Hicks, H.L., Comont, D., Coutts, S.R. et al. (6 more authors) (2018) The factors driving evolved herbicide resistance at a national scale. Nature Ecology and Evolution, 2. pp. 529-536. ISSN 2397-334X
Abstract
Repeated use of xenobiotic chemicals has selected for the rapid evolution of resistance, threatening health and food security at a global scale. Strategies for preventing the evolution of resistance include cycling and mixtures of chemicals and diversification of management. We currently lack large-scale studies that evaluate the efficacy of these different strategies for minimizing the evolution of resistance. Here we use a national-scale data set of occurrence of the weed Alopecurus myosuroides (black-grass) in the United Kingdom to address this. Weed densities are correlated with assays of evolved resistance, supporting the hypothesis that resistance is driving weed abundance at a national scale. Resistance was correlated with the frequency of historical herbicide applications, suggesting that evolution of resistance is primarily driven by intensity of exposure to herbicides, but was unrelated directly to other cultural techniques. We find that populations resistant to one herbicide are likely to show resistance to multiple herbicide classes. Finally, we show that the economic costs of evolved resistance are considerable: loss of control through resistance can double the economic costs of weeds. This research highlights the importance of managing threats to food production and healthcare systems using an evolutionarily informed approach in a proactive not reactive manner.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2018 Macmillan Publishers Limited, part of Springer Nature. This is an author produced version of a paper subsequently published in Nature Ecology and Evolution. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > School of Biosciences (Sheffield) > Department of Animal and Plant Sciences (Sheffield) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number AGRICULTURE AND HORTICULTURE DEVELOPMENT BOARD (AHDB) - HGCA UNSPECIFIED BIOTECHNOLOGY AND BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES RESEARCH COUNCIL (BBSRC) BB/L001489/1 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 08 Jan 2018 15:48 |
Last Modified: | 12 Aug 2018 00:38 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-018-0470-1 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Nature Publishing Group |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1038/s41559-018-0470-1 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:125950 |