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Long distance pollen-mediated flow of herbicide resistance genes in Lolium rigidum

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Abstract

Gene flow promotes genetic exchange among plant populations mediating evolutionary dynamics; yet, the importance of gene flow at distance via pollen movement is poorly understood. A field experiment at the landscape level was conducted with Lolium rigidum herbicide-susceptible individuals (population VLR1) placed into an otherwise Lolium-free bushland environment at increasing distances from adjacent large commercial crop fields infested with herbicide-resistant L. rigidum. Herbicide resistance was used as a marker to quantify the distance and the rate of pollen-mediated gene flow. About 21,245 seeds were produced on the isolated, susceptible mother plants of which 3,303 seedlings were tested for herbicide resistance and 664 seedlings were found to be resistant. Pollen-mediated gene flow occurred at 3,000 m (maximum tested distance). Both Mendelian and molecular analyses (sequencing and CAPS markers) confirmed the introgression of herbicide resistance genes. This is the first documented case of long-distance gene flow in L. rigidum. The results are important for future modeling simulations of herbicide resistance evolution and subsequent mobility. The adoption of integrated agronomic strategies, the control of potential receptor plants on fields’ margins and conservative use of herbicides can be realistic options to minimize herbicide resistance spread.

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Acknowledgments

The help of the Guest family is kindly acknowledged. The authors are grateful to Heping Han for assistance in the molecular work. The authors thank Danica Goggin (UWA), Valerie Le Corre (INRA), Christophe Delye (INRA), Pieter Poot (UWA) and Martin Vila-Aiub (UBA-IFEVA) for thoughtful comments on the manuscript. The Western Australian Herbicide Research Initiative (WAHRI) is funded by the Grains Research and Development Corporation of Australia (GRDC).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Western Australian Herbicide Resistance Initiative, School of Plant Biology, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia

    Roberto Busi, Qin Yu, Robert Barrett-Lennard & Stephen Powles

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  1. Roberto Busi
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  2. Qin Yu
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  3. Robert Barrett-Lennard
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  4. Stephen Powles
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Correspondence to Roberto Busi.

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Communicated by J. Snape.

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122_2008_862_MOESM1_ESM.doc

Partial sequencing chromatogram of ALS fragment amplified by primer pair ALS197F/ALS197R and ALS574F/ALS574R from resistant plants of progeny P1. Heterozygosity at the Pro197 codon and the Trp574 codon is arrowed. Y: nucleotide C/T, K: G/T. (DOC 139 kb)

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Busi, R., Yu, Q., Barrett-Lennard, R. et al. Long distance pollen-mediated flow of herbicide resistance genes in Lolium rigidum . Theor Appl Genet 117, 1281–1290 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00122-008-0862-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00122-008-0862-8

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