Response to imazapyr and dominance relationships of two imidazolinone-tolerant alleles at the Ahasl1 locus of sunflower

A LuALS Mutation with High Sulfonylurea Herbicide Resistance in Linum usitatissimum L

The cultivation of herbicide-resistant crops is an effective tool for weed management in agriculture. Weed control in flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) remains challenging due to the lack of available herbicide-resistant cultivars. In this study, a mutant resistant to acetolactate synthase (ALS)-inhibiting herbicides was obtained by ethyl methanesulphonate (EMS) mutagenesis using an elite cultivar, Longya10. Whole-plant dose-response assays revealed that, compared to Longya10, the mutant was 11.57-fold more resistant to tribenuron-methyl (TBM) and slightly resistant to imazethapyr (resistance index (mutant/Longya10) < 3). In vitro acetolactate synthase assays showed that the relative resistance of the mutant was 12.63 times more than that of Longya10. A biochemical analysis indicated that there was a Pro197Ser (relative to the Arabidopsis thaliana ALS sequence) substitution within the LuALS1, conferring high resistance to sulfonylurea herbicides in the mutant. Additionally, two cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence (CAPS) markers, BsaI-LuALS1 and EcoO109I-LuALS1, were developed based on the mutation site for marker assistant selection in breeding. Moreover, the mutant did not cause losses in natural field conditions. We find a mutant with ALS-inhibiting herbicide resistance chemically induced by EMS mutagenesis, providing a valuable germplasm for breeding herbicide-resistant flax varieties.

Effect of Ahasl1-1 and Ahasl1-4 alleles on herbicide resistance and its associated dominance in sunflower

BACKGROUND

Acetohydroxyacid synthase large subunit 1 (Ahasl1) is a multiallelic locus involved in herbicide resistance in sunflower. Ahasl1-1 and Ahasl1-4 alleles harbor different point mutations that lead to different amino acid substitutions (Ala205Val and Trp574Leu, respectively). The objectives of this work were to evaluate the effect of these alleles at the enzymatic and whole-plant levels, and to determine the dominance relationships for imazapyr and metsulfuron-methyl herbicides.

RESULTS

Resistant near-isogenic lines showed significantly lower specific AHAS activity than susceptible near-isoline. However, kinetic studies indicated that mutations did not change AHAS pyruvate affinity. Dose-response for six near-isolines carrying different combinations of Ahasl1-1 and Ahasl1-4 alleles and two herbicides (imazapyr and metsulfuron-methyl) were evaluated at whole-plant and enzymatic levels. Ahasl1-1 allele conferred moderate resistance to imazapyr and low resistance to metsulfuron-methyl. Conversely, Ahasl1-4 allele endowed high levels of resistance for both herbicides. Dominance of resistance at whole-plant level showed a semi-dominant behavior among the alleles for both herbicides.

CONCLUSION

Ahasl1-4 allele confers higher resistance levels than Ahasl1-1 when evaluated with imazapyr and metsulfuron-methyl. Dominance estimations suggested that both parental lines should carry a resistance trait when developing hybrids. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.

Photosynthetic Performance of the Imidazolinone Resistant Sunflower Exposed to Single and Combined Treatment by the Herbicide Imazamox and an Amino Acid Extract

The herbicide imazamox may provoke temporary yellowing and growth retardation in IMI-R sunflower hybrids, more often under stressful environmental conditions. Although, photosynthetic processes are not the primary sites of imazamox action, they might be influenced; therefore, more information about the photosynthetic performance of the herbicide-treated plants could be valuable for a further improvement of the Clearfield technology. Plant biostimulants have been shown to ameliorate damages caused by different stress factors on plants, but very limited information exists about their effects on herbicide-stressed plants. In order to characterize photosynthetic performance of imazamox-treated sunflower IMI-R plants, we carried out experiments including both single and combined treatments by imazamox and a plant biostimulants containing amino acid extract. We found that imazamox application in a rate of 132 μg per plant (equivalent of 40 g active ingredient ha^-1) induced negative effects on both light-light dependent photosynthetic redox reactions and leaf gas exchange processes, which was much less pronounced after the combined application of imazamox and amino acid extract.

Acetohydroxyacid synthase activity and transcripts profiling reveal tissue-specific regulation of ahas genes in sunflower

Acetohydroxyacid synthase (AHAS) is the target site of several herbicides and catalyses the first step in the biosynthesis of branched chain amino acid. Three genes coding for AHAS catalytic subunit (ahas1, ahas2 and ahas3) have been reported for sunflower. The aim of this work was to study the expression pattern of ahas genes family and AHAS activity in sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.). Different organs (leaves, hypocotyls, roots, flowers and embryos) were evaluated at several developmental stages. The transcriptional profile was studied through RT-qPCR. The highest expression for ahas1 was shown in leaves, where all the induced and natural gene mutations conferring herbicide resistance were found. The maximal expression of ahas2 and ahas3 occurred in immature flowers and embryos. The highest AHAS activity was found in leaves and immature embryos. Correlation analysis among ahas gene expression and AHAS activity was discussed. Our results show that differences in ahas genes expression are tissue-specific and temporally regulated. Moreover, the conservation of multiple AHAS isoforms in sunflower seems to result from different expression requirements controlled by tissue-specific regulatory mechanisms at different developmental stages.

Molecular characterization of Als1, an acetohydroxyacid synthase mutation conferring resistance to sulfonylurea herbicides in soybean

KEY MESSAGE

The AHAS gene family in soybean was characterized. The locus Als1 for sulfonylurea resistance was mapped and the resistant allele was characterized at the molecular level. Sulfonylurea (SU) resistance in soybean is controlled by Als1, a semi-dominant allele obtained by EMS mutagenesis over the cultivar Williams 82. The overall objective of this research was to map Als1 in the soybean genome and to determine the nucleotidic changes conferring resistance to SU. Four nucleotide sequences (GmAhas1-4) showing high homology with the Arabidopsis thaliana acetohydroxyacid synthase (AHAS, EC 4.1.3.18) gene sequence were identified by in silico analysis, PCR-amplified from the SU-resistant line BTK323STS and sequenced. Expression analysis showed that GmAhas1, located on chromosome 4 by in silico analysis, is the most expressed sequence in true leaves. F2:3 families derived from the cross between susceptible and resistant lines were evaluated for SU resistance. Mapping results indicate that the locus als1 is located on chromosome 4. Sequence comparison of GmAhas1 between BTK323STS and Williams 82 showed a single nucleotide change from cytosine to thymine at position 532. This transversion generates an amino acid change from proline to serine at position 197 (A. thaliana nomenclature) of the AHAS catalytic subunit. An allele-specific marker developed for the GmAhas1 mutant sequence cosegregated with SU resistance in the F2 population. Taking together, the mapping, expression and sequencing results indicate that the GmAhas1 sequence corresponds to the Als1 gene sequence controlling SU resistance in soybean. The molecular breeding tools described herein create the basis to speed up the identification of new mutations in soybean AHAS leading to enhanced levels of resistance to SU or to other families of AHAS inhibitor herbicides.

Differential expression of acetohydroxyacid synthase genes in sunflower plantlets and its response to imazapyr herbicide

Acetohydroxyacid synthase (AHAS) catalyzes the first reaction in branch chain amino acids biosynthesis. This enzyme is the target of several herbicides, including all members of the imidazolinone family. Little is known about the expression of the three acetohydroxyacid synthase genes (ahas1, ahas2 and ahas3) in sunflower. The aim of this work was to evaluate ahas gene expression and AHAS activity in different tissues of sunflower plantlets. Three genotypes differing in imidazolinone resistance were evaluated, two of which carry an herbicide resistant-endowing mutation known as Ahasl1-1 allele. In vivo and in vitro AHAS activity and transcript levels were higher in leaves than in roots. The ahas3 transcript was the less abundant in both tissues. No significant difference was observed between ahas1 and ahas2 transcript levels of the susceptible genotype but a higher ahas1 transcript level was observed in leaves of genotypes carrying Ahasl1-1 allele. Similar transcript levels were found for ahas1 and ahas2 in roots of genotypes carrying Ahasl1-1 allele whereas higher ahas2 abundance was found in the susceptible genotype. Herbicide treatment triggered tissue-specific, gene and genotype-dependent changes in ahas gene expression. AHAS activity was highly inhibited in the susceptible genotype. Differential responses were observed between in vitro and in vivo AHAS inhibition assays. These findings enhance our understanding of AHAS expression in sunflower genotypes differing for herbicide resistance and its response to herbicide treatment.