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Confirmation Of Conjugation Processes During Tnt Metabolism By Axenic Plant Roots, R. Bhadra, D. G. Wayment, J. B. Hughes, Jacqueline V. Shanks

Jacqueline V. Shanks

This paper examines processes in plants for the formation of fate products of TNT beyond its aminated reduction products, 2-amino-4,6-dinitrotoluene and 4-amino-2,6- dinitrotoluene. TNT metabolites were isolated and characterized in combination with temporal analyses of product profiles and 14C distribution, in microbe-free, axenic root cultures of Catharanthus roseus. Four unique TNTderived compounds were isolated. Using evidence from 1H NMR, mass spectroscopy, HPLC, acid hydrolysis, and enzymatic hydrolysis with â-glucuronidase and â-glucosidase, they were established as conjugates formed by reactions of the amine groups of 2-amino-4,6-dinitrotoluene and 4-amino-2,6-dinitrotoluene. From the mass spectral evidence, at least a six-carbon unit from the plant …