HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Pillai, P. Articles by Davis, D. E. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Pillai, P. Articles by Davis, D. E. Agricola Articles by Pillai, P. Articles by Davis, D. E.

Atrazine Metabolism in Box Crabs¹

ABSTRACT

The metabolism of atrazine [2-chloro-4-(ethylamino)-6-(isopropylamino)-s-triazine] in box crabs (Sesarma cinereum) was determined. Leaves of smooth cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora Loisel) collected from plants grown for 2 days in nutrient solution containing [¹⁴Cl atrazine, followed by 3 days in an atrazine-free nutrient solution, were fed to box crabs for 10 days. No significant effects of atrazine on the behavior or survival of crabs were found. At the end of the 10-day feeding period, crabs and their feces were extracted with 80% methanol, and the extracts were concentrated and partitioned with chloroform. Radioactivities in the chloroform, aqueous, and 80% methanol-insoluble fractions (remaining crab material) of the extract were 7, 86, and 7% for crabs and 25, 51, and 24% for feces, respectively. Only 1.2 and 0.5% of the total radioactivity in the crab and feces, respectively, was atrazine, compared to the S. alterniflora used as a food source that contained 24% atrazine. This indicates that atrazine is metabolized in the crab. The accumulation of water-soluble metabolites in the crab suggests that, as in other animals, glutathione conjugation or a comparable pathway is responsible for the almost complete degradation and detoxification of atrazine in these organisms.

Key Words: Spartina alterniflora • salt marsh • herbicide • toxicity

¹ Contribution of Botany and Microbiology Dep., Auburn Univ. Agric. Exp. Station, Auburn, AL 36830.

² Research Associate, Associate Professor, Research Assistant, and Professor, respectively.

Received for publication July 22, 1978.