Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Pesticide Science, College of Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Weigang No. 1, Nanjing 210095, China.
Institute of Agricultural Resources and Environment, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanjing 210014, China.
J Agric Food Chem. 2022 Jan 12;70(1):87-98. doi: 10.1021/acs.jafc.1c04172. Epub 2021 Dec 22.
Atrazine (ATZ) is an agricultural pesticide for controlling field weeds. ATZ accumulates in many crops, posing high risks to crop production and food safety. Characterizing one of the novel rice MT genes named atrazine-responsive methyltransferase () showed that the expression of was associated with DNA demethylation (hypomethylation) in its promoter region. The enhancement of expression was manifested by the attenuated symptoms of ATZ toxicity including better growth and lower ATZ accumulation in plants. The promoted capacity of detoxification was confirmed by transgenic rice overexpression lines and also functionally proved by CRISPR-Cas9 knockout mutants. The transgenic lines accumulate more ATZ metabolites in rice and lower concentrations in the growth environment, pointing out that ATZ metabolism or degradation can be intensified. The ATZ-induced DNA demethylation is an important hallmark representing the epigenetic mechanism, which is required for the extra expression to facilitate ATZ disappearance in rice and the environment.
莠去津（ATZ）是一种用于控制田间杂草的农业农药。莠去津在许多作物中积累，对作物生产和食品安全构成高风险。莠去津响应甲基转移酶（）是一种新型水稻 MT 基因，其特征表明，的表达与启动子区域的 DNA 去甲基化（低甲基化）有关。通过减弱 ATZ 毒性的症状，表现出对表达的增强，包括植物更好的生长和更低的 ATZ 积累。通过过表达转基因水稻株系和 CRISPR-Cas9 敲除突变体证实了解毒能力的提高。转基因株系在水稻中积累更多的 ATZ 代谢物，在生长环境中的浓度更低，表明 ATZ 代谢或降解可以得到强化。ATZ 诱导的 DNA 去甲基化是一个重要的表观遗传标志，它是额外的表达所必需的，有助于 ATZ 在水稻和环境中的消失。
