Binary combinations of atrazine and isoproturon influence cell growth and the glutathione cycle in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Abstract

The widely use of herbicides such as atrazine (ATZ) and Isoproturon (IPU) in agriculture has increased their environmental circulation, leading to their accumulation in water and soil. The consumption of water and food from these ecosystems can drastically compromise human health and well-being. Although ATZ and IPU can be found in numerous combinations in nature, most research involving these pollutants only analyses the toxicity of each molecule in non-target organisms. Thus, the aim of this work was to evaluate if and how binary combinations of ATZ and IPU M (25:5; 50:5) significantly affect the growth and antioxidant mechanisms of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a Crabtree-positive yeast. The findings show that exposure to those binary combinations of ATZ and IPU favored the Crabtree effect with an increase in cell proliferation, in terms of viability and specific growth rate, and a slowdown in antioxidant activity mediated by the glutathione cycle.