herbicide-resistance
Herbicide resistance is the inherited ability of a plant population to survive and reproduce following exposure to a herbicide dose that would normally be lethal to the wild type. This phenomenon has major implications for plant biology research, as it involves understanding the molecular mechanisms—such as target-site mutations, metabolic detoxification, and altered uptake—by which plants evolve tolerance to chemical control agents. Studying these resistance pathways not only informs sustainable weed management strategies but also deepens our knowledge of plant adaptation, gene expression, and stress response at a fundamental level.
open_in_new WikipediaPubMed · 2026-04-02
Scientists improved a gene-editing tool called CRISPR-Cas12a to make precise, targeted changes to plant DNA more efficiently and accurately — successfully engineering herbicide-resistant rice and testing the system in poplar trees.
Adding introns (genetic spacers) to the Cas12a cytosine base editor substantially improved its editing efficiency in rice compared to the version without introns.
An adenine base editor built on the LbCas12a-RRV variant successfully introduced herbicide-resistant mutations in the rice OsACCase gene, demonstrating real-world trait development potential.
Whole-genome sequencing confirmed that the improved editors produce very few guide RNA-dependent off-target mutations, though guide RNA-independent off-target edits — caused by high deaminase enzyme activity — were still detected.
