Development of Brassica carinata A. Braun resistant to acetolactate synthase–inhibiting herbicides

Brassica carinata A. Braun (carinata) has become an important oil crop for biofuel production in subtropical regions. Carinata is highly sensitive to acetolactate synthase (ALS)-inhibiting herbicides, limiting its introduction into existing crop rotations. The objective of the study was to develop carinata lines resistant to ALS-inhibiting herbicides. A susceptible carinata line was crossed with a resistant Brassica napus L. line. Lines derived from those crosses were screened at high doses of imidazolinones, which allowed identifying five lines with high levels of resistance. Doses to reduce plant growth 50% (GR₅₀) and cause 50% injury (ID₅₀) were four to nine times greater than susceptible lines. Resistant lines exhibited cross resistance with halosulfuron (sulfonylurea). Resistance was confirmed under field conditions with doses 2X and 4X for imazethapyr and 4X–8X for halosulfuron of their respective label doses. While susceptible lines died, resistant lines exhibited no injury or growth reductions compared with nontreated controls. Sequencing of the ALS gene indicated that all resistant lines carried a Trp574Leu amino acid substitution, a mutation responsible for resistance in other species. Crosses between resistant lines and a susceptible line demonstrated that the inheritance of the mutation corresponded with the resistance phenotype in the F2. The resistance trait behaved as a single, fully dominant allele, which makes it easier to transfer it to carinata lines with desirable agronomic traits. The resistant lines developed here provide flexibility for use in multiple crop rotations and opens the possibility to use ALS-inhibiting herbicides for weed control within this crop's growing season.