Resistance to quinclorac and ALS-inhibitor herbicides in Galium spurium is conferred by two distinct genes

Classical Mendelian experiments were conducted to determine the genetics and inheritance of quinclorac and acetolactate synthase (ALS)-inhibitor resistance in a biotype of Galium spurium. Plants were screened with the formulated product of either quinclorac or the ALS-inhibitor, thifensulfuron, at the field dose of 125 or 6 g active ingredient (a.i.) ha respectively. Segregation in the F2 generation indicated that quinclorac resistance was a single, recessive nuclear trait, based on a 1 : 3 segregation ratio [resistant : susceptible (R : S)]. Resistance to ALS inhibitors was due to a single, dominant nuclear trait, segregating in the F2 generation in a 3 : 1 ratio (R : S). The genetic models were confirmed by herbicide screens of F1 and backcrosses between the F1 and the S parent. F2 plants that survived quinclorac treatment set seed and the resulting F3 progeny were screened with either herbicide. Quinclorac-treated F3 plants segregated in a 1 : 0 ratio (R : S), hence F2 progenitors were homozygous for quinclorac resistance. In contrast, F3 progeny segregated into three ratios: 1 : 0, 3 : 1 and 0 : 1 (R : S) in response to ALS-inhibitor treatment. This segregation pattern indicates that their F2 parents were either homozygous or heterozygous for ALS-inhibitor resistance. Therefore, there were clearly two distinct resistance mechanisms encoded by two genes that were not tightly linked as demonstrated by segregation patterns of the F3.