Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-fbnjt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-14T09:29:20.925Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Glyphosate negatively affects pollen viability but not pollination and seed set in glyphosate-resistant corn

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Walter E. Thomas ,
Wendy A. Pline-Srnić ,
Judith F. Thomas ,
Keith L. Edmisten ,
Randy Wells  and
John W. Wilcut
Walter E. Thomas
Affiliation:
Crop Science Department, Box 7620, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-7620
Wendy A. Pline-Srnić
Affiliation:
Biology & Logistics, Syngenta, Jealotts Hill International Research Centre, Bracknell, Berkshire, RG42 6EY, U.K
Judith F. Thomas
Affiliation:
Botany Department, Box 7618, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-7618
Keith L. Edmisten
Affiliation:
Crop Science Department, Box 7620, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-7620
Randy Wells
Affiliation:
Crop Science Department, Box 7620, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-7620
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Experiments were conducted in the North Carolina State University Phytotron greenhouse and field locations in Clayton, Rocky Mount, and Lewiston-Woodville, NC, in 2002 to determine the effect of glyphosate on pollen viability and seed set in glyphosate-resistant (GR) corn. Varieties representing both currently commercial GR corn events, GA21 and NK603, were used in phytotron and field studies. All glyphosate treatments were applied at 1.12 kg ai ha−1 at various growth stages. Regardless of hybrid, pollen viability was reduced in phytotron and field studies with glyphosate treatments applied at the V6 stage or later. Scanning electron microscopy of pollen from affected treatments showed distinct morphological alterations correlating with reduced pollen viability as determined by Alexander stain. Transmission electron microscopy showed pollen anatomy alterations including large vacuoles and lower starch accumulation with these same glyphosate treatments. Although pollen viability and pollen production were reduced in glyphosate treatments after V6, no effect on kernel set or yield was found among any of the reciprocal crosses in the phytotron or field studies. There were also no yield differences among any of the hand self-pollinated (nontreated male × nontreated female, etc.) crosses. Using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to examine CP4-5-enolpyruvlshikimate-3-phosphate synthase expression in DKC 64-10RR (NK603) at anthesis, we found the highest expression in pollen with progressively less in brace roots, ear leaf, anthers, roots, ovaries, silks, stem, flag leaf, and husk.

Keywords

Glyphosatecorn, Zea mays L.‘DK 662RR’‘DK 687RR’‘DKC 64-10RR/SIL’Alexander stainfluorochromatic reactionpollen viabilityGA21NK603mEPSPSCP4-EPSPSELISA
Type
Physiology, Chemistry, and Biochemistry
Information
Weed Science , Volume 52 , Issue 5 , October 2004 , pp. 725 - 734
Copyright
Copyright © Weed Science Society of America 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Literature Cited

Alexander, M. P. 1969. Differential staining of aborted and nonaborted pollen. Stain Technol 44:117–122.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Anonymous. 1991. Phytotron Procedural Manual for Controlled-Environmental Research at the Southeastern Plant Environment Laboratory. Tech. Bull. 244. www.ncsu.edu/phytotron/manual.pdf.Google Scholar
Anonymous. 1999a. Roundup UltraMax label 21183A4-12. St. Louis, MO: Monsanto.Google Scholar
Anonymous. 1999b. Food ingredient testing soya kit user's guide. Tev. 111799, version 2.0. Part Number 2099992. Newark, DE: Strategic Diagnostic.Google Scholar
Anonymous. 2001. Safety Assessment of Roundup Ready Corn Event GA21. www.monsanto.com/monsanto/content/our_pledge/pss_roundupcorn_ga21.pdf.Google Scholar
Anonymous. 2002a. Acreage data [online]. http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/reports/nassr/field/pcp-bba/acrg0602.pdf.Google Scholar
Anonymous. 2002b. Safety Assessment of Roundup Ready Corn Event NK603. St. Louis, MO: Monsanto Co. www.monsanto.com/monsanto/content/our_pledge/pss_roundupcorn_NK603.pdf.Google Scholar
Bassetti, P. and Westgate, M. E. 1994. Floral asynchrony and kernel set in maize quantified by image analysis. Agron. J 86:699–703.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bentley, R. 1990. The shikimate pathway: a metabolic tree with many branches. in Fasman, G. D., ed. Critical Reviews of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Volume 25. Boca Raton, FL: CRC.Google Scholar
Bozzola, J. J. and Russell, L. D. 1999a. Specimen preparation for scanning electron microscopy. Pages 48–71 in Electron Microscopy. 2nd ed. Boston, MA: Jones and Barlett.Google Scholar
Bozzola, J. J. and Russell, L. D. 1999b. Specimen preparation for transmission electron microscopy. Pages 16–47 in Electron Microscopy. 2nd ed. Boston, MA: Jones and Barlett.Google Scholar
Chang, M. T. and Neuffer, M. G. 1989. Maize microsporogenesis. Genome 32:232–244.Google Scholar
Draper, N. R. and Smith, H. 1981. Applied Regression Analysis. New York: Wiley. Pp. 33–42 and 511.Google Scholar
Duke, S. O. 1988. Glyphosate. Pages 1–70 in Kearney, P. C. and Kaufman, D. D. eds. Herbicides: Chemistry, Degradation, and Mode of Action. New York: Marcel Dekker.Google Scholar
Elmore, R. W., Roeth, F. W., Klein, R. N., Knezevic, S. Z., Martin, A., Nelson, L. A., and Shapiro, C. A. 2001a. Glyphosate-resistant soybean cultivar response to glyphosate. Agron. J 93:404–407.Google Scholar
Elmore, R. W., Roeth, F. W., Nelson, L. A., Shapiro, C. A., Klein, R. N., Knezevic, S. Z., and Martin, A. 2001b. Glyphosate-resistant soybean cultivar yields compared with sister lines. Agron. J 93:408–412.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ferrell, J. A. and Witt, W. W. 2002. Comparison of glyphosate with other herbicides for weed control in corn (Zea mays): efficacy and economics. Weed Technol 16:701–706.Google Scholar
Gougler, J. A. and Geiger, D. R. 1981. Uptake and distribution of N-phosphonomethylglycine in sugarbeet plants. Plant Physiol 68:668–672.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heslop-Harrison, J. and Heslop-Harrison, Y. 1970. Evaluation of pollen viability by enzymatically induced fluorescence: intra-cellular hydrolysis of fluorescein diacetate. Stain Technol 45:115–122.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hetherington, P. R., Reynolds, T. L., Marshall, G., and Kirkwood, R. C. 1999. The absorption, translocation and distribution of the herbicide glyphosate in maize expressing the CP-4 transgene. J. Exp. Bot 50:1567–1576.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnson, W. G., Bradley, P. R., Hart, S. E., Buesinger, M. L., and Massey, R. E. 2000. Efficacy and economics of weed management in glyphosate-resistant corn (Zea mays). Weed Technol 14:57–65.Google Scholar
Jones, M. A. and Snipes, C. E. 1999. Tolerance of transgenic cotton to topical application of glyphosate. J. Cotton Sci 3:19–26.Google Scholar
Kearns, C. A. and Inouye, D. W. 1993. Techniques for Pollination Biologists. Niwot, CO: University of Colorado Press. Pp. 98–112.Google Scholar
Kiesselbach, T. A. 1992. The Structure and Reproduction of Corn. Cold Spring Harbor, NY: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press. Pp. 38–50.Google Scholar
Kishore, G. M. and Shah, D. M. 1988. Amino acid biosynthesis inhibitors as herbicides. Annu. Rev. Biochem 57:627–663.Google Scholar
Lanning, F. C., Hopkins, T. L., and Loera, J. C. 1980. Silica and ash content and depositional patterns in tissues of mature Zea mays L. plants. Ann. Bot 45:549–554.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mandaron, P., Niogret, M. F., Mache, R., and Monéger, F. 1990. In vitro protein synthesis in isolated microspores of Zea mays at several stages of development. Theor. Appl. Genet 80:134–138.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nolte, S. A. and Young, B. G. 2002. Efficacy and economic return on investment for conventional and herbicide-resistant corn (Zea mays). Weed Technol 16:371–378.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Otegui, M. E., Andrade, F. H., and Suero, E. E. 1995. Growth, water use, and kernel abortion of maize subjected to drought at silking. Field Crops Res 40:87–94.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pline, W. A., Edmisten, K. L., Oliver, T., Wilcut, J. W., Wells, R., and Allen, N. S. 2002a. Use of digital image analysis, viability stains, and germination assays to estimate conventional and glyphosate-resistant cotton pollen viability. Crop Sci 42:2193–2200.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pline, W. A., Edmisten, K. L., Wilcut, J. W., Wells, R., and Thomas, J. 2003a. Glyphosate-induced reductions in pollen viability and seed set in glyphosate-resistant cotton and attempted remediation by gibberellic acid (GA(3)). Weed Sci 15:19–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pline, W. A., Price, A. J., Wilcut, J. W., Edmisten, K. L., and Wells, R. 2001. Absorption and translocation of glyphosate in glyphosate-resistant Gossypium hirsutum as influenced by application method and growth stage. Weed Sci 49:460–467.Google Scholar
Pline, W. A., Viator, R., Wilcut, J. W., Edmisten, K. L., Thomas, J. F., and Wells, R. 2002b. Reproductive abnormalities in glyphosate-resistant cotton caused by lower CP4-EPSPS levels in the male reproductive tissue. Weed Sci 50:438–447.Google Scholar
Pline, W. A., Wells, R., Little, G. A., Edmisten, K. L., and Wilcut, J. W. 2003b. Glyphosate and water-stress effects on fruiting and carbohydrates in glyphosate-resistant cotton. Crop Sci 43:879–885.Google Scholar
Sandberg, C. L., Meggitt, W. F., and Penner, D. 1980. Absorption, translocation, and metabolism of 14C-glyphosate in several weed species. Weed Res 20:195–200.Google Scholar
Shaner, D. L. 2000. The impact of glyphosate-tolerant crops on the use of other herbicides and on resistance management. Pest Manag. Sci 56:320–326.3.0.CO;2-B>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Siehl, D. L. 1997. Inhibitors of EPSP synthase, glutamine synthetase and histidine synthesis. Pages 37–67 in Roe, R. M. ed. Herbicide Activity: Toxicology, Biochemistry, and Molecular Biology. Amsterdam, Netherlands: IOS.Google Scholar
Struik, P. C. and Makonnen, T. 1992. Effects of timing, intensity and duration of pollination on kernel set and yield in maize (Zea mays L.) under temperature conditions. Neth. J. Agric. Sci 40:409–429.Google Scholar
Uribelarrea, M., Cárcova, J., Otegui, M. E., and Westgate, M. E. 2002. Pollen production, pollination dynamics, and kernel set in maize. Crop Sci 42:1910–1918.Google Scholar
Viator, R. P., Senseman, S. A., and Cothren, J. T. 2003. Boll abscission responses of glyphosate-resistant cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) to glyphosate. Weed Technol 17:571–575.Google Scholar
Yasuor, H., Sibony, M., Rubin, B., Flash, I., and Gat, E. 2000. Influence of glyphosate (Roundup Ultra) rate and time of application on weed control and performance of DP 5415RR cotton in Israel: field and laboratory experiments. Proc. Beltwide Cotton conf. 1480–1483.Google Scholar