Oxidative stress and differential antioxidant enzyme activity in glyphosate-resistant and -sensitive hairy fleabane in response to glyphosate treatment

Biochemical assays in a time-course were employed to evaluate stresses induced by glyphosate treatment in resistant and sensitive biotypes of Conyza bonariensis. Two experiments were conducted assessing glyphosate doses and time-course after treatment. The doses of glyphosate ranged from 0 to 11840 g ae·ha–1 and assessments performed until 552 h after glyphosate treatment (HAT). The objectives of this study were to evaluate the oxidative stress and differential antioxidant enzyme activity in glyphosate-resistant and -sensitive biotypes of hairy fleabane after glyphosate treatment. After treatment, both studied biotypes accumulated similar levels of shikimic-acid until 96 h. The sensitive biotype died at192 HAT. Shikimic-acid and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) accumulation in glyphosate-resistant biotype were transient and did not differ from untreated plants at 288 and 500 HAT, respectively. In both glyphosate-resistant and -sensitive biotypes, a correlation analysis established a cause-and-effect relationship after glyphosate treatment, which leads to shikimic-acid and hydrogen peroxide accumulation, lipid peroxidation (indicates tissue damage) and an enhancement in the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) enzyme. However, in the glyphosate-resistant biotype, the oxidative stress and tissue damage were lower, and antioxidant enzyme activities SOD, CAT, and APX were higher than in the -sensitive biotype. It indicates that antioxidant enzyme in glyphosate-resistant biotype might be related to the glyphosate-resistance process in Conyza bonariensis. This study is the first report of differential antioxidant enzyme activity in hairy fleabane.