Herbicide resistance in Amaranthus tuberculatus

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

Abstract

Amaranthus tuberculatus is the major weed species in many midwestern US row-crop production fields, and it is among the most problematic weeds in the world in terms of its ability to evolve herbicide resistance. It has now evolved resistance to herbicides spanning seven unique sites of action, with populations and even individual plants often possessing resistance to several herbicides/herbicide groups. Historically, herbicide target-site changes accounted for most of the known resistance mechanisms in this weed; however, over the last few years, non-target-site mechanisms, particularly enhanced herbicide detoxification, have become extremely common in A. tuberculatus. Unravelling the genetics and molecular details of non-target-site resistance mechanisms, understanding the extent to which they confer cross resistance to other herbicides, and understanding how they evolve remain as critical research endeavors. Transcriptomic and genomics approaches are already facilitating such studies, the results of which hopefully will inform better resistance-mitigation strategies. The largely unprecedented level of herbicide resistance in A. tuberculatus is not only a fascinating example of evolution in action, but it is a serious and growing threat to the sustainability of midwestern US cropping systems.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)43-54
Number of pages12
JournalPest Management Science
Volume77
Issue number1
Early online dateSep 11 2020
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2021

Keywords

  • cross resistance
  • evolution
  • genomics
  • herbicide metabolism
  • herbicide resistance
  • non-target-site resistance
  • target-site resistance
  • waterhemp

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Insect Science
  • Agronomy and Crop Science

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