Certain chemicals referred to as herbicide antidotes protect sorghum from injury by chloroacetanilide herbicides such as metolachlor. The effect of herbicide antidotes on the glutathione S-transferase isozyme complement of etiolated sorghum (Sorghum bicolor [L.] Moench) shoots was examined. Elution profiles of glutathione S-transferase isozymes from untreated and antidote-treated seedlings were generated by fast protein liquid chromatography utilizing an anion exchange (Mono Q) column. In untreated seedlings, there were two glutathione S-transferase isozymes, a major isozyme which exhibited activity toward 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene and a minor isozyme which exhibited activity toward metolachlor. Treating sorghum seedlings with various antidotes (flurazole, oxabetrinil, CGA-133205, naphthalic anhydride, dichlormid) resulted in the appearance of four to five additional glutathione S-transferase isozymes (de-pending on the particular antidote) which exhibited activity toward metolachlor as a substrate and little or no activity with 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene. Treating etiolated sorghum shoots with metolachlor was also found to induce at least four isozymes which exhibited activity toward the herbicide. An increase in glutathione S-transferase activity, measured with metolachlor as substrate, was detected within 4 h after treatment with 30 micromolar oxabetrinil, but 36 hours were required for maximum expression of activity. Addition of either the transcription inhibitor cordycepin or the translation inhibitor cycloheximide inhibited the appearance of glutathione S-transferase activity measured with metolachlor as substrate. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that antidotes confer protection against metolachlor injury in sorghum by inducing the de novo synthesis of glutathione S-transferase isozymes which catalyze the detoxification of the herbicide.
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