the need for more studies in this
compartment.
The amount of pesticide that will reach the environment compartments varies with
environmental changes, and the estimation is difficult. But, because of the lack of analytical
facilities and the high cost of analyses, one strategy to identify, from among the long list of
chemicals applied to the area, those pesticides which are likely to be present in surface and
groundwater is to focus in their physico-chemical properties, using some model
environmental partitioning indexes such as Groundwater Ubiquity Score (GUS), the
screening criteria recommended by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (US-EPA)
and GOSS (Cabrera et al., 2008).
2. Objective
The aim of this chapter is to present an evaluation of the contamination of surface, drinking
and groundwater by herbicides, insecticides and fungicides used in different crop cultures
in Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil.
Culture Pesticides found
Water sample Compounds Reference
related (maximum concentration found - µg L-1)
clomazone (1.72) Zanella et al.,
surface clomazone rice
2002
2,4-D (>2.0) bentazone (>2.0)
2,4-D, bentazone, clomazone,
surface rice clomazone (>2.0 ) propanil (>2.0) Primel et al., 2005
propanil, quinclorac
quinclorac (>2.0)
atrazine, clomazone,
atrazine (0.63) clomazone (1.72)
chlorpyrifos, flumetralin, Bortoluzzi et al.,
surface tobacco imidacloprid (2.18)
imidacloprid, iprodione, 2006
simazine
atrazine (ground – 0.69 - surface – 0.82)
atrazine, chlorpyrifos, clomazone(ground – 12.84 - surface – 15.69)
surface and Bortoluzzi et al.,
flumetralin, imidacloprid, tobacco chlorpyrifos (ground-0.14 – surface – 0.13)
groundwater 2007
iprodione, simazine, clomazone imidacloprid (ground –2.33 - surface – 2.59)
simazine (ground – 0.81)
clomazone, propanil, Marchesan et al.,
clomazone (8.85) propanil (12.9)
surface quinclorac rice 2007
quinclorac (6.6)
beta cyfluthrin, carbofuran, carbofuran (14.99) clomazone(6.51) Grützmacher et

surface rice
clomazone, fipronil, quinclorac fipronil (1.14) quinclorac (5.34) al., 2008
carbofuran 3-hydroxy, carbofuran 3-hydroxy (0.008)

carbofuran, clomazone, carbofuran (1.4) clomazone (0.064)
surface fipronil, imazapic, rice fipronil (3.45) imazapic (0.014) Silva et al., 2009
imazethapyr, penoxsulam, imazethapyr (0.33) Penoxsulam (0.15)
quinclorac, tebuconazole quinclorac (0.12) tebuconazole. (0.015)
Table 1. Studies that analyzed pesticides in sample waters in RS state after 2002
Risk Estimate of Water Contamination and Occurrence of Pesticides in the South of Brazil
2,4-D, bentazone, carbofuran, 2,4-D (3.4) bentazone (3.6)

clomazone, fipronil, carbofuran (0.8) clomazone (3.4) Marchesan et al.,
surface rice
imazethapyr, propanil, fipronil (26.2) imazethapyr (1.2) 2010
quinclorac propanil ( 5.4) quinclorac (4.1)
473
This region has special characteristics because of its agricultural production. Pesticides of
different classes are widely used and some of them, due to their physico-chemical
properties, can reach the water systems. Firstly, a theoretical evaluation was made using the
approaches suggested by US-EPA, the GUS index and the Goss method to estimate the
contamination possibilities. Afterwards, a monitoring program was established for the
surface and groundwater of the area to investigate the presence of pesticide residues.
3. Methods
3.1 Characterization of the physico-chemical properties
The knowledge of most relevant physico-chemical parameters is important to set up the
analytical scheme and to understand the environmental behavior of the compounds. It helps
in the selection of the analytes that can be present in the area under study, the sample
extraction and the technique for the analyses. A review about the physico-chemical
characteristics was carried out and all information was based on Barceló & Hennion (1997).
3.1.1 Water solubility

Water solubility is a fundamental, specific chemical property defined as the concentration of
a chemical dissolved in water when that water is both in contact and in equilibrium with the
pure chemical. Water solubility indicates the tendency for a pesticide to be removed from
soil by runoff or irrigation water and to reach the surface water. It also indicates its tendency
to precipitate on the surface soil.
3.1.2 Octanol-Water partition coefficient

This parameter is usually reported as a logarithm log Kow or log P. It is defined as the ratio
of the equilibrium concentrations of the two-phase system consisting of water and n-octanol.
This parameter is characteristic of the liphophility of the molecule and gives an indication of
the tendency the compound has to accumulate in biological membranes and living
organisms. It is generally considered that substances with a log Kow value higher than 3 can
show accumulation. The polarity of a molecule is strongly related with Kow. As a rough rule,
non-polar analytes are characterized by log Kow values above 4.5, whereas polar analytes
have Kow values below 1 or 1.5. Between these two values, compounds are classified as
moderately polar. Kow has proved valuable for prediction of mobility and persistence in
soils, and of soil sorption. However, Kow alone cannot be considered to be an indicator of
soil affinity because it merely represents a partition between two well-defined nonmiscible
phases, whereas the real soil sorption process involves other mechanisms such as partition,
adsorption, ion-exchange, complexation and precipitation.
3.1.3 Acid-base ionization constants

Ionic pesticides behave differently from non-ionic pesticides. It is therefore important to
know which pesticides are capable of ionization within the normal soil/water
environmental pH range of 5-8. Since soils have a tendency to be negatively charged,
anionic compounds may be potential leachers whereas cationic compounds will be strongly
retained. This knowledge is also important for perform trace analysis, especially to
extractions from water, because it is easier to extract a non-ionic compound than an ionic
one. A simple pH adjustment can help greatly in extraction recovery, which requires a
knowledge of the ionization constant values. The water solubility of ionic species is always
Risk Estimate of Water Contamination and Occurrence of Pesticides in the South of Brazil 475
much higher than that of their non-ionic form. The ionization constant is usually expressed
as pKa. The higher the pKa value, the weaker is the acid and the tendency to be ionized.
3.1.4 Vapour pressure

The vapour pressure is defined as the partial pressure of a chemical, in the gas phase, in
equilibrium, with the pure solid or liquid chemical. Vapour pressures are very temperature-
dependent. This parameter governs the distribution between liquid and gas phase or
between solid and gas phase.
3.1.5 Henry’s Law constant

Henry’s Law constant, denoted H or KH is a partition coefficient defined as the ratio of a
chemical concentration in air to its concentration in water in equilibrium. This parameter is
important in several aspects. The tendency for the pesticides to volatilize from water solution
into air is largely determined by their H values, a high value favouring volatilization.
3.1.6 Normalized soil sorption coefficient (Koc)

One of the most critical factors for assessing the potential mobility of most pesticides in the
soil compartment is the distribution between the solid and liquid phases of soil. This
portioning presents a difficult problem since the types of soil in the environment vary
enormously. The first characterization is the measurement of the simple “sorption”
coefficient, Kd, defined as the ratio of the concentration of the chemical adsorbed on soil to
the concentration of pesticide in the soil solution. Therefore, taking into account the different
soil organic matter or organic carbon content, the adsorption constant is normalized, and Kd
values are expressed per unit of organic carbon as Koc. They are referred to as “soil organic
carbon sorption coefficients” and expressed in cm3 g-1. The environmental relevance of this
parameter is important to the leaching properties in groundwater. Pesticides with Koc values
below 50 are considered to be highly mobile; values of 150-500 signify moderately mobile,
and above 2000, slightly mobile compounds.
3.1.7 Field half-life

The half-life (t1/2) is defined as the time required for the pesticide to undergo dissipation or
degradation to half of its initial concentration. However, there is not a single half-life for
pesticides, and measurements depend strongly on the environmental conditions (soil, site,
climate, soil microbial activity, etc).
3.1.8 Chemical structures of the studied pesticides

Cl N NHCH2CH3
Cl
Cl OCH2CO2H
N N
Cl NH2
Cl
NHCH(CH3)2
Name: 2,4-D Name: 3,4-DCA Name: atrazine

Mw: 221.0 Mw: 162.0 Mw: 215.7
CAS number: 94-75-7 CAS number:95-76-1 CAS number: 1912-24-9
CH3
N O CH3 CH(CH3)2
N N N N
OC N N NCH2CH2CO2CH2CH3
N OCH3 O O
N O CH3
N SO2NHCONH CN CH3O
N CO2CH3
N CH3
CH3 OCH3
Name: azimsulfuron Name: azoxystrobin Name: benfuracarb

Mw: 424.4 Mw: 403.4 Mw: 410.5
CAS number: 120162-55-2 CAS number: 131860-33-8 CAS number: 82560-54-1
H
CH3O
N Cl O CN
CO2Na OCH3
SO2 N N
C CH C CH O
Cl O O O
N CH3 CH3 N N
F CH3O OCH3
CH(CH3)2
O
Name: bentazone Name: beta-cyfluthrin Name: bispyribac-sodium

Mw: 240.3 Mw: 434.3 Mw: 452.4
CAS: 25057-89-0 CAS number: 68359-37-5 CAS number: 125401-92-5
OCONHCH3 OH
OCONHCH3 CH3
O CH3
O CH3
CH3 O C NHCH3
Name: carbofuran 3-
Name: carbaryl Name: carbofuran
hydroxy
Mw: 201.2 Mw: 221.3 Mw: 237.3
O Cl O
N O CH3
O C
OCH3
N
CH3 N CH2 NH SO2NHCONH
S O Cl
OH
CH3 N
CH3 OCH3
O
Name: clefoxydim Name: clomazone Name: cyclosulfamuron

Mw: 466.0 Mw: 239.7 Mw: 421.4
O CN O CH3
Cl F CH3
C CH C CH O N C O O C
Cl NH C N
Cl H
O
CH3 CH3 CO2CH2CH2CH2CH3
CH3
F
Cl
Name: cyfluthrin Name: cyhalofop-butyl Name: diuron

Mw: 434.3 Mw: 357.4 Mw: 233.1
OCH2CH3
CH3 S
OCH3 Cl
O
CH3
N
O
P(OCH3)2 O O C CO2CH2CH3
SO2NHCONH O2N O N
H
N
OCH3
Name: ethoxysulfuron Name: fenitrothion Name: fenoxaprop-p-ethyl

Mw: 398.4 Mw: 277.2 Mw: 361.8
Cl
CO2H
N CN O
F3C N N CH3
HO CH3
O P N N CH(CH3)2
Cl
NH2 S HO CH2NHCH2CO2H O
H
CF3
Name: fipronil Name: glyphosate Name: imazapic

Mw: 437.2 Mw: 169.1 Mw: 275.3
CH3 CH(CH3)2
NO2 SCH3
HO2C N N
O N
N NH N
N H
Cl CH2 N N N
N H NH C(CH3)3
CH3CH2
Name: imazethapyr Name: imidacloprido Name: Irgarol

Mw: 289.3 Mw: 255.7 Mw: 253.4
S H
S (Zn)Y
OCH3
-
S N N
C CH2CH2 N C
CH3CH2OCOCH2 P(OCH3)2 S S Mn
2+
SO2NHCONH N
H N
CH3CH2OCOCH S CO2CH3 CH3
x
Name: malathion Name: mancozeb Name: metsulfuron-methyl

Mw: 330.4 Mw: 271.2 Mw: 381.4
O Cl OCH2CH3
O
N Cl F3 C O NO2
NCOSCH2CH3 N
(CH3)3C Cl
OCH(CH3)2
Name: molinate Name: oxadiazon Name: oxyfluorfen

Mw: 187.3 Mw: 345.2 Mw: 361.7
OCH3
NO2
OCH2CHF2
N N N
NH Cl NHCOCH2CH3
CH3 NHCH(CH2CH3)2 N SO2
OCH3 Cl
CH3 NO2 CF3
Name: pendimethalin Name: penoxsulam Name: propanil

Mw: 281.3 Mw: 483.4 Mw: 218.1
Cl
O
Cl (CH2)2CH3 CO2CH2CH3 OCH3 CO2H
O N Cl N
CH2 SO2NHCONH
N N N
N OCH3
CH3
N Cl
N
Name: propiconazole Name: pyrazosulfuron-ethyl Name: quinclorac

Mw: 342.2 Mw: 414.4 Mw: 242.1
OH
Cl N NHCH2CH3 NO2
Cl CH2 CH2 C C(CH3)3 N
N N CH2 Cl S CH3
N N
N
N N
NHCH2CH3 O
N
Name: simazine Name: tebuconazole Name: thiamethoxam

Mw: 201.7 Mw: 307.8 Mw: 291.7
Cl
O
NHCSNHCO2CH3
P(OCH3)2
CH3CH2 S CH2 CCl3CH
NHCSNHCO2CH3
N C OH
CH3CH2 O
Name: thiobencarb Name: thiophanate-methyl Name: trichlorphon

Mw: 257.8 Mw: 342.4 Mw: 257.4
CO2H S
Cl CH3
N
N CH2
O CF3
N N
N CH3O
N CO2CH3
Cl CH3
Name: triclopyr Name: tricyclazole Name: trifloxystrobin
Mw: 242.1 Mw: 189.2 Mw: 342.2
Fig. 1. Chemical structures, molecular weight (Mw) and CAS number of the studied
compounds
3.2 Risk Assessment for groundwater

3.2.1 GUS
The leaching potential was determined by calculating the GUS which is based on the
partition coefficient between soil organic carbon and water—sorption coefficient (Koc) and
the half-life (t1/2) in soil for each pesticide compound.
The GUS index was calculated according to equation 1.
GUS = log t1/2 x (4 – log Koc) (1)

where Koc is the soil sorption coefficient (mL g-1)
and t1/2 is the half-life in soil (days). GUS
values lower than 1.8 and higher than 2.8 indicate, respectively, non-leacher and leacher
pesticide compounds; for GUS values between 1.8 and 2.8 the pesticide is considered in a
transition zone (Gustafson, 1989).
3.2.2 US-EPA
The US-EPA screening criteria was also used for predicting the leaching potential. It is based
on the following: water solubility > 30 mg L–1; Koc < 300-500; Henry’s Law constant – KH <
10–2 Pa m3 mol–1; speciation – negatively charged (either fully or partially) at room
temperature pH (5-8); soil t1/2 > 2-3 weeks; hydrolysis t1/2 > 25 weeks; vulnerable field
conditions (annual precipitation > 250 mm, aquifer not confined, porous soil).
3.3 Risk assessment for surface waters

3.3.1 GOSS
For the evaluation of which pesticides might contaminate the surface waters, a criterion
proposed by Goss was used (Goss, 1992).
This criterion considers the half-life in soil (t1/2), water solubility and the soil sorption
coefficient (Koc).
According to this criteria the compounds are divided in groups: High Sediment-Transport
Runoff Potential (HSTRP); Low Sediment-Transport Runoff Potential (LSTRP); High Water-
Phase-Transport Runoff Potential (HWTRP) and Low Water-Phase-Transport Runoff
Potential (LWTRP). The values considered for each parameter are: HSTRP - t1/2 soil ≥ 40 d
and Koc ≥ 1000 cm3 g-1, or t1/2 soil ≥ 40 days, Koc ≥ 500 cm3 g-1 and water solubility ≤ 0.5 mg L-
1; LSTRP - t1/2 soil < 1 d, or t1/2 soil ≤ 40 d, Koc ≤ 500 cm3 g-1 and water solubility ≥ 0.5 mg L-1,
or t1/2 soil ≤ 2 days and Koc ≤ 500 cm3 g-1 or t1/2 soil ≤ 4 days, Koc ≤ 900 cm3 g-1 and water
solubility ≥ 0.5 mg L-1 or t1/2 soil ≤ 40 d Koc ≤ 900 cm3 g-1 and water solubility ≥ 2 mg L-1;
HWTRP - t1/2 soil > 35 d, Koc < 1000000 cm3 g-1 and water solubility > 1 mg L-1, or t1/2 soil >
35 d, Koc ≤ 700 cm3 g-1 and water solubility between 10 and 100 mg L-1; LWTRP - Koc >
1000000 cm3 g-1, or t1/2 soil ≤ 1 d and Koc ≥ 1000 cm3 g-1, or t1/2 soil < 35 d and water solubility
< 0.5 mg L-1. The compounds which do not meet any of these criteria are considered with
medium potential, in other words, Medium Water-Phase-Transport Runoff Potential
(MWTRP) or associated with sediment (MSTRP).
3.4 Reagents and chemicals

In this study, high purity standards of eighteen pesticides were selected: clomazone,
tebuconazole, diuron, irgarol, atrazine, simazine, metsulfuron-methyl, quinclorac, 2,4-D,
pyrazosulfuron-ethyl, bentazone, propanil, carbofuran and the two metabolites, 3,4-DCA
and carbofuran 3-hydroxy , which derive from propanil and carbofuran, respectively, were
purchased at Sigma Aldrich (São Paulo, Brazil). Imazethapyr, imazapic, fipronil, bispyribac-
sodium and penoxsulam were purchased at Dr. Ehrenstorfer GmbH (Augsburg, Germany).
Methanol and acetonitrile of chromatographic grade were supplied by Mallinckrodt
(Phillipsburg, NJ, USA). Phosphoric acid (85%) and formic acid (98%) of analytical grade
were purchased at Merck (Darmstadt, Germany). Ultra pure water was produced by a
Direct-Q UV3® system (Millipore, Bedford, MA, USA). The SPE extraction tubes were
Chromabond C18ec, 500 mg/3 mL (Macherey-Nagel, Düran, Germany).
3.5 Equipment
All analyses were performed on a Waters Alliance 2695 Separations Module HPLC,
equipped with a quaternary pump, an automatic injector and a thermostatted column
compartment, and detection was carried out on a Quattro micro API (triple quadrupole)
mass spectrometer, equipped with a Z-spray electrospray (ESI) ionization source, from
Micromass (Waters, Milford, MA, USA), according to previous studies (Caldas et al., 2010;
Demoliner et al., 2010).
3.6 Sampling
Samples were collected directly in 1 L amber glass bottles in each sampling site. These
bottles had been cleaned prior to sampling by rinsing them three times in the water to be
sampled. The bottle was filled to the top with as little remaining air as possible, and sealed
tightly. All samples were properly labeled with details of the source and sampling date, and
stored at 4 °C until the solid-phase extraction, which was carried out on the same day of the
sampling.
3.6.1 Groundwater
The studies of groundwater contamination with pesticides were carried out in Quitéria, a
rural area located near Rio Grande, a city in the southeast of Brazil that has about 185,000
inhabitants. The region of Quitéria is an agricultural area where there are different kinds of
production, mainly onion, fruits and vegetables in general. The intense agricultural
production, and consequently the use of pesticides, can cause the contamination of
groundwaters.
Samples from drinking water wells (Figure 2) with depths ranging from 2.5 up to 37 m were
collected in ten sampling points from September 2007 to August 2008, and analyzed to
determine the concentration of carbofuran, 2,4-D, clomazone and tebuconazole. Sampling
was carried out once per month in each well.
3.6.2 Drinking and surface water

The sampling of the drinking and surface water was carried out monthly at CORSAN, the
Water Treatment Station in Rio Grande, from January, 2008 to April, 2010. Two different
samples were collected: a surface water sample, collected at the entrance of the water
channel (the São Gonçalo Channel), and a drinking water sample, collected after the water
treatment, in the output of the station (Figure 2).
3.7 Sample preparation

The samples were acidified at pH 3.0 with phosphoric acid. Afterwards, they were pre-
concentrated and extracted by SPE tubes containing 500 mg of octadecylsilane
(Chromabond C18ec) with an average particle size of 45 µm. Cartridges were conditioned
with 3 mL of methanol, 3 mL of ultrapure water and 3 mL of ultrapure water pH 3.0,
acidified with phosphoric acid 1:1 (v/v). After the conditioning step, aliquots of 250 mL of
water samples, acidified at pH 3.0 with phosphoric acid (to increase the pesticide retention)
were loaded through the cartridges with a flow rate of 6 mL min-1. Then, the analytes were
eluted with 1 mL (2 x 500 μL) methanol, volume adjusted in 1 mL and injected into the
chromatographic system. This extraction procedure had been previously developed and
optimized in our laboratory (Caldas et al., 2009).
Fig. 2. Regions of surface and groundwater collection
4. Results
The pesticides evaluated by Goss, GUS and US-EPA criteria were chosen because of their high
use in RS state, mainly in the rice cultivation (Câmara dos Agrotóxicos, 2008; SIA, 2003).
4.1 Risk assessment for surface water

The results for the risk assessment for surface water are shown in Table 2. According to the
GOSS criteria, regarding the water-phase-transport runoff potential, the compounds
fipronil, imidacloprid, propiconazole, atrazine, cyclosulfamuron, diuron, fenoxaprop-p-
ethyl, imazethapyr, metsulfuron-methyl, molinate, oxadiazon, triclopyr, glyphosate and
thiamethoxam show high potential. Clomazone, imazapic and thiobencarb besides
presenting HWTRP showed LSTRP, which is a high indicative that these compounds have
good chance to be found in surface waters.
Some compounds such as beta-cyfluthrin, cyfluthrin, thiophanate, cyhalofop-butyl and
penoxsulam show LWTRP showing less tendency to be found in surface waters.
Some others due to their physico-chemical properties, presented intermediate probabilities,
showing MSTRP and MWTRP. They are benfuracarb, tebuconazole, trifloxystrobin,
bispyribac, oxyfluorfen, pendimethalin, quinclorac and simazine.
Among the compounds under study, only carbofuran showed HSTRP.
The contamination potential for the herbicide clefoxidim, mancozeb and tricyclazole was not
evaluated because of the lack of data about these compounds.
Fungicides and Insecticides GOSS classification Herbicides GOSS classification

azoxystrobin LSTRP MWTRP 2,4-D LSTRP MWTRP
benfuracarb MSTRP MWTRP atrazine MSTRP HWTRP
beta-cyfluthrin MSTRP LWTRP azimsulfuron LSTRP MWTRP
carbaryl LSTRP MWTRP bentazone LSTRP MWTRP
carbofuran HSTRP MWTRP bispyribac-sodium MSTRP MWTRP
cyfluthrin MSTRP LWTRP cyhalofop-butyl LSTRP LWTRP
fenitrothion LSTRP MWTRP cyclosulfamuron MSTRP HWTRP
fipronil MSTRP HWTRP clefoxydim I MWTRP
imidacloprid MSTRP HWTRP clomazone LSTRP HWTRP
malathion LSTRP MWTRP diuron MSTRP HWTRP
mancozeb I I ethoxysulfuron LSTRP MWTRP
propiconazole MSTRP HWTRP fenoxaprop-p-ethyl MSTRP HWTRP
tebuconazole MSTRP MWTRP glyphosate MSTRP HWTRP
thiamethoxam MSTRP HWTRP imazapic LSTRP HWTRP
thiophanate-methyl LSTRP LWTRP imazethapyr MSTRP HWTRP
tricyclazole I I metsulfuron-methyl MSTRP HWTRP
trichlorphon LSTRP MWTRP molinate MSTRP HWTRP
trifloxystrobin MSTRP MWTRP oxadiazon MSTRP HWTRP
oxyfluorfen MSTRP MWTRP
pendimethalin MSTRP MWTRP
penoxsulam MSTRP LWTRP
pyrazosulfuron-ethyl LSTRP MWTRP
propanil LSTRP MWTRP
quinclorac MSTRP MWTRP
simazine MSTRP MWTRP
thiobencarb LSTRP HWTRP
triclopyr MSTRP HWTRP
Table 2. Goss classification for the compounds under study (HSTRP= High Sediment-
Transport Runoff Potential; LSTRP= Low Sediment-Transport Runoff Potential; HWTRP=
High Water-Phase-Transport Runoff Potential; LWTRP= Low Water-Phase-Transport
Runoff Potential; MWTRP= Medium Water-Phase-Transport Runoff Potential; MSTRP=
Medium Sediment-Transport Runoff Potential and I = non-conclusive)
4.2 Risk assessment of groundwaters

For the risk of contamination of the groundwater, according to GUS and US-EPA, the
herbicides atrazine, bentazone, clomazone, imazethapyr, imazapic, metsulfuron-methyl,
quinclorac, simazine and triclopyr, besides the fungicides and the insecticides carbofuran,
imidacloprid, thiamethoxam, tricyclazole and trichlorphon are classified as potential
contaminants of groundwaters (Table 3) by both methods. The compounds azoxystrobin,
benfuracarb, beta-cyfluthrin, cyfluthrin, fenitrothion, malathion, mancozeb, thiophanate,
trifloxystrobin, bispyribac-sodium, cyhalofop, cyclosulfamuron, fenoxaprop-p-ethyl and
oxyfluorfen did not show any leaching tendency by both methods.
Some compounds show different classifications by the EPA-US and GUS methods, or due to
the lack of physico-chemical parameters the prediction was not possible. These compounds
were 2,4-D, azimsulfuron, diuron, ethoxysulfuron, glyphosate, oxadiazon, pendimethalin,
penoxsulam, pyrazosulfuron, propanil, thiobencarb, carbaryl, fipronil, propiconazole and
tebuconazole. These differences between the methods can occur because the methods
consider different physico-chemical characteristics.
4.3 Surface Waters

4.3.1 Choice of the pesticides for the surface waters monitoring
For the surface water monitoring, eighteen pesticides and two metabolites were chosen. The
choice was based on the pesticide usage in the region and on the possibility of
contamination of the surface water by these compounds. The sources of contamination near
the water source were also considered. The company that supplies water for the Rio Grande
city takes water from the Sao Goncalo channel. This channel is an important connection
between the Patoos Lagoon and the Mirim Lagoon, and in the margins there are many
agricultural activities; such as horticultural, grains and rice irrigation, besides the industrial
activities and the navigation. The compounds 2,4-D, bispyribac-sodium, propanil,
bentazone, carbofuran, pyrazosulfuron-ethyl and quinclorac besides being used for the rice
culture showed MWTRP. The compounds atrazine, clomazone, diuron, fipronil,
imazethapyr, imazapic, metsulfuron-methyl showed HWTRP and penoxsulam showed
LWTRP. Tebuconazole and simazine showed MWTRP. And, besides these compounds, two
metabolites (3,4-DCA and carbofuran 3-hydroxy) and the biocide irgarol were also
analyzed.
4.3.2 Monitoring studies of surface water

In Figure 3, the sum of the monthly results of the monitoring analysis of the surface water
from the São Gonçalo Channel and of the drinking water in Rio Grande are presented.
Taking into account the 18 pesticides and 2 metabolites under analysis, concentrations above
the LOQ were detectable, at least once, for carbofuran 3-hydroxy, 3,4-DCA, atrazine,
clomazone, bentazone, bispyribac-sodium, carbofuran, clomazone, diuron, fipronil,
imazethapyr, imazapic, irgarol, pyrazosulfuron-ethyl, propanil, quinclorac, simazine and
tebuconazole. It is noticed that, except in February 2009, March and April 2010 the sum of
concentrations of pesticides was always lower than 0.5 μg L-1, the value established by the
European legislation (EU Council Directives, 1998).
Some compounds were found in more than 60% of the collections. In surface water, they
were atrazine, clomazone, diuron, imazapic, imazethapyr, irgarol and tebuconazole; and in
drinking waters they were clomazone, diuron, imazapic, imazethapyr and tebuconazole.
The presence of diuron and irgarol in almost all the monitoring period indicates that in the
region of the São Gonçalo Channel, concerning the contamination by pesticides, is
influenced not only by the agricultural process but also by other sources. The occurrence of
diuron can be due to the fact that this herbicide is largely used in other kinds of cultures
such as lettuce, citrus fruits, and onion (Camara dos Agrotóxicos, 2008). Besides, diuron and
irgarol are used as antifouling in paints for vessels (Buma et al., 2009; Avila et al., 2005). The
association of these uses increases the contamination by diuron in waters, especially in
portuary regions such as Rio Grande where there is intensive navigation. The presence of
3,4-DCA, the main metabolite of diuron and of propanil, although lower than LOQ,
confirms the use of these compounds.
Whereas diuron is used in the culture of rice, the herbicide irgarol is not, but both are used
as antifouling (Sapozhnikova et al., 2007), indicating that the contamination by these
compounds has the same source, the vessels.The other compounds found in the samples are
probably due to irrigated rice, because all compounds are recommended for this culture and
this is the agricultural practice that dominates the southern region in RS state, besides the
cultures of onion and tomato (Camara dos Agrotóxicos, 2008).
The herbicides imidazolinones analyzed in this study, imazethapyr and imazapic, were
detected during all the sampling period, both in the surface water and in potable water. The
highest concentrations found for imazapic were 0.34 µg L-1 for drinking water and 0.2 µg L-1
for surface waters. For imazethapyr the highest concentrations were 0.27 µg L-1 for drinking
water and 0.35 µg L-1 for surface waters. The fact that they are frequently detected in the
samples can be explained, for example, by the system of rice cultivation, which works with a
variety of rice that is very resistant to the pesticides of the imidazolinones class; they are
effective against red rice, the main pest in the irrigated rice plantation (Avila et al., 2005).
Most of the time, the compounds were found in the same month probably indicating the use
of a mixture, that was sold commercially and is composed by both compounds.
The fungicide tebuconazole and the herbicide atrazine were detected in the sampling in
many months. Triazines are used in the world as pre and post-emerging selective herbicides
to control weeds in many cultures, such as corn, wheat, sugar cane and barley.
The insecticide fipronil was detected in all samples, since it is recommended for several
cultures (agriculture and silviculture). This compound was found in surface waters in RS, in
other studies. In the study developed by Marchesan et al. (2010) it was found in
concentration until 26.2 µg L-1 and with high frequency of detection. The herbicide
pyrazossulfuron-ethyl was also detected in some samples since this compound is
recommended for rice cultivation.
The detection of the metabolite carbofuran 3-hydroxy, from carbosulfan and carbofuran,
indicates that one of these compounds had been used on farms near the São Gonçalo Channel.
The herbicide clomazone was detected in concentrations lower than the LOQ in all samples,
except in July, when it was detected in surface and potable waters. Marchesan et al. (2007)
detected clomazone in river waters in RS, with high frequency. They comment the relation
of the frequency with the rainfall regime and with the rice water management used in the
fields.
4.4 Groundwater
4.4.1 Choice of the pesticides for the grondwater monitoring
The selection of the analytes included in this study was based on their extensive use as
pesticides in agricultural areas. Moreover, these pesticides are some of the mostly used
pesticides in the area under study; according to the US Environmental Protection Agency
(US EPA), they have potential to reach the groundwater systems (Table 3).
US-EPA Criteria
GUS
Herbicides t1/2 t1/2
Water solubility Koc KH Result index
soil water
2,4-D A A A N N PC TL
atrazine A A A A N PC PL
azimsulfuron A A A A N PC TL
bentazone A A A A A PC PL
bispyribac-sodium A N N N A NC IL
cyhalofop-butyl N N A N N NC IL
cyclosulfamuron N N A N NC IL
clefoxydim N N N NC
clomazone A A A A N PC PL
diuron A A A A PC TL
ethoxysulfuron A A A A N PC TL
fenoxaprop-p-ethyl N N A N N NC IL
glyphosate A N A A N PC IL
imazapic A A A N PC PL
imazethapyr A A A A N PC PL
metsulfuron-methyl A A A A A PC PL
molinate A A N A A PC PL
oxadiazon N N A A N NC TL
oxyfluorfen N N A A N NC IL
pendimethalin N N N A N NC PL
penoxsulam N A A A N PC TL
pyrazosulfuron-ethyl N A A N I TL
propanil A A A N N PC IL
quinclorac N A A A PC PL
simazine N A A A N PC PL
thiobencarb A N A A A PC IL
triclopyr N A A A N PC PL
fungicides and insecticides
azoxystrobin N N A N N NC IL
benfuracarb N N A N N NC IL
beta-cyfluthrin N N A N N NC IL
carbaryl A A A N N PC TL
carbofuran A A A A N PC PL
cyfluthrin N N N A N NC IL
fenitrothion N N A N N NC IL
fipronil N N A A N NC PL
imidacloprid A A A A N PC PL
malathion A A N N N NC IL
US-EPA Criteria
Fungicides and GUS
t1/2 t1/2
Insecticides Water solubility Koc KH Result index
soil water
mancozeb N N A N NC IL
propiconazole A N A A N PC TL
tebuconazole A N A A PC TL
thiamethoxam A A A A N PC PL
thiophanate-methyl N A A N N NC IL
tricyclazole A A A A PC PL
trichlorphon A A A A PC PL
trifloxystrobin A N A N N NC IL
Table 3. Risk assesment of groundwater contamination based on US-EPA criteria and GUS
index (US-EPA, N= not meet the criteria; A= meet the criteria; I= non-conclusive; PC =
potential contaminant NC = non-contaminant; blank – data not available; GUS IL = not
leachable, TL = transition zone and PL= probably leachable)
Fig. 3. Sum of pesticide concentrations determined from January 2008 to April 2010.
4.4.2 Pesticide determination in groundwater

Figure 4 show the pesticide levels detected at each location in various sampling campaigns,
carried out from September 2007 until August 2008. Results are not surprising at all, since
the agricultural practice in the area is intense and has been going on for years. Carbofuran,
clomazone and tebuconazole were the compounds found. In general, significant differences
were observed in the levels and the profile of the pesticides detected in distinct sampling
periods.
The behavior of the samples was strongly different. 2,4-D was the only pesticide that was
not detected, probably because it is less used in Quitéria than the others. It is mainly used in
the cultures of rice, corn, soy and wheat (Camara dos Agrotóxicos, 2008), which are not
raised in Quitéria. This compound has lower half life than others and, moreover, has the
Fig. 4. Concentrations of carbofuran (a), clomazone (b), and tebuconazole (c) (µg L-1) in
water samples from wells in different months (Caldas et al., 2010)
highest solubility in water and the lowest half life in soil, probably being degraded rapidly
before reaching the groundwater. In surface waters, it has been found in many studies
(Laganà et al., 2002; Palma et al., 2004; Primel et al., 2005).
The pesticide carbofuran showed the highest concentrations. October and March were the
months that showed the highest contamination, 10.4 and 9.75 µg L-1, respectively; exceeding
the maximum value permitted by the Brazilian legislation for groundwaters. Wells 1 (9 m)
and 2 (37 m) presented the major occurrence. Tariq et al. (2004) detected carbofuran residues
in well waters with a detection frequency of 59% in July and 43% in October. This is one of
the factors related to the high solubility of the compound in water. The highest
concentration was 23.1 µg L-1. Bacigalupo & Meroni (2007) analyzed water from wells in an
agricultural area in the south of Milan for 11 months and found residues of carbofuran in
90% of the samples at concentrations below 5.0 µg L-1. Hernández et al. (2001) detected
carbofuran in groundwater in around 25% of samples, but never in levels higher than
0.1 µg L-1.
Clomazone has high water solubility and water half life higher than 30 days and showed its
highest levels in August in well 2 (9 m), 0.82 µg L-1. The high frequency of contamination of
clomazone in groundwaters was detected by Bortoluzzi et al. (2007); they detected the
compound in 50% of well samples, at a mean concentration of 6.76 μg L-1. In this study, the
herbicide clomazone was detected in 70 % of wells. This is the only work found that analyze
pesticides in groundwater in RS state.
The high detection frequency of the pesticides carbofuran and clomazone in groundwater,
both in shallow and deep wells can be explained by their high potential for leaching as a
result of their low soil sorption coefficient and high solubility in water, as well as relatively
high half life in the soil.
The systemic tebuconazole fungicide is used to control a wide range of fungi on fruit and
vegetables. The concentrations of tebuconazole were higher in July and August, and well 5
(6 m) showed the highest levels, 1.73 µg L-1 in July and 3.65 µg L-1 in August.
The compound tebuconazole was detected in wells 29 m deep. Although it has occurred
with low frequency, it confirms the high potential for leaching that this compound has. This
compound was found in groundwaters by Baugros et al. (2008). The amounts ranged from
0.03 to 0.89 µg L-1.
5. Conclusion
The use of models/parameters to predict the pesticide behavior in the environment is
important to obtain an estimate about the contamination risk. The evaluation of the data
presented in the list of compounds reveals that among the pesticides most commonly used
in agriculture in Rio Grande do Sul State, most of those investigated presented mobility in
the environment, and risk to contaminate the surface and groundwaters.
The results of the monitoring show that surface and groundwater contamination by
agriculture is still an important issue that cannot be ignored.
In an attempt to minimize risks associated with pesticides, technological advances that
allow pesticide detections at very low concentrations, combined with research findings help
to increase the scientific understanding of the potential of pesticides to contaminate water
resources.
The public interest is well served by a cooperative effort among regulators, university
researchers, and industry to establish reasonable use restrictions. These efforts should
ensure that, when used appropriately, pest control products will not pose a threat to water
quality.
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Chromatographia, Vol. 55, No.9/10 ,573-577, ISSN 1612-1112
24
Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a
Tool to Evaluate the Effects of
Herbicides on Eukaryotic Life
Daniela Braconi, Giulia Bernardini, Lia Millucci,
Gabriella Jacomelli, Vanna Micheli and Annalisa Santucci
Dipartimento di Biologia Molecolare, Università degli Studi di Siena
Italy
1. Introduction
1.1 Herbicides and their toxicity
Agricultural herbicides play undoubted beneficial roles in preserving crop yields, although
they may pose serious concerns for the environment and humans because of their
widespread and intensive use/misuse (due to careless applications, high and repeated
application rate, accidental spillage). It is also evident the potential to injure non-target
cultivars and microorganisms, in particular those contributing to soil quality, and to cause
adverse side-effects in mammals, including humans (Cabral et al.,2003; Cabral et al.,2004).
Herbicide-related toxicity may be often underestimated because little information is
provided on the effects of herbicides as complete formulations. As a matter of fact, acute or
chronic toxicity tests are generally carried out using pure active ingredients (AIs).
Herbicide-induce damaging effects are proportional to the absorbed substance and to the
time of exposure, but also to the inherent characteristics of each compound. Agriculturists
are most likely exposed to acute intoxication, by inhalation or direct contact with toxic
substances, though each person can be subjected to possible toxic effects due to
accumulation of pesticide residues in the body, being the diet the most important source of
exposure.
Typically, pure herbicide molecules are of limited value to end users. To give them practical
value and make them usable, most herbicides are combined with appropriate solvents or
surfactants to obtain a formulation. A given chemical may be formulated in a variety of
differing formulations and sold under different trade names. For this reason, pure AIs are
mixed with coformulants, also called ‘inert’ or auxiliary substances, to allow their use in
common and convenient vehicles, such as water, and to obtain uniform and effective
distributions. Several substances fall within the definition of coformulant, including: carrier
substances, solvents, surfactants, dispersing agents, adhesives, absorption-promoting
agents, antioxidants, bactericides, dyes, fillers, and perfumes. Coformulants can have
various technical and physico/chemical properties in relation to their function in the
pesticide formulation. These chemicals can be expected to have various toxicological
profiles, some of them harmless (e.g., water) and some with serious toxicological properties
(e.g., the organic solvent isophorone, which is a suspected carcinogen). Because
coformulants represent the highest amount in pesticide mixtures, even a minor toxicological
concern could become significant in relation to their use (Tobiassen et al., 2003) especially
considering the fact that, besides being toxic themselves, they can also increase the toxic
effects of AIs (Surgan, 2005; Séralini, 2005). However, for the majority of herbicides that are
currently used, no information on the identity of coformulants is publically made available.
Consequently, adjuvants can be included in herbicide formulations as a part of the total
product which is sold by the manufacturer or as an additive to be mixed with pesticide
products in the spray tank. Adjuvants can directly increase the toxicity of pesticide
formulations. For instance, they can promote their penetration through clothes and skin and
increase their persistence in the environment (Cox & Surgan, 2006). Consequently, different
problems might be posed when manipulating different formulations. As an example, in the
case of emulsifiable concentrates, problems of dosing and mixing could be encountered
and the absorption through skin could be facilitated. Granules, since they usually do not
adhere to foliage and are not intended for foliar applications, may have more serious
consequences for soil quality and microbial populations commonly associated
(http://www.ext.colostate.edu/ pubs/crops/00558.html).
1.2 Yeast as an eukaryotic model system

The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is an optimal eukaryotic model system to study toxic
effects and mammalian biological responses upon exposure to exogenous and endogenous
perturbations. The high degree of evolutionary conservation of stress pathways between
yeast and higher eukaryotes means that yeast can serve as a suitable model system for the
characterization of stress responses in more complex organisms (Estruch, 2000). Particularly
important advantages deriving from the use of S. cerevisiae as a well consolidated eukaryotic
model are the non-pathogenicity and the feasibility of such a model, thus avoiding risks for
manipulators. Being unicellular, it is a simple and easily accessible system allowing to avoid
ethical and safety problems arising from the use of more complex eukaryotic cells,
representing a consolidated, appropriate and cost-effective alternative to animal testing. At
the same time, the obtained response is easier to decipher and, once extrapolated to humans,
it could produce a better understanding of molecular mechanisms of toxicity. Being the first
eukaryotic organism whose genome was completely sequenced in 1996 (Goffeau et al.,
1996), yeast offers also tremendous opportunities for genome/proteome/metabolome and
other ‘omic’ studies.
Yeast cells have remarkable similarities to mammalian cells at the macromolecular and
organelle level, and a number of yeast proteins have been shown to be functionally
interchangeable with the highly homologous human proteins. Thus it is not surprising the use
of yeast as a model system with relevant contributions to the understanding of molecular
mechanisms underlying oxidative stress. The involvement of oxidative stress in ageing,
apoptosis, and a significant number of diseases led to the characterization of the antioxidant
systems and the elucidation of their functional physiological role. For example, yeast cells have
contributed in recent years to clarify the role reactive oxygen species (ROS) in diseases such as
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or Friedereich’s ataxia (Costa & Moradas-Ferreira, 2001).
Studies on the evaluation of pesticides still depend extensively on the use of animals, but in
the last years several publications have dealt with the development and appropriateness of
alternative methods for assessing toxicity, that do not depend on animal utilization but
explore the use of rapid and cost-effective alternatives (Ribeiro et al., 2000).
Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a Tool to Evaluate the Effects of Herbicides on Eukaryotic Life 495
Yeast cells have already been proposed as a tool for assessing toxicity of environmental
pollutants (Cabral et al., 2004; Cabral et al., 2003; Simoes et al., 2003), as shown by the few
following examples:
i. S. cerevisiae can be a bio-accumulator of metals such as Cu, Cr, Cd, Ni, Zn, and Pb
(Malik, 2004).
ii. S. cerevisiae shows affinity for different pesticides, and in particular can partially
degrade and significantly adsorb the fungicides quinoxyfen (Cabras et al., 2000) and
fenhexamid (Cabras et al., 2003). Moreover, yeast can degrade and adsorb several
pyrethroid pesticides (Cabras et al., 1995).
iii. Wild-type yeasts can be used as biosensors and a valid tool for preliminary evaluations
of xenobiotic toxicity (Baronian, 2004) (Campanella et al., 1995).
2. Aim of the work

In the scientific literature, little attention has been paid to the understanding of toxic effects
of pesticides as commercial formulations. In this context, the most important exception is
represented by the herbicide glyphosate, for which recent toxicity studies have been carried
out using some of its formulations (Peixoto, 2005; Mann & Bidwell, 1999; Chan et al., 2007;
Pieniazek et al., 2004). On the contrary, for many other herbicides (and pesticides in general)
little information is currently available.
In order to fill this gap in the knowledge of herbicide-related toxicity, we undertook a
comparative analysis on an autochthonous S. cerevisiae strain, isolated during the spontaneous
fermentation of grapes and selected as a potential ‘starter’ for the production of high quality
wines (Vagnoli et al., 1993; Trabalzini et al., 2003a; Trabalzini et al., 2003b) testing in parallel
three herbicides and their corresponding pure AIs. The three tested herbicides were chosen
among those used in the same geographical areas where the yeast strain was isolated. They
were: Pointer (P), water dispersible granules containing tribenuron methyl (T); Silglif (S), a
soluble concentrate containing glyphosate (G), and Proper Energy (PE), an oil/water emulsion
containing fenoxaprop-P-ethyl (F). In order to clarify the mechanisms underlying the toxicity
of herbicides as commercial formulations, we moved towards the analysis of parameters
related to oxidative stress and undertook a proteomic and redox-proteomic study on the
effects of the tested compound on yeast protein repertoires.
Our analyses might contribute to elucidate response mechanisms in more complex and
experimentally less accessible eukaryotes while avoiding the complexity of higher
eukaryotic cells and consequent ethical problems. Importantly, the use of a S. cerevisiae
strain used in the wine-making industry provided us with an improved understanding of
the perturbing effects of herbicides on fermentation, a process making yeast a milestone in
the production of wine, bread, beer and many other foods and beverages.

3.1 General materials
All high-purity reagents were from Oxoid (Garbagnate Milanese, Milan, Italy), Sigma-
Aldrich (Milan, Italy) or J. T. Baker (Deventer, Holland).
Commercial grade herbicides, namely PE and P (Aventis CropScience, Milan, Italy) and S
(Siapa, Milan, Italy) were from commercial sources. High purity AIs (F, T and G) were
analytical standards from Riedel de Haën (Schweiz, Germany).
All of the experiments were performed using Milli-Q (Millipore, Bedford, MA, U.S.A.)
water.
3.2 Yeast cell cultures

The yeast strain used in this work was S. cerevisiae K310. Yeast cells were pre-cultured in
yeast peptone dextrose (YPD) medium [1% (w/v) yeast extract, 2% (w/v) peptone, 2%
(w/v) glucose] at 30°C with rotary shaking for 10 hours. Then, an aliquot of the cell culture
was inoculated in 150 mL of a modified YPD medium (YPDm) adjusted to a final pH of 4.5
by adding 0.2 M citrate/phosphate buffer and containing 100 g/L glucose, to obtain an
initial concentration of 1×104 cells/mL. The new cell suspension was incubated at 28 °C in
the dark without shaking and allowing semi-anaerobic growth.
Commercial grade herbicides were singularly added to the culture medium at the beginning
of exponential growth phase (16th hour of cell culture, about 3×106 cells/mL). P was added
as a water dispersion to a final concentration of 100 mg/L; S was added as a water solution
to a final concentration of 1 g/L; PE was added as a water emulsion to a final concentration
of 500 mg/L.
In parallel, single AIs were assayed and added to yeast cultures at the same time and the
same concentration obtained with commercial formulations. Whereas G was prior dissolved
in water, F and T were dissolved in DMSO (1 mg/mL and 4 mg/mL, respectively).
Consequently, vehicle controls were prepared for F [2.62% (v/v) DMSO] and T [1.87% (v/v)
DMSO]. Final concentrations of AIs in culture medium were as follows: 75 mg/L T, 304
mg/L G and 26.2 mg/L F).
At various moment during growth, cells were harvested by centrifugation, washed and cell-
free protein extracts prepared as already described (Trabalzini et al., 2003a) for further
analyses. Protein concentration was determined according to the Bradford’s method
(Bradford, 1976).
3.3 Monitoring of yeast colony forming ability and fermentative performance

K310 colony forming ability was monitored by plating on YPD-agar proper dilutions
(ranging from 1:10 up to 1:100000) of the cell suspension; plates were then incubated at 28°C
for three days before counting colony forming units (CFU).
Ethanol levels in culture medium were determined using an enzymatic assay (kit code 10
176 290 Boehringer Mannheim, Germany) as already described (Braconi et al., 2006b).
Briefly, samples taken from cell suspensions were rapidly cooled and centrifuged
(centrifuge 1515R, Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany). The supernatants were then filtered
through a 0.2 µm pore size membrane and determination of ethanol concentrations was
performed spectrophotometrically (Agilent 8453 UV-visible spectroscopy system,
Waldbronn, Germany) on the obtained filtered, properly diluted in accordance to
manufacturer’s instructions.
3.4 HPLC analysis of K310 nucleotide patterns

HPLC analysis of nucleotides in K310 cells was carried out on protein extracts with a System
Gold Beckman (San Ramon, CA, USA) with a programmable Solvent Module 126 and Dual
Channel Scanning Detector Module (mod. 168), equipped with Gold.8 software.
All separations were performed on a ODS Phenomenex Luna C18 column (7.5 cm × 4.6 mm,
3 μm particle size) equipped with a Phenomenex Security Guard pre-column (4 mm L × 3
mm ID) and filter. Analyses were carried out by gradient elution with 0.1 M KH2PO4,
containing 6 mM pH 5.5 tetrabutylammonium hydrogen phosphate (TBA) (eluent A) and
methanol (eluent B).
The chromatographic conditions (total run time 22 min) were set as follows:
initial condition: 95% A and 5% B;
i. 5 minutes isocratic in the initial conditions;
ii. 2 minutes gradient to reach 80% A and 20% B;
iii. 5 minutes isocratic in the new conditions;
iv. sudden increase to 80% A and 30% B;
v. 2 minutes isocratic in these conditions;
vi. restoring of the initial conditions in 8 minutes.
Flow rate was 1 mL/minute at room temperature. Both UV absorbances at 260 and 280 nm
were monitored and used to record sample chromatographic spectra. On individual peaks,
absorbance spectra were recorded from 194 to 354 nm. Compound of interest were
identified on the basis of their retention time or with the co-elution with proper internal
standards. Single compounds were quantified according to calibration curves obtained with
standard solutions.
3.5 Catalase and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity assays

For enzyme activity determination, 50 μg of proteins were resolved by 10% discontinuous
native PAGE according to Ornstein (Ornstein, 1964) and stained as follows, performing all
operations in the dark.
For catalase activity, gels were incubated 5 minutes in 5% (v/v) methanol, briefly washed
three times with water and incubated 10 minutes in 10 mM H2O2. Gels were again rinsed
with water and soaked in a 1:1 mixture of freshly prepared 2% (w/v) potassium ferric
cyanide and 2% (w/v) ferric chloride. Gels turned to blue except in the zones where H2O2
was decomposed by active catalase. Colour development was blocked soaking the gels in
10% (v/v) acetic acid and 5% (v/v) methanol (Agarwal et al., 2005).
For SOD activity, gels were first soaked in 2.5 mM NBT1 for 20 minutes, then briefly washed
with water and soaked in 500 mM PBS2 containing 2.8 mM TEMED3 and 28 μM riboflavin.
For revelation, gels were illuminated on a light box for 20 minutes until the appearance of
white bands on a dark background (Teixeira et al., 2004).
Images of gels were acquired (Image Scanner, Amersham Biosciences) and analysed with
Image Master™ Platinum (Amersham Biosciences) choosing as a reference parameter the
intensity of bands, which is automatically normalized against the surrounding background.
3.6 Proteomics and redox-proteomics

3.6.1 Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2D-PAGE)
K310 proteins were first mixed with a buffer containing 8 M urea, 35 mM CHAPS4, 10 mM
DTE5, and a trace of Bromophenol Blue. Proteins were adsorbed onto Immobiline Dry Strips
(IPG 18 cm, non linear 3-10 pH range, Bio-Rad, Milan - Italy) and allowed to stand at room
1 Nitro blue tetrazolium

2 Phosphate buffered saline
3 N,N,N′,N′-Tetramethylethylenediamine
4 3-[(3-Cholamidopropyl)dimethylammonio]-1-propanesulfonate
5 Dithioerythritol
temperature for 10 hours. 100 μg (2D gels to be transferred onto nitrocellulose (NC)
membranes or 1000 μg (preparative 2D gels) of proteins were used, respectively. Isoelectric
focusing (IEF) was carried out with a Protean IEF cell (Bio-Rad) according to manufacturer’s
instruction and then IPG strips were equilibrated in 6 M urea, 30% (v/v) glycerol, 2% (w/v)
SDS6, 0.05 M Tris-HCl pH 6.8 containing first 2% (w/v) DTE and later 2.5% (w/v) IAA7.
Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate PolyAcrylamide Gel Electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) was carried out
applying 40 V per gel until the dye front reached the bottom of gels. Preparative gels were
stained with Coomassie Brilliant Blue as described (Candiano et al., 2004).
3.6.2 Western blot analysis of carbonylated proteins

After the IEF, strips for the Western blot detection of carbonylated proteins were briefly
rinsed with water and incubated at room temperature for 20 minutes with 10 mM DNPH8 in
5 % (w/v) trifluoroacetic acid (Reinheckel et al., 2000). Subsequently, strips were rapidly
washed twice with a solution containing 8M urea, 20% (v/v) glycerol, 9 M SDS and 150 mM
Tris-HCl pH 6.8 and then subjected to equilibration procedures and SDS-PAGE as described
previously. The obtained 2D-gels were washed and equilibrated in a transfer buffer [50 mM
Tris, 40 mM glycine, 1.3 mM SDS, 20% (v/v) methanol] and protein transfer from 2D gels
onto NC membranes was carried out using a semidry Novablot transblot cell (Bio-Rad)
applying 0.7 mA/cm2 for 75 minutes. Protein transfer was checked with staining of
membranes with 0.2% (w/v) Ponceau S in 3% (v/v) trichloroacetic acid. Carbonylated
proteins were detected with anti-DNP antibodies (Sigma-Aldrich) (at the dilution of 1:10000)
and secondary horseradish peroxidase-linked antibodies (at the dilution of 1:7000), followed
by a chemiluminescence reaction using the Immun-starTM HRP kit (Bio-Rad).
3.6.3 Western blot detection of protein thiols labelled with biotinylated iodoacetamide
(BIAM)
Before the IEF, K310 proteins were derivatized in MES-Tris buffer (pH 6.5) containing 200 μM
BIAM for 15 minutes in the dark. The labelling reaction was quenched by the addition of 2
mM β-mercaptoethanol (final concentration) (Kim et al., 2000). Then proteins were resolved
through 2D-PAGE and transferred onto NC membranes as already described (see 3.6.2).
BIAM-labelled proteins were detected with horseradish peroxidase (HRP)-linked
streptavidin (dilution 1:10000), followed by a chemiluminescence reaction using the Immun-
starTM HRP kit (Bio-Rad).
3.6.4 Image analysis

Digitalized images of Coomassie stained gels and Western Blot films were acquired (Image
Scanner, Amersham Biosciences) and analyzed with Image Master™ Platinum (Amersham
Biosciences). For comparative proteomic analysis, spot % relative abundance was used to
compare herbicide-treated samples with the untreated control. In case of multiple spots
identified as different molecular species of a same protein, the average % relative abundance
was calculated.
6 Sodium dodecyl sulfate

7 Iodoacetamide
8 2,4-Dinitrophenylhydrazine
3.6.5 Protein identification

Protein spots were identified by gel matching with previously produced and characterized
proteomic maps of K310 strain (Trabalzini et al., 2003a; Trabalzini et al., 2003b).
Alternatively, spots from 2D gels were excised, minced, washed with water, in-gel reduced,
S-alkylated, digested with trypsin and identified by MALDI-ToF9 mass spectrometry as
described previously (Braconi et al., 2009).
4. Results and discussion

4.1 Yeast colony forming ability and fermentative performance
In a first phase of work, we aimed at investigating how the herbicides P, S and P E, with AIs
belonging to different classes (T, a sulfonylurea; G, an organophosphate, and F, an
aryloxyphenoxy-propionate, respectively) can affect colony-forming ability and ethanol
production in a wild-type wine yeast strain. We decided to use commercial grade herbicides
in order to reproduce, as far as possible, the same conditions during application in crops,
and to compare results with those obtained in parallel with single high-purity AIs.
The tested herbicides were chosen among those authorized and employed in central regions
of Italy during the last years. At the same time, we chose, as the eukaryotic cell model, a S.
cerevisiae strain adopted for oenological applications instead of a conventional commercial
or laboratory-adapted/mutated baker’s yeast strain. This type of yeast may reside on grapes
in vineyards of the same geographical areas where herbicides are used (Vagnoli et al., 1993).
Therefore, the use of a locally isolated wine wild-type S. cerevisiae strain is advantageous
with respect to other previous approaches since this unmanipulated strain can reveal
biological effects closer to physiological ones. Additionally, K310 strain is well-characterized
physiologically, for its protein repertoire and stress response (Trabalzini et al., 2003a;
Trabalzini et al., 2003b; Santucci et al., 2000; Martini et al., 2006; Martini et al., 2004; Ricci, et
al., 2004).
In Fig. 1, results obtained for colony forming ability assays are reported. Only in the case of
100 mg/L P and 75mg/L T a good homology was found. As a matter of fact, both the tested
compound were found to negatively affect yeast colony forming ability up to the mid-log
phase of growth (Fig. 1 A,B). On the contrary, the commercial herbicides S and PE (Fig. 1 A)
were found to be more cytotoxic than their pure AIs since they had negative effects in
colony forming ability whereas no significant differences were found for G- and F- treated
cells with respect to controls (Fig. 1 B).
Fermentative performances of herbicide- treated yeast cells were evaluated measuring
ethanol levels in culture medium (Fig. 2). As observed for colony forming ability, only in the
comparison between the effects of P and its AI T a good homology was found, since we
detected in both the samples a similar delay in ethanol production with respect to the
untreated control (Fig. 2 A, D). On the contrary, whereas G- and F- treated cells showed no
differences with respect to their controls in ethanol levels (Fig. 2B, C), their commercial
formulations S and PE had significant negative effects for K310 fermentative performance
(Fig. 2 E, F). Importantly, in the case of PE- treated cells, fermentation showed a 100 hours
delay versus the untreated control (Fig. 2 C).
The finding that the herbicide S, differently from its pure AI G, had clear negative effects on
K310 was in accordance with findings by Low and colleagues. They reported that bakers’
9 Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization - time of flight

Fig. 1. Colony forming ability assay. K310 cells were treated with the tested herbicides as
commercial formulations (A) or their pure AIs (B) and colony forming ability was evaluated
by plate assay. Results are reported as % CFU versus control (cells grown in standard
medium for P-, S-, PE, and G- treated cells; DMSO vehicle for T- and F- treated cells, as
detailed under Material and Methods). Data are presented as average values of three
independent experiments carried out under identical conditions; standard deviation is
indicated with vertical bars. *P <0.05 compared with control.
yeast can metabolize up to 20% of G during the bread making process, probably with
detoxification mechanisms which can result in the production of new degradation
compounds, whose action is still unknown (Low et al., 2005).
Additionally, our finding is also in good agreement with a consistent number of reports
indicating that commercial formulations containing G are much more toxic than G alone in
several organisms/cells (dos Santos et al., 2005; Tsui & Chu, 2003; Peixoto, 2005; Benedetti et
al., 2004).
Treatment of yeast cells with the herbicide PE induced a period of latency with a significant
loss of colony-forming ability, followed by a restoration of the exponential phase of growth,
presumably attributable to a cell population adapted to the chemical stress. This finding is
in accordance with previously reported works on 2,4-D herbicide, to which yeast cells were
proven to adapt before restoring growth (Viegas et al., 2005).
In the overall, our data strongly indicated how the effects produced by commercial
herbicide formulations should be distinguished by those produced by pure AIs. This
pointed out that coformulants can substantially contribute to cell damage. Such a damage
cannot be revealed if, as usual, single AIs are tested. Because AIs are never applied alone in
crops but always with several coformulants, our data reinforced the hypothesis that, for eco-
toxicological considerations, commercial compounds are the most appropriate ones to be
tested. Additionally, our data for S are particularly important considering that the
introduction in the market of crops genetically tolerant to G will probably result in an
increased use of this herbicide.
Our results should be read considering yeast not only as an eukaryotic model, but also and
especially as a microorganism used for the production of wine, nowadays considered in all
respects as a food. We found that significant amounts of herbicides can inhibit initial wine-
making steps. Additionally, considering yeast ability to metabolize several compounds
during alcoholic fermentation for the production of H2S and other sulphur compounds (for
example, in physiological conditions, intermediates of methionine biosynthesis), the
possibility that yeast strains could utilize sulphur compounds contained in commercial
formulations should not be underestimated. This could have important consequences on
productivity of wine-making processes, from either a quantitative (fermentation yield and

final ethanol production) or a qualitative point of view (organoleptic and sanitary properties
of produced wines), thus with relapses for both the economic profile and the consumers’
health. Altogether, results of this comparative analysis strongly encouraged us to deepen
our studies on the effects of commercial herbicides on yeast cells.
Fig. 2. Fermentative performance assay. K310 cells were treated with the tested herbicides as
commercial formulations (A-C) or their pure AIs (D-F) and fermentative performance was
evaluated by measuring ethanol levels in culture medium. Results are reported as g/L
ethanol. Cells grown in standard medium were used as a control for P-, S-, PE, and G-
treated cells; a DMSO vehicle for T- and F- treated cells, as detailed under Material and
Methods, was used as well. Data are presented as average values of three independent
experiments carried out under identical conditions; standard deviation is indicated with
vertical bars. *P <0.05 compared with control.
4.2 Analysis of nucleotide patterns

On the basis of our preliminary comparative investigations (Braconi et al., 2006a; Braconi et
al., 2006b), from this point on we carried out our analyses only in cells treated with the
commercial herbicides P, S and PE. Since we found that significant negative effects could be
induced in a very short time after the addition of herbicides to yeast culture, our analyses were
limited to 2 hours of treatment with the tested compounds. First, we investigated through an
HPLC analysis if the tested herbicides could impair the K310 intracellular pools of some
triphosphate nucleotides, their hydrolysis products, as well as NAD e NADP (Fig. 3).
Fig. 3. HPLC analysis of nucleotide patterns in K310 cells treated with commercial herbicide
formulations (P 100 mg/L, S 1 g/L or PE 500 mg/L) or in the absence of herbicides (control).
Data are presented as average values of three independent experiments carried out under
identical conditions; standard deviation is indicated with vertical bars. *P <0.05 compared
with control.
When grown in the presence of 100 mg/L P, K310 cells exhibited a sudden raise in ATP and
GTP levels; conversely, ADP, GDP and total energetic charge were quite similar between P-
treated and control cells. Inosine levels were higher in the presence of P, whereas AMP,
NAD and NADP levels were lower in P-treated cells versus the control.
Responses obtained treating K310 with 1 g/L S were partially superimposable with those
obtained with P. The treatment with S made ATP and GTP levels raise, concomitantly with
the decrease in AMP, NAD and NADP levels. The total energetic charge was significantly
lowered after 30 minutes treatment in S-treated cells, while similar to the control at the other
samplings.
When exposed to 500 mg/L PE, K310 cells showed the most important alterations in
nucleotide patterns. All the parameters under evaluation were decreased by PE treatment
during the whole observed period, though values registered after 120 minutes indicated a
raise in AMP, GDP and NADP levels.
Stress responses involve many adaptive mechanisms in a number of metabolic processes to
allow cell homeostasis and maintenance of the integrity of those structures necessary to
survive. Yeast cells acquired, through the evolution, the ability to cope and survive to
sudden environmental changes, and developed a peculiar ability in changing the internal
milieu to adapt to new growth conditions. One of the most relevant aspects of this response
is cell energetic balance, and for this reason we decided to investigate, through an HPLC
analysis, if P, S and PE could alter nucleotide patterns in K310 cells.
Globally, our results suggested that both P- and S-treated cells had to face an increased
energy demand to cope with the herbicide-induced stress, phenomenon that had been
already reported for yeast cells exposed to the herbicide 2,4-D (Teixeira et al., 2005). On the
other hand, they seemed to indicate a sudden impairment in the redox balance, as indicated
by the lower levels of NAD and NADP, which are indirect indexes of a decreased reducing
power generated by oxidative stress. Additionally, the increased levels of inosine represent
an indirect index that cyototoxic effects of the tested herbicides might be exerted through
oxidative mechanisms (Carvalho et al., 2003).
Our results also showed that PE-mediated cytotoxicity in K310 cells could be the result of
important alterations of the cell redox homeostasis and/or imbalances of vital cell metabolic
processes that cells could not counteract. Nevertheless, the trend showed by various
parameters after 120 minutes of treatment with PE suggested the existence of a population
of yeast cells which can adapt and survive to such stressing growth conditions, like already
indicated by our previous experiments (Braconi et al., 2006a) (Braconi et al., 2006b).
4.3 Monitoring of herbicide-induced oxidative stress

Possible oxidative damage induced by G-containing herbicides has been already postulated
(Beuret et al., 2005; Gehin et al., 2005; Pieniazek et al., 2004; Richard et al., 2005). Considering
these findings in the light of our previous investigations on nucleotide patterns, which
suggested a redox imbalance in herbicide treated cells, we decided to investigate if herbicide
treatments could affect the enzymatic activity of catalase and superoxide dismutase (SOD),
two key enzymes in the cell response to oxidative stress. In order to avoid the production of
interfering substances during a spectrophotometric assay due to the presence of herbicide
residues, we chose to evaluate catalase and SOD enzymatic activities by specific staining
after native PAGE electrophoresis of K310 proteins (Braconi et al., 2008). Images of gels were
acquired and quantitatively evaluated selecting the intensity of unstained active protein
bands, and reported these values as arbitrary units in Fig. 4.
During a 2 hours treatment, only S was able to promptly induce catalase activity even when
such an enzymatic activity was not detectable under control conditions or in the presence of
P or PE (Fig. 4A). It is known, in fact, that a high glucose concentration in culture medium
(such as it can be found in the conditions we tested) can exert a negative pressure on
antioxidant systems, catalase included (Martínez-Pastor et al., 1996). The activation of
catalase is one of the most common cellular responses to redox alterations, since this enzyme
is easily induced by a wide range of stimuli often related to the energetic status of the cell. In
turn, we could hypothesize that catalase activation in S-treated cells might represent an
adaptation mechanism to the herbicide-induced oxidative stress.
Results obtained for SOD activity (Fig. 4B) showed quite a different situation. In the case of
S, SOD activity was initially lowered (30 minutes treatment) then restored (60 minutes) and
increased (120 minutes) in respect to control. In the presence of P and PE, SOD activity was
suddenly decreased by both herbicides with effects that were observable throughout the
whole observed period.
The general inactivation of SOD observed after short treatments with herbicides could be
the result of oxidative damage of this enzyme, which is known to be inactivated by various
peroxides (Pigeolet et al., 1990). This can probably reflect the decreased ability of yeast cells
to adapt efficiently to the oxidative stress encountered. A sudden decrease in SOD activity
had been already associated to brief treatments of human erythrocytes with the herbicide
2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid and to one of its metabolites (2,4,5-trichlorophenol)
(Bukowska, 2004). Whereas SOD is considered an essential anti-oxidant enzyme, at the same
time it can have pro-oxidant effects in vivo (Lushchak et al., 2005), and thus SOD inactivation
can be read as a defence mechanism as well.
Fig. 4. Native PAGE and staining of active catalase (A) and SOD (B) in K310 cells treated
with commercial herbicide formulations (P 100 mg/L, S 1 g/L or PE 500 mg/L) or in the
absence of herbicides (control). Quantitative evaluation was performed on band intensities,
as detailed under Material and Methods. Data reported are average values of three
independent experiments carried out under identical conditions; standard deviations are
indicated with vertical bars. *P <0.05 compared with the control culture.; nd: not detectable
Literature reports about the activity of antioxidant enzymes after herbicide treatments are
quite heterogeneous, probably reflecting different experimental conditions and the
specificity of stress responses in different systems. Other factors that must be taken into
account are the different ROS types that can be generated, their toxicity for the cells, their
detoxification rate as well as the involvement of enzymatic and non-enzymatic defense
mechanisms. Only as a few examples, pure G did not alter catalase and SOD activity in the
liver of rats (Beuret et al., 2005) while SOD activity in roots and leaves of pea plants was not
affected by the treatment with imazethapyr, an imidazolinone herbicide (Zabalza et al.,
2007). Moreover, while catalase activation in yeast had been already associated to the
herbicide 2,4-D (Teixeira et al., 2004; Teixeira et al., 2007), either a commercial formulation
containing 2,4-D or pure G did not alter catalase activity in mice (Dinamarca et al., 2007).
Nevertheless, our data for S are in good agreement with a recent report for another G-based
formulation (Roundup Ultra 360 SL) that induced catalase activity in human erythrocytes
after very short treatments (Pieniazek et al., 2004).
4.3 Proteomics and redox-proteomics

4.3.1 Comparative proteomic analysis of herbicide-induced effects
In order to gain a deeper insight into the effects of P, S and PE on K310 protein profile, we
carried out a comparative proteomic analysis combining 2D-PAGE and protein
identification by gel-matching or, alternatively, MALDI-ToF mass spectrometry.
Proteome analysis is conceptually attractive because it fits with the concept that
determination of protein rather than mRNA levels has major advantages as it is proteins
that carry out functions within the cells (Jamnik & Raspor, 2005). In our work, we found that
the herbicides P, S and PE could affect the expression of several yeast proteins, which were
identified, classified according to their cell function, and reported in detail in a previous
paper of ours (Braconi et al., 2009). Among the differently expressed proteins, many were
found to be involved in cell rescue and defence (Fig. 5A). This group includes a
heterogeneous set of molecular chaperones, such as heat shock proteins (HSPs), devoted to
guarantee the correct protein folding and to avoid protein aggregation (Young, 2004). HSPs
are induced in response to a wide variety of stimuli and many of them may help in
regulating cell metabolism under stressing conditions.
Additionally, the comparative proteomic analysis showed very clearly the under-expression
of several enzymes belonging to the carbohydrate metabolism group in herbicide-treated
cells (Braconi et al., 2009). Our data were, again, in accordance with works studying cellular
responses to oxidative stress (Godon et al., 1998; Magherini et al., 2007; Perzov et al., 2000;
Sales et al. 2000; Weeks et al., 2006) and underlined the susceptibility of glycolysis to
oxidative insults. A decrease in the activity of glycolytic enzymes is thought to be beneficial
during exposure to oxidants (Costa et al., 2002; Shanmuganathan et al., 2004). This finding
suggested, in turn, the need of cells to save energy to face the herbicide-induced
Fig. 5. Functional classification of: proteins differently expressed in K310 cells treated with
the herbicides P, S or PE versus the untreated control (A), and proteins carbonylated (B) or
with oxidized thiols following herbicide treatment (C).
stress as well as the redirection of cell metabolic fluxes to set up appropriate defence
mechanisms. Alterations of carbohydrate metabolism for the generation of NADPH is a
fundamental cellular response to the oxidative stress, since this factor is required for many
defence mechanisms such as glutathione reductase and thioredoxine reductase, which have
a critical role in maintaining the proper redox-balance of thiol groups. At the same time, the
inhibition of the glycolytic route could support the production of protective substances,
such as trehalose.
4.3.2 Redox-proteomic analysis of herbicide-induced oxidation of proteins

Oxidative stress occurs when the rate at which ROS are generated exceeds the capacity of
the cell to remove them by anti-oxidants. When an increased ROS production is concomitant
with a reduction of anti-oxidant systems, cells have to cope with oxidative damage of
proteins, DNA and lipids. A large body of evidence suggests that herbicides may promote
toxic events via the intermediate release of ROS which, because of their extreme reactivity,
lead to the formation of lesions in target molecules. Although this notion was established for
an array of herbicides, including some of those employed in the present study (Soltaninejad.
& Abdollahi, 2009; Muniz et al., 2008), very little information is available on the specific
molecular targets of such a damage.
Since proteins are considered the most important targets of oxidative stress (Sheehan, 2006),
we evaluated through redox-proteomic techniques two commonly investigated oxidative
post-translational modifications (PTMs) of proteins: carbonylation and thiol oxidation.
The introduction of carbonyls groups into proteins is an irreversible, easy detectable and non-
enzymatic PTM often accompanied by loss of function. For these reasons, it is universally
accepted as a good indicator of oxidative stress (Dalle-Donne et al., 2003a; Dalle-Donne et al.,
2003b; Dalle-Donne et al., 2006; Dalle-Donne et al., 2005). Carbonylation of mistranslated or
otherwise aberrant proteins points to an important physiological role of carbonylation in the
control of protein quality. Being irreversible, carbonylation can be a signal for a protein
degradation pathway rather than the chaperone-assisted repair. This can in turn act as a
mechanism providing amino acids for de novo protein synthesis by targeting proteins that are
no longer required or have become damaged to the degradation (Nyström, 2005).
In our work we found that carbonylation is a rapid and dynamic event, mainly affecting
proteins involved in the cell rescue and defence or in the carbohydrate metabolism (Braconi
et al., 2009) (Fig. 5B), with good homology with previous studies on yeast cells treated with
oxidizing agents (Cabiscol et al., 2002; Shanmuganathan et al., 2004; Dirmeier et al., 2002;
Reverter-Branchat et al., 2004; Sumner et al., 2005). Nonetheless, if the herbicide P and S
induced the carbonylation of specific patterns of K310 proteins, in the case of PE protein
carbonylation was nearly random (Braconi et al., 2009).
Since carbonylation often induces alterations in protein structure and function, the
carbonylation of proteins with fundamental cellular roles might explain the negative effects
observed in the analysis of herbicide-induced toxicity in K310 cells. Hence, the
carbonylation of HSPs may counteract their beneficial effect in protecting cells and provide
at the same time a pivotal decisional checkpoint to determine the fate of cells subjected to
oxidative damage. Additionally, carbonylation of glycolytic enzymes might account for
herbicide-induced alteration of yeast fermentative performances and have negative relapses
in the wine-making process.
Thiol oxidation has a pivotal role during oxidative stress, since it has an increasingly
recognized role in protein structure/function and redox signalling (Biswas et al., 2006). If on
the one hand thiol oxidation can activate specific protein functions or protect critical
residues from irreversible oxidation, on the other it can generate a wide range of chemically
reactive sulphur species propagating the oxidative imbalance in the form of pro- anti-
oxidant redox cascades (Jacob et al., 2006).
Either in the case of treatment of K310 cells with P, S or PE, we were able to point out
herbicide-mediated oxidative damage towards yeast protein thiols (Braconi et al., 2010).
Once classified according to their functions, we found that many of the proteins containing
oxidized thiols were involved in carbohydrate metabolism (Braconi et al., 2010) (Fig. 5C),
confirming what recently observed by other authors (Le Moan et al., 2006; Magherini et al.,
2009; McDonagh et al., 2009). Our results globally indicated that thiol oxidation could
coordinate the metabolic response to herbicide-induced oxidative stress and regulate fluxes
of carbohydrates (McDonagh et al., 2009); this could eventually have, in turn, negative
relapses on the fermentative performance of yeasts. Thiol specific oxidation was observed
also for some proteins involved in the stress response or covering specific important
functions in yeast cells (Braconi et al., 2010) (Fig. 5C), in good agreement with results from
Le Moan (Le Moan et al., 2006).
5. Conclusions and future perspectives

The importance of evaluating the potential toxicity of complete pesticide formulations, rather
than just testing their AIs, began to be appreciated only recently. In this context, the yeast S.
cerevisiae is an optimal model system to study herbicide-induced toxicity and, especially,
herbicide-induced oxidative stress. Cell stress studies are usually carried out in baker’s yeast
strains, often genetically manipulated, under extreme environmental conditions very unlike
the physiological ones. Whereas baker’s S. cerevisiae strains have been widely studied both by
genome sequencing and other types of characterization, brewing or wine yeasts are still more
neglected. Nevertheless, oenological S. cerevisiae strains are much more interesting cell models
for eukaryote stress studies, since they are constitutively stress-resistant, adapted to grow
under the stressful conditions of grape must (glucose excess and then rapid exhaustion, low
assimilable nitrogen, low pH, low content of oxygen, high concentration of ethanol) and thus
can represent a good example of tolerance/adaptation response.
In our work, we used a wild-type wine yeast strain, namely K310, for the evaluation of toxic
effects induced by three herbicides. Hence, K310 strain should be considered not only a good
model cell, but also a microorganism with important biotechnological applications in the wine
making process. Globally our findings reinforced the hypothesis that, for eco-toxicological
considerations, commercial pesticides should be tested in parallel with their AIs. Our
investigations allowed us to highlight how significant amounts of herbicides can inhibit initial
wine-making steps and have negative impacts on yeast fermentative ability, having in turn
negative consequences for the biological processes that oenological S. cerevisiae strains are
supposed to properly carry out. Protein oxidation, and specifically carbonylation and thiol
oxidation of enzymes involved in the fermentative processes as well as in the cell rescue and
defence, was suggested to play a key role in herbicide-induced toxicity.
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25
Herbicides in Argentina. Comparative

Evaluation of the Genotoxic and
Cytotoxic Effects on Mammalian
Cells Exerted by Auxinic Members
Sonia Soloneski and Marcelo L. Larramendy
Faculty of Natural Sciences and Museum, National University of La Plata
Argentina
1. Introduction
In epidemiological and in experimental biology studies, the existence of an increasing
interest in biomonitoring markers to achieve both a measurement and an estimation of
biologically active/passive exposure to genotoxic pollutants, is nowadays a real fact.
Significant contributions to the advancement of pesticide toxicology came and continue to
come from many sources, e.g., academic, governmental/regulatory, and industrial.
Regulatory agencies, private sector, and academia worldwide combine expertise to assess
pesticide safety and risk potential demanding adequate data of high quality to serve as the
basis for establishing safe exposure levels. The extent of testing was and is often determined
by the depth of the science, as well as the chemical and physical properties of the agent and
the extent of exposure. The importance of pesticide toxicology has evolved from listing
poisons to protecting the public from the adverse effects of chemicals, from simply
identifying effects (qualitative toxicology), to identifying and quantifying human risks from
exposure (quantitative toxicology), and from observing phenomena to experimenting and
determining mechanisms of action of pesticide agents and rational management for
intoxication. Humans and living species may, therefore, be exposed to a number of different
chemicals through dietary and other routes of exposure.
Nonetheless, there continues to be concern that the presence of multiple chemical residues
in foods may cause adverse health side effects, including effects that would not be predicted
from consideration of single exposures to individual compounds. It is known that the
regulatory system for pesticide products found in foods does not routinely address the toxic
effects of different substances in combination. The implications, both for risk assessment and
for approval processes, of exposure to mixtures of pesticides are among the topics examined
by different international agencies, e.g., World Health Organization (WHO, www.who.int),
International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC, www.iarc.fr), United States
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA, www.epa.gov), European Chemicals Agency
(ECHA, www.echa.auropa.eu), Health Canada Pest Management Regulatory Agency
(PMRA, www.pmra-arla.gc.ca), among others. These international agencies, particularly
WHO and EPA, have contributed a great deal in their attempts to control pesticide
poisoning. They continue their efforts, with particular emphasis on safety in the use of
pesticides and applied research activities, playing the role of intermediary for the
involvement of agrochemical industries in safety activities.
It has been strongly recommended that the nature and extent of combined exposure to
pesticides and related chemicals, together with the likelihood of any adverse effects that
might result, should be evaluated, when carrying out risk assessment. Furthermore, a
scientific and systematic framework should be established to decide when it is appropriate
to carry out combined risk assessments of exposures to more than one pesticide. Finally, it
has been also recommended that groups of pesticides having common targets of
toxicological action should be identified (www.food.gov.uk).
Pesticides are ubiquitous on the planet and they are employed to control or eliminate a
variety of agricultural and household pests that can damage crops and livestock and reduce
the productivity. Despite the many benefits of the use of pesticides in crops field and its
significant contribution to the lifestyles we have come to expect, pesticides can also be
hazardous if not used appropriately and many of them may represent potential hazards due
to the contamination of food, water, and air, which can result in severe health problems not
only for humans but also for ecosystems (WHO-FAO, 2009). The actual number of pesticide-
related illnesses is unknown, since many poisonings go unreported. It has been estimated
that at least three million cases of pesticide poisoning occur worldwide each year
(www.who.int). The majority of these poisonings occur in developing countries where less
protection against exposure is achieved, knowledge of health risks and safe use is limited or
even unknown. Studies in developed countries have demonstrated the annual incidence
intoxication in agricultural workers can reach values up to 182 per million and 7.4 per
million among full time workers (Calvert et al., 2004) and schoolchildren (Alarcon et al.,
2005), respectively. However, the number of poisonings increases dramatically in emerging
countries where the marketing of pesticides is often uncontrolled or illicit and the
misbranded or unlabelled formulations are sold at open stands (www.who.int). Yet, cases of
pesticide intoxication may be the result of various causes in different regions of the world.
In emerging countries, where there is insufficient regulation, lack of surveillance systems,
less enforcement, lack of training, inadequate or reduced access to information systems,
poorly maintained or nonexistent personal protective equipments, and larger agriculturally
based populations, the incidences are expected, then, to be higher (IFCS, 2003). Despite the
magnitude of the problem of pesticide poisoning, there have been very few detailed studies
around the world to identify the risk factors involved with their use. The use of pesticides
banned in industrialized countries, in particular, highly toxic pesticides as classified by
WHO, EPA, and IARC, obsolete stockpiles and improper storage techniques may provide
unique risks in the developing world, where 25% of the global pesticide production is
consumed (WHO-FAO, 2009). Particularly, the impact of increased deregulation of
agrochemicals in Latin America threatens to increase the incidence of pesticide poisoning,
which has already been termed a serious public health problem throughout the continent by
the WHO. Many of the pesticides used in Latin America are United States exports and the
companies can make a number of changes to ensure the “safe” use of their products.
However, the social, economic and cultural conditions under which they are used,
pesticides acutely poison hundreds of thousands each year, including many children. In the
majority of Latin American countries, poisoning registries are so inadequate that most acute
poisoning cases never get recorded. Meanwhile, health effects of chronic or long-term
pesticide exposures such as cancer or birth defects are not available, omissions that serve to
hide the epidemic proportion of pesticide-related illness in the region. In Argentina, e.g.,
Herbicides in Argentina. Comparative Evaluation of the Genotoxic and
Cytotoxic Effects on Mammalian Cells Exerted by Auxinic Members 517
available official data revealed that 79% of the intoxications due to pesticides are related
with the use of herbicides followed by insecticides and fungicides (www.msal.gov.ar),
values that correlate with the evolution of the phytosanitary market demonstrating that
herbicides accounted for the largest portion of total use (69%), followed by insecticides
(13%), and fungicides (11%) (www.casafe.org). Consequently, Argentina a larger producer
of cereals, including soy, is actually the world eight-largest agrochemical market. The
country has seen an explosion in genetically modified soybean production with soy exports
topping $16.5 billion in 2008 (www.casafe.org). The fertile South American nation is now the
world's third largest producer of soy, trailing behind the United States and Brazil.
2. Herbicides. Auxinic herbicides

The most widely applied agrochemicals around the world are herbicides and consequently
the environment is inevitably exposed to these chemicals. Such large amount of herbicides
released into the environment may present an impending hazard to living organisms.
Exposure to some of these herbicides may lead to alterations in the genetic material thereby
causing mutagenicity, carcinogenicity, teratogenicity, and immunotoxicity among other side
effects (IARC, 1977, 1999; Dearfield et al., 1999).
The auxinic herbicides have been around since World War II and were the first selective
herbicides developed. Herbicides are classified as auxinic based on their growth-promoting
effects observed in plant cell cultures, specific tissue systems (coleoptiles, roots), and in
whole plants (Pipke et al., 1987; Liu et al., 1999). Generally, the auxinic herbicides are used
to selectively control broadleaf weeds in grass crops such as cereal grains and turfgrass
swards (Pipke et al., 1987; Reinbothe et al., 1996). These agrochemicals are usually applied as
foliar treatments but at higher doses can be used as pre-emergent treatments (Reinbothe et
al., 1996). The general susceptibility of dicotyledonous species and tolerance of
monocotyledonous species to these herbicides is primarily determined by differences in
plant morphology, rate of herbicide translocation and metabolism. For instance, the
destruction of the phloem of dicotyledonous species results from abnormal tissue
proliferation after exposure to auxinic herbicides. Monocotyledonous species are tolerant
since the phloem is scattered in bundles surrounded by protective sclerenchyma tissue.
Broadleaf species can be tolerant because they metabolize the herbicide to a less toxic form.
These herbicides are considered mimics of the natural plant auxins and are thought to
induce changes in gene expression leading to plant death (Reinbothe et al., 1996; Liu et al.,
1999). Although they continue to be a very important class of herbicides, their precise mode
of action is still unknown. In plants, as it has been stated, these chemicals mimic the action
of auxins, hormones that stimulates growth, but in mammals and other species no mimic
hormonal activity has been reported (Osterloh et al., 1983).
Among this family of herbicides, the 2,4–dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, commonly known as
2,4-D, and the 3,6-dichloro-2-methoxybenzoic acid, commonly known as Dicamba, are two
post-emergent auxinic herbicides released in large amount daily into the environment
worldwide. This family of herbicides includes many very effective broadleaf weed killers
employed in lawns, golf courses, rights-of-way, and agricultural fields.
2,4-D is an herbicide from the phenoxy acid family that is used post-emergence for selective
control of a wide variety of broadleaf and aquatic weeds and forestry applications. It is
produced in a variety of forms, including: acid, salt, amine and ester. While at low
concentrations 2,4-D acts as an auxin analogue promoting plant growth, increasing cell-wall
plasticity, biosynthesis of proteins and the production of ethylene, at high concentrations it

is lethal and is employed as herbicide against broad-leafed and woody plants (Sinton et al.,
1986; Devine, 1993; Tripathy et al., 1993). Worldwide, it is the most extensively used
herbicide, and third most widely employed in the United States (www.epa.gov).
Dicamba, member of the benzoic acid family, is a chlorinated benzoic acid-derivative
compound registered in the United States as a post-emergent herbicide in 1967 (EPA, 1983).
It is produced in a variety of forms, including acid and different kinds of salts, e.g.,
dimethlylammonium salt, potassium salt, and sodium salt, among others (FAO, 2001). This
compound is used in different crops, e.g. cereals, maize, sorghum, sugar cane, asparagus,
perennial seed grasses, turf, pastures, rangeland, and non-crop land against annual and
perennial broad-leaved weeds and brush species (FAO, 2001).
3. Genotoxicity and cytotoxicity of 2,4-D

On the basis of its acute toxicity, 2,4-D has been classified as a class II member (moderately
hazardous) by WHO (http://www.who.int/ipcs/publications/pesticides hazard/en/) and
slightly to moderately toxic (category II-III) by EPA (EPA, 1974).
Genotoxicity and cytotoxicity studies have been conducted with this auxinic member using
several end-points on different cellular systems. A summary of the results reported so far is
presented in Table 1. On bacterial systems, either the Ames test or reverse mutation tests
performed on both Salmonella typhimurium and Bacillus subtilis gave negative results
regardless of the presence or absence of a rat liver metabolic activation system (Charles et
al., 1999; Grabinska-Sota et al., 2002). Whereas the herbicide induced DNA adducts on
Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Teixeira et al., 2004), negative results were obtained for the
induction of unscheduled DNA synthesis in primary rat hepatocytes (Charles et al., 1999).
When tested for its carcinogenic potential, the transformation assay in Syrian hamster
embryo assay gave positive results (Maire et al., 2007). Induction of DNA single-strand
breaks estimated by the alkaline comet assay was evaluated in normal and transformed cells
exposed in vitro to 2,4-D. González et al. (2005), Maire et al. (2007), and Sandal and Yilmaz
(2010) observed an increased frequency of DNA primary lesions in CHO and SHE cells as
well as in human lymphocytes. On the other hand, negative results were also revealed when
this end-point was assayed on the same cell type by others researchers (Sorensen et al., 2005;
Sandal & Yilmaz, 2010). However, Maire and co-workers (2007) showed that 2,4-D was
unable to induce DNA fragmentation in SHE cells. Both González et al. (2005) and Soloneski
et al. (2007) demonstrated the ability of the herbicide to induce sister-chromatid exchanges
(SCEs) in CHO cells and human lymphocytes treated in vitro, respectively. An increased
frequency of chromosomal aberrations was reported in V79 cells and human lymphocytes-
treated in vitro in the presence/absence of rat liver metabolic activation system (Pavlica et
al., 1991; Zeljezic & Garaj-Vrhovac, 2004) but not when the S9 fraction was absent
(Mustonen et al., 1986). Zeljezic and Garaj-Vrhovac (2004) reported the induction of
micronuclei in human lymphocytes regardless of the presence or absence of S9 fraction. The
induction of alterations in the cell-cycle progression of different cellular systems including
plant and V79 cells, human lymphocytes and bovine cells were reported to occur after in
vitro exposure to 2, 4-D (Basrur et al., 1976; Bayliss, 1977; Pavlica et al., 1991, 2005; Soloneski
et al., 2007). However, González and co-workers (2005) were unable to demonstrate such
cytotoxic effect in CHO cells. Finally, controversial results were reported for the cell viability
assay on yeast and mammalian cells (Sorensen et al., 2004; Teixeira et al., 2004). Similar
end-points for both genotoxicity and cytotoxicity were also applied in in vivo
End-point System Concentrationa Results Referencies

In vitro assays
Ames test
Salmonella typhimurium + S9 96.1 - 9610 μg/plate - Charles et al., 1999
H17 Rec+, M45 Rec- reverse
mutation
Bacillus subtilis 3x10-5 - 90 kg m-3 - Grabinska-Sota et al., 2002
Transformation assay
SHE cells 11.5 - 23 μM + Maire et al., 2007
DNA adducts
Saccharomyces cerevisiae 0.45 - 0.65 mM + Teixeira et al., 2004
UDS
Primary rat hepatocytes 2.42 - 96.9 μg/ml - Charles et al., 1999
Alkaline comet assay
CHO cells 200 μM - 4 mM - Sorensen et al., 2005
CHO cells 2 - 10 μg/ml + González et al., 2005
SHE cells 11.5 - 23 μM + Maire et al., 2007
Non-smokers HL 1 - 10 μM - Sandal & Yilmaz, 2010
Smokers HL 10 μM + Sandal & Yilmaz, 2010
DNA fragmentation analysis
SHE cells 4.5 - 34 μM - Maire et al., 2007
SCE assay
Non-smokers HL 10 - 50 μg/ml + Soloneski et al., 2007
Chromosomal aberrations
V79 cells 10 μg/ml + Pavlica et al., 1991
Non-smokers HL +/- S9 0.4 - 4μg/ml + Zeljezic & Garaj-Vrhovac,
2004
Non-smokers HL 0.125 – 0.350 mM - Mustonen et al., 1986
Micronuclei assay
Non-smokers HL +/- S9 0.4 - 4 μg/ml + Zeljezic & Garaj-Vrhovac,
2004
Alteration in CCP
Daucus carota cells 15 - 30 μg/ml + Bayliss, 1977
CHO cells 2 - 10 μg/ml - González et al., 2005
V79 cells 10 μg/ml + Pavlica et al., 1991
Bovine cells 2 - 20 mg/L + Basrur et al., 1976
Non-smokers HL 25 - 50 μg/ml + Soloneski et al., 2007
Cell viability
Saccharomyces cerevisiae 0.45 - 0.65 mM + Teixeira et al., 2004
CHO cells 100 - 750 μM - Sorensen et al., 2004
In vivo assays
Root tip assay
Allium cepa 25 - 100 ppm + Kumari & Vaidyanath,

Chlorophyll mutation, specific 1989
locus
Oryza sativa 25 - 100 ppm + Kumari & Vaidyanath,
1989
Wing spot test
Wing spot and SLRL test 1 - 10 mM + Kaya et al., 1999
Wing spot and white-ivory eye NA + Tripathy et al., 1993
spot test 5 mM + Graf & Wurler, 1996
Drosophila melanogaster
TCRG-TCRB recombination
Mice thymocytes 0-100 mg/Kg/day - Knaap et al., 2003
Alkaline comet
Clarias batrachus 25 - 75 ppm + Ateeq et al., 2005
erythrocytes
Non-smokers HL* + Garaj-Vrhovac & Zeljezic,
2001
SCE assay
Chick embryo cells 4 mg/embryo + Arias, 2003, 2007
Mouse bone marrow and 100 - 200 mg/Kg bw + Madrigal-Bujaidar et al.,
spermatogonial cells 2001
2001; Zeljezic & Garaj-
Vrhovac, 2002
Allium cepa cells NA + Ateeq et al., 2002a
Shallot root-tip cells 45 - 450 μM + Pavlica et al., 1991
Mouse bone marrow cells NA + Venkov et al., 2000
Mouse bone marrow and 3.3 - 33 mg/Kg bw + Amer & Aly, 2001
spermatogonial cells
Rat bone marrow cells NA + Adhikari & Grover, 1988

2001
Hair follicle nuclear aberration
Mouse bone marrow cells 1/32 LD50 + Schop et al., 1990
Micronuclei
Clarias batrachus and Channa 25 - 75 ppm + Ateeq et al., 2002b
punctatus erythrocytes 25 - 75 ppm + Farah et al., 2003. 2006
Mouse bone marrow
Non-smokers HL* NA - Schop et al., 1990
+ Garaj-Vrhovac & Zeljezic,
2001
Alteration in CCP
Allium cepa NA + Ateeq et al., 2002a
Shallot root-tip cells 45 - 450 μM + Pavlica et al., 1991

Chick embryos 2 mg/embryo + Arias, 2003, 2007
Mouse bone marrow and 50 - 200 mg/Kg bw - Madrigal-Bujaidar et al.,
spermatogonial cells 2001
Mouse bone marrow NA + Venkov et al., 2000
Non-smokers HL* - Zeljezic & Garaj-Vrhovac,
2002
Table 1. Evaluation of 2,4-D-induced genotoxicity and cytotoxicity on different target
systems. a, expressed as reported by authors; *, from agricultural workers occupationally
exposed to several pesticides, including 2,4-D. UDS, unscheduled DNA synthesis; HL,
human lymphocytes; CCP, cell-cycle proliferation; NA, data not available.
systems. 2,4-D has been reported to induce mutations in plants (Kumari & Vaidyanath,
1989) as well as in insects (Tripathy et al., 1993; Graf & Wurler, 1996; Kaya et al., 1999) but
not in mice exposed in vivo (Knaap et al., 2003). Ateeq and co-workers (2005) reported an
increased frequency DNA single-strand breaks in piscine erythrocytes and in the peripheral
lymphocytes of a group of agricultural workers occupationally exposed to the herbicide
(Garaj-Vrhovac & Zeljezic, 2001). It should be noted that this later positive result could not
be totally committed to the 2,4-D but to other pesticides, since the cohort of donors included
in the study was exposed to a panel of diverse pesticides. Several reports were able to
revealed that 2,4-D increased the frequency of SCEs in chick embryo and mammalian cells
(Garaj-Vrhovac & Zeljezic, 2001; Madrigal-Bujaidar et al., 2001; Zeljezic & Garaj-Vrhovac,
2002; Arias, 2003, 2007), and chromosomal aberrations in plants, mouse, rat and human
cells, including human lymphocytes from occupationally exposed workers (Adhikari &
Grover, 1988; Schop et al., 1990; Pavlica et al., 1991; Venkov et al., 2000; Amer & Aly, 2001;
Garaj-Vrhovac & Zeljezic, 2001; Ateeq et al., 2002a). When the micronuclei induction end-
point was employed, whereas positive results were found in the piscine system (Ateeq et al.,
2002b; Farah et al., 2003, 2006) and human lymphocytes (Garaj-Vrhovac & Zeljezic, 2001), no
induction was found in mouse bone marrow cells (Schop et al., 1990). Finally, non-
congruent results were reported when the analysis of the cell-cycle progression was used as
and end-point for cytotoxicity. Alterations in the progression of the cell-cycle was reported
to occur after 2,4-D exposure of plants, chick embryo, and mouse bone marrow cells (Pavlica
et al., 1991; Venkov et al., 2000; Ateeq et al., 2002a; Arias, 2003, 2007). However, others
authors were unable to revealed such alterations after in vivo exposure to the herbicide in
bone marrow and spermatogonial mouse cells as well as in non-smokers human
lymphocytes (Madrigal-Bujaidar et al., 2001; Zeljezic & Garaj-Vrhovac, 2002).
4. Genotoxicity and Cytotoxicity of Dicamba

Based on its acute toxicity, Dicamba has been classified as a class II member (moderately
hazardous) by WHO (http://www.who.int/ipcs/publications/pesticides hazard/en/) and
slightly to moderately toxic (category II-III) by EPA (EPA, 1974).
Genotoxicity and cytotoxicity studies have been conducted with this auxinic member using
several end-points on different cellular systems. A summary of the results reported so far is
presented in Table 2. When mutagenic activity was assessed in bacterial systems with the
Salmonella typhimurium Ames test either positive or negative results have been reported
(Simmon, 1979; Plewa et al., 1984; Kier et al., 1986). Furthermore, similar situation were
observed in Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis when the reverse mutation assay was applied
(Simmon, 1979; Leifer et al., 1981; Waters et al., 1981). Whereas the herbicide was unable to
induce mitotic recombination in Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Zimmermann et al., 1984), negative
and positive results were obtained for the induction of unscheduled DNA synthesis in
human primary cells regardless of the presence or absence of a rat liver metabolic activation
system (Simmon, 1979; Perocco et al., 1990). Induction of DNA single-strand breaks,
estimated by the alkaline comet assay, was evaluated in CHO cells exposed in vitro to
Dicamba. González et al. (2007) demonstrated an increase in the frequency of DNA lesions
in this cell line. Similar observations were reported by Sorensen et al. (2004, 2005) on
Dicamba-treated CHO cells cultured in the presence of reduced-clay smectites but not when
the clay system was not included within the culture protocol. Both González et al. (2006,
2007, 2009) and Perocco et al. (1990) demonstrated the ability of the herbicide to induce SCEs
in CHO cells and human lymphocytes with and without S9 fraction treated in vitro,
respectively. The induction of alterations in the cell-cycle progression of different cellular
systems including CHO cells and human lymphocytes were reported to occur after in vitro
exposure to Dicamba (González et al., 2006, 2007, 2009). Finally, similar results were
reported for the cell viability assay in CHO cells (Sorensen et al., 2004; González et al., 2009).
In genotoxic and cytotoxic studies in vivo, Dicamba was able to induce different types of
lesions. It has been reported the ability of the herbicide to give positive results by using the
gene mutation and recombination assays when Arabidopsis thaliana was used as
experimental model (Filkowski et al., 2003). However, both negative and inconclusive
results were reported for the sex-linked recessive lethal mutation end-point on Dicamba-
exposed Drosophila melanogaster (Waters et al., 1981; Lee et al., 1983). Perocco and co-workers
(1990) reported an increased frequency of DNA unwinding rate in rat hepatocytes. It has
been also reported that the herbicide is able to enhance the frequency of chromosomal
aberrations in the root- and hoot-tip cells of barley (Hordeum vulgare) and in rat bone
marrow cells (Hrelia et al., 1994). On the other hand, no increased frequency of
chromosomal rearrangements has been observed in the durum wheat Triticum turgidum by
Satyavathi and co-workers (2004). Finally, when the micronuclei induction end-point was
employed, positive results were reported in Tradescantia sp (clone 03) by Mohamed and Ma
(1999).

In vitro assays
Ames test
Salmonella typhimurium +/- S9 0 - 5000 μg/plate + Plewa et al., 1984
- Simmon, 1979; Kier et al.,
1986
Rec A- reverse mutation
Bacillus subtilis 0.01 - 5.0 mg/disk + Leifer et al., 1981
Pol A reverse mutation
Escherichia coli 0 - 5000 μg/plate + Waters et al., 1981
0 - 5000 μg/plate - Simmon, 1979; Leifer et
al., 1981
Mitotic recombination/Gene
conversion

Saccharomyces cerevisiae 0.1 - 5.0 % (w/v) - Zimmermann et al., 1984
UDS
Human diploid fibroblasts +/-S9 0.1 - 3000 μg/ml - Simmon, 1979
Non-smokers HL +/- S9
0.1 - 0.8 mg/ml + Perocco et al., 1990
Alkaline comet
CHO cells 10 μM - 10 mM - Sorensen et al., 2004, 2005
Sorensen et al., 2004, 2005
CHO cells + reduced clay 10 μM - 10 mM +
SCE assay
CHO cells 1 - 500 μg/ml + González et al., 2007, 2009
González et al., 2006
Non-smokers HL 200 μg/ml + Perocco et al., 1990
Non-smokers HL +/- S9 0.1 - 0.8 mg/ml +
Alteration in CCP
CHO cells 200 - 500 μg/ml + González et al., 2007, 2009
González et al., 2006
Non-smokers HL 100 - 200 μg/ml +
Cell viability
CHO cells 500 μg/ml + González et al., 2009
CHO cells >1000 μM + Sorensen et al., 2004
In vivo assays
A → G/T → G mutation and
recombination assay
Arabidopis thaliana 120 μg/L +/- Filkowski et al., 2003
Sex-linked recessive lethal
mutations
Drosophila melanogaster NA - Waters et al., 1981
3 - 2000 ppm IN Lee et al., 1983
DNA unwinding rate
Rat hepatocytes NA + Perocco et al., 1990
Hordeum vulgare root- and NA + Hrelia et al., 1994
hoot-tip cells,
microsporocytes
Triticum turgidum 2 mg/L - Satyavathi et al., 2004
Rat bone marrow cells NA + Hrelia et al., 1994
Micronuclei assay
Tradescania sp. Clone 03 50 - 200 mg/L + Mohammed & Ma, 1999
Table 2. Evaluation of Dicamba-induced genotoxicity and cytotoxicity on different target
systems. a, expressed as reported by authors; CCP, cell cycle proliferation; NA, data no
available; IN, inconclusive results.
2.5 A 12.0
B
2.0
9.0
COMET ASSAY
1.5
SCE
6.0
1.0
0.5 3.0
0.0 0.0
®
®
CONTROL
CONTROL
DICAMBA
DICAMBA
®
®
2,4-D DMA
2,4-D DMA
BANVEL
BANVEL
2,4-D
2,4-D
1.0 C 1.2 D
1.0
MITOTIC INDEX
0.8
0.8
VIABILITY
0.6
0.6
0.4
0.4
0.2
0.2
0.0
0.0
®
®
CONTROL
DICAMBA
®
CONTROL
2,4-D DMA
DICAMBA
®
2,4-D DMA
BANVEL
BANVEL
2,4-D
2,4-D
1.0 E 1.0 F
0.8 0.8
NR/MTT
0.6 0.6
PRI
0.4 0.4
0.2 0.2
0.0 0.0
®
®
CONTROL
DICAMBA
CONTROL
DICAMBA
®
®
2,4-D DMA
2,4-D DMA
BANVEL
BANVEL
2,4-D
2,4-D
Fig. 1. Comparative genotoxicity and cytotoxicity effects induced by 2,4-D and Dicamba
pure herbicides Pestanal® analytical standards (grey bars) and their technical formulations
(black bars) commonly used in Argentina on mammalian cells in vitro (plain bars, CHO-K1
cells; dotted bars, human lymphocytes). Results are expressed as fold-time values over
control data. Evaluation was performed using end-points for genotoxicity [Sister Chromatid
Exchanges frequency (A), Comet Assay (B)] and cytotoxicity [Mitotic Index (C), Viability
(D), Proliferative Rate Index (E), 3(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium
bromide (MTT) and Neutral Red (NR) (F)].
5. Comparison of the genotoxicity and cytotoxicity of 2,4-D and Dicamba and

some Argentinean technical formulations
One of the major goals of our research laboratory is to evaluate comparatively the genotoxic
and cytotoxic effects exerted by several pure pesticide Pestanal® analytical standards
(Riedel-de Haën, Germany) and their technical formulations commonly used in Argentina
on mammalian cells in vitro. In this section we evaluate comparatively the genotoxic and
cytotoxic effects induced in CHO cells and human lymphocytes from non-smoker donors
exposed in vitro to the auxinic pure herbicides 2,4-D (CAS 94-757) and Dicamba (CAS 1918-
00-9) and their technical commercial formulations commonly used in Argentina 2,4-D
DMA® (60.2% 2,4-D, Delente Laboratories SRL, Buenos Aires, Argentina) and Banvel®
(57.7% Dicamba, Syngenta Agro S.A., Buenos Aires, Argentina), respectively. Evaluation
was performed using end-points for genotoxicity [Sister chromatid exchanges frequency
and Comet assay] and cytotoxicity [Mitotic index, Cell viability, Proliferative rate index, and
3(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) and Neutral Red
assays] (González et al., 2005; González et al., 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009; Soloneski et al., 2007).
A summary of the results obtained is presented in Fig. 1. The figure clearly reveals that all
compounds assayed are able to inflict DNA damage in CHO cells and human lymphocytes
when analyzed at chromosomal and DNA level. We observed that 2,4-D/2,4-D DMA® and
Dicamba/Banvel® caused SCEs in mammalian cells indicating that they have clastogenic
activity (Fig. 1A). It has been suggested that at the chromosomal level, the induction of SCEs is
a reliable indicator for the screening of clastogens, since the bioassay is more sensitive than the
analysis of clastogen-induced chromosomal aberrations (Palitti et al., 1982). The results also
demonstrate the ability of 2,4-D/2,4-D DMA® and Dicamba/Banvel® to induce DNA single-
strand breaks quali- and quantitative analyzed by the comet assay (Fig. 1B). The analysis of the
mitotic (Fig. 1C) and the proliferative replication indexes (Fig. 1D) demonstrated that both 2,4-
D/2,4-D DMA® and Dicamba/Banvel® are able to exert a marked reduction of the cellular
mitotic activity as well as to delay the cell-cycle progression in vitro with a concomitant
reduction of the proliferative rate index in both cell types. Besides, 2,4-D/2,4-D DMA® and
Dicamba/Banvel® are able to induced a clear cellular cytotoxicity, estimated by means of the
ethidium bromide/acridine orange assay in CHO cells (Fig 1.E). Finally, a loss of lysosomal
activity, indicated by a decrease in the uptake of neutral red, as well as alteration in energy
metabolism induced by 2,4-D/2,4-D DMA® and Dicamba/Banvel®, measured by
mitochondrial succinic dehydrogenase activity in the MTT assay, were clearly revealed in
herbicides-treated CHO cells (Fig. 1F) which corroborate the results obtained applying
different end-points for cytotoxicity. Overall, the results clearly demonstrated that the damage
induced by the commercial formulations of both herbicides is in general greater than that
produced by the pure pesticides, suggesting the presence of deleterious components in the
excipients with a toxic additive effect over the pure agrochemicals (Fig. 1). Unfortunately, the
identity of the components present within the excipient formulations was not made available
by the manufactures. Moreover, though almost improbable, the possibility that the amount of
the active ingredient incorporated into the technical Argentinean formulations could be higher
than that officially registered cannot be discarded.
6. Final remarks
In agriculture, agrochemicals are generally not used as a single active ingredient but as part
of a complex commercial formulation. An active ingredient is a substance that prevents,
kills, or repels a pest or acts as a plant regulator, among others. In addition to the active
component, the formulated products contain different solvents, carriers and adjuvants,
some of which have been reported to induce damage in mammalian cells, among other
cellular systems (Lin & Garry, 2000; Zeljezic et al., 2006; González et al., 2007, 2009;
Soloneski et al., 2008; Molinari et al., 2009; Soloneski & Larramendy, 2010). Hence, risk
assessment must also consider additional toxic effects caused by the excipient/s. Thus, both
the workers as well as non-target organisms are exposed to the simultaneous action of the
active ingredient and a variety of other chemical/s contained in the formulated product.
Finally, the results highlight that a complete knowledge of the toxic effect/s of the active
ingredient of a pesticide is not enough in biomonitoring studies as well as that
agrochemical/s toxic effect/s should be evaluated according to the commercial formulation
available in the market. Furthermore, the deleterious effect/s of the excipient/s present
within the commercial formulation should be neither discarded nor underestimated.
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26
A Study on Dioxin Contamination in Herbicide

Sprayed Area in Vietnam by GIS
Dang Duc Nhu1, Teruhiko Kido2, Nguyen Ngoc Hung1, Phung Tri Dung1,
Le Thi Hong Thom1, Rie Naganuma2, Nobuhiro Sawano3, Le Ke Son4,
Kenji Tawara5, Hideaki Nakagawa5 and Le Vu Quan6
1Division
for Mitigation of the Consequences of the Chemicals Used During
the War on Human Health (10-80 Division), Hanoi Medical University,
2Division of Health Sciences, Graduate School of Medical Science,
Kanazawa University, Ishikawa,

3Seiryo Women’s Junior College, Tori-1, Goshomachi, Kanazawa, Ishikawa 920-0813
4Vietnam Environment Administration, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment
5Department of Public Health, Kanazawa Medical University,
1-1 Daigaku, Uchinada, Ishikawa 920-0293,

6Department of Economics, Seattle University,
1,4Vietnam,
2,3,5Japan
6USA
1. Introduction
During the Vietnam war (1961 – 1971), the United States military forces carried out the
operation named Ranch Hand that sprayed over 19.5 million gallons of herbicide for
defoliation over wide areas of forests and crops in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia to deny
their use by opposition force (Westing, 1984; Stellman et al., 2003a). Two thirds of the
chemical herbicides used was Agent Orange, a 50:50 mixture of 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic
acid (2,4,5-T) and 2,4-dichlophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) herbicides (IOM 2002). The defoliant
2,4,5-T was contaminated with an extremely toxic substance, 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-
dioxin (TCDD) known to have adverse effects on human health.
The Vietnam war ended over 35 years ago. There are still adverse effects of herbicide
residues on people who lived in sprayed area and also its ecosystems (Schecter et al., 2001,
2003; Cau et al., 2003; Mai et al., 2007). In environmental health research, there is a
recognized need to develop methodologies to carry out epidemiologic research. The
geographic information system (GIS) is a technology which can improve the study of dioxin
in Vietnam to estimate people’s herbicide exposure. GIS can also combine both extensive
and intensive databases on dispersal of herbicides, locations of US army military units and
bases, locations of civilian population centers in Vietnam, then provide a unique basis to
integrate and improve epidemiologic studies (Stellman et al., 2003b; Waring et al., 2005; Viel
et al., 2008). GIS-based exposure assessment has been used in a small number of
epidemiologic environmental studies (Rushton, 2003). They can efficiently integrate records
of where herbicides were used.
Results of investigations in a sprayed site, A Luoi Valley in southern Vietnam, demonstrate
the apparent food chain transfer of TCDD from contaminated soil to cultured fish pond
sediments to fish and duck tissues, then to humans as measured in whole blood and breast
milk. A Luoi Valley is considered a microcosm of southern Vietnam, where the soils have
been contaminated by numerous reservoirs of TCDD (Dwernychuk et al., 2002). Another
study made clear that TCDD was increased in the blood of 19 of 20 persons taken from an
Agent Orange contaminated site, Bien Hoa in southern Vietnam. TCDD levels among these
persons, one of whom reached 271 ppt, was 135-times higher than among persons living in
non-contaminated areas in northern Vietnam (Schecter et al., 2001). A project for searching
dioxin hot spots was carried out in provinces in southern Vietnam. The results showed that
dioxin contamination in soil and sediment are higher than standard, and indentified specific
US bases as hot spots (797 pg/g TCDD in Bien Hoa, 227 pg/g TCDD in Da Nang, 194 pg/g
TCDD in Phu Cat) (Dwenychuk et al., 2005, 2006).
In 2001, a Japanese medical research team initiated studies on human impacts of herbicide
spraying. The study has shown significantly higher dioxins levels of serum, breast milk and
adipose tissues in inhabitants of sprayed areas (Quang Tri province) than those in non-
sprayed area (Ha Tinh province), while no significant difference was found on early
indicators of adverse health effects such as liver or thyroid function and immunological
activities. Dioxin levels in breast milk of people in the sprayed area are significantly higher
than those in non-sprayed areas (Tawara et al., 2006). The study on mothers revealed high
dioxin levels in breast milk. Kido et al.(2006) has shown visual acuities of both eyes of
people in sprayed areas were also significantly lower than those in non-sprayed area at
every condition with change of contrast from 100 to 2.5 % except for 2.5 % contrast of the left
eye, the simple relationships between dioxin levels and visual acuity were shown as mild in
both eyes.
In the world and Vietnam there have been numerous studies. They have shown the hazards
of dioxin on the environmental and human health. However, some studies remain limited
with respect to subject of study, sample size, method of study and difficulties in chemical
analysis, etc. In addition, there were not many studies applying GIS to the study of dioxin
levels in soil and breast milk in Vietnam.
The main objective of this study was to assess the correlation between dioxin concentration
in soil, sediment and breast milk of females in Cam Chinh commune, Quang Tri province,
Vietnam. Herbicides that contained high concentration of dioxin were sprayed during the
Vietnam war.

2.1 Study area
This study was implemented in two areas where herbicides were sprayed and not sprayed.
A herbicide sprayed area in Cam Chinh commune in Quang Tri province was chosen as a
case site. Quang Tri province received 150 herbicide missions with a quantity of 6602
l/hectare (10-80 committee, 1999; Vietnam Investment Review, 1999). Quang Tri borders the
demilitarized zone along the 17th parallel that once divided the north from South Vietnam.
The control site was Cam Phuc commune in Ha Tinh province, which did not experience
herbicide operations during the war.
A Study on Dioxin Contamination in Herbicide Sprayed Area in Vietnam by GIS 533
2.2 Estimation of spatial distribution of polychlorinated dibenzodioxins (PCDDs) and

polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs)
If a mother’s house or residential area was more polluted with PCDD/Fs, the mother will
have higher level of dioxins in her body. With 16 soil samples and one sediment sample,
spatial distribution of PCDD/Fs was estimated by Kriging interpolation method. There are
some detailed methods in Kriging interpolation (Armstrong et al., 1988), however, Saito et
al., (2000) referred “log-normal Kriging” consistently yields the best result for concentration
of dioxin.
Kriging interpolator is a specialized interpolation method that assumes the distance or
direction between sample points and shows spatial correlation that helps describe the
surface (Largueche, 2006). The initial step, a list of mothers whose breast milk was collected
from lactating females aged between 20-40 years old, was made at Quang Tri in 2002-2003;
these breast milk samples were analyzed in the laboratory of Kanazawa Medical University,
Japan. All mother’s house locations were checked by GPS (Global Positioning System). GPS
data have been coded as latitude (Y) and longitude (X) then located on the map in
accordance with the position of their residence (Fig 2). Soil and sediment samples were
taken in the same area (Fig1) and also analyzed in the Japanese laboratory. These data have
been used to create a surface contour of dioxin of this area by using Geostatistical Analyst,
one of the extension systems of ArcGIS.
2.3 Soil and sediment sample sites

The soil and sediment samples were taken randomly around Cam Chinh commune of
Quang Tri province. Sixteen soil samples and one sediment sample were collected
throughout Cam Chinh commune with a stainless steel core sampler. Cores were of the 0-10
cm depth fraction (Dwernychuk et al., 2002). At any give site, ten cores were collected,
composited, and thoroughly mixed to represent a single sample for laboratory analysis. The
location of each sample was geo-referenced using global positioning system (GPS). The
locations of sampling sites are shown in Fig 1.
Soil and sediment

sample points in Cam
Chinh commune
The flight paths of

missions
Fig. 1. Location of soil and sediment sample sites in Cam Chinh commune
Residence of mothers
Fig. 2. Overlaid GPS data of breast milk samples in Cam Chinh map
2.4 Breast milk sampling site

In September 2002 and July 2003, breast milk samples were taken from lactating mothers
aged between 20-40 years old in two communes. The study purpose was explained to the
eighty-six lactating mothers in Cam Chinh commune and seventy-one lactating mothers in
Cam Phuc commune by local authorities and medical staff. In sprayed area, 64 mothers
lived in Cam Chinh commune, and 12 mothers were born in Cam Nghia commune but got
married in Cam Chinh commune. Cam Nghia commune is near Cam Chinh commune; it is
also one of the communes that was sprayed during the war. In the non-sprayed area, 71
mothers lived in Cam Phuc commune. All lactating mothers consented to cooperate to
donate milk samples. The mothers were breast-feeding their infants aged from 20 days to
one year. Donors provided 10-20 ml volume of milk. In each local clinic, samples were
collected by the mothers themselves, and local medical staff. All samples were frozen
immediately after collection. The residence of mothers was confirmed by GPS. The GPS data
were coded as latitude (Y) and longitude (X) by an excel program and saved database. Dots
were put on the map in accordance with position of their residence (Fig 2).
2.5 Survey method

A retrospective cohort survey, based on epidemiological interviewing was implemented. All
lactating mothers in both communes who donated milk samples after participated in the
survey participated. These mothers were interviewed directly by researchers of the 10-80
Division and Kanazawa University using a standard questionnaire to acquire information.
Collected information during interview included personal habits like smoking, alcohol
drinking, contraceptive drug use, history of pesticide contacting, disease history, number of
pregnancies, age of each pregnancy and kinds of pregnant failures. Data were entered into
computers using JMP® 6 software for analysis.
2.6 Analytic method

Statistic comparisons were made using chi-square and Wilcoxon signed rank test statistics
for categorical variables and Turkey-Kramer HSD test for continuous variables (α=0.05
level). Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95%) based on the chi-square and
Wilcoxon signed rank test were calculated on epidemiology data.
All soil and sediment samples from Vietnam were frozen and brought to Ishikawa
Prefectural Institute of Public Health and Environmental Science to analyze. Analysis
methods of PCDD/Fs levels described in paper (Kakimoto et al., 2004; Oka et al., 2007).
Breast milk samples were brought to the Center of High Technology of Kanazawa Medical
University, Japan. All samples were spiked with 13C-labelled surrogate standards prior to
analysis. All extracts were subject to a series of chromatographic cleanup steps prior to
analysis for PCDDs and PCDFs by a high resolution mass spectrometer (HRMS, HR-
GC/MS; MA Station-JMS700, JOEL, Japan) equipped with a gas chromatograph (HP-6980),
and measurements were performed by selected ion monitoring (SIM) method (Tawara et al.,
2003; Nishijo et al., 2008). Concentration levels of dioxins were shown by actual
measurement values and ones were converted to 2,3,7,8-TCDD toxic equivalents (TEQ),
submitting the international Toxicity Equivalent Factor (TEF) of WHO-TEF in 1997 (Van den
Berg et al., 1998), and WHO-TEF in 2005 (Van den Berg et al., 2006). For non-detectable (ND)
and NDR (chromatographic peak was detected but did not meet quantification criteria)
were not designated.
Maps representing summary findings of the study were generated using ArcGIS. The
database was merged into the GIS software using a Kriging interpolation method to
Geostatistical Analysis (Cattle et al., 2002; Wu et al., 2003). Distribution of dioxin
contamination was estimated based on the soil samples. Dioxin levels in the soil of each
mother’s house were estimated and relation between the value of dioxin level in the soil of
each mother’s house and breast milk were analyzed by Kriging.
3. Results and discussions

The mean concentration of dioxin in soil of the sprayed area is 1.9 pg-TEQ/g; this value is
significantly higher than 0.38 pg-TEQ/g in the non-sprayed area.
The reproductive cohort survey on mothers was carried out in two communes, one area
sprayed with herbicide and another area not sprayed. The results on Table 1 show that
mean dioxin level of breast milk in the sprayed area was significantly (p<0.001) higher than
the non-sprayed area. A statistically significant difference was showed in mother’s height
and weight in non-sprayed area, this being higher than in sprayed areas, but BMI is not
significant. The mothers have used pesticides in the non-sprayed area is significantly
(p<0.001) higher than sprayed area, but other chemicals are not significant between the two
areas. All mothers in the two areas do not use alcohol, and three mothers in the sprayed area
smoke (3.6%). Cousins who have birth defects in the sprayed area were 15.2% and non-
sprayed area 10.6%, and is not significant. Present disease of mothers in sprayed area
(22.1%) was significantly (p<0.05) higher than non-sprayed area (8.6%). Reproductive failure
history in sprayed area (22.1%) was significantly (p<0.01) higher than non-sprayed area
(5.6%).
This study is to assess the correlation between dioxin contamination levels in soil and dioxin
exposure levels in breast milk of females in Cam Chinh commune, Quang Tri province of
Vietnam. One of the GIS technologies of Kriging interpolation method was used to check the
Sprayed area Non-sprayed area

p-value
Mean ±SD or N Mean ±SD or N
N N
(%) (%)
Age (years) 86 29.3 ± 5.7 71 26.1 ± 4.3 ***b)
Height (cm) 79 152.4 ± 4.6 54 154.1 ± 5.5 *b)
Weight (kg) 85 43.6 ± 3.9 66 45.8 ± 4.0 **b)
BMI (kg/m2) 78 18.8 ± 1.5 54 19.4 ± 1.8 n.sb)
Yes 4(4.9%) 0 (%)

Contact with herbicides
No 82 71(86.6%) 71 71 (100%) -
during the war
Don't know 7(8.5%) 0 (%)
Using pesticides Yes 82 7(8.5%) 68 31 (45.6%) ***c)
Using other chemicals Yes 84 2(2.4%) 65 0 (%) -
Alcohol habit Yes 83 83(100%) 69 69(100%) -
Smoke status Yes 83 3(3.6%) 71 0 (%) -
Using contraceptive Yes 80 3(3.8%) 65 1 (1.5%) n.sc)
Cousin who is birth

Yes 79 12(15.2%) 66 7 (10.6%) n.sc)
defect people
Cousin have birth

(People) 12 1.3 ± 0.9 7 1 ± 0 n.sb)
defect
Present disease Yes 86 19(22.1%) 70 6 (8.6%) *c)
Reproductive failure
Yes 86 19(22.1%) 71 4 (5.6%) **c)
history
TEQ-PCDDs [pgTEQ/gFat]a) 86 5.1 ± 3.2 71 2.1 ± 0.9 ***b)
TEQ-PCDFs [pgTEQ/gFat]a) 86 6.0 ± 4.0 71 2.0 ± 0.8 ***b)
TEQ-TOTAL [pgTEQ/gFat]a) 86 11.3 ± 7.0 71 4.2 ± 1.6 ***b)

a)Data of dioxin levels were log transformed
b) Wilcoson signed rank test, ***:p<0.001
c) Chi-square
*:p<0.05; **: p<0.01; ***: p<0.001, n.s: not significant

Table 1. Comparison of characteristics and dioxin levels in breast milk of the mothers
between herbicide sprayed and non-sprayed areas.
correlation; however, no significant correlation appeared (Fig 4, 6). We suspect the reason
for the lack of correlation was the extended period since the end of the war (35 years
passed). The half-life of dioxin elimination in the human body, which is estimated at 7 – 11
years (Mukerjee 1998; Kerger et al., 2007), and in the soil environment is 28.5 – 274 years
(Sinkkonen et al., 2000). The second reason was the rather low number of the samples; 16 for
soil, one for sediment and 86 for breast milk are highly imbalanced. In contrast, no
significant relationship means present environment status represented by dioxin levels of
soil is not consistent with human exposure that is represented by breast milk. There is one
possibility that another exposure route such as exposure due to herbicides during Vietnam
war might affect dioxin levels of breast milk.
In addition, we also found that the distributions of PCDDs and PCDFs in soils were quite
different by the Kriging interpolation analysis. More details in differences are presented below.
On the Kriging map of PCDDs, no correlation was shown between dioxin in soil and breast
milk (fig 4). We can see red points (locations of soil samples) which are dioxin levels in soil,
and blue points (locations where mothers are living) which are dioxin levels in breast milk.
Around the red big points (high dioxin level) are dark colors and red small points (low
dioxin level) are light. PCDDs were thought to come from Agent Orange, given Agent
Orange in the Quang tri area was sprayed 1965 – 1970 (IOM 1998) (Fig 3).
Legend
Fig. 3. Estimated distribution of PCDDs from soil samples by Kriging

TEQ-PCDDs_ESTI
y = -1.9241x + 478.7
Estimation value based on 2500.0 R2 = 0.0004
kriging interpolation
2000.0
1500.0
1000.0
500.0
0.0
0.0 5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0 25.0
Actual value of breast milk
Fig. 4. Estimation value based on Kriging interpolation and actual value of breast milk
Legend
Fig. 5. Estimated distribution of PCDFs from soil samples by Kriging

TEQ-PCDFs_ESTI
y = -0.0168x + 26.87
Estimation value based on 35.0 R2 = 0.0006
30.0
kriging interpolation
25.0
20.0
15.0
10.0
5.0
0.0
0.0 5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0 25.0
Actual value of breast milk
Fig. 6. Estimation value based on Kriging interpolation and actual value of breast milk
Results of the analysis show that PCDFs are not correlated with dioxin in soil and breast milk
(Fig 6). On the Kriging map of PCDFs we can see red points which are dioxin levels in soil and
blue points which are dioxin levels in breast milk (Fig 5). But location of red points is different
with Kriging map of PCDDs and the dark color is also different, it is not around the high
dioxin level in soil. PCDFs in this area are thought to come from herbicides other than Agent
Orange sprayed during the war plus other chemical and pesticides applied after the war.
Reasons why we cannot detect clear correlation between estimated value of soil and breast
milk follow: 1) duration after the war, 2) imbalanced alignment of soil samples, 3) larger
area will be tested if people’s immigration tendencies are taken into account. Then, more
studies will be required to take a larger number of soil samples, which will be well-
distributed in the study site including dioxin hot spots.
4. Conclusions
The concentrations of PCDDs, PCDFs in soil, sediment and breast milk samples collected in
Cam Chinh commune, Quang Tri, Vietnam to assess correlations using Geostatistic
algorithms of log-normal Kriging. Results showed that mean dioxin level of breast milk in
sprayed areas was significantly higher than that in non-sprayed area. Significant
correlations did not appear between estimated dioxin levels in soil by Kriging method and
those in breast milk. There is one possibility that another exposure route such as exposure
due to herbicides during Vietnam war might affect dioxin levels of breast milk. The
distribution pattern of PCDDs and PCDFs is also quite different each other. More soil data
should be needed to make more reliable geographical estimations.
5. Acknowledgements
This study was supported by grants from Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
(Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research, (B)no.17406016 and Grant-in-Aid for Scientific
Research (A) no.19209021 ) and Yoshida Scholarship Foundation, Japan. The authors would
like to thank Dr. Wayne Dwernychuk at Hatfield Consultant in Vancouver, Canada; Dr.
Nguyen Ngoc Hung and officers of 10-80 Division, Hanoi Medical University, Vietnam for
making this possible.
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27
Developmental Toxicity of
Nitrophenolic Herbicide Dinoseb,
2-sec-butyl-4,6-dinitrophenol
Mariko Matsumoto, Akihiko Hirose and Makoto Ema
Division of Risk Assessment, Biological Safety Research Center,
National Institute of Health Sciences
Japan
1. Introduction
Dinoseb (2-sec-butyl-4,6-dinitrophenol; CAS No. 88-85-7), a dark reddish-brown solid or
dark orange viscous liquid, depending on the temperature (melting point: 32-42 °C) (Kidd &
James, 1991), was approved for sale in the US in 1948 as a nitrophenolic herbicide in
soybeans, vegetables, fruits, nuts, citrus and other field crops for the selective control of
grass and broadleaf weeds (EXTOXNET, 1996; Schneider, 1986). Dinoseb is also used as an
insecticide for grapes and as a seed crop drying agent (EXTOXNET, 1996). Dinoseb is one of
the chemicals available on the market on the basis of safety tests conducted by Industrial
Bio-Test Laboratory, a concern later found to have submitted many flawed and even
fraudulent reports on its procedures and results (Shabecoff, 1986). Subsequently, several
studies showed that dinoseb has the potential to produce developmental toxicity including
teratogenicity in rats, mice and rabbits (Giavini et al., 1986; Johnson, 1988; Preache & Gibson,
1975a; Preache & Gibson, 1975b).
Dinoseb as a pesticide was banned in the US in 1986 and the EU in 1991 owing to the
potential risk of adverse health effects in humans (EXTOXNET, 1996; Rotterdam
Convention, 2006), but dinoseb and its salts are still widely used as other agricultural
products (PAN, 2006). Dinoseb as a pesticide is also banned in Japan, but its import is
permitted (PAN, 2006). The volumes of dinoseb imported into Japan were estimated to be
615 tons in fiscal year 2008 and 726 tons in fiscal year 2009 (NITE, 2009). Dinoseb is a high-
volume chemical with production or importation exceeding 1,000 tons per year in
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) member countries
(OECD, 2004).
Dinoseb is well absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract by the oral route and can pass
through the placenta into the fetus in mice (Gibson & Rao, 1973). A dermal study showed
that in six hours young and adult female rats absorbed about 44% of the dose, while at 120
hours 75.9% was absorbed in young and 92.5% in adults (Hall et al., 1992). Dinoseb shows
relatively strong acute toxicity with an oral LD50 of 5-50 mg/kg in female rats (MHLW,
2005), an intraperitoneal LD50 of 14.1-22.5 mg/kg in mice (US EPA, 2003b) and a dermal
LD50 of 40 mg/kg in rabbits (US EPA, 2003b). Inhalation LC50 is 33-290 mg/m3 for 4-hour
exposure in rats (US EPA, 2003b). The basic mechanism of toxicity is thought to be
stimulation of oxidative metabolism in cell mitochondria by the uncoupling of oxidative

phosphorylation (Leftwich et al., 1982). Toxicity of dinoseb is enhanced by physical activity
and high ambient temperature such as in an outdoor agricultural environment (Leftwich et
al., 1982; US EPA, 2007). Early symptoms of dinoseb exposure include hyperthermia,
sweating, headache and confusion. Severe exposure may result in restlessness, seizures,
coma and death (Leftwich et al., 1982; US EPA, 2006; US EPA, 2007).
Exposure to dinoseb may occur by direct contact, ingestion or inhalation by users and
producers, but indirect exposure to dinoseb via the environment is also anticipated. The
microbial breakdown of dinoseb has been demonstrated in soils, but dinoseb persists for
about two to four weeks after application (Health Canada, 1991). A soil persistence of 24 to
42 months was also observed in potato fields in Canada (O'Neill et al., 1989). It has been
reported that dinoseb was detected in water supplies in Canada and the US, and dinoseb
residues were found in a cotton meal sample (Health Canada, 1991).
Developmentally toxic effects of chemicals are influenced by the susceptibility of animal
species and strains, the developmental stages of offspring and administration doses
(Schardein, 2000; Wilson & Warkany, 1965). Teratogenicity is governed by dose-effect
relations, but there are many variable factors such as the duration of chemical treatment
(Wilson, 1966), frequency of dosing (Isaacson & Chaudhry, 1962), routes or modes of
administration (Hansen & Billings, 1986; Kavlock et al., 1982; Kimmel, 1977; Staples et al.,
1976), the vehicle/suspending agent (Anderson & Morse, 1966) or a combination of
chemicals (Wilson, 1964). Dinoseb is one of the chemicals that show differences in
developmental toxicity according to these variable factors. We have already reviewed
studies on the developmental effects of dinoseb exposed prenatally in experimental animals
(Matsumoto et al., 2008c). In the following sections, available literature including new
information concerning the developmental toxicity of dinoseb is introduced by focusing on
the variable factors for risk assessment of dinoseb. It should be noted that the term dinoseb
has been used in the literature to refer to several related chemicals based on 2-sec-butyl-4,6-
dinitrophenol (CAS: 88-85-7). In this chapter, dinoseb refers to the parent molecule only.
2. Developmental toxicity in rabbits

Table 1 shows the results of developmental toxicity of dinoseb in rabbits. There are gavage
and dermal dose studies. The data are shown by routes of administration, in order of the
most likely route of human intake. Only statistically significant effects are summarized
unless noted otherwise.
2.1 Gavage study in rabbits

In a teratology study, 16 Chinchilla rabbits were exposed by gavage to dinoseb at 0 (vehicle:
corn oil), 1, 3 or 10 mg/kg bw/day on gestation days (GDs) 6-18 (Research and Consulting
Company, 1986). There were no differences in fetal body weight and sex ratio between the
dinoseb-treated and control groups. In the highest dose group, there were neural tube
defects including dyscrania associated with hydrocephaly, scoliosis, kyphosis, malformed or
fused caudal or sacral vertebrae and/or encephalocele in a total of 40 fetuses in 11/16 litters.
Eleven fetuses showed only hydrocephalus and/or micro- or anophthalmia, and 4 fetuses
showed only skeletal abnormalities. No maternal death occurred. Body weight gain and
food consumption in dams and number of implantations were not affected.
Developmental Toxicity of Nitrophenolic Herbicide Dinoseb, 2-sec-butyl-4,6-dinitrophenol 545
2.2 Dermal study in rabbits

In a New Zealand white rabbit study, 16-17 pregnant rabbits were dermally given dinoseb
at 0, 1, 3, 9 or 18 mg/kg bw/day on GDs 7-19 (Johnson, 1988). The dinoseb (no vehicle was
used) was dermally applied to rabbits wearing Elizabethan collars for 6 hours, and the
application site was wiped and then dried. Because overt maternal toxicity was observed at
18 mg/kg bw/day and animals were also dying in the 9 mg/kg bw/day group, animals
treated with dinoseb at the high dose were reassigned to the 9 mg/kg bw/day dose group
and did not contribute to the evaluation. There were increased incidences of anophthalmia
and hydrocephaly at 3 and 9 mg/kg bw/day. Dead and resorbed fetuses and fetuses with
cleft palate, microphthalmia and microcephaly were increased at 9 mg/kg bw/day. At 3
mg/kg bw/day and higher, hyperthermia and reduced body weight were observed in
maternal rabbits.
_________________________________________________________________________________
Species Dose Exposure time Developmental effect
(Reference)
_________________________________________________________________________________
Gavage
Chinchilla rabbit 10 mg/kg GDs 6-18 External, internal and skeletal defects
(Research and Consulting Company, 1986)
Dermal
NZ white rabbit 3 mg/kg GDs 7-19, Hydrocephaly, anophthalmia
9 mg/kg 6 h/day Dead and resorbed fetuses, cleft palate,
microcephaly, microphthalmia
(Johnson, 1988)
_________________________________________________________________________________
Table 1. Developmental toxicity of dinoseb in rabbits
GDs: gestation days
3. Developmental toxicity of dinoseb in mice

Tables 2.1-2.3 show the results of developmental toxicity studies of dinoseb in mice. There
are gavage, intraperitoneal (i.p.) and subcutaneous (s.c.) administration studies. The data are
shown by routes of administration, in order of the most likely route of human intake. Only
statistically significant effects are summarized unless noted otherwise.
3.1 Gavage studies in mice

Pregnant CD-1 mice were administered dinoseb in corn oil on GDs 8-12 at 15 mg/kg
bw/day, the expected maximum tolerated dose level of dinoseb. No effects were observed
in reproductive and developmental parameters (Chernoff & Kavlock, 1982). Pregnant CD-1
mice were given dinoseb in corn oil by gavage at 26 or 33 mg/kg bw on GD 7. Two out of 40
pregnant animals died at 33 mg/kg bw, but percent mortality and body weight of pregnant
mice were not changed. An increased incidence of supernumerary ribs was observed in both
dinoseb-treated groups. The authors noted that increased incidence of supernumerary ribs
may be a response to a non-specific disruption in maternal status (Kavlock et al., 1985).
Administration of dinoseb to pregnant CD-1 mice by gavage on GDs 7-8 at 50 mg/kg
bw/day in NaOH produced reduced fetal weight and increased incidence of fetuses with
supernumerary ribs (71% in litters) without maternal death. The authors suggested that
supernumerary ribs are indicative of basic alterations in the development of the axial
skeleton (Branch et al., 1996). A similar study conducted by Rogers et al. (2004) revealed a
dose-related increased incidence of mouse fetuses with supernumerary ribs following
maternal administration of dinoseb in NaOH at 50 mg/kg bw/day on GDs 7-8 and
suggested that increased incidence of supernumerary ribs in fetuses is toxicologically
significant. Skeletal anomalies such as sternum or vertebral centrum defects and fused ribs
were also detected in fetuses of mice given dinoseb on GDs 7-8 at 50 mg/kg bw/day in
NaOH. Although the treatment regimes of Branch et al. (1996) and Rogers et al. (2004)
were essentially the same, they obtained different developmental effects in fetuses of mice
given dinoseb at 50 mg/kg bw/day. Rogers et al. (2004) used 25 pregnant mice. On the
other hand, Branch et al. (1996) used only two pregnant mice, which is too few to evaluate
the developmental toxicity. Therefore, it appears that a gavage dosing of dinoseb on GDs 7-8
at 50 mg/kg bw/day can induce teratogenic effects without maternal toxicity in CD-1 mice.
Dinoseb was administered to pregnant Swiss-Webster mice during GDs 7-15, GDs 9-11 or
GDs 13-15 by gavage up to 50 mg/kg bw/day in NaOH. Gavage dosing of dinoseb
produced no increased incidence of gross or soft-tissue anomalies. When dinoseb was given
by gavage on GDs 9-11, six out of eight pregnant animals died at 50 mg/kg bw/day, but no
effects were observed on developmental parameters. Skeletal variations such as
supernumerary ribs and vertebrae were observed after doses of 20 and/or 32 mg/kg
bw/day during GDs 7-15. The fetal crown-rump length (CRL) was also reduced at 32
mg/kg bw/day after administration of dinoseb on GDs 7-15. A dose of 32 mg/kg bw/day
dinoseb during GDs 13-15 induced absent or not ossified sternebrae. The dose levels that
caused these adverse effects in fetuses were also lethal to some dams (Gibson, 1973).
_________________________________________________________________________________
(Reference)
_________________________________________________________________________________
CD-1 mouse 15 mg/kg GDs 8-12 No effects
(Chernoff & Kavlock, 1982)
CD-1 mouse 26, 33 mg/kg GD 7 Supernumerary ribs

(Kavlock et al., 1985)
CD-1 mouse 50 mg/kg GDs 7-8 Supernumerary ribs, ↓fetal weight

(Branch et al., 1996)
CD-1 mouse 50 mg/kg GDs 7-8 Supernumerary ribs, sternum and

(Rogers et al., 2004) vertebral centrum defects,
fused ribs
SW mouse 50 mg/kg GDs 9-11 No effects (6/8 dams died)
20 mg/kg GDs 7-15 Supernumerary ribs and vertebrae

32 mg/kg ↓fetal crown-rump length
32 mg/kg GDs 13-15 Absent or not ossified sternebrae

(Gibson, 1973)
____________________________________________________________________________
Table 2.1. Developmental toxicity of dinoseb administered by gavage in mice
GDs: gestation days
3.2 Intraperitoneal studies in mice

No adverse effects were observed in reproductive and developmental parameters after an
i.p. administration of dinoseb on GDs 7-15 at 5 mg/kg bw/day in Swiss-Webster mice;
however, teratogenicity was obtained after i.p. administration of dinoseb on GDs 13-15 and
GDs 9-11 (Gibson, 1973). An increased incidence of soft tissue malformation such as internal
hydrocephalus was observed at 10-15.8 mg/kg bw/day in NaOH after i.p. treatment of
dinoseb on GDs 9-11. At these doses, no maternal toxicity was observed. Increased
incidences of defects in the limbs, tail, ribs, sternebrae and vertebrae, internal hydrocephaly
and hydronephrosis were also induced at 17.7 mg/kg bw/day. Fetal body weight and
number of fetuses were decreased at 18.8 mg/kg bw/day, and fetal CRL was decreased at
20.0 mg/kg bw/day. At 17.7-20.0 mg/kg bw/day, dinoseb produced hyperthermia and
death in dams. Dinoseb at 12.5 and 17.7 mg/kg bw/day on GDs 13-15 caused increased
resorptions and decreased fetal body weight, but not maternal toxicity. Unlike
administration of dinoseb on GDs 9-11, teratogenicity was not observed after administration
of dinoseb on GDs 13-15 up to 17.7 mg/kg bw/day.
In a later review study for perinatal nephropathies, Gibson (1976) stated that an incidence of
30-40% of fetuses with hydronephrosis was observed at cesarean section owing to i.p.
administration of dinoseb on GDs 9-11; however, no grossly observable hydronephrosis was
evident in pups at 1 or 2 weeks of age. Renal alteration observed in offspring of mice given
dinoseb seems to be a transient dilatation of the renal pelvis, which is also suggested by
studies in rats (Daston et al., 1988; McCormack et al., 1980), as described in 4.3. On the other
hand, i.p. treatment of dinoseb on GDs 9-11 at 15.8 mg/kg bw/day caused a impairment in
p-aminophippuric acid (PAH) uptake into renal cortical slices of offspring at one and two
weeks of age, and this effect was also evident at seven weeks of age (Gibson, 1976).
Effects of food deprivation, phenobarbital (an inducer of chemical metabolism) and 2-
diethylaminoethyl-2,2-diphenylvalerate hydrochloride (SKF-525A; an inhibitor of chemical
metabolism) on the developmental toxicity of dinoseb were evaluated in Swiss-Webster mice
(Preache & Gibson, 1975a). Pregnant mice were treated i.p. with dinoseb at doses of 0-18.8
mg/kg bw/day on GDs 9-11. These treatments were preceded by 24 or 48 h food deprivation
or by pretreatment with phenobarbital or SKF-525A. Dinoseb-induced external and skeletal
anomalies were increased by 24 h food deprivation. Effects of phenobarbital pretreatments on
dinoseb-induced developmental toxicity were inconsistent at 17.7 and 18.8 mg/kg bw/day. At
these doses, maternal death was not observed. Pretreatment with SKF-525A in combination
with dinoseb at 15.8 mg/kg bw/day caused fetal anomalies, potentiated dinoseb-induced
resorptions and produced maternal mortality. SKF-525A in combination with dinoseb at 17.7
mg/kg bw/day was markedly lethal maternally; however, developmental parameters could
not be analyzed because of the small number of litters surviving. Therefore, it is likely that the
proximate toxicant for maternal toxicity was dinoseb itself.
Swiss-Webster mice were treated with dinoseb on GDs 9-11 and maintained at an increased
environmental temperature (32 °C) for 24 h or a decreased temperature (0-6 °C) for 1.5-4 h
(Preache & Gibson, 1975b). Exposure to 32 °C enhanced adverse effects of dinoseb; it
increased maternal mortality, decreased fetal body weight and increased the incidence of
fetal anomalies at 7.5 mg/kg bw/day. Fetal body weight and the frequency of
malformations were generally the same in groups exposed to low temperature and
maintained at room temperature at 15.8-17.7 mg/kg bw/day. Maternal mortality was
observed at doses that caused fetal toxicity. On the basis of these results, higher temperature
enhanced the maternal and developmental toxicity of dinoseb.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
(Reference)
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
SW mouse 10 mg/kg GDs 9-11 Soft-tissue malformation
17.7 mg/kg Gross and skeletal malformations
18.8 mg/kg ↓Fetal body weight, no. of fetuses,
resorption
20 mg/kg ↓Fetal crown-rump length
12.5-17.7 mg/kg GDs 13-15 ↓Fetal body weight, ↑resorption
5 mg/kg GDs 7-15 No effects

(Gibson, 1973)
SW mouse 15.8 mg/kg GDs 9-11 ↓PAH uptake by renal cortical slices
(Gibson, 1976)
SW mouse 15.8 mg/kg GDs 9-11 Hydronephrosis, ectrodactyly, resorption
17.7, 18.8 mg/kg GDs 9-11 Hydronephrosis

(combination with SKF-525A)
14.1 mg/kg GDs 9-11 Delayed ossification

15.8 mg/kg External malformations
17.7 mg/kg Hydronephrosis
18.8 mg/kg ↓Fetal body weight, resorption
(combination with phenobarbital)
14.1 mg/kg GDs 9-11 Delayed ossification, ↓fetal body weight

15.8 mg/kg Hydronephrosis, ectopic kidney,
(24 h deprivation) internal hydrocephalus,
External and skeletal malformations
14.1 mg/kg GDs 9-11 ↓Fetal body weight,

15.8 mg/kg External and skeletal malformations
(48 h deprivation)
(Preache & Gibson, 1975a)
SW mouse 7.5 mg/kg GDs 9-11 ↓Fetal body weight, external, soft-tissue
(32°C) and skeletal malformations,
delayed ossification
15.8 mg/kg GDs 9-11 ↓Fetal body weight, external and

(Room temp; wet) soft-tissue malformations, resorption
15.8 mg/kg GDs 9-11 ↓Fetal body weight, external and

(6°C; wet) soft-tissue malformations
15.8 mg/kg GDs 9-11 ↓Fetal body weight

17.7 mg/kg External and soft-tissue malformations,
(Room temp; dry) skeletal retardation, variation
and malformation
17.7 mg/kg GDs 9-11 ↓Fetal body weight, external and soft-tissue
(6°C; dry) malformations, skeletal retardation,
variation and malformation
(Preache & Gibson, 1975b)
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Table 2.2. Developmental toxicity of dinoseb administered by intraperitoneally in mice

GDs: gestation days
3.3 Subcutaneous study of dinoseb

Dinoseb was subcutaneously administered to pregnant Swiss-Webster mice during GDs 8-
16, 10-12 or 14-16 at 0, 10 or 17.7 mg/kg bw/day (Gibson, 1973). Adverse effects were
observed only at 17.7 mg/kg bw/day. Dinoseb on GDs 14-16 induced increases in
resorption rate and the incidence of cleft palate and decreases in the number of live fetuses,
fetal CRL and fetal body weight. At this dose, one out of eight dams died. Dinoseb on GDs
10-12 induced an increase in the incidence of fused ribs/vertebrae and absent or not ossified
sternebrae, and on GDs 8-16 induced supernumerary ribs/vertebrae, absent or not ossified
sternebrae, decreased fetal body weight and decreased fetal CRL without maternal toxicity.
The authors concluded that an s.c. dose of dinoseb was not teratogenic and cleft palate
induced by treatment of dinoseb was not considered as a toxicological response because this
anomaly was not found in any i.p. treated groups, as described in 3.2, or in other s.c.
treatment groups given 17.7 mg/kg bw/day. However, this anomaly can be considered as a
toxic effect because the incidence of cleft palate was statistically significant, and other later
studies showed that i.p. dose of dinoseb induced cleft palate in mice (Preache & Gibson,
1975b) and in rabbits (Johnson, 1988). Moreover, a recent survey by international experts in
the field of reproductive/developmental toxicology resulted in strong agreement that fused
ribs and vertebrae can be considered as malformations (Solecki et al., 2001). Therefore, it can
be concluded that an s.c. dosing of dinoseb in mice may have the potential to produce
teratogenic effects in the same way as i.p. dosing of dinoseb.
_________________________________________________________________________________
(Reference)
_________________________________________________________________________________
SW mouse 17.7 mg/kg GDs 10-12 Fused ribs and vertebrae, absent or
not ossified sternebrae
17.7 mg/kg GDs 14-16 Cleft palate, ↑resorption, ↓no. of fetuses,

↓fetal body weight,
↓fetal crown-rump length
17.7 mg/kg GDs 8-16

Skeletal variations, ↓fetal body weight,
↓fetal crown-rump length,
(Gibson, 1973) absent or not ossified sternebrae
_________________________________________________________________________________
Table 2.3. Developmental toxicity of dinoseb administered by subcutaneously in mice
GDs: gestation days
4. Developmental toxicity in rats

Tables 3.1-3.3 show the results of developmental toxicity studies of dinoseb in rats. There are
oral (gavage and diet) and i.p. administration studies. The data are shown by routes of
administration, in order of the most likely route of human intake. Only statistically
significant effects are summarized unless noted otherwise.
4.1 Gavage studies in rats

In our previous study, male Crj:CD(SD)IGS rats were administered dinoseb by gavage for a
total of 42 days beginning 14 days before mating and females underwent this treatment for a
total of 44-48 days beginning 14 days before mating to day 6 of lactation at 0 (vehicle: corn
oil) , 0.78, 2.33 or 7.0 mg/kg bw/day (Matsumoto et al., 2008a). As for the developmental
parameters, no changes attributable to the chemical were noted in the 0.78 and 2.33 mg/kg
bw/day dose groups. Eight of twelve females died and two animals were moribund during
late pregnancy at 7.0 mg/kg bw/day. Developmental toxicity of dinoseb was not precisely
estimated because only one dam with live pups was obtained at the highest dose, and
newborn rats were only examined externally. No increased incidence of pups with an
external malformation was noted in the dinoseb-treated groups.
In teratology studies in rats, skeletal variation, delayed ossification and/or decreased fetal
body weight was commonly observed in fetuses of dams treated with dinoseb. Giavini et al.
(1986) administered dinoseb to pregnant CD rats by gavage in corn oil either once a day on
GDs 5-14 at 0, 2.5, 5, 10 or 15 mg/kg bw/day or twice a day on GDs 5-12 at 15 (7.5 x 2) or 20
(10 x 2) mg/kg bw/day. Dinoseb was also administered to pregnant rats on GDs 5-12 at 15
mg/kg bw/day in NaOH. This vehicle was selected to conform to a vehicle used in a study by
Gibson (1973) in which dinoseb in NaOH showed teratogenicity in mice when administered
i.p. but not by gavage. An increased incidence of supernumerary ribs was observed at 10
mg/kg bw/day and higher, and fetal weight was decreased at 15 and 20 mg/kg bw/day
regardless of frequency of dosing or vehicle. Delayed ossification of caudal vertebrae,
metacarpals or sternebrae was observed at a single dose of 15 mg/kg bw/day (in both corn oil
and NaOH). These doses also caused maternal toxicities such as mortality and decrease in
body weight gain. No malformations were observed in fetuses of dams treated with dinoseb
under the test condition regardless of the dosing regimen or vehicle used in the experiment.
Fetal body weight was decreased when pregnant Crl:CD rats were given dinoseb at 15 mg/kg
bw/day with diet A (protein 21%, fat 3.5%, fiber 6.5%, ash 7.5% and N-free extractives 61.5%;
Italiana Mangimi, Settimo Milanese, Italy) and diet B (protein 21%, fat 4.8%, fiber 4.2%, ash
8.5% and N-free extractives 61.5%; Mangimi Piccioni, Gessate, Italy) on GDs 5-13 (Giavini et
al., 1989). Dinoseb induced microphthalmia in fetuses of animals fed diet B but did not induce
maternal toxicity. Maternal mortality and decreased maternal body weight gain were observed
when dinoseb was given with diet A. Although developmental toxicity was different
according to the type of diet, there were no differences in dinoseb concentrations in maternal
plasma and in embryos between the two dietary groups.
Wistar/Han rats were administered dinoseb by gavage on GDs 6-15 at 0, 1, 3 or 10 mg/kg
bw/day (Health Canada, 1991). No information on the vehicle was presented in this study.
Only slight depressions were observed in food consumption and body weight gain of dams
at 10 mg/kg bw/day. Fetuses at the highest dose showed a slight decrease in body weight,
and increases in the incidence of delayed ossification and incidence of skeletal variations,
especially supernumerary ribs. At 3 mg/kg bw/day and higher, absence of thoracic
vertebrae was observed. No further information is available for this study, but the result
indicates that dosing of dinoseb by gavage is hazardous in Wistar/Han rats.
The details of our new findings (Matsumoto et al., 2010) shown in Table 3.1 are described
below (see 4.4).
4.2 Feeding studies in rats

Feeding of dinoseb to CD rats on GDs 5-14 produced a specific teratogenic effect, increased
incidence of fetuses with microphthalmia, reduced fetal weight and increased incidence of
fetuses with supernumerary ribs at 200 ppm (15 mg/kg bw/day) accompanied by
decreased maternal body weight gain (Giavini et al., 1986). An increased incidence of fetuses
_________________________________________________________________________________
(Reference)
_________________________________________________________________________________
Crj:CD(SD) 7 mg/kg 44-48 days ↓ No. of dams delivered,
IGS rat ↓no. of dams with live pups at delivery
(Matsumoto et al., 2008a)
CD rat 10 mg/kg GDs 5-14 Skeletal variations

15 mg/kg Delayed ossification, ↓fetal body weight
(in corn oil)
7.5, 10 mg/kg GDs 5-12 Skeletal variations, ↓fetal body weight

(twice/day)
15 mg/kg GDs 5-12 Skeletal variations, delayed ossification

(in NaOH) ↓fetal body weight
(Giavini et al., 1986)
Crl:CD rat 15 mg/kg GDs 5-13 ↓Fetal body weight, microphthalmia

(with diet B)
15 mg/kg GDs 5-13 ↓ Fetal body weight

(with diet A)
Wistar/Han 3 mg/kg GDs 6-15 Absence of thoracic vertebrae,

rat a 10 mg/kg Absence of thoracic vertebrae,
skeletal variations
(Health Canada, 1991)
SPF Crl:CD 8.0 mg/kg GDs 6-15 ↓Fetal body weight, skeletal variations,
(SD) rat b delayed ossifications
10 mg/kg ↓ Fetal body weight, skeletal variations,
delayed ossifications, microphthalmia
(Matsumoto et al., 2010)
_________________________________________________________________________________
Table 3.1. Developmental toxicity of dinoseb administered by gavage in rats
a: only secondary literature or abstract is available.
b: the details are described in 4.4
GDs: gestation days
with microphthalmia and reduced fetal weight were also observed when pregnant Crl:CD
rats were given dinoseb in diet B at 200 ppm on GDs 5-13. At this dose, maternal food
consumption and body weight gain were decreased compared with those of control groups
(Giavini et al., 1989). When dinoseb was fed with diet A, maternal food consumption and
body weight gain were reduced, but no effects were found in fetuses (Giavini et al., 1989).
These findings indicate that the developmental toxicity, including teratogenicity, of
dinoseb in rats was influenced by diet composition (see 4.1 for the compositions of diet A
and diet B).
Following feeding of dinoseb on GDs 5-14 at 0, 50, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300 and 350 ppm (0,
3.26, 6.9, 9.23, 10.86, 9.38, 9.49 and 8.6 mg/kg bw/day) in SD rats, the number of resorptions
at 200-350 ppm, early embryo loss at 200-350 ppm, and total intra-uterine loss at 150-350
ppm were increased in a dose-related manner (Spencer & Sing, 1982; US EPA, 2003b). Body
weight gain in dams was decreased at 150-350 ppm. At 200 ppm, hypoplastic tail was
observed in 8 out of 62 fetuses and fetal weight was decreased. In decidualized females
given dinoseb on days 7-10 of pseudopregnancy, uterine protein and glycogen
concentrations were decreased at 200 ppm and higher in a dose-related manner. The authors
suggested a toxic role of dinoseb in the uterine environment.
Hall et al. (1978) provided a brief summary of a subchronic feeding study in which Sherman
male and female rats were fed a diet containing dinoseb at 0, 50, 100, 150, 200, 300, 400 and
500 ppm for 153 days. The 300, 400 and 500 ppm groups were terminated at day 21 of
administration owing to mortality of 14, 100 and 100%, respectively, and only animals fed
dinoseb up to 200 ppm were evaluated. Fertility, fecundity, neonate survival, weight gain,
viability and lactation were depressed. No further details are available.
In an unpublished five-generation study, decreased body weight gains were observed in
parents during the pre-mating period (F0, F1 and F2) at 10 mg/kg bw/day dinoseb in the
diet and in pups on postnatal day (PND) 21 (F1, F2 and F3) at 1, 3 and 10 mg/kg bw/day,
but weights at birth were similar to the controls. Body weight gain in F4 and F5 pups was
increased and absolute and relative gonadal weights in F4 pups were decreased at all dose
levels. A low viability index was obtained (from F4 to F5) at all dose levels. No detailed
information is available for this study (Health Canada, 1991; US EPA, 2003a).
The details of our new findings (Matsumoto et al., 2010) shown in Table 3.2 are described
below (see 4.4).
4.3 Intraperitoneal studies in rats

Two i.p. studies in rats showed similar results on developmental toxicity. When dinoseb
was given to SD rats on GDs 9-11 at doses up to 15.8 mg/kg bw/day in NaOH, all pregnant
rats given dinoseb at 11.2 mg/kg bw/day and higher and three of the 16 pregnant rats at 9.0
mg/kg bw/day died. There were dilated renal pelvis and ureters in fetuses, decreased body
weight in fetuses, and pathological changes in the liver and kidney in both fetal and
neonatal rats at 8.0 mg/kg bw/day without maternal toxicity. At 9.0 mg/kg bw/day, fetal
CRL was decreased, and neonatal body weight was decreased on PNDs 1 and 7 but not on
PND 42. In surviving dams, dinoseb did not affect the number of live fetuses or the
resorption rate in surviving dams (McCormack et al., 1980).
When dinoseb was administered i.p. to pregnant SD rats on GDs 9-11 or 10-12 at 0-18.0
mg/kg bw/day in NaOH, fetal body weight was decreased at 7.5 mg/kg bw/day and
higher, but weights at birth and on PND 6 were not affected. Maternal death was observed
at 8.0 mg/kg bw/day and higher, and 10.5 mg/kg bw/day was an approximate LD50 in
pregnant rats. Postnatal observation on PND 30 revealed that there was a body weight
reduction and an increase in relative kidney weight at 10.5 mg/kg bw/day. On PND 6,
there were a deficit in urinary concentrating ability in pups of dams given dinoseb on GDs
9-11 at 10.5 mg/kg bw/day (Daston et al., 1988).
As described above, dinoseb produced suggestive renal damage in rat offspring following
maternal administration. However, pathological changes in the kidney observed in prenatal
rats were reduced in incidence or not detected at 42-day postpartum in the study of
_______________________________________________________________________________
(Reference)
_________________________________________________________________________________
CD rat 200 ppm GDs 5-14 ↓Fetal body weight, microphthalmia,
(15 mg/kg) skeletal variations
Crl:CD rat 200 ppm GDs 5-13 ↓Fetal body weight, microphthalmia
(diet B)
200 ppm GDs 5-13 No effects

(diet A)
SD rat 150 ppm GDs 5-14 ↑Total intra-uterine loss

(9.23 mg/kg)
200 ppm ↑Early embryonic loss, resorptions,
(10.86 mg/kg) ↓fetal body weight, hypoplastic tail
(Spencer & Sing, 1982; US EPA, 2003b)
Sherman rat a < 200 ppm 153 days ↓ Fertility, ↓fecundity, ↓neonate survival,
↓body weight gain,
↓viability, ↓ lactation
(Hall et al., 1978)
CD (SD) rat a 1, 3, 10 mg/kg 3-generation ↓Body weight gain in pups (F1, F2, F3)
Next ↓Body weight gain in pups (F4, F5),

2-generation ↓absolute/relative gonadal weight (F4),
↓ viability index (F5)
(Health Canada, 1991; US EPA, 2003a)
SPF Crl:CD 120 ppm GDs 6-16 ↓Fetal body weight

(SD) rat b (6.52 mg/kg)
10 mg/kg ↓Fetal body weight, skeletal variations,
(8.0 mg/kg) delayed ossifications
(Matsumoto et al., 2010)
_________________________________________________________________________________
Table 3.2. Developmental toxicity of dinoseb administered in diet in rats
a: only secondary literature or abstract is available
b: the details are described in 4.4
GDs: gestation days
McCormack et al. (1980). In the study of Daston et al. (1988) a deficit in urinary
concentrating ability observed during postnatal development also disappeared after
functional maturation (PND 30). Prenatal incidence of dilated renal pelvis was not dose-
dependent. Moreover, Woo and Hoar (1972) noted that the renal parenchyma increased in
weight rapidly, but that the renal papilla increased in length solely during late pregnancy,
and they suggested that this discrepancy in growth rate frequently resulted in the kidney
with an enlarged renal pelvis. Taken together, these renal effects appear to be a
developmental delay, but not a permanent functional impairment.
_________________________________________________________________________________
(Reference)
_________________________________________________________________________________
SD rat 8.0 mg/kg GDs 9-11 ↓Fetal body weight, dilated renal pelvis
and ureters in fetuses
Pathological changes in liver and
kidney in fetuses and neonates
9.0 mg/kg ↓Fetal crown-rump length, ↓ neonatal
body weight
(McCormack et al., 1980)
SD rat 7.5 mg/kg GDs 9-11, 10-12 ↓Fetal body weight

10.5 mg/kg Functional defect of kidney (PND 6),
↓body weight in pups (PND 30),
↑relative weight of kidney (PND 30)
(Daston et al., 1988)
_________________________________________________________________________________
Table 3.3. Developmental toxicity of dinoseb administered by intraperitoneally in rats
GDs: gestation days
PND: postnatal day
4.4 Further clarification of teratogenicity in rats

Several studies including our previous study did not demonstrate the teratogenicity of
dinoseb in rats (Daston et al., 1988; Matsumoto et al., 2008a; McCormack et al., 1980), but we
considered that the teratogenic potential of dinoseb in rats was unclear because of the
influence of variable factors. Because detailed test conditions were not described in the
studies of Giavini et al. (Giavini et al., 1989; Giavini et al., 1986), adequate experimental
conditions for the production of fetal malformations by the administration of dinoseb to
pregnant rats remained unknown. Therefore, we recently conducted gavage and feeding
studies to clarify the experimental conditions that produce fetal malformations when
dinoseb is given to pregnant rats (Matsumoto et al., 2010).
Pregnant rats (12 animals/group) were given dinoseb by gavage at 0, 8.0 or 10 mg/kg
bw/day on GDs 6-15 or in the diet (CRF-1; protein 22%, fat 5.7%, fiber 2.9%, ash 6.3% and
N-free extractives 55.3%; Oriental Yeast Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan) at 0, 120 or 200 ppm on GDs
6-16 (Figure 1). The feeding dose groups were expected to consume similar amounts of
dinoseb to those in the gavage groups. Dinoseb induced dose-dependent decreases in
maternal body weight gain and food consumption during pregnancy in all the dinoseb-
treated groups. The decrease in food consumption was greater in the feeding dose groups
than the gavage dose groups; therefore, the decreased food consumption may be related to a
reduced palatability of the diet in the feeding groups. Intakes of dinoseb by feeding dose
were estimated to be 0, 6.52 and 8.50 mg/kg bw/day (0, 120 and 200 ppm).
Significantly decreased body weights of fetuses were observed in all the dinoseb-treated
groups, except for the group fed dinoseb at 120 ppm. Skeletal examinations of fetuses revealed
an increased incidence of fetuses with skeletal variations in all the dinoseb-treated groups and
delayed ossification at 8.0 and 10 mg/kg bw/day and at 200 ppm. An increased incidence of
fetuses with microphthalmia was observed at 10 mg/kg bw/day, but there was no increased
incidence of fetuses with external, internal or skeletal malformations in the groups given
dinoseb at 8.0 mg/kg bw/day by gavage or 120 or 200 ppm by feeding (Table 3.1 and 3.2).
Gavage dose
0, 8.0 or 10 mg/kg/day Days 6-15 of pregnancy

12 females/group
Feeding dose
0, 120 or 200 ppm Days 6-16 of pregnancy

(0, 6.52 or 8.50 mg/kg)
12 females/group
Pregnancy: Day 0 Day 6 Day 15 Day 16 Day 20
Mating Necropsy
Dosing Without dosing
Fig. 1. A study design of prenatal developmental toxicity of gavage or feeding doses of

dinoseb in rats (Matsumoto et al., 2010)
Although the feeding dose of dinoseb at 200 ppm (15 mg/kg bw/day) was previously
reported to be teratogenic in rats (Giavini et al., 1986), the feeding dose of dinoseb up to 200
ppm (8.5 mg/kg bw/day) did not induce teratogenicity in our study. The diets used in the
studies of Giaini et al. did not meet the current nutrient requirement of rats for fat (more
than 5%) (ILAR, 1995; Suckow et al., 2005) while the diet used in our study is a standard rat
diet; however, fat concentration seems unrelated to dinoseb-induced teratogenicity, and it
seemed impossible to identify the definitive dietetic factor involved. Dose levels of dinoseb
in our study might not have been sufficiently high to induce teratogenicity; however,
pregnant rats did not consume sufficiently high amounts of dinoseb to produce fetal
malformations because food consumption was reduced in the feeding groups. It seems
unlikely that a feeding study is appropriate to evaluate the toxicity of dinoseb.
Microphthalmia, which was found in rats after exposure to dinoseb by gavage or feeding
(Giavini et al., 1989; Giavini et al., 1986) and in rabbits by gavage (Research & Consulting
Company, 1986) or dermal application (Johnson, 1988), was predominantly observed after
administration of dinoseb at 10 mg/kg bw/day by gavage. As a rule, the administration of a
suitable dosage of a teratogen generally results in the production of some normal offspring,
some malformed offspring and some dead or resorbed offspring (Schardein, 2000). In our
study, the increased incidence of malformed fetuses was not accompanied by an increased
incidence of intrauterine deaths of offspring after the administration of dinoseb. This
phenomenon was also observed in the previous studies of Giavini et al. (Giavini et al., 1989;
Giavini et al., 1986). One possible explanation for this is that microphthalmia itself is not
lethal in utero. Because maternal death was observed after the gavage dose of dinoseb at 10
mg/kg bw/day, the exposure range of dinoseb where malformations are observed seems to
be narrow in rats. The findings of our study confirmed the experimental condition that
could induce malformation in rats fed a standard diet.
5. Discussion and conclusions

A difficulty lies in the risk assessment of chemical compounds for developmental toxicity
because there are many variable factors in the manifestation of developmental toxicity of
chemicals. The administration route is one of the definitive factors for risk assessment of
chemicals. The data obtained from animal experiments by oral administration are the most
important for risk assessment of chemicals because the oral route is the most relevant route
for human exposure to dinoseb.
Gavage dosing of dinoseb during organogenesis in rabbits produced external, internal and
skeletal malformations in fetuses without maternal toxicity at 10 mg/kg bw/day (Health
Canada, 1991; US EPA, 2003a). In mice, gavage dosing of dinoseb during organogenesis
induced skeletal variations and growth retardation at or above maternally toxic levels (26-50
mg/kg bw/day) (Branch et al., 1996; Kavlock et al., 1985). Teratogenic effects were observed
without maternal toxicity at 50 mg/kg bw/day by gavage in CD-1 mice (Rogers et al., 2004).
Doses of dinoseb in rats during organogenesis induced skeletal variations and growth
retardation at maternally toxic levels (8.0-20 mg/kg bw/day) by gavage and (6.52-15 mg/kg
bw/day) by feeding (Giavini et al., 1986; Matsumoto et al., 2010). Malformations such as
microphthalmia or hypoplastic tail were observed when dinoseb was given in the diet (10.86-15
mg/kg bw/day) with maternal toxicity (Giavini et al., 1989; Giavini et al., 1986; Spencer & Sing,
1982), but not in our study (Matsumoto et al., 2010). Microphthalmia was also observed when
dinoseb was given by gavage (8.0-15 mg/kg bw/day) in CD rats with maternal toxicity (Giavini
et al., 1989; Giavini et al., 1986; Matsumoto et al., 2010). In Wistar/Han rats, absence of thoracic
vertebrae was observed by gavage dose of dinoseb at 3 mg/kg bw/day and higher without
maternal toxicity. No detailed test condition is available for this study, but genetic difference in
strains of rats may also influence the teratogenic potential of dinoseb. Although there are
differences in susceptibility of developmental toxicity by the oral route among rabbits, mice and
rats, namely susceptibility to developmental toxicity caused by dinoseb was greater in rabbits
than in rats and mice, teratogenicity was noted at some doses without maternal toxicity in these
animal species. More precisely, dinoseb can be a selective teratogen in these animal species.
Dermal exposure is the next most likely route of exposure to dinoseb in humans, especially
in users and producers. A dermal teratology study in rabbits showed a markedly increased
incidence of dead and resorbed fetuses (Johnson, 1988). The survivors exhibited a high
incidence of external and soft tissue malformations at application levels of dinoseb, but
these dose levels were also maternally toxic.
Prenatal i.p. and s.c. doses of dinoseb induced growth retardation, embryolethality and/or
teratogenicity at or over the maternally toxic dose levels (10-20 mg/kg bw/day) in Swiss-
Webster mice (Gibson, 1973; Preache & Gibson, 1975a; Preache & Gibson, 1975b). Prenatal
i.p. dose of dinoseb did not induce teratogenicity but induced growth retardation at or
above the maternally toxic level in rats (Daston et al., 1988; McCormack et al., 1980). The
teratogenic effects were observed with or without maternal toxicity in rats and mice, but the
maternal toxicity of dinoseb seems greater in rats than in mice because dinoseb treatment
(i.p.) during GDs 10-12 at 9.0 mg/kg bw/day caused 3/16 maternal deaths in rats
(McCormack et al., 1980) while no maternal toxicity was observed at 15.8 mg/kg bw/day
after i.p. dosing of dinoseb during GDs 10-12 in mice (Gibson, 1973). This may explain why
teratogenicity was induced in mice, but not in rats, after i.p. dosing of dinoseb. It can be
considered that maternal mice were tolerant to dose levels that can produce fetal
malformations. Prenatal i.p. and s.c. doses of dinoseb also showed teratogenic potentials;
however, these exposure routes are not likely to be relevant to human exposure to dinoseb
and may not be important for risk assessment of dinoseb.
The developmental toxicity of dinoseb was also influenced by administration methods. These
effects are considered to be related to differences in absorption due to the concentration of the
chemical, duration of exposure and rate of release or to differences in metabolic fate and the
nature of the metabolites reaching the embryo (Kalter, 1968). In fact, food deprivation for 24 h
that enhanced external, soft-tissue and skeletal malformations slowed the disappearance of
dinoseb from the plasma, but phenobarbital, which reduced developmental toxicity, hastened
the disappearance of dinoseb from the plasma. SKF-525A pretreatment, which enhanced both
maternal and developmental toxicity, decreased the rate of disappearance from the liver
(Preache & Gibson, 1975a). When pregnant mice were administered dinoseb, either i.p. at 17.7
mg/kg bw or by gavage at 32 mg/kg bw, the amount of dinoseb and its metabolites present in
the embryo was greater after i.p. than oral administration, and peak levels were reached much
earlier after i.p. administration (8 min vs. 12 h for oral) (Gibson & Rao, 1973). Developmental
effects of i.p. dosing of dinoseb in mice can be related to rapid and relatively extensive uptake
of the compound or its metabolites by the embryo.
Over the years, many investigations have been conducted using laboratory animals to assess
the risk to humans. We here reiterate the importance of the administration method to
extrapolate laboratory results to humans. We showed that fetal malformations by dinoseb
were produced by the anticipated routes of human exposure (oral and dermal exposure) in
laboratory animals. These results for routes/modes of administration relevant to human
intake should be used for human risk assessment.
There is no clear understanding of the fundamental mechanism of developmental toxicity of
dinoseb, although an energy-deficient intrauterine environment due to uncoupling of
cellular oxidative phosphorylation may explain dinoseb-induced developmental toxicity. A
prenatal dose of thiabendazole, an ATP-synthesis inhibitor, induced a deformity involving
reduced limb size in mice fetuses (Ogata et al., 1984), and ATP levels in fore- and hindlimb
buds of fetuses were related to the incidence of this deformity (Tsuchiya & Tanaka, 1985).
Dinoseb-induced teratogenicity may be related to the degree of reduction in ATP expression
influenced by variable factors.
Recent studies have investigated the role that mitochondria play in mediating apoptotic signals
(Green & Kroemer, 2004; Linsinger et al., 1999; Little & Mirkes, 2002). Programmed cell death
(PCD) is an essential component of normal physiological processes such as embryogenesis and
normal tissue development (Vaux & Korsmeyer, 1999). Altering normal patterns of PCD could
be teratogenic because areas of the body with a high incidence of malformations coincide with
areas where PCD occurs (Knudsen, 1997; Sulik et al., 1988). Some studies showed a positive
correlation between mitochondrial uncoupling activity and PCD (Maccarrone et al., 2001;
Maccarrone et al., 2003), and 2,4-dinitrophenol, an uncoupling agent, enhanced the Fas
apoptotic signal in Jurkat Bcl-2 cells (Linsinger et al., 1999). These findings imply that the
enhanced uncoupling of oxidative phosphorylation in mitochondria may alter normal patterns
of PCD. However, the link between malformations and mitochondrial uncoupling activity is
still poorly understood. In addition, we previously showed that these apoptotic activities could
also involve in testicular toxicity of dinoseb in rats and mice (Matsumoto et al., 2008b). Further
mechanistic studies are necessary to clarify the toxicity of dinoseb.
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191-196.
28
New Concept for Evaluating the Toxicity of

Herbicides for Ecological Risk Assessment
Munir Mohammad and Kazuhito Itoh
Life and Environmental Science, Shimane University
Japan
1. Introduction
The use of agricultural pesticides is increasing day by day for controlling pests and weeds in
crop production, and among these pesticides, more than 65% of total amount are herbicides
(USDA, 1998). Unfortunately, their exposure is usually not limited to the location where
they are applied, and the pesticides reach aquatic environmental locations and
compartments through various physical transport processes, such as spray drift, leaching,
runoff or accidental spill, and affect the organisms living in the locations (Thurman et al.,
1991; Squillace & Thurman, 1992). The ecotoxicological impact of pesticides has been usually
measured by their effects on non-target organisms. Among the non-target aquatic
organisms, aquatic plants received less attention for assessing the impact of pesticides,
compared with the other aquatic organisms (i.e. algae, fish, daphnia etc.), however, aquatic
plants play important roles in the environmental conditions of stagnant and flowing waters.
They produce organic matter and oxygen, and provide food, shelter and substrate for a
variety of aquatic organisms (Sand-Jensen, 1997), therefore, toxicity of herbicides to the non-
target photosynthetic aquatic organisms is of concern. Peterson et al. (1997) showed that
there can be several order of variation in sensitivity to herbicides between animals and
aquatic plants. Huxley (1984) suggested that if one plant species becomes extinct from
aquatic ecosystem, 10-30 other non-plant organisms may also become extinct. Therefore, it is
of great important to understand the adverse effects by herbicides on non-target aquatic
plants in the ecosystem. There is thus need of a convenient method to assay the toxicity of
herbicides. For this purpose, test guidelines for ecotoxicology have been set in many
countries (EU, US EPA, Japan, etc). For hazard prediction, two types of information are
required: the exposure levels of non-target organisms to the chemicals, and the toxic effects
of the chemicals on the non-target group under consideration. The expected environmental
concentration (EEC) for the agricultural usage, which is a concentration calculated based on
the input of the maximum proposed application rate, is used for the estimation of the
exposure levels in an aquatic habitat (Boutin et al., 1993). The toxicity is expressed as the
EC50 value, which causes 50% reduction of growth, and NOEC (no observed effect
concentration), which is the maximum concentration that does not harm the test organisms.
If the relationship between these two pieces of information suggests a hazard, the next step
of risk assessment is to refine the assumptions to accurately predict risk. Although a short-
term exposure test is required in the ecotoxicological test guidelines using an aquatic plant,
duckweed, the results are not enough when considering environmentally because of the
three reasons: 1) the toxicity though a long-term exposure to a pesticide might be higher
than that obtained by the short-term exposure test, 2) toxicological indexes does not indicate
the lethality of the test material, and the recovery potential of the test species from the
damage should be considered due to the rapid growth rate of duckweed, and 3) the
exposure to several herbicides is usual in the aquatic environments, and the joint toxic
effects could be affected by the combination of the chemicals.
2. Current toxicity test guidelines

In the past, the EPA relied extensively on the results of simulated and actual aquatic field
studies to make final recommendations concerning risk to aquatic organisms for pesticides
that trigger acute and/or chronic regulatory risk criteria (Urban & Cook, 1986). As a result
of the controversy associated with the design and interpretation of the field studies in the
1980’s and in the early 1990’s, the EPA in 1992 decided to de-emphasize and limit its use of
such studies in the aquatic risk assessment process. Instead, greater emphasis was placed on
the traditional laboratory-derived toxicity test and comparison of the toxicity with EEC.
Presently, the EPA requires field studies only under special circumstances, and post-
registration monitoring studies are used to verify the mitigation of pesticides (Touart &
Maciorowski, 1997).
In the ecological risk assessment for aquatic plants, most guidelines have focused their
attention on short-term exposure toxicity, and the toxicity is usually expressed as the EC50
values (OECD, 2006; U.S. EPA, 1996). Then, the toxicity and environmental concentrations
are compared to evaluate the magnitude and probabilities of the possible hazard. In the
actual field, however, recovery of the reproduction capability of organisms after exposure to
chemicals is another important factor that must be considered. Hughes et al. (1988)
suggested that the determination of the EC50 alone does not indicate the lethality of the test
material or the recovery potential of the test species. Due to the environmental significance,
they recommended that if substantial inhibition is observed from a 4- or 5-day exposure to
the test material, the long-term exposure toxicity and the recovery phase should be
conducted, and the phytostatic and phytocidal concentrations should be determined as the
primary responses, because the test procedure provides a better assessment of toxic effects
on an aquatic plant population. In a study with an aquatic plant, Lemna gibba, the phytocidal
concentrations were 2.6 to >36 times higher than the corresponding EC50 values depending
on the type of the herbicides tested (Mohammad et al., 2006, 2010). In another study with
Scenedesmus quadricauda, the EC50 of paraquat decreased with an increasing of the exposure
period, and paraquat caused algistatic rather than algicidal effects at the higher
concentration (Saenz et al., 2001). These findings suggest that it is important to establish a
different model for understanding the potential impact of chemicals in aquatic ecosystems
other than the model typically used, in which only short-term effects are considered.
In addition, misconceptions arise concerning the use of the toxicity tests. There has been
some debate as to whether effects should be based on the EC50 value or the realistic
exposure scenario of chemicals in the aquatic systems adjacent to the agricultural areas. To
some cases, 50% reduction in growth is not considered ecologically significant due to the
rapid growth rate of algae or duckweed, and the algistatic (phytostatic) and algicidal
(phytocidal) concentrations are considered to be more relevant (Payne & Hall, 1979; Hughes
et al., 1988). The choice of the effect parameters and calculations can impact the test results.
The NOEC values based on several growth parameters varied by up to l0-fold for several
New Concept for Evaluating the Toxicity of Herbicides for Ecological Risk Assessment 563
chemicals (Adams & Dobbs, 1984). The similar effect was seen between using a pigment
content and a dry weight as the effect parameters (Sirois, 1990).
The way in which exposure is calculated also varies among regulatory agencies. An estimate
of exposure is generally based on crop application rates. In the US, Canada and the UK
guidelines, EEC in the aquatic environment is calculated from a hypothetical overspray of a
water body at the maximum recommended label rate applications (Boutin et al., 1993; Holst
& Ellwanger, 1982). In the calculation of the resulting concentrations in the water body, the
US and Canada use 15 and 30 cm of water depth for forestry and agriculture, respectively,
while in the UK, the concentration is calculated using a 100 cm-deep water body. The U.S.
calculates its EEC value from 60% overspray, while Boutin et al. (1993) recommended a
100% overspray. Therefore, the concentration used to estimate hazard could be >10-fold
difference among the guidelines.
3. Aquatic test organisms

Phytotoxicity data for aquatic plants have served a relatively minor role in regulatory
decisions concerning the environmental hazard of most potential contaminants. A variety of
phytotoxicity tests have been conducted with freshwater green algae, blue-green algae and
diatoms (OECD, 2002; US EPA, 1996), and duckweed (OECD, 2006; US EPA, 1996). One of
the important issues that needs to be resolved in toxicity testing is the great variability
among organisms. Most aquatic toxicological research with chemicals has been conducted
on algae as the standard organism, and the current scientific understanding concerning the
phytotoxic effects of the contaminants is based mostly on results of algal test. The greatest
limitation of these results is their uncertain environmental relevance due to the large
variation among organisms in response of standard algal test species.
In addition, the interspecies variation of algae in sensitivity to a toxicant has been reported
on many occasions. The sensitivities of different strains and geographical races of algae have
varied as much as 200-fold (Blanck et al., 1984). Due to these differences in the algal
sensitivity, there is an inability to extrapolate toxicity from one algal species to another. To
improve this situation, a species battery approach needs to be used in laboratory
phytotoxicity tests where several taxonomically different algae are exposed to the test
substance. Swanson et al. (1991) provide a list of possible species.
Aquatic macrophytes are used less frequently than algae in the toxicity tests. Research with
aquatic macrophytes has centered in the past on determining effective eradication
techniques for nuisance growths of several species such as Elodea canadensis and
Ceratophyllum demersum (Nichols, 1991). In addition, considerable research has been
conducted to determine the usefulness of macrophytes as biomonitors of polluted
environments (Haslam, 1982; Sortkjaer, 1984), and as bioremediative agents in wastewater
treatment (Tripathi & Shukla, 1991). When macrophytes have been used in toxicity tests, the
duckweeds (Lemna spp.) have been the species of choice, and they are often used as a
representative species for all other vascular plants.
Although vascular aquatic plants are not as cosmopolitan as algae, Lemna sp. have been
used as a test organism in various ecotoxicological test guidelines (ASTM, 1993; OECD,
2006; US EPA, 1996), and it has been reported that Lemna sp. is more sensitive than algae to
some herbicides (Fairchild et al., 1997; Peterson et al., 1994; Mohammad et al., 2005). Lemna
sp. is a relatively new bioindicator species, and commonly used in phytotoxicity tests
because of its small size, high reproductive rate, ease of cultivation and ease of growth
measurement without specialized instruments (Wang, 1990). Due to unique in its floating
structure, the exposure to herbicides can be both aerial and aquatic. There appears to be
little difference in the sensitivities of the two more widely used species, L. minor and L. gibba,
based on the results of Cowgill et al. (1991) and King & Coley (1985).
4. Effects of long-term exposure

4.1 Backgroud
Application of herbicides several times in the season are common in the actual field,
therefore, non-target organisms are exposed to chemicals for longer periods than expected
from their dissipation rates, and also in the case of slow degradation in the aquatic
environment. It is believed that the toxic effects depend on both the duration and the
concentration of the chemical. Davies et al. (2003) reported that the exposure to
sulfosulfuron at 3.33 ppb for up to 21 days was tolerated by Lemna sp., but adverse effects
were observed when the plants were exposed for 70 days at the same concentration. The
toxicity tests for Lemna sp. are typically conducted for 7 days of exposure to pesticides, and
toxicity usually evaluated by determining EC50 (OECD, 2006; US EPA, 1996). But,
evaluation based on the short-term toxicity alone is not environmentally significant for risk
assessment, because the organisms might be exposed to herbicides for longer periods as
mentioned above. Therefore, it is necessary to examine long-term exposure effects on non-
target organisms.
To obtain the basic information of toxicity to Lemna gibba of several herbicides with different
mode of action, the short-term exposure tests were conducted (Mohammad et al., 2008). The
herbicides used and their mode of action are listed in Table 1. The inhibitory effects were
expressed by relative growth rate (RGR) at the seventh day of exposure compared with the
control according to the equation (1) below.
Numberof new fronds in the test vessel at 7th day

RGR (%) = × 100 (1)
Numberof new fronds in the control vessel at 7th day
The frond number of L. gibba in the control cultures increased almost exponentially during
exposure and the fronds remained green and healthy throughout the experiment. When
herbicides were added, growth was affected depending on the type and concentration of the
chemicals. Although growth was inhibited, no visible changes in appearance and no lethal
effects were observed at any concentrations of any chemicals, except for paraquat. Higher
concentrations of paraquat (100 and 1000 ppb) caused plant death with a bleaching effect.
RGRs of L. gibba during exposure to herbicides are summarized in Fig. 1.
Five typical patterns were observed as follows: (1) cyhalofop-butyl and thiobencarb were
relatively week. These chemicals inhibited growth moderately even at 1000 ppb, (2) atrazine
showed moderate toxicity among the herbicides and inhibited growth completely at 1000
ppb, (3) simetryn, alachlor and diuron inhibited growth less than 16 % RGR at 100 ppb, (4)
paraquat with 86% RGR in exposure at 10 ppb caused death at 100 ppb, and (5) bensulfuron-
methyl and cyclosulfamuron showed higher toxicity with 24% RGR at 10 ppb and 48% RGR
at 1 ppb, respectively.
Based on the results, long term exposure effects were examined for the representative
herbicides, atrazine, alachlor, paraquat and cyclosulfamuron with different mode action
(Mohammad et al., 2006, 2010).
Name Chemical Family CAS number Mode of Action

Alachlor Chloroacetamide 15972-60-8 Inhibition of very-long-chain
fatty acid biosynthesis
Atrazine Triazine 1912-24-9 Inhibition of photosynthesis at
photosystem II
Bensulfuron-methyl Sulfonylurea 83055-99-6 Inhibition of acetolactate synthase
Cyclosulfamuron Sulfonylurea 136849-15-5 Inhibition of acetolactate synthase
Cyhalofop-butyl Aryloxyphenoxy 122008-85-9 Inhibition of acetyl CoA
propionate propionate carboxylase
Diuron Urea 330-54-1 Inhibition of photosynthesis at
photosystem II
Paraquat Bipyridylium 1910-42-5 Photosystem-I-electron diversion
Simetryne Triazine 1014-70-6 Inhibition of photosynthesis at
photosystem II
Thiobencarb Thiocarbamate 28249-77-6 Inhibition of very-long-chain

fatty acid biosynthesis
Table 1. Herbicides used in this study
100 : cyhalofop-butyl
80 : thiobencarb
: atrazine
RGR(%)
60 : symetryn
40 : alachlor
: diuron
20
: paraquat
0 : bensulfuron-methyl
1 10 100 1000 : cyclosulfamuron
ppb
Fig. 1. Relative growth rate (RGR) of Lemna gibba with 7-day exposure to nine herbicides at
0, 1, 10, 100, and 1000 ppb.
4.2 Long-term exposure experiment

The long-term toxicity to L. gibba was tested according to the draft OECD guidelines for the
testing of chemicals (OECD, 2006). Fronds of L. gibba were collected from the pond in front
of Lake Shinji Nature Museum, Izumo, Shimane prefecture, Japan. After collection, steps
were taken to eliminate the contaminating organisms. A sample of plant materials was taken
and the roots were cut off. The fronds were then shaken vigorously in clean water, followed
by immersion in a 0.5% (v/v) sodium hypochlorite solution for 1 minute. The fronds were
then rinsed with sterile water and placed on agar medium containing 1% saccharose to
confirm the sterility. Visibly contamination-free fronds were then transferred to the same
agar, and cultured for eight weeks. Sufficient colonies were transferred aseptically from the
stock culture into fresh sterile medium and cultured for 10 days under the test condition
before starting the test. L. gibba was cultivated using light conditions of 12:12 light:dark
cycle, cool white fluorescent lighting at 85 μE-2s-1 and temperature conditions of 24 + 2 oC.
Tests were conducted under static conditions using 9 fronds in each 100 mL test beaker
containing 50mL growth medium. The beakers were covered by transparent wrapping
paper with some pores for aeration. Stock solutions were prepared in either acetone or
water, and different concentrations of test solution were prepared by mixing with 20X-APP
growth medium based on OECD guidelines. The final concentration of acetone in the test
solution was less than 0.01%. All stock solutions were prepared just before the experiments.
Frond numbers were counted at the third, fifth and seventh days of the test period.
Inhibition of growth was estimated on the basis of frond number, which was calculated on
the basis of frond area with a fraction of 0.2 compared with the standard mother frond. Each
concentration was tested in triplicate. RGR was determined at the seventh day to evaluate
the capacity of mother fronds to produce new ones.
The experiment was conducted with different exposure periods of 1, 2, 3 and 4 weeks at 200-
3200 ppb for atrazine, 6.25-400 ppb for alachlor, 2.5-80 ppb for paraquat, and 1-100 ppb for
cyclosulfamuron. Exposure to all chemicals were conducted under static-renewal conditions
every 7 days.
Toxicity data, expressed as EC50, were determined by Ecotox-Statics 2.4 (Japanese Society of
Environmental Toxicology). Multiple comparisons among the treatments in each week were
analyzed by analysis of variance (ANOVA) with Duncan’s test (p>0.05) using SPSS 12.0.
4.3 Long-term exposure effects of atrazine

When atrazine was tested at concencentrations of 0, 200, 400, 800, 1600 and 3200 ppb, the
inhibition patterns with different exposure periods are shown in Fig. 2. Growth was
Atrazine Alachlor
100
80
RGR(%)
RGR(%)
60
40
20
0
Paraquat Cyclosulfamron
100 days days
80
RGR(%)
RGR(%)
60
40
20
0
7 14 21 28 1 2 3 4
days days
Fig. 2. Relative growth rate (RGR) of Lemna gibba fronds in exposure to herbicides for 28
days.
significantly inhibited (p>0.05) after a 7-day exposure at 200 ppb, and the comparable
inhibition continued during 28 days of exposure. The RGR at 400 ppb slowly decreased
during 28 days, from 32% to 12%. With exposure at 800 ppb, the RGR was 29% at 7 days but
decreased to 2% at 14 days, and no growth was observed after 14 days of exposure. No
growth was observed at 1600 or 3200 ppb after a 7-day exposure. There were no significant
changes in the color of the fronds at any concentrations at any stages of exposure
(Mohammad et al., 2010).
Atrazine disrupts photosynthesis, the most basic functionin the plant kingdom. It blocks the
electron transport of photosynthesis, leading to a reduction in photosynthetic oxygen
production and, finally, reducing the RGR. It has been assumed that chloroplast membranes
can be damaged by this type of chemical (Corre et al., 1996).
4.4 Long-term exposure effects of alachlor

When the experiment was designed with alachlor at 0, 6.25, 12.5, 25, 50, 100, 200, 400, 800,
1600 and 3200 ppb for 7, 14, 21 and 28 day exposure, the results provide evidence that the
growth of L. gibba was significantly affected at 6.25 ppb and almost stopped at 400 ppb for a
7-day exposure. There was a decrease in RGR as the exposure period and concentrations of
alachlor increased (Fig. 2). A slowly decreasing tendency of RGR was observed at
concentrations lower than the EC50, in which the RGR decreased from 80% to 55% at 6.25
ppb and from 50% to 30% at 12.5 ppb during a 28-day exposure. However, at concentrations
higher than the EC50 level of 25 and 50 ppb, a rapidly decreasing tendency was observed for
the RGR after 14 days (Mohammad et al., 2010).
The effects of 21-day exposure to alachlor on an algal community showed that a significant
negative effect on algal biomass was observed at >10 pbb and approximately half the
dominant algal taxa were affected, suggesting different sensitivity among algal species
(Spawn et al., 1997). These researchers concluded that alachlor altered both algal community
composition and biomass in agricultural streams. Therefore, it is necessary to examine the
toxicity at the community level in duckweed for ecological risk assessment.
4.5 Long-term exposure effects of paraquat

Growth was significantly affected at 2.5 ppb and almost stopped at 40 ppb for a 7-day
exposure (Fig. 2). The toxicological response varied after different exposure durations and
concentrations of the compound paraquat. At the end of each contact test period of 28 days,
there was some population growth with exposure to concentrations at <10 ppb, but the RGR
decreased drastically at 10 ppb, which was lower than the EC50. The fronds were severely
affected and appeared to be dead because of the bleaching effect at >20 ppb at the test
duration of 28 days (Mohammad et al., 2010).
During photosynthesis, paraquat disrupts photosynthetic electron transfer by accepting
electrons from photosystem I, and produces highly destructive superoxide radicals (Tomlin,
2000). Therefore, photosynthetic organisms are severely affected by exposure to paraquat
and often die. In a previous study, it was found that freshwater algae generally died at
paraquat concentrations between 0.25 and 0.5 ppm (Eisler, 1990), but the exposure period
was not mentioned. A study with different exposure periods, 1, 2, 3, and 4 days, showed
that the EC50 decreased from 0.89 to 0.22 ppm with an increasing exposure period with
Scenedesmus quadricauda (Saenz et al., 2001).
4.6 Long-term exposure effects of cyclosulfamuron

Effects of exposure period (1, 2, 3, and 4 weeks) and concentration (1, 10, 50, and 100 ppb) on
growth inhibition were examined using cyclosulfamuron. Growth was inhibited at 1 ppb,
and completely stopped at 10 ppb in the first week of exposure (Fig 2). When the exposure
period was prolonged by transferring the mother fronds once a week to new media, no
change was observed in inhibition at 1 ppb even in the fourth week of exposure. But at
higher concentrations (10-100 ppb), a bleaching effect was observed with longer exposure (3-
4 weeks), during which color of fronds turned yellow to white. Sulfonylureas temporally
inhibited the growth at less than the EEC of 3-20 ppb, and a longer exposure, beyond 21
days, caused severe damage, such as the death of fronds, at the EEC level (Mohammad et
al., 2006).
Important points in risk assessment of sulfonylureas to Lemna sp. are presented in this
study. Sulfonylureas are inhibiting the enzyme, acetolactete synthase, which is necessary in
the first step for plants to synthesize the branched amino acids, valine, leucine and
isoleucine (Brown, 1990; Schloss, 1994). Sulfonylureas inhibited only cell division on short-
term exposure, but prolonged exposure resulted in lethality at the same concentration.
4.7 Conclusion
The toxic effects were affected by the exposure period and concentration, depending on the
type of herbicide. All the tested herbicides showed stronger toxicity with the increasing
exposure period than the toxicity of the standard exposure period suggested by guidelines.
These characteristics of herbicides required a different model than typically used, where
only short-term exposure is usually assumed, for understanding the potential impact of
herbicides in aquatic ecosystems, e.g. comparison of toxicity at different concentrations with
different exposure periods.
5. Recovery potential from damage

5.1 Background
In the actual field, recovery of the reproduction capability of Lemna sp. after exposure to
herbicides is another important factor which must be considered. Hughes et al. (1988)
suggested the importance of examining the recovery potential and determining phytostatic
and phytocidal concentrations for a better assessment of toxic effects on an aquatic plant
population. However, very few studies assessing the recovery potentials of Lemna sp. have
been conducted. Nathalie et al. (2008) found on the algae Scenedesmus vacuolatus that the
delay in recovery subsequent to S-metolachlor exposure contrasted with the fast recovery
upon exposure to triazines and phenylureas (photosystem II inhibitors). While the effects
following exposure to the photosynthesis inhibitors were readily reversible, exposure to
herbicides that impaired cell division induced a delayed recovery. The results suggest that
the mode of action of chemicals, the reversibility of their binding at the target site, and the
degree of damage during exposure, all influence the potential recovery following exposure.
5.2 Recovery experiment

Recovery potential of L. gibba from the damage by several herbicides listed in Table 1 with
different mode of action was examined (Mohammad et al., 2008). After each exposure
period for 7 days was conducted according to the draft OECD guidelines (OECD, 2006), the
nine mother fronds were collected from each beaker, washed in sterilized distilled water,
and transplanted to fresh medium for recovery. The tests were done under static conditions
using 100 mL test beaker containing 50 mL growth medium. Frond numbers were counted
at the third, fifth and seventh days of the recovery periods, and at the tenth day when the
recovery was slow.
The effect of longer-term exposure on the recovery potential was examined for the
herbicides, atrazine, alachlor, paraquat and cyclosulfamuron with different mode action
(Mohammad et al., 2006, 2010). The basic test conditions were the same as those of the above
mentioned experiment. After exposure for 1, 2, 3 and 4 weeks, the nine mother fronds were
transplanted to fresh medium for recovery, and RGR was determined at the third, fifth and
seventh days of the recovery periods. The phytostatic and phytocidal concentrations of the
tested chemicals for L. gibba were determined according to the definition described by
Hughes et al. (1988).
5.3 Recovery potential from damage by herbicides with different mode of action
When the fronds were transferred to fresh medium after 7 day-exposure for recovery, L.
gibba started to grow again even in plots where they did not grow during the exposure
period. RGRs of L. gibba during recovery are shown in Fig. 3. Patterns of RGRs in the
recovery periods showed a tendency corresponding to the mode of action of the herbicides.
Cyhalofop-butyl and thiobencarb exhibited rapid recovery as well as the untreated control
even at 1000 ppb and growth recovered to more than 70% RGR. Results from the recovery
test with alachlor, having the same mode of action with thiobencarb, showed a slow
recovery tendency for all the concentration tested. RGR in recovery for 1000ppb was 15%
and for 100ppb was 32%. Triazine and urea herbicides showed moderate recovery.
Although the growth was inhibited completely at 1000ppb in exposure (Fig. 1), 76% RGR
was observed in recovery in case of atrazine. In case of simetryn, the RGR was >20% in
recovery for 1000ppb. Therefore, the chemicals which act as inhibitors of photosystem II are
moderately toxic to L. gibba, and moderate recovery (RGR, 76%) was observed with
exposure for 7 days. Paraquat showed no recovery above the critical concentration.
Recovery potential of L. gibba from inhibition by the sulfonylureas herbicides was greater
than with other types of herbicides and recovery was possible even at 1000 ppb with 57 %
RGR for bensulfuron-methyl and with 71% RGR at 10 days during the recovery period (data
not shown) for cyclosulfamuron. In risk assessment, the expected environmental
concentrations of the sulfonylureas were reported as 3-20 ppb (Peterson et al., 1994), which
100 : cyhalofop-butyl
80 : thiobencarb
: atrazine
RGR(%)
60 : symetryn
40 : alachlor
20 : diuron
: paraquat
0 : bensulfuron-methyl
1 10 100 1000 : cyclosulfamuron
ppb
Fig. 3. Relative growth rate (RGR) of Lemna sp. In recovery in fresh medium after exposure
to nine herbicides at 0, 1, 10, 100, and 1000 ppb for 7 days.
are greater than EC50 of Lemna sp. for some sulfonylureas, but recovery of growth is
possible when the chemicals are dissipated by degradation in the environment.
5.4 Effect of long-term exposure on recovery potential from damage by atrazine

Fig. 4 shows the recovery after prolonged exposure of L. gibba at concentrations of 0, 200,
400, 800, 1600 and 3200 ppb. There was an apparent recovery of the population, even from
no growth for 28 days at 3200 ppb. The RGRs were higher than those in the exposure for all
concentrations tested (Fig. 2), although the significant difference was observed even at 200
ppb. The RGR in recovery depended on the concentration of atrazine in the exposure. The
RGR decreased slightly after 7 days of exposure and were almost constant between 14 and
28 days of exposure. There were no significant changes in the color of the fronds at any
concentrations at any stages of exposure and recovery. Under the experimental conditions,
phytostatic concentrations of atrazine to L. gibba were 1600 and 800 ppb in the exposure
periods of 14 and 28 days, respectively, and the phytocidal concentration was >3200 ppb for
a 28-day exposure (Table 2) (Mohammad et al., 2010). At the highest concentration of 3200
ppb with exposure for 28 days, the RGR was 43% in recovery. The results suggest that even
after a 28-day exposure to atrazine at an EEC level of 2667 ppb (Peterson et al., 1994), L. gibba
might have capability to re-grow in the environment after the removal of atrazine by
degradation.
5.5 Effect of long-term exposure on recovery potential from damage by alachlor

Recovery of alachlor after different exposure period and concentrations in fresh growth
medium was according to the exposure duration and concentrations. The RGR was almost
the same for 28 days when L. gibba was exposed at <12.5 ppb, but it constantly decreased at
>12.5 ppb with exposure for longer than 14 days. The growth of populations exposed to 400
ppb for 14 days indicated a phytostatic response, while populations exposed for 21 days at
>200 ppb showed a phytocidal response. The phytostatic concentration of alachlor to L. gibba
was 400 ppb for a 14-day exposure, and the phytocidal concentration was >400 ppb within
14 days of exposure, but it decreased to 200 ppb for 21- and 28-day exposures (Fig. 4, Table
2) (Mohammad et al., 2010).
Alachlor interferes with metabolism and inhibits the synthesis of fatty acids (Weisshaar et
al., 1993; Couderchet & Boger, 1993). It has nearly the same scenario as sulfonylurea, which
disrupts amino acid biosynthesis and affects processes essential to all photosynthetic
organisms (Moberg & Cross, 1990). Mohammad et al. (2006) showed that short exposures to
cyclosulfamuron at higher concentrations caused longer lag periods for the initiation of
growth in recovery, and a longer exposure period caused a slower growth rate without the
lag period. The same tendency was observed in the case of alachlor (data not shown).
A recovery study with an algal community after exposure to alachlor at >10 ppb for 21 days
showed that some algal taxa recovered after exposure, while others took longer or did not
recover (Spawn et al., 1997). Therefore, it is assumed that recovery of other species of
duckweed should be examined as there are differences in recovery among algal species.
5.6 Effect of long-term exposure on recovery potential from damage by paraquat

The RGR was higher in recovery than in exposure, but the difference was slight. Recovery
was smooth at <10 ppb within a 14-day exposure, but it decreased when the exposure was
longer than 21 days. The RGR constantly decreased at concentrations >20 ppb, and no
recovery was observed because of death in the case of an exposure longer than 7 days. The
phytostatic concentration of paraquat was not determined because all phytostatic fronds
could not grow in the recovery period. The phytocidal concentration decreased with
exposure period from 80 ppb for a 7-day exposure to 20 ppb for 21- and 28-day exposures
(Fig. 4, Table 2) (Mohammad et al., 2010).
Atrazine Alachlor
100
80
RGR(%)
RGR(%)
60
40
20
0
Paraquat Cyclosulfamron
100
days days
80
RGR(%)
RGR(%)
60
40
20
0
7 14 21 28 1 2 3 4
days days
Fig. 4. Relative growth rate (RGR) of Lemma gibba fronds in recovery in fresh medium after
the exposure to herbicides.
Phytostatic concentrations Phytocidal concentrations

(ppb) (ppb)
Chemicals Exposure period (days) Exposure period (days)
7 14 21 28 7 14 21 28
Atrazine 1600 1600 800 800 >3200 >3200 >3200 >3200
Alachlor >400 400 nda nd >400 >400 200 200
Paraquat nd nd nd nd 80 40 20 20
Cyclosulfamuron 100 50 nd nd >100 >100 10 10
Table 2. Phytostatic and phytocidal concentrations of atrazine, alachlor, paraquat and
cyclosulfamuron for Lemna gibba in different exposure periods. a not determined
Another study with different exposure periods, 1, 2, 3, and 4 days, showed that Scenedesmus
quadricauda could recover its reproduction capability even with exposure at the maximum
concentration in their test, 3.2 ppm, for 4 days, but the EC50 decreased from 0.89 to 0.22 ppm
with an increasing exposure period (Saenz et al., 2001). Those researchers also explained that
an extended lag phase was required for recovery, and that it was more extended for the
population exposed at 3.2 ppm. However, they did not check the lethal concentrations with a
longer exposure to paraquat. Similar results were also obtained in our study, as the RGR
varied from 72% to 13% in recovery from a concentration of 10 ppb with exposure periods
from 7 to 28 days. Therefore, growth was possible in recovery with exposure at 10 ppb, but the
recovery potential drastically decreased with a longer exposure. Phytocidal concentrations
were 80 and 20 ppb for exposure for 7 and 28 days, respectively. This shows remarkable
variation in the sensitivity between duckweed and algae to paraquat.
5.7 Effect of long-term exposure on recovery potential from damage by

cyclosulfamron
In the recovery period after different length of exposure, RGR decreased with longer
exposure as shown in Fig. 4. Reproduction was observed within two weeks of exposure at
100 ppb, but no recovery occurred after exposure for three weeks at more than 10 ppb.
Cyclosufamuron, with an EC50 of 0.91 ppb, was phytostatic at 100 and 50 ppb for 7- and 14-
day exposures, respectively, indicating no lethal effects at more than 50 times the
concentration of EC50 within an exposure period of 14 days. In the case of exposure for
longer than 21 days, however, it exhibited phytocidal activity at 10 ppb (Table 2). The results
suggest that the recovery potential of L. gibba drastically changes depending on both
chemical concentration and exposure period. L. gibba can reproduce again at the same rate as
that before the exposure if cyclosufamuron is removed within two weeks, even after
complete inhibition at 100 ppb (Mohammad et al., 2010).
5.8 Conclusion
Recent studies demonstrated that a longer period of exposure caused more serious adverse
effects on Lemna sp. and the exposure period could affect on recovery. When the
relationship of RGRs between exposure and recovery periods was examined, the RGR in
recovery from the damage by atrazine was not affected much by the RGR in exposure. In
case of alachlor and paraquat, the RGR in recovery was dependent on the RGR in exposure.
For cyclosulfamuron, RGR decreased along with exposure period, therefore, the potential
for recovery was dependent on the exposure period (Mohammad et al., 2010). When
considering phytostatic and phytocidal scenario, the phytostatic and phytocidal
concentrations decreased with exposure period. In some cases, phytocidal concentration
became lower than the EC50 value when exposure was prolonged. Therefore, incorporation
of the both concentrations associated with the exposure period would be important for
ecotoxicological risk assessment of herbicides.
6. Combined effect of herbicides

6.1 Background
It is common to find combinations of several herbicides in the surface water in agricultural
areas, with the exact type of substance depending on the dominant crops in the area.
Herbicides in the environment rarely occur alone. In a large US monitoring program, more
than 50% of all stream samples contained 5 or more pesticides, and about 15% contained
more than 10 compounds (Gilliom et al., 1999). Therefore, herbicide toxicity in natural
ecosystems is not generally the result from exposure to a single toxicant, but rather exposure
to mixture of toxicants. Therefore, mixture toxicity has been a subject of ecotoxicological
interest for several decades.
A small number of studies have reported the potential threat to macrophytes exposed to
pesticide mixtures in aquatic model ecosystems (Fairchild et al., 1994; Lytle & Lytle, 2002,
2005; Wendt-Rasch et al., 2004). Recent laboratory studies with the standard OECD plant
species Lemna minor addressed the joint toxicity of pesticides by applying the two common
models of mixture toxicity: concentration addition (CA) and independent action (IA) (Belz et
al., 2008; Cedergreen et al., 2007a, b; Munkegaard et al., 2008). The concept of CA is based on
the assumption that any component of a mixture can be replaced by another without
altering the overall effect of the mixture, and applied for toxicants with similar molecular
target sites (Loewe & Muischnek, 1926). The concept of IA is based on the assumption that
all mixture components independently contribute to a given effect by different modes of
action (Bliss, 1939). However, how the joint toxicity of such combinations of pesticides
should be estimated is still a matter of debate in the case of considering effects of long term
exposure and recovery potential.
In this section, the results of our recent study are presented on the combined effects of the
mixtures of herbicides with dissimilar modes of action. Based on the results of our previous
studies (Mohammad et al., 2006, 2010), we selected three combinations: paraquar + atrazine,
paraquat + alachlor, and paraquat + cyclosulfamuron. Because the combinations of the
herbicides with different modes of action were used, the expected joint effects were
calculated based on the IA model from the individual effects, and the actual joint effects
were evaluated by comparing with the expected effects. Deviation from the prediction is
thus an indication of antagonism (weaker effects) or synergism (stronger effects). The
mixture effects were also evaluated on a basis of the effects of long term exposure and
recovery potential from the damage.
6.2 Herbicides’ combined effects experiment

The long-term toxicity to L. gibba and the recovery potential from the damage was tested.
The experiments of the mixture of herbicides were conducted for 7, 14, 21 and 28 days
exposure, followed by a 7-day recovery test in a fresh medium for each length of the
exposure. The experimental conditions, test procedures, measurement of the number of
fronds, determination of RGR, phytostatic and phytocidal concentrations were the same as
described in the previous sections. The concentrations for mixture were set based on the
results of our previous study as follows (Mohammad et al., 2006, 2010). In order to observe
the combined effects during the long-term exposure to chemicals, the concentrations were
basically set at lower than the EC50 values.
The EC50 of paraquat was found to be 31 ppb, but during a 28-day exposure, RGR
drastically decreased at <10 ppb, and the bleaching effect was observed at >20 ppb.
Recovery was smooth at <10 ppb within a 14-day exposure, but it decreased when the
exposure was longer than 21 days. Therefore, the concentrations for paraquat were set at 2.5,
5 and 10 ppb.
The EC50 of atrazine was found to be 89 ppb, and its phytotostatic concentrations were 1600
and 800 ppb for exposure periods of 14 and 28 days, respectively, and no phytocidal effects
were observed up to 3200 ppb for a 28-day exposure. Therefore, the concentration of
atrazine for mixture with paraquat was set at 100 ppb, which is near the EC50 value of
atrazine.
The EC50 of alachlor was found to be 31 ppb, and RGR slowly decreased during the
exposure at concentrations lower than EC50 level of 6.25 and 12.5 ppb, but rapidly
decreased at 25 and 50 ppb for 14 days of exposure. Therefore, the concentration of alachlor
was set at 10 ppb for mixture with paraquat.
The EC50 of cyclosulfamuron was found to be 0.91 ppb for a 7-day exposure, and the
phytostatic concentrations were 100 and 50 ppb, for a 7- and 14-day exposures, respectively,
and the phytocidal activity was 10 ppb when the exposure was longer than 21 days.
Considering the results of our study with cyclosulfamuron, the concentration of
cyclosulfamuron for mixture with paraquat was set at 0.15ppb.
The expected RGR in exposure to combined herbicides was calculated based on the RGR
values in exposure to each herbicide according to the equation (2) below.
ExpectedRGR (%) in exposure to compounds A and B mixture

(2)
= RGR (%) in exposure to compound A xRGR (%) in exposure to compoundB / 100
The expected RGR in recovery from the damage by combined herbicides was calculated
based on the RGR values in recovery from the damage by each herbicide according to the
equation (3) below.
ExpectedRGR (%) in recovery for compounds A and B mixture

(3)
= RGR (%) in recovery for compound A xRGR (%) in recovery for compoundB / 100
6.3 Mixture effects of paraquat and atrazine

The influence of mixtures of paraquat and atrazine on the growth and recovery potential of
L. gibba are shown in Fig. 5. When L. gibba was exposed to mixtures of paraquat and
atrazine, the growth inhibition increased with all the mixture concentrations, compared with
individual paraquat and atrazine. The RGR value decreased from 78% to 32% for 7 days
exposure, and 70% to 0% for 28 days exposure by the addition of 100 ppb of atrazine to 2.5
ppb of paraquat. The expected RGR calculated from the RGR for each herbicide was larger
than the observed RGR, therefore, stronger synergistic effects than the expected ones were
indicated. At the highest test concentration of mixture (paraquat 10 ppb + atrazine 100 ppb),
the RGR decreased 62% to 5% for 7 days exposure, but there was no change in colour of any
fronds at the end of the exposure period.
In the recovery phase, the reproduction was very slow in the case of mixture compared with
the individual herbicide. The RGR in recovery ranged from 90% to 73% after a 7-day
exposure to only paraquat at from 2.5 to 10 ppb, whereas the RGR was from 47% to 32%
when 100 ppb of atrazine was added. The RGR in recovery in atrazine alone at 100 ppb was
above 82% even after exposure for 28 days, and the observed RGR in recovery for the mixed
herbicides were smaller than the corresponding expected RGR, suggesting that there was
the synergistic effect also in the recovery phase.
Although no growth was observed at the mixture of 10 ppb of paraquat and 100 ppb of
atrazine after 21-day exposure, there was no phytocidal effect in appearance. Phytostatic
effect was found at the mixture of 5 and 10 ppb of paraquat and 100 ppb of atrazine for 21-
day exposure, and at the mixture of 2.5 ppb of paraquat and 100 ppb of atrazine for 28-day
exposure. The phytostatic concentration of atrazine was 800 ppb for the same period of
exposure (Table 2), therefore, atrazine showed eight times stronger phytostatic effects by
adding paraquat at 10 ppb. On the other hand, paraquat did not show any phytostatic effect
at this concentration, but paraquat showed this type of character when mixed with atrazine.
This is an interesting phenomenon in this combination.
Atrazine is a common contaminant of surface waters, as a result of agricultural non point
surface and subsurface runoff, and is usually detected in levels from less than 0.5 ppb
(Albanis et al., 1995; Squillace & Thurman, 1992) up to 100 ppb (Thurman et al., 1992). The
toxic effects of a mixture of atrazine and metolachlor were examined in unialgal cultures of
Chlorella fusca var-fusca using a bioassay system. In concentrations lower than the EC50, the
combination resulted in reduced toxicity (antagonism) in comparison with the toxicity
caused by the sum of toxic actions of the same levels of concentration from single chemicals
(Kotrikla et al., 1999). Another study analyzed the toxicity of two mixtures (atrazine and the
insecticide chlorpyrifos; atrazine and the fungicide chlorothalonil) to the marine
Paraquat Paraquat + Atrazine Expected

Exposure
100
80
RGR(%)
RGR(%)
RGR(%)
60
40
20
0
Recovery
100
80
RGR(%)
RGR(%)
RGR(%)
60
40
20
0
7 14 21 28 7 14 21 28 7 14 21 28
days days days
paraquat; z:2.5, {:5, :10, atrazine alone; :100 ppb
Fig. 5. Relative growth rate (RGR) of Lemna giba in exposure and in recovery in fresh
medium after the exposure to paraquat with and without atrazine. Expexted RGR in
exposure and in recovery were calculated as (paraquat exposure RGR) x (atrazine exposure
RGR)/100, and (paraquat recovery RGR) x (atrazine recovery RGR)/100, respectively.
phytoplankton species Dunaliella tertiolecta (Chlorophyta). Atrazine and chlorpyrifos in

mixture displayed additive toxicity, whereas atrazine and chlorothalonil in mixture had a
synergistic effect. The toxicity of atrazine and chlorothalonil combined was approximately 2
times greater than that of the individual chemicals (DeLorenzo & Serrano, 2003).
Our study using L. gibba showed that the sensitivity increased in presence of atrazine with
paraquat for 7 to 28-day exposure. Fig. 5 shows that there are large difference between the
expected and actual inhibition scenario in both exposure and recovery phases The results
suggest the importance of examining combined effects of herbicides for ecotoxicological risk
assessment.
6.4 Mixture effects of paraquat and alachlor

After 7 days of exposure, RGR significantly decreased from 70% to 29% by adding 10 ppb
alachlor with the lowest paraquat concentration of 2.5 ppb (Fig. 6). The RGR in exposure to
only alachlor for the same period was 50%, therefore, the observed RGR value was almost
the same as the expected RGR (35%). When the exposure prolonged up to 28 days and the
concentration of paraquat increased up to 10 ppb, the RGR decreased from 34% to 3% and
Paraquat Paraquat + Alachlor Expected

Exposure
100 100 100
80 80 80
Exposure
RGR(%) RGR(%)
RGR(%) RGR(%)
RGR(%) RGR(%)
60 60 60
100 100 100
40 40 40
80 80 80
20 20 20
60 60 60
0 0 0
40 40 40
7 14 21 28 7 14 21 28 7 14 21 28
20 20 20
days days days
0 0 0
7
Recovery 14 21 28 7 14 21 28 7 14 21 28
100 days 100 days 100 days

80 80 80
RGR(%)
RGR(%)
RGR(%)
60 60 60
40 40 40
20 20 20
0 0 0
7 14 21 28 7 14 21 28 7 14 21 28
days days days
paraquat; z:2.5, {:5, :10, alachor alone; :100 ppb

Fig. 6. Relative growth rate (RGR) of Lemna gibba fronds in exposure and in recovery in fresh
medium after the exposure to paraquat with and without alachor. Expexted RGR in
exposure and in recovery were calculated as (paraquet exposure RGR) x (alachor exposure
RGR)/100, and (paraquet recovery RGR) x (alachor recovery RGR)/100, respectively.
from 36% to 17%, respectively, by adding alachlor. These decreases of RGR were also
comparable to the expected RGR. The results indicated that the effects of a mixture of
paraquat and alachlor could be predicted from the individual toxicity. Although the RGR
becomes 0% at the highest mixture concentration, no discoloration of frond was seen.
Higher RGR values were observed in recovery than those in exposure for all selected
mixture concentrations, even from complete inhibition at the highest mixture of 10 ppb of
paraquat and 10ppb of alachlor, but the recovery was slow compared with each
corresponding individual concentration of paraquat and alachlor. RGR was 47% at the
lowest mixture concentration of 2.5 ppb of paraquat and 10 ppb of alachlor for 7 days
exposure, while 84% and 74% RGR was observed in the individual corresponding
concentrations of paraquat and alachlor, respectively. Moreover, although there was not a
marked difference between the expected and actual RGRs in the exposure phase, in the
recovery phase, the actual RGR was lower than the expected RGR at all combinations of the
mixture. Therefore, the mixture of paraquat and alachlor showed stronger synergistic effects
on L. gibba in recovery than in exposure.
6.5 Mixture effects of paraquat and cyclosulfamuron

The RGR in exposure was significantly affected by all the selected mixture of paraquat and
cyclosulfamuron (Fig. 7). RGR decreased from 58% to 23% by adding 0.15 ppb of
cyclosulfamuron to 2.5 ppb of paraquat for 7 days exposure. When the exposure was
prolonged up to 28 days, the RGR did not change as in the case of individual herbicide. The
RGR at this set of concentration were similar to the corresponding expected RGR, while at 5
ppb of paraquat, lower RGR values were observed compared with the expected RGR values
throughout the exposure period. With the highest mixture concentrations of 10 ppb
paraquat and 0.15 ppb cyclosulfamuron, the RGR became 0% and strong discoloration
(chlorosis) of total fronds was seen after 21 days exposure.
At the end of each test period, the fronds were transferred to fresh medium to observe the
recovery potential of individual and mixture of chemical treatment up to 7 days. The
recovery of fronds, which were exposed to individual chemical, was clearly possible, as
RGR in recovery was 77% and 90% after individual exposure for 7 days to paraquat at 2.5
ppb and cyclosulfamuron at 0.15 ppb, respectively. And the mixture of the herbicides at
these concentrations showed 67% RGR which was the almost same as the expected RGR
(69%). But when the exposure period or concentration increased, the actual RGR were lower
than the corresponding expected RGR. Bleached fronds at the height mixture concentration,
exposed for 21 and 28 days, were supposed to be dead because no growth was observed in
recovery. Therefore, the phytocidal concentration of the mixture was found to be a mixture
of 10 ppb of paraquat and 0.15 ppb of cyclosulfamuron for 21 and 28 days exposure, and
phytostatic scenario was identified for 14 days exposure at the same concentrations.
Phytocidal concentrations of individual paraquat and cyclosulfamuron were 20 ppb and 10
ppb, respectively, for the same period of exposure (Table 2). Therefore, the results showed
that a mixture of paraquat and cyclosulfamuron at lower concentration than their
phytocidal level caused phytocidal effects on L. gibba. The results also showed that the
mixture toxicity of paraquat and cyclosulfamuron not only increased sensitivity of Lemna
gibba, but also lethal if exposure prolonged beyond 14 days with concentration of paraquat
10 ppb and cyclosulfamuron 0.15 ppb, which showed nether phytostatic nor phytocidal
effect when act individually.
Deneer et al. (2000) found that the concentration addition was quite common for narcotic
acting compounds. They demonstrated in experiments with 50 nonreactive chemicals that
even chemicals present at very low concentrations, equivalent to 0.01, 0.005, and 0.0025 toxic
units, contributed to the overall toxicity.
Paraquat Paraquat + Cyclosulfamron Expected

Exposure
100 100 100
80 80 80
RGR(%)
RGR(%)
RGR(%)
60 60 60
40 40 40
20 20 20
0 0 0
7 14 21 28 7 14 21 28 7 14 21 28
Recovery
100 days 100 days 100 days
80 80 80
RGR(%)
RGR(%)
RGR(%)
60 60 60
40 40 40
20 20 20
0 0 0
7 14 21 28 7 14 21 28 7 14 21 28
days days days
paraquat; z:2.5, {:5, :10, cyclosulfamron alone; :0.15 ppb

Fig. 7. Relative growth rate (RGR) of Lemna gibba fronds in exposure and in recovery in fresh
medium after the exposure to paraquat with and without cyclosulfamron. Expexted RGR in
exposure and in recovery were calculated as (paraquet exposure RGR) x (cyclosulfamron
exposure RGR)/100, and (paraquet recovery RGR) x (cyclosulfamron recovery RGR)/100,
respectively.
6.6 Conclusion
When focusing on ecotoxicological studies and risk assessments of mixture effects of
herbicides on aquatic plants, synergism is the most important effect to protect against, since
it can not be predicted and results in an increase of toxicological effects, as it is the worst
interaction between components of mixtures. If one, two or more chemicals were present at
low levels in the same ecosystems, each of them would be poorly deleterious to non-target
species if considered separately, but their addition increase significantly the ecotoxicological
risk by the accumulation of low level risks. Therefore, increased toxicity due to the
synergistic nature of the herbicides could results in detrimental effects to primary producers
at concentrations lower than expected from the individual toxicity. The joint effects of the
herbicides to L. gibba presented in this section suggested that they often appeared stronger
than the expected ones, therefore, they could not be predicted from the standard toxicity test
using a single herbicide. In addition, the effects of long-term exposure to herbicides and
recovery potential of duckweed were also affected by their combination, indicating further
understanding of mechanisms how mixtures of herbicides affect non-target aquatic species
is necessary.
7. Future perspective
Current scientific knowledge concerning the phytotoxicities of potential contaminants is
based largely on results from laboratory toxicity tests for a few freshwater green algal
species. The available results are used sometimes, with little scientific justification, as
surrogates for other types of aquatic plants and organisms. Our knowledge in regard to how
different organisms respond to herbicides is simply insufficient to be able to speculate about
cause and effect scenarios. In addition to the regulatory testing that needs to be developed,
there is a need for complimentary research that will expand our knowledge beyond the level
given by these standard regulatory tests. The ultimate goal of any phytotoxicity test should
be to provide results for a battery of relevant surrogate species. As a result, a composite
picture can be obtained to estimate the short- and long-term influence of contaminants on
the condition of an exposed plant community and ecosystem. With this in mind, there is a
need not only to increase use of the available phytotoxicity test methods but also to continue
to develop their ability to provide useful results.
Our results presented that the relative risk of a variety of scenarios of exposure and recovery
with an aquatic vascular plant Lemna sp. exposed to individual and mixtures of herbicides
are significant from both regulatory and research perspectives. To address actual
environmental situations, the application of this approach would be a good solution for a
better understanding of the ecological significance of the end points used in toxicity testing
and how they are interpreted and applied in ecological risk assessment.
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Part 6
Herbicide Resistance
29
Resistance of Weeds to Herbicides

William Vencill, Timothy Grey, and Stanley Culpepper
Department of Crop & Soil Sciences, University of Georgia
USA
1. Introduction
Herbicides are the most widely used group of pesticides worldwide. The widespread use of
herbicides has allowed tremendous gains in agricultural productivity worldwide. Since the
1950’s herbicides have progressively replaced mechanical weed control because herbicides
are more cost effective (Gianessi & Reigner, 2007). In 2009 over 95% of all the major
agronomic crops grown in the U. S. were treated with herbicides (USDA-NASS, 2009).
Transgenic herbicide-resistant crops were commercially introduced in the U. S. in 1996
when glyphosate-resistant (Roundup Ready®) soybean was released. Use of the very broad-
spectrum herbicide, glyphosate, provided outstanding weed control (Dill, 2005; Dill et al.
2008). The most recent data indicates that the percent of the total acres of each of the
following crops planted with glyphosate-resistant cultivars is soybeans 91%, canola 91%,
cotton 71%, and corn 68% (Brookes & Barfoot 2009). Herbicides are used on >90% of arable
farmland in the U.S. and herbicide-resistant crops has been used widely since the mid-
1990’s. Herbicide resistance in weeds was first discovered in 1968 (Ryan 1970) and there are
currently 347 confirmed weed biotypes worldwide (Heap 2010).
When discussing pest resistance, whether it is weeds, pathogens, or insects, it is important to
define the resistance. Some of the basic differences in the definitions of pest resistance depend
on the basic definitions. The most basic unit of biological classification is the species, defined as
a group of individual organisms displaying common characteristics and having the ability to
mate and produce fully viable progeny. A population is a group of organisms within a species
that co-occur in time and space (Radosevich et al. 1997) and share a distinct range of genetic
variation. A species is usually composed of several to many populations. A genotype is the
sum of the genetic coding or the genome of an individual. A biotype may not be fully
coincident with genotype, as an individual has many genes. Certain genes may be expressed
or unexpressed and not pertain to the phenotype associated with the biotype. A biotype is a
phenotype that consistently expresses or exhibits a specific trait or set of traits. Weed scientists
tend to refer to a biotype as a group of individuals with distinctive biochemical or
morphological traits (e.g. resistance to a specific herbicide mechanism of action; growth and
morphological traits). A phenotype refers to the physiological and morphological profile of the
expressed genes in an individual. A single genotype can produce different phenotypes in
response to environmental conditions present. This fundamental property of organisms is
known as phenotypic plasticity. The alteration of phenotype (morphological or biochemical)
without change in either the coding sequence of a gene or the upstream promoter region is
classified as epigenetic change (Rapp & Wendel 2005). There is some controversy over whether
epigenetic changes can be inherited. The enhanced expression of EPSP synthase gene in
glyphosate-resistant Palmer amaranth may be such a change.
The Weed Science Society of America’s (WSSA) (1998) published its approved definitions for
terms as follows: “Herbicide resistance (HR) is the inherited ability of a plant to survive and
reproduce following exposure to a dose of herbicide normally lethal to the wild type. In a
plant, resistance may be naturally occurring or induced by such techniques as genetic
engineering or selection of variants produced by tissue culture or mutagenesis.” In herbicide-
resistant crops, the resistance trait allows the use of a herbicide that would otherwise injure or
kill the crop. Herbicide tolerance: “Herbicide tolerance (HT) is the inherent ability of a species
to survive and reproduce after herbicide treatment. This implies that there was no selection or
genetic manipulation to make the plant tolerant; it is naturally tolerant.” In crops, herbicide-
tolerance allows the use of herbicides that control weeds but do not injure the crop.
Whereas there are many individual herbicide products, the Herbicide Resistance Action
Committee (HRAC) recognizes only 16 unique modes of action (Senseman et al. eds. 2007),
excluding those that are unclassified. The mode of action of an herbicide is the way the
chemical controls the weed, thus it characterizes the selection factor. From the beginning of
large-scale herbicide use, there were concerns about the potential for herbicide resistance
(Appleby 2005). Like bacteria, fungi, and arthropods, weed populations adapt to selection;
the most susceptible individuals are eliminated by exposure, while the less susceptible
reproduce and present a succeeding generation that is more difficult to control than the
former. The first case of herbicide resistance was to the triazine herbicide, simazine, in 1968
(Ryan 1970). Since then over 347 resistant weed biotypes have been reported; virtually all
major modes of action of herbicide have certain weeds that have developed resistance to
them (Heap 2010). During the 1970s and 80s different agronomic crops tended to use
different combinations of herbicides, because the crops tolerated different herbicide modes
of action, and generally more than one mode of action was needed in each crop to control
the several species of weeds that might infest them. Since glyphosate had such broad
activity against weeds, it was often used alone. Initially the argument was advanced that
glyphosate resistance was highly improbable (Bradshaw et al. 1997). Nevertheless, a
resistant biotype of rigid ryegrass (Lolium rigidum L.) was confirmed in Australia in 1996
(Heap 2010). There are now 18 reported instances of weed species that are resistant to
glyphosate; they are found on all agriculturally productive continents.
Fig. 1. Hectares of herbicide-resistant weeds in the US (Heap 2009).

Resistance of Weeds to Herbicides 587
Agronomic weed management is increasingly difficult and costly due to the apparent
increase in the rate of development of weed resistance to herbicides and the lack of
development of new modes of herbicide action. No new class of herbicides has been
registered in the U.S. since mesotrione, an hydroxyphenyl pyruvate dioxygenase inhibitor in
1993. In contrast, the number of herbicide resistant weeds continues to increase, as have
those specifically resistant to glyphosate.
Herbicide resistance in weeds occurs via target site resistance, enhanced metabolism,
sequestration, reduced uptake, and over-production of the herbicide target site. Herbicide
resistance has been confirmed to ten specific herbicide mechanisms of action. The most
widespread resistance is to photosystem II-inhibitors, photosystem I inhibitors, acetolactate
synthase (ALS)-inhibitors, acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACCase) inhibitors, protoporphyrinogen
oxidase (PPO or PROTOX) inhibitors, carotenoid synthesis inhibitors, EPSP synthase inhibitors
(e.g. glyphosate), mitotic inhibitors, and auxinic herbicides. Within each of these herbicide
mechanisms of action, there are multiple amino acid changes within the herbicide-binding
domain. For many herbicide mechanism of action, there are multiple mechanisms of resistance
possible. The specific mechanism can affect the level of cross-resistance observed. There are
many factors such as herbicide rate can affect the type of resistance mechanism that occurs in
the field. The presence of a fitness penalty associated with the resistance mechanism can also
determine some dynamics of the herbicide resistance phenomenon.
The rapid adoption of herbicide-resistant crops has lead to a high dependence on a small
range of herbicide mechanisms of action for weed management while suppressing the
introduction of novel herbicide mechanisms of action. This increases the impact of weed
resistance to one or two herbicide mechanisms of action can be economically devastating
because of the paucity of alternative herbicide choices. Weed resistance to glyphosate in
glyphosate-tolerant crops has become particularly problematic in areas of concentrated
glyphosate-tolerant crop production. To minimize the spread of herbicide-resistance in
weeds, growers will have to emphasize integrated weed management techniques of using
cultural weed control, mechanical weed control, and using more than one herbicide
mechanism of action to control targeted weed problems.
Of the weedy Amaranths, herbicide resistance has been reported in eleven species (Table 1).
The first reported incidence of herbicide resistance in an agronomic crop in North America
was in Amaranthus hybridus to the triazine herbicide atrazine in 1970 (Ryan 1970).
Amaranthus tuberculatus biotype has been shown to have multiple resistance across three
herbicide sites of action (ALS, PPO, PSII) (Patzoldt, et al., 2005).
Glyphosate- and ALS-resistant Amaranthus palmeri and rudis are of most concern and
potential to disrupt current weed management systems in soybean, maize, and cotton in the
United States.
2. PS II resistance
The first case of herbicide resistance in a row crop situation was A. hybridus to triazine
herbicides in 1970 (Ryan 1970). Currently, triazine-resistant Amaranthus infests greater than
500,000 ha in North America. Resistance to photosystem II inhibitors is via target site
resistance and enhanced metabolism. Target based resistance in the classical change in the
Qb protein. The Qb protein is the site where electron transfer from chlorophyll to an initial
electron acceptor, pheophytin, occurs in photosynthetic electron flow. Although many point
mutations have been documented in cyanobacteria conferring resistance to triazine
Species HRAC Group Ha infested (worldwide)

Amaranthus albus C1 250
Amaranthus blitoides C1, B, C1 and B 4500
Amaranthus cruetus C1 50
Amaranthus hybridus C1, B >75,000
Amaranthus lividus B, C1, D 300
Amaranthus palmeri B, C1, G, K1, B and G 1,000,000
Amaranthus quitensis B 830000
Amaranthus retroflexus B, C1, C2, B and C1, C1 and C2 >70000
Amaranthus rudis B, C1, E, G, B and C1, B and E and G >2,000,000
Amaranthus tuberculatus B 250
Table 1. Herbicide Resistance in Amaranthus worldwide (Heap, 2010).
herbicides; in higher plants, only Ser-264-Gly, Val-219-Ile, and Ans-266-Thr have been
documented (Patzoldt et al. 2003). However, the vast majority of triazine-resistance has been
the Ser-264-Gly mutation. Other point mutations are less frequent. The Ser-264-Thr mutation
confers resistance to triazine and substituted urea herbicides (Masabni & Zandstra, 1999).
In a survey of A tuberculatus in Illinois, 14 out of 59 randomly sampled populations were
segregating for atrazine resistance, with only one of the 59 populations having site-of-action
resistance (Patzoldt et al. 2003). The A tuberculatus population with site-of-action resistance,
which was used in this study (UniR population), was also identified to have a second, non-
site-of-action mediated mechanism. Thus, this novel triazine resistance mechanism may
already be prevalent in A tuberculatus populations (Patzoldt et al. 2003). Similarly, an
atrazine-resistant population of Amaranthus palmeri has been described in Georgia. This
population seems to have enhanced glutathione conjugation of atrazine (Vencill 2008) and is
not cross-resistant to other triazines such as ametryn.
The rate of CO2 reduction in the S-triazine-resistant biotype of smooth pigweed (Amaranthus
hybridus L.) was lower at all levels of irradiance than the rate of CO2 reduction in the
susceptible biotype. The intent of this study was to determine whether or not the lower rates
of CO2 reduction are a direct consequence of the same factors which confer triazine
resistance. The quantum yield of CO2 reduction was 23 ± 2% lower in the resistant biotype
of pigweed and the resistant biotype of pigweed had about 25% fewer active photosystem II
centers on both a chlorophyll and leaf area basis. This quantum inefficiency of the resistant
biotype can be accounted for by a decrease in the equilibrium constant between the primary
and secondary quinone acceptors of the photosystem II reaction centers that in turn would
lead to a higher average level of reduced primary quinone acceptor in the resistant biotype.
Thus, the photosystem II quantum inefficiency of the resistant biotype appears to be a direct
consequence of those factors responsible for triazine resistance but a caveat to this
conclusion is discussed. The effects of the quantum inefficiency of photosystem II on CO2
reduction should be overcome at high light and therefore cannot account for the lower light-
saturated rate of CO2 reduction in the resistant biotype. Chloroplast lamellar membranes
isolated from both triazine-resistant and triazine-susceptible pigweed support equivalent
rates of whole chain electron transfer and these rates are sufficient to account for the rate of
light-saturated CO2 reduction. This observation shows that the slower transfer of electrons
from the primary to the secondary quinone acceptor of photosystem II, a trait which is
characteristic of the resistant biotype, is nevertheless still more rapid than subsequent
reactions of photosynthetic CO2 reduction. Thus, it appears that the lower rate of light-
saturated CO2 reduction of the resistant biotype is not limited by electron transfer capacity
and therefore is not a direct consequence of those factors that confer triazine resistance.
3. ALS resistance
Acetolactate synthase (ALS) is the first enzyme in the biosynthetic pathway leading to the
synthesis of the branch-chain amino acids isoleucine, leucine, and valine. The branch-chain
amino acids comprise part of the amino acid pool essential to protein synthesis and other
plant functions. Inhibition of the ALS enzyme results in a cessation of growth followed by
purpling of younger foliage then older foliage, as essential proteins cannot be synthesized.
There are five chemical classes (sulfonylureas, imidazolinones, pyrimidinylthiobenzoates,
triazolopyrimidines, and sulfonylaminocarbonyltriazolinones) that are confirmed to inhibit
and ALS and these are used worldwide in numerous weed control situations in row crops
and non-cropping situations. ALS resistance in is widespread in eight Amaranthus species
(see Table 1). Of these, A. hybridus a A. rudis are the most widespread. There are documented
cases of eight point mutations to the ALS gene conferring resistance to ALS-inhibiting
herbicides. The Trp-574-Leu seems to be the most common and provides resistance to the
greatest range of ALS inhibiting herbicides.
ALS-resistance in A. rudis had become so widespread in the midwestern US that ALS-
inhibiting herbicides are not recommended (Syngenta press release). One of the reasons that
glyphosate-resistant crops were adopted in the mid-1990’s in the US so quickly and to such
a great extent was because of ALS-resistance in the Amaranthus spp.
Point Mutation Species Resistancea

Ala-122 – Thr retroflexus, powelli IMI (SCT not tested)
Ala-205-Val retroflexus IMI (PTB, TP, SCT not tested)
Asp-376-Glu hybridus All groups
Pro-197-Leu retroflexus IMI, SU, PTB, TP (SCT not tested)
Pro-197-Ser blitoides PTB, SU, TP (SCT not tested)
Ser-653-Thr A.powelli, retroflexus, rudis IMI (PTB, TP, SCT not tested)
Ser-653-Asn rudis, hybridus IMI (PTB, SCT not tested)
Trp-574-Leu A.rudis, blitoides, retroflexus, powelli IMI, SU, PTB, TP, SCT
aIMI = imidazolinone, SU = sulfonylurea, PTB = pyrimidinylthiobenzoates,
TP = triazolopyrimidine, SCT = sulfonylaminocarbonyltriazolinone.

Table 2. Point mutations leading to ALS-resistance in Amaranthus spp. (Tranel et al. 2007)
There are no reported cases in Amaranthus where the ALS-resistance trait has lead to
reductions in ecological fitness. A. retroflexus and A. blitoides were specifically examined and
none were found.
4. PPO resistance
Amaranthus tuberculatus is only one of three species worldwide to develop resistant to PPO-
inhibiting herbicides. Evaluation of a PPO-inhibitor-resistant A. tuberculatus biotype revealed
that resistance was a (incompletely) dominant trait conferred by a single, nuclear gene. In
plants, chlorophyll synthesis occurs exclusively in the plastids, while heme synthesis occurs in
the plastids and mitochondria (Patzoldt et al. 2005). There are two nuclear genes to encode
PPO isozymes in the plastid and mitochondria. These are called PPX1 and PPX2 for the plsatid
and mitochondria, respectively. Protogen IX accumulates in sensitive plants treated with PPO
inhibitors. Protogen IX exported to the cytoplasm is converted to proto IX that in the presence
of light causes the formation of singlet oxygen that results in membrane damage and eventual
plant death. One gene from the resistant biotype, designated PPX2L, contained a codon
deletion (G210) (Patzoldt et al 2005). PPX2L is predicted to encode both plastid- and
mitochondria-targeted PPO isoforms, allowing a mutation in a single gene to confer resistance
to two herbicide target sites. Resistant biotypes of A. tuberculatus have robust resistant to most
PPO-inhibiting herbicides (lactofen, sulfentrazone, flumioxazin). Deletion of a codon rather
than substitution is a unique formation of target site resistance to herbicides. There have been
no studies to determine if there is a fitness costs to PPO resistance in weeds.
5. Glyphosate resistance
Glyphosate-resistance was first confirmed in Lolium rigidum in 1996 from Australia (Heap
2010). There are nineteen biotypes of weeds that have confirmed glyphosate-resistance
worldwide. The most widespread resistance in from Conyza canadensis, first cofirmed in
Delaware in 2001. It is estimated to infest more than three million hectares in the US alone. The
first reported case of glyphosate-resistance in an in-season row crop was in Amaranthus palmeri
in 2005. Currently, glyphosate-resistance has been confirmed in A. palmeri, A. rudis, and A.
tuberculatus. Culpepper et al (2006) showed that the mechanism of resistance differs from that
described in Conyza candadensis and Lolium spp. Glyphosate-resistance in a Amaranthus
palmeri is due to increased EPSPS expression (Gaines et al 2010). While increased expression
of EPSPS as a molecular glyphosate resistance mechanism has been reported to endow
relatively low level glyphosate resistance in lab studies, this is the first report in a field weed
population. It is likely that glyphosate selection pressure over several years in the Georgia
cotton field (3) either selected plants with previously existing EPSPS gene amplification, or
EPSPS gene amplification occurred during a period of less than seven years over which
glyphosate was repeatedly applied. If we examine glyphosate-resistant Amaranthus palmeri, we
see at least two mechanisms of resistance (reduced translocation and a target site change) and
perhaps biotypes with both types of resistance as well as individuals that are resistant to
glyphosate and ALS-inhibitors. Other collections of Palmer amaranth that seem to have very
low levels (<2 x) of glyphosate resistance that have been difficult to characterize may be a third
type of resistance. Before weed scientists can effectively manage glyphosate-resistant Palmer
amaranth as well as other glyphosate-resistant weed species, we will need to better
characterize at the genetic level whether individual plants are resistant via translocation
mechanism, target site, combinations of these, and whether they are resistant to other
herbicide mechanisms of action. Sammons et al. (2007) suggest that there are three primary
mechanisms which confer herbicide selectivity among plants: 1) differences in herbicide target
sites, 2) inactivation of an herbicide by chemical modification (i.e. metabolism), and 3)
exclusion mechanisms which either reduce herbicide uptake or sequester the herbicide away
from the target site. To clarify the exclusion mechanism, Ge et al. (2010) reports that
glyphosate-resistant Conyza canadensis actively transports glyphosate to the vacuoles of the cell
compared to the cytoplasm preventing it from getting to the target site.
Greenhouse data indicate that the glyphosate-resistant A. palmeri may have a fitness cost.
The GS biotype grew at an 11% faster rate than the GR biotype, and the GR biotype
assimilated carbon at 60.2% the rate that the GS biotype assimilated carbon. Measurements
of photosystem I activity, chlorophyll content, and branching help to characterize the GR

biotype of Palmer amaranth, and suggest a mechanism of resistance different from that of
Conyza canadensis and some other confirmed glyphosate-resistant weed biotypes, but did not
correlate with relative fitness differences.
Glyphosate resistance has been particularly troublesome in the central U. S. including the
states of Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, and Tennessee. Glyphosate-resistant horseweed was first
discovered in Delaware (van Gressel, 2001), but quickly spread to Indiana (Davis et al., 2007,
Davis et al. 2008), Tennessee (Steckel & Gwathmey, 2009), and Arkansas. Glyphosate resistant
horseweed increased the cost of weed management by about $13/acre (Mueller et al. 2005).
While troublesome, glyphosate-resistant horseweed is primarily a problem at pre-plant before
crop establishment. The emergence of glyphosate-resistant Palmer amaranth (Amaranthus
palmeri) and water hemp (Amaranthus rudis, A. tuberculatus) have caused severe and well-
documented management problems for in-season weed management in cotton and soybeans
(Culpepper et al. 2008; Legleiter et al. 2008, Legleiter et al., 2009; Norsworthy et al., 2008a;
Norsworthy et al. 2008b; Patzoldt et al. 2002; Patzoldt et al. 2005; Steckel & Sprague, 2004a;
Steckel & Sprague, 2004b; Steckel et al. 2007; Steckel et al., 2008; Volenberg et al. 2007).
6. Mitotic inhibitor resistance

There are a number of herbicide classes that inhibit mitosis via disruption of microtubule
formation. These include dinitroaniline herbicides such as trifluralin, pendimethalin, and
ethalfluralin as well as some pyridine, carbamate, and phosphoroamidate herbicides.
Microtubules are an integral part of mitosis as well as other cellular process such as cytokinesis
and vesicular transport (Powles and Yu, 2010). These herbicides bind to one of the α- and β-
tubulin dimers. Sensitive plants symptoms include malformed root areas that come in contact
with the herbicide. Resistance occurs through a Thr-239_Ile substitution in the α-tubulin gene
resulting in reduced binding of the herbicide. Resistance to mitotic inhibiting herbicides is not
widespread with evolved resistance reported in 10 species worldwide (Heap, 2010). Resistance
has been reported in South Carolina in Amaranthus palmeri in 1994 (Heap 2010) and a
population was found with resistance in Georgia in 2010 (Vencill, personal communication).
7. HPPD-inhibitor resistance
Three classes of chemistry (triketones, isoxazoles, and callistemones) are bleaching
herbicides that inhibit 4-hydroxyphenyl pyruvate dioxygenase (HPPD), a key enzyme
required for the formation of carotenoids. The inhibition of carotenoid synthesis by the
inhibition of the HPPD enzyme leads to white foliage because the carotenoid pigments
protect chlorophyll pigment in plant tissues. Carotenoid synthesis can be inhibited by two
other herbicide mechanisms of action, the inhibition of phytoene desaturase (e.g.
norflurazon and fluridone) and the inhibition of deoxyxylulose 5-phosphate synthase (DXP)
by clomazone. Resistance has been confirmed for all three bleaching herbicide mechanisms
of action. Fluridone (phytoene desaturase inhibition) resistance is widespread in hydrilla in
Florida and clomazone-resistant barnyard grass is reported in rice production in Arkansas
and Louisiana. Resistance has been reported in a population of Amaranthus rudis in Illinois
(Ag News, 19 July 2010). The mechanism of resistance is not understood, but resistance
seems limited to foliar applications of HPPD-inhibiting herbicides while soil applications of
the same herbicides seem to still provide control.
8. Muliple resistance
In the United States, the only documented case of resistance to multiple herbicide
mechanisms of action has been in the Amaranthaceae. Cases of multiple resistant to ALS
and PSII as well as ALS and glyphosate. Describe the ALS/PSII. In Georgia, there are
biotypes resistant to ALS and glyphosate but little is known about specifics.
There are several populations of A. tuberculatus that have evolved multiple herbicide
resistances. An Illinois biotype has resistance to PSII, ALS, and PPO inhibitors while a
population from Missouri has evolved resistance to ALS, PPO, and EPSPS inhibitors
(Patzoldt et al. 2003 According to Mueller (2005), there are >150000 ha of PSII/PPO/ALS-
resistant common waterhemp in Illinois. In Georgia, populations of Amaranthus palmeri have
been documented to be resistant to ALS and EPSP inhibitors. There are populations of A.
palmeri that are reported to be resistant to mitotic inhbitors, ALS, and EPSP inhibitors.
9. Conclusion
In Europe, Alopecurus has been documented to a weed of serious agronomic potential to
have evolved widespread resistance to commonly used herbicides and to multiple
mechanisms of action in some cases (Delye 2005). In Australia, the niche is occupied by
Lolium where resistance is documented to several groups of herbicides (Neve et al. 2004). In
the United States, Amaranthus has long been one of the most common and troublsome
weeds in agronomic crops and has been of the first weeds to develop resistance to
herbicides in many situations. They were the first weeds to develop resistance to triazine
herbicides, ALS-resistance in A. tubercualtus was widespread in the mid-1990’s before the
introduction of glyphosate-resistant crops, and glyphosate-resistance has been found in
three species of Amaranthus and is growing rapidly. PPO-inhibiting herbicides have become
the standard recommendation for glyphosate-resistant Amaranthus spp. However, we now
see PPO-resistant A. tuberculatus. There are unconfirmed reports of resistance in A. palmeri
in the southeastern US. The first case of multiple herbicide resistance in the US was in
Amaranthus tuberculatus and palmeri.
In the past, herbicide resistance in Amaranthus caused growers to shift to another herbicide
mechanism of action. There has only been one new herbicide mechanism of action
introduced since 1990 so we are to a crisis point where growers may not have another
herbicide mechanism of action to go to when resistance to PSII, ALS, PPO, and EPSPS
inhibitors become more widespread in one of our most common and troublesome weed
species. Without the introduction of new herbicide mechanisms of action or better herbicide-
resistance management, a technology that has allowed tremendous increases in agricultural
productivity is at risk.
10. References
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waterhemp (Amaranthus rudis) populations from Missouri. Weed Sci. 56:582-587.
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(Amaranthus rudis) control and economic returns with herbicide programs in
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Portulaca oleracea. Weed Sci. 47:393-400.
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management of glyphosate-resistant or –tolerant weeds. Weed Technol. 19:924-933.
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in corn (Zea mays). Weed Sci. 52:359-364.
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in soybean (Glycine max). Weed Technol. 18:947-952.
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30
Brief Approach of Herbicide Resistance in

Context of Crops Development Worldwide
Ioan Gh. OROIAN
University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca
Romania
1. Introduction
The review aims to emphasize the state of art of herbicide resistance mechanisms in
weeds, when ourdays realities confront us with crop productions in continuous expansion
in EU and worldwide. Regarding sustainable agriculture and plant biodiversity
maintenance as premise for successful development in the future, the virtual
environmental threat produced by a large diversity of herbicides in use appears as
entitled concern. This reality is exacerbated by another phenomenon: the development of
herbicide resistant weeds reported more and more often in last four decades. In this way,
even herbicides still represent the most important and effective tool in controlling weeds,
in many areas, their field value decreased. The alteration produced, often as punctiform
mutations, in weed genotypes in order to counteract the herbicide attacks, led to
development of resistant weed biotypes that may produce huge harmful environmental
effects, besides yield loss. One of the most important reasons of this phenomenon is
represented by administering the same herbicide for many years to the same culture in
the same cultivation field. The situation is aggravated when the herbicide has only one
site of action in herbicide genome (Sigematsu et al., 1989; Kremer et al., 1999; Owen et al.,
2005; Powels et al., 2010). This underlines the importance of obtaining a better
understanding of the mechanism that represents the basis of resistance, in order to
successful fighting against this phenomenon. It was elucidated by emphasizing the
biochemical processes and genetic mechanisms that occur in plant in order to develop
defending mechanisms. The genetic processes involved in weed genome react to
environmental stimuli, as the attack of active principle from herbicides. Usually, the
gene/genes that metabolize the active substance/substances from the herbicide are
naturally multiplied of several hundred times, compared to the genotype of a plant that is
not resistant. Now, gene amplification is one of the well known mechanisms of resistance
against herbicides (Vila-Aiub et al., 2003; Oroian, I., 2008; Ge et al., 2010).
These mechanisms once understood can be counteracted by suitable measures taken at
different levels. Some of the most important crop management strategies that could
contribute to reduce the appearance and/or decrease of the frequency of this phenomenon
consist in: using herbicides only when necessary, rotate crops and herbicides site of action,
using combined herbicide administration system, combine mechanical weed control with
chemical treatment (Paoletti et al., 1995; Berca M., 2007).
2. The development of crop production in EU and world

The production of the most important cultures according to the importance of their place in
human society is presented, in order to underline the importance of the weed resistance
control in these plants. The cultivated area in both EU and the world is also emphasized.
The wheat (Kingd. Plantae, Ord. Poales, Fam. Poaceae; Triticum spp.) orginary from the Near
East is the main human food crop. According to FAO last updating (December 2008), the
greatest production was obtained in 2008 in EU and the same orientation was reported by
entire world (Fig. 1.a). The area harvested was bigger in 2008 compared to former year, but
lower compared to year 2000, and 2002 when the biggest area was wheat cultivated in EU,
while in 2008 was recorded the biggest area cultivated worldwide (Table 1).
Fig. 1. a. The wheat production in EU and in the world in three reference years of the last
decade
Brief Approach of Herbicide Resistance in Context of Crops Development Worldwide 597
The barley (Kingd. Plantae, Ord. Poales, Fam. Poaceae; Hordeum vulgare) was cultivated
from the second millennium b.Ch. in Mesopotamia. It is a cereal grain of major importance
as animal fodder. According to FAO (December 2008), the greatest production was obtained
in 2008 in EU and the same orientation was reported by entire world (Fig. 1.b). The area
harvested was bigger in 2008 compared to 2000, while in EU increased in 2004 compared to
2000, and the same tendency was recorded worldwide, since 2004 when the biggest value
was recorded (Table 1).
Fig. 1.b. The barley production in EU and in the world in three reference years of the last
decade
The oats (Kingd. Plantae, Ord. Poales, Fam. Poaceae; Avena sativa), similarly to barley, has
the most common use as livestock fodder. According to FAO last updating (December 2008),
the greatest production was obtained in 2008 in EU. In 2001 was obtained the biggest barley
production by entire world, while in 2008 was bigger compared to 2000, but still smaller
than in 2001 (Fig. 1.c). The area harvested was bigger in 2001 compared to 2000 and 2008
worldwide, while in EU increased in 2001 compared to 2000, but in 2008 decreased by
10.64% compared to 2000 and by 13.65% compared to 2001 (Table 1).
Fig. 1.c. The oats production in EU and in the world in three reference years of the last
decade
The maize (Kingd. Plantae, Ord. Poales, Fam. Poaceae; Zea mays) is a known
since prehistoric times, but now is spread all over the world due to its large production
potential and ability to grow in diverse climates. According to FAO (December 2008), the
greatest production was obtained in 2004 in EU and in 2008 worldwide (Fig. 1.d). The area
harvested was 4.93% smaller in 2008 compared to 2000 in EU, while worldwide it increased
by 17.53% in 2008 compared to 2000 (Table 1).
Fig. 1.d. The maize production in EU and in the world in three reference years of the last
decade
The soya bean (Kingd. Plantae, Ord. Fabales, Fam. Fabaceae; Glycine max.) native to Asia, is
an annual species of legume, rich source of oil, carbohydrates and protein. It is also
considered one of the most versatile crops. According to FAO last updating (December
2008), the greatest production was obtained in 2001 in EU, and worldwide in 2008 (Fig. 1.e).
The smallest production (almost one half of that obtained in 2001) was obtained in 2008 in
EU. The area harvested was 52.89% smaller in 2008 compared to 2000 in EU, while
worldwide, it increased by 30.26% in 2008 compared to 2000 (Table 1).
Fig. 1. e. The soya bean production in EU and in the world in three reference years of the
last decade
The sunflower (Kingd. Plantae, Ord. Asterales, Fam. Asteraceae; Helianthus) is orginary
from Central America. It is of great importance in food industry. According to FAO
(December 2008), the greatest production was obtained in 2008 in EU and the same
orientation was reported by entire world (Fig. 1.b). The area harvested was bigger in 2008
compared to 2000 worldwide. It increased by 18.47%. In EU, the area cultivated increased by
1.31% in 2008 compared to 2000, but decreased by 11.87% compared to 2003, when the
biggest area was cultivated during the analyzed interval, 2000 – 2001, respectively (Table 1).
Fig. 1. f. The sunflower production in EU and in the world in three reference years of the last
decade
The rapeseed (Kingd. Plantae, Ord. Brassicales, Fam. Brassicaceae; Brassica napus) is a
valuable source of animal feed and vegetable oil for human consumption and biodiesel.
Certain varieties of oilseed rape are commonly named canola. According to FAO last
updating (December 2008), the greatest production was obtained in 2008 in EU and the same
orientation was reported by entire world (Fig. 1.a). The area harvested was 17,31% bigger in
2008 compared to 2000 worldwide, while in EU it increased by 48,01% in 2008 compared to
2000 (Table 1).
Fig. 1. g. The rapeseed production in EU and in the world in three reference years of the last
decade
Vineyard (Kingd. Plantae, Ord. Vitales, Fam. Vitaceae; Vitis vinifera). The wine producing is
known since millenniums b.Ch According to FAO (December 2008), the greatest production
was obtained in 2008 in EU (by 36.44% compared to production obtained in 2000) and the
same orientation was reported by entire world, by 34.74% bigger in 2008 compared to the
production obtained in 2000, respectively (Fig. 1.b). The area harvested was 9.34% bigger in
2008 compared to 2000 in EU, while it increased by 0,91% in 2008 compared to 2000,
worldwide (Table 1).
Fig. 1. h. The wheat production in EU and in the world in three reference years of the last
decade
Vegetables include a series of plants (potatoes, eggplants, tomatoes, cucumbers, cabbages,

onions, garlic, peas, cauliflowers, spinach, pumpkins, etc.) often intensively managed and
with high input costs. They are important both agricultural economy of countries, food
industry, and food consumption, being essential to a healthy diet. In 2005, according to
FAO, there were 66 million Ha of vegetables grown in the world. This figure includes of
potatoes (19 million Ha) but excludes nearly 5 million Ha of watermelons and other melons
which are sometimes included with vegetables. If we include melons, the biggest production
was obtained in 2005 in EU (Fig. 1.i.).
Fig. 1. i. The vegetables production in EU and in the world in three reference years of the
last decade
Issue/Year 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
1) European
Wheat 1) 26560780 26412836 26888507 24329061 26597861 26441014 24920478 24859885 26503083
2) 215472863 214597539 213806041 207658164 216894341 219736189 211815280 213894296 223564097
Maize 1) 9337537 9618975 9262990 9737571 10059931 8991942 8553137 8028447 8877660
2) 136999105 137485945 137293647 144673388 147472375 147441686 148607870 158606742 161016542
Union, 2) World
Barley 1) 14202011 14330156 14269355 14027708 13704760 13824772 13758706 13685865 14473752
2) 54520176 56173845 55272435 57730908 57535566 55342779 56361192 55430143 56774297
Oats 1) 3063167 3055184 3240881 3178923 2912364 2879314 2925499 2966607 2997924
2) 12682536 13124757 12452273 12141204 11696607 11269443 11641613 11583196 11333331
Soya beans 1) 501604 452795 354185 422878 386726 419319 487491 342772 236317
2) 74366760 76799819 78962290 83663393 91602610 92506171 95248048 90111139 96870395
Sunflower 1) 3693610 3484659 3473261 4245848 3716073 3599920 3922551 3270569 3742142
2) 21120631 17811931 19448548 23417226 21436622 23025310 23790326 21172596 25023511
Rapeseed 1) 4139854 4172497 4246639 4161306 4557222 4867009 5399346 6528779 6127566
Table 1. Area Harvested (Ha) in European Union and in the world

2) 25835280 22560773 22914090 23468954 25316569 27693540 27440505 29673836 30308662
Grapes 1) 3920220 3876898 3871812 3860016 3737869 3716264 3667345 3628630 3665097
Brief Approach of Herbicide Resistance in Context of Crops Development Worldwide
2) 7341221 7406923 7438751 7497740 7343476 7345439 7389298 7349718 7408127

Vegetables 1) 3031888 2902895 2848534 2940864 2927856 2826443 2627700 2531619 2486497
2) 45074440 46808658 47805184 50200877 49881448 50992160 52234017 53042269 54091889
605
Worldwide, the biggest production was obtained in 2008. The cultivated area decreased by
18% in 2008 compared to 2000, while worldwide it increased by 20% in 2008 compared to
2000 (Table 1).
Discrepancies are recorded in both production and cultivated areas in EU and worldwide.
The production (tonnes) of some cultures dramatically decreased in EU in 2008 compared to
previous years, but it considerably increased worldwide during the same time interval. The
same tendency is observed concerning the area cultivated (Ha).
The oats production increased in 2008 compared to 2000 in EU, while de production
decreased I worldwide during the same time interval. The maize production decreased in
2008 compared to 2004, even it is bigger compared to 2000. Worldwide, it is bigger in 2008
compared to 2000. The soy bean production dramatically decreased in 2008 compared to
2000 in EU, while it increased in 2008 compared to 2000 worldwide. The sunflower
production increased in 2008 compared to 2000, but it is smaller compared to production
obtained in 2004, when the biggest production of the analyzed time interval was recorded.
In the same culture, the production increased in 2008 compared to 2000 worldwide. The
vegetable production, including melons, decreased in 2008 compared to 2000 in EU, while it
increased during the same time interval (2000 – 2008) worldwide (Fig. 1).
Differences in tendencies concerning area cultivated with analyzed crops were also recorded
between EU and world during the time interval 2000 – 2008. Smaller area was cultivated
with oats, maize, soya beans and vegetables in 2008 compared to 2000 in EU, while bigger
field areas were cultivated with the same cultures in 2008 compared to 2000 worldwide
(Table 1).
3. Common herbicides in use that confront weed resistance

A series of large scale used herbicides in use confront with weed herbicide resistance
phenomenon (Practical Guide for Farmers, Alcedo 2010). They are commonly administered
to most important crops, in fight against a large variety of annual and/or perennial
dicotyledonous and monocotyledonous weeds. The resistance developed against these
herbicides is based on the activity of specific enzymatic systems (Table 2).
Commercial Active principle/s Enzymatic Chemical formula

name of system
herbicide and developing
producer resistance/target
class of weeds
Wheat
BUCTRIL Bromoxynil Photosystem II/
UNIVERSAL 3,5-dibromo-4- Annual and
(bromoxynil hydroxybenzonitrile perennial
280 g/l + acid dicotyledonous
2,4-D 280 g/l) MCPA weeds
Bayer (4-Chloro-o-tolyloxy-
Cropscience acetic acid)
Ag., Germany
Table 2. Herbicides in use and enzymatic system of weeds susceptible to develop resistance

name of system
class of weeds
Maize
BROMOTRIL Bromoxynil Photosystem II/
40 EC 3,5-dibromo-4- Annual
(bromoxynil hydroxybenzonitrile dicotyledonous
400 g/l) weeds
Makhteshim
Agan, Israel
BUCTRIL UNIVERSAL
CAMBIO Bentazone Photosystem II/
(bentazone 2,2-dioxo-3-propan- Annual
320 g/l + 2-yl-1H-benzo[1,2,6] dicotyledonous
dicamba 90 thiadiazin-4-one weeds
g/l) BASF SE,
Germany Dicamba
3,6-dichloro-2-
methoxybenzoic acid
SURDONE Surdone, Photosystem II/ fi
(metribuzin 4-amino-6-tert-butyl- Annual
70%) 4,5-dihydro-3- dicotyledonous
Feinchemie methylthio-1,2,4- and some mono-
Schwebda triazin-5-one cotyledonous
GmbH, weeds
Germany
ZEAGRAN Bromoxynil Photosystem II/
340 SE 3,5-dibromo-4- Annual
(bromoxinil hydroxybenzonitrile dicotyledonous
90 g/l + weeds and
terbutilazine Terbutilazine partially
250 g/l) N2-tert-butyl-6- perennial
Nufarm chloro-N4-ethyl-
GmbH & Co. 1,3,5-triazine-2,4-
Kg, Austria diamine
Sunflower
FOCUS Cicloxidim Acetyle CoA
ULTRA (5RS)-2-[(EZ)-1- carboxylase/
(cicloxidim (ethoxyimino)butyl]- Sorghum
100 g/l) 3-hydroxy-5-[(3RS)- halepense
BASF Ag., thian-3-yl]cyclohex-
Germany 2-en-1-one
– continued

name of system
class of weeds
SURDONE
BROMOTRIL 40 EC
Soya bean
BASAGRAN Bentazon Photosystem II/ A
FORTE 3-isopropyl-(IH)- Annual
(bentazon 480 benzo-2,1,3- dicotyledonous
g/l + Wettol thiadiazine-4-Retone- weeds
150 g/l) 2,2-dioxide
BASF Ag.,
Germany Wettol
Water dispersible
granules of liquid
pesticides
SENCOR 70 Metribuzuin Photosystem II/ A
WG (1, 1-dimethylethyl)- Annual
(metribuzin 3-(methylthio)-1, 2, 4- dicotyledonous
70%) triazin-5(4H)-one weeds
Bayer
CropScience
Ag., Germany
SELECT Cletodim Acetyle CoA A

SUPER (RS)-2-[(E)-1-[(E)-3- carboxylase/
(cletodim 120 chloroallyloxyimino] Annual
g/l) propyl]-5-[2- dicotyledonous
Arvesta (ethylthio)propyl]-3- weeds and
Lifescience hydroxycyclohex-2- Sorghum
Corporation enone halepense
USA
FOCUS ULTRA
Vegetables
SENCOR 70 WG (potato, tomato)
SELECT SUPER (potato, beans)
SURDONE (potato)
FOCUS ULTRA (tomato, beans)
BASAGRAN FORTE (beans)
– continued
3. Mechanism of herbicide resistance

The herbicide resistance is a concept, which could regard both, culture plants and weeds.
According to AgBiosafety – University of Nebraska ”Herbicide resistance is when plants
become resistant to the negative effects of a particular herbicide formulation or are
genetically engineered in order to have resistance to a particular herbicide. Herbicide-
resistant crops can be sprayed with a particular herbicide, killing weeds growing in and
around the crop plants, without being damaged.”
Concerning weeds, the Illinois Agricultural Pest Management Handbook (2008) adopts the
following definition ”Resistance is the inherited ability of a plant to survive and
reproduce following exposure to a dose of herbicide normally lethal to the wild type.”
Resistance of weeds to herbicides is not a unique phenomenon. In fact, resistance to
herbicides is a worldwide problem that became more and more acute in last 20 years, due to
increased production capacity.
According to Prather et al. (2000), resistance may appear in weeds as consequence of
random punctiform mutation occurred in plant genome. If we deal with a herbicide
selection pressure the resistant plants will survive, while susceptible plant will disappear.
The first report concerning resistance against pest, fungi, herbicide, etc. was reported in
1908, when insects resistant to insecticides were identified. Plant pathogens resistant to
fungicides were emphasized for the first time in 1940, and weeds resistant to herbicides
beginning with 1950s, when dandelion and wild carrot biotypes were reported to be
resistant to 2,4-D (MCPA or 4-Chloro-o-tolyloxy-acetic acid), and then groundsel resistant to
triazines was reported in 1968 (Kremer et al., 1999; Oroian, I., 2008).
By 2008,183 weed biotypes that were resistant to triazine herbicides and 15 other herbicide
families were reported and well documented. Results of a 1992 North Central Weed Science
Society survey of the north central United States and Canada reflect a world wide trend of
increasing appearance of herbicide resistance (Yamasue et al., 1992; Oroian, I., 2008).
Besides intrinsic weed traits, a series of culture practices may favourize the installation of
herbicide resistance phenomenon (Fig. 2)
A single site of action Applied multiple times
Herbicides
Used for several consecutive growing

seasons, repeated application with the
same site of action administered to the Used without other
same or different crops weed control options
Fig. 2. The herbicide administration practices and/or intrinsic traits that contribute to
herbicide resistance
Two mechanisms are at the origin of the herbicide resistance. One is the so-called
”exclusionary resistance” and the other, ”the site action resistance” (Cummins et al., 2010).
3.1 The exclusionary resistance

The mechanism consists in the exclusion of the herbicide molecule from the specific site
located in target plant where it induces the characteristic toxic response (Fig. 3).
Several well known mechanisms, elucidated by now, can explain the processes involved in
resistance developed by weeds against herbicides. Among them, we can enumerate:
differential herbicide uptake, differential translocation, compartmentation in different specific
regions of the weed, and metabolic detoxification (Oroian, I., 2008; Cummins et al., 2010).
Differential herbicide uptake. Some groups of weeds

develop morphological particularities (e.g. reduced
leaf area) that determine specific new conformation,
due to tissue mass or/and shape alteration. The direct
consequence consists in differences recorded in
uptaking the herbicides.
Differential translocation. In resistant weed biotypes,

the transport mechanism of the active principles from
herbicide is modified (reduced). The alterations are
observed at both apoplastic (cell wall, xylem) and
symplastic (plasma lemma, phloem) levels.
Compartmentation. Herbicides can be stopped, by Mechanisms

specific mechanisms, in a certain location (function of
their structure) before reaching the targeted site. In
this way they are immobilized and unable to produce
the aimed effect.
Metabolic detoxification. Weeds can develop internal

defense mechanisms than will detoxify the herbicide
before it reaches the site of action at a rate sufficiently
rapid that the plant is not killed. The biochemical
pathways that represent the mechanisms of
detoxifying herbicides can be grouped into four major
categories of reactions: oxidation, reduction,
hydrolysis, and conjugation.
Fig. 3. The exclusionary resistance mechanisms

The metabolic detoxification involves three enzyme systems (Hakala et al., 2006; Kurth et al.,
2009; McCourt et al., 2006) that catalyze the specific reactions that represent the basis of
herbicide resistance in weeds (table 3).
Enzyme Global process Action Target substance

Resistance to
Glutathione-s-transferase Detoxifies Atrazine
herbicides
Resistance to
Aryl-acylamidase Detoxifies Propanil
herbicides
Cytochrome P450 Resistance to Increased herbicide Inhibitors of ACCase,
monoxygenase herbicides metabolism ALS and PSII
Table 3. The enzymes and their role in herbicide resistance of weeds
3.2 Resistance due to the site of action

From this point of view, two types of resistance are known: due to the altered site of action
and site of action overproduction (Cummins et al., 2010).
Altered site of action. The site of action is modified in such a way that it cannot be affected
by the herbicide action. The molecular mechanisms of resistance are mainly based on
impossibility of herbicide binding to the target protein from weed specific tissue. This is the
consequence of a mutation, usually punctiform (resulted form a single nucleotide change) in
the gene encoding the protein to which the herbicide normally binds.
The direct consequence is the change produced in the amino acid sequence of the target
protein. And this is the process that represents the basis of destroying the possibility of the
herbicide to interact with the specific protein.
Sulfonylurea
herbicides
action
a. Inactivation of acetolactate synthase (ALS) enzyme
Biotype resistant to sulfonylurea herbicides ( e.g. Kochia scoparia L., Lactuca sativa)
Site of action of herbicide is modified
b. Herbicide can no longer bind with the enzyme and inactivate it
Fig. 4. Mechanism of herbicide action (a) and resistance (b) in biotypes resistant to
sulfonylurea herbicides (e.g. Kochia scoparia L., Lactuca sativa)
Triazine
herbicides
action
a. Mutation in the plastoquinone binding D1 protein of PSII (photosystem II)
Biotypes resistant to triazine (e.g. Chenopodium album L. and Solanum nigrum L.)
b. Reduced photosynthetic efficiency
Fig. 5. Mechanism of herbicide action (a) and resistance (b) in biotypes resistant to triazine
herbicides (e.g. Chenopodium album L. and Solanum nigrum L.)
Site of action overproduction. The first consequence of this overproduction will be a
decreased intensity of the herbicide effect. An overproduction of the herbicide action site
being recorded, the active principle of the weed control product will be less effective and
finally it will not be able to inactivate the entire enzyme produced.
3.2.1 Herbicides and site of action

Whatever the resistance site directed mechanism (altered site or overproduction), herbicides
are organized into groups based on their site of action. Herbicides in the same group all kill
plants the same way. Weed populations may be resistant to herbicides in different chemical
families if those families share the same site of action. Resistance to herbicides with different
sites of action can also occur (Oroian, I., 2008; Cummins et al., 2010).
One herbicide may action on a single site and/or on multiple sites (Fig. 6).
Single Site of Action. A mutation reported in a specific site within analyzed weed, will lead to
resistance to a particular herbicide with action on the site with mutation. The mutation may or
may not determine resistance to other herbicides that have in common the action on the same
site. The reason for this is there can be many different binding sites at a particular site of action
(e.g. an enzyme) and those binding sites can be very herbicide specific. Therefore, several
different herbicides may bind to the same enzyme but at different sites on the enzyme.
Multiple Site of Action. It can occur that one herbicide has multiple action sites. It makes
more difficult for host organism to develop mutations at all of the sites of action that confer
resistance, and develop resistance for herbicides with multiple action sites.
3.3 The main enzymatic systems involved in resistance mechanism against some
important herbicide groups
3.3.1 Photosystem I (PSI)
Photosystem I (plastocyanin: ferredoxin oxidoreductase) is characteristic for the
photosynthetic light reactions of algae, plants, and some bacteria, being part of photosynthetic
Single site of action Multiple site of action

Active point on enzyme Active points on enzyme
Herbicide Herbicides Sites

1 site of action
site 1 sites 2 … n - 1 site n
Herbicide activity Herbicide activity
Herbicide Herbicides
1 site of action = blocked 1 site of action blocked

n – 1 active sites of action
No herbicide activity Herbicide activity (les effective)
Herbicides n sites of action blocked
No herbicide activity
Fig. 6. Herbicide activity on one ore more sites

electron transport located in thylakoid membranes and an iron-sulfur type (Fe-S) reaction
centre (Fig. 7).
It is involved in electron flow in the chloroplast thylakoid membrane of plants and in
cyanobacteria, using light energy. It is excited best by light at about 700 nm, and is thus
sometimes called P700 (Stockel et al., 2004; Hakala et al., 2006; Sharon et al., 2009). It
contains eleven protein subunits, the cytochrome b6f complex, lipids, pigments (chlorophylls
and β-carotene and cofactors (early electron acceptors vitamin K1 phylloquinone in electron
transport chain, QK A and B, Ferredoxin-NADP+ oxidoreductase enzyme, FNR respectively,
Mg+ and Ca+).
energy transfer, hυ charge separation

LHC I P700 p+ and e-
e-
Fx
e- e-
Ao (chlorophyll a monomer) Fe-S centres Ferridoxin (Fd)
Fa/Fb
e-
Fd-NADP+ oxido-reductase (FNR)

NADP+ NADPH
Fig. 7. The mechanism of PSI function in driving energy

The main inhibitors of photosystem I belong to post-emergence non-selective contact
herbicides. They are represented by the chemical family Bipyridillum with herbicides
Paraquat and Diquat.
According to Oroian I. (2008) herbicide resistance which involves the enzymatic PSI has
been reported in weed species like: Amaranthus lividus, Bidens pilosa, Conyza spp., Eleusine
indica, Solanum nigrum.
Mechanism of resistance to PSI inhibitors. The strategies against inhibitors of PSI may be
grouped in two classes, detoxification of the toxic products formed and rapid sequestration
of the herbicide mechanisms, respectively (fig. 8).
3.2.2 Photosystem II (PSII)

PSII (water-plastoquinone oxidoreductase) is a protein complex located in chloroplast
thylakoid membrane (Guskov et al., 2009; Watanabe et al., 2009). It is characteristic for
photosynthetic organisms and has important role in driving light energy to split H2O into
Mechanism of resistance
Detoxification of the toxic products formed. The

herbicide treatment produces superoxide and
hydroxide radicals, hydrogen peroxide, and singlet
oxygen. This resistance mechanism involves the
action of the protective enzymes, which detoxifies
the above mentioned radicals before they could
initiate lipid peroxidation. The detoxifying enzymes
are: superoxide dismutase, ascorbate peroxidase,
glutathione reductase, dehydroascorbate reductase,
catalase and peroxidase.
Rapid sequestration of the herbicide

mechanisms. This mechanism was exemplified
in E.canadensis and E.sumatrensis, (Yamasue et
al., 1992) for Paraquat. The mobility of
Paraquat is restricted in resistant biotypes since
it is being rapidly sequestered. Autoradiogram
studies confirm this mechanism.
Fig. 8. The mechanisms involved in weed resistance against PSI inhibitors

O2, protons and electrons (Fig. 9). It consist of 20 subunits and light-harvesting proteins and
more than 99 cofactors. Among subunits, we can enumerate:
• light harvesting complex - LHC -,
• P680 reaction centre,
• protein D1 - reaction centre protein, quinone and manganese centre, binds Chlorophyll
P 680 and beta-carotene,
• protein D2 - reaction centre protein -,
• PsbO – managnsese stabilizing protein – etc.
The cofactors are represented by:
• chlorophyll a, which absorbs light,
• beta-carotene with function in quenching excess photoexcitation energy,
• plastoquinones as intra-thylakoid membrane mobile electron carriers - two mobile
electron carriers-plastoquinone-A (PQA), and plastoquinone-B (PQB),
• pheophytin as primary electron acceptor,
• heme,
• bicarbonate,
• n-dodecyl-beta-D-maltoside detergent molecules,
• managanese centre (Guskov et al., 2009).
energy transfer hυ charge separation

LHC II P680 p+ and e-
absorbed
phenophytin D1 protein
serine 264 histidine 215

+ e- broken
e- + e- broken
hydrogen hydrogen
e- bond bond
PQA unreduced PQB => reduced PQB
Fig. 9. The mechanism of PSII function in driving energy

The chemical herbicides that inhibit photosystem II are (Saari et al, 1990; Oroian, I., 2008):
Atrazine, Cynazine, Simazine, Propazine (chemical family of Triazines), Metribuzin
(chemical family of Triazinones), Bromacil and Terbacil (chemical family of Uracils),
Bromoxinil (chemical family of Nitriles), Diuron and Fenuron (chemical family of
Phenylureas), Pyrazon (chemical family of Pyridazinones), and Bentazon (chemical family
of Benzothiadiazole).
According to Oroian I. (2008) herbicide resistance which involves the enzymatic PSI has
been reported in weed species like: Amaranthus hybridius, Solanum nigrum, Chenopodium
album, Phalaris paradoxa.
Mechanism of resistance to PSII inhibitors. Three ways are known to explain the weed
internal defence strategies against characteristic inhibitors (fig. 10).
3.2.3 Acetyle CoA carboxylase (ACCase)

ACCase is a multifunctional, biotinylated protein located in stroma of plastids. It catalyzes
the ATP dependent carboxylation of Acetyl CoA to form malonyl CoA, which is the
precursor of fatty acids (Sellwood et al., 2000).
It is present in prokaryotes, chloroplasts of most plants and algae, endoplasmic reticulum of
most eukariotes, and even mycobacteria (Kurth et al., 2009). ACCase catalyses two partial
reaction occurring at two different sites (Fig. 11).
Point mutation in psbA gene. In the psbA gene, which encodes for D1
protein of the PSII a mutation occurs, and serine at 264th position is replaced
by glycine. The herbicide molecule is then in incapacity to form a H bond
with glycine, and PQB molecule easily occupies the specific niches allowing
the normal electron transport in the mutant even in the presence of
herbicide. This is the resistant mechanism in most of the triazine resistant
weed species.
Resistance mechanisms
Glutathion conjugation. It Oxidation of herbicide. The

determines enhanced capacity to most known mechanism consists
detoxify the herbicide via in cytochrome P-450
glutathion conjugation intrinsic monoxygenase action that
mechanisms. converts the herbicide to
herbicidally inactive compound.
Fig. 10. The mechanisms involved in weed resistance against PSII inhibitors
Site 1) ACCase – Biotine
+ HCO3-
+ ATP
ACCase – Biotine - COO- + ADP + Pi
(COO- carrier between two sites)
Site 2) ACCase – Biotine – COO-
+ Acetyl – CoA
Malonyl – CoA + ACCase - Biotine
Fig. 11. The mechanism of ACCase activity

The chemical herbicides that inhibit ACCase activity are (Oroian, I., 2008): Clodinafop,
Diclofop, Fenoxaprop (chemical family of Aryloxyphenoxypropionates), Sethoxydim,
Cycloxidim, and Clethodim (chemical family of Cyclohexanediones).
According to Oroian I. (2008) herbicide resistance which involves the enzymatic ACCase
activity have been reported in weed species like: Avena fatua, Digitaria sangunalis, Echinochloa
crusgali, Echinochloa colona, Lolium spp.
Mechanism of resistance to ACCase inhibitors. Up to date, three mechanisms of herbicide
resistance, in which ACCase activity is involved, are described. They are: Presence of
tolerant form of ACCase (alteration of target site enzyme), detoxification mechanism, and
overproduction of ACCase (fig. 12).
Presence of tolerant form of

ACCase. In majority of weed
biotypes, resistance to ACCase
is produced by a punctual
mutation of the nuclear gene
encoding the ACCase I
isoform.
Resistance mechanisms
Detoxification mechanism. In
resistant biotypes P450
Overproduction of ACCase.
monoxygenase is involved
Usually, in resistant biotypes
the ACCase levels are 2 or
even 3 times greater compared
to biotypes susceptible to
herbicide action.
Fig. 12. The mechanisms involved in weed resistance against ACCase inhibitors
3.2.4 Acetolactate synthase

Two groups of enzymes are referred as Acetolactate synthase: Acetohydroxyacid synthase
(AHAS), and Acetolactosynthase (ALS), respectively. It is a protein consisting of 590
residues. These residues are classified into three separate subunits: d1yhya1, d1yhya2 and
1yhya3 (Chipman et al., 1998; Preston et al., 2002; Scarabel et al., 2004). AHAS/ALS is the
first enzyme common to biosynthesis of branched chain amino acids leucin, valine and
isoleucine (McCourt et al., 2006) It is found in plants and micro-organisms.
It is involved in the reaction of ketobutyrate conjugation with pyruvate to form
acetohydroxybutyrate, which develops in parallel with reaction of conjugation of 2
molecules of pyruvate to form acetolactate, reaction also catalyzed by this enzyme.
The chemical herbicides that inhibit the enzyme activity are (Oroian, I., 2008):
Chlorosulfuron, Sulfosulfuron (chemical family of Sulfonylureas), Imazapyr (chemical
family of Imidazolinones), Diclosulam, Flumetsulam, Metosulam (chemical family of

Triazolopyrimidines), Pyriminobac-methyl, Bispyribac, Pyriftalid (chemical family of
Pyrimidinyl-thio-benzoate Imidazolinones).
According to Oroian I. (2008) herbicide resistance which involves the enzymatic
acetolactosynthase activity have been reported in weed species like: Amaranthus sp. Avena
fatua, Conyza sp., Eleusine indica,Lolium spp.
Mechanism of resistance to ALS inhibitors. Two mechanisms of herbicide resistance are
known: less sulfonylurea sensitive ALS enzyme and rapid metabolic inactivation of
herbicide (fig. 13).
Resistance
mechanisms
Less sulfonylurea sensitive ALS

enzyme. It may be produced by a
single point mutation that encodes a
proline197 to histidine substitution in
Domain Aof ALS protein, or by
several point mutations within the
gene encoding ALS.
The rapid metabolic

inactivation of herbicide. The
weed develops mechanisms for
active compound degradation
through specific metabolic
pathways.
Fig. 13. The mechanisms involved in weed resistance against ALS inhibitors
4. Conclusion
Even the concern of weed resistance against herbicides appeared a few decades ago, it still
remains a serious concern and a continuous challenge for both farmers and producing
industry.
To date, the most valuable information concerning the weed resistance against herbicides
came from weed genetics. This capacity of auto defence is the result of the plant ability to
auto generates gene variability. Studying the plant intrinsic molecular processes, valuable
answers were obtained.
Understanding herbicide mechanisms of action in context of permanent evolution of weed
resistance represents the main way of fighting against this phenomenon, and this approach
delivers the most valuable tool for research, development and practice.
Mastering the state of art in the field will supply the appropriate basis to efficient fight
against new and more and more developed herbicide resistance mechanisms.
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31
Resistance to Herbicides in the Model

Organisms Saccharomyces cerevisiae and
Arabidopsis thaliana: the Involvement of
Multidrug Resistance Transporters
Tânia R Cabrito1, Estelle Remy2, Miguel C Teixeira1,
Paula Duque2 and Isabel Sá-Correia1
1IBB – Institute for Biotechnology and BioEngineering, Centre for Biological and Chemical
Engineering, Instituto Superior Técnico, Technical University of Lisbon 2Instituto
Gulbenkian de Ciência
Portugal
1. Introduction
Herbicides are agrochemicals that control the growth of undesired weeds, bringing about a
significant overall increase in crop productivity. Herbicide resistance, the inherited ability of
a plant to survive and reproduce following exposure to a dose of herbicide normally lethal
to the wild type, is a weed physiological characteristic (Twonson, 1997). This trait has the
potential to cause not only large economic losses in agricultural production, forestry and
landscaping, but also deleterious effects on the environment and human health as a result of
rising herbicide application rates (Hayes & Wolf, 1997). On the other hand, crops of
agronomic relevance exhibiting chemical stress resistance are highly desirable and can be
obtained through genetic manipulation, based on the knowledge gathered on the
underlying mechanisms.
Emergence of multidrug resistance (MDR), that is, the simultaneous acquisition of resistance
to a wide range of structurally and functionally unrelated cytotoxic chemicals, is found in a
wide variety of organisms, from bacteria to mammals. The widespread use of herbicides has
led, since the early 1970s, to a growing number of resistant weed species and biotypes that
possess multiple resistance to various classes of herbicides (Hayes & Wolf, 1997). Indeed,
herbicide application is one of the most important selective forces acting on a weed
community in an agroecosystem (Owen & Zelaya, 2005).
To date, and particularly during the past two decades, numerous cases of herbicide resistant
weed species have been described, in at least 60 different countries (www.weedscience.org).
Table 1 shows the number of cases of single and multiple herbicide resistance development
in weed species registered in the last 30 years. Among them there are several weed strains
that have acquired simultaneous resistance to herbicides with different modes of action
(Table 1). For example, in 1982 in South Australia a strain of Lolium rigidum (rigid ryegrass),
a monocot weed that infests barley and wheat fields, was registered as having developed
resistance to multiple herbicides, exhibiting seven diverse modes of action (from the
following HRAC1/WSSA2 groups: ACCase inhibitors - A/1, ALS inhibitors - B/2, Triazoles,
ureas, isoxazolidiones - F3/11, Dinitroanilines and others - K1/3, Mitosis inhibitors - K2/23,
Chloroacetamides and others - K3/15, Thiocarbamates and others - N/8). Owing to its
capacity to rapidly acquire multiple herbicide resistance, L. rigidum bursts exert the highest
negative economic impact in Australian crops (Owen et al., 2007). Another case of multiple
herbicide resistance is Alopecurus myosuroides (blackgrass), a monocot weed that infests
winter wheat plantations. In 1996, multiple herbicide resistant biotypes of this weed were
found in Belgium, exhibiting simultaneous resistance to atrazine, chlorotoluron, clodinafop-
propargyl, fenoxaprop-P-ethyl, flupyrsulfuron-methyl-Na, pendimethalin, and
propaquizafop (from the following HRAC groups: ACCase inhibitors - A/1, ALS inhibitors
- B/2, Photosystem II inhibitors - C1/5, Ureas and amides - C2/7, and Dinitroanilines and
others - K1/3)(www.weedscience.org; Eelen et al., 1997).
Mode of action Herbicide Number of resistant Number of MDR

(HRAC/WSSA group) example weed species weed species*
Diclofop-
ACCase inhibitors (A/1) 38 16
methyl
ALS inhibitors (B/2) Chlorsulfuron 107 33
Photosystem II inhibitors (C1/5) Atrazine 68 9
Ureas and amides (C2/7) Chlorotoluron 21 11
Nitriles and others (C3/6) Bromoxynil 3 0
Bipyridiliums (D/22) Paraquat 24 4
PPO inhibitors (E/14) Oxyfluorfen 4 3
Carotenoid biosynthesis inhibitors (F1/12) Flurtamone 2 1
Triazoles, ureas, isoxazolidiones (F3/11) Amitrole 4 1
Glycines (G/9) Glyphosate 19 10
Dinitroanilines and others (K1/13) Trifluralin 10 3
Mitosis inhibitors (K2/23) Propham 1 1
Chloroacetamides and others (K3/15) Butachlor 4 4
Cellulose inhibitors (L/27) Dichlobenil 1 1
Thiocarbamates and others (N/8) Triallate 8 4
Synthetic auxins (O/4) 2,4-D 28 8
Flamprop-
Arylaminopropionic acids (Z/25) 2 1
methyl
Organoarsenicals (Z/17) MSMA 1 0
(chloro) -
Unknown (Z/27) 1 1
flurenol
* Number of weed species that have biotypes described as resistant to herbicides with different modes
of action.
Table 1. Number of resistant weed species and MDR weed species according to the
herbicide mode of action (adapted from www.weedscience.com).
1 Herbicide Resistance Action Committee

2 Weed Science Society of America
Resistance to Herbicides in the Model Organisms Saccharomyces cerevisiae
and Arabidopsis thaliana: the Involvement of Multidrug Resistance Transporters 625
Some herbicide families seem to be particularly prone to induce herbicide resistance in

their target weeds. Indeed, approximately 70% of the registered herbicide resistant weeds
exhibit tolerance to only four out of 19 herbicide families. These four herbicide families
include ALS inhibitors, photosystem II (PSII) inhibitors, ACCase inhibitors and synthetic
auxins.
The great majority of herbicides act by inhibiting a specific plant enzyme essential for
metabolism, whereas the remainder, including auxinic herbicides, act as general inhibitors.
Two types of resistance can be distinguished: target-site and non-target-site herbicide
resistance (Powles & Yu, 2010). Target-site herbicide resistance is sustained by modifications
of the target site that impair the action of the herbicide. One well described case of such a
mechanism involves resistance to the PSII-inhibiting triazine herbicide, shown to be due in
most cases to a point mutation in the chloroplastic psbA gene, modifying the site at which
triazine competes with plastoquinone within the PSII. Interestingly, this single resistance
mutation has evolved independently worldwide (Arntzen et al., 1982). In contrast, non-
target-site herbicide resistance implies usually a reduction in the concentration of active
herbicide reaching the target site (Powles & Yu, 2010), including often the action of
membrane pump-catalyzed active efflux or compartmentalization of the herbicide in plant
cells (Windsor et al., 2003).
The present chapter aims to summarize current knowledge on the function of plant plasma
membrane transporters in the efflux of herbicides during non-target-site herbicide
resistance. Particular emphasis will be given to data obtained through the exploitation of
gene-by-gene and genome-wide approaches applied to the single cell eukaryotic model,
Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and the plant model, Arabidopsis thaliana (Cabrito et al., 2009a;
Teixeira et al., 2007), and extrapolated, when possible, to plants with relevance in
agriculture. Finally, a combined approach using the two model organisms aimed at
deciphering the role of membrane transporters in auxinic herbicide resistance will be
presented. The integration of the current knowledge on plant herbicide resistance in
delineating rationales to design crops with increased herbicide tolerance, leading to the
development of important strategies to overcome multiple herbicide resistance, is discussed.
2. S. cerevisiae and A. thaliana as model organisms to study herbicide

resistance
Saccharomyces cerevisiae is widely accepted as a single cell eukaryotic model, being non-
pathogenic, easy to manipulate genetically, well characterized, and exhibiting fast and
inexpensive growth. The paradigm of research using S. cerevisiae has changed following the
publication of its genome sequence more than a decade ago (Goffeau et al., 1996). Research
on S. cerevisiae pioneered the development of several post-genomic experimental approaches
and computational tools, which has allowed the gathering of large amounts of biological
information easily accessible through public databases (SGD, Saccharomyces Genome
Database – www.yeastgenome.com; and YEASTRACT - http://www.yeastract.com, among
others). Large-scale biological material has also been produced, including a collection of
mutants in which each yeast gene was individually deleted (EUROSCARF –
http://web.uni-frankfurt.de/fb15/mikro/euroscarf) (Kelly et al., 2001), facilitating quick,
easy and high-throughput search for genes involved in the resistance or susceptibility to any
given environmental stressor. Genome-wide analyses in yeast have been successfully used
to identify the genes responsible for yeast response and resistance to environmental stress,
in particular those induced by xenobiotic compounds of agricultural interest, such as the

herbicide sulfometuron methyl (Jia et al., 2000), the dithiocarbamate fungicides mancozeb
(Dias et al., 2010; Santos et al., 2009), thiuram, zineb and maneb (Kitagawa et al., 2003), the
benzimidazole fungicide benomyl (Lucau-Danila et al., 2005), the pesticide lindane (Parveen
et al., 2003), and the herbicide 2,4-D (Teixeira et al., 2007; Teixeira et al., 2006; Teixeira et al.,
2005). Even though many cytotoxic compounds used in agriculture may act in their target
organisms via physiological mechanisms that do not exist in yeast, many of the basic
mechanisms underlying resistance and adaptation to chemical and environmental stresses
are apparently conserved among phylogenetically distant organisms (Landis & Yu, 1999).
Therefore, the characterization of mechanisms of resistance to herbicides in yeast cells is
expected to contribute to the understanding of these mechanisms in more complex and less
easily accessible eukaryotes, such as weeds and crops.
The small flowering plant Arabidopsis thaliana is extensively used as a model organism in
plant biology. Arabidopsis has been the focus of intense genetic, biochemical and
physiological study for more than 40 years because of its rapid life cycle, small size and
prolific seed production, offering important advantages for laboratory manipulations and
cultivation. The complete Arabidopsis genome sequence (e.g. http://www.arabidopsis.org,
http://www.tigr.org/tdb/e2k1/ath1) has been available since 2000 (The Arabidopsis
Genome, 2000), and genome-wide expression approaches have been applied to it with
success. Transformation protocols using Agrobacterium tumefaciens have also been optimized
and large sets of mutant lines are available (e.g. T-DNA Express database -
http://signal.salk.edu), making Arabidopsis the system of choice for molecular and system-
wide studies of plant responses to chemical stress.
3. Multiple herbicide resistance in yeast and plants

3.1 Non-target site mechanisms of resistance to herbicides in plants
The understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying acquired herbicide resistance is
crucial to deal with the emergence of resistant weeds. As stated above, there are two
mechanisms involved in weed herbicide resistance: target-site and non-target-site herbicide
resistance (Powles & Yu, 2010). The mechanisms underlying non-target-site herbicide
resistance are usually the cause for unexpected multiple herbicide resistance (Yuan et al.,
2007; Preston, 2004; Preston et al., 1996).
Non-target-site herbicide resistance has been proposed to be caused by a plant
detoxification process with three phases (Martinoia et al., 1993; Bartholomew et al., 2002;
Sandermann, 2004; Yuan et al., 2007). Phase I consists in metabolic changes of the herbicide
within the plant, typically oxidation, peroxydation, or reduction mainly by P450
monooxygenases, resulting in the formation of less toxic metabolites. During phase II,
herbicides or their metabolites are directly conjugated with glutathione, sugars or amino
acids to produce hydrophilic molecules that are easily handled by the plant cell. Phase III
consists in the translocation of the resulting conjugated metabolites into the vacuole or the
extracellular space through the action of transporters. Further degradation of the resulting
molecules may then occur in the vacuole or the extracellular space. Non-target-site herbicide
resistance has been described to involve mainly P450 monooxygenases (phase I), glutathione
S-transferases and glycosyltransferases (phase II) and ABC (ATP-binding cassette)
transporters (phase III) (Reade et al., 2004; Yun et al., 2005; Bowles et al., 2005; Klein et al.,
2006).
Although this three-step mechanism of non-target-site herbicide resistance is largely

recognised, it is more than probable that it is not sustaining the resistance to some classes of
herbicides. Such is the case of glyphosate and paraquat, two herbicides for which mutation
of the target site or phase I metabolism cannot explain entirely the multiple herbicide
resistant phenotype observed (Coupland, 1985; Feng et al., 1999; Lorraine-Colwill et al.,
2002). In these cases, decreased herbicide influx into the plant, decreased level of
translocation within the plant, and/or increased rate of sequestration/efflux could be the
mechanisms underlying the reduction of the amount of herbicide reaching the target site.
All of these three mechanisms involve the action of membrane transport systems. Therefore,
and owing to their high relevance in herbicide resistance, this chapter will focus on the
action of membrane pumps, mainly those putatively involved in efflux during MDR.
3.2 Multidrug efflux pumps involved in herbicide resistance

Several membrane transport systems have been shown to be involved in drug resistance,
both in prokaryotes and eukaryotes. One of the first systems of this nature to be described
was the mammalian P-glycoprotein efflux pump (Kartner et al., 1983); cell lines
overexpressing this transporter were shown to display multiple resistance to drugs. As a
matter of fact, many of these membrane transporters play an important role in conferring
MDR, presumably due to the catalysis of energy-dependent extrusion of a large number of
structurally and functionally unrelated compounds out of the cells or within cell
compartments, against their concentration gradient (Balzi & Goffeau 1995; Bolhuis et al.,
1997; Hayes & Wolf 1997; Roepe et al., 1996).
On average, the predicted multidrug pumps represent more than 10% of all transporters in a
cell. The increasing number of multidrug transporters identified so far is a clear indication
that MDR by efflux pumps is not an exceptional phenomenon, but a highly conserved
defence mechanism. Significantly, most multidrug transporters share significant homology
with transporters with more specific substrates (Paulsen, 2003). Based on bioenergetic and
structural criteria, drug transporters are classified as ATP-dependent or secondary
transporters (Bolhuis et al., 1997). The latter can be driven by the electrochemical proton
gradient or proton motive force (Δp), composed of an electrical potential (Δψ; negative
interior) and a chemical proton gradient (ΔpH; higher interior). Currently, two large
ubiquitous superfamilies, the major facilitator (MFS) and the ATP binding cassette (ABC)
superfamilies (Bolhuis et al., 1997; Jack et al., 2001; Sá-Correia et al., 2009; Crouzet et al.,
2006), are recognized to include multidrug efflux pumps in eukaryotes. Structures have now
been obtained for multidrug transporters of each of these families (see Higgins, 2007).
Further discussion will be focused on these two types of transporters and their involvement
in MDR and herbicide resistance.
3.2.1 ABC transporters

ABC transporters constitute one of the largest gene families in all living organisms, using
the free energy of ATP hydrolysis to drive substrate transport across cell membranes
(Bolhuis et al., 1997). These proteins mediate diverse cellular transport processes, having
been reported to transport a wide range of substances, including ions, carbohydrates, lipids,
xenobiotics, antibiotics, drugs and heavy-metals. They can also work as ion channels or
display antigen activity (Martinoia et al., 2002). The mammalian P-glycoprotein is probably
the best characterised of all ABC transporters, but many others have been described in
bacteria and fungi. The minimal functional unit of all ABC transporters consists of four
domains: two hydrophobic transmembranar domains, each with six transmembrane α-
helical segments (TMS), plus two cytoplasmic, nucleotide-binding domains containing the
ATP-binding cassette. The four can be fused into a single polypeptide, as in the mammalian
P-glycoprotein. This typical ‘two times two’ domain organisation (Bolhuis et al., 1997)
probably arose from an internal gene duplication event. On the other hand, most bacterial
ABC transporters comprise only one TMS and one nucleotide-binding domain.
The S. cerevisiae genome encodes a total of 22 ABC proteins (Paumi et al., 2009). Among
these, 16 are about twice as long as the remainder, the former having 12 TMS (indicative of a
putative duplication of the half-size ABC transporters). The 22 identified yeast ABC
transporters belong to four families, recently re-designated as ABCB, ABCC, ABCD and
ABCG (formerly named MDR (Multi Drug Resistance), MRP (Multidrug Related Protein),
ALDP (AdrenoLeukoDystrophy protein) and PDR (Pleiotropic Drug Resistance)) (Paumi et
al., 2009). The ABCB family includes four members, three of which are half transporters that
dimerize to form full transporters localized to the mitochondrial inner membrane (Mdl1p,
Mdl2p and Atm1p) and Ste6p, the plasma membrane a-factor pheromone exporter. The
ABCC family includes five vacuolar membrane transporters, two of which, Ycf1p and
Bpt1p, are glutathione conjugate transporters involved in cytosolic detoxification from metal
ions, and Yor1, a plasma membrane multidrug transporter. The ABCD family is composed
of Pxa1p and Pxa2p that transport acyl-CoA across the peroxisomal membrane. Finally, the
PDR family in yeast comprises nine transporters (Pdr5p, Pdr10p, Pdr11p, Pdr12p, Pdr15p,
Pdr18p, Snq2p, Aus1, Adp1 and Yol075c), which can be seen as the cell’s primary line of
defence: PDR function not only decreases the cell’s sensitivity to many unrelated chemical
stresses, but also protects it against endogenous toxic metabolites (Paumi et al., 2009;
Jungwirth & Kuchler 2006). Interestingly, PDR genes are only found in plants and fungi.
In S. cerevisiae only one ABC transporter, Pdr5p, was described as a determinant of
resistance to herbicides (Teixeira & Sá-Correia, 2002). Transient activation (two fold) of
PDR5 transcription takes place during the adaptation period preceding cell division under
stress induced by the auxin-like herbicides 2-methyl-4-chlorophenoxiacetic acid (MCPA) or
2,4-dichlorophenoxiacetic acid (2,4-D). PDR5 induction is mediated by both Pdr1p and
Pdr3p, two transcription factors controlling MDR in yeast and, as soon as adapted cells start
duplication under herbicide stress, mRNA levels are drastically reduced to basal values
(Teixeira & Sá-Correia, 2002). Differently from what has been seen for fungicides and drugs,
resistance to herbicides has not been extensively studied in S. cerevisiae. Thus, it is expectable
that many other of the yeast ABC multidrug transporters may also render the cell herbicide
resistant..
The Arabidopsis genome was found to encode about 600 predicted membrane transporters, a
large number of which belong to the ABC superfamily. In fact, this superfamily alone
comprises 131 members, with 53 encoding full-size and the remainder half-size transporters.
Arabidopsis genes encoding full-size ABC transporters are significantly more numerous than
those reported in other eukaryotes such as yeast and humans, but the reasons for such
diversification in the plant kingdom are unknown. The great majority of plant ABC genes
remains uncharacterised, with those encoding full-size transporters being the best studied to
date. These can be subdivided into three main groups: the MDR or PGP (P-glycoproteins),
the MRP and the PDR gene families (Martinoia et al., 2002).
The MDR-PGP family is the largest, consisting of 22 Arabidopsis genes coding for full-size
ABC transporters. The first demonstration of an MDR-like mechanism in plants, able to
confer tolerance to different herbicides, stemmed from functional studies on AtPGP1.

Overexpression of this P-glycoprotein in A. thaliana conferred increased resistance to
herbicides from different chemical classes, such as dicamba, pendimethalin, oryzalin or
monosodium acid methanearsonate (MSMA), suggesting a resistance mechanism related to
decreased retention or increased active toxin efflux from plant cells (Windsor et al., 2003).
Loss of function approaches later showed that both AtPGP1 and the closely related AtMDR1
participate in auxin efflux required for polar auxin transport in Arabidopsis (Lin & Wang,
2005). In fact, all plant PGP transporters characterized so far appear to be involved in
cellular and long-distance auxin transport (Terasaka et al., 2005; Geisler & Murphy 2006;
Lewis & Muday 2009), pointing to a role of these plant transporters in growth and
development in addition to detoxification processes.
The best characterized plant ABC transporters to date belong to the MRP gene family. The
Arabidopsis genome includes a small redundant family of 15 AtMRP isogenes, which encode
vacuolar sequesters of glutathione conjugates potentially involved in phase III of the
detoxification process during non-target-site herbicide resistance. Five of the Arabidopsis
MRPs (AtMRP1-5) have been biochemically characterized and shown to encode bona fide
functional transporters of model glutathione conjugates after heterologous expression in S.
cerevisiae. In addition, several are able to transport other amphipatic organic anions, such as
linear tetrapyrroles derived from chlorophyll catabolism and folates (Lu et al., 1998;
Raichaudhuri et al., 2009). Functional analysis of four Arabidopsis MRP isogenes (AtMRP1, 2,
11 and 12) has shown that their contribution to detoxification is marginal, as the
corresponding loss-of-function mutants showed no drastic changes in sensitivity towards
different herbicides. Only a knockout allele for AtMRP2 exhibited reduced sensitivity to 1-
chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene, a classical glutathione S-transferase substrate (Frelet-Barrand et
al., 2008). These results may be explained by putative high levels of functional redundancy
among MRP Arabidopsis transporters. On the other hand, it is also likely that the
contribution of vacuolar sequestration during phase III of the detoxification process has
been largely overestimated, with plasma membrane efflux pumps potentially playing a
more preponderant role than recognised so far.
The third group of plant ABC transporters was defined based on similarity to the yeast
PDR5 gene and, in Arabidopsis, includes 15 members encoding putative efflux transporters
for cytotoxic compounds. Expression of SpTUR2 from the water plant Spirodella polyrhiza,
the first plant PDR gene identified, is induced by abscisic acid, cold and salt stresses,
suggesting a role for the encoded transporter in the response to abiotic stress (Smart &
Fleming, 1996). Interestingly, the herbicide 2,4-D also has an inductive effect on the
transcription of SpTUR2, and expression of SpTUR2 in Arabidopsis confers increased
resistance to the antifungic sclareol and to lead (van den Brule & Smart, 2002). Expression of
another member of the PDR gene family, NpABC1 from wild tobacco, is also strongly
induced by sclareol and has been suggested to be involved in its excretion from the tobacco
cell (Jasinski et al., 2001). In Arabidopsis, three PDR transporters have been characterized at
the functional level. These include AtPDR8, which is a key factor controlling the extent of
cell death upon pathogen infection (Kobae et al., 2006) and contributes to non-host
resistance (Stein et al., 2006), having also been identified as a plasma membrane cadmium
extrusion pump (Kim et al., 2007). AtPDR12 is regulated by multiple plant defence
signalling pathways and, as its homologue SpTUR2, confers resistance to the diterpenoid
sclareol (Campbell et al., 2003) and lead (Lee et al., 2005). In addition, AtPDR12 was recently
reported to be a plasma membrane ABA uptake transporter (Kang et al., 2010). Importantly,
another Arabidopsis PDR member, AtPDR9, a homologue of S. cerevisiae PDR5, has recently
been shown to encode a 2,4-D efflux facilitator localized in the plasma membrane; while
overexpression of AtPDR9 leads to 2,4-D resistance and hypoaccumulation, a loss-of-
function mutant for this gene displays increased sensitivity and hyperaccumulation of the
herbicide (Ito & Gray, 2006). Results from a more recent study suggest that AtPDR9 also
facilitates the efflux of the auxin precursor IBA from root cells (Strader & Bartel, 2008).
Although none of the 23 PDR genes identified in Oryza sativa has been functionally analysed
so far, expression of many of these genes is induced in response to diverse abiotic stresses
(Moons, 2008), suggesting that these transporters may also play a role in conferring
resistance to chemical stress agents in rice.
3.2.2 MFS-MDR transporters

The MFS is a very large and ancient superfamily found throughout nature, from bacteria to
mammals, and is energised by the electrochemical gradient across membranes. Diverse
substrates show affinity to these transporters in a proton motive force dependent
mechanism of symport, antiport or uniport. The MFS proteins are involved in drug
resistance, among other cellular functions (Paulsen et al., 1996). Among the eleven known
families of MFS transporters in yeast (www.tcdb.org), MFS multidrug resistance (MFS-
MDR) efflux pumps are proposed to be drug:H+ antiporters, belonging to the DHA1 family
(12 predicted spanners) or the DHA2 family (14 predicted spanners). These transporters
comprise at least 23 proteins that have largely escaped characterisation by classical
approaches, as most of the present knowledge on these putative drug:H+-antiporters was
driven by the disclosure of the S. cerevisiae genome sequence in April 1996 (Goffeau et al.,
1996; Sá-Correia et al., 2009).
Among the MFS-MDR, Tpo1p, which belongs to the DHA1 family, is the transporter with
the broadest described range of substrates. In addition to polyamine excretion, TPO1 is
involved in resistance to cytotoxic compounds ranging from antimalarials to herbicides and
fungicides (Alenquer et al., 2006; Markovich et al., 2004; Sá-Correia et al., 2009; Tomitori et
al., 2001; Tomitori et al., 1999; Tucker & Fields, 2001; Kennedy & Bard, 2001). This
transporter is a yeast determinant of resistance to the auxin-like herbicides 2,4-D and MCPA
(Teixeira & Sá-Correia 2002). In addition, the DHA1 transporters Qdr1 (Vargas et al., 2004),
Qdr2 (Vargas et al., 2004) and Qdr3 (Tenreiro et al., 2005) were found to be determinants of
yeast resistance to the herbicide barban.
Although several S. cerevisiae MFS transporters have been linked to MDR, this is not the case
in plants. The Arabidopsis genome encodes a wide array of metabolite transporters, around
100 within the MFS family alone. Available sequence data indicate that a similar situation
exists in other plant species as well (Williams et al., 2000). The best characterised subfamily
of MFS transporters in plants is the monosaccharide-like transporters one, whose several
members are indeed involved in sugar transport (Reinders et al., 2006; Buttner 2007).
Another subfamily has been implicated in phosphate transport (Stefanovic et al., 2007;
Mudge et al., 2002). To date, only two plant MFS transporters have been related to chemical
stress resistance: A. thaliana ZIF1 is a tonoplast-localized protein that influences zinc
tolerance and accumulation (Haydon & Cobbett, 2007) and, in maize, Zm-mfs1 was
identified as a transcript induced by a range of defence-related conditions, including fungal
pathogenic infection (Simmons et al., 2003). By direct in silico methods few MFS-MDR family
members have been predicted in A. thaliana or in any higher eukaryote, including humans.
Fig. 1. Proposed model for the role of the so far described S. cerevisiae and A. thaliana ABC
efflux pumps (purple) and MFS-MDR transporters (green) involved in herbicide stress
resistance. The role of At5g13750 in 2,4-D stress resistance in plants, proposed based on the
results obtained through heterologous expression in yeast, remains to be clarified.
Mima et al. (2007) identified a human orthologue of the yeast MFS-MDR gene TPO1,
TETRAN. Although sequence homology was relatively low, the authors were able to show
that both TPO1 and TETRAN are capable of conferring NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-
inflammatory drug) resistance. There are also reports that plant pathogenic fungi utilise
MFS drug:H+ antiporters to export their own toxins, thus rendering themselves resistant,
while delivering toxins to the plant (Del Sorbo et al., 2000).
The data linking MFS transporters and MDR in higher eukaryotes are less numerous and
conclusive than those available for ABC transporters, and the role of the plant MFS is just
beginning to be unravelled. This could reflect increased functional redundancy among the
MFS transporter family, but also perhaps decreased interest in analysing their involvement
in MDR. It is consequently of utmost importance to further investigate the potential role of
MFS transporters in the MDR phenomenon in higher plants. Results stemming from the
combined study described below strongly strengthen the hypothesis that a subfamily of
plant MFS transporters may be involved in MDR. Furthermore, it is expected that genome-
wide expression analysis applied to the study of plant response to stress induced by
herbicides may bring additional clues to the functional analysis of MDR transporters in
plants. For example, the observed up-regulation of the putative MFS encoding ORF
At1g79410 in A. thaliana exposed to herbicidal concentrations of 2,4-D suggests that this
transporter may play a role in the adaptation to this stress (Raghavan et al., 2005).
4. Mechanisms underlying auxin-like herbicide resistance in S. cerevisiae

and A. thaliana: a case study
2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) is the most commonly used member of the auxin-like
herbicide family and, having been introduced in 1946, is still one of the most widely used
herbicides in the world. The effects of 2,4-D in weeds include epinastic bending and growth
abnormalities, its toxicity depending mainly of the acid form (Twonson, 1997). Recent
genome-wide gene expression studies focused on the Arabidopsis thaliana response to
herbicidal concentrations of 2,4-D report the remodelling of its transcriptional repertoire at
the level of genes involved in the auxin response, ethylene signalling and ABA biosysthesis,
signalling and response (Raghavan et al., 2005; Raghavan et al., 2006). S. cerevisiae has been
intensively used as a model to investigate the mechanisms underlying herbicide resistance,
focusing on 2,4-D. In low pH environments, the highly lipophilic weak acid 2,4-D exists in
its undissociated lipophilic toxic form (RCOOH), which can readily cross the plasma
membrane by passive diffusion. In the neutral cytosol, the 2,4-D molecule dissociates
leading to internal acidification (Fernandes et al., 2003; Simões et al., 2003) and to
accumulation of the toxic counter-ion (RCOO-) that cannot easily cross the plasma
membrane lipid bilayer. Therefore, at low pH (e.g. acidic soils, the alimentary canal of
animals) the toxic potential of the herbicide increases dramatically (Cabral et al., 2003). In
acidified growth medium, suitable for fungal growth, yeast cells challenged with the
herbicide 2,4-D suffer a strong reduction in their cytosolic and vacuolar pH (Fernandes et
al., 2003; Simões et al., 2003), which is counteracted by the activation of the plasma and
vacuolar membrane H+-ATPases (Fernandes et al., 2003; Teixeira et al., 2005). Significantly,
auxins were also shown to induce the activity of the Arabidopsis plasma membrane H+-
ATPase, contributing to maintain the intracellular pH in plant roots (Shen et al., 2006).
Based on the participation of the MDR transporters Tpo1p and Pdr5p (belonging to the MFS
and ABC superfamily, respectively) in yeast resistance to 2,4-D, the active export of the 2,4-
D counter-ion catalysed by these plasma membrane transporters was postulated (Teixeira &
Sá-Correia, 2002). Interestingly, the Arabidopsis PDR5 homologue AtPDR9 was recently
shown to encode a 2,4-D plasma membrane efflux facilitator contributing to 2,4-D resistance
in this plant (Ito & Gray, 2006). The expression of the S. cerevisiae TPO1 gene was shown to
decrease the accumulation of the herbicide 2,4-D counter-ion in yeast cells, indicating that
this gene is also, directly or indirectly, involved in 2,4-D export (Cabrito et al., 2009a). Other
details on the yeast adaptive response to the mechanisms underlying 2,4-D toxic effects
were reviewed by Teixeira et al. (2007) and are summarized in Figure 2.
Since the TPO1 gene was previously found to confer resistance to 2,4-D in yeast (Teixeira &
Sá-Correia, 2002), to be transcriptionally activated in response to the herbicide (Teixeira &
Sá-Correia, 2002; Teixeira et al., 2006), and required to reduce the intracellular concentration
of the 2,4-D counter-ion (Cabrito et al., 2009a), ScTpo1p homologs encoding putative plasma
membrane MFS transporters from the plant model A. thaliana were analysed by Cabrito et al.
(2009) for a possible role in 2,4-D resistance. At5g13750 transcript levels were found to
increase in 2,4-D stressed plants. The functional heterologous expression of this plant ORF
in yeast was found to confer increased resistance to the herbicide in wild-type and Δtpo1
cells, through the reduction of the intracellular concentration of 2,4-D counter-ion.
Heterologous expression of At5g13750 in yeast also leads to increased resistance to Al3+ and
Tl3+. Hence, At5g13750 gene-encoded protein is the first plant putative MFS transporter to be
suggested as possibly involved in MDR (Cabrito et al., 2009a). These new insights
suggesting a role for higher eukaryotic MFS transporters in multidrug resistance may open
an entirely new field of research with promising repercussions not only in agriculture but
also in medicine and biotechnology.
Fig. 2. Model for the adaptive yeast response to 2,4-D.
5. Conclusions and perspectives

Multiple herbicide resistance is a widespread phenomenon among weed species and poses
severe agro-economical and environmental problems (Hayes & Wolf, 1997). At the same
time, herbicide-resistant crop strains have been developed during the past decades, altering
profoundly agricultural practices as this approach allows the use of specific herbicides in
previously sensitive crops. The use of genetic engineering to express multidrug efflux
pumps, identified as specific for a given herbicide, has been suggested as a method to
increase crop resistance to that particular herbicide (Windsor et al., 2003). Thus, the
identification of new MDR plant transporters playing a role in herbicide resistance may
prove an invaluable asset in modern and future agricultural practices. Such studies are
facilitated by the use of S. cerevisiae as a eukaryotic model system in the search for herbicide
resistance determinants. Similar extrapolations have been made for agricultural fungicide
resistance in phytopathogenic fungi (Cabrito et al., 2009b). The use of yeast as a host for the
heterologous expression of plant transporters has also been considered. Although a number
of reports have found this task extremely difficult mainly due to the inhibitory effect that the
overexpression of foreign membrane proteins appears to have on yeast viability (Crouzet et
al., 2006; Ito & Gray, 2006; van den Brule & Smart, 2002), Cabrito et al. (2009a) managed to
optimize heterologous expression conditions in order to functionally express the plant gene
At5g13750 in the yeast cell. These results reinforce the notion that S. cerevisiae is highly
suitable not only as a eukaryotic model system but also as an experimental platform for the
study of the MDR phenomenon in higher eukaryotes. Furthermore, approaches combining

S. cerevisiae and the plant A. thaliana as a model for functional and comparative genome-
wide studies in weed species can help us understand better the mechanisms underlying
herbicide resistance.
Based on the herbicide resistance mechanisms identified so far, different approaches aimed
at improving the resistance of crops against various herbicides have been developed in the
last decade. Initial practices relied on the type and application rate of the herbicide used in
the agrosystem. For instance, herbicide tolerance can be improved by the use of safeners,
synthetic compounds that enhance herbicide tolerance in selected monocot crops without
impairing herbicide susceptibility in target weeds. They are suggested to reduce toxicity in
crops by inducing the expression of glutathione-S-transferases capable of conjugating the
herbicide to glutathione. This approach has been successful in different crops, such as
maize, sorghum, wheat, rice and barley (DeRidder & Goldsbrough, 2006). The second and
most successful contribution of modern agricultural biotechnology was the introduction of
herbicide resistance traits in crops. Traditional methods involved plant breeding, but in the
last decade the most promising approach consists in the generation of transgenic crops
exhibiting cross resistance to various classes of herbicides. In 2005, only three years after the
introduction of the first transgenic crop in the field, over 52 million hectares of transgenic
crops were planted worldwide, and from these 41 million hectares were planted with
herbicide-resistant crops (Owen & Zelaya, 2005). The vast majority of transgenic crops
consists of soybean containing a bacterial gene that encodes a glyphosate-insensitive form of
the enzyme 5-enolypyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS), catalyzing the
penultimate step of the shikimate pathway, the glyphosate target. This transgenic soybean
enables glyphosate, a non selective herbicide active on nearly all plant species, to be used
selectively after soybean emergence (Dill, 2005). Similar approaches are currently being
pursued for further development. For example, expression of the human cytochrome P450
monooxygenase encoded by the CYP1A1 gene in rice plants has been recently shown to
confer broad cross resistance towards various herbicides with different structures and mode
of action, via an increased and quicker metabolism of these herbicides (Kawahigashi et al.,
2007).
Similarly, the identification of an MDR transporter functioning as a multi-component
detoxification system in plants could open the possibility of developing engineered plants,
thus achieving useful phenotypes from the agricultural point of view. Plants grow in diverse
environments, in which their roots are exposed to toxic or inhibitory chemical substances.
Toxins can be pollutants, such as herbicides or the xenobiotic products of neighbouring
plants or endemic microorganisms. Phytoremediation — i.e. the use of plants and their
associated microbes for the remediation of soils contaminated with organic and inorganic
pollutants — can also represent a positive outcome of the MDR phenomenon. The
phytoremediation efficiency of plants can also be substantially improved by engineering
technologies, including overexpression of genes involved in the transport and sequestration
of toxic compounds. The development of transgenic plants in heavy metal and metalloid soil
decontamination has been largely prospected and revealed their usefulness and suitability
(Kotrba et al., 2009). Again, identification of MDR efflux pumps involved in herbicide
detoxification could also have an interest in phytoremediation approaches of herbicide-
contaminated soils.
6. Acknowledgements
“Research carried out by the authors in this context is supported by FEDER and “Fundação
para a Ciência e a Tecnologia” (FCT) (Contracts PTDC/AGR-AAM/67858/2006,
PTDC/BIA-MIC/72577/2006 and PTDC/AGR-AAM/102967/2008 and PhD and post-
doctoral grants to TRC and ER, respectively).
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Part 7
Herbicide Applications and Modeling

32
Herbicides Applications:
Problems and Considerations
Qasem, Jamal R.
University of Jordan
Jordan
1. Introduction
Methods of weed control are many and varied including prevention, mechanical, cultural,
physical, biological and chemical (Qasem, 1992), each may be used alone or all are usually
integrated for any successful weed control program (Qasem, 2003; Singh et al., 2006).
However, weed control is jointly used with other farm operations for efficient crop production.
Herbicides are chemicals inhibit or kill weeds, do not harm crops if properly handled and
selectively used. They are organic or inorganic (contain no carbon) chemicals (California
Weed Conference, 1985) and can be easily designated from botanical or micoherbicides
(Rice, 1983, Mo & He, 2005). Although the use of herbicides for weed control create public
concern and receives much criticisms nowadays at which most naturalists and
environments oppose their use and other pesticides, recommend alternative weed control
methods or natural eco-friendly chemicals, but synthetic herbicides remained widely used,
considered for weed control and intensively applied in developed and many developing
countries. Herbicides however, represent 44% of the world's pesticide markets while out of
which 57% is for the USA (Kiely et al., 2004). In developing countries, chemical weed control
is not widely practiced because of relatively cheap labor, high chemicals prices and lack of
technical extension and experience in herbicides application which leads in most cases to the
misuse of these chemicals and crop injury (Su, 2006), failure of selective herbicides and weed
control operation, soil and air pollution and limitation in crop rotation options. Different
factors are occasionally involved in herbicides failure under field conditions which most due
to human mistakes lead to improper application technique (Ross & Lembi, 1999). In
addition, lack of correct diagnosis of the weed problem, selection of incorrect herbicide and
prevalence of unsuitable weather conditions for chemical weed control are all reasons
behind failure of the herbicide in controlling existing weeds (Gwynne & Murray, 1985). In
this chapter, proper handling, precautions and some considerations in herbicides
application in the field are considered and discussed as factors contribute in the success of
chemical weed control; enable farmers to effectively control weeds in crop fields with low
cost and more economical, less hazardous and low environmental pollutions.
2. Important
The chapter deals with problems and considerations in herbicides applications mainly
facing farmers in the field. Factors affecting herbicides application and performance under
field conditions including herbicidal, plant and environmental factors are discussed.
Technical problems that lead to improper application and failure of the herbicide are
covered. Aspects related to sprayer calibration, herbicide labels, methods of application and
requirements, surfactants, chemical drift, formulations, selectivity, mixtures, development
of herbicide resistance, herbicides stability and effectiveness in the field, integration of
chemical control with other methods of weed control are all dealt with. The chapter also
covered the interaction between weeds and crop plants and the responses of both to
herbicides and environmental conditions. Impact of the interaction between the three
components on the success of chemical weed control operation, crop production and clean
environment was discussed. Measures aimed to reduce crop injuries, herbicide persistence,
development of weed tolerance/resistance, weed races and crop relatives, and shift in weed
population are suggested. Therefore the chapter addressed the proper handling and
application of herbicides as an effective weed control technology and their proper
application in the field.
3. Information
3.1 Considerations
3.1.1 Weed factors
3.1.1.1 Weed identification
Diagnosis of the weed species found in the field is the first step toward any successful weed
control program. Generally, weeds are narrow- or broad-leaved, annuals, biennials or
perennials. Biennial weeds are few in number, most are prolific seed producers and many
are ruderals (Grime, 1986); annuals reproduce from seeds, mostly short-lived terminate their
life cycles before crop mature and can be easily controlled by other weed control methods or
with contact herbicides (Qasem, 2003). Weeds, however, are different in their competitive
abilities that determine the extent of yield loss and other negative effects of weeds on crop
plants, the need for control and time required (Zimdahl, 1980). They are also widely
differing in their physiology, biology and biochemistry. Yield losses although are different
from one weed to another since differ in requirements and growth habits but competition is
greatly influenced by weed density (Ziomdahl, 1980). Therefore, considering the critical
density at which the weed must be controlled is important if to avoid any significant yield
loss (Qasem, 2009). Although weed growth in certain important cash crops, is not allowed at
any density eventhough for a short period. However, as a general rule weeds of similar
requirements and growth habit to crop plants are known to be more competitive and cause
greater yield loss and higher damage to crop plants than weeds of dissimilar requirements
or morphology (Ross & Lembi, 1999).
3.1.1.2 Weed morphology and herbicide application
It is generally approved that narrow- leaved weeds intercept and retain less amount of
spray solution on their vegetative parts than broad-leaved weeds , growing points or shoot
apexes in many species of these are encased (e.g. cereals) by coleoptiles and thus protected
against spray solution or herbicide droplets. In contrast, shoot apexes of broad-leaved
weeds are directly exposed to herbicide solution; have horizontally extended leaves and
thus better exposed to herbicide and subsequently intercept and retain higher amounts of
spray solution.
Herbicides Applications: Problems and Considerations 645
Early weed (< 10 cm in height) control is always recommended. Weeds at early growth stage
are small, short, their competition effect not started yet or minimum and thus weed
management by herbicides is quite possible at the recommended or even lower rates of
herbicide application beside they require low volume of spray solution for thorough coverage
with contact herbicides. Annual weeds and to some extent biennials may be easily controlled
using contact herbicides since reproduce by seeds, while creeping perennials are generally
difficult to control by such chemicals since vegetatively reproduce from the below or
sometimes above ground organs, and thus need translocated herbicides while repeat
application may be mostly necessary. However, full coverage of the weed vegetative parts
with contact herbicide solution is essential since only plant parts that became in contact with
spray solution are affected while others are not, these may remain photosynthesizing, recover
from herbicide injuries, then weed resume growth and successfully complete its life cycle.
However, morphological differences between the two groups may not be always the base
since depend on ecology at which these weeds are growing (Grime, 1986; Holt, 2006). Broad-
leaved weeds may have hairy, leathery small leaves with a low number of stomata on the
upper surface or have some morphological modification under certain conditions (e.g. in
arid and semi-arid regions) which may challenge chemical control at normal rates. The
opposite is also true at which narrow-leaved weeds could be easily controlled at the
recommended or lower rates of herbicides when found in moist, fertile soils or humid
regions. Weeds under such conditions may lack or have a very thin waxy layer on leaf
surface, absence of hairs with a high number of stomata projected on the upper surface and
high physiological activity in general. It is well established that weeds are more susceptible
to herbicides at early than at late growth stages which may be largely due to morphological
and/or physiological sensitivity to herbicides.
Annual weed control should be carried out from after emergence to the full vegetative or
pre-flowering stage. Weed control at this period prevents seed production and competition
effect of tall growing weeds. However, this could be easily achieved using contact general
herbicides such as glufosinate- ammonium, paraquat, bromoxynil, oxyfluorfen and others.
Perennial weed control using herbicides must be timed at three main important and critical
growth stages of weeds, these are as follows:
1. Before establishment, at which weed seedlings can be easily controlled by a
nonselective contact herbicide, but sometimes repeat application may be necessary.
2. After establishment, at which weeds are treated with translocated herbicides at full
vegetative/pre-flowering growth stage, during which most of the reserved food in
regenerative organs is directed toward the above ground parts for flowering and thus
stored food left in the below-ground organs at this time is at low ebb. Although the
symplast translocation of herbicides from shoots to the below ground parts with
photosynthate materials is opposing the upward movement of stored food at this stage
which may be more rapid and occurs at a higher rates. Killing or harming the above
ground vegetative parts could result in a serious damage to weeds or even their death
because of deficient food in perennating organs.
3. At late growth stage, at which perennial weeds may be effectively controlled by
translocated herbicides late in the growing season and before plants loose their green
color. At this stage the herbicide easily translocates with carbohydrates to the below
ground parts and accumulates where carbohydrates are finally stored. Herbicide
movement from the above to the below ground parts normally occurs and possible re-
vegetation of treated weeds is slim.
Sometimes translocated herbicide may be followed with a contact herbicide after a while.
This complementary treatment may be effective in controlling difficult perennial weeds by
allowing transloacted herbicides reaching the below ground parts and then prevention of
any supply of photosynthate materials using foliage contact applied herbicide.
Chemical weed control however, is generally not recommended at late growth stages
because of the following:
1. Weed competition effects on crop plants and thus on yield is irreversible at late growth
stages.
2. Weed physiology (absorption, translocation and metabolism) is low, leaf surface may be
heavily covered by wax and hairs and thus herbicide treatment may not be effective in
most cases.
3. Weed morphology and anatomy is well differentiated and mostly do not facilitate
herbicide penetration through thick cuticle layer on leaf surface and hard tissues on
other foliage parts. Movement of the herbicide within plant tissues is becoming more
difficult due to deposition of cutin, wax, cellulose and other byproducts or secondary
metabolites in cell sap and on tissues themselves.
4. Weed vegetative mass may be thick enough, mostly not possible to fully cover with
spray solution and/or needs a high volume of spray solution, and therefore possible
recovery from herbicide treatment is high.
5. Spray retention is lower on mature than young plants since cuticle and thus waxy layer
on leaves in the latter are not complete.
6. In most cases weeds reached seeding stage or finished their life cycle, therefore, any
disturbance may help their seed dissemination, and herbicide application may not be
effective in preventing weed seed production or maturation.
7. Herbicide possible residue in crop materials (mainly straw and grains) at harvest is
high and the same is the run-off herbicide solution into the soil.
8. Cost of weed control may much exceeds the return yield value, considering that more
crop plants are destroyed or crushed by labors and spray machines.
Soil applied herbicides should be used at a certain time when weed seeds are readily
germinating and most sensitive to herbicides. At pre-germination stage, seeds may easily
absorb herbicide with soil water; imbibed seeds take up an amount of the herbicide solution
enough to kill the embryo. Therefore application of herbicides to control dormant weed
seeds or during drought conditions should be avoided since of low or no response of the
physiologically inactive weed seeds. It is suggested that these herbicides may be applied
after seed bed preparation and before sowing or planting and may be followed by irrigation
or rain that activate both the herbicide molecules (Friesen & Dew, 1966), and seed
absorption, imbibition and germination. It is usually recommended that soil applied
herbicides should be selected according to the type of weed to be treated, cultivated crop
and soil type, while most of these chemicals are susceptible to soil microorganisms.
However, when shallow-root annual weeds present in a perennial deep rooted crop it
becomes important to select a soil surface active, none-leachable herbicide and the opposite
is true for deep-rooted weeds in shallow-rooted perennial crops. The adsorptive relationship
between the herbicide and treated soil, the size, diversity and activity of soil microbes'
population, soil organic matter content, pH, and soil type are all factors determining the rate
of herbicide application and its degradation. While leachability of the herbicide through the
soil is determined by the adsorptive relationship between herbicide molecules and soil
colloids and the amount of water passing through the soil.
3.1.1.3 Weed height and vegetative mass

Large growing weeds require higher volume of spray solution especially from contact
herbicides. In this case weed control may becomes more expensive, time and labor
consuming. Tall growing weeds could escape chemical control because of location of their
growing points and shoot apexes which are not possibly hit by herbicide droplets since
placed at a higher level above spryer boom that is usually fixed at a standard regular height
in tractor-mounted, pull-type and self-propelled sprayers. Uniform spray is also difficult to
achieve having tall and large growing weeds.
3.1.2 Crop factors

3.1.2.1 Crop species /varieties
Crop species are different in their sensitivity and responses to herbicides. Differences have
been also reported between different crop cultivars in response to the same or different
herbicides (Duwayri & Saghir, 1983; Felix et al., 2007; Abit at al., 2009; Kong et al., 2009 & Jin
et al., 2010) hence differ in morphology, physiology, growth habit and phenology. In
addition, cultivars are different in germination, emergence, growth development and
duration, physiological and biochemical responses (Grime, 1986). All greatly affect
herbicides performance in plants, their effectiveness and thus herbicides physiological,
physical and biochemical degradation.
3.1.2.2 Crop growth and herbicide tolerance
As early mentioned, tolerance of crop plants to herbicides determines herbicide selectivity
and its safe uses. Crop plants similar to weeds in that are more susceptible to herbicides
early in the growth at which crop injury is commonly observed. Anatomy, morphology,
succulence and physiology of crop seedlings are all factors determine the extent of herbicide
effectiveness and crop injuries. It is generally approved that crop plants grown from seeds
are more susceptible to herbicides than those from transplants and therefore, herbicides
sensitive crops are recommended to be grown from seedlings instead of seeds when soil
applied herbicides are used. Foliage applied herbicides are well effective against weeds at
early (1-5 leaf) growth stages while crop seedlings at this stage may also show some injury
symptoms which could recover from otherwise a more selective and safe herbicide must be
used. This depends on time and rate of herbicide application (Friesen, 1967; Friesen et al.,
1968; Carter et al., 2007) and prevailing environmental conditions (Coupland, 1987).
Selectivity of the herbicide is highly dependent on crop internal factors as well as climatic
conditions that activate/ inactivate herbicide molecules. For example, it is well established
that crop plants have certain period/s in the life cycles during which physiological activity
is low and thus absorption and translocation of herbicide may become very limited.
Conversion of the herbicide from a toxic to a non- or less toxic form or the opposite is also
affected and varied at different growth stages. Active growing weeds are required for
effective chemical control. For example, application of Diclofop-methyl, Barban, Diallate,
Triallate, Difezoquat, Bromoxynil in cereals, and many others are usually recommended at
early growth of weeds and before reaching 5-leaf stage (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and
State University, 1999a & b; Mu et al., 2007). The same is also true with other herbicides in
vegetable crops such as oxadiazon (Fig. 1) and oxyfluorfen for weed control in onions
Fig. 1. Selective control of Ammi majus L. in onion with post-planting treatment of

oxadiazon. Treated onion rows (left) and untreated rows (right).
(Qasem, 2005). On the other hand, 2,4-D and MCPA are best applied at full tillering stage of
cereal (wheat and barley) crops and when crop plants are at resting stage and exhibit low
physiological activities. Weeds at the same time are physiologically active; their cell division
and cell elongation rates are high and thus accumulate lethal doses from these herbicides in
embryonic tissues (Fig. 2). Differences in selectivity between legume crops and their
associated broad-leaved weeds to 2,4-DB depends mainly on the ability of these to
accumulate and convert large amounts from this herbicide to 2,4-D (more toxic) and the
rapid conversion process. Weeds accumulate and convert larger amount within a relatively
short period and thus affected more rapidly than crop plants that escape injuries because of
Fig. 2. Selective control of broad-leaved weeds by 2, 4-D in wheat field.

slow conversion process and the non-lethal level accumulated in their tissues. Therefore,
herbicide application is a skill that allows farmers take an advantage from morphological,
physiological or biochemical differences between weeds and crop plants in response to
herbicides and thus may be considered as an opportunistic operation should be
implemented on time and when conditions permit.
3.1.2.3 Crop morphology
Crops are different from above ground morphology; some are narrow-leaved while others
are broad-leaved. The same as for weeds leaf arrangements on the stem and their display
are also different for different crop species, in addition to differences in morphology size
and heights. All affect herbicide spray retention on crops vegetative parts, herbicide
selectivity and safe use on these crops. Narrow- leaved crops with somehow vertically
arranged and less displayed leaves receive less volume of foliage-applied spray solution and
the opposite is true for broad-leaved crops. In addition, the deposited waxy layer on leaves
of different crop species or varieties is widely different which in turn affects the amount of
herbicide intercept and retained on leaves and subsequently their absorption rates. Crucifers
and onions are examples on crops of wax covered leaves and thus their wettabilty with
herbicide solution may not be possible without surfactants and the run-off into the soil
surface is quite high. Crop species are different in location of their growing points, amounts
of embryonic tissues, presence or absence of cambium, physiological and biochemical
activities, depth of their root systems, root distribution, surface area, capacity and efficiency
in taking up herbicides molecules from soil solution. All these factors could affect herbicide
sensitivity or tolerance of crop plants. However, differences were detected on families,
species and cultivars levels in response to herbicides and therefore any selective herbicide
on a specific crop cultivar may confer injury to other cultivars (Felix et al., 2007; Abit at al.,
2009; Kong et al., 2009; Jin et al., 2010). However, production of cuticular wax tends to be
reduced under warm humid conditions which may resulted in a higher retention of spray
solution on crop leaves and more injury under such conditions.
3.1.3 Herbicide factors

3.1.3.1 Herbicide status and type
Herbicides are chemicals negatively affect weeds normal growth, they quickly act and may
be applied to a specific area or where other methods of weed control are not possible, or
may be integrated with other weed control methods. However, chemical weed control has
many advantages among which is the use of pre-emergence herbicides which provides
control of strong competing weeds during crop establishment and thus help get a weed
control job that otherwise cannot be done.
Herbicides are classified based on different factors among which is the selectivity. Based on
that, herbicides kill or inhibit weeds and don't harm crop plants beyond point of economic
recovery. The nonselective herbicides referred to those chemicals kill all plants when
applied at enough rates and mainly used where no vegetation is required. Selectivity
however, depends on rate and formulation of the herbicide applied, time of and method of
application, environmental conditions and stage of weeds and crop plants. Herbicides are
also categorized based on their method of action to contact which only kill plant parts that
became in contact with and most are effective against annual weeds, but if used on
perennials another applications may be necessary. On the other hand, systemic
(translocated) herbicides are those absorbed by leaves, shoots or roots, transport from the
site of application to where toxic action take place. These are useful against established
perennials and unlike contact herbicides uniform coverage is less important. These
chemicals kill slowly (toxicity symptoms may take weeks and up to a year to be developed
for certain herbicides such as amitrole) while contact herbicides are rapidly acting.
Herbicides are also classified based on method of application to soil-applied absorbed by
roots of large plants mainly affect seed germination, germinated seeds or small seedlings
and thus used to eliminate weeds before emerge and can selectively eliminate germinating
weeds in established crops. These may or not be foliage active.
Foliage applied herbicides are contact or translocated and may or not be soil active. If
translocated, they move passively through the symplast system with photosythate
materials.
Considering time of application, herbicides are either preplanting applied at which crop
should resist herbicide treatment and herbicide must be short- lived; pre-emergence used
after crop is planted (vegetative parts) or sown (seeds) but before emergence and crop
tolerance is necessary; post-emergence applied after crop emerged, may be soil or foliage
applied but crop resistance is essential. If soil applied, they kill newly germinated seedlings
while foliage applied herbicides kill emerged weeds. Persistence of soil-applied herbicide
may be required since offer a long period of weed control and may be through out the
whole growing season or until harvest. However, herbicide carry-over problem should be
taken into account using such chemicals (Schnoor, 1992).
3.1.3.2 Time of application
Time of herbicides application is important in determining the effectiveness and length of
weed control duration (Carter et al., 2007; James et al., 2007). Herbicides are applied at
preplanting in crops grown from seedlings such as of most vegetables; pre-sowing in case of
seed-sown grain field crops and some vegetables such as many cucurbits; and as post-
emergence. The first two groups are soil applied, control germinated seeds or weed
seedlings either by a contact or systemic action, prevent weed seed germination or seedlings
growth and thus prevent early weed competition and protect crops from planting or sowing
date until a good canopy is developed. This period in crop life cycle is most vulnerable to
weed competition and crop recovery may not be possible if weeds escape control during
this period. In all cases crop tolerance and herbicide selectivity are essential factors.
3.1.3.3 Herbicide formulations
Herbicides formulations are many including water soluble (WS, S, SL) liquids require
wetting agents, water soluble powders (SP) need stirring or agitation in preparation, water
emulsions (E, EC) require some agitation and held together by an emulsifier, wettable
powders (W, WP) need continuous agitation and most used on soil, water dispersal liquids
(WDL, L, F), water dispersed granules (WDG, DF), granules (G) need water to leach them
down into the soil, and pellets usually used in spot treatments (Foy & Pritchard, 1996).
Herbicide formulation affect selectivity and thus crop growth. The most used herbicide
formulations are aqueous and granules. For each formulation there are certain equipments
to apply, these are sprayers or spreaders, respectively. However, both forms should be
uniformly applied with the second most commonly used in horticultural crops and is least
selective. It is well known that forms such as powders (dust), granules, ester forms are less
stable than others while water soluble forms are more stable than emulsions.
3.1.3.4 Labels and technical pamphlets

Herbicide label and technical bulletin must be carefully read prior to herbicide application.
Label shows herbicide trade and common names and carry important information on
herbicide selectivity, formulation, active ingredient, volume of spray solution or carrier
required per unit area, method of application, time of herbicide application, rate of
application, post-application treatments, persistence (carry- over) (Felix et al., 2007), weed
species affected, and crops in which the herbicide is recommended, weed control spectrum
and tolerant weeds, volatility and conditions under which the herbicide is selectively used
and any possible crop injures and precautions. All these information are of high value for
the farmer and must be consulted and strictly followed if a successful weed control
operation is the ultimate farmers' goal. Considering all of these would help in achieving
effective chemical weed control with no hazards or environmental pollution.
3.1.3.5 Herbicide resistance and selection pressure
One of the causes of herbicide tolerance/resistance in weeds is the continuous application of
the same herbicide or herbicides of the same mechanism of action year after another in the
same field (Caseley et al., 1991; Duke, 1996). This practice imbalances weed population at
which certain group of weeds (broad or narrow-leaved) is affected while the other is not
harmed (Fig. 3). This is usually resulted from use of selective rather than general herbicides.
However, within the affected weed group sensitive species are the first harmed and
disappear later. The less affected species may include some individuals within populations
that withstand the rate of herbicide applied or may be partially affected but could recover
late in the season and set seeds. Continuous use of the same herbicide impose a selection
pressure that force some individuals within the weed population to physiologically,
morphologically and may be biochemically distinct and adapt themselves to tolerate the rate
of herbicide used (Powles & Holtum, 1994; Pline et al., 2003; Qasem, 2003). This will lead
later to development of individuals within the same weed population that resists chemical
Fig. 3. Weed population shift to narrow-leaved weeds (Mainly bulbous barley, Hordeum
bulbosum L.) resulted from continuous application of broad-leaf killers in olive orchard.
treatments (e.g. Senecio vulgaris, Chenopodium album and Amaranthus retroflexus to traizines).
At present, the total number of resistant weeds may exceed 668 species of more than
346 biotypes (htpp://www.weedscience.org/summary/MOASummary.asp). However,
continuous application of the same herbicide or group of herbicide with the same
mechanism of action may leads to the following problems:
1. Imbalance natural weed population
2. Cause shift in weed population toward perennation.
3. Encourage dominance and existence of certain weed species
4. Promote development of weed tolerance followed by weed resistance
5. Lead to development of weed races or crop- relative weeds that become irresponsive to
agricultural practices employed and dominate cultivated fields.
However, these problems can be avoided by the following measures:
1. Rotation of chemical control method with other methods of weed control
2. Rotation of the herbicide with other herbicides of different mechanism of action.
3. Adoption of crop rotation system which is usually accompanied with herbicide rotation
and thus leads to brake down the build up of dominant weed population.
4. Alternate selective chemical control treatment with fallow years during which general
(nonselective) herbicides may be used to control all weed species in the field including
resistant species.
3.1.3.6 Sprayers and calibration
The main and serious problem with herbicides application or uses is the people apply these
chemicals. Wrong application is commonly resulted from failure in sprayer calibration.
Sprayer calibration aims at uniform herbicide spray distribution and coverage of treated
weeds/surface that means the receipt of the same amount of spray solution per each unit area
of treated surface. Sprayer calibration is the first step to be carried out before herbicide
application. Herbicide application in the field should be properly carried out since failure of
uniform distribution of any herbicide may result ineffective weed control or crop injures and
thus herbicide residues (Badowski et al., 2008). Therefore, sprayer calibration is mainly
conducted to determine the volume of the carrier (mostly water) required to dissolve in the
amount of the herbicide calculated (based on recommended rate) and required for specific
area. In other words, it aimed to determine exactly the volume of water required to
hold/dissolve the amount of the formulated herbicide specified to cover a measured area
infested by weeds. It is also required to know how much of the herbicide is applied per treated
area (Kansas State University, 2010). Failure to calibrate the sprayer can injure crop, cause
pollution, and waste time and money. Therefore, calibration should be carried out regularly
and nozzles must be cleaned at each spray time and before herbicide application. Therefore,
several factors must be considered which influence this operation, these are as follows:
1. Solution/ tank pressure. It is well known that pressure inside sprayer tank may range
between 15 to 50 pounds per square inch (psi) and application rates can vary from less than
15 to more than 250 gallons per hectare. The higher the pressure imposed on spray solution
the more fine are the spray droplets and the higher is their liability to drift. The volume of
spray solution ejected from the nozzle is linearly correlated with the pressure imposed on
spray solution and the greater is the nozzle discharge. In addition, the higher pressure the
wider is the spray swath and the larger the area covered per unit time. Therefore, pressure
must be calibrated and adjusted to be the same as that used in calibration and must be kept
constant (labor carried sprayers) through out the whole time of herbicide application. Any
deviation from a constant pressure may result failure in obtaining uniform coverage of the
weeds vegetative parts or differences in coverage of the treated soil surface when pre-
emergence herbicides are used.
2. Sprayer ground speed. The volume of spray solution applied is affected by sprayer speed.
The higher the speed the larger is the area covered by herbicide solution and the lower is
the volume used pre unit time and vice versa. Doubling the ground speed (mph) of the
sprayer reduces the gallons of spray applied by one-half. Sprayer speed should be
determined through calibration directly in the field to be sprayed. However, this could be
affected by weed species, weed size, height, population thickness and soil structure and
topography. Small and short grown weeds may be easily controlled using small spray
volume. In contrast, large and tall growing weeds require more coverage by herbicide
solution, thus large volume of spray solution is applied at low sprayer speed. This however,
is in link with herbicide method of action whether is a contact or translocated herbicide.
Application of the former requires slow movement, low speed and full coverage of the
treated surface. However, both pressure and nozzle size are factors controlling the delivered
spray volume.
3. Sprayer boom height. Nozzle height has obvious effect on the area covered by herbicide
solution. The higher the boom height the wider is the spray swath and the larger is the area
covered with spray solution of different nozzles mounted on the sprayer boom. Changing
boom height from above the soil level during spray operation may easily result in a non-
uniform coverage leads to overlapping between spray swath of different nozzles fixed on
the boom and thus crop may be injured or killed since received a double dose of the
herbicide solution which could be easily observed in the field . When nozzles are placed at
low height from the soil level possible gaps left uncovered by the herbicide solution are
mostly resulted and thus weeds in these gaps may continue growing in regularly spaced
strips in the field (Fig. 4). In both situations lack of uniform coverage by the herbicide
solution could result in equally spaced strips of growing weeds or killed crop plants under
Fig. 4. Wild mustard (Sinapis arvensis L.) grown in strips after escaped from control by 2, 4-D
in wheat due to low boom height level.
low and high levels of sprayer boom height, respectively. Therefore, one of the objectives of
calibration is to exactly determine the optimum boom height that provides uniform
coverage (a single coverage treatment) of the sprayed surface or treated weeds with
herbicide solution.
4. Nozzle type and discharge of spray solution
Nozzle type determines the spray discharge, the uniformity of spray application and spray
pattern, the coverage of sprayed surface of a target plant and the drift rate. It is generally
agreed that the same type of nozzles must be used on the sprayer and these should be
carefully checked for correct number and against tip damage or orifice clogging. All should
be mounted and directed similarly on the sprayer boom. However, nozzle type is different
between different nozzles but generally two main types are commonly employed. These are
cone type and flat fan type nozzles. In the first, orifice is rounded gives a cone type spray
while the orifice opening in the second is straight flattened. Each type includes hollow or
solid spray patterns. Cone type is used to produce a coarse spray for aerial and other low
drift purposes and is more commonly used for woody shrub or tree control but its use in
field crops is limited or rare. Turbo flat-fan, venture flat fans and drift reduction pre-orifice
flat-fans are commonly employed in crop protection products. For herbicide application, the
flat fan type of a straight orifice opening is usually used since gives a flat spray swath in a
straight line (sheet of spray) which could thoroughly cover all weeds within the spray swath
limits. Each nozzle type could carry a number (mostly not found in knapsack sprayers or
other compressed manual operated sprayers) fixed on the nozzle tip that represents spray
angle and spray discharge. The higher the spray angle the larger the area covered and the
delivered spray volume. Nozzle discharge is measured as gallon per minute. The higher the
number the higher is the nozzle discharge. Spray angle and solution discharge are in link
with type of the herbicide used and the volume of spray solution and influenced by tank
pressure and nozzle size. It is advised that low spray solution volume is better used for
systemic herbicide application while high volume is more relevant to thorough coverage of
weed vegetation using contact herbicide solution. All thus depend on the nozzle type and
could be determined from the type of weeds found in the field. Annual weeds may require
contact herbicide, full coverage treatment, high volume of spray solution and subsequently
higher spray angle and solution discharge. The opposite is true for perennial weeds and
systemic herbicides at which may be absorbed and translocated through the whole plant
system once an amount of the spray solution is absorbed from any part of the plant. In
summary, nozzles are different in specifications, spray angle and discharge, orifice or tip type
and size, materials which are made from, all these determine with the density of the spray
liquid the spray volume applied, the type of the herbicide used, and the type of weeds to be
treated by each nozzle type.
4. Problems
Like any weed control method, chemical weed control has advantages and disadvantages.
Among problems encountered are the following:
1. Herbicides may cause shift in weed population (Owen et al., 2008) because of
continuous use of certain chemical, chemicals of the same mechanism of action or
family create selection pressure and development of weed races.
2. Imbalance weeds population mainly when selective herbicides are used. Broad-leaf killers
imbalance weed population toward dominance of narrow-leaved weeds and the opposite
is true for narrow-leaved killers and broad-leaved proportions. Therefore, both types of
herbicide groups should be occasionally complimented or alternated in the field.
3. Herbicide residues in plant materials. Herbicides are absorbed by crop plants as well as
by weeds. Certain herbicides are completely metabolized while others are not (Hatzios
& Penner, 1982; Pline et al., 2003). The second group mostly is not recommended on
food or feed plants. Examples are paraquat that not permitted on food crops, and
dinoseb-acetate, another contact herbicide used in alfalfa fields. Because toxicity is
extended on harvested alfalfa plants therefore is always advised that first harvest
should not be fed to the cattle but rather burned and people should stay away from the
smoke of burned plant materials. Residues of herbicides in plant materials are most
commonly found when herbicides were applied late in weed and crop growth.
4. Herbicide carry- over problem and limitation in crop rotation options. This problem
may be easily observed with some long persistent herbicides. Some examples are urea
and sufonyl-urea herbicides. Planting of non cereal crops in soil treated with these
chemicals may result in serious crop injuries. Cucurbits and some legumes are good
examples on sensitive crops to herbicides. Injury effect on the same crops may be also
observed after metribuzin and many other soil applied herbicides.
5. Herbicide leaching to ground water. Pollution of ground water is possible when
leachable herbicides are used (Smith et al., 1984; Vizantinopoulos & Lolos, 1994).
Leachability may be high with salt formulated herbicides used or in treated sandy soils
under heavy irrigation or rain.
6. Herbicide chemical drift and crop injuries. This is an important problem encountered
with certain herbicides and usually take place as spray-drift occurs when small droplets
of spray liquid are carried away from target plants by wind currents, vapour-drift
resulted from application of high volatile chemicals enhanced by high temperature or
wind currents, and the blow-off which is associated with light soils and resulted from
movement of tiny particles of soil treated by herbicide.
7. Herbicide persistence in environment. This may be in relation to half life of the
herbicide and its rate of degradation in the environment. Certain herbicides have long
half-life and persist in the environment for along period of time that limits agricultural
land uses. These however, may be traced in the soil, air, surrounding environment,
ground water and even agricultural products and may become a serious threat to public
health. Therefore, these chemicals should be avoided, highly restricted and only applied
in absence of other alternatives and when are extremely needed.
8. Herbicide storage and handling. Herbicides and pesticides in general should be
properly handled and safely stored since are toxic to humans and other living
organisms. Stores should be properly located, designed specifically and locked to
prevent contamination, pollution and protect chemicals from any degradation and loss
in activity before use. Loss in any form must be prevented. Therefore, temperature,
humidity, and aeration must be strictly controlled to prevent any loss in chemicals
activities. Chemicals however, should be stored in their original containers, kept away
and separately stored from other stored agricultural materials and preferably used
within a short period where possible.
Empty glass, metal, or plastic made containers should be thoroughly washed with
water that to be added to the spray solution in the spryer tank. Containers must be
punctured, destroyed and then deeply buried (deeper than 1m) in the soil or disposed
in a sanitary licensed area. Herbicides containers made from cartoon or paper bags
should not be burned in a residential area or where smoke of these may becomes in
contact with animals or cause air pollution and toxicity.
9. Herbicide and toxicity to mammals. It should be clearly declared that all pesticides are
toxic to humans and mammalians in general but toxicity is different between these
chemicals. Herbicides are the least toxic among all agricultural pesticides. This
however, may be determined by considering the LD50 or LC50. Among herbicides with
relatively low LD50 are paraquat, diaquat, dinoseb, diclofop-methyl and some others. It
should be known that toxicity may occurs through absorption, smoking, inhalation,
swallow through contaminated hands, food and drink. Certain highly toxic chemicals
should be avoided unless no alternatives are available.
10. Herbicide resistant weeds. This is a serious problem that could totally cause shift in
weed population from susceptible to resistant. The main cause of this is the high
selection pressure imposed by use of only a single herbicide or herbicides having the
same mode or mechanism of action for a relatively long period. Farmers should keep
watching changes occur in weed population in response to chemicals used and take
measures when observe scattered individuals of certain weed species start tolerating
the herbicide normal rate of application. This is the first sign on development of
herbicide resistance in that species.
11. Crop injury. This may be due to direct or indirect exposure of crop plants to herbicide
molecules. Herbicide treated crop may show signs of herbicide injuries that may or may
not recover from. This is mostly related to herbicide rate of application, form used,
surfactant added, time of application relative to crop physiological or morphological
stages or prevailing climatic conditions at spray time. Indirect injury may resulted from
spryer tank contamination through herbicide traces left unwashed and used to apply
insecticides or fungicides using the same sprayer (Fig. 5), drift of volatile herbicides
applied in the nearby fields, leached herbicides to ground water, running water used to
irrigate sensitive crops or from carry-over problem of certain previously applied
herbicides.
Fig. 5. Toxicity symptoms on Jute (Chorchorus olitorius L.) resulted from 2,4-D traces left in
the sprayer tank used for insecticide application. Plants showed abnormal growth
(malformed leaves, twisting and yellowing).
12. Herbicide application and technicality required. This is an important factor determines
the success or failure of weed control operation. Some of the problems detected
including herbicide application without sprayer calibration but rather addition of a
measured/unmeasured amount of the selected herbicide to the tank (unmarked) filled
by unmeasured volume of water, spray weeds thoroughly, heavily and deeply covered
by dew droplets which may dilute the spray solution, failure to thorough mixing of
herbicide solution, failure of continuous stirring or agitating spray solution
(suspensions) during spray time, failure to maintain a fixed pressure or a constant
ground speed during spraying (in case of knapsack or shoulders-hilled sprayers) this
resulted in uneven spray distribution, partial coverage of sprayed surface or low
volume of spray solution received per unit area, failure in maintaining straight forward
travel in manual operated sprayers with no overlapping or area left uncovered by the
spray solution.
13. Cost of chemical weed control and precautions required. In absence of any studies on
the economic use of herbicides compared with other methods of weed control, chemical
weed control may be thought by farmers as an expensive tool, needs a lot of
preparations and accuracy, unsafe to crop plants if not properly and carefully
considered, cause soil and environmental pollutions if not well designed and carefully
selected, and doesn’t give complete solution to all weeds present in the field and thus
other methods of weed control should be also incorporated.
14. Herbicides toxicity and public concern. With the present trend toward public concern
from synthetic chemicals and tendency in crop cultivation and food production through
an organic farming system, use of agrochemicals in general including herbicides
became much restricted. People world over preferred, chemical untreated and naturally
produced crops despite high prices and payments for this staff of organic food.
15. Human failure to properly apply the herbicide on time, conducting sprayer calibration,
after herbicide application operations and uniform distribution and application.
5. General rules, recommendations and concluding remarks

Before start considering chemical weed control method think carefully in the following:
1. Look first for weed control options other than herbicides.
2. There is no best weed control method but rather integrated methods of weed
management.
3. Consider the economic return value from weed control using herbicides.
4. Weed control in general, and using herbicides in particular may be of no value after
certain period of weed/crop competition since crop recovery may not possible and
more expensive without crop yield return.
5. Weeds as well as crops are different in their competitive abilities and these are different
from region to another within the same country.
6. Critical period of weed control is different for the same crop and weed species from
area to another.
7. Always search for an eco-friendly herbicide suit weed control in the specified crop,
cheap, with low rate, short life and non residual, environmentally compatible and safe
for mammals and biological system in general.
8. Identify weed species and predicted weed population in the field, determine if the
critical density of weeds is reached, therefore weed population prediction is important
before start any weed control program. Weed population under critical density may
doesn't need immediate control.
9. Always look for differences between crop plants and weeds in growth, requirements,
development and responses, benefit from these to favor crop plants over weeds.
Therefore, field managements may be of high value for crop plants the same as the use
of herbicide.
10. Weed control aimed at keeping weed population below the level cause economic crop
injury. Eradication of weeds commonly found in the area may not be possible or
economically unfeasible. Therefore, weed control should be implemented when weed
density in the field is becoming critical. Sometimes it is strongly advised to use a spot
treatment rather than an overall spraying of the herbicide when weeds are found
growing in patches or forming scattered colonies in the field.
11. Chose registered herbicide recommended for use in the grown crop.
12. Obtain the herbicide from local chemical agent with full detailed information on its uses
and supplement of technical bulletin.
13. Be sure that the purchased herbicide is a new valid (not or nearly expired) product;
handle carefully its storage until being used.
14. Think always that both crop plants and weeds take up herbicide and the differences in
susceptibility between both may be marginal and easily affected by plant, herbicide and
environmental factors. These marginal differences determine herbicide selectivity.
15. Weeds grown under harsh environmental conditions (drought, high temperature,
salinity, highly disturbed habitats) have different morphological modifications and are
more difficult to control by herbicides compared with those grown under favorable
growth conditions.
16. Early weed control is always recommended and for each crop there is a critical period
of weed control at which weeds must be removed to avoid any significant yield loss.
Weeds competed with crop plants before or after this period cause no significant effect
on crop yield providing weeds are controlled during this period. This however, is
greatly influenced by crop species and cultivars, weed species and density, and
agricultural practices followed. At the critical period chemical weed control may not the
best method of weed control considering crop growth stage and status, crop physiology
and possible injury or weather conditions that may lead to more toxic herbicide even
though the recommended rate is used.
17. Determine the best time for herbicide application and chose conditions favored crops
over weeds. Consider environment, herbicide and plant factors before herbicide
application. Plant morphology, physiology, anatomy and biochemical activities are
important factors in determining the ultimate effect of herbicide on crop and weed
plants.
18. Be sure that there are certain periods in crop and weed growth cycle at which herbicide
by any is tolerated/resisted or these are more susceptible. Look always for the
differences in weed and crop plants tolerance to herbicides treatment.
19. Before preparing herbicide solution, carefully consult the technical bulletin provided by
the manufacturer with herbicide, read carefully all information in herbicide label and
consider all factors affect herbicide performance in the field and weed control
operation.
20. Sprayer inspection, preparation and calibration must be considered. Sprayer check out,
tank or nozzle leakage, pump working order, type of nozzles and fixation on spray
boom, nozzle clogging, nozzle spacing and direction, boom height, tank pressure,
ground speed of the sprayer and spray volume, all should be considered and optimized.
21. Conduct sprayer calibration directly in the field to be treated by the herbicide. Always
keep in mind that spray volume is affected by sprayer ground speed, pressure, boom
height and nozzle type, weed growth and population thickness.
22. Calibration of the sprayer mainly aims to determine the volume of water needed to
carry in the amount of herbicide required for weed control in a specific area. It is
conducted always at fixed pre-determined ground speed, pressure, boom height, same
nozzle type and at suitable climatic conditions.
23. Once the volume of water needed to dissolve or carry with the amount of herbicide
required per intended area for spray is determined start preparations for herbicide
application. Prepare the special dress/apron designed for spray operation.
24. Calculate the amount of herbicide required for that specific area based on the
recommended rate of herbicide application by the manufacturer, don’t exceed the
specified rate or go lower than that because in both cases wrong results may be
obtained. In the first the crop may be killed/injured while in the second failure of weed
control. In both cases the required amount of herbicide per unit area is not received on
the sprayed surface.
25. Herbicide selectivity is not an absolute value or character of a herbicide rather than
resulted from the interaction between plant, herbicide and environmental factors.
26. Herbicide mixtures must be compatible, beneficial and used mainly to widen the weed
control spectrum. However, these may be already available and prepared in advance by
the manufacturer or used as tank mixtures at spray time.
27. Weed population is either active or passive, each of which needs certain herbicides
determined based on their method of application. Passive weed populations is
controlled using soil applied herbicides while active weed population may be treated
by foliage or soil applied herbicides. Both weed populations must be considered in any
weed control program.
28. Before herbicide application, consider crop grown and tolerance, crop rotation
followed, herbicide cost, duration of weed control required and herbicide persistence in
the environment. Don't exceed or lower the recommended rate of the herbicide unless
based on experimental results obtained under local conditions and no residues or
pollution are left in the environment.
29. Avoid the use of growth regulator herbicides (such as phenoxy or benzoic herbicides)
during flowering time of field crops (e.g. tomato) or fruit trees (e.g. citrus). This may
result in flower abortion in most cases.
30. Chemical weed control may cause shift in weed population toward perennation
therefore this practice must be changed by time, rotated or integrated with other weed
control methods to maintain weed population balance.
31. Selective herbicides may imbalance weed population thus herbicide mixtures of broad-
leaf and narrow leaf killers are recommended or may be alternately applied.
32. Wettable-powder formulated herbicides may need continuous agitation of spray
solution through out the whole spray operation to prevent settling at tank bottom,
separation and precipitation. Liquid herbicides may need emulsifying agent when
dissolved in water especially for emulsifiable concentrate (EC) formulated herbicides
33. Use surfactants when necessary especially wetting, spreading, sticking and drift control
agents.
34. Certain materials may act as surfactants by modifying leaf surface and increase
herbicide wettability to leaf surface or penetration through increasing compatibility
between herbicide and waxy leaf layer on leaf surface, these include ammonium sulfate,
urea, soap, washing or cleaning powders, liquid detergents and acidic plant extracts.
35. Different soil types require different rates of application from the same herbicide based
on their mechanical and structural analysis.
36. Herbicide susceptible weeds may become tolerant at certain period after emergence or
when reaching certain morphological stage since resulted from changes in weed
physiology and/ or biochemistry.
37. Herbicide rotation is essential to keep weed population under control; any deviation
from this system may result in weed population shift, development of weed races, crop-
relative weeds and herbicide resistance.
38. High volatile herbicides should not be applied during hot weather conditions, since
chemical drift in vapor form or crop injury is highly possible. Instead less or nonvolatile
forms are recommended.
39. Photosensitive herbicides as well as volatile soil applied herbicides need soil-
incorporation or light irrigation after application.
40. In preparing herbicide solution for field application, the amount of herbicide calculated
to treat a specific area and volume of water needed must be added consequently (as
water-herbicide-water) to the sprayer tank, thus herbicide is first dissolved in certain
amount of water then spray solution may be then completed by adding water up to the
final volume consumed in calibration. The herbicide-water mixture must then be
thoroughly mixed by hand shaking of knapsack sprayers or spray solution must be kept
agitated during spraying operation. The pressure, sprayer ground speed, boom height
and the same nozzle type used in calibration must all be set the same as were in
calibration. If all factors are kept the same then the herbicide solution must run-out by
finishing the sprayed area without any shortage or spray solution left in the sprayer
tank. In this case distribution of the herbicide solution is considered as uniform and
equally applied over the sprayed surface; otherwise some problems in weed control
may be resulted.
41. Consider that no herbicide gives 100% killing of all weeds, some weed species specified
on the label as sensitive to certain herbicide may be left uncontrolled and the opposite is
also true. Therefore, selective herbicides may show some overlapping up to certain
extents in their weed control spectrum of broad- and narrow-leaved weeds.
42. Soil applied herbicides are influenced by edaphic factors including; soil pH or soil
reaction, mechanical and structural analysis, leachability, microorganism population,
organic matter content and height of soil water table.
43. Activity of soil-applied herbicides is affected by seed dormancy, hardness of weed seed
coat, weed seed population and richness of seed bank, seed bank species composition
and microbe's population...
44. Nonselective herbicides may be selectively used if directed only toward weeds and
contact between these and crop plant is prevented. In this case the herbicide is not
selective but rather than selectively applied.
45. Consider that certain herbicides working on photosynthesis need high light intensity
associated with high temperature (De Vleeschauwer et al., 1992) for effective weed
control (e.g. paraquat, diuron, cycloxidim) while others exhibit photo degradations (e.g.
glyphosate) and need to be applied in cloudy or foggy days, early in the morning or late
in the evening.
46. Keep observing treated weed population, switch to other herbicide of different
mechanism of action and family or change weed control method once observed that
some plants of one or more weed species start tolerating the herbicide used.
47. Weed races or herbicide resistance or persistence and dominance of certain weed species
are results of selection pressure of the agricultural practices employed. To prevent
development of such conditions frequently change the existing agricultural practices.
48. Any herbicide traces left in the sprayer tank may cause toxicity to sensitive crops;
therefore it is always recommended that herbicides sprayers must not be used for
application of other pesticides even though were thoroughly washed or carefully cleaned.
49. Higher rate of application than that specified on herbicide label may cause changes in
method of herbicide action, instead of giving a systemic action, tanslocated herbicide
kills by contact action since high application rate kills phloem tissues and then no more
translocation to the below ground regenerative organs occurs and thus perennials are
quickly re-vegetate after treatment with translocated herbicides.
50. Chemical drift could be substantially reduced by selecting the nozzle type that deliver
large droplet size (more than 100 micron) but providing adequate coverage at the
intended application rate and sprayer pressure, avoidance of herbicide application where
wind current speed exceeding 10 miles per hour, and temperature is high, avoid
application of volatile herbicides and ester forms of phenoxy herbicides when air
temperature is high, avoid using of high vapor pressure herbicides, lower the nozzle
height to be closer to or above weed vegetation, incorporation of volatile soil applied
herbicides, smoking, timing of spray operation either early in the morning or late in the
evening since high relative humidity result in slow evaporation of droplets and decrease
drift, selection of nozzles work at low pressure (swirl chamber, flood jet), allow enough
time for herbicide absorption before rain occurs, and by adding drift control agents.
51. Failure in herbicide application may be resulted from loss of herbicide solution by
heavy rain or irrigation, high rainfall occurs after application and wash-off the herbicide
from leaf surface, failure of uniform coverage, herbicide precipitation (suspensions) in
sprayer tank during spraying, wrong time of herbicide application, wrong physiological
or morphological growth stage at which weeds or crop plants are treated and no or
wrong sprayer calibration.
52. Highly volatile herbicides should not be applied when air temperature is high,
temperature may increase loss of herbicide through volatiles, and at the same time may
activates other herbicides to become more toxic and cause crop injuries even though are
used at normal recommended rates of application.
53. There should be enough time allowed for foliage applied herbicide absorption after its
application. This period is different from one herbicide to another but generally six
hours are at least required for most herbicides to be absorbed through foliage parts and
thus farmers should ensure that no rain occurs during this period when apply
herbicides.
6. Conclusion
Herbicide application in the field is a skill needs full consideration of all plant, herbicide and
environmental factors if a successful weed control is the ultimate farmer aim. Failure in
weed control or crop injury is mainly due to human errors at which failure in or wrong
sprayer calibration is a common mistake. Weed identification, size of weed problem exist,
critical period of weed competition, weed density, selection of proper herbicide, rate and
time of herbicide application, herbicide persistence, development of herbicide resistant
weeds and environmental pollution are among factors to be considered and determine the
success or failure of weed control operation. However, chemical control is usually
integrated with other methods of weed control in any successful weed management
program.
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33
Impacts, Efficacy and Economics of

Bushwacker Sc (Bromacil) In Controlling
Acacia Invasion in South Africa
Sikhalazo Dube1, Fatunbi A. Oluwole2 and ‘Mota, S. Lesoli3
1Natural Resources and the Environment, CSIR, Ecosystems Processes & Dynamics
Research Group, PO Box 395, Pretoria 0001,
2Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), PMB 173,
Cantonment, 2 Gowa Close Roman Ridge, Accra

3Departnment of Livestock and Pasture Science, University of Fort Hare,
P Bag X1314, Alice 5700,

1,3South Africa
2Ghana
1. Introduction
The widespread transition of grasslands and savannas to shrub-lands during the last 50-100
years has elicited significant debate concerning the causes of these changes and has given
rise to a number of investigations (Rollins et. al., 1997). Often the encroaching species
suppress the growth of palatable grasses and herbs, as they grow into impenetrable thickets
(Wiegand et al., 2006). This often results in reduced grazing capacities in livestock farms. As
a result, livestock farmers have regarded bush encroachment as a major problem and have
resorted to various control measures. The causes of bush encroachment is not clear but it
suffice to say that they are diverse and complex (Smit et al., 1999), consequently, it is
difficult to devise complete control measures for all encroaching species. On the bases of
some comprehensive reviews of the literature (Archer 1994, Van Auken 2000, Dube et al.,
2009), it can be concluded that the primary mechanism behind the increase in shrub cover
has been a dramatic shift in patterns of herbivory and fire frequency, although shifts in
climate and carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations have also been cited as possible factors.
According to Dube et al., (2009), the encroachment of rangelands by Acacia karroo bush, in
South Africa is known to greatly reduce rangeland productivity with immense economic
implications, especially in systems where grazers are preferred to browsers. Bush
encroachment is defined as the invasion and/or thickening of aggressive undesired woody
species resulting in an imbalance of the grass: bush ratio, a decrease in biodiversity, and a
decrease in carrying capacity, causing severe economic losses in both the commercial and
communal farming areas. The phenomenon of bush encroachment in savannas is seen to be
part of the process of desertification (Tainton, 1999). Acacia karroo is one of the main species
causing the encroachment problem in the Amathole Montane grassland, Bhisho Thronveld
and Eastern Cape Escapement Thicket vegetation.
Various control methods viz., cultural, mechanical, chemical and biological uses have been
tested and advanced to control the growth and spread of encroaching plants (Fatunbi et al.
2008). Burning, browsing with goats, cutting and application of herbicides are some of the
methods that are widely used to control encroaching species.
The use of herbicide containing bromacil (5-Bromo-3-sec-butyl-6-methyluracil) for control of
A. karoo has been observed in a number of commercial holdings in South Africa. Bromacil
herbicide act by interfering with the photosynthetic pathway of the plant. It achieves a
gradual kill that could span over two years. The use of herbicides have however brought
about various environmental concerns (EXTONET, 1993; Rosner et al.,1999; Singh et al.,
2003). This has resulted in the need to investigate the effects of different types of herbicides
on components of the ecosystem (Dube et al. 2009).
A number of herbicides in South African markets are currently being used in controlling
encroaching species, of particular note are herbicides containing bromacil (5- Bromo-3-sec-
butyl-6-methyluracil) as the active ingredient (a.i), for example Bushwacker SC(Enviro
Weed Control Systems (Pty) Ltd), Bushwacker GG (Enviro Weed Control Systems (Pty)
Ltd), Rinkhals 400 PA (Dow AgroSciences LLC) e.t.c. These herbicides differ mainly in their
bromacil concentration, for instance Bushwacker SC contains 500 g bromacil per litre,
Bushwacker GG contains 200 g bromacil per kilogram and Rinkhals 400 PA contains 400 g
bromacil per kilogram. The different concentrations of bromacil determine the specific use
of the herbicide, coupled with the concentration of other reactive ingredients. Herbicides are
usually selective within certain application rates, environmental conditions, and methods of
application (Masters and Sherley, 2001).
Bromacil belongs to the uracil family of herbicides (Arteca, 1994). It can be used to
selectively control annual and perennial weeds, broad leaved and woody plants on cropland
and non-cropland areas (EXTOXNET, 1993; Meister, 1998; Zhu and Li, 2002). It is also
widely used for selective weed control in pineapple and citrus crops (EXTONET 1993).
Bromacil works by interfering with the photosynthetic pathway of plants (EXTOXNET,
1993). One herbicide that is gaining importance in bush control in South Africa is
Bushwacker SC. It has been reported to be an effective herbicide for general weed and bush
controls in agricultural and non-agricultural areas (Zhu and Li, 2002). This herbicide can be
sprayed on the plants or spread dry. It quickly dissolves in soil water and may stay in the
soil for several years (EXTOXNET, 1993). Its application is usually done just before the
active growth stage of plants thus, before the wet season stabilizes. Bromacil is readily
absorbed through the root system (Gangstad, 1989) and is a specific inhibitor of
photosynthesis. In the soil, there is little adsorption of bromacil to soil colloids therefore it
moves (leaches) through the soil and it can contaminate groundwater (EXTOXNET, 1993);
however, it is highly susceptible to microbial degradation (Arteca, 1995). When used as a
selective herbicide it can persist in the soil for one year, however if it is applied at high
concentrations it can persist for more than one year (Arteca, 1995).
There is the speculation that bromacil can destroy some grasses if it stays too long on the
upper horizon of the soil profile. Grasses are assumed to extract water from the top soil
layer (0 - 15 cm) due to their shallow rooting characteristics, while trees and bushes derive
their nutrients from the lower layers (Wiegand et al., 2006). The movement rate of bromacil
when applied is therefore important to its economic use and ecological suitability. There is
the perception that phytotoxicity could occur when animals ingest plants that may have
taken up bromacil from soil water. Furthermore, the relative effects of bromacil on soil
microbial activity and dynamics need to be investigated.
Impacts, Efficacy and Economics of Bushwacker Sc (Bromacil)
This aim of this paper is to clear doubts about the effectiveness and safety of the use of
bromacil for the control of invasive species in South African rangelands. It also aim to
identify the economic implication of Bromacil use and determine the best application
method at the farmers’ level. To provide sufficient scientific discussion in this chapter, the
authors represents a substantial proportion their comprehensive review work (Dube et al.,
2009) and also report a field research.
2. The chemical basis for the use of bromacil as an herbicide

Bromacil (Figure 1) falls under the substituted uracil family; other members of the family
include terbacil and isocil Terbacil is an effective herbicide for the control of annual and
perennial weeds. The general characteristic of the uracil family is the presence of a methyl
group located at the sixth position on the ring. The members of the substituted uracil
herbicide family differ one from another by substituents at the third or fifth position of the
ring, or both. The bromacil molecule consists of a uracil nucleus containing bromine, methyl
and a secondary butyl substituent (Canadian Council of Ministers of the environment 1999).
(a) (b)
(c)
Fig. 1. (a). Bromacil (5-bromo-3-sec-butyl-6-methyluracil). (b). Terbacil (3-tert-butyl-5-chloro-
6-methyluracil). (c). Isocil (5-bromo-3-isopropyl-6-methyluracil). Adapted from the
International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
The family as a whole posses a broad toxicity to many plant species, however specific
compounds differ significantly in their toxicity to plants, solubility in water, persistence in
soil and other economically significant characteristics (Lakoski et al., 1993). Firstly
introduction of this family of herbicides was intended for general vegetation control, mainly
because the different compounds have broad spectrum activity over a wide range of plant
species and they also persist long in the soil, therefore, having long residual activity for
weed control in industrial areas.
The principal use of these herbicides are the selective control of many annual and perennial
weed species in certain crops and general weed control in non-crop areas, such as railroads,
highways, pipeline right-of-ways, lumber- yards, storage areas and industrial sites. The
uracils are formulated as both wettable powders and as water soluble preparations (Dube et
al,. 2009). All of the uracil herbicides in pure form are white, crystalline solids and are
temperature stable up to their melting point of 335° C. The uracils are characteristically low
in mammalian toxicity and are non-volatile. Their long persistence in soil, however, does
create problems in crop rotations. In South Africa, bromacil is traded as Bushwhacker and it
is applied as a spray, spread dry just before or during the period of active growth,
preferable when rain is expected for soil activation or aerial application of granules.
The mode-of-action refers to the manner in which an herbicide affects a plant at the tissue or
cellular level. Bromacil is a powerful mobile inhibitor of photosynthesis (Prostko, 2001). The
target plant must be undergoing active photosynthesis for the herbicide to be effective. It is
readily absorbed through the root system (Gangstad, 1989); the leaves and stems can also
absorb some bromacil. It is translocated upward via the xylem to foliage and interferes with
light-harvesting complexes (Prostko, 2001). It inhibits photosynthesis by blocking the photo-
system II reaction; thereby preventing the conversion of sunlight into chemical energy
(Prostko, 2001), thus it blocks the photosynthetic electron transport (Prostko, 2001). Bromacil
blocks electron transport from QA to QB in the chloroplast thylakoid membranes by binding
to the D-1 protein at the QB binding niche. The electrons that are blocked from passing
through photosystem II are transferred through a series of reactions to other reactive toxic
compounds. These compounds disrupt cell membranes and cause chloroplast swelling,
membrane leakage, and ultimately cellular destruction (Tu et al., 2001). Inhibition of
photosynthesis thus results in slow starvation of the target plant and eventual death.
Bromacil is readily absorbed through the plant root system (Bovey, 2001; Gangstad, 1989).
Little or no bromacil moves from the apex downward toward the base of a treated leaf via
the phloem. The early symptom of bromacil kill activities in a plant is leaf chlorosis
concentrated around the veins, this is often noticed at the lower leaves and it gradually
moves up the plant. The structure of the leaves’ chloroplasts is altered while further cell wall
development will cease. Chlorosis will then appear first between leaf veins and along the
margins which is later followed by necrosis of the tissue and eventual death of the plant
(Prostko, 2001).
The control of undesirable species in rangelands is a basic maintenance activity in livestock
production. This could be carried out using methods that range from cultural, biological,
chemical and a combination of these methods. The amount of drudgery involved in
administering these methods makes some of them practically undesirable. Bromacil has
many benefits in this case; it is used as an herbicide for general weed or bush control in non-
croplands; it is also particularly useful against perennial grasses (Meister, 1998). The current
use of bromacil in agriculture is necessary so as to sustain high productivity, reduce cost
and drudgery and give high profit margins. It is used on rail road rights of way and other
industrial, non-cropland areas.
Bromacil is one of the most commonly used herbicides to control weeds in citrus orchards. It
is used in citrus and pineapple fields for selective control of weeds (Turner, 2003). Bromacil
is also effective in the control of deep-rooted perennial broadleaf and grass weeds. Other
commonly used herbicides are glyphosate, diuron, diquat, simazine, linuron, terbuthylazine
and terbumeton (Gomez-Barreda et al., 1991).
3. Effectiveness of different application methods for bromacil based

herbicides
Bromacil can be applied in a variety of ways. Application can be made as broadcast, band or
spot treatments (Gangstad, 1989). The most appropriate application method is determined
by the weed being treated, the herbicide being applied, the skills of the applicator and the
application site (Tu et al., 2001). The bromacil application method is of considerable
importance; since it determines the extent of contact with the target plant and its movement
within the soil. Three conventional methods of application are known, these are aerial
spraying with the use of an aircraft and direct application to the soil near the target plant
with the use of a backpack sprayer (liquid application) or the placement of the granular
form at a close proximity to the target plant.
Bromacil and lithium bromacil are often applied by ground application. Aerial application is
allowed in areas where it is too dense or dangerous such as military firing ranges. Fixed
boom sprayers are typically used for broadcast treatment of perennial and annual weeds; for
brush control, basal spot applications are made to the specific shrubs and trees to be
controlled. In citrus groves, it is often applied only in bands between the tree rows (Turner,
2003). Bromacil needs to be watered into the soil to be effective, and it is best applied to soil
that is already damp. For rights-of-way use, which is not amenable to irrigation, and for un-
irrigated citrus applications, this generally means that bromacil would be applied during the
rainy season in the winter (Turner, 2003).
Bromacil can be applied on its own as a selective herbicide or it can be applied in mixture
with other herbicides to control a broad spectrum of weeds (Gomez de Barreda Jr. et al.,
1998). Generally bromacil is applied at rates of 2 - 4 kg/ha (Meister 1998), depending on soil
properties and persisting environmental conditions. In citrus, pineapple, and non-crop
areas, Bromacil can be applied at rates of 5 - 7, 1.5 - 3, and 1.5 - 5 kg/ha respectively (Raov,
2000). Differences in soils could affect the overall performance of bromacil and these
differences must be taken into consideration, i.e. soils with low clay or organic matter
content and lower application rates must be used so as to avoid high rates of leaching of the
chemical (Gangstad, 1989). The type, diversity and height of the vegetation are also
important factors to be considered for the effective application of bromacil (Gangstad, 1989).
Other methods of bromacil application are the foliar application, where bromacil is directly
applied to the leaves and stems of a plant (Tu et al., 2001). Bromacil can be applied with a
backpack sprayer or a hand-held bottle to the basal bark of the target plant (Tu et al., 2001).
4. Effects of bromacil on the environment

Bromacil toxicity to mammals and birds is described by its LD50, which is the dose received
either as oral or dermal that kills half the population of studied animals. The LD50 is
typically reported in grams of bromacil per kilogram of animal body weight (Tu et al., 2001).
Tests conducted by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) for
bromacil mammalian toxicity revealed an LD50 of 3998 mg kg-1 when administered on acute
oral basis; this showed that bromacil is practically non toxic to mammals. A similar result
was obtained for birds (LD50 of 2250 mg kg-1) and reptiles.
Bromacil’s toxicity to aquatic organisms is quantified with LC50, which is the concentration
of the herbicide in water that is required to kill half of the study animals. The LC50 is
typically measured in micrograms of bromacil per liter of water (Tu et al., 2001). The USEPA
test with rainbow trout and bluegill sunfish resulted in an LC50 of 36 and 127 ppm of the ai.
This suggests that bromacil is slightly toxic to rainbow trout and non-toxic to the bluegill
sunfish. Consequently, bromacil is viewed to be slightly toxic to fishes and amphibians.
Determining the implication of this toxicity on the secondary component of the aquatic food
chain will constitute an interesting endeavor.
Bromacil is mainly degraded by micro-organisms in the soil and several forms of micro-
organisms are involved in the process such as the bacteria Psuedomans spp. Which can use
bromacil as a source of carbon (Chaudhry & Cortez, 1988). Bromacil has varying effects on
soil microbial populations depending on herbicide concentrations and the microbial species
present. Low residue levels can enhance populations while higher levels can cause
population declines (Tu et al., 2001).
Water bodies can be contaminated by direct overspray, or when herbicides drift, volatilize,
leach through soils to groundwater or are carried in surface or subsurface runoffs. Amounts
of leaching and runoff are largely dependent on total rainfall in the first few days after an
application (Tu et al., 2001). Most environmental fate and impact concerns linked to the use
of herbicides are related to offsite movement into aquatic ecosystems (Zhu & Li, 2002).
Bromacil rapidly moves through the soil, as a result it has the potential to be a ground water
contaminant (Gomez de Barreda Jr. et al., 1998). Bromacil may degrade in natural waters
through microbial degradation and photo-sensitized degradation. Bromacil is moderately
soluble in water (0.815 gl-1 at 25° C) (Gomez de Barreda Jr. et al., 1998; Zhu & Li, 2002).
Bromacil is one of the most commonly found herbicides in groundwater; it is usually
detected at higher concentrations than those of terbuthylazine and simazine (de Paz and
Rubio, 2006).
Bromacil in the atmosphere is mainly degraded by light, in a process known as photo-
oxidation. The hydroxyl radicals and superoxide radicals are the primary oxidizing species
in the photocatalytic oxidation process of bromacil (Singh et al., 2003). Oxygen has no
pronounced effect on the initiation of the photolytic process of bromacil, as compared to that
of metribuzin where oxygen has a pronounced effect and hydrogen peroxide has a lesser
effect (Muszkat et al., 1998). The photolytic process in bromacil is initiated by hydroxyl
radicals generated by hydrogen peroxide photolysis (Muszkat et al., 1998). In a study
carried out by Singh et al. (2003), the immediate photolytic products in the presence of
titanium dioxide were 5-hydroxy-3-secbutyl-6-methyl uracil and diisopropyl urea.
5. Persistence and degradation of bromacil in the environment

Increasingly, herbicides are continually being applied onto the environment. Ideally a
herbicide should control or eradicate the targeted species selectively, remain stationary at
the site of application and degrade rapidly once its purpose is achieved, however, their
persistence in the environment together with their low degradability rates have become a
cause of concern especially the ecological risks they might possess (Dowd et al., 1998,
Muszkat et al., 1998, Singh et al., 2003, Rosner et al., 1999, Girotti et al., 2008). The degree of
bromacil persistence and mobility (Hornsby et al., 1995) is mainly dependent on soil
properties and environmental conditions such as water availability.
Any herbicide’s persistence in soils is often described by its half-life (also known as the
DT50). The half-life is the time it takes for half of the herbicide applied to the soil to be
dissipated (Tu et al., 2001). Bromacil has a lengthy half-life. Its soil half-life ranges from 2 to
8 months depending upon the patterns of use and other environmental factors such as
temperature and availability of water (Fishel, 2005; Meister, 1998). Bromacil activity,
movement and persistence in the soil depend on the interaction of the bromacil molecule
with the soil’s colloids adsorption capacity (Paterson & Mackay, 1994). Soil organic carbon-
water partitioning coefficient (Koc) is the the ratio of the mass of a chemical that is adsorbed
in the soil per unit mass of organic carbon in the soil per the equilibrium chemical
concentration in solution. Koc value of less than 100 indicates that a pesticide is very mobile
in soils (Branham et al., 1995). Bromacil moves quite readily through the soil (EXTONET,
1993, Rosner et al., 1999); this is because bromacil adsorbs only slightly soil particles, with a
Koc value of 32 g/ml (de Paz & Rubio, 2006; EXTONET, 1993; Gomez de Barreda Jr. et al.,
1998). Bromacil is a good candidate for leaching and therefore, a groundwater contaminant
(Gomez de Barreda Jr. et al., 1998).
Due to its ability to move readily through the soil and its solubility in water, concerns on the
use of Bromacil arise as it is able to contaminate groundwater (EXTONET, 1993; Rosner et
al., 1999, Singh et al., 2003). Relatively Bromacil behaves differently on different types of
soils with different constituents. Thus Bromacil is more strongly adsorbed to by organic
matter colloids rather than clay particles; as a result it is more persistent and less mobile in
soils with high organic matter content (5% or more) (James & Lauren, 1995). Soils with
moderate to high organic matter content may retain bromacil residues for 1 to 2 years, thus,
a soil half-life of 3 to 7 months is more likely in soils with low organic matter content (less
than 5%) (EXTOXNET, 1993). A soil with high organic matter content will also bind
bromacil and prevent it from being available in soil solution, this obviously will affect it
effectiveness on plant. In a study carried out by de Paz and Rubio (2006), involving eight of
the most frequently applied herbicides in citrus orchards (glyphosate, diuron, diquat,
bromacil, simazine, linuron, terbuthylazine, and terbumeton), a ranking according to the
potential to leach was obtained. The leaching potential of the herbicides was as follows,
from highest to potential to least; terbumeton > bromacil > simazine > terbuthylazine >
diuronNlinuron > glyphosate > diquat.
On relative terms, bromacil is one of the polluters of groundwater that should be given
considerable attention (EXTONET 1993, Rosner et al., 1999; Singh et al., 2003). Other report
by Sanders et al., (1996) showed that bromacil was degraded within 4 to 6 months when it
was applied once compared to when it was applied twice in the same season; it was also
reported that Bromacil persisted in the top 75 mm of soil for nearly a year (Alavi et al., 2008).
Soil with no previous bromacil use had higher chemical residue levels in lower depths and
slower degradation rates than soils with a 10 year history of asparagus management and
associated bromacil use.
6. The economic implications of bromacil application methods on rangelands

encroached by Acacia karroo
The encroachment of woody plants into grassland is a global problem. Different methods
have been used to control bush encroachment and most of them have been ineffective in the
total elimination of bush encroachment. There are a number of chemicals that have been
used in controlling bush encroachment. Consequently, large volumes of potentially
hazardous chemicals, produced by various industries and agricultural operations, are
entering the ecosystem. Bromacil, a broad spectrum herbicide, is used to control undesirable
woody plants on noncropland so as to increase the carrying capacity of the veld. The active
ingredient (bromacil) is carried into the root zone by rain. It is readily absorbed through the
root system and is then translocated to foliage. The leaves then become yellow and abscise.
When new leaves are formed, they also turn yellow and abscise. This process continues until
the tree no longer has reserves to initiate re-growth and so it dies. Figure 2 and 3 show the
efforts of bromacil application on Acacia species in the Eastern Cape Province of South
Africa.
7. Encroachment of South Africa rangelands by Acacia karoo
(a) (b)
Fig. 2. (a). Stand of Acacia karoo (b). Dead stands of Acacia karoo form plots treated with
Bromacil
Adelaide: I week before spraying Adelaide: I year before spraying
Fig. 3. Effect of bromacil application on Acacia Karoo over time

Box 1: Field Research on the Economics and Effects of bromacil Application Method
The cost implication of Bromacil application methods is vital to decisions on methods

which are suitable for specific vegetation density and field size.
Methodology: The bromacil experiment was conducted at the Honeydale Section of the
University of Fort Hare Research farm located at 32°47'58.78" S, 26°52'25.59" E at an
altitude of 517.86 m asl in Bhisho Thornveld (Mucina and Rutherford 2006). Mean annual
rainfall is 480 mm with the average summer temperature of 18.7 oC. The soil is generally
characterized as a silty loam of the Glenrosa form.
The two camps were identified; one of low and the other high density Acacia karroo were
identified. In each paddock 6 x 200m2 plots were marked. Bromacil is applied to Acacia
karroo plants in the marked plots; 2 of the plots were subjected to liquid spraying; the other
2 to granular spreading and the remaining 2 were treated as controls as follows: Treatment
1: Ground application (liquid) 1Lt Bushwhacker in 5Lt water. 2ml was applied for every
0.5m in height of trees. Treatment 2: Ground application (granules) about 3g – 2m, 6g- 4m
and 12g ≥ 8m tree. Treatment 3: Control, no bromacil applied.
After a year following a bromacil application, herbaceous and tree height were measured.
A disc pasture meter was used to measure the grass height for herbaceous biomass
estimation. Tree height and canopy width was measured using a 2m rod. A tuft-to-tuft
point system was used to determine species composition.
The partial budget technique was used to analyze the data for the time spent on
application, volume and weight of the herbicide used time spent on cutting for penetrex
and access. Teams working were monitored as was the amount of herbicide used in each
plot. The cost of aerial application was known before hand. Total cost of each method per
hectare was calculated, it included labour and chemical costs, furthermore, it was
ascertained that the minimum area that can be aerially sprayed is 50 ha. The data on time
spent on application, and volume and weight of herbicide used between treatments with
the analysis of variance (ANOVA) with SAS (1999).
Fig. 4. (a). Absolute cost of Bromacil herbicide type and application method for the control
of Acacia Karoo bush. (b). Absolute cost of Bromacil herbicide application on different
densities of Acacia Karoo bush invasion. (c). A comparison aerial application cost with hand
application
Box 2: Result of Field Research

Economic Implications of bromacil Application Method
The cost of bromacil was affected by bush density between the density levels. Labour
was slightly higher at the high density. This could be due to large number of trees on
which each has to be treated with bromacil.
The total cost of bromacil applied as granules was higher than bromacil spray and use of
Penetrex and access. The time spent and labor was not different between application
methods (Figure 4a). This implies that the use of granules is more expensive than the use
of spray bromacil.
The time spent on bromacil application was determined by the bush density, the higher
the bush density the more the time spent (Figure 4b). The amount of herbicide used was
affected by the bush density. The higher density bush utilised more herbicide than the
low density bush (Figure 3c). This could be due to the difficulty in movement and large
number of trees and each had to get the bromacil. This implies that with hand
application the high density bush will require large number of labourers for a short time
or small number of labourers for a long time. In the case where labour is paid per hour
per person the expenses will be high as well as herbicide purchase expenses.
The result indicated that, on a per hectare basis, it was more expensive to hand apply
granules in the high density plots (R2700.ha-1) compared to either spraying liquid
(R675.ha-1) or aerial spraying (R600.ha-1). This could be due to the unease of movement
for the person applying the granules, while the spray application was faster. Under low
tree density aerial spraying, the cost of which does not change with density, was more
expensive compared to hand application of granules (R389.ha-1) compared to either
spraying liquid (R207.ha-1). This implies that in the low density bush, the hand
application is less expensive compared with the aerial application. The cost of water
used in the mixing was minimal and was not included in the calculations.
Box 3: Result of Field Research

Effects of Bromacil on Forage Productivity of Herbaceous Vegetation
Herbaceous biomass production was not affected by bromacil herbicide after one year of
application. The forage yield between the plot where two forms of bromacil (granules and
liquid) were applied does not vary. Rollins et. al., (1988) indicated that forage yields and
availability, particularly of herbaceous vegetation, is often low in dense shrub communities.
Furthermore this study shows that the forage yield was similar between high and low bush
densities after one year of bromacil application. The forage yield was not significantly affected
by bromacil treatment after the first year of application, the pre-bromacil treatment forage yield
2083 kgDM.ha-1 while the post treatment forage yield was 2163 kgDM.ha-1.
After the application of bromacil the forage yield under high bush density showed a higher rate
of accumulation (2604 kgDM.ha-1) compared to the low bush density site (1642 kgDM.ha-1). Both
bromacil in a granular form and in a liquid form have shown the difference in forage yield
when compared with the control sites (Table 3). The bromacil treated sites have shown a great
forage yield accumulation within the first year of application. The results from this study
implies that there the bromacil herbicide does not affect the forage yield, regardless of the
method of application.
Effects of Bush Density on the Herbaceous Vegetation and Ecological Condition Index for
Herbaceous Vegetation
The grasses species are classified into their ecological status determined by their pecieved
acceptability to animals and grazing. (i) Decreaser species (highly desirable species)- those
species which occur in rangeland in good condition and decrease with over grazing (Sisay and
Baars 2002), increaser I species (undesirable species)- those species which occur in rangeland in
good condition and increase with under utilisation and increaser II species (undesirable) occur
in rangeland in poor condition and increase with overgrazing. The response of grasses
according to the mentioned classes the decreaser species were not affected by bromacil
application, the pre-bromacil treatment and post-bromacil treatment were different after one
year. Under the different bush densities the ecological index values of decreaser species was
different (Table 2). The bromacil application methods (granula, spray and control) (Table 3), did
not affect the ecological value of decreaser species between the granula and spray methods.
However, there was a significance difference (P<0.05) in the ecological value index between
both granular and spray application methods and control. There was no significance (P>0.05) in
the ecological index value of increaser Ia, Ib, IIa, IIc and other species (Table 1) between pre-
treatment and post-treatment. In contrast the ecological index values of increaser IIb were
significantly different (P<0.05) between the pre-treatment and post-treatment.
Looking at the data of all species the ecological values of all species were higher in pre-treatment
than in post- treatment (P<0.05). The ecological index values of decreasers, increaser IIa, increaser
IIb, (Table 2) and other species were higher in high bush density than in low bush density sites
(P<0.05). All the increaser I species and increaser IIc ecological values were not affected by bush
density (P>0.05). Pooling the ecological value of all the species there were variations (P<0.05)
between high bush density and low bush density, ecological values were higher in high bush
density than in low density site. The ecological index of decreasers were significantly different
(P<0.05) between the three bromacil treatment methods (granula, spray and control) (Table 3).
There was no significant difference (P>0.05) in the ecological values of increaser (Ib, IIa, IIc and
others) between different bromacil treatment application methods. In contrast there were
variations (P<0.05) in the ecological index values of increaser (Ia, IIb). Concerning ecological index
of the total species there were no variation (P>0.05) between the three treatment application
methods.
Bromacil treatments
Vegetation response to bromacil treatment One year Post-
Pre-treatment
treatment
Biomass production (kg/ha) 2083±89.7a 2163±89.7a
Decreaser 30.3±2.2a 24.3±2.2a
Increaser 1a 8.2±1.5a 3.8±1.5a
Increaser 1b 0.2±0.4a 0.7±0.4a
Ecological status (%) Increaser IIa 15.2±1.8 a 15.5±1.8a
Increaser IIb 8.2±1.8a 14.3±1.8b
Increaser IIc 15.8±2.0a 10.8±2.0a
Others 2.2±0.4a 1.0±0.4a
A. karroo 3221±896.9 a 2100±896.9a
Bush density (Plants.ha-1)
Others 1442±272.3 a 1375±272.3a
(a)
Herbaceous vegetation variables High Bush Density Low Bush Density
Biomass production.(kg-ha-1) 2604±89.7a 1641±89.7b
Decreaser 32.7±2.2a 22.0±2.2b
Increaser 1a 4.0±1.5a 8.0±1.5a
Increaser 1b 0.8±0.4a 0.0±0.4a
Ecological status % Increase IIa 18.5±1.8a 12.2±1.8b
Increaser IIb
14.7±1.8a 7.8±1.8b
Increaser IIc
Others 15.2±2.0a 11.5±2.0a
1.8±0.0a 1.3±0.0b
(b)
Bromacil application methods
Vegetation parameter
Granular Spray Control
Biomass production. (kg-ha-1) 2159±109.8ab 2345±109.8a 1864±109.8b
Decreaser 31.0±2.7a 32.8±2.7a 18.3±2.7b
Increaser 1a 4.8±1.8ab 3.3±1.8b 10.0±1.8a
Increaser 1b 0.5±0.5 a 0.8±0.5 a 0.0±0.5a
Ecological status (%) Increaser IIa 16.8±2.3 a 14.3±2.3 a 15.0±2.3a
Increaser IIb 5.8±2.2b 6.5±2.2b 21.5±2.2a
Increaser IIc 12.0±2.2a 14.8±2.2a 13.3±2.2a
Others 2.0±2.4a 1.3±2.4a 1.5±2.4a
Bush density (Plants.ha-1) A. karroo 1706±1098.1a 3288±1098.1a 2988±1098.1a
Others 101±333.5a 1881±333.5a 1325±333.5a
Means in the same row followed by same superscripts are not significantly different (P> 0.05).
(c)
Table 1. (a) Herbaceous and woody (species composition, biomass production and bush
density) vegetation status before and after bromacil treatment. (b). Effect of bush density on
herbaceous production and species composition (Mean±SE). (c). Effects of bromacil
application methods on herbaceous biomass production, species composition and bush
density (Mean ± SE).
8. Conclusion
Bromacil based herbicides are effectively used to control annual and perennial weeds. The
family possesses a broad toxicity to many plant species, however, the specific compounds
differ in their toxicity to plants, solubility in water and persistence in soil. The chemical is
absorbed through the root system and translocated upwards via the xylem vessels to the
leaves where it interferes with light harvesting complexes by blocking the photosystem II
reaction. These compounds disrupt cell membranes and cause chloroplast swelling and
cellular destruction. The early symptoms of bromacil kill activities in a plant is leaf chlorosis
concentrated around the veins, this is often noticed at the lower leaves and gradually moves
up the plant.
The current use of bromacil in agriculture is necessary so as to sustain high productivity,
reduce cost, reduce drudgery and give high profit margins. There are various ways of
applying bromacil; the most appropriate method is determined by the weed being treated, the
herbicide being applied, the skills of the applicator and the application site. The application
method determines the extent of contact with target plant and its movement within the soil.
The conventional methods of application include aerial spraying and direct application to the
soil. The performance of bromacil is influenced by soil characteristics, thus soils with low clay
or organic matter content are highly leachable, therefore require lower application rates. The
vegetation structure and composition are also very important factors to consider.
Bromacil is non-toxic to mammals, however, it is slightly toxic to fish and amphibians. The
effect of Bromacil on microbial populations depends on herbicide concentration and
microbial species present. Most environmental fate and impact concerns linked to the use of
herbicides are related to offsite movements into aquatic ecosystems. Bromacil is mainly
degraded by micro-organisms in the soil and in natural waters. The chemical is degraded
mainly by light in the atmosphere through photo-oxidation. Bromacil provides for sustained
weed control because of its persistence in the environment and its low degradability rates,
however, this has become the cause of environmental concern especially the ecological risks.
We therefore concluded that the use of bromacil in areas with important aquatic ecosystems
should be carefully undertaken and monitored.
Generally granules application by hand is higher than other application methods. Bush
density class had a significant effect on the cost of Bromacil application. The time and
herbicide cost constitute the main items where intervention to reduce cost may be targeted.
Under low tree density condition, the cost of aerial application was higher compared to
hand application of granules. Full economic implication of application methods will be
better assessed with; assessment of biophysical component viz., mortality rate of Acacia karoo
plant, rate and volume of grass biomass accumulation, grass species diversity, prevalence of
decreaser species and ecological benefits
In the current study bromacil herbicide did not show any effect on Acaccia karroo in short
term. It is clear from other research that bromacil achieves its total kill in a minimum of two
years under favourable conditions. The current use of bromacil in agriculture is necessary so
as to sustain high productivity. The vegetation structure and composition are also very
important factors to consider.
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34
Pyrimidinylsalicylic Based Herbicides:

Modeling and Prediction
Eduardo J. Delgado
Theoretical and Computational Chemistry Group (QTC)
Department of Physical-Chemistry, Faculty of Chemical Sciences
Universidad de Concepción, Concepción,
Chile
1. Introduction
The necessity of increasing the productivity per cultivation area is a peremptory demand
since, on hand, the available surface is limited, even worse it has diminished due to the
degradation of the soil; and on the other hand, it is necessary to supply the food demand of
a steadily increasing population.
To supply this demand of the current world population, about six thousand million, it is
required to produce more and more. To do this is necessary to use massively chemicals,
known generically as agrochemicals (insecticides, fungicides, acaricides, nematocides and
herbicides). The use of these chemicals has allowed for significant reduction of the
agriculture plagues and consequently increased the productivity. Among the pesticides, the
herbicides deserve special attention since, due to the resistance developed by weeds, new
products have to be steadily introduced to market.
Plants and many microorganisms are able to synthesize from inorganic precursors all the
metabolites needed for their survival. In contrast, animals must obtain many compounds,
such as vitamins, essential fatty acids and certain amino acids, from their diet. This is
because they lack the full biosynthetic machinery, so there are metabolic pathways and their
component enzymes that are not found in animals. The branched-chain amino acids
(BCAAs) are synthesized by plants, algae, fungi, bacteria and archae, but no by animals.
Therefore, the enzymes involved in the BCAA biosynthetic pathway are potential targets for
the development of herbicides, fungicides, and antimicrobial compounds.
Pyrimidinylsalicylic acid (PSA) based compounds show potent herbicidal activity. This
activity has been identified as a result of the inhibition of acetohydroxyacid synthase,
AHAS. Unfortunately, this family of compounds has been poorly characterized from the
physical-chemical point of view. This lack of information has prevented the assessment of
their impact in the environment. The difficulty to obtain accurate experimental values arise
mainly from limitations of analytical techniques, cost, safety and time. For this reason, it is
very useful to be able to predict these properties. Such a prediction may be important
additionally for the design of novel herbicides since their properties could be predicted
prior to synthesis and consequently the design may, in this way, be guided by the results of
calculations. Once these properties are known the effect of these chemicals on the
environment could be evaluated in advance, reaching in this way the desired compromise
between productivity and environment protection. In this chapter, classical and quantum
chemical methods are applied to predict and calculate important properties of PSA based
herbicides.
2. Partitioning of a chemical in the environment

When a chemical is released in the environment it distributes among the diverse
compartments which comprise it, Figure 1, (Stangroom et al., 2000; Ballschmiter, 1992). A
knowledge of chemical partitioning is needed to assess pathways of pollutant transport and
transformation. Hence, a detailed understanding of chemical partitioning behaviour is a
fundamental requirement for the development of environment models for the assessment of
contaminant fate. An improved understanding of chemical partitioning would facilitate the
estimation of exposure levels in the various environment compartments (soil, water, air and
biota). Being the acid dissociation constant pKa one of the most important of such parameters
because ionization alters the macro properties such as solubility and lipophilicity.
Fig. 1. Distribution of PSA compounds in the environment.
3. Pyrimidinyl salicylic acids

The synthesis and herbicidal activity of pyrimidinylsalicylic acid (PSA) based compounds,
Figure 2, was reported for first time by Nezu et al. (Nezu et al., 1996; Nezu et al., 1998).
These compounds show highly potent herbicidal activity characteristic of AHAS inhibition.
The effect of substituents R introduced into various positions of the benzene ring is striking.
Some substituents at the 6-position increase the AHAS inhibitory activity enormously,
whereas others, as well as most substituents at the other positions, have the reverse effect.
The replacement of O, in the X position, with S does not much affect the AHAS inhibition
except for a few pairs of analogs. The phytotoxicity in the oxy-series is, however, reduced, in
general, in the corresponding thio-series. The extent of the toxicity reduction varies
depending on the crop/weed species, leading to selectively herbicidal thiosalicylic acids.
Pyrimidinylsalicylic Based Herbicides: Modeling and Prediction 683
Fig. 2. General structure of PSA compounds: X=O, S
4. Acetohydroxyacid synthase.
Acetohydroxyacid synthase, AHAS, the first common enzyme in the biosynthetic route to
the branched chain amino acids, valine, leucine and isoleucine, Figure 3, has been identified
as the target of action of several structurally different types of chemicals (sulfonylureas,
sulfonamides, imidazolinones and pyrimidylsalicylates) with high herbicidal activity. These
four classes of herbicides, all obtained by traditional screening methods, have the attributes
of low application rates, good crop selectivity, environmental safety and low mammalian
toxicity. These herbicides act inhibiting AHAS leading to the starvation of the plant for these
amino acids, it is this starvation that is thought to be the primary mechanism by which these
chemicals cause plant death (Singh & Shaner, 1995; Zohar et al., 2003; Pang et al., 2002, Pang
et al., 2003; McCourt et al., 2005; MCCourt et al., 2006; Duggleby & Pang, 2000; MCCourt &
Duggleby, 2006).
Fig. 3. Branched-chain amino acid biosynthesis pathway

Valine, leucine and isoleucine are synthesized by a common pathway in micro organisms
and plants. One unusual feature of this pathway is the employment of parallel steps leading
to the formation of valine and isoleucine. These parallel steps involve four enzymes, namely
the anabolic AHAS, ketol-acid reductoisomerase, dihydroxyacid dehydratase, and a
transaminase, each of which is capable of catalyzing two slightly different reactions.
The anabolic AHAS catalyzes the first of the parallel steps and is at branch point in the
pathway because its reactions will determine the extent of carbon flow through to the
branched-chain amino acids. The reactions involve the irreversible decarboxylation of
pyruvate and the condensation of the acetaldehyde moiety with a second molecule of
pyruvate to give 2-acetolactate or with a molecule of 2-ketobutyrate to yield 2-aceto-2-

hydroxybutyrate.
Each of the products in then converted further in three reactions to give valine and
isoleucine; for leucine biosynthesis, four additional enzymes are required using valine
precursor 2-ketoisovalerate as the starting point for synthesis.
The regulation of the biosynthesis of the branched–chain amino acids is complex and
carefully controlled. This regulation is essential, not only to ensure a balanced supply of the
amino acids within cells, but also because its intermediates interact with other cellular
metabolic pathway. Even through microbes and plants share the common branched-chain
amino acid pathway, its regulation may vary among organisms and is not fully understood.
AHAS belongs to a super family of thiamine diphosphate, ThDP, dependent enzymes that
are capable of catalyzing a variety of rections, including both the oxidative and non-
oxidative decarboxylation of 2-ketoacids. This cofactor is bound by a divalent metal ion such
as Mg+2, which coordinates to the diphosphate group of ThDP and two highly conserved
residues in these proteins (Mc Court et al., 2006). AHAS also binds a molecule of flavin
adenine dinucleotide, FAD. There is no intrinsic feature of the reaction catalyzed that
demands this requirement, and is demonstrated by the fact that there is an FAD-
independent form of the enzyme in some bacteria. The hypothesis that FAD plays a purely
structural role is supported by comparison of the structures of the FAD-dependent and
FAD-independent enzyme (Pang et al., 2004).
5. Molecular approaches to studying chemistry in solution.

Modern chemistry is oriented more and more towards elucidating in detail how the
macroscopic properties are determined by the microscopic properties of matter, thus
enabling subsequent experimentation to be concentrated in the most promising directions.
There exist several approaches for the prediction of chemical properties in solution, which
may be classified as: discrete, classical and quantum chemical methods.
Discrete methods based on statistical mechanics, link those two pictures through the
probabilistic treatment of particle ensembles. The most popular are molecular dynamics
(MD) and the Monte Carlo (MC) method. In both cases, the condensed system is represented
by an assembly of interacting particles, the statistical distribution of any property, or its
evolution in time, is obtained as a sum over all particles, with appropriate rules.
Applications of such techniques to study phase equilibria have been reported widely in
literature (Frenkel & Smit, 1996; Siepmann, 1999; Duffy & Jorgensen, 2000; Kollman, 1993).
Although some simple hydrocarbons can nowadays be reasonably well described by MD
and MC methods, water and especially water mixtures, still represent challenges for such
simulations techniques despite 30 years of active parameterization of appropriate force-
fields. This is due to the extremely strong and complicated electrostatic and hydrogen-
bonding interactions (Estrada et al., 2007).
The best developed classical method is the multivariate quantitative structure-
activity/property relationship (QSAR/QSPR) methodology (Katritzky at al., 1997; Karelson
et al., 1996; Hansch at al., 1996; Hansch, 1993, Cramer at al., 1988; Klebe at al., 1994). The
underlying assumption in this methodology is that the molecular structure of an organic
compound contains, in principle, coded within it all of the information which predetermines
the chemical, biological and physical properties of that compound. If we could elucidate in
detail how these properties are determined by structure, we could predict such properties
simply from a knowledge of the molecular structure. A major goal of a QSAR/QSPR study
is to find a mathematical relationship between a certain property and one or more
descriptive parameters, known as descriptors, related to the structure of the molecule. These
descriptors are numerical representations of structural features of molecules that attempt to
encode important information that causes structurally different compounds to have
different property values. These models so developed are important for the design of novel
compounds since properties can be predicted prior to synthesis, and in this way the design
of new chemicals, with specific properties, may be guided by the calculation results.
Quantum mechanical continuum solvation methods (Tomasi & Persico, 1994; Cramer, 2002;
Young, 2001) are based on the self-consistent reaction field (SCRF) approach which
considers the solvent as a structureless and continuous dielectric medium, characterized
with a dielectric constant ε, with the solute placed in a suitable shaped hole within it. The
SCRF method is an adaptation of the Poisson method for ab initio calculations. There are
quite a number of variations on this method. One point of difference is the shape of the
solvent cavity. Various models use spherical cavities, spheres for each atom, or an isosurface
of electron density. The second difference is the description of the solute, which could be a
dipole, multipole expansion, or numerical integration over the charge density.
The quantum mechanical based methods have been developed to the point that they are
useful tools for predicting thermodynamic properties and phase behaviour of some
substances to an accuracy useful in engineering calculations (Sandler, 2003).
6. Prediction of PSA properties: three case studies

6.1 Quantitative prediction of AHAS inhibition by PSA compounds
We have studied AHAS inhibition by PSA based herbicides within the framework of
quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) methodology (Diaz & Delgado, 2009). A
general model for this family of herbicides has been developed to predict molar pI50, i.e, the
logarithm of the reciprocal molar concentration of herbicide required for 50% inhibition of
the AHAS activity. The model involves only four descriptors: two geometric and two
quantum chemical, accounting for the steric, electrostatic and hydrogen bonding
interactions responsible for the binding of the herbicide to the enzyme.
6.1.1 Chemical data

The data set of the pI50 was taken from the data reported by Nezu et al. (1998). The set
contains 46 structures of substituted O-(4,6-dimethoxypyrimidin-2-yl)salicylic acids and thio
analogs inhibiting AHAS, including 6-substituted(thio)-, 5- and 6- substituted salicylic
acids; covering a pI50 range from about 3 to 8 units.
6.1.2 Methodology
Empirical evidences show that the acidic carboxyl group of these pyrimidylsalicylates is
indispensable for AHAS inhibition; moreover, it has been suggested the carboxylate group
is responsible for the binding of the inhibitor molecule to the enzyme (Nezu at al., 1998).
Enzymes are proteins which are actives under relative mild reactions conditions:
temperature below 1000C, atmospheric pressure and nearly neutral pH. Therefore, at these
conditions of pH the PSA compounds will be in their anionic form, since their pKa values go
from about 3.3 to 4.4 (Delgado, 2009).
Modeling was performed in order to set the anions in their lowest energy 3D conformations.
To achieve this goal, initial three-dimensional geometries of the chemical structures were
generated using Hyperchem 7.0 molecular modeling package. These 3D structures were
refined later using Ampac 5.0, a semiempirical molecular modeling program, using AM1
parameterization. To determine the lowest-energy conformations for each molecule,
geometry optimizations were carried out allowing one or more torsional angles to vary
systematically. The keyword CHARGE= -1 was always used in all cases. The Ampac output
files, containing the lowest–energy structures and the respective electron wave functions of
individual compounds, were loaded into the Codessa program to calculate the molecular
descriptors. This pool of descriptors was reduced by removing descriptors that could not be
calculated for every structure in the data set, and by eliminating one descriptor from those
pairs highly correlated. Afterwards, from this reduced pool of descriptors the best
multilinear correlation QSAR model was searched using the Sigmastat statistical package
6.1.3 Results
A total of 184 descriptors, 12 geometrical and 172 quantum chemical, were calculated for all
compounds. The best regression equation found involves only four descriptors, two
geometrical and two quantum chemical: SM, the molecular surface area; SXY, the normalized
shadow area of the molecule projected on the XY plane; HOMO, the energy of the highest
occupied molecular orbital; and FNSA, the fractional partial negatively charged surface
area. It is noteworthy that these descriptors individually correlate poorly with the property
(R2 = 0.22, 0.27, 0.11, 0.01 for SM, SXY, HOMO and FNSA, respectively), however they
collectively correlate pretty well with the property, R2 = 0.89. This is an interesting result
since, from the respective individual correlation coefficient, these descriptors are seemingly
not relevant for predicting inhibition. Nevertheless, the relevance of these descriptors it is
made evident only when the correlation with the collective is considered. This means that
the interaction of information among the descriptors add an important additional
predictive value which goes further from the simple sum of the information contained in the
individual descriptors. This finding is in agreement with the widely accepted idea that
inhibition is driven by several interactions (steric, electrostatic and hydrogen-bonding)
which occur simultaneously and synergically. The best regression equation found is the
following:
pI 50 = 13.70 − 0.04 SM + 18.77 SXY + 0.79 HOMO − 4.99 FNSA (1)
and its respective statistics is shown in Tables 1 and 2.

In these tables the statistical parameters have the usual meaning. The p-values indicate that
all descriptors are statistically significant at the 99% confidence level. On the other hand, the
VIF values, about 1, indicate there is no serious collinearity between the involved
descriptors (Ott & Longnecker, 2001). Therefore, it is concluded that all the independent
variables included in the model are relevant.
The experimental and calculated values of pI50 along with the values of the descriptors
involved in the model are shown in Table 3. The respective scatter plot is shown in Figure 4.
To check the predictive capability of the model, it was tested with an external set of
chemicals not contains in the training set. The validation data set included 13 chemicals
including 5- and 6- substituted salicylic acids as well as 6- substituted thio analogs. In Table
4, the values of the molecular descriptors along with the experimental and calculated values
of pI50 for the validation set are shown. The statistics for the validation is as follows:
R2 = 0.84, s = 0.33, F= 59. These results confirm the prediction capability of the model.
Coefficient Std. Error p-value VIF

Constant 13.70 2.76 < 0.001
SM -0.04 0.003 < 0.001 1.31
SXY 18.77 2.39 < 0.001 1.81
HOMO 0.79 0.26 0.006 1.99
FNSA(1) -4.99 1.30 < 0.001 1.11
R2 = 0.89 , R2CV = 0.85 , R2df = 0.88 , s = 0.43
Table 1. Statistical parameters for the best QSAR model
Analysis of Variance
DF SS MS F P
Regression 4 37.38 9.34 52 < 0.001
Residual 25 4.53 0.18
Total 29 41.91 1.44
Table 2. Analysis of variance of the best QSAR model
Fig. 4. Scatter plot of the calculated vs. experimental pI50

pI50 pI50
Y SM SXY HOMO FNSA(1) Diff.
(exp) (calc)
5-substituted Pyrimidinylsalicilates
F 279.23 0.57 -5.35 0.47 6.27 5.86 -0.41
Cl 313.83 0.63 -4.92 0.53 5.35 5.67 0.32
Br 318.11 0.57 -4.93 0.54 4.50 4.25 -0.25
C2H5 310.27 0.56 -5.17 0.35 4.59 5.15 0.56
OCH3 300.19 0.55 -5.21 0.39 4.60 5.25 0.65
OC6H5 357.88 0.60 -5.40 0.42 3.58 3.32 -0.26
SCH3 338.00 0.61 -4.86 0.38 4.32 4.93 0.61
CN 301.27 0.56 -5.51 0.53 3.71 4.29 0.58
NH2 285.19 0.57 -5.17 0.42 6.09 5.98 -0.11
CCH 309.95 0.57 -5.28 0.50 4.70 4.45 -0.25
H 268.10 0.57 -5.16 0.42 6.64 6.69 0.05
F 267.34 0.61 -5.24 0.46 7.30 7.23 -0.07
Cl 273.62 0.63 -5.18 0.50 7.62 7.21 -0.41
I 281.59 0.60 -5.21 0.40 7.66 6.83 -0.83
CH3 280.47 0.62 -5.13 0.38 6.89 7.51 0.62
C2H5 294.75 0.62 -5.12 0.37 6.57 6.81 0.24
OC3H7 309.91 0.60 -5.25 0.33 6.24 5.87 -0.37
OCH(CH3)2 322.80 0.62 -5.22 0.37 5.73 5.54 -0.19
SC2H5 316.95 0.62 -4.31 0.33 7.11 6.79 -0.32
SC3H7 324.40 0.60 -4.32 0.32 6.29 6.10 -0.19
NO2 292.87 0.63 -5.65 0.48 6.64 6.21 -0.43
CO2CH3 307.35 0.62 -5.56 0.41 5.68 5.89 0.21
NH2 280.47 0.62 -5.24 0.39 7.00 7.32 0.32
6-substituted Pyrimidinyl(thio)salicylates
F 301.31 0.70 -4.35 0.47 7.67 8.27 0.60
Cl 308.83 0.69 -4.32 0.49 7.49 7.65 0.16
I 294.59 0.62 -5.11 0.39 6.99 6.80 -0.19
OC2H5 341.24 0.65 -4.19 0.36 6.70 6.30 -0.40
OC6H5 364.64 0.70 -4.37 0.44 5.60 5.69 0.09
NO2 324.48 0.69 -4.71 0.51 6.69 6.63 -0.06
COCH3 326.72 0.68 -4.43 0.44 7.14 6.87 -0.27
Table 3. Molecular descriptors and values of experimental and calculated pI50 for the
training set.
pI50
Y SM SXY HOMO FNSA(1) pI50 (exp) Diff.
(calc)
H 268.10 0.57 -5.16 0.42 6.64 6.69 0.05
I 321.03 0.55 -4.93 0.39 5.05 4.50 -0.55
OH 308.43 0.69 -4.87 0.48 7.20 7.29 0.09
6-substituted Pyrimidinylsalicylates
C3H7 310.23 0.61 -5.15 0.35 5.89 6.17 0.28
OC2H5 302.35 0.66 -5.22 0.33 7.05 7.37 0.32
OC4H9 328.96 0.64 -5.15 0.32 6.21 5.98 -0.23
CF3 289.31 0.68 -5.51 0.52 6.96 7.15 0.19
6-substituted Pyrimidinyl(thio)salicylates
Br 288.99 0.63 -5.08 0.40 7.40 7.23 -0.17
CH3 286.51 0.67 -4.98 0.41 7.53 8.05 0.52
OCH3 323.96 0.67 -4.20 0.39 7.05 7.18 0.13
SC2H5 345.36 0.65 -4.26 0.35 6.67 6.13 -0.54
CF3 326.52 0.69 -4.52 0.55 6.02 6.48 0.46
COC6H5 366.52 0.72 -4.46 0.45 5.19 5.75 0.56
Table 4. Molecular descriptors and values of experimental and calculated pI50 for the
validation set.
6.1.4 Discussion
From the explanations suggested in literature, it seems to be logical to think the first
requirement that the inhibitors must meet is the steric factor, since the chemicals must fit in
the active site channel. To this the chemical has to have the adequate size and the shape.
Consequently, the more relevant descriptors in the model are the molecular surface area and
the shadow area of the molecule projected on the XY plane. These descriptors encode the
size and the geometrical shape of the molecule, respectively. The normalized shadow
indices, introduced by Jurs as molecular shape descriptors (Stanton & Jurs, 1990), are
calculated as the ratio of the areas of three orthogonal projections to the maximum
dimensions along the respective axes, taking the X coordinate along the main axis of inertia
and so on.
The correlation coefficients for the above two descriptors have opposite sign, indicating size
and shape have antagonistic effects on inhibition. Thus, on one hand, the pI50 value
decreases as the surface area increases; on the other hand, the normalized shadow area in
the XY plane, SXY, increases the value of pI50. Therefore, both descriptors have inverse effect
on inhibition, disfavoring and favoring inhibition, respectively. This inverse effect is
presumably due to the inhibitors must accommodate in a size-limited cavity in the enzyme,
on one hand; and to enter into the enzyme the inhibitors should have the adequate
conformation to facilitate the entry and to favor the diverse intermolecular interaction with
amino acid side chains, on the other hand. The conformations which maximize the shadow
XY area are those in which the benzene ring and the pyrimidinyl ring are aligned in the
same plane in such a way the main moment of inertia lies in this plane. This conformation,
which is observed in the thio-derivates, facilitates the entry of the inhibitor into the active
site channel and set the ring atoms in a favorable position to make interactions with the
amino acids side chains. In the other two families instead the benzene and the pyrimidinyl
ring lies in planes almost orthogonals each other, adopting a nearly L-shaped structure
hindering the entry into the active site tunnel.
The correlation coefficient for the HOMO energy is positive indicating the property, pI50,
and this descriptor vary in symmetrical way, i.e., the higher the value of the Homo energy
the higher the value of pI50, which means a lower molar concentration for 50% inhibition of
the enzyme activity. Therefore, the HOMO energy is a key descriptor for an increased
inhibitory potency. The energy of the HOMO characterizes the susceptibility of the molecule
toward attack by electrophiles. Thus, it is expected this descriptor is involved in hydrogen
bonding interactions between partners with complementary properties, i.e. hydrogen
acceptors on the ligand and hydrogen donors on the receptor. It has been well established
that this type of interaction is one of the factors responsible for the binding of the inhibitor
to the enzyme. The carboxylate group is expected to be the key for the extent of these
interactions due to its ability to act as hydrogen acceptor because of the high electron
density on the oxygen atoms of this group. This could explain the empirical finding about
the carboxylate group is indispensable for AHAS inhibition because of its crucial role in the
binding of the inhibitor to the enzyme.
The fourth descriptor in relevance is the fractional partial negatively charged surface area,
FNSA(1), i.e. the ratio of the partial negatively charged surface area to the total molecular
surface area (Stanton & Jurs, 1990); encoding features related to polar interactions. Its
respective correlation coefficient is negative indicating this electrostatic factor disfavors the
inhibition. This effect is similar to that observed in the inhibition of AHAS by sulfonylurea
herbicides (Wang at al., 2005), wherein the chemicals need contributions from positively
charged groups to achieve enhanced inhibition, and only small areas of the active site
channel of AHAS have preference for negatively charged groups. This analog trend between
these two families of herbicides seems to suggest they share the same binding site in the
enzyme or partially overlapping sites. This finding has already been observed for
imidazolinones, as well. These results are in agreement with recently reported results
obtained by the integration of molecular docking, CoMFA, CoMSIA and DFT calculations
(He at al., 2007). Nevertheless, our model predicts pI50 with fewer descriptors and similar
statistics than those models reported in the just mentioned article. In QSAR modeling, the
Parsimony Principle (Occam´s Razor Principle) calls for using models and procedures that
contain all that is necessary for the modeling but nothing more, i.e. given a number of
models with nearly the same predictive error, that containing fewer parameters should be
preferred because simplicity is desirable in itself (Estrada et al., 2004).
6.2 DFT calculation of pKa´s for PSA based herbicides

The acid-dissociation constant, pKa, of a compound influences many characteristics of the
compound such as its reactivity. In biochemistry, the pKa values of pesticides are of major
importance for the activity of the related enzymes. In environment chemistry, this property
is of general importance because ionization of a compound alters its physical behavior and
macro properties such as solubility and lipophilicity. The nature and location of substituents
may induce drastic changes in the values of the acid-dissociation constants, and consequently
important changes in the physical and chemical properties. The interest in determine the
pKa values of diversely substituted chemicals is, on one hand, to correlate the substituent
effect and the observed pKa value; and, on the other hand, to evaluate its effect on derived
physical-chemical properties. We have calculated the acid-dissociation constants for 39 PSA
derived herbicides by using density functional theory (DFT) methods at B3LYP/6-31G(d,p)
level of theory (Delgado, 2009).
6.2.1 Computational methods

The quantum chemical calculations were carried out using Jaguar and its graphic interface
Maestro. Gas-phase molecular geometries and electronic energies were computed at DFT
B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) level of theory. To determine the lowest-energy conformations for each
molecule, geometry optimizations were carried out allowing one or more torsional angles to
vary systematically. Free energies of solvation in water were computed by single point
calculation on the gas-phase optimized geometry using the Poisson-Boltzmann Solvation
Model (PB) (Marten at al., 1996). The pKa values were calculated with the Jaguar pKa
prediction module using the following thermodynamic cycle, scheme 1, and subsequent
equation:
Scheme 1. Thermodynamic cycle used to calculate the pKa.
1
pK a = D (2)
2.3 RT
where D is the free energy change involved in the step D, and may be calculated from the
free energy changes of the other cycle steps by the following relation: D = A+ C - B. In this
cycle, the BH+ species refers to the adduct formed from the reaction between the electron-
pair donor B species, Lewis base, and the electron-pair acceptor H+ species, Lewis acid.
6.2.2 Results and discussion

The calculated values of pKa’s, Table 5, fall in a very narrow range going from 3.3 to 4.4, as
it was conjectured by Nezu et al. (1998). However, small differences in the pKa scale may
entail large changes in the degree of ionization and related properties such as enzyme
inhibition and environmental fate. Therefore, the knowledge of the pKa for each compound,
rather than to take an average value for the all family, is of fundamental importance to get a
better comprehension of the behavior of these compounds since the average value does not
account for the differences observed in the properties of different substituted compounds.
Unfortunately, as mentioned above, for these compounds there is no experimental pKa data
available to validate the calculated figures. However, considering that the observed
differences in the values of the pKa’s have to be effect of the R-substituent group, since the
O-dimethoxypyrimidynil (ODMP) group keeps constant for all compounds, an estimation
of the reliability of the calculated figures can be reached quantifying the effect of the R-
substituents on the pKa values. From the mid-1930’s the primary means to assess the effect
of a substituent in the meta or para position of the benzene ring have been the Hammett σ
constants (Hammett, 1937). The σ constants were originally formulated from the logarithm
of the ratios of the acid-dissociation constants of substituted benzoic acids relative to the
acid-dissociation constant of benzoic acid itself. Since the definition of σ considers a
reference compound respect to it the effect of the substituent is measured, we hypothesize
that for a same substituent, the σ constant value should be the same for benzoic acids and
PSA acids, once we take the 6-H substituted PSA, (compound 1 in table 5) as reference
structure to isolate the effect of the R substituent group.
The results of this comparison are shown in Table 6. It is possible to observe that the
calculated σ values of this study for the selected substituents, not only, do exhibit the correct
qualitative trend, but also show quantitative accuracy, within the error reported by
Hammett. This finding validates the quality of the pKa’s values calculated in this study.
In Fig. 5, the pKa values are plotted as function of σ for benzoic acids and PSA compounds
with the same substituents. The figure shows a strong correlation between the pKa’s and the
Compound R pKa Compound R pKa

1 6-H 4.0 21 6-OCH(CH3)2 4.3
2 6-F 3.4 22 6-OC4H9 4.2
3 6-Cl 3.4 23 6-OCHF2 3.8
4 5-F 3.7 24 6-OC6H5 4.0
5 5-Cl 3.6 25 5-OCH3 3.8
6 3-F 3.9 26 5-OC6H5 3.9
7 5,6-(Cl)2 3.3 27 6-SCH3 4.1
8 6-C6H5 4.4 28 6-SC2H5 4.2
9 6-CH3 4.0 29 6-SC3H7 4.2
10 6-C2H5 4.0 30 5-SCH3 4.0
11 6-C3H7 4.0 31 6-CO2CH3 4.1
12 6-CF3 3.5 32 6-COC6H5 4.2
13 5-CH3 4.0 33 6-COCH3 3.6
14 5-C2H5 4.0 34 6-NO2 3.7
15 5-CN 3.4 35 6-CH3SO2 3.9
16 5-CCH 3.7 36 6-NH2 4.3
17 3-CH3 4.0 37 5-NH2 3.7
18 6-OCH3 4.3 38 5-NO2 3.4
18 6-OC2H5 4.1 39 5-OH 3.8
20 6-OC3H7 4.2
Table 5. Calculated acid-dissociation constants for R-substituted PSA compounds.
Substituent Benzoic acids [42] DMPS acids

pKa σ pKa σ
m-chloro 3.83 0.37 ± 0.04 3.6 0.4
m-cyano 3.60 0.678 3.4 0.6
m-fluor 3.87 0.34 ± 0.08 3.7 0.3
m-hydroxy 4.08 0.12 3.8 0.2
m-methoxy 4.09 0.12 ± 0.12 3.8 0.2
m-methyl 4.27 -0.07 ± 0.04 4.0 0.0
m-nitro 3.49 0.71 ± 0.07 3.4 0.6
Table 6. pKa’s and Hammet σ constants for selected substituents of benzoic acids and PSA
compounds.
Fig. 5. pKa vs the Hammett σ constants (open circles: benzoic acids; solid circles: PSA
compounds.
σ constants for the two families of compounds. Both straight lines are shifted in an extent
that we identify as a consequence of the substituent effect of the ODMP group.
Additionally to the above checking procedure, we propose a second checking test in order
to discard the presence of potential systematic errors in the method. The reported
correlation equation of pKa as function of σ for benzoic acids is (Hollingsworth at al., 2002):
pK a = 4.20 − σ (3)
This equation allows us to predict the pKa’s of the compounds of this study if we consider
the ODMP group as a substituent of the respective benzoic acids, once the value of the
Hammett σ constant for this group is known. This value can be determined by taking the
logarithm of the ratios of the acid-dissociation constants of the R-substituted PSA
compounds to the respective R-substituted benzoic acids shown in Table 6, in analogy to the
original definition of Hammett for σ for benzoic acids. This procedure allows to isolate the
substituent effect of the ODMP group.
The results of these calculations are shown in Table 7; the resulting mean is 0.21. With this
value of σ for the ODMP group and the respective value for the other substituent, we are
able to predict the pKa´s for the family of compounds of this study using the empirical
equation (3) obtained for substituted benzoic acids. The predicted pKa’s coincide exactly
with those values calculated in this study using DFT methodology, Figure 6.
Substituent σODMP
6-H 0.189
5-F 0.169
5-Cl 0.228
5-CH3 0.270
5-CN 0.200
5-OCH3 0.288
5-NO2 0.089
5-OH 0.278
Table 7. Hammett σ constants for the O-dimethoxypyrimidinyl group (ODMP)
3)
Fig. 6. Calculated pKa (this study) vs. predicted pKa (eqn. 3) for PSA compounds.
6.3 Theoretical calculation of partition coefficients pf PSA compounds

Continuing with the physicochemical characterization of this family of herbicides, we have
reported environmentally important partition coefficients, Henry´s law constant, H,
octanol/water, KOW, and octanol/air, KOA, partition coefficients for 39 PSA compounds
(Delgado, 2010). These coefficients are calculated using density functional theory (DFT) at
B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) level of theory using the Poisson-Boltzmann solvation model. These
properties have not been reported previously for this family of herbicides, neither
experimentally nor theoretically.
6.3.1 Thermodynamics
Free energy of solvation ΔGS0 , in addition to its fundamental interest, may combined with
other thermodynamic data to predict a variety of equilibrium constants, being one of the
most important the partitioning of a solute between two immiscible phases. Therefore, ΔGS0
is a key property to estimate the fate of a chemical once it is released in the environment.
From an environmental point of view, three of the most important partition coefficients are
the Henry´s law constant (H), the octanol/air (KOA) and the octanol/water (KOW) partition
coefficients which can be calculated straightforwardly from the free energies of solvation in
water and octanol by means of the well known equations:
ln H = ln( RT ) + ΔGs0 ( water ) / RT (4)
log KOA = −ΔGs0 ( oct ) / 2.303 RT (5)
{ }
log KOW = ΔGs0 ( water ) − ΔGs0 ( oct ) / 2.303 RT (6)
6.3.2 Computational methods

Initial three-dimensional geometries of the chemical structures were generated using
Hyperchem 7.0 molecular modeling package. These 3D structures were refined later using
the Jaguar suite and its graphic interface Maestro. Gas-phase molecular geometries and
electronic energies were obtained by density functional theory (DFT) calculations at the
same level of theory, basis set including polarization functions on all atoms in conjunction
with the hybrid functional B3LYP, which uses a combination of the three-parameter Becke
exchange functional along with the Lee-Yang-Parr nonlocal correlation functionals:
B3LYP/6-31G(d,p). To determine the lowest-energy conformation for each molecule,
geometry optimizations were carried out allowing one or more torsional angles to vary
systematically. Free energies of solvation in water and octanol were computed by single
point calculations, including implicit solvation, on the gas-phase optimized geometry using
the Poisson-Boltzmann Solvation Model (Marten et al., 1996).
6.3.3 Results
The calculated free energies of solvation in water and octanol, along with the respective
values of the Henry´s law constants, the octanol/air partition and the octanol/water
partition coefficients are shown in Table 8.
From this table it is possible to observe that all these compounds have low values of
gas/solvent partition coefficients, consequently they show low volatility and a clear
preference for the condensed phases. The preferred condensed phase, either water or
octanol, is determined by the value of KOW. The calculated values of log KOW range from –
0.50 to about 3.0, breaking down in the following way: two cases, compounds 35 and 39,
with negative values; three cases, compounds 24, 26 and 38, with values greater than 2; and
the remaining compounds having intermediate values between 0 and 2.
ΔGS0 ( water ) ΔGS0 ( oc tan ol ) H

Log
R (Pa m3 KOA
−1
( kJ mol ) −1
( kJ mol ) KOW
mol-1)
1 6-H -44.22 -49.20 4.44E-05 4.17E+08 0.87
2 6-F -42.80 -48.79 7.88E-05 3.53E+08 1.05
3 6-Cl -43.39 -47.82 6.21E-05 2.39E+08 0.78
4 5-F -42.47 -48.20 9.00E-05 2.78E+08 1.00
5 5-Cl -40.46 -46.74 2.02E-04 1.54E+08 1.10
6 3-F -43.89 -48.41 5.08E-05 3.03E+08 0.79
7 5,6-(Cl)2 -40.79 -46.11 1.77E-04 1.20E+08 0.93
8 6-C6H5 -49.75 -55.10 4.77E-06 4.51E+09 0.94
9 6-CH3 -38.99 -45.69 3.66E-04 1.01E+08 1.17
10 6-C2H5 -40.25 -45.77 2.20E-04 1.05E+08 0.97
11 6-C3H7 -39.96 -45.35 2.48E-04 8.84E+07 0.94
12 6-CF3 -42.09 -47.99 1.05E-04 2.56E+08 1.03
13 5-CH3 -43.64 -48.33 5.61E-05 2.93E+08 0.82
14 5-C2H5 -42.30 -47.78 9.64E-05 2.35E+08 0.96
15 5-CN -52.93 -64.22 1.32E-06 1.79E+11 1.98
16 5-CCH -44.35 -53.76 4.22E-05 2.63E+09 1.65
17 3-CH3 -44.89 -45.40 3.39E-05 8.99E+07 0.09
18 6-OCH3 -43.43 -52.43 6.11E-05 1.53E+09 1.58
18 6-OC2H5 -42.89 -51.76 7.60E-05 1.17E+09 1.55
20 6-OC3H7 -42.47 -51.55 9.00E-05 1.07E+09 1.59
21 6-OCH(CH3)2 -48.74 -54.77 7.17E-06 3.94E+09 1.06
22 6-OC4H9 -41.63 -51.34 1.26E-04 9.87E+08 1.70
23 6-OCHF2 -45.06 -55.23 3.17E-05 4.74E+09 1.78
24 6-OC6H5 -37.74 -54.35 6.07E-04 3.33E+09 2.91
25 5-OCH3 -45.98 -54.81 2.18E-05 4.01E+09 1.55
26 5-OC6H5 -39.08 -56.74 3.53E-04 8.71E+09 3.09
27 6-SCH3 -45.06 -50.12 3.17E-05 6.05E+08 0.89
28 6-SC2H5 -44.98 -50.58 3.27E-05 7.29E+08 0.98
29 6-SC3H7 -44.77 -50.25 3.56E-05 6.37E+08 0.96
30 5-SCH3 -43.64 -48.33 5.61E-05 2.93E+08 0.82
31 6-CO2CH3 -52.26 -59.41 1.73E-06 2.57E+10 1.25
32 6-COC6H5 -55.31 -61.21 5.07E-07 5.30E+10 1.03
33 6-COCH3 -55.61 -59.12 4.49E-07 2.28E+10 0.61
34 6-NO2 -50.25 -61.42 3.90E-06 5.77E+10 1.96
35 6-CH3SO2 -76.36 -74.64 1.04E-10 1.20E+13 -0.30
36 6-NH2 -53.76 -57.24 9.47E-07 1.07E+10 0.61
37 5-NH2 -65.73 -66.32 7.58E-09 4.16E+11 0.10
38 5-NO2 -48.41 -61.04 8.20E-06 4.96E+10 2.21
39 5-OH -69.50 -66.40 1.66E-09 4.30E+11 -0.54
Table 8. Calculated free energy of solvation in water and octanol, Henry´s law constant,
octanol-air partition coefficient and octanol-water partition coefficient for R-substituted O-
pyrimidinylsalicylic acids.
Those with negative values show preference for the aqueous phase. This behavior is
explained, in the case of compound 35, by the high polar nature of the sulfonyl group which
provides an highly hydrophilic character. Moreover, it is well known that sulfones are able
to stabilize negative charges on neighbor atoms, such as those of the carboxylic group. On
the other hand, in the compound 39, the hydroxyl group in meta position with respect to the
carboxylic group strengthens the acidity by inductive effect, favoring in consequence its
water solubility.
On the other hand, those compounds with values of log KOW > 2 will have preference for the
octanol phase. This behavior is explained in terms of the high hydrophobic character
provided by the OC6H5 and NO2 substituent groups present in compounds 24, 26 and 38.
This finding is in agreement with the empirical evidence of the surprisingly low solubility in
water of these compounds, therefore in the ambient they will be preferably found in the
lipids of aquatic and animal biota and potentially they could scale in the food chain.
6.3.4 Discussion
The validation of the calculated figures unfortunately can not be made in a direct way since
for this family of compounds there is no experimental data available to check the calculated
values. However, indirectly we can have an estimation of their reliability. For instance, a
recent paper reports the following model, based on the fragmental method, to predict the
log KOW of halogenated benzoic acids in terms of certain group and factor values (Qiao et al.,
2008):
11 2
HBz
log KOW = ∑ ni gi + ∑ l j f j + 1.117 (7)
i =1 j =1
where ni is the number of i-type groups, gi is the value of the group i, lj is the number of j-
type factors, f1 and f2 denote the factors for ortho and para substituents, respectively. The
model reproduces the experimental data of log KOW for halogenated benzoic acids with an
average absolute error of 0.22 log units. Since, the DMPS-compounds of our study can be
viewed as benzoic acids substituted in the ortho position with a O-dimethoxypyrimidynil
(ODMP) group, we hypothesize this model should be also valid to our compounds. If it is
so, we could apply the model to determine the group value for the ODMP group using our
calculated values of log KOW and the group and factor values reported by Qiao for the
analog R-substituted benzoic acids. The results of these calculations are shown in Table 9;
the resulting mean is –0.768. If this value for the ODMP group is correct, we should be able
to reproduce the experimental values of log KOW for R-substituted benzoic acids from the
calculated log KOW for the analog R-substituted PSA compound, since structurally benzoic
acids can be viewed as DMPS acids without the ODMP group; therefore the application of
eqn. (7) leads to the following equation:
HBz
log KOW = log KOW
PSA
− gODMP − f 2 − Δg (8)
where gODMP is the value for the ODMP group, f2 is the factor value for ortho substituents,
and Δg accounts for the difference in the group value of the benzene ring with two and three
substituents. The results of these calculations are shown in Table 10. The average absolute
error of log KOW is 0.26, quite comparable with the reported error (0.22) for the original data
set of halogenated benzoic acids. This result allows to confirm the quality of the values of
KOW calculated in this study, and also it validates the applicability of eqn. (7) for this family
of compounds.
Substituent ODMP group value

6-H -0.679
6-F -0.260
6-Cl -1.039
5-F -0.726
5-Cl -1.135
Table 9. Group values for the O-dimethoxypyrimidinyl group (ODMP).
Compound Exp. log KOW (Qiao et al., 2008) Calc. log KOW (eqn. 8)
Benzoic acid 1.87 2.06
o-chlorobenzoic acid 2.05 1.87
m-chlorobenzoic acid 2.68 2.19
o-fluorobenzoic acid 1.77 2.14
m-fluorobenzoic acid 2.15 2.09
Table 10. Experimental and calculated log KOW for benzoic acids.
The value of the Henry´s law constant is determined fundamentally by the free energy of
solvation in water according to eqn. (4). The reliability of the methodology used in this
article to calculate ΔGS0 in water was confirmed in an earlier article (Delgado, 2010), and
consequently the values of H derived from it.
Since the calculated values of KOW and H are supported by the above checking procedures,
then the calculated values of KOA should be also checked considering that these three
coefficients are related by the well known equation (Meylan & Howard, 2005):
KOW
KOA = RT (9)
H
Thus, the plot of KOA, calculated according to eqn. (5), vs (KOW / H) should give rise to a
straight line whose slope equals to RT. The plot, shown in Figure 7, confirm this fact and
therefore supports the calculated values of KOA. Moreover, the value of the slope
corresponds to the value of RT at 298 K, within the error of the methodology.
7. Concluding remarks.
Modern chemistry is oriented more and more towards the elucidation in detail of how the
macroscopic properties are determined by the microscopic properties of matter, this current
tendency is motivated by both academic and applied reasons. From academic point of view,
it allows to have a detailed picture of the intermolecular interactions that determine the
macro properties; and from an applied point of view, it allows systematize the search of a
compound with desired properties in base of its molecular structure, selecting, in this way,
the most promising compounds to be synthesized on a rational base. Quantum chemical
Fig. 7. Calculated KOA (eqn. 2) vs (KOW /H)

calculations allow the most accurate description of the electronic and geometric structure of
molecules, as well as their interactions. These methods, which range from semi-empirical to
ab initio approaches, have advantages and drawbacks which are necessary to evaluate before
their use, since there exists a compromise among accuracy, computation time, physical
interpretation and applicability.
Several computer-assisted quantum chemical approaches have been successfully applied to
a variety of chemical systems, ranging their applicability from biological chemistry (Lie &
Schiott, 2008) to chemical engineering (Sandler, 1999, 2003), passing by pesticide (Wan et al.,
2004) and environmental chemistry (Delgado & Alderete, 2002). Thus, theoretical studies
often may be considered not only as other option, but also as the only option in those cases
in which the empirical information is not ready available, like those showed in this chapter.
In closing, we believe that computer-assisted quantum chemical studies represent one of the
most important approaches in the present and future of chemistry, since they, on one hand,
allow to obtain information not available from other techniques, and, on the other hand, the
phenomena can be understood at molecular level, this is essential for the design of novel
herbicides since their properties may be predicted prior to synthesis and consequently the
design may, in this way, be guided by the results of calculations.
8. Acknowledgement.
The author acknowledges financial support from Fondecyt under grant N0 1100064.
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Part 8
Alternative Sources for Herbicidal Compounds

35
Marine and Freshwater Microalgae as a

Potential Source of Novel Herbicides
John Berry
Florida International University
U. S. A.
Introduction
Despite the considerable contribution of synthetic herbicides to modern agriculture,
lingering concerns remain – and, in some cases, have grown – with respect to most
commonly used agents. In particular, concerns have included documented toxic effects on
human, animal and ecosystem health, as well as associated potential for bioaccumulation,
and growing evidence of acquired resistance (and cross-resistance) by target species with
consequent implications for both cost and sustainability (Horrigan et al., 2002; Powles et al.,
1996). As such, there is a continuing interest in the identification of novel herbicidal agents,
specifically toward discovery of compounds that may address these concerns (e.g. reduced
toxicity and/or potential for bioaccumulation, new molecular targets, high production
capacity and low-cost of production).
In particular, numerous studies have explored the potential of naturally occurring
secondary metabolites (i.e. “natural products”), particularly from plants and
microorganisms, as a source of such compounds. This approach has included both purified
and characterized metabolites, as well as mixtures (i.e. extracts or preparations), and “semi-
synthetic” compounds based on natural product leads. Accordingly, in recent years, several
good reviews have emerged on various topics related to bioactive natural products as a
source of potential herbicides (e.g. Duke et al., 2002; Copping & Duke, 2007; Dayan et al.,
2009; Lindell et al., 2009), and the reader would be directed to these resources for further
information outside the scope of the current chapter.
This chapter focuses specifically on the marine and freshwater microalgae as a source of
herbicidal compounds. As a group, the microalgae are recognized to produce a remarkable
diversity of biologically active metabolites (see Marine and Freshwater Microalgae: A Rich
Source of Bioactive Compounds, below). Furthermore, in addition to this recognized chemical
diversity, a growing body of knowledge supports the notion that many of these bioactive
metabolites from algae - as a aquatic photoautotrophs - may specifically have evolved in the
capacity of allelopathy providing a competitive advantage via interspecific, and particularly
negative (i.e. inhibition), effects on growth, survival and reproduction of photoautotrophic
competitor species (see Algal Allelopathy, below). Moreover, given the overlapping targets of
action between allelopathic metabolites and herbicides (e.g. inhibition of photosynthesis),
there is an emerging literature on the potential – including possible commercial potential -
of algal metabolites as herbicides (as discussed in the final two sections of the chapter,
below).
2. Marine and freshwater microalgae: a rich source of bioactive compounds

Algae, although not a taxonomically valid classification, encompass oxygenic
photosynthetic organisms, exclusive of the true plants, spanning the prokaryotic and
eukaryotic kingdoms of the Monera (bacteria) and Protista (protists). The group itself is
frequently subdivided functionally into the so-called “microalgae” and “macroalgae” with
the latter classification generally reserved for macrophytic representatives (i.e. “seaweeds”),
and the former for strictly unicellular forms. Considerable overlap, however, can exist (e.g.
colonial forms), as all algae are, strictly speaking, unicellular. Accordingly, the macroalgae
classically include the protistan phyla of the Chlorophyta (“green algae”), Rhodophyta (“red
algae”) and Phaeophyta (“brown algae”), whereas the microalgae include several
photoautotrophic protistan taxa, particularly including the dinoflagellates, raphidophytes,
diatoms (Bacilliarophyta), haptophytes and Chrysophyta (“golden algae”), as well as the
prokaryotic cyanobacteria (“blue-green algae”). Alongside obvious morphological
differences between the macroalgae and microalgae, there are notable differences in the
secondary metabolites of the groups (see below) with the latter arguably representing a
more chemically diverse repertoire. The current chapter will largely focus on the microalgae,
however, references to relevant cases of herbicidal metabolites from macroalgae will be
included as appropriate.
Equally diverse as their phylogeny is the ecology of the microalgae. Perhaps most
conspicuous in aquatic systems, microalgae are, in fact, ubiquitous in their distribution, and
include free-living, terrestrial representatives, as well as numerous symbiotic species (e.g.
cyanobacterial symbionts of lichens, dinoflagellate zooxanthellae of corals, root nodule
symbionts). Although the current chapter primarily focuses on marine and freshwater
microalgae, examples of potentially herbicidal compounds from non-aquatic representatives
will also be briefly mentioned.
In terms of bioactive compounds, the secondary metabolites of the microalgae include
nearly every chemical class of natural product – ranging from fatty acids to alkaloids, and
even a particularly interesting cabal of amino acids – but are particularly characterized by
an array of metabolites with polyketide and non-ribosomal peptide biosynthetic origins
(Dittman et al., 2001; Snyder et al., 2003; Jones et al., 2009). Respectively, the chemical
repertoires of the cyanobacteria and eukaryotic microalgae are perhaps best typified by a
myriad of peptides derived from the non-ribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS), and
polyketides derived from a pathway of sequential condensations (of malonyl- or acetyl-CoA
units) orchestrated by the polyketide synthase (PKS) family of genes. Most notably, both
biosynthetic pathways are specifically characterized by a family of modular genes (and
associated gene products) such that nearly all biosynthetic steps, in both cases, are largely
coordinated within so-called “modules” of a single, assembly-line like “megasynthases”.
These megasynthases are responsible for several core biosynthetic steps (e.g. adenylation,
condensation and peptide transfer in the case of NRPSs, and ketosynthesis and acyl transfer
in the case of PKSs), as well as various secondary modification steps (e.g. ketone reduction,
dehydration, methylation). In fact, metabolites presumably derived from both pathways are
seen in prokaryotic and eukaryotic algae alike, and it is, moreover, becoming increasingly
clear that many metabolites may be derived from mixed (PKS/NRPS) pathways (and mixed
modular genes/enzymes). As an example, the mixed NRPS/PKS pathway (as proposed by
Moffitt and Neilan, 2004) for the cyanobacterial metabolite, nodularin, is shown in Fig. 1.
Marine and Freshwater Microalgae as a Potential Source of Novel Herbicides 707
Fig. 1. Modular non-ribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS)/polyketide synthase (PKS)

biosynthetic pathway of the cyanobacterial toxin, nodularin. Modified from Moffitt and
Neilan (2004). Each module, as indicated in the figure, contains essential domains -
condenstation (C), adenlyation (A) and peptide carrier protein (PCP) for NRPS, and
ketosynthase (KS), acyltrasferase (AT) and acyl carrier protein (ACP) for PKS – as well as
additional domains for modifications including methylation (C-methyltransferase, CM; N-
methyltransferase), ketoreductases (KR), dehydratases (DH). A thioesterase (TE), in the
final NRPS module, releases and cyclizes the peptide. In addition to these NRPS and PKS
modules, several other domains are incorporated, including O-methyltransferase (OM) for
transfer of methyl to hydroxyl of C-9, racemase (Rac) which epimerizes the D-glutamate,
aminotransferase (AMT).
This shared biosynthetic origin of algal secondary metabolites is, perhaps, what makes these
organisms such particularly compelling candidates as a source of bioactive compounds. The
modular – and presumably “interchangeable”- nature of these biosynthetic enzymes is
likely, at its core, responsible for the high diversity of bioactive compounds found within
the group. As simply put by Welker & von Döhren (2006), these biosynthetic pathways
likely represent “nature’s own combinatorial chemistry,” resulting in an unequalled
diversity of secondary metabolites, and presumably directed by largely unknown selective
pressures (e.g. chemical defense against micrograzers, allelopathy). Moreover, from a
compound discovery and development (and even sustainability) point-of-view, such a
biosynthetic mechanism presents several exciting opportunities. For example, “semi-
synthetic” modifications (i.e. via genetic modification of PKS/NRPS genes) can enable
improvement of activity or other relevant parameters (e.g. reduced toxicity, increased
bioavailability). Co-opting of biosynthetic genes, and subsequent heterologous expression,
enables synthesis of relevant pharmacophores and scaled-up production of candidate
compounds (discussed further in Commercial Potential of Herbicides from Microalgae).
Accordingly, the resulting diversity of toxic or otherwise bioactive metabolites has received
considerable attention (see, for example, reviews by Codd et al., 1999; van Dolah, 2000;
Gerwick et al., 2001; Cardozo et al., 2007; Tan, 2007; Berry et al., 2008) both as a leads to
compounds with potential biomedical (i.e. drug discovery) or other commercially relevant
(e.g. pesticides, herbicides) applications, as well as a growing relevance to public and
environmental health (i.e. as “toxins”). In terms of the former, several bioactive compounds
from microalgae, including both eukaryotic and prokaryotic representatives, are currently
being investigated as potential “drug leads.” Several metabolites from cyanobacteria (e.g.
cryptophycins, dolastatins, curacin A) have, for example, been investigated with respect to
anticancer activities (i.e. inhibition of cell-division; Trimurtulu et al., 1994; Verdier-Pinard et
al., 1998; Luesch et al., 2001). Dinoflagellate toxins (e.g. saxitoxins and brevetoxins) have
recognized applications as biomedical research tools (i.e. inhibitors and activators,
respectively, of voltage-gated sodium channels) and emerging applications as drugs (e.g.
brevenal as an antagonist of brochoconstriction and related pulmonary effects, such as those
found in cystic fibrosis; Potera, 2007). On the other hand, as toxic compounds (see Fig. 2),
and specifically in relation their role in “harmful algal blooms” (HABs), microalgal
compounds have been well documented (Codd et al., 1999; van Dolah, 2000) to pose threats
to human, animal and environmental health via contamination of drinking water,
bioaccumulation in fish, shellfish and other seafood, and various other routes (e.g.
recreational exposure).
Fig. 2. Toxins from marine and freshwater microalgae with established concerns for human,
animal and environmental health.
Interestingly, the role of these compounds in the life history of the algae remains largely
unknown. However, it has been frequently proposed (e.g. Berry et al., 2008) that bioactive
secondary metabolites of microalgae may be involved in the chemical ecology of these
organisms, particularly including a role in allelopathy (discussed further below) and
chemical defense (e.g. feeding deterrents, qualitative toxins) against potential micrograzers
in aquatic habitats. Indeed, with respect to the current discussion, the specifically suited role
of these compounds as allelochemicals (i.e. allelopathic inhibitors of competing
photoautotrophic plants and microbes), that makes them a particularly compelling

candidate as a source of potential herbicidal agents.
3. Algal allelopathy
Given the likely intense competition for physical (e.g. space, light) and chemical (e.g. micro-
and macronutrient) resources in aquatic habitats, it is not surprising that a growing number
of studies have documented apparent allelopathy between photoautotrophic species – as
well as phyla and kingdoms - in these systems. In fact, several good reviews on the topic
(e.g. Irfanullah & Moss, 2005; Erhard, 2006; Graneli et al., 2008; Macias et al., 2007),
specifically emphasizing aquatic plants, macroalgae and microalgae, have appeared over the
past several years. Not only have these studies supported the possible role of these
compounds as inhibitors of sympatric autotrophs, but have, in some cases, even provided
convincing evidence that interplay of these interspecific inhibitors may support ecological
succession in these habitats. Moreover, given an overlap – and presumptive evolutionary
convergence or divergence – of targets shared by algae and true plants (e.g. oxygenic
photosynthesis), the repertoire of such allelochemicals provides an especially rich source of
compounds with activity directly relevant to possible development as herbicides and/or
identification of novel herbicide targets.
Although the term “allelopathy” was not coined (Molisch, 1937) until the 1930s, scientific
observation of apparent allelopathy in aquatic habitats dates back to the turn of the previous
century. In particular, studies by Apstein (1896) and Pütter (1908) that detailed an apparent
role of allelochemicals in determining community structure in these systems. A number of
studies subsequently followed including, perhaps most notably, the seminal studies by
Keating et al. (1977, 1978) which examined the role of extracellular metabolites from
cyanobacteria with respect to interannual succession patterns of algal blooms in a closed
aquatic system (i.e. Linsley Pond). These studies specifically demonstrated that filtrates
prepared from axenic (or unialgal) cultures of “dominant” bloom strains (from a particular
year) negatively affected (i.e. inhibited) growth of “predecessor” strains - but not
“successor” strains on which filtrates, instead, exerted a positive or neutral effect - indicating
an apparent role of extracellular metabolites in structuring the community from year to
year. Interestingly, even these early studies (e.g. Keating, 1977) - although focused on
ecological aspects – recognized the potential implications of these interactions as a means to
control populations of nuisance algae. The subsequent decades witnessed numerous studies
on the ecological role of allelopathy in both freshwater and marine habitats (see, for
example, review by Gross, 2003). However, the vast majority of these studies examined
extracts, filtrates or other crude preparations. With respect to the potential applications for
novel herbicides (and/or algicides), identification and subsequent chemical characterization
is an obvious necessity.
Indeed, numerous algal metabolites (Fig. 3) with algicidal activity, and accordingly
suggested roles in allelopathy, have been isolated and characterized. The reader is directed
to previous reviews of these compounds (Smith and Doan, 1999; Berry et al., 2008). The first
such compound, cyanobacterin, was reported by Mason et al. (1982). The compound was
isolated from cellular extracts of Scytonema hofmanni (UTEX 1581), specifically based on
inhibition of cyanobacteria, and chemically characterized as a chlorinated aromatic γ-lactone
(see Fig. 3). Extracts of S. hofmanni were shown to inhibit (presumably due to cyanobacterin)
a wide range of microorganisms, particularly including a diversity of cyanobacteria and
green algae, as well as rhodophytes, and was suggested, as such, to play a role in
allelopathy of the species (Mason et al., 1982). Subsequently, species of the cyanobacterial
genus, Nostoc, were found (Gromov et al., 1991; Vepritskii et al., 1991) to produce antialgal
metabolites, termed cyanobacterin LU-1 and LU-2, which were, likewise, shown to inhibit a
variety of cyanobacteria and other microalgae. Although the structures of LU-1 and LU-2
(not completely characterized) were generally considered to be unrelated to those isolated
from S. hofmanni, it was found that both cyanobacterins from S. hofmanni and Nostoc (i.e. LU-
1 and LU-2) seemed to act via inhibition of photosystem II (PSII), a target of several
commercial herbicides (discussed further below).
Based on this, several screening studies (Flores & Wolk, 1986; Shlegel et al., 1998; Volk, 2005;
Gantar et al., 2008) followed, using algicidal assays to identify metabolites with potential
allelopathic roles. The presumably high importance of such compounds is underscored by the
fact that up to 40% of cyanobacterial isolates evaluated in these screening studies were found
to produce algicidal metabolites (Volk et al., 2005). Of particular note, it was found by Flores
and Wolk (1986) and Schlegel et al. (1998), who screened sixty-five and approximately 200
strains of cyanobacteria, respectively, that algicidal metabolites were primarily restricted to
heterocystous, nitrogen-fixing filamentous taxa (of Sections IV and V of the standard
classification scheme of Rippka et al., 1979). In fact, this was somewhat confirmed by
subsequent screening by Volk et al. (2005) who, likewise, found that the majority of algicide
producers belong to these, or closely akin filamentous groups (e.g. Oscillatoria, Arthrospira,
Phormidium from Section III). Moreover, it was found in this latter study that members of these
same groups were, in fact, the more susceptible (versus unicellular cyanobacterial or green
algal representative) to the apparent algicidal metabolites, suggesting a role in the allelopathy
toward most related (and perhaps ecologically similar) photoautotrophic competitors. This is
further supported by recent screening studies (Gantar et al., 2008) that used co-cultivation of
sympatric isolates cyanobacteria and chlorophytes (specifically from the Florida Everglades),
and found apparent allelopathic activity among all ecologically co-occurring cyanobacterial,
and 4 of 6 green algal, strains examined the study.
Within Section IV and V cyanobacteria, two groups – the genus, Nostoc, and several
members of the family Stigonemataceae – are particularly notable producers of apparent
allelochemicals. Perhaps the most frequently identified producer of algicidal metabolites is
the cyanobacterial genus, Nostoc. In addition to being consistently represented, among
algicide producers in screening studies (Flores & Wolk, 1986; Shlegel et al., 1998; Volk, 2005),
several apparently allelopathic metabolites (see Fig. 3) have been characterized from the
genus, including alkaloids (e.g. nostocarboline), phenolics (e.g. 4.’-dihydroxybiphenyl) and
peptides (e.g. nostocyclamide). Although perhaps not as chemically diverse, members of the
family of branched filamentous cyanobacteria, Stigonemataceae, particularly including the
genera Hapalosiphon and Fischerella, have been, likewise, widely cited as producers of
allelopathic compounds (e.g. Doan et al., 2000 and 2001; Leflaive and Ten-Hage, 2006;
Gantar et al., 2008; Graneli et al., 2008; Leão et al., 2009).
In addition to an apparent phylogenetic conservation, there is some evidence to support
chemical conservation within the algicidal chemistry of microalgae. In particular, a number
of metabolites belonging to the indole class of alkaloids have been found to possess anti-
algal activity, and consequently associated with allelopathic interactions. Perhaps the most
frequently cited allelochemicals from cyanobacteria are the hapalindoles and related
alkaloids (e.g. 12-epi-hapalindole E isonitrile, Fig. 3), including ambiguines,
welwitindolinones and fischerindoles, that have been isolated from both marine and
Fig. 3. Algicidal metabolites from microalgae with proposed role in allelopathy.

freshwater representatives of the family Stigonemataceae, and particularly the genera
Hapalosiphon and Fischerella. Indeed, the first member of the class, hapalindole A, was
initially identified, in part, based on algicidal acivity (Moore et al., 1984). Several subsequent
studies pointed to the apparent role of hapalindoles, as algicidal metabolites, in allelopathy
(Doan et al., 2000; Etchegaray et al., 2004; Gantar et al., 2008). Doan et al. (2000), for example,
purified 12-epi-hapalindole E isonitrile (Fig. 3) as an algicidal metabolite of an isolate of
Fischerella, previously identified from screening studies (Schlegel et al., 1999), and
specifically demonstrated inhibition of RNA synthesis. Although only a few hapalindole
alkaloids have been specifically characterized with respect to algicidal activity, and possible
allelopathy, it is likely that other members of the class, and related indole alkaloids in the
taxonomic group (e.g. welwitindolinones, fischerindoles), may have similar roles and
biological activities, particularly due to structural similarity, and generally widespread
antimicrobial and antimitotic activity among these compounds. In fact, Etchegaray et al.
(2004), in their identification of the 12-epi-hapalindole isothiocyanate, identified several
other uncharacterized, algicidal metabolites from a strain of Fischerella, including those with
chemical similarity (e.g. molecular weight) to the hapalindoles.
Moreover, other taxonomically distinct groups have, likewise, been found to produce
compounds (Fig. 3 and 6) with a chemically similar indole core, including calothrixins
isolated from Calothrix, and β-carbolines, and the chlorinated nostocarboline and
norharmane (and related harmane alkaloids), isolated from species of Nostoc and Nodularia,
respectively (Doan et al., 2000; Becher et al., 2005; Blom et al., 2006; Volk, 2005).
Interestingly an indole metabolite, harmane (or 1-methyl norharmane) - chemically related
to one of these apparent algal allelochemicals (i.e. norharmane) - was also identified
separately (Kodani et al., 2002) from cultures of a non-algal bacterium, Pseudomonas, isolated
from a eutrophic freshwater system, specifically based on apparent algicidal activity (i.e.
against several cyanboacterial species). Furthermore, in some case (e.g. calothrixin), there is
also shared biological activity (e.g. inhibition of RNA synthesis) with other cyanobacterial
indole alkaloids (e.g. hapalindoles, see above). The possibility of an indole
“pharmacophore” is particularly intriguing, in the context of possible herbicides, since the
same heterocyle is found among naturally occurring auxins, including the major - and most
potent – congener, indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), and synthetic auxins (e.g. 2,4-
dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, or “2,4-D”) which mimic these plant growth regulators (see
section 4.2 Herbicidal Target-Based Approach, below), and consequently represent an
important and widely used class of commercial herbicides.
In fact, algicidal metabolites from cyanobacteria and other microalgae encompass a fairly
diverse array of secondary metabolites. In addition to the previously discussed indole
alkaloids, algicidal metabolites so far identified (see Fig. 3) include various other alkaloids
(e.g. the aminoacylpolyketide fischerellins; nostocine A), phenolics (e.g. 4,4’-
dihydroxybiphenyl), hydroxamate chelators (e.g. schizokinen) and fatty acids (e.g. 2,5-
dimethyldodecanoic acid, polyunsaturated fatty acids), as well as peptides (e.g.
nostocyclamide). The latter is perhaps of particular interest. This group of metabolites is, as
discussed above, a particularly characteristic class of secondary metabolites from
cyanobacteria (and, to a lesser extent, other microalgae). Moreover, this class of compounds
presents a number of compelling attributes toward the development of commercially viable
candidate compounds (e.g. modification via semi-synthesis, heterologous expression; see
Commercial Potential of Herbicides from Microalgae, below). Moreover, the biosynthetic genes
(NRPSs), associated with this class of metabolites, appear to be especially widespread in the
Section IV/V cyanobacteria that (as noted above) are most frequent producers of algicidal
metabolites. Specifically, it was found (Christiansen et al., 2001) using sequence-specific
primers that nearly all (97% and 100%, respectively) of the cyanobacteria in these two
sections were positive for NRPS genes (compared to only 52%, 80% and 64%, respectively,
for Sections I, II and III).
In a very recent study, Leão et al. (2010) used bioassay-guided fractionation, specifically
based on inhibition of the green alga, Chlorella vulgaris, to isolate a series of cyclic peptides,
the portoamides (Fig. 4) as apparent allelopathic agents from of the blue-green alga,
Oscillatoria. In addition to C. vulgaris, as well as other chlorophyte species, these metabolites
differentially inhibited cyanobacteria, including Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii, but not
several other cyanobacterial species (e.g. Microcystis, Aphanizomenon and Anabaena), nor
other microalgae (e.g. the diatom, Cyclotella menenghiniana) tested. Interestingly, allelopathic
activity was found to specifically peak during the early stages of exponential growth of the
cyanobacterial culture, suggesting an ecological role (i.e. to “open” a niche for colonization),
and consequently providing, in this case, an opportunity to purify a sufficient quantity of
the otherwise low concentration metabolite for chemical characterization (Leão et al., 2010).
Even more interesting, the investigators documented an apparent synergism of these
metabolites. Specific mixtures of the most abundant congeners, portoamides A and B, in the
ratios of 2:1 and 1:2.6 inhibited C. vulgaris at 30 ppm, but not in other ratios (e.g. 4.4:1) tested
(Leão et al., 2010). This finding is particularly stunning given the rather minimal difference
between the structure of the two (differing only in the presence of a methoxy group), and is
further underscored by the apparent lack of activity associated with other chemically related
congeners (e.g. metabolites specifically lacking an esterified N-acetyl-N-methyl tyrosine
found in portoamides A and B).
Fig. 4. Portoamides A and B isolated from a species of Oscillatoria as synergistic allelopathic

metabolites (Leão et al., 2010).
In addition to metabolites identified based on their algicidal activity, it has been suggested
that various ‘HAB toxins,’ largely recognized based on their effects on human health, may
also play an ecological role in allelopathy. In fact, it has been suggested (e.g. Graneli et al.,
2008) that nutritional imbalance (and consequent limitation) associated with eutrophication
in aquatic systems may drive (via competitions for these resources) production of
allelochemicals, and consequently production of these toxins. Elegant work by Kearns and
Hunter (2000, 2001), for example, investigated allelopathic interactions between the
cyanobacterial species, Anabaena flos-aquae, and green alga, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, and
found that well characterized toxins, microcystin-LR and anatoxin-a, from A. flos-aquae
inhibited the green alga specifically via apparent paralysis, and subsequent settling.
Interestingly, production of the latter of the two toxins was found to be stimulated by
extracellular products of C. reinhardtii, while microcystin production was seemingly
inhibited by the same (Kearns and Hunter, 2000). Subsequent studies (e.g. Pflugmacher,
2002) have, likewise, shown an allelopathic role of microcystins. Interestingly, both
microcystin and anatoxin-a have been also shown (Mitrovic et al., 2004; Jang et al., 2007) to
inhibit growth of plants, specifically using an aquatic plant model, “duckweed” (Lemna
japonica).
Moreover, allelopathic interactions are not limited to the freshwater cyanobacteria, and a
possible role of various metabolites from marine microalgae, including dinoflagellates,
diatoms, haptophytes and raphidophytes, as well as from microalgal chlorophytes, have
been, likewise, documented (see, for example, a good review by Graneli et al., 2008). In
some cases, allelopathy has been associated with known HAB-associated toxins. For
dinoflagellate, haptophytes and diatom HAB species, in particular, studies have suggested a
possible role of various polyethers – characteristic metabolites of these groups – including
brevetoxins (Kubanek and Hicks, 2005), okadaic acid (Sugg and Van Dolah, 1999),
prymnesin (Graneli and Johansson, 2003), gymnomidine (cf. Legrand et al., 2003) and
cooliatoxin (cf. Legrand et al., 2003). However, in several cases, it has been suggested that
these metabolites, although algicidal, likely are not solely responsible for allelopathic
activity, and that other extracellular metabolites (which remain to be characterized) may
play a larger role (e.g. Sugg and Van Dolah, 1999; Kubanek and Hicks, 2005). Indeed,
although apparent allelopathy has been demonstrated for a wide range of HAB species,
specifically using culture-based experiments and/or extracellular preparations (e.g. culture
filtrates), the allelochemicals responsible largely remain, in most cases, to be characterized.
Spanning eukaryotic and prokaryotic microalgae, one particularly interesting class of
compounds that has been suggested to play a role in allelopathy are fatty acids - and
specifically a polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) – either in free acid form, or as part of
acylated sugars (i.e. glycolipids). A thorough review of these metabolites, and their possible
role in allelopathy, has been previously presented by Ikawa (2004). Indeed, a growing
number of studies have generally pointed to the biological activity of fatty acids. However,
it is becoming generally clear that desaturation – as well as other modifications (e.g.
oxidations, aldehydes) – may be particularly important to the observed toxicity or other
bioactivity, and accordingly their possible role in allelopathy. Table 1 illustrates this trend,
specifically based on several prior studies, in which algicidal activity has been consistently
associated with relative desaturation of fatty acids isolated from microalgae. As an example
of the importance of PUFAs in allelopathy, Arzul et al. (1993, 1995) investigated the
apparent inhibition of the marine diatom, Chaetoceros gracile, by blooms of the dinoflagellate,
Gyrodinium, and identified a high concentration of octadecapentaenoic aid (OPA, C18:5n3)
and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, C22:6n3) in the fatty acid profiles of Gymnodinium. These
studies identified further found that these metabolites specifically inhibited the growth of C.
gracile. Similarly, Uchida et al. (1988) identified relatively large amounts of DHA, along with
eicosapentaenoic acid (C20:5n3), and small amounts of C18:2 and C18:3 fatty acids, from
Peridinium bipes, and characterized their inhibition of cyanobacteria.
Chemically related to fatty acids are a family of mono- and diacylglycerides in which acyl
groups are esterified to the 2’ and/or 3’ position of glycerol (typically with either a mono- or
disaccharide, and particularly galactose, at the 1’ position). As for free fatty acids, a variety
of biological activities (e.g. inhibition of DNA polymerase, antimicrobial activity) have been
described for these compounds (e.g. Kurihara et al., 1996; Ohta et al., 1998; Hanashima et al.,
2000; Eitsuka et al., 2004; Mizushina et al., 2005; Cantillo-Ciau et al., 2010). Of particular note
are the sulfated galactosyl (i.e. sulfoquinovosyl) substituted mono- and diacylglycerides
which are found alongside non-sulfated glycolipids in the thylakoid membranes of
prokaryotic and eukaryotic photoautotrophs (including higher plants). In fact, it has been
proposed that, in addition to other possible mechanisms (e.g. acting as secondary
messengers for biochemical pathways, phospholipases), the importance of both free fatty
acids and acylglycerides in cellular membranes - and the consequent disruption and
destabilization of these membranes by non-endogenous variants - may be responsible for
the widespread biological activity of these compounds (Ikawa, 2004). Given the obvious
and unique importance of subcellular plastids in photosynthetic organisms, including algae
and plants alike, further exploration of these compounds as selective inhibitors of

photoautotrophs, and specifically as a novel target for herbicidal agents, is warranted.
Green Algae
Cyanobacteria
(Chlorophyta)
Phormidium Chlamydomona Haematococcu
Pandorina Ankistrodesmus
tenue s s
Myristic >100 >100 >100 >100 >100
Acid (14:0)
Palmitic >100 >100 >100 >100 >100
Acid (C16:0)
Palmitoleic 2.5 12.5 50 50 50
Acid (C16:1)
Stearic Acid n.d. >100 >100 >100 >100
(C18:0)
Oleic Acid 1 50 100 100 100
(C18:1 cis-9)
Cis-Vaccenic 5 n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d.
Acid (C18:1
cis-11)
Linoleic 0.5 50 12.5 25 25
Acid (C18:2)
Linolenic 0.5 50 <12.5 12.5 50
Acid (C18:3)
Table 1. Algicidal activity of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids against cyanobacteria and
green algae (Chlorophyta). Data are taken from McCracken et al. (1980) and Yamada et al.
(1993) for chlorophyte and cyanobacteria data, respectively. Given are the minimum
concentration (mg/L) that inhibits algal culture growth >50%. “n.d.” indicates evaluation
not done. Apparent increase in algicidal activity, associated with desaturation, highlighted
in bold text.
Finally, allelopathy is not, by any means, limited to microalgae, and similar interspecific,
chemically mediated interactions have been, likewise, suggested in marine and freshwater
macroalgae. For example, several studies (Friedlander et al., 1996; Jin & Dong, 2003; Nan et
al., 2004; Jin et al., 2005; Wang et al., 2007; Nan et al., 2008) have documented the apparent
allelopathy of the macroalgal chlorophye, Ulva, toward various microalgae and other
macroalgae. Friedlander et al. (1996) identified apparently lipophilic metabolites from
culture media of Ulva lactuca that inhibited the growth of the red alga, Gracilaria conferta, and
suggested that these exometabolites may play a role in the observed growth inhibition of the
latter species when grown together, under otherwise controlled conditions, in culture.
Based on these studies, and citing a documented reciprocal relationship between growth of
micro- and macroalgae, Nan et al. (2004) evaluated allelopathy of U. pertusa against eight
species of microalgae, including dinoflagellates, haptophytes, diatoms and microalgal
chlorophytes. These studies found that all eight species were inhibited in co-cultivation with
the macroalga. However, only one of the species (i.e. the haptophyte, Chroomonas placoidea)
was inhibited by culture filtrates. This was taken, by the authors, citing several related
examples, to be due to instability of released metabolites (Nan et al., 2004). This observation
was confirmed by several subsequent studies (Jin et al., 2005; Wang et al., 2007) which
additionally showed that continuous release of allelochemicals by Ulva, either by semi-
continuous addition of filtrate, or presence of fresh algal material or dried powdered
biomass, was sufficient to inhibit growth of microalgae. Such effects, moreover, are not
limited to Ulva, and similar studies (e.g. Kim et al., 2004; Wang et al., 2006; Wang et al., 2007;
An et al., 2008; Wang et al., 2009) have, likewise, shown inhibition of microalgae by other
green algae (e.g. Enteromorpha), as well as coralline red algae (e.g. Lithophyllum, Corallina,
Porphyra, Gracilaria) and brown algae (e.g. Sargassum, Undaria, Laminaria).
By-and-large, algicidal metabolites from macroalgae remain to be well characterized,
however, several studies suggest a role of PUFAs, and associated metabolites (e.g.
acylglycerides), as discussed above for microalgae. Work by Alamsjah et al. (2005, 2007)
screened a collection of thirty-seven macroalgae, including representatives of the
Chlorophyta, Rhodophyta and Phaeophyta, and specifically found extracts of the genus,
Ulva, to be the most potently algicidal against the HAB organism, Heterosigma akashiwo. The
investigators subsequently identified (Alamsjah et al., 2005, 2007) a series of PUFAs –
particularly including unsaturated C16 and C18 acids - from several species of Ulva (U.
fasciata, U. pertusa, U. arasakii, U. conglobota) with algicidal activity toward a range of
microalgal representatives. Based on the relatively higher production of these by the most
algicidal species (U. fasciata and U. pertusa) it was argued that they likely play a role in
observed allelopathy. Fatty acids, including PUFAs, have similarly been identified as
apparent allelopathic agents of other macroalgae, including brown algae (e.g. inhibition of
various microalgae by Cladosiphon, Kakisawa et al., 1988), red algae (e.g. Neodilsea, Chondrus
and Ptilota; Macias et al., 2007) and Charophytes (e.g. inhibition of the cyanobacterium,
Microcystis aeruginosa, by Chara vulgaris, Zhang et al., 2009).
PUFAs, moreover, are not the only class of bioactive metabolites from macroalgae, and
various bioactive metabolites, including alkaloids (e.g. Gross et al., 2006; Arunkumar et al.,
2010; Güven et al., 2010), phenolics (e.g. Hassan and Ghareib, 2009) and terpenoids (e.g.
Fenical & Paul, 1984; Paul & Fenical, 1984; Lane et al., 2007; Arunkumar et al., 2010), have
been characterized. Although the potential of these compounds as herbicides remains to
well-studied, based on the apparent importance of allelopathy among photoautotrophs in
aquatic habitats, the chemical diversity of the macroalgae, like the microalgae, represents a
wealth of secondary metabolites to be explored to this end.
4. Microalgal metabolites as herbicides

In contrast to algicidal metabolites – specifically in relation to allelopathy – relatively scant
studies have investigated biological activity of microalgal toxins with respect to higher
plants (i.e. herbicides). The current body of knowledge with regards to potential herbicidal
metabolites from microalgae currently remains limited. However, given the importance of
allelopathy among aquatic photoautotrophs, and presumptive homologies of the
biochemistry and physiology between both algae and higher plants, as photosynthetic
organisms, the chemical diversity of bioactive secondary metabolites represents a likely rich
source of such compounds. As such three approaches are proposed as a means to explore
the, otherwise well recognized, chemical repertoire of these taxa with respect to potential
herbicidal agents. These inclue: (1) a in vivo bioassay approach, based on identifying
phytotoxicity in representative plant species; (2) a target-based approach, specifically
incorporating assays based on recognized herbicide targets; and (3) a pharmacophore-based
approach, specifically surveying algal metabolites to identify those with recognized

structural features associated with herbicidal compounds.
4.1 In vivo bioassay approach

Perhaps the primary means of identifying potentially herbicidal metabolites from
microalgae has been a variety of in vivo biological assays, relevant to herbicidal activity,
which are readily available (and adaptable to most laboratory environments). Such assays,
typically utilize a variety of endpoints relevant to herbicidal activity, including inhibition of
seed germination and seedling growth, and inhibition of photosynthesis and/or “bleaching”
of photosynthetic pigments, as well as various biochemical markers (e.g. oxidative stress).
In particular, the aquatic monocotyledonous angiosperm, “duckweed”, including Lemna minor
and L. gibba, and related species, have been widely utilized as a model system for algae-
derived herbicides due, in part to its rapid growth (and presumptively its role of these
metabolites in aquatic allelopathy). Lemna has, in fact, been adopted by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) as a general model for aquatic phytotoxicity (EPA 712-C-96-156). As
an early example of this, Entzeroth et al. (1985) used Lemna to identify herbicidal compounds
from ethanol extracts of the cyanobacterial species, Lyngbya aesturii. Using the species for
bioassay-guided fractionation, herbicidal activity was found to be associated with an unusual
fatty acid, 2,5-dimethyldodecanoic acid, which inhibited growth at concentrations as low as
200 ng/mL. (Entzeroth et al., 1985). Although not an algal metabolite in the strict sense, Lemna
was also used to evaluate the phytotoxic activity of usnic acid, a metabolite of lichens
(composite organisms comprised of a fungal and algal symbiont).
More recenty, several studies (Weiss et al., 2000; Leblanc et al., 2005; Mitrovic et al., 2004 and
2005; Jang et al., 2007; Saqrane et al., 2007; Yi et al., 2009) have utilized Lemna to investigate
the apparent effects of the widespread cyanobacterial toxin, microcystin, on plant growth.
Such studies have indicated that microcystins can inhibit growth and photosynthesis, as
well as oxidative stress, in Lemna (e.g. Weiss et al., 2000; Mitrovic et al., 2005). Interestingly,
not all studies have equally shown inhibitory effects of microcystins on Lemna, likely due to
the lack of a standardized genetic background (and associated variability). Leblanc et al.
(2005), for example, showed that – contrary to various other studies in the same species (e.g.
Saqrane et al., 2007) – microcystin-LR had no apparent effect on L. gibba growth or
photosynthesis in the species.
Aside from studies in Lemna, as well as a number of other aquatic plant species (e.g.
Myriophyllum spicatum, Ceratophyllum demersum, Phragmites australis; Pflugmacher et al.,
2001; Pflugmacher, 2002; Yi et al., 2009) studies have used a range of other plant models,
including agriculturally important ones, to investigate phytotoxicity of algal metabolites.
For example, Sanevas et al. (2006) evaluated aqueous methanolic extracts from a species of
the cyanobacterial genus, Hapalosiphon, in a range of monocotyledonous and dicotyledenous
agricultural plant species, including radish, cabbage, carrot, lettuce, wheat, onion, rice and
maize, and specifically demonstrated a dose-dependent inhibition of roots and, to a lesser
extent, shoot elongation, apparently due to inhibition of cell division. Hassan and Ghareib
(2009) more recently utilized tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) and lettuce (Lactuca sativa) to
demonstrate inhibition of seed germination and seedling growth by apparent phenolic
compounds extracted from the green alga, Ulva lactuca. Similarly, extracts of a strain of
Nostoc, isolated from an agricultural pond, was found to specifically inhibit root and shoot
growth of seedling, but not affect seed germination, in rice (Oryza sativa). Phytotoxicity of
the lichen-derived usnic acid has been evaluated and found (Lasceve and Gaugain, 1990;
Ozturk et al., 1999) to inhibit growth in several monocot (e.g. maize, onion) and dicot (e.g.
sunflower) species. Gleason and Case (1986) showed that cyanobacterin from Scytonema
hofmanni equally inhibited crop plant species, including maize (Zea mays) and peas (Pisum
sativum), as well as wild plant species, including dock (Rumex crispus), wild buckwheat
(Polygonium convolvulus) and wild oats (Avena fatua). Moreover, several studies (McElhiney
et al., 2001; Pflugmacher et al., 2007; Saqrane et al., 2008) investigated the possible impacts of
microcystin on crop plants by evaluating phytotoxicity in a range of species including
potato (Solanum tuberosum), mustard (Synapis alba), bean (Phaseolus vulgaris), maize (Z. mays),
lentils (Lens esculentum), peas (P. sativum) wheat (Triticum durum) and spinach (Spinacia
oleracea). In particular, microcystin-LR inhibited both epicotyl and root length, in addition to
seed germination in maize (Saqrane et al., 2008).
Here we propose - and briefly present preliminary data on - the novel use of the model
angiosperm, Arabidopsis thaliana, as the basis of a biological assay for investigation of
herbicides from microalgae (and potentially other sources). A. thaliana (“thale cress”), a
member of the mustard family (Brassicaceae), has been well studied – dating back to the
work of George Rédei in the 1950s. However it took nearly four decades before it would be
widely accepted as a model organism in plant biology. Specific advantages of the model
include small size and ease of cultivation (e.g. ability to grow on agar plates), a small (ca. 120
Mb) and now completely sequence genome, and prolific seed production and rapid life
cycle (ca. 6 weeks from seed germination to mature seed), as well as a large collection of
described genetic mutants and various features that make it amenable to transgenic
manipulations. An early, seminal review of the species as a model organism was presented
by Meinke et al. (1998), following its acceptance by the Security Council of Model Genetic
Organisms in 1998 (Fink, 1998). The Arabidopisis Information Resource (TAIR;
www.arabidopisis.org) currently maintains a database, specifically relevant the genetic and
molecular biology of Arabidopsis.
Owing, in particular, to various practical advantages (e.g. small size, laboratory cultivation,
rapid germination and growth), A. thaliana represents an ideal candidate for investigation of
herbicides generally, and specifically as a means to rapidly assess herbicidal compounds
including, as relevant to the current topic, those from microalgae. Moreover, as a model
organism, and particularly one with well described genetic background, as well as general
amenability to various molecular biological methodologies, herbicidal activity can, in
principle, be readily investigated via, for example, comparison to available genetic mutants,
genetic manipulation, etc toward the goal of target identification. As such, we have
developed a phytotoxicity assay based on A. thaliana, and specifically applied this to the
screening of metabolites from a collection of freshwater cyanobacteria.
As illustrated in Fig. 5, extracts of cyanobacterial culture biomass were assayed in agar
plates seeded with A. thaliana, and grown in a standard light- and temperature-controlled
environmental chamber. Biomass (ca. 100 mg) from eleven strains of freshwater
cyanobacteria, specifically isolated from the Florida Everglades (see Berry et al., 2007;
Gantar et al., 2008), was sequentially extracted in non-polar (chloroform) and polar (30%
ethanol) solvents. Prior to seeding, small “treatment wells” were made into the agar
medium (i.e Murashige-Skoog medium with 0.8% agar) in the approximate center of each
“sector” of a standard square Petri dish, specifically using an autoclave-sterilized Pasteur
pipet, and low vacuum (see Fig. 5). Each well was filled with aliquots (20 µL) of prepared
extracts. Subsequently, seeds of the wild-type Columbia ecotype of A. thaliana (Col-0),
obtained from commercial sources (e.g. Lehle Seeds, Round Rock, TX, U.S.A.), were seeded
into assay plates, as per standard techniques. Briefly, an appropriate amount of seeds (ca. 50
per milligram, or approximately 8 mg per assay plate) were weighed into microcentrifuge
tubes, and sterilized (for 5 minutes) with 30% bleach, followed by repeated (3-4 times)
rinsing with nanopure water, and subsequent centrifugation. Rinsed, sterilized seeds were
re-suspended into 0.1% agar, and seeded into appropriate sectors of the test plate (ca. 10-15
seeds). Seeded plates were kept for approximately two weeks (to germinate and grow) in a
environmental growth chamber (Therm Scientific Precision Model 818) at 28° C with a 14:10
light/dark cycle.
As seen in Fig. 5, the assay specifically demonstrated apparent inhibition of A. thaliana
seedling growth by a polar (30% ethanol) extract of the isolate, Microcystis 95-13. Although
germination was not apparently inhibited, the growth of hypocotyls was clearly reduced in
seedlings exposed to the extract (Fig. 5). None of the other polar or non-polar extracts
evaluated showed any apparent inhibition of seed germination or seedling growth in the
two-week test period. Likewise, no effect of solvent (neither 30% ethanol or chloroform) was
detected relative to untreated (i.e. “no solvent”) controls. As referenced above, Microcystis
is, as a genus, recognized to produce the potently toxic microcystins that have been
associated with human and other animal intoxication events, as well as phytotoxicity. These
results support the latter, but the recognized toxicity of the microcystins – if they are, in fact,
responsible for phytoxicity against A. thaliana – would, as further discussed below, likely
preclude their application as herbicides. We are currently investigating the phytotoxic
metabolites identified here, but these results suggest the assay presented here may represent
an effective means to rapidly screen – and subsequently characterize targets of - microalgal
metabolites with respect to herbicidal activity.
Fig. 5. A. thaliana phytotoxicity assay of cyanobacterial culture extracts showing inhibition of

seedling growth by the isolate Microcystis 95-11. Shown are the polar (30% extracts).
4.2 Herbicidal target-based approach

With respect to the target-based approach, commercial herbicide generally fall into several
categories based on their biochemical, molecular or cellular “mechanisms of actions”
(MOA), including: (1) inhibition of primary metabolism, particularly including biosynthesis
of lipids and amino acids, and specifically “branched” and aromatic amino acids, e.g.
inhibitors of acetolactate synthase (ALS) and enolpyruvulshikimate 3-phosphate synthase
(ESPS), respectively; (2) inhibition of oxygenic photosynthesis, including photosystems I and
II (PSI/II), as well as biosynthesis of associated pigments, e.g. protoporphoryrinogen
oxidase (PPO), a key enzyme in the synthesis of chloropyll; (3) synthetic “mimics” of plant
growth regulators, e.g. auxins, cytokinins; and (4) inhibitors of microtubules or other
components of cell-division.
By far, the most well investigated target of phytotoxic metabolites from microalgae has been
inhibition of oxygenic photosynthesis, and associated molecular/biochemical targets. A
good review of photosynthesis inhibitors from microalgae has been previously presented by
Smith & Doan (1999). Recent studies by Gantar et al. (2008), for example, used pulse
amplitude-modulated (PAM) fluorescence to show that lipophilic extracts of the
cyanobacterial strain, Fischerella 52-1 (isolated from the Florida Everglades), specifically
inhibited photosystem II (PSII), in addition to apparent degeneration of thylakoids. This
finding is particularly notable as the strain was found to produce hapalindoles (Gantar et al.,
2008; Walton et al., in press) previously associated with allelopathy (see Algal Allelopathy
above). Within the same genus, the fischerellins A and B (Fig. 3) were shown (Srivastava et
al., 1998) to potently inhibit PSII, specifically acting at multiple sites of PSII, distinct from
that of the photosynthesis-inhbiting herbicide, 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea
(DCMU). Likewise, cyanobacterin, originally isolated from the cyanobacterial species,
Scytonema hofmanni, inhibited PSII at a site distinct from – and with a potency nearly five
times - that of DCMU, and specifically at the oxidizing site of quinone-B electron acceptor
(Gleason & Paulson, 1984; Gleason & Case, 1986; Gleason et al., 1986). On the other hand,
the peptide, nostocyclamide (Fig. 3), from the genus, Nostoc, seems to inhibit PSII by
uncoupling electron transport (Jüttner et al., 1997 cf. Smith & Doan, 1999).
A second important class of herbicides are those that mimic plant growth regulators
(“hormones”) including auxins, cytokinins and gibberellins. Both macroalgae and
microalgae – and particularly cyanbacteria and chlorophytes – have been found to produce
extracellular compounds that act as all three of these, including metabolites chemically
identical (e.g. the auxin, indole-3-acetic acid) to the plant hormones (see review by
Tsavkelova et al., 2006). The realization that microalgae may produce metabolites with plant
growth regulator activity extends back to Zulpa de Caire et al. (1979) who demonstrated
that culture medium of the cyanobacterium, Nostoc, exhibited auxin-like activity. Zaccaro et
al. (1996) subsequently showed that extracellular products from Scytonema hofmanni
stimulated growth of Lilium alexandrae in a manner similar to the synthetic auxin, 1-
napthaleneacetic acid (NAA), and implied that metabolites might represent a non-toxic
alternative to this agent. Sergeeva et al. (2002) screened thirty-four strains of cyanobacteria,
and not only identified auxin-like activity in 21 of the 34 strains, but confirmed (using GC-
MS, and analytical standards) the presence of the main auxin, indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), in
two species of Nostoc. Interestingly, a higher amount of auxin-like activity was found for
symbiotic (83%), versus free-living (38%), species of cyanobacteria. Similarly, isopentanyl
adenine cytokinins, including zeatin, and specifically cis isomers, as well as aromatic
cytokinins, including benzyladenine (chemically similar to the synthetic cytokinin,) have
been previously isolated from several species of macroalgae (Stirk et al., 1999; Stirk et al.,
2002; Stirk et al., 2003). More recently, Hussain et al. (2010) identified both IAA and zeatin-
like cytokinins in a variety of cyanobacterial species. Cyanobacteria have been similarly
shown to produce gibberellin-like metabolites (Gupta and Agarwal, 1973; Rodriguez

et al., 2006).
Although plant growth regulators are, obviously, involved in the positive growth of higher
plants (e.g. cell division, elongation), directed application of agonists can lead to
uncontrolled growth, and consequently act as herbicides. Perhaps the best example of this
strategy is the widely used synthetic auxin, 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D). In fact,
several studies (Jäger et al., 2005; Manickavelu et al., 2006) have shown that cyanobacterial
metabolites can replace 2,4-D in plant cell culture. In accordance with the dose-dependent
effects of plant growth regulators, Hassan and Ghareib (2009) evaluated phenolics extracted
from Ulva lactuca, and found moderate concentration (30 ppm) stimulated germination of
lettuce and tomato seeds. However, at higher concentrations (300 ppm), the same extracts
reduced both seed germination and seedling growth.
A third target of several herbicides is cell division. Acting in some ways like synthetic plant
growth regulators (e.g. effects on elongation, cell swelling), such compounds differ in
affecting cell division via direct mechanisms (e.g. inhibition of tubulin/microtubule
assembly) rather than indirect routes (e.g. regulation of gene expression). Perhaps the best
described are the pre-emergence dinitroaniline herbicides (DNHs). DNHs, such as the
widely used trifluralin, inhibit mitosis (as well as other effects, e.g. cell swelling, induction
of multiple nuclei) by interaction with tubulin subunits of microtubules, in a fashion similar
to the well described “spindle poison,” colchine (Upadhyaya & Noodén, 1977, 1980).
Indeed, microalgae produce a wide diversity of cell division inhibitors, although these
metabolites have been largely investigated with respect to their potential as antibiotics or
anticancer drugs. Perhaps the best investigated microalgal metabolite in this regard, are the
cryptophycins (Trimurtulu et al., 1994), comprised of more than twenty-five congeners
specifically isolated from the cyanobacterial genus, Nostoc, that have been shown (Smith et
al., 1994) to act via depolymerization of microtubules, and consequently investigated as both
antifungal and antitumor compounds (including, in the latter case, Phase I clinical trials).
Likewise, other cyanobacterial metabolites, including curacin A (from the marine
cyanobacterium, Lyngbya majuscula) and the dolastatins (from the marine cyanobacterium,
Symploca) are inhibitors of microtubule assembly and tubulin polymerization (Verdier-
Pinard et al., 1998; Luesch et al., 2001), and have also been investigated with respect to
potential anticancer drug development. Indeed, many such compounds – and particularly
an array of non-ribosomal peptides – have been isolated and characterized (to some extent)
from cyanobacteria and other microalgae, and a number of good reviews on these are
available (Moore, 1996; Gerwick et al., 2001; Tan, 2007). Moreover, aside from cyanobacteria,
other algae have been, likewise, found to produce inhibitors of mitosis. For example,
various species of brown algae have been found to produce terpenoids, including the
mediterraneols and bifurcarenone (Sun et al., 1980; Francisco et al., 1986) that inhibit cell-
division.
Despite this focus on cell division inhibitors from microalgae with respect to drug
development, limited studies have also shown apparent cell division in plant tissues.
Extracts from the cyanobacterium, Hapalosiphon, for example, were shown (Sanevas et al.,
2006) to inhibit root and shoot growth in a wide range of crop plants (see above), and
subsequently found to inhibit mitosis, as evidenced by a dose-dependent reduction in the
mitotic index (in the onion root model). In a study (Baskin and Wilson, 1997) using the A.
thaliana model (see above), the effect of the protein phosphatase inhibitors, okadaic acid and
microcystin-LR – metabolies from dinoflagellate and cyanobacterial species, respectively –
were evaluated with respect to cortical microtubules of roots. Interestingly, although both
toxins are recognized inhibitors of type 1/2A serine/threonine protein phosphatases, they
exerted markedly different effects. Okadaic acid affects both cell elongation and radial
expansion (at higher concentrations), as well as microtubule disorganization, whereas
microcystin-LR only minimally inhibited elongation. Although inherent toxicity of both
metabolites may obviously limit the potential of these compounds themselves, as
commercial herbicides, the differential activity of these metabolites suggests an otherwise
uncharacterized difference in their effects (via protein phosphatase inhibition) on cell
division, and supports a need to further investigate their specific targets, particularly in
relation to phytotoxic effects such as those observed.
A final important target of commercial herbicides is the inhibition of biosynthetics pathways
of primary metabolites, including lipids and amino acids. Among important examples of
these are the amino acid biosynthesis inhibitors (see review by Kishore and Shah, 1988),
including specific inhibitors of acetolactate synthase (ALS, e.g. sulfonylureas) and
enopyruvylskikimate 3-phosphate synthase (ESPS, e.g. glyphosate), key steps in the
synthesis of branched chain, and aromatic, amino acids, respectively. In particular, the ALS
pathway is one that exists only in plants (and not animals) making it a particularly good
target for herbicides. Similarly, inhibitors of the enzyme acetyl coenzyme A carboxylase
(ACCase) act via inhibition of a key step in lipid biosynthesis, and show selective activity,
specifically between monocots and dicots.
To date, there are no known (to the author’s knowledge) metabolites from microalgae that
have been found to target either amino acid or lipid biosynthesis. That said, the unique
diversity of both lipid and amino acids in the secondary metabolites of microalgae makes
them seemingly rife with opportunities to explore possible effects of these as, for example,
potential inhibitors of their respective primary metabolic pathways. In particular, the
cyanobacteria are recognized to produce and utilize a wide range of “unusual amino acids”
including D-isomers, β-hydroxy, N-methylated or otherwise modified version of essential
amino acids, as well as completely unique representatives (see, for example, review by
Gerwick et al., 2001). Also along these lines, it is worth noting that several studies (e.g.
Powell et al., 1991; Forlani et al., 2008) have shown an apparently widespread tolerance of
cyanobacteria to the ESPS inhibitor, glyphosate, specifically, it seems, via insensitivity of this
enzyme in these microalgae. Interestingly, although such a possible role of these small
molecules with respect to amino acid metabolism remains to be investigated, at least two
study have shown inhibition, by algal (or related) metabolites, of enzymes involved in
catabolism of amino acids. Specifically, the lichen-derived toxin, usnic acid, was found to
inhibit hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase (HPPD), similar to several commercial
herbicides (e.g. triketones), leading to blockage of plastoquinone synthesis, and consequent
“bleaching” of plant cells (Duke et al., 2002). Likewise, norharmane (isolated from Nostoc
and several other cyanobacteria; Volk, 2008) has been shown to inhibit the equivalent
enzyme – indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase – involved in the catabolism of the amino acid,
tryptophan. In general, the paucity of studies represents an open area for research.
4.3 Pharmacophore-based approach

In addition to their classification based on target or MOA, commercially important
herbicides also span a wide range of chemical classes. Based on established structure-
activity relationships of either herbicides – or, alternatively, endogenous/exogenous
regulators – the identification of structurally related metabolites (i.e. shared

“pharmacophores”) serves as a means to identify potential herbicidal candidates. To be sure,
there have been, to date, very limited use of this approach as a systematic means to screen
micralgal metabolites for herbicidal compounds. However, at least one study arguably has.
Specifically, a recent study by Volk (2008) utilized a combination of high-performance thin-
layer chromatography, and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), to screen
thirty-three species of microalgae for norharmane, based on prior (Volk, 2006) identification
of this metabolite as an algicidal metabolite of Nostoc. Interestingly, this study identified an
additional seven strains of cyanobacteria that produced norharmane or related compounds
(Volk, 2008). Similarly, the pharmacophore-based approach has been used direct synthetic
studies of microalgal metabolites. As an example, Blom et al. (2006) used norharmane (as a
synthetic starting material), and the structurally related metabolite, nostocarboline (Fig. 3),
to prepare several synthetic analogs of the latter, and demonstrate structure-activity
relationships, as well as (in, at least, one case) enhanced algicidal activity.
Moreover, several cases of structural similarity between microalgal metabolites and
established herbicides exist. For example, as discussed above (see Algal Allelopathy) - and as
shown in Fig. 6 - several of the purportedly allelopathic metabolites from microalgae contain
an indole core, structurally similar to that of the naturally occurring auxins (e.g. IAA, IBA,
CI-IAA). Although bioactive indole alkaloids are widespread in the natural world, including
marine and freshwater habitats (see, for example, review by Gul and Hamann, 2005), and
the algicidal activity of these microalgal metabolites, as currently understood, do not
parallel the effects of auxins, this supports the importance of indoles as a target for
pharmacophore-based approaches.
Fig. 6. Indole-containing allelochemicals from cyanobacteria, and structural comparison

to plant auxins. From left to right are calothrixin A, norharmane, nostocarboline and 12-
eip-hapalindole E isonitrile, and the naturally-occurring auxins, indole-3-acetic acid (IAA),
indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) and 4-chloroindole-3-acetic acid.
Likewise, various other chemical classes, represented by commercially important herbicides,
are found in marine and freshwater microalgae. For example, oxazole rings – characteristic
of a number of herbicides (e.g. ) - are commonly found among bioactive non-ribosomal
peptides from cyanobacteria (e.g. muscoride from Nostoc muscorum, Nagatsu et al., 1995;
microcyclamides from Microcystis sp., Raveh et al., 2010; raocyclamides from Oscillatoria raoi,
Admi et al., 1996). Indeed, the recognized allelopathic metabolite, nostocyclamide, contains
this heterocyclic ring system (Fig. 3). Likewise, various marine algae are known to produce
chlorinated hydrocarbons similar to the halogenated aliphatic class of herbicides (e.g.
trihaloacetic acids, such as dalapon), and which have been associated with possible
allelopathy (see, for example, review by Kladi et al. (2004).
Fig. 7. General structural resemblance between the algicidal exometabolite, 4,4’-

dihydroxybiphenyl, from cyanobacteria, and the herbicide, paraquat.
In other cases, the structure of microalgal metabolites, rather than containing identical
structural features, closely resemble, in a more general way, recognized herbicides. For
example, the algicidal phenolic compound, 4,4’-dihydroxybiphenyl, isolated (Volk, 2006) as
an “exometabolite” of cyanobacterial cultures, bears general structural resemblance to the
commercially important herbicide, paraquat (Fig. 7). Similarly, bioactive metabolites
structurally resembling (Fig. 8) halogenated diphenyl ether herbicides (e.g. oxyfluorfen,
acifluorfen, diclofop), have been isolated from algae. In particular, bioactive polybrominated
diphenyl ethers, including hydroxylated and methoxylated variants, have been isolated
from rhodophytes, chlorophytes and cyanobacteria (Malmvärn et al., 2008). One such
example is shown in Fig. 8.
Fig. 8. Comparison of polybrominated diphenyl ethers from microalgae, and the diphenyl
ether herbicide, oxyfluorfen).
5. Commercial potential of herbicides from microalgae

As demonstrated in this chapter, microalgae represent a rich repository of bioactive
metabolites, including numerous compounds with biological activity either indirectly (e.g.
algicidal) or directly (e.g. photosynthesis inhibiting, antimitotic) related to herbicidal
potential. Moreover, a number of features make these metabolites particularly compelling as
a source of potential herbicides.
As discussed, the cyanobacteria, in particular, are recognized producers of an array of non-
ribosomal peptides, while the secondary metabolism of eukaryotic microalgae is particularly
characterized by a diversity of metabolites derived from the polyketide synthesis pathway.
As modular enzymes, in both cases, these megasynthases (e.g. NRPSs, PKSs) are highly
amenable to “in vivo combinatorial” approaches (through directed manipulation of gene,
and consequently enzyme, modules), as well as heterologous expression. The former, in
principle, enables a means for rapid biosynthetic modification, and essentially “design,” of
molecules for improved activity and uptake potential, as well as reduced toxicity, and other
characteristics germane to effective and safe herbicides. As one example, Christiansen et al.
(2003) demonstrated, using targeted mutation of one module (mcyJ, an O-methyltransferase)
of the NRPS/PKS gene responsible for microcystin biosynthesis chemical modification
specifically resulting in a novel variant with modified activity. Heterologous expression, on
the other hand, enables the potential for large-scale production of these metabolites in
suitable hosts (e.g. E. coli) which can be readily cultured with high yields on a large-scale
(e.g. biofermentation). Such an approach has, in fact, been demonstrated for a very limited
number of algal or other microbial metabolites. In one example, the biosynthetic NRPS gene
cluster for the algal metabolite, patellamide A, naturally produced by an endosymbiotic
algae (from didemnid ascidians), was heterologously expressed in E. coli (Schmidt et al.,
2005), and proposed (Long et al., 2005) as a means of sustainable production of the bioactive
metabolite.
Other compelling feature of these algal metabolites as herbicides include a presumptive
“biodegradability” of many of these natural products, as well as water solubility of many
(e.g. peptides) which might minimize concerns of bioaccumulation, and associated
environmental concerns. Although these are not universally true of algal metabolites, both
water solubility and lability have been described in at least some of the allelopathic
metabolites from algae (e.g. apparent algicides from the macroalga, Ulva, as discussed
above).
In addition to potential application as herbicides, particularly with regards to, for example,
crop pests (i.e. weeds), microalgal metabolites hold an equally important potential as
algicides and related “antifouling” agents. As pointed-out by Duke et al. (2002) aquaculture
represents “one of the fastest growing areas of agriculture in the world,” and although not
traditionally grouped with herbicides, the diversity algicides represent a “niche market.”
Presence of algae in aquaculture facilities is associated with a number of concerns related to
both health (e.g. toxic contaminants) and quality (e.g. “off-flavors” associated with the
cyanobacterial metabolite, 2-methylisoborneol, MIB) that are consequently responsible for
substantial economic losses. Currently there are rather limited approved agents for control
of noxious algae in aquaculture, and as such, discovery of natural products, as potentially
“environmentally safe” algicides, from microalgae (or other sources) holds tremendous –
albeit largely untapped – promise.
Although a number of microalgal metabolites have been shown to have either directly, or
potentially, herbicidal or algicidal activity, there is an obvious need for further study. In
many cases, compounds, studied with respect to herbicidal or algicidal activity, have
recognized potential for human or animal toxicity which would presumably limit their
direct use as herbicides. This is perhaps particularly true for a number of so-called “HAB
toxins” which despite demonstrated allelopathic, and even herbicidal, activity have well
documented human toxicity, as well as impacts on wildlife and domestic animals. That said,
although such toxicity would likely preclude any direct commercial application of these
compounds, their continued investigation would provide a means of identify possible novel
targets for development of (less toxic) herbicides based on their MOAs. Furthermore, aside
from continued identification of metabolites with herbicidal activity, evaluation of taxa
specific (e.g. monocots versus dicots, crop plant versus weed” species) differences in
activity, as well as further elucidation of MOAs, will be required for potential of these
compounds to be realized in any commercially relevant sense.
Finally, despite the obvious potential of the microalgal secondary metabolites with respect
to discovery and development of herbicides, there remains a relatively limited commercial
exploration of this resource. In fact, to the author’s knowledge, in only one case - specifically
based on the work of Gleason et al. (1986, 1990) with respect to the algicidal and phototoxic
activity of cyanobacterin – has a patent (United States Patent 4626271) been submitted for
explicit use of the compound (specifically in conjunction with a surfactant) as a green plant
herbicide. It is, of course, the hope that continued exploration of this chemical diversity will
lead to future realization of its tremendous potential.
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36
Herbicidal Potentiality of Fusel Oil

Andréa Aparecida de Padua Mathias Azania1,
Carlos Alberto Mathias Azania1, Marcos Omir Marques2
and Maria do Carmo Morelli Damasceno Pavani2
1Instituto Agronômico, Centro de Cana, Ribeirão Preto,
2Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias, Jaboticabal,
Brasil
1. Introduction
During the process of manufacturing sugar, various by-products are generated. Some, such
as bagasse and vinasse, which are generated in large quantities, have the potential for use as
fertilizers or soil conditioners and thus for reducing the environmental impact of sugar
processing. Others, because they are produced in smaller quantities, are mixed with other
materials and taken to the field or marketed as raw material for other processes, as is done
with fusel oil.
In alcohol distilleries, fusel oil is a by-product produced during alcohol fermentation and is
taken from the rectifying columns. Average production ranges from 0.1 to 0.5 liters per 100
liters of alcohol produced. Although there is no mention of its role in agriculture or
distilleries, it has commercial value and is usually marketed according to the amount of
isoamyl alcohol present.
Generally, the use of fusel oil is restricted to perfume industries, where it can be employed
as a fixative in cosmetics manufacturing, and for preparing artificial flavors or flavoring.
A study from Azania (2003) suggested the possible use of this byproduct as a plant
desiccant. When applied directly into the soil of pots planted with sugarcane, the plants
wilted, progressively dried out and later died.
It is worth noting that up to this time, this work was unique, given the lack of studies using
this approach.
2. Utilization of by-products in mills and distilleries

Reducing the cost of operations in the area of sugarcane reform can be substantial when by-
products generated in the manufacturing of sugarcane are employed. Vinasse is the best
known by-product in terms of reuse. Due to its pollutant potential and the large quantity in
which it is produced, where vinasse is utilized merits attention.
There are several alternatives for vinasse reuse, but none is used to the same magnitude as
fertigation. Fertigation of sugarcane may improve the physical, chemical and biological
properties of the soil (Ferreira & Monteiro, 1987). Moreover, through fertigation, one can
fully or partially replace mineral fertilization, increase the availability of macro and
micronutrients and raise the pH of the soil. These effects, along with increased productivity
of sugarcane, may also contribute to an increase in the overall production of grains on

former cane plantations.
Another by-product of manufacturing alcohol is flegmass, which is mixed with vinasse and
applied in the field despite its effects on soil not being fully known. Flegmass is obtained
from the rectifying column of phlegm during the process of alcohol production.
Fusel oil, another byproduct of this process, is a result of alcohol redistillation. It consists of
a mixture of high-grade alcohols, usually stored in separate tanks. It is often used as a raw
material with low commercial value for chemical industries recovering isoamyl alcohol,
whose reuse in agriculture was not mentioned in the literature until a decade ago.
When a sufficient amount of by-product is accumulated in the storage tanks, it is sold to
cosmetics or perfume companies or as a solvent, hydraulic fluid or defoamer (Patil et al.,
2002). For Vauclair et al. (1997), the presence of high-grade alcohols increases the
commercial value of fusel oil. However in Brazil, the sale price depends almost exclusively
on the amount of amyl alcohol present, which is the largest constituent of fusel oil.
According to Nascimento et al. (2003), for each 1000 L of ethanol produced, about 2.5 L are
fusel oil. Taking this estimate and the Brazilian production of 18 billion liters of alcohol in
the harvest of 2005/2006 into account, approximately 42.5 million gallons of fusel oil were
produced. According to data from Agrianual (2008), total production of ethanol from
sugarcane in Brazil in the 2007/2008 harvest was approximately 21.3 billion gallons, which
means that roughly 53.2 million liters of fusel oil were produced.
The data show that the trend for ethanol production is always increasing, and the
production of fusel oil follows this trend as well. In the most current calculation by Conab
(2010), the 2010/2011 crop will produce 28.5 billion liters of ethanol, which generates
approximately 71 million gallons of fusel oil without direct use by production entities.
In an unpublished study, Azania (2003) mentioned a possible desiccant potential of fusel oil,
indicating a possible use in the fields for chemical eradication of sugarcane to renew the
sugarcane plantations because the product has contact action: it destroys the tissues of the
plant surface. The only products that have contact action are acids, salts, oils and detergents
(Deuber, 2003). Many oils can be highly phytotoxic, and some have been used as herbicides
(Kissmann, 1985). This contact action is a result of the oil breaking down the tissues of the
leaf surface and destroying the cells.
If studies demonstrate the economic feasibility of using fusel oil for weed control or
eradication of sugarcane, this would be an option to reduce the expense of using certain
herbicides, as it costs very little to produce fusel oil in the distilleries.
3. General characteristics of fusel oil

In general, fusel oil is a dark-colored liquid that may also have yellow and green tones. Its
odor is unpleasant, distinctive and responsible for the characteristic taste and aroma of
aguardentes (Lima, 1964). It is produced during the processing of amino acids by yeasts
during fermentation in distilleries, and its components are high-grade alcohols (Botelho,
1945). According to Rasovsky (1973), its specific weight is 0.83, with a boiling point between
75 and 134°C. Fusel oil is flammable and burns with a bright blue flame. It mixes easily with
other products such as alcohol, chloroform and ether.
Fusel oil is composed of a mixture of alcohols such as ethyl, amyl, isoamyl, propyl and
butyl. According to Almazan et al. (1998), amyl alcohol, isoamyl alcohol, n-butanol and
other compounds can be separated by another distillation process, which has some
Herbicidal Potentiality of Fusel Oil 737
economic advantages. However, this other distillation process is performed not by the
distilleries, but by the companies that buy the product to market it. Besides the compounds
listed above, Nascimento et al. (2003) report that sec-butanol, esters, alkanes and terpenes
may also be present. Once separated and purified, these substances are useful in the
preparation of artificial flavors or flavoring. Souza & Llistó (1978) reported that fusel oil may
also contain hexyl, heptyl and octyl alcohols in small quantities.
However, the main constituent of fusel oil is isoamyl alcohol (Vauclair et al. 1997; Kuçuk &
Ceylan, 1998; Pérez et al. 2001; Ceccato-Antonini & Silva, 2002; Azania, 2003, Nascimento et al.
2003), which comes from the decomposition of iso-leucine, an amino acid derived from the
hydrolysis of proteins in yeast (Codistil, 1978). According to Nascimento et al. (2003), isoamyl
alcohol has been investigated by chemical industries as a reagent in organic synthesis or as a
solvent in the extraction of pharmacological compounds such as esters. According to Rasovsky
(1973), fusel oil mostly consists of methanol, superior alcohols in the series of greases, isobutyl
and propyl alcohols and 8-10% ethyl alcohol. Therefore, it is believed that the composition of
fusel oil is dependent on the raw material used, the fermentation conductions and the process
of distillation and decanting of the oil (Rasovsky, 1973).
In Brazil, the raw material used is sugarcane. In other countries, other types of raw materials
also produce fusel oil as a byproduct. Accordingly, Brinker (2000) noted that alcohol
distilled from potatoes has a greater amount of fusel oil, which is almost pure isoamyl
alcohol, whereas alcohol produced from grain has more fusel oil than alcohol distilled from
grapes. Grain fusel oil consists mainly of isoamyl alcohol, whereas the grapes have more
butyl alcohol and other volatile fatty acids.
Table 1 describes the main components of fusel oil according to analysis using gas
chromatography. Analyses performed in two different years showed higher percentages of
isoamyl alcohol, followed by ethanol and butanol as principal products.
Fusel oil (%)

Components
2003 2007
Ethanol 11.70 14.46
n-propanol 0.83 1.69
i-butanol 8.47 10.30
n-butanol 0.21 0.67
i-amyl 28.66 61.60
n-amyl 0.12 0.49
Table 1. Chemical composition of fusel oil, analyzed by gas chromatography. (Azania, 2003
and 2007)
The fusel oil used by Azania (2003 and 2007) was from the same distillery but was collected
in different seasons, which shows that its composition may vary according to time collected,
method of conducting the process and characteristics of the raw material (Rasovsky, 1973 ).
Kuçuk & Ceylan (1998) also showed this order of products in terms of percentage, but their
results differ, as all of the values were lower than those of this work.
In the process of fusel oil production, Rasovsky (1973) states that the phase of oil extracted
from the column is of paramount importance, without which there will not be a high quality
product. To have properly-washed oil of good market value, one should measure the
alcohol content of wash water, which should range between 8 and 12° GL (Codistil, 1978).
The most widely used system is the "settle-wash," in which crude oil is washed
countercurrently with water, leaving the alcohol that was carried and deposited
spontaneously, having then been extracted. When the fusel oil is not taken from the column,
it is taken away by either flegmass or its own alcohol, which inevitably causes a fall in
temperature at the base of the column (Codistil, 1978).
By presenting a difference in the type of raw materials and processes used, the quantity of
fusel oil produced varies greatly between producing units. In Brazilian literature, two
references state that 2.5 L of fusel oil are produced for every 1000 L of ethanol produced
(Nascimento et al. 2003) or between 0.1 to 0.5 L per 100 liters of alcohol (Codistil, 1978).
To understand the technological differences between countries, see Turkey as an example,
where 5 liters of alcohol are produced for every 1,000 liters of alcohol distillation, and
approximately 30 million gallons of fusel oil are produced per year (Kuçuk & Ceylan, 1998)
from beets.
4. Results from research on the applications of fusel oil in agriculture

4.1 Application of fusel oil in sugarcane and effects on the soil
Until recently, there was no mention of fusel oil use in agriculture, for this potential was first
described by Azania (2003) to test different products derived from alcohol (vinasse, flegmass
and fusel oil) and their impacts on soil fertility in sugarcane plants and weeds. Sugarcane
plants treated with fusel oil at four concentrations (12.5, 25.0, 50.0 and 100.0% v/v) applied
at a volume corresponding to 150 m3 ha-1 wilted in a progressive and irreversible process of
drying of the leaves and branches in the first 24 hours after application.
One of the conclusions of this study pointed to a possible desiccant potential of the by-
product toward the plants because the drying and death of the sugarcane plant was
observed a short time after application of the by-product. In the soil, the chemical attributes
were altered with increased levels of calcium, acid potential and aluminum.
4.2 Effects of fusel oil application in Sida rhombifolia and Brachiaria decumbens
The study was conducted under laboratory conditions by Azania et al. (2003) to evaluate the
germination of Sida rhombifolia and Brachiaria decumbens after applications of vinasse,
flegmass and fusel oil. These by-products at concentrations of 12.5, 25.0, 50.0 and 100.0%
(v/v) and controls (water with pH and osmolality adjusted depending on the
characterization of the by-products and their dilutions) were applied directly to 100 seeds in
plastic boxes using paper as a substrate.
The seeds of Sida rhombifolia that were treated with fusel oil did not germinate and had
reduced viability, especially with higher applications. Brachiaria decumbens seeds that were
treated with a higher concentration of flegmass had reduced viability and germination
speed index. In the presence of fusel oil, Brachiaria decumbens seeds did not germinate and
were completely unviable.
In a similar work, Azania et al. (2004) evaluated the effects of fusel oil, compared to flegmass
and vinasse, on the growth of plants (Sida rhombifolia and Brachiaria decumbens) grown
simultaneously in the greenhouse. Concentrations of 12.5, 25.0, 50.0 and 100.0% (v/v) of
each by-product and the control (water) were applied (at a rate equivalent to 150 m3 ha-1) in
pots (22 L) containing 100 seeds of each weed. Fusel oil inhibited the emergence of Sida
rhombifolia and Brachiaria decumbens. Vinasse and flegmass reduced the emergence and
development of B. decumbens and S. rhombifolia.
4.3 Mixing fusel oil in the spray solution

After publication of the first results, several studies were conducted to understand better the
way that by-product behaves, its characteristics and the application rates that were most
effective in the eradication of sugarcane and weeds. However, one of the problems
encountered during this research was how to blend the fusel oil spray because the product
does not homogenize easily with water.
To remedy this problem, work was undertaken by Azania (2007), whose objective was to
study the effectiveness of surfactants and/or adhesive spreaders and alcohol on the stability
of the spray solution, which consisted of fusel oil and water. A range of products already
used for this purpose were tried.
The results indicated that of all the products tested, a non-ionic wetting agent, trademarked
Energic (226 g L of nonyl phenoxy poly (ethyleneoxy) ethanol + 226 g L of sodium salt of
dodecyl benzene sulfonic acid to 548 g inert L) and a neutral detergent were those that
presented the best results and were able to maintain the emulsion for 30 minutes without
separation. Alcohol was unfeasible due to the amount that would be needed to achieve good
results.
4.4 Application of fusel oil for the eradication of sugarcane plants

While Azania (2003) found a possible desiccant potential of fusel oil in sugarcane, the tests
were performed by placing different concentrations of product directly into the potted soil.
When used with manual spray application with the appropriate bar and nozzles, the
isolated product was not satisfactory for use as a desiccant in any of the tested
concentrations because the effects ranged from mild to moderate and some plants recovered
(Azania, 2007).
When the product hit the leaves, a yellow color appeared in the location of the drops in just
a few hours, and the tissue generally began wilting and posterior necrosis. In this study,
were used XR Teejet 110.02 VS nozzles for the preliminary results. However, the results
were not satisfactory, so another application was made, this time with TT 110.02 nozzles,
which provided better spreading of the product.
Based on previous research results, Azania (2007) evaluated the effect of fusel oil,
glyphosate and a mixture of the two products in the eradication of sugarcane. Due to the
lack of knowledge about the use of fusel oil in agriculture, it became necessary to test
different dosages compared to glyphosate. Dosages for fusel oil application were
determined by the cost of the individual products, so that the final cost would not exceed
that of the glyphosate application (4 L ha-1 commercial dose) usually used by farmers for
sugarcane eradication.
The experiment was conducted in 22 L pots maintained until 60 days after treatment (DAT).
The treatments were (1) 4 L ha-1 glyphosate; (2) 150 L ha-1 fusel oil; (3) glyphosate 2.5 + 6.25
L ha-1 fusel oil; (4) glyphosate 2.0 + 25.0 L ha-1 fusel oil; (5) glyphosate 1.5 + 43.75 L ha-1 fusel
oil; (6) glyphosate 1.0 + 62.50 L ha-1 fusel oil; (7 ) 100 L ha-1 fusel oil; (8) glyphosate 1.50 +
18.75 L ha-1 fusel oil; (9) glyphosate 1.0 + 37.50 L ha-1 fusel oil; (10) 75.0 L ha-1 fusel oil; (11)
glyphosate 1.0 + 12.50 L ha-1 fusel oil; and (12) 50.0 L ha-1 fusel oil applied with pressurized
backpack equipment, fitted with four Teejet 110.02 Turbo TT nozzles, at a pressure of 30 lb
in.2 (2.1 kgf cm2) and spray volume of 200 L ha-1. Also, 0.2% neutral detergent was added to
all treatments involving fusel oil to facilitate mixing.
For application, the developmental stage of the culture was considered, which was an
average of 28 cm in height measured from the first visible ligule to the ground. Moreover,
the plants were in full vegetative development and not subjected to any kind of stress.
The fusel oil alone did not promote drying of sugarcane. In treatments with a mixture of
glyphosate and fusel oil, the injuries were not as severe initially but were enough to dry out
the main tiller until 60 DAT. Another important factor was the sprouting of suckers, which
may mean that the results were not satisfactory from an agronomic point of view, as the
expected result would be that the whole plant suffered stress resulting in the desiccation
process. Overall, the soil chemical properties did not suffer alterations with the application
of glyphosate, fusel oil or a mixture of the two.
4.5 Application of fusel oil in late post-emergence in a natural community of weeds

Azania et al. (2008) evaluated the effectiveness of fusel oil applied singly or in combination
with desiccant herbicides during the late post-emergence stage in a natural community of
weeds.
The experiment was conducted in the field in 3x3 m plots. The least satisfactory results of
the experiment were those in which only the fusel oil was applied. In the treatments (1.50 +
43.75, 1.00 + 62.50, 1.50 + 18.75, 1.00 + 37.5, 1.00 + 12.5 L ha-1 glyphosate and fusel oil,
respectively) that contained glyphosate, fusel oil allowed a reduction of the herbicide
dosage and provided maximum control over a natural community of weeds consisting of
Amaranthus spp., Brachiaria spp. and C. echinatus, but not Commelina and Cyperus genera.
These species, even with yellow spots, showed tolerance to the products and did not
desiccate (Figure 1).
4.6 Application of fusel oil for weed management in no-till farming

Osipe et al. (2009) proved the effectiveness of fusel oil for weed management in no-till
systems, for they obtained positive results in controlling Digitaria insularis and Commelina
benghalensis.
The authors concluded that fusel oil was effective in controlling weeds in the doses tested
(220, 440, 660 and 880 L ha-1) and that it has the potential to become a product for use in no-
till management. However, they stressed that further studies are necessary to design an
application technique that reduces the volume of product applied per hectare.
4.7 Eradication of sugarcane with application of fusel oil spray and soil treatment and
evaluation of subsequently-planted sunflowers
The eradication of sugarcane ratoon was also studied by Azania et al. (2010a) to test
different concentrations of fusel oil which were pulverized and applied to the soil, as well as
the development of subsequently-planted sunflowers.
The rationale for performing this work was that in the reform of a sugarcane plantation, the
use of fusel oil could be another option for producers, which consequently would have
economic and environmental benefits because there would be less application of desiccant
herbicides. However, the use of fusel oil should be studied further because the residue only
highlights its desiccant potential.
The planting of sugarcane, which is costly and consumes considerable amounts of
herbicides that may even harm the environment, could benefit from the use of this
byproduct. From this standpoint, Pérez et al. (2001) thought that the low commercial value
of fusel oil coupled with high production volume of crops are factors that should encourage
proposals to develop technology to use fusel oil. Consequently, the choice of desiccant
herbicides for of sugarcane reform is essential for the selection of both the sugarcane and the
species that can be cultivated after eradication of the ratoon.
The cultivation of legumes (Bolonhezi, 2007), sunflowers and peanuts (Ramos et al., 2009) is
common after ratoon eradication and before new sugarcane planting. However, Pires et al.
(2003) stated that it is essential that there be no herbicide residues that are selective for these
plants in the soil to ensure the development of new plants.
Sunflowers are cultivated to obtain green mass to be incorporated into the soil to improve
the physical and chemical properties. In the case of fusel oil, it is interesting to identify
portions that enable the development of sunflowers or other crops after eradication of
sugarcane ratoons.
Therefore, to highlight the use of fusel oil, the objective was to test the hypothesis that fusel
oil applied by spraying or directly into the soil promotes the eradication of the ratoon
without harming the development of successive sunflower plantings.
The authors found that fusel oil applied by spraying the sugarcane did not eradicate the
ratoon. However, applying fusel oil directly to the soil was effective in eradication of
ratoons, and it did not alter the chemical attributes of the soil that are essential for plant
development (except phosphorus values, which were less than those of the control due to
the 0.1 m3 ha-1 of fusel oil). It also did not jeopardize sunflower development afterward. The
failure of fusel oil to alter the majority of soil chemical properties, which was found in the
work of Azania (2003 and 2007) and corroborated by the results of this research, is a positive
signal to continue this type of research. One should not forget that agro-industrial residues
such as fusel oil are generally chemically unbalanced and should be applied in the
environment with caution.
4.8 Efficacy of herbicide management in association with fusel oil on species of

weeds
In a more recent publication on the subject, Pizzo et al. (2010) warned that it is common for
producers to mix different herbicides directly into the same spray tank in the field, with
standard formulations for two or more molecules, according to Rodrigues & Almeida (2005).
However for technical purposes, studies that demonstrate the efficiency of control of two or
more herbicides mixed in a single application are important for the subsequent possibility of
registering new standard formulations.
Considering the technical need to verify the effectiveness of the mixtures made directly in
the tank, the herbicide potential and low commercial value of fusel oil, Pizzo et al. (2010)
evaluated the efficiency of herbicide control in combination with fusel oil on Panicum
maximum, Amaranthus deflexus, Ipomoea quamoclit, Euphorbia heterophylla and Brachiaria
decumbens.
The treatments consisted of: diuron + hexazinone (1170 + 330 g ha-1); diuron + hexazinone
(1170 + 330 g ha-1) + fusel oil (25.0 L ha-1); diuron + hexazinone (819 + 231 g ha-1) + fusel oil
(25.0 L ha-1); metribuzin (1920 g ha-1); metribuzin (1920 g ha-1) + fusel oil (25.0 L ha-1);
metribuzin (1344 g ha-1) + fusel oil (25.0 L ha-1); amicarbazone (1400 g ha-1); amicarbazone
(1400 g ha-1) + fusel oil (25.0 L ha-1); amicarbazone (980 g ha-1) + fusel oil (25.0 L ha-1) and no
herbicide. The treatments were applied with a pressurized backpack sprayer at a volume
corresponding to 250 L ha-1 in post-crop emergence (30 cm) and weeds (up to 20 cm).
The herbicides diuron + hexazinone, metribuzin and amicarbazone isolates were effective in
controlling all species, but full dosage and 70% of the dose plus fusel oil only showed
satisfactory control in species of I. quamoclit and E. heterophylla.
4.9 Fusel oil applied in early and late post-emergence of weeds

Azania et al. (2010b) studied the response of weeds to doses of fusel oil applied in early and
late post-emergence. For this study, the species Ipomoea hederifolia, Ipomoea quamoclit,
Euphorbia heterophylla, Digitaria spp. Cenchrus echinatus and Panicum maximum were used.
Fusel oil was applied in early and late post-emergence at doses of 50, 125, 250, 375 and 500 L
ha-1 plus the untreated control. The plots were made of polyethylene pots with a capacity of
3 L and contained soil from the topsoil of a fallow field. The percentage of intoxication at 7
and 30 days after application (DAA) were visually observed.
These species were only susceptible to the use of 500 L ha-1 of fusel oil applied in early or
late post-emergence. Digitaria spp. was susceptible, E. Heterophylla was tolerant, and all of
the other species were moderately tolerant to fusel oil applied in early post-emergence. E.
heterophylla was susceptible, Digitaria spp., C. echinatus and P. maximum were moderately
tolerant and I. hederifolia and I. quamoclit were tolerant to fusel oil applied in late post-
emergence.
4.10 Influence of fusel oil on the development of peanut crops planted in rotation with
sugarcane
Azania et al. (2009) evaluated the influence of by-products (vinasse, flegmass and fusel oil)
that had previously been applied to sugarcane on the chemical attributes of the soil and the
development of peanut crops (Arachis hypogaea) in a greenhouse.
The experiment was set up in 22 L pots with treatments of a combination of the three by-
products at four concentrations (12.50, 25.00, 50.00 and 100.00% v/v), as well as a control
that was irrigated with water and fertilized. Forty days after treatment, the pots that the
sugarcane was taken from were planted with seeds of the peanut cultivar Tatu vermelho at
10 seeds per vase, and two plants were maintained per pot after thinning (20 days after
planting – DAP).
Fusel oil at 50.0 and 100.0% reduced the soil pH and increased the levels of toxic aluminum.
The vinasse increased the pH, freeing up more nutrients. The initial development and
subsequent peanut production were influenced by the fusel oil at the two highest
concentrations (50.0 and 100.0%), where there was little plant development.
4. Conclusion
The residuals and/or by-products generated by different industrial processes most often
have no practical application, and when stored, they may contaminate the environment.
Research dedicated to exploring possible uses for these materials is of great importance. In
this way, research so far shows that the fusel oil applied in combination with herbicides or
herbicide alone has potential, and it only needs to be further explored scientifically to adjust
doses and expand application technology.
A B
C D
Fig 1. A) Weed community before the application of treatments; B) lack of control of Cyperus
sp. and Commelina benghalensis (1.50 + 43.75, 1.00 + 62.50, 1.50 + 18.75, 1.00 + 37.5, 1.00 + 12.5
L ha-1 glyphosate and fusel oil, respectively); C) Commelina benghalensis with yellow leaves
and D) total control of weeds (1.50 + 43.75, 1.00 + 62.50, 1.50 + 18.75, 1.00 + 37.5, 1.00 + 12.5 L
ha-1 glyphosate and fusel oil, respectively). Ribeirão Preto, Brazil, (Azania, 2007).
5. References
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HERBICIDES AND

Copyright © 2011 InTech

Publishing Process Manager Ana Nikolic

First published January, 2011

A free online edition of this book is available at www.intechopen.com

Herbicides and Environment, Edited by Andreas Kortekamp

Part 1 Effects on Non-target Organisms 1

Chapter 1 Herbicides: The Face and the Reverse of the Coin.

Chapter 2 Impact of Herbicides on Non-Target Organisms

Chapter 3 Transient Effect of the Herbicide Flumioxazin

Chapter 4 Unexpected Side Effects of Herbicides:

Part 2 Effects on Agro Ecosystems 105

Chapter 5 Herbicides Effect on Nitrogen

Chapter 6 Critical Revision and Development Perspectives

Chapter 7 Prevention of Herbicides Pollution Using Sorbents

Part 3 Herbicides in Soil 173

Chapter 8 The Fate of Herbicides in Soil 175

Chapter 9 Environment Behavior and Fate of a Novel

Chapter 10 Application of a Laboratory Bioassay for Assessment

Chapter 11 An Electrochemical Approach to Quantitative Analysis

Chapter 12 Application of Bioassays in Studies on

Chapter 13 Adsorption and Photochemical Behaviour

Chapter 14 Application of Diflufenican Herbicide

Chapter 15 Impacts of Biochar (Black Carbon) Additions

Part 4 Herbicides in Aquatic Ecosystems 341

Chapter 16 Effects of Herbicide Glyphosate and

Chapter 17 The Impact of Herbicides on Benthic Organisms

Chapter 18 Structural and Functional Effects of Herbicides

Chapter 19 Toxicology of the Herbicide Acrolein:

Chapter 20 Genetic Adaptation of Phytoplankters to Herbicides 421

Chapter 21 Highly Specific Biosensors to Herbicides,

Chapter 22 How Early Diagenesis Reveals In Situ

Part 5 Toxicological Aspects 469

Chapter 23 Risk Estimate of Water Contamination

Chapter 24 Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a Tool to Evaluate

Chapter 25 Herbicides in Argentina. Comparative Evaluation

Chapter 26 A Study on Dioxin Contamination

Chapter 27 Developmental Toxicity of Nitrophenolic

Chapter 28 New Concept for Evaluating the Toxicity of Herbicides

Part 6 Herbicide Resistance 583

Chapter 29 Resistance of Weeds to Herbicides 585

Chapter 30 Brief Approach of Herbicide Resistance

Chapter 31 Resistance to Herbicides in the Model Organisms

Part 7 Herbicide Applications and Modeling 641

Chapter 32 Herbicides Applications: Problems and Considerations 643

Chapter 33 Impacts, Efficacy and Economics of Bushwacker Sc (Bromacil)

Chapter 34 Pyrimidinylsalicylic Based Herbicides:

Part 8 Alternative Sources for Herbicidal Compounds 703

Chapter 35 Marine and Freshwater Microalgae

Chapter 36 Herbicidal Potentiality of Fusel Oil 735

However, (eco)toxicological relevant amounts of herbicides may run oﬀ into surface

DLR Agricultural Research Station,

Effects on Non-target Organisms

Herbicides: The Face and the Reverse of the

Table 1. Advantages and disadvantages of herbicides.

II. Classification of herbicides

Classes of herbicides Examples of herbicides

Classes of herbicides Examples of herbicides Mode of action

Benzamides Benzoylpropethyl, Unknown.