Examination of the translocation of sulfonylurea herbicides in sunflower plants by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation mass spectrometry imaging.

Pesticides are widely used in agriculture to control weeds, pests and diseases. Successful control is dependent on the compound reaching the target site within the organism after spray or soil application. Conventional methods for determining uptake and movement of herbicides and pesticides include autoradiography, liquid scintillation and chromatographic techniques such as high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).

Examination of the distribution of nicosulfuron in sunflower plants by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation mass spectrometry imaging.

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation mass spectrometry imaging (MALDI-MSI) has been used to image the distribution of the pesticide nicosulfuron (2-[[(4,6-dimethoxypyrimidin-2-yl)aminocarbonyl]aminosulfonyl]-N,N-dimethyl-3-pyridinecarboxamide) in plant tissue using direct tissue imaging following root and foliar uptake. Sunflower plants inoculated with nicosulfuron were horizontally sectioned at varying distances along the stem in order to asses the extent of translocation; uptake via the leaves following foliar application to the leaves and uptake via the roots from a hydroponics system were compared. An improved sample preparation methodology, encasing samples in ice, allowed sections from along the whole of the plant stem from the root bundle to the growing tip to be taken.

Carboxylesterase activities toward pesticide esters in crops and weeds.

Proteins were extracted from maize, rice, sorghum, soybean, flax and lucerne; the weeds Abutilon theophrasti, Echinochloa crus-galli, Phalaris canariensis, Setaria faberii, Setaria viridis, Sorghum halepense and the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana and assayed for carboxylesterase activity toward a range of xenobiotics. These included the pro-herbicidal esters clodinafop-propargyl, fenoxaprop-ethyl, fenthioprop-ethyl, methyl-2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-d-methyl), bromoxynil-octanoate, the herbicide-safener cloquintocet-mexyl and the pyrethroid insecticide permethrin. Highest activities were recorded with alpha-naphthyl acetate and methylumbelliferyl acetate.

Determination of agrochemical compounds in soya plants by imaging matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation mass spectrometry.

Detection and imaging of the herbicide mesotrione (2-(4-mesyl-2-nitrobenzoyl)cyclohexane-1,3-dione) and the fungicide azoxystrobin (methyl (E)-2-{2-[6-(2-cyanophenoxy)pyrimidin-4-yloxy]phenyl}-3-methoxyacrylate), on the surface of the soya leaf, and the detection and imaging of azoxystrobin inside the stem of the soya plant, have been achieved using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry. In leaf analysis experiments, the two pesticides were deposited onto the surface of individual soya leaves on growing plants. The soya leaves were removed and prepared for direct and indirect (following blotting onto matrix-coated cellulose membranes) imaging analysis at different periods after initial pesticide application.