Distinct Detoxification Mechanisms Confer Resistance to Mesotrione and Atrazine in a Population of Waterhemp

Previous research reported the first case of resistance to mesotrione and other 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase (HPPD) herbicides in a waterhemp (Amaranthus tuberculatus) population designated MCR (for McLean County mesotrione- and atrazine-resistant). Herein, experiments were conducted to determine if target site or nontarget site mechanisms confer mesotrione resistance in MCR. Additionally, the basis for atrazine resistance was investigated in MCR and an atrazine-resistant but mesotrione-sensitive population (ACR for Adams County mesotrione-sensitive but atrazine-resistant). A standard sensitive population (WCS for Wayne County herbicide-sensitive) was also used for comparison. Mesotrione resistance was not due to an alteration in HPPD sequence, HPPD expression, or reduced herbicide absorption. Metabolism studies using whole plants and excised leaves revealed that the time for 50% of absorbed mesotrione to degrade in MCR was significantly shorter than in ACR and WCS, which correlated with previous phenotypic responses to mesotrione and the quantity of the metabolite 4-hydroxy-mesotrione in excised leaves. The cytochrome P450 monooxygenase inhibitors malathion and tetcyclacis significantly reduced mesotrione metabolism in MCR and corn (Zea mays) excised leaves but not in ACR. Furthermore, malathion increased mesotrione activity in MCR seedlings in greenhouse studies. These results indicate that enhanced oxidative metabolism contributes significantly to mesotrione resistance in MCR. Sequence analysis of atrazine-resistant (MCR and ACR) and atrazine-sensitive (WCS) waterhemp populations detected no differences in the psbA gene. The times for 50% of absorbed atrazine to degrade in corn, MCR, and ACR leaves were shorter than in WCS, and a polar metabolite of atrazine was detected in corn, MCR, and ACR that cochromatographed with a synthetic atrazine-glutathione conjugate. Thus, elevated rates of metabolism via distinct detoxification mechanisms contribute to mesotrione and atrazine resistance within the MCR population.Waterhemp (Amaranthus tuberculatus) is a troublesome annual weed species in midwestern U.S. corn (Zea mays) and soybean (Glycine max) production. The change to production systems with limited tillage has favored waterhemp germination and growth (Hager et al., 2002). Waterhemp seeds are small, and one female plant can produce up to one million seeds (Steckel et al., 2003), which endow waterhemp with an effective short-distance dispersal mechanism. In addition, multiple herbicide resistance mechanisms in waterhemp are facilitated by its dioecious biology and wind-pollinated flowers (Steckel, 2007). The long-distance flow of pollen may be one of the main reasons that multiple herbicide resistance in waterhemp has become widespread in the United States (Liu et al., 2012).Mesotrione (2-4-(methylsulfonyl)-2-nitrobenzoyl]-1,3-cyclohexanedione) belongs to the triketone class of 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase (HPPD)-inhibiting herbicides (Beaudegnies et al., 2009). Molecular information regarding plant HPPD gene sequences and expression patterns is limited (for review, see Pallett, 2000; Kim and Petersen, 2002; Riechers and Stanford, 2002; Matringe et al., 2005), and only a single expressed HPPD gene was detected in waterhemp (Riggins et al., 2010). Herbicidal activity of mesotrione in sensitive plants is due to competitive inhibition of the HPPD enzyme, which is a key enzyme in the biosynthesis of tocopherols and plastoquinone. Plastoquinone is an electron acceptor for the phytoene desaturase reaction in the pathway of carotenoid biosynthesis and also serves as an electron acceptor in PSII (Hess, 2000). Tocopherols and carotenoids are responsible for the detoxification of reactive oxygen species and scavenging of free radicals in plant tissues (Maeda and DellaPenna, 2007; Triantaphylidès and Havaux, 2009; Mène-Saffrané and DellaPenna, 2010), and carotenoids also protect chlorophyll from photooxidation (Cazzonelli and Pogson, 2010). Following mesotrione treatment, carotenoid biosynthesis is inhibited in sensitive plants, resulting in bleaching and necrosis. In particular, new leaves and meristems are primarily affected due to the need for protective carotenoids and tocopherols in photosynthetic tissues (Triantaphylidès and Havaux, 2009) and the systemic nature of mesotrione, which is translocated in the phloem (Mitchell et al., 2001; Beaudegnies et al., 2009).There are two main mechanisms of herbicide resistance in plants: (1) target site alterations, such as mutations that affect herbicide-binding kinetics or amplification of the target site gene (Powles and Yu, 2010), and (2) nontarget site mechanisms, including metabolism, translocation, and sequestration (Yuan et al., 2007; Powles and Yu, 2010). Metabolic detoxification is a common nontarget-based mechanism for herbicide resistance, which typically may result from elevated levels of cytochrome P450 monooxygenase (P450) or glutathione S-transferase (GST) activity (Powles and Yu, 2010; Délye et al., 2011). In addition to conferring resistance in weeds, these enzymes also confer natural tolerance in crops (Kreuz et al., 1996; Riechers et al., 2010). Similar to tolerant sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) lines (Abit and Al-Khatib, 2009), corn is tolerant to mesotrione via rapid metabolism (i.e. ring hydroxylation catalyzed by P450 activity) in combination with slower uptake relative to sensitive weeds and a less sensitive form of the HPPD enzyme in grasses relative to dicots (Hawkes et al., 2001; Mitchell et al., 2001).Atrazine (2-chloro-4-(ethylamino)-6-(isopropylamino)-S-triazine) is a symmetrical triazine herbicide commonly used in corn to selectively control annual dicot weeds. Atrazine disrupts electron transport by competing with plastoquinone for the secondary electron-accepting plastoquinone-binding site on the D1 protein of PSII in chloroplasts (Hess, 2000). Atrazine resistance in weeds can be due to a mutation in the psbA gene that causes a Ser-Gly substitution at amino acid position 264 of the D1 protein (Hirschberg and McIntosh, 1983; Devine and Preston, 2000). Corn and grain sorghum are naturally tolerant to atrazine via the rapid metabolism of atrazine through conjugation with reduced glutathione (GSH; Frear and Swanson, 1970; Lamoureux et al., 1973), which is catalyzed by GST activities (Shimabukuro et al., 1971). Enhanced metabolism of atrazine and simazine in weedy species has been reported in Abutilon theophrasti, Lolium rigidum, and Alopecurus myosuroides due to either GST- or P450-mediated detoxification mechanisms (Burnet et al., 1993; Gray et al., 1996; Cummins et al., 1999; Délye et al., 2011).A population of waterhemp (designated MCR for McLean County mesotrione- and atrazine-resistant) from Illinois is resistant to HPPD inhibitors (Hausman et al., 2011) and atrazine as well as to acetolactate synthase (ALS)-inhibiting herbicides. A different population of waterhemp (designated ACR for Adams County mesotrione-sensitive but atrazine-resistant; Patzoldt et al., 2005) that is atrazine resistant but sensitive to mesotrione (Hausman et al., 2011) and a waterhemp population (designated WCS for Wayne County herbicide-sensitive; Patzoldt et al., 2005) that is sensitive to both mesotrione and atrazine (Hausman et al., 2011) were used in comparison with MCR in this research. MCR displayed 10- and 35-fold resistance to mesotrione in comparison with ACR and WCS, respectively, in greenhouse studies (Hausman et al., 2011). In addition, waterhemp populations with similar patterns of multiple resistance have recently been identified (Hausman et al., 2011; McMullan and Green, 2011; Heap, 2012). However, the mechanisms of resistance to mesotrione and atrazine in these waterhemp populations are currently unknown. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine if the multiple-herbicide-resistant phenotype of MCR (in regard to mesotrione and atrazine resistance) is due to either target site or nontarget site mechanisms.