Glyphosate tolerance in maize (Zea mays L.) 1. Differential response among inbred lines.

Variation in susceptibility to the safe broad-spectrum herbicide glyphosate was investigated in maize. Eleven inbred lines, grown in a growth chamber, were evaluated for their tolerance to the herbicide at 2.4 mM (0.2 kg a.i. in 400 I ha-1 of water). Following treatment with glyphosate at the three-leaf stage, significant variation in damage, expressed as visual injury ratings scored 7, 14 and 21 days after the application of the herbicide, was found. Effects on dry weight and shoot height were consistent with visual scores and the carbon-exchange rate was found to be a sensitive index of differential injury. Biochemical characterization of 5-enol-pyruvyl-shikimate-3-phosphate (EPSP) synthase, the main target of the herbicide, ruled out the possibility that this differential susceptibility was due to variations in the sensitivity of the enzyme. On the contrary, a positive correlation was found between in vivo tolerance and EPSP synthase levels, measured at different stages during seedling growth. This result suggests that a naturally occurring difference in EPSP synthase levels in the tissues may contribute to the differential response observed in vivo in maize inbreds