Biotech Updates

Scientists Study Ryegrass' Resistance to Glyphosate in Arkansas

April 27, 2012

Resistance to herbicide glyphosate in weeds is one of the major concerns for the sustainability of glyphosate use in crop fields. In Arkansas, a population of glyphosate resistant Italian ryegrass was identified. Thus, Nilda Burgos and colleagues at the University of Arkansas conducted a research to understand the resistance mechanism of the population.

The team investigated resistant and susceptible plants from the population. They reported that the EPSPS gene did not have point mutation, which was previously suspected as the cause of resistance to glyphosate. The resistant plants exhibited higher EPSPS enzyme activities than the susceptible plants however their visual injury results were similar. The resistant plants were found to have around 25 more copies of EPSPS gene than the susceptible plants. The researchers concluded that the amplification of EPSPS and the EPSPS enzyme activity confer resistance to glyphosate in the ryegrass population, but other resistance mechanisms may also be involved.

Read more information about the study at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ps.3342/abstract.