Monitoring Glyphosate- and Chlorimuron- resistant Conyza spp. Populations in Brazil.

Conyza species are important weeds in global agriculture, especially due to their capacity to evolve resistance to multiple herbicide mechanisms of action. We aimed to evaluate the frequency and distribution of resistance to glyphosate and chlorimuron-ethyl in Conyza spp. populations from Brazil. Seed samples were collected from grain production areas across nine Brazilian states over five consecutive years (2014 to 2018). Prior to resistance monitoring trials, dose-response assays were conducted to determine a single dose of glyphosate or chlorimuron-ethyl to discriminate resistant and susceptible populations. Resistance monitoring based on plant responses to the application of discriminatory doses of glyphosate (960 g ha-1) or chlorimuron-ethyl (20 g ha-1). Populations were classified as resistant, moderately resistant, or susceptible to either herbicide. While glyphosate resistance was highly frequent (71.2%) in all the five years, chlorimuron-ethyl resistant populations occurred at 39.8% of the total. The frequency of multiple resistance to both herbicides (35.3%) was proportional to the occurrence of chlorimuron-ethyl resistance (39.6%). Resistance to glyphosate and to chlorimuron-ethyl were found across all states evaluated.

Evolution of EPSPS double mutation imparting glyphosate resistance in wild poinsettia (Euphorbia heterophylla L.).

The evolution of glyphosate resistance (GR) in weeds is an increasing problem. Glyphosate has been used intensively on wild poinsettia (Euphorbia heterophylla L.) populations for at least 20 years in GR crops within South America. We investigated the GR mechanisms in a wild poinsettia population from a soybean field in southern Brazil. The GR population required higher glyphosate doses to achieve 50% control (LD50) and 50% dry mass reduction (MR50) compared to a glyphosate susceptible (GS) population. The ratio between the LD50 and MR50 of GR and GS resulted in resistance factors (RF) of 6.9-fold and 6.1-fold, respectively. Shikimate accumulated 6.7 times more in GS than in GR when leaf-discs were incubated with increasing glyphosate concentrations. No differences were found between GR and GS regarding non-target-site mechanisms. Neither population metabolized glyphosate to significant levels following treatment with 850 g ha-1 glyphosate. Similar levels of 14C-glyphosate uptake and translocation were observed between the two populations. No differences in EPSPS expression were found between GS and GR. Two target site mutations were found in all EPSPS alleles of homozygous resistant plants: Thr102Ile + Pro106Thr (TIPT-mutation). Heterozygous individuals harbored both alleles, wild-type and TIPT. Half of GR individuals were heterozygous, suggesting that resistance is still evolving in the population. A genotyping assay was developed based on the Pro106Thr mutation, demonstrating high efficiency to identify homozygous, heterozygous or wild-type EPSPS sequences across different plants. This is the first report of glyphosate-resistant wild-poinsettia harboring an EPSPS double mutation (TIPT) in the same plant.