Differential Effects of a Substituted Pyridazinone, BASF 13-338, on Pathways of Monogalactosyldiacylglycerol Synthesis in Arabidopsis

We have examined the effects of the substituted pyridazinone herbicide, 4-chloro-5-(dimethylamino)-2-phenyl-3(2H)pyridazinone (BASF 13-338, Sandoz 9785), on the desaturation of linoleic acid (18:2) on different molecular species of monogalactosyldiacylglycerol (MGDG) and phosphatidylcholine (PC) in leaf tissue of Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. Specific changes in lipid composition allowed identification of different substrates for desaturation of 18:2 to linolenic acid (18:3). 18:2/16:2 MGDG was desaturated in the chloroplast to form 18:3/16:3 MGDG. Levels of 18:3/16:3 MGDG were reduced by treatment with BASF 13-338, suggesting that both the formation of 18:3 at the sn-1 position, and the formation of 16:3 at the sn-2 position of 18:2/16:2 MGDG were inhibited by this compound. Kinetic studies using exogenously incorporated [¹⁴C] 18:1 indicated that 18:2/18:3 MGDG originated from an 18:2/18:3 diglyceride precursor derived from PC. The formation of 18:3 at the sn-1 position of 18:2/18:3 MGDG was also inhibited by BASF 13-338. In contrast the desaturation of 18:2 proposed to occur at the sn-2 position of PC outside the chloroplast, was not affected.