Alfalfa’s response to atrazine stress and its secreted atrazine metabolites

Although listed as endocrine disruptor compounds, atrazine (ATZ) is still used in large quantities in agricultural production. Here, alfalfa seedling was cultivated in hydroponic media to investigate the toxic effects of ATZ on alfalfa and accumulation of ATZ in tissues of different plant parts. Alfalfa had a strong upward translocation ability to ATZ. The stress response of alfalfa under ATZ stress was studied using metabolomic and transcriptomic techniques. S-adenosylmethionine, glutathione, 3-mercaptopyruvic acid, ornithine, and aminopropylcadaverine were significantly increased by ATZ in pathways mtr00270 and mtr00480. Several genes of cysteine synthase and spermidine synthase were significantly up-regulated by ATZ induction. They may be markers and genes with potential physiological functions of alfalfa in response to ATZ stress. In addition, using high resolution mass spectrometry, a total of five ATZ metabolites secreted from alfalfa roots were detected. Among them, acetylated deisopropylated ATZ was discovered for the first time. Hydroxylated ATZ and acetylated deethylated ATZ were more readily excreted by the root system. This study not only provides potential genes for the construction of engineering plants to remediate ATZ-contaminated soil, but also provides monitoring objects for the ecological research of ATZ metabolites.