Carboxylesterase activities toward pesticide esters in crops and weeds

Carboxylesterase activities toward xenobiotic and pesticide ester substrates have been determined in 13 species of crops and weeds including Arabidopsis thaliana. The esters were hydrolysed in a species-specific manner with methyl-2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid being the optimal pesticide substrate for hydrolysis and hence bioactivation. Arabidopsis was found to serve as a particularly useful model system.