Transport of the herbicide amitrole (3-amiao-1,2,4-triazole) by suspension cultured cells and leaf protoplasts of Nicotiana tahacum cv. Wisconsin 38 has been investigated. Cells were batch-cultured and routinely assayed 3 days after subculturing. Uptake rate was pH-independent, energy independent, and culture growth phase-dependent, with growing cells exhibiting the highest rates. At a concentration of 0.2 miimolar amitrole, uptake rates yielded a Qlio of 1.6 in the 18 to 28°C temperature range. Amitrole was not concentrated over a 48-hour period and showed unsaturable kinetics over the concentration range of 0.01 to 50.0 millimolar. Uptake was not significantly influenced by a 100-fold higher concentration of several amino acids (L-Asp, y-amino-n-butyric acid, L-His, L-Leu, L-Met, L-Trp), sucrose, glucose, fructose, and oxaloacetic acid. Uptake rate inhibition by malic acid and stimulation by NH4SCN were statistically significant. Amitrole was bound to cellular material, but uptake of amitrole by tobacco leaf protoplasts demonstrated that cell walls did not qualitatively influence uptake. These results indicate that amitrole enters the cells via simple diffusion.The uptake of ions and organic molecules by whole plants, tissues and cultured cells has been investigated (22). However, herbicide uptake by plants cells has received minimal attention and only a few herbicides have been studied in any detail (4,5,9,14,24). Although numerous amitrole2 translocation studies have been conducted (1), the mechanism of amitrole uptake into plant cells has not been reported. The herbicides glyphosate (N-phosphonomethylglycine) (9) and oryzalin (3,5-dinitro-N,N-dipropylsulfanilamide) (24) appear to be taken up into sugar beet leaf discs and corn root apices, respectively, by an energy independent mechanism. Although amitrole is structurally similar to histidine and might enter a cell via the histidine carrier system (18) bonyl cyanide m-chlorophenyl hydrazone; GABA, y-amino-n-butyric acid; PIM, protoplast incubation medium.MATERIALS AND METHODS Cell Culture and Assay. Cell culture and assay procedures have been described previously (2, 3). Cell suspensions of Nicotiana tabacum cv. Wisconsin 38 were maintained in 125 ml Erlenmeyer flasks containing 50 ml of L and S medium. Cells were subcultured every 7 days by adding 50 ml L and S medium to a 125 ml Erlenmeyer flask containing a 50 ml suspension of stationary phase cells and dividing the resulting suspension between two 125 ml flasks. The subculture inoculum size was about 9 g fresh weight and 4 d after subculturing, the cells had completed their period of rapid growth. Uptake rate was measured in growing cells where HV is the volume of cell debris resulting from the homogenization of the cells in a sample. HV has been related to other standardization parameters (2, 17). The incubation medium was not buffered. The initial pH was about 5.5 and during a 9 min assay the pH did not change. Except where noted, data points are the means of three determinations ± SE.Metaboli...