Effects of glyphosate on brachypodium distachyon

Official URL: http://192.168.1.20/record=b1307434 (Table of Contents)

Glyphosate is a non-selective herbicide used widely as the most popular weed management tool, especially since the commercialization of glyphosate-resistant crops. Due to overuse, several weed species have evolved resistance towards glyphosate and this trend threatens the future of world food production. Brachypodium distachyon has been proposed as a model organism specifically for economically important crops such as wheat and barley. Thus, evaluating the effects of glyphosate on Brachypodium can supply the required information about the tolerance of glyphosate among such crops. In this study, lipid peroxidation, free proline content, shikimate accumulation and antioxidant enzyme activities have been investigated as biochemical markers of glyphosate damage applied at two different concentrations, 5% and 20% of the recommended field rate. Thirteen Turkish and two standard Brachypodium lines were screened part of this study. There were various levels of responsiveness among the lines, suggesting that resistance may arise in this species, as well, if they are exposed to continuous applications of glyphosate. Further physiological and molecular analyses are required for a more conclusive result on this subject.