Cell Membrane Permeability and Ultrastructural Effects of Difenzoquat on Wild Oats (Avena fatua)

Abstract

Effects of difenzoquat on wild oats grown under controlled environmental conditions were studied. Seedling height and fresh weight were significantly reduced 5 days after postemergence treatment. Dose-dependent increase in cell membrane permeability was detected after a 12-h exposure to the herbicide. Scanning electron micrographs showed normal leaf hairs and cuticular wax but swollen guard cells 10 days after treatment. Ultrastructural changes occurred before the visible symptoms. The primary effect of difenzoquat appears to be the disruption of the tonoplast and plasmalemma. The tonoplast showed greater damage than the plasmalemma. Secondary effects included damage to mitochondria and chloroplasts. Mitochondria were swollen and often ruptured, but the effect did not increase with the duration of exposure. Chloroplasts became spherical in shape, and their contents were also affected. The changes included: accumulation and then disappearance of starch granules, swelling of frets, fusion of granal thylakoids, detachment and then rupture of the outer membrane of the envelope, and clumping of ribosomes. By contrast, natural senescence caused greater injury of the plasmalemma than the tonoplast, a marked increase in size of plastoglobuli, and loss of starch grains without early accumulation.