Role of Glutamine Synthetase Isogenes and Herbicide Metabolism in the Mechanism of Resistance to Glufosinate in Lolium perenne L. spp. multiflorum Biotypes from Oregon

Glufosinate-resistant Lolium perenne L. spp. multiflorum biotypes from Oregon exhibited resistance levels up to 2.8-fold the field rate. One resistant biotype (MG) had an amino acid substitution in glutamine synthetase 2 (GS2), whereas the other (OR) exhibited the wild-type genotype. We hypothesized that the amino acid substitution in GS2 is involved in the resistance mechanism in MG and that non-target site resistance mechanisms are present in OR. OR metabolized glufosinate faster than the other two biotypes, with >75% of the herbicide metabolized in comparison to 50% in MG and the susceptible biotype. A mutation in GS2 co-segregating with resistance in MG did not reduce the enzyme activity, with results further supported by our enzyme homology models. This research supports the conclusion that a metabolism mechanism of glufosinate resistance is present in OR and that glufosinate resistance in MG is not due to an altered target site.