Oxidative stress in duckweed (Lemna minor L.) induced by glyphosate: Is the mitochondrial electron transport chain a target of this herbicide?

We investigated the physiological responses of Lemna minor plants exposed to glyphosate. The deleterious effects of this herbicide on photosynthesis, respiration, and pigment concentrations were related to glyphosate-induced oxidative stress through hydrogen peroxide (HO) accumulation. By using photosynthetic and respiratory electron transport chain (ETC) inhibitors we located the primary site of reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in plants exposed to 500 mg glyphosate l. Inhibition of mitochondrial ETC Complex I by rotenone reduced HO concentrations in glyphosate-treated plants. Complex III activity was very sensitive to glyphosate which appears to act much like antimycin A (an inhibitor of mitochondrial ETC Complex III) by shunting electrons from semiquinone to oxygen, with resulting ROS formation. Confocal evaluations for ROS localization showed that ROS are initially produced outside of the chloroplasts upon initial glyphosate exposure. Our results indicate that in addition to interfering with the shikimate pathway, glyphosate can induce oxidative stress in plants through HO formation by targeting the mitochondrial ETC, which would explain its observed effects on non-target organisms.