Target-site and metabolic tolerance mechanisms to penoxsulam in pond lovegrass (<i>Eragrostis japonica</i>)

Abstract The identification of herbicide tolerance is essential for effective chemical weed control. According to whole-plant dose-response assays, none of 29 pond lovegrass [ Eragrostis japonica (Thunb.) Trin.] populations were sensitive to penoxsulam. The effective dose values of penoxsulam to E . japonica populations causing 50% inhibition of fresh weight (GR 50 : 105.14 to 148.78 g ai ha -1 ) were much higher than the recommended dose of penoxsulam (15 to 30 g ai ha -1 ) in the field. This confirmed that E . japonica was tolerant to penoxsulam. Eragrostis japonica populations showed 52.83- to 74.76-fold higher tolerance to penoxsulam than the susceptible barnyardgrass [ Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) P. Beauv.]. The mechanisms of tolerance to penoxsulam in E . japonica were continued to be identified. In vitro activity assays revealed that the penoxsulam concentration required to inhibit 50% of the acetolactate synthase (ALS) activity (IC 50 ) was 12.27-fold higher in E . japonica than that in E. crus-galli . However, differences in the ALS gene, previously found to endow target-site resistance in weeds, were not detected in the sequences obtained. Additionally, the expression level of genes encoding ALS in E . japonica was approximately 2-fold higher than that in E . crus-galli after penoxsulam treatment. Furthermore, penoxsulam tolerance can be significantly reversed by three cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (Cyt P450s) inhibitors (1-aminobenzotriazole, piperonyl butoxide, and malathion) and the activity of NADPH-dependent cytochrome P450 reductase toward penoxsulam in E . japonica increased significantly (approximately 7-fold higher) compared to that of treated E . crus-galli . Taken together, these results indicate that lower ALS sensitivity, relatively higher ALS expression levels, and stronger metabolism of Cyt P450s combined to bring about penoxsulam tolerance in E . japonica .