Glutathione conjugation and contaminant transformation

The recent identification of a novel sulfonated metabolite of alachlor in groundwater and metolachlor in soil is likely the result of glutathione conjugation. Glutathione conjugation is an important biochemical reaction that leads, in the case of alachlor, to the formation of a rather difficult to detect, water-soluble, and therefore highly mobile, sulfonated metabolite. Research from weed science, toxicology, and biochemistry is discussed to support the hypothesis that glutathione conjugation is a potentially important detoxification pathway carried our by aquatic and terrestrial plants and soil microorganisms. A brief review of the biochemical basis for glutathione conjugation is presented. We recommend that multidisciplinary research focus on the occurrence and expression of glutathione and its attendant enzymes in plants and microorganisms, relationships between electrophilic substrate structure and enzyme activity, and the potential exploitation of plants and microorganisms that are competent in glutathione conjugation for phytoremediation and bioremediation.