Lack of Cross-Resistance of Imidazolinone-Resistant Cell Lines of Datura innoxia P. Mill. to Chlorsulfuron

Two cell lines of Datura innoxia resistant to two imidazolinone herbicides, imazapyr and imazaquin, were isolated from mutagenized, predominantly haploid cell suspension cultures. Both of the resistant variants were >1000-fold more resistant than the wild-type to the two imidazolinones. The variant resistant to imazapyr showed cross-resistance to imazaquin and vice versa, but no cross-resistance to a structurally different inhibitor, chlorsulfuron, a sulfonylurea herbicide, was observed. The target enzyme, acetolactate synthase, extracted from imidazolinone-resistant cell lines was not inhibited by imazapyr or imazaquin but was sensitive to chlorsulfuron indicating separable sites of action for these inhibitors. The variation in resistance and cross-resistance of chlorsulfuron-resistant (PK Saxena, J King [1988] Plant Physiol 86: 863-867) and imidazolinone-resistant cell lines of Datura innoxia demonstrates the possibility of separate mutations of acetolactate synthase gene resulting in specific phenotypes.