Two nuclearly inherited loci conferring increased diuron resistance to NADH oxidase in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Diuron in water: functional toxicity and intracellular detoxification patterns of active concentrations assayed in tandem by a yeast-based probe

A study on the acute and chronic effects of the herbicide diuron was carried out. The test, basing on a yeast cell probe, investigated the interference with cellular catabolism and possible self-detoxification capacity of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Aerobic respiration was taken as the toxicological end-point. Percentage interference (%r) with cellular respiration was measured in water by increased dissolved O2 concentration (ppm) after exposure to different doses. Interference was calculated through the comparison of respiratory activity of exposed and non-exposed cells. Short-term and long-term (6 and 24 h respectively) exposures were also considered. The test for short-term exposure gave positive %r values except that for 10-6 M (11.11%, 11.76%, 13.33% and 0% for 10-10 M, 10-8 M, 10-7 M and 10-6 M respectively). In the case of long-term exposure the test showed positive %r values, but less effect than short-term exposure until 10-8 M and much higher at 10-6 M (7.41%, 8.82%, 11.76% and 6.06% for 10-10 M, 10-8 M, 10-7 M and 10-6 M respectively). The findings of aerobic respiration as toxicological end-point were in agreement with known mechanisms of toxicity and intracellular detoxification for both the doses and exposure times employed.

Nuclearly inherited diuron-resistant mutations conferring a deficiency in the NADH--or succinate--ubiquinone oxidoreductase activity in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, diuron, antimycin and myxothiazol block the respiratory pathway at the bc1 complex level. Nuclearly inherited mutations located at the DIU3 and DIU4 loci confer in vitro resistance to diuron and cross-resistance to antimycin and myxothiazol at the NADH oxidase level. The mutant strains do not exhibit diuron resistance at the quinol-cytochrome-c oxidoreductase level. Thus, the apparent resistance does not seem to be the result of a modification of the inhibitory sites. Instead, the quinone reduction rate was found to be altered in the mutant. The diu3 mutations lead to a deficiency of the NADH--ubiquinone oxidoreductase activity, and the diu4 mutations to a deficiency of the succinate--ubiquinone oxidoreductase activity. On the basis of the model of Kröger and Klingenberg, a decrease of quinone reduction could explain the resistance to the bc1 complex inhibitors. Thus, the apparent resistance to the bc1 complex inhibitors was found to be due to a modification of the electron transfer kinetics.

Increased diuron resistance in the joint expression of mutations located at the DIU2, DIU3 and DIU4 loci of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, diuron blocks the respiratory pathway at the level of the bc1 complex. Two mitochondrially inherited loci, DIU1 and DIU2, located in the cytochrome b gene, and two nuclearly inherited loci, DIU3 and DIU4, have previously been identified. The present work genetically characterizes two double mutants. One mutant, Diu-217, carries two nuclearly inherited mutations, diu3-217a and diu-217b; the second mutant, Diu-783, carries the previously described nuclear mutation diu3-783 and a mitochondrial mutation diu2-783. Each mutation, independent of its location, exhibits a weak diuron resistance. The joint expression of two or three mutations leads to a cumulative or a cooperative enhanced diuron-resistant phenotype.