Tolerance to clomazone herbicide is linked to the state of LHC, PQ-pool and ROS detoxification in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.)

•Clomazone induced a photooxidative stress, which induced programmed cell death (PCD) in mesophyll cells of Virginie as compared to Xanthi.•Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) showed a variable tolerance in the response to clomazone herbicide.•The variable tolerance to clomazone proves to be mainly linked to the stat of the LHC, the redox state of the PQ-pool and the activity of detoxification enzymes. In this study, plantlets of two tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) varieties that are clomazone-tolerant (cv. Xanthi) and clomazone-sensitive (cv. Virginie vk51) were subjected to low concentration of clomazone herbicide. The oxygen-evolving rate of isolated chloroplasts, chlorophyll a fluorescence transients, JIP-test responses, hydrogen peroxide contents, antioxidant enzyme activities, cytohistological results and photosynthetic pigment contents were recorded. The results indicated that the carotenoid content was 2-fold higher in Virginie, which had greater clomazone sensitivity than Xanthi. Virginie exhibited noticeable decreases in the LHC content (Chl a/b ratio), the maximum photochemical quantum efficiency of PSII (Fv/Fm), the performance index on the absorption basis (PIabs), and the electron flux beyond the first PSII QA evaluated as (1−VJ) with VJ=(FJ−F0)/(Fm−F0) as well as increases in the rate of photon absorption (ABS/RC) and the energy dissipation as heat (DI0/RC). These results suggest that PSII photoinhibition occurred as a consequence of more reduced PQ-pool and accumulated QA−. The oxygen evolution measurements indicate that PSI electron transport activity was not affected by clomazone. The more significant accumulation of H2O2 in Virginie compared to Xanthi was due to the absence of ROS-scavenging enzymes, and presumably induced programmed cell death (PCD). The symptoms of PCD were observed by cytohistological analysis, which also indicated that the leaf tissues of clomazone-treated Virginie exhibited significant starch accumulation compared to Xanthi. Taken together, these results indicate that the variable tolerance to clomazone observed between Virginie and Xanthi is independent of the carotenoid content and could be related to the state of the LHC, the redox state of the PQ-pool, and the activity of detoxification enzymes.