Long-term impact of sublethal atrazine perturbs the redox homeostasis in pea (Pisum sativum L.) plants

Atrazine frequently contaminates soil, groundwater, rivers, and ponds. It is well know that acute doses (1–5 mM) of atrazine induce massive generation of singlet oxygen by blocking photosystem II. The sublethal concentrations of this herbicide, similar to those found in the environment, also reduce growth and disrupt photosynthesis in a long-term aspect, but exact mechanisms remain much uncertain. In this study the effects of environmentally relevant atrazine levels, ranging from 0.1 to 10 μM, on pea plants were characterized for up to 20 days. The plants exposed to continuous influence of atrazine exhibited perturbed redox homeostasis with increases of the lipid peroxides, the total and oxidized glutathione pools and elevated guaiacol peroxidase and glutathione-S-transferase activities. In contrast, the long-term atrazine impact did not affect superoxide dismutase activity whereas the catalase was inhibited. The perturbations of the redox status and the recruitment of the antioxidant machinery imply that the sublethal atrazine concentrations alter the poise between production and scavenging of reactive oxygen species. Taken together these results show that the long-term impact of sublethal atrazine has hallmarks of oxidative stress most probably triggered by generation of singlet oxygen.