Competitive Inhibition of High-Affinity Oryzalin Binding to Plant Tubulin by the Phosphoric Amide Herbicide Amiprophos-Methyl

Amiprophos-methyl (APM), a phosphoric amide herbicide, was previously reported to inhibit the in vitro polymerization of isolated plant tubulin (L.C. Morejohn, D.E. Fosket [1984] Science 224: 874-876), yet little other biochemical information exists concerning this compound. To characterize further the mechanism of action of APM, its interactions with tubulin and microtubules purified from cultured cells of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum cv Bright Yellow-2) were investigated. Low micromolar concentrations of APM depolymerized preformed, taxol-stabilized tobacco microtubules. Remarkably, at the lowest APM concentration examined, many short microtubules were redistributed into fewer but 2.7-fold longer microtubules without a substantial decrease in total polymer mass, a result consistent with an end-to-end annealing of microtubules with enhanced kinetic properties. Quasi-equilibrium binding measurements showed that tobacco tubulin binds [14C]oryzalin with high affinity to produce a tubulin-oryzalin complex having a dissociation constant (Kd) = 117 nM (pH 6.9; 23[deg]C). Also, an estimated maximum molar binding stoichiometry of 0.32 indicates pharamacological heterogeneity of tobacco dimers and may be related to structural heterogeneity of tobacco tubulin subunits. APM inhibits competitively the binding of [14C]oryzalin to tubulin with an inhibition constant (Ki) = 5 [mu]M, indicating the formation of a moderate affinity tubulin-APM complex that may interact with the ends of microtubules. APM concentrations inhibiting tobacco cell growth were within the threshold range of APM concentrations that depolymerized cellular microtubules, indicating that growth inhibition is caused by microtubules depolymerization. APM had no apparent effect on microtubules in mouse 3T3 fibroblasts. Because cellular microtubules were depolymerized at APM and oryzalin concentrations below their respective Ki and Kd values, both herbicides are proposed to depolymerize microtubules by a substoichiometric endwise mechanism.