A Double Mutation in the ALS Gene Confers a High Level of Resistance to Mesosulfuron-Methyl in Shepherd’s-Purse

Abstract

Shepherd’s-purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris), a globally distributed noxious weed species often found in wheat, has evolved resistance to ALS-inhibiting herbicides mainly due to single mutations in the ALS gene. In the present study, dose–response bioassays showed that a shepherd’s-purse population (R), collected from Xinghua, Jiangsu Province, China, had high level of resistance to the ALS-inhibiting herbicide, mesosulfuron-methyl (800-fold), and even much higher resistance levels to other reported ALS-inhibiting herbicides, tribenuron-methyl (1313-fold), bensulfuron-methyl (969-fold) and penoxsulam (613-fold). Sequencing of the open reading frame of the ALS gene revealed a double ALS gene mutation (Pro197-Ser plus Trp574-Leu) conferring the high resistance in the R plants. Docking analysis of the ALS protein and mesosulfuron-methyl predicts that the two amino acid substitutions in the R samples reduces the binding energy to the herbicide by decreasing the hydrogen bonds (H-bonds) and other interactions, thus endowing resistance to ALS-inhibiting herbicides. These results demonstrate that the double ALS mutation confers high resistance levels to ALS-inhibiting herbicides. To our knowledge, this is the first evidence of the double ALS mutation in shepherd’s-purse endowing ALS-inhibiting herbicide resistance.