Herbicide Resistance of Erigeron Bonariensis

This report investigates the genetic mechanisms behind herbicide resistance in Erigeron bonariensis, focusing on the role of specific genes and their implications for agricultural practices. The study highlights the importance of understanding genetic resistance to improve weed management strategies.

Running head: HERBICIDE RESISTANCE OF ERIGERON BONARIENSIS
Herbicide resistance of Erigeron bonariensis
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note:

1HERBICIDE RESISTANCE OF ERIGERON BONARIENSIS
In agriculture, the farmers use plenty of herbicides to get rid of the weeds. As the
farmers have overused the herbicides with the same active chemical ingredients, the weeds
have inevitably grown to resist the effect of herbicides. This process is called herbicide
resistance. According to Moss (2002), it is a heritable ability, which helps the weeds to
survive in spite of the presence of active herbicides.
The Erigeron sp. is native to America and can be seen in many arable lands. One
species of the Erigeron genus named Erigeron bonariensis shows very high resistance to
glyphosate herbicide. The significance of this study is to identify the cause of the resistance
in genetic level. The studies are done to identify, if the EPSPS gene has the target site
mutations in codon 106. The study is done to determine if the EPSPS gene and M10 and
M11, the ABC transporter gene and the candidate gene, which is yet to be determined are
associated or not. This study will also identify if the glyphosate resistance of Erigeron
population from the have the same genetic bases.
I have studied the possible role of M10 and M11 genes (ABC transporter genes) in a
study based on horsewood plants. According to the study, the M10 and M11 genes are very
much upregulated in the plants which are resistant to herbicides. I have studied that the P450
enzyme activity has a relationship with the non-target herbicide resistance. My idea was to
determine if the P450 gene is upregulated in the Erigeon sp. This gave me an idea that the
M10 and the M11 genes can have a role in glyphosate resistance of Erigeron. I personally
selected San Joaquin valley for collecting the sample seeds of Erigeron from fleabane
collection sites, which are known to produce glyphosate resistant fleabane. I also selected the
HFS and HFR population as the control population, which are known to be susceptible and
resistance to glyphosate respectively.

2HERBICIDE RESISTANCE OF ERIGERON BONARIENSIS
To execute the study, I collected the leaves twice prior in the experiment, once before
spraying the glyphosate and a day after spraying the glyphosate and stored those leaves to
collect the RNA samples and run the qPCRs.
The whole work was a team effort; however, I have studied the theory myself and
determined the research methodology. I also chose the samples and ran the PCR. My guide
and teammates helped me in every step.
Apart from discussing the expression analysis of the RNA Seq data, a vast amount of
transcriptome data was also retrieved from the study, which can have many usages. These
data is significantly the first genomic data of Erigeron bonariensis. This data retrieved for
Erigeron bonariensis can be compared to both the HFS and HFR populations for the genes
(M10 and M11) responsible for the non-target-site glyphosate resistance. This method can be
used for identifying the indels and SNPs, which are matched to produce the known protein,
for determining its contribution to NTSR.
To conclude the essay, the study is one of the first study which determines the
possible genetic sequence of Erigeron bonariensis that may be responsible for its glyphosate
resistance. This study can be used in further researches on the herbicide resistance of the
weed Erigeron bonariensis.