A review of physiological and biochemical aspects of resistance to atrazine and paraquat in Hungarian weeds

The most important results in the field of atrazine and paraquat resistance research by Hungarian researchers are reviewed. Pleiotropic effects accompanying atrazine resistance were investigated in atrazine-resistant (AR) and susceptible (S) biotypes of horseweed (Conyza canadensis (L) Cronq). No significant difference in carbon dioxide assimilation rate was found between the AR and S plants. The rates of the Hill reaction of the AR and S chloroplasts exhibited different temperature dependence. The thylakoid membrane lipids contained a lower amount of polar lipid and the fatty acid content exhibited a higher degree of unsaturation in the AR biotype. Photosynthetic apparatus of the AR biotype had better adaptive ability at low temperature and showed enhanced susceptibility to high-temperature stress. AR horseweed plants had reduced activity of xanthophyll cycle, limited capacity of light-induced non-photochemical and photochemical quenching, higher photosensitivity and susceptibility to photo-inhibition. In the case of paraquat resistance, horseweed found in Hungary exhibited a resistance factor of 450; the resistance is not based on an elevated level and activity of the antioxidant enzyme system. The suggested role of polyamines in the resistance mechanisms can be excluded. The higher putrescine and total polyamine content of paraquat-treated R leaves can be regarded as a general stress response rather than as a symptom of paraquat resistance. A paraquat-inducible, nuclear-coded protein, which presumably functions by carrying paraquat to the vacuole, is supposed to play a role in resistance. (C) 2003 Society of Chemical Industry.