Keywords: acetolactate synthase, bensulfuron-methyl, growth inhibition, soybean seedlings, soybean suspension-cultured cells.activity for a better understanding of the relationship between the inhibition of ALS activity and the growth response.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Plant materialsSoybean (Glycine max L. cv. Enrei) was grown on MS medium (Murashige and Skoog 1962) and its suspension-cultured cells were established and maintained in MS medium, as described previously (Pornprom et al. 1994).
ChemicalsTechnical-grade BSM (methyl 2-[[[[(4,6-dimethoxypyrimidin-2-yl) amino] carbonyl] amino] sulfonyl] methyl] benzoate; 96% purity), the gift of Du Pont, Tokyo, Japan, was dissolved in sodium-phosphate buffer (pH = 8.04) and applied as sterile, filtered solutions. All the other chemicals were purchased from Wako Pure Chemical Industries, Osaka, Japan.
Inhibition of growth by bensulfuron-methylThe surface-sterilized soybean seeds were placed in 1/2 strength MS medium containing different concentrations of herbicide (10 -10 -10 -6 mol L -1 BSM) at 27∞C under dim light (ª30 mEm -2 s -1 ) for 10 days. Then, the germination rates of the seeds and the fresh weight of the soybean seedlings were measured.Soybean suspension-cultured cells were maintained under dim light at 27∞C and were subcultured every 10 days at the linear phase of the growth cycle. Then,