Biochemical and Ultrastructural Effects of Certain Organo Halides on Tomato, Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.1,2

Open Access
Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Labeled 1,3-dichloropropene (1,3-DCPE) (5.90 × 10−7 moles/ml) or 3-chloroallyl alcohol (3-CAA) (6.12 × 10−7 moles/ml) was administered to tomato seedlings through the roots. Radioactivity in various fractions was determined at various intervals of time. Maximum amounts of 1,3-DCPE and 3-CAA had been absorbed and translocated to the aerial parts of the plants by 4 hr. Gas chromatographic analysis of plant materials showed that the compounds were readily metabolized by the plant. The 1,3-DCPE was metabolized to 3-CAA, part of which was converted to 3-chloroacrylic acid and 3-chloro-1-propanol as confirmed by co-chromatography with standard compounds. No parent 1,3-DCPE was found in the plant after a 72-hr incubation period and 3-CAA was not detected after a 96-hr incubation. In unlabeled experiments, micrographs of cells from control plants showed normal organellar structure. By contrast, the chloroplasts in some leaf cells from plants treated with 3-CAA had undergone slight swelling and partial disruption of the membrane system 6 hr after treatment. At 12 and 24 hr after treatment, both chemicals had disrupted the organellar structure of the chloroplasts and the rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER) of some cells. Although the normal organellar structure was disrupted, the data indicate that the dichloropropenes and 3-CAA do not present plant residue problems, and that concern about the ultimate environmental fate of these compounds may be minimal.

This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: