Identification and expression of main genes involved in non-target site resistance mechanisms to fenoxaprop-p-ethyl in Beckmannia syzigachne.

BACKGROUND

Non-target-site resistance (NTSR) to herbicides is a serious threat to global agriculture. Although metabolic resistance is the dominant mechanism of NTSR, the molecular mechanisms are not yet well-characterized. This study aimed to uncover the likely metabolism-related genes in Beckmannia syzigachne (American sloughgrass) resistant to fenoxaprop-p-ethyl.

RESULTS

Ultra-performance liquid chromatography - tandem mass spectrometry experiments showed that the resistant American sloughgrass biotype (R, SD-04-SS) showed enhanced degradation of this herbicide compared to the susceptible biotype (S, SD-12). R and S biotype were harvested at 24 h after fenoxaprop-p-ethyl treatment to conduct RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) analysis to investigate the likely fenoxaprop-p-ethyl metabolic genes. The RNA-Seq libraries yield 417 969 980 clean reads. The de novo assembly generated 115 112 unigenes, of which 57 906 unigenes were annotated. Finally, we identified 273 cytochrome P450s, 178 oxidases, 47 glutathione S-transferases (GSTs), 166 glucosyltransferases (GTs) and 180 ABC transporter genes to determine the likely fenoxaprop-p-ethyl metabolism-related genes in R biotype. Twelve overlapping up-regulated genes in the R biotype (fenoxaprop-p-ethyl-treated R/non-treated R, fenoxaprop-p-ethyl-treated R/fenoxaprop-p-ethyl-treated S) were identified by RNA-Seq and the results were validated using qRT-PCR. Ten were identified as fenoxaprop-p-ethyl metabolism-related genes, including three P450s (homologous to CYP71D7, CYP99A2 and CYP71D10), one GST (homologous to GSTF1), two GTs (homologous to UGT90A1 and UGT83A1) and four oxidase genes.

CONCLUSION

This work demonstrates that the NTSR mechanism by means of enhanced detoxification of fenoxaprop-p-ethyl in American sloughgrass is very likely driven by herbicide metabolism related genes. The RNA-Seq data presented here provide a valuable resource for understanding the molecular mechanism of NTSR in American sloughgrass. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry.