Chemical modification and degradation of atrazine in Medicago sativa through multiple pathways

Atrazine is a member of the triazine herbicide family intensively used to control weeds for crop production. In this study, atrazine residues and its degraded products in alfalfa (Medicago sativa) were characterized using UPLC-TOF-MS/MS. Most of atrazine absorbed in plants was found as chemically modified derivatives like deisopropylated atrazine (DIA), dehydrogenated atrazine (DHA), or methylated atrazine (MEA), and some atrazine derivatives were conjugated through different functional groups such as sugar, glutathione, and amino acids. Interestingly, the specific conjugates DHA+hGSH (homoglutathione) and MEA-HCl+hGSH in alfalfa were detected. These results suggest that atrazine in alfalfa can be degraded through different pathways. The increased activities of glycosyltransferase and glutathione S-transferase were determined to support the atrazine degradation models. The outcome of the work uncovered the detailed mechanism for the residual atrazine accumulation and degradation in alfalfa and will help to evaluate whether the crop is suitable to be cultivated in the atrazine-polluted soil.