Case Of Glyphosate Resistance Research Articles

First report of glyphosate resistance in an Amaranthus palmeri population from Europe

AbstractThe invasive weed Amaranthus palmeri is spreading throughout Spain, with Catalonia being one of the most affected regions. For this species, acetolactate synthase‐inhibiting herbicide‐resistant populations have been reported, and now glyphosate resistance is also suspected. Glyphosate targets and inhibits the enzyme 5‐enolpyruvylshikimate‐3‐phosphate synthase (EPSPS), but A. palmeri has evolved different resistant mechanisms leading to plant survival. One of the most effective is the EPSPS overexpression due to copy number variation (CNV). Gene copies accumulate within the EPSPS cassette that is an extrachromosomal circular DNA displaying unique structural polymorphisms. This study aims to determine the response to glyphosate of a suspected resistant population collected from a roadside and investigate the resistance mechanism involved. The herbicide bioassay confirmed that 40% of the plants survived glyphosate applied at 540 g a.i. ha−1. No known mutations endowing glyphosate resistance were found at EPSPS amongst confirmed resistant plants, while in most of them (70%) specific molecular markers revealed the presence of the EPSPS cassette. All these results indicate that this population is glyphosate resistant and it is very likely that the EPSPS gene CNV is the main resistance mechanism. This is the first case of glyphosate resistance in A. palmeri in Europe whose introduction is likely due to importation of contaminated seed with glyphosate‐resistant Palmer amaranth from the Americas. This introduction poses a significant danger to summer crops in our continent.

Cover Image, Volume 76, Issue 11

The cover image is based on the Research Article First case of glyphosate resistance in weedy sunflower (Helianthus annuus) by Vijay Singh et al., https://doi.org/10.1002/ps.5917. image

Target-Site Resistance to Glyphosate in Chloris Virgata Biotypes and Alternative Herbicide Options for its Control

Due to the overdependence on glyphosate to manage weeds in fallow conditions, glyphosate resistance has developed in various biotypes of several grass weeds, including Chloris virgata Sw. The first case of glyphosate resistance in C. virgata was found in 2015 in Australia, and since then several cases have been confirmed in several biotypes across Australia. Pot studies were conducted with 10 biotypes of C. virgata to determine glyphosate resistance levels. The biotypes were identified as either susceptible, moderately resistant or highly resistant based on the glyphosate dose required to kill 50% of plants. Two glyphosate-susceptible (GS) and two glyphosate-resistant (GR) biotypes were identified by the dose-response study and analyzed for the presence of target-site mutation in the 5–enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS) gene. Performance of alternative herbicides to glyphosate as well as the double-knock herbicide approach was evaluated on the two GS (Ch and SGM2) and two GR (SGW2 and CP2) biotypes. Three herbicides, clethodim, haloxyfop and paraquat, were found to be effective (100% control) against all four biotypes when applied at the 4–5 leaf stage. All the sequential herbicide treatments, such as glyphosate followed by paraquat and glufosinate-ammonium followed by paraquat, provided 100% control of all four biotypes of C. virgata. This study identified effective herbicide options for the control of GR C. virgata and showed that target-site mutations were involved in the resistance of two biotypes to glyphosate (SGW2 and CP2). Results could aid farmers in selecting herbicides to manage C. virgata in their fields.

Glyphosate Resistance in Amaranthus viridis in Brazilian Citrus Orchards

Glyphosate is the main tool for weed management in Brazilian citrus orchards, where weeds, such as Conyza bonariensis and Digitaria insularis, have been found with resistance to this herbicide. Field prospections have allowed the identification of a possible new case of glyphosate resistance. In this work, the susceptibility levels to glyphosate on three Amaranthus viridis L. populations, with suspected resistance (R1, R2, and R-IAC), collected in citrus orchards from the São Paulo State, Brazil, as well as their accumulation rates of shikimic acid, were determined. The fresh weight of the susceptible population (S) was reduced by 50% (GR50) with ~30 g ea ha−1 glyphosate, while the GR50 values of the R populations were between 5.4 and 11.3 times higher than that for S population. The LD50 (herbicide dose to kill 50% of individuals of a weed population) values of the S population were ≤150 g ea ha−1 glyphosate, while the LD50 of the R populations ranged from 600 to 920 g ea ha−1. Based on the reduction of fresh weight and the survival rate, the R1 population showed the highest level of glyphosate resistance, which had GR50 and LD50 values of 248 and 918 g ea ha−1 glyphosate, respectively. The S population accumulated 240 µg shikimic acid at 1000 µM glyphosate, while the R1, R2, and R-IAC populations accumulated only 16, 43, and 33 µg shikimic acid, respectively (between 5.6 to 15 times less than the S population). Enzyme activity assays suggested that at least one target site-type mechanism was involved in resistance. This result revealed the first report of glyphosate resistance in A. viridis reported in the world.

New Case of False-Star-Grass (Chloris distichophylla) Population Evolving Glyphosate Resistance

Chloris distichophylla, suspected of glyphosate resistance (GR), was collected from areas of soybean cultivation in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. A comparison was made with a susceptible population (GS) to evaluate the resistance level, mechanisms involved, and control alternatives. Glyphosate doses required to reduce the dry weight (GR50) or cause a mortality rate of 50% (LD50) were around 5.1–3 times greater in the GR population than in the GS population. The shikimic acid accumulation was around 6.2-fold greater in GS plants than in GR plants. No metabolized glyphosate was found in either GR or GS plants. Both populations did not differ in the enzyme 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS) basal activity or in vitro inhibition of EPSPS activity by glyphosate (I50). The maximum glyphosate absorption was observed at 96 hours after treatment (HAT), which was twofold higher in the GS plants than in the GR plants. This confirms the first case of glyphosate resistance in C. distichophylla. In addition, at 96 HAT, the GS plants translocated more 14C-glyphosate than the GR ones. The best options for the chemical control of both C. distichophylla populations were clethodim, quizalofop, paraquat, glufosinate, tembotrione, diuron, and atrazine. The first case of glyphosate resistance in C. distichophylla was due to impaired uptake and translocation. Chemical control using multiple herbicides with different modes of action (MOA) could be a tool used for integrated weed management (IWM) programs.

Reduced Absorption and Impaired Translocation Endows Glyphosate Resistance in Amaranthus palmeri Harvested in Glyphosate-Resistant Soybean from Argentina.

Amaranthus palmeri S. Watson is probably the worst glyphosate-resistant (GR) weed worldwide. The EPSPS (5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate-synthase) gene amplification has been reported as the major target-site-resistance (TSR) mechanism conferring resistance to glyphosate in this species. In this study, TSR and non-target-site-resistance (NTSR) mechanisms to glyphosate were characterized in a putative resistant A. palmeri population (GRP), harvested in a GR soybean crop from Argentina. Glyphosate resistance was confirmed for the GRP population by dose-response assays. No evidence of TSR mechanisms, as well as glyphosate metabolism, was found in this population. Moreover, a susceptible population (GSP) that absorbed about 10% more herbicide than the GRP population was evaluated at different periods after treatment. The GSP population translocated about 20% more glyphosate to the remainder of the shoots and roots at 96 h after treatment than the control, while the GRP population retained 62% of herbicide in the treated leaves. This is the first case of glyphosate resistance in A. palmeri involving exclusively NTSR mechanisms.

Glyphosate Resistance in Tridax procumbens via a Novel EPSPS Thr-102-Ser Substitution.

This study confirmed the first case of glyphosate resistance in Tridax procumbens and investigated the glyphosate-resistance mechanisms. Sequencing and cloning of the full 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS) coding sequences revealed a point mutation (ACC to TCC) at amino acid position 102, resulting in a novel Thr-102-Ser substitution. Other possible resistance mechanisms (i.e., target-site EPSPS-gene overexpression, nontarget-site differential glyphosate uptake and translocation) were also examined and were unlikely to be involved in resistance in this population. Structural modeling of the wild-type and mutant EPSPS in complex with glyphosate and phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) revealed that the Thr-102-Ser substitution weakly decreased EPSPS affinity to glyphosate, but sharply increased EPSPS affinity to the natural substrate, PEP. Therefore, this novel mutation is very likely responsible for the observed glyphosate resistance in this tetraploid weed species via dual mechanisms of reducing glyphosate binding and favoring PEP binding to EPSPS.

Is glyphosate-resistant ryegrass resistant to paraquat?


 
 
 Sequestration of herbicide into vacuoles is considered to be the main mechanism of resistance to both glyphosate and paraquat worldwide. In New Zealand, the first case of glyphosate resistance was found in ryegrass (Lolium) species, and the restricted herbicide translocation was found to be the main mechanism of resistance in the studied populations, presumably through sequestration. Overseas researchers hypothesised that the mechanism responsible for glyphosate resistance could also cause resistance to paraquat. We examined this hypothesis by comparing a known glyphosate-resistant population of perennial ryegrass with a known susceptible population after spraying with different rates (25—800 g ai/ha) of paraquat. The glyphosate-resistant population responded similarly to the susceptible population at the different rates of paraquat application. This result suggests that the restricted glyphosate translocation mechanism does not necessarily lead to paraquat resistance. These results also suggest that paraquat could be useful for controlling ryegrass when glyphosate resistance has evolved and the application of paraquat is permitted.
 
 

First case of glyphosate resistance in France

Glyphosate is a broad-spectrum systemic herbicide used to kill weeds, especially annual broadleaf weeds and grasses known to compete with commercial crops grown around the globe. However, weeds evolve and develop resistance to glyphosate. Until recently, no case of glyphosate resistance had been detected in France. Glyphosate resistance was indeed recently recorded in a Lolium rigidum weed population from a vineyard in the South of France. Here, we studied the mechanisms of this resistance case. Seed samples of L. rigidum were collected from the vineyard where resistance had been detected, as well as from a nearby area that had no known history of exposure to glyphosate. We studied the effect of retention of glyphosate spray, shikimic acid accumulation, glyphosate absorption and translocation, glyphosate metabolism, and the sequence of the enzyme that glyphosate targets in plants, 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase. Our results show that glyphosate absorption decreased by 30 % in the resistant L. rigidum weed. In addition, glyphosate translocation out of the treated leaves was reduced by 52 %. Finally, the resistant biotype had a serine amino acid substitution at position 106 of the predicted protein, instead of the proline amino acid present in the susceptible population. Our results suggest that the resistant population of L. rigidum presents three different mechanisms of resistance to glyphosate, namely reduced absorption, reduced mobility in the plants, and a mutation in the gene coding for the enzyme targeted by glyphosate.