IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jagris/v15y2025i12p1288-d1679433.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

What Is New for the Mechanisms of Plant Resistance to Paraquat After Decades of Research?

Author

Listed:
  • Liyun Zhang

    (The College of Grassland Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Chang Xu

    (The College of Grassland Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Heping Han

    (Australian Herbicide Resistance Initiative, School of Agriculture and Environment, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6009, Australia)

  • Shawn Askew

    (School of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA)

  • Erik Ervin

    (Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA)

  • Qin Yu

    (Australian Herbicide Resistance Initiative, School of Agriculture and Environment, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6009, Australia)

  • Kehua Wang

    (The College of Grassland Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
    Australian Herbicide Resistance Initiative, School of Agriculture and Environment, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6009, Australia)

Abstract

Paraquat is one of the most widely used nonselective herbicides globally. Although the emergence of weed resistance to paraquat has progressed relatively slowly since the first reported case in Japan in 1980, it has been steadily increasing. Resistance in weedy plants is predominantly associated with non-target-site resistance (NTSR), particularly via reduced uptake and translocation to target sites (i.e., chloroplasts) and/or enhanced sequestration; increased antioxidant capacity is also a common mechanism by which plants cope with various stresses, including reactive oxygen species (ROS). However, direct evidence for paraquat transport mediated by membrane transporters in weeds has not been established. Over the past decade, research, especially in model plants such as Arabidopsis thaliana , has advanced our understanding of the mechanisms underlying plant resistance to paraquat. This brief review summarized recent studies on paraquat resistance, with a particular focus on uptake, translocation, and sequestration mechanisms. For instance, three L-amino acid transporter (LAT) proteins (LAT1/3/4) and one (PDR11) belonging to the PDR (pleiotropic drug resistance) subfamily within the ABC (ATP-binding cassette) transporter family were confirmed to exhibit paraquat transporter activity; furthermore, transporters such as DTX6 (detoxification efflux carrier) can export/sequestrate paraquat inside the cell to the vacuole and apoplast, which confers stronger paraquat resistance to nearly commercial doses. In addition, the evolving perspectives in paraquat resistance research integrating big data and artificial intelligence, development of paraquat-tolerant crops, and a proposal of ryegrass ( Lolium. spp.) and/or goosegrass ( Eleusine indica ) as a model weed species for paraquat resistance studies were also briefly discussed. Further advances in elucidating the molecular mechanisms of paraquat resistance in plants, including weeds, are anticipated.

Suggested Citation

  • Liyun Zhang & Chang Xu & Heping Han & Shawn Askew & Erik Ervin & Qin Yu & Kehua Wang, 2025. "What Is New for the Mechanisms of Plant Resistance to Paraquat After Decades of Research?," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-21, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jagris:v:15:y:2025:i:12:p:1288-:d:1679433
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/12/1288/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/12/1288/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yoshiki Tanaka & Christopher J. Hipolito & Andrés D. Maturana & Koichi Ito & Teruo Kuroda & Takashi Higuchi & Takayuki Katoh & Hideaki E. Kato & Motoyuki Hattori & Kaoru Kumazaki & Tomoya Tsukazaki & , 2013. "Structural basis for the drug extrusion mechanism by a MATE multidrug transporter," Nature, Nature, vol. 496(7444), pages 247-251, April.
    2. Alfredo Junior Paiola Albrecht & Guilherme Thomazini & Leandro Paiola Albrecht & Afonso Pires & Juliano Bortoluzzi Lorenzetti & Maikon Tiago Yamada Danilussi & André Felipe Moreira Silva & Fernando St, 2020. "Conyza sumatrensis Resistant to Paraquat, Glyphosate and Chlorimuron: Confirmation and Monitoring the First Case of Multiple Resistance in Paraguay," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-11, November.
    3. Karla L. Gage & Ronald F. Krausz & S. Alan Walters, 2019. "Emerging Challenges for Weed Management in Herbicide-Resistant Crops," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 9(8), pages 1-11, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Han Ba Bui & Satoshi Watanabe & Norimichi Nomura & Kehong Liu & Tomoko Uemura & Michio Inoue & Akihisa Tsutsumi & Hiroyuki Fujita & Kengo Kinoshita & Yukinari Kato & So Iwata & Masahide Kikkawa & Kenj, 2023. "Cryo-EM structures of human zinc transporter ZnT7 reveal the mechanism of Zn2+ uptake into the Golgi apparatus," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-16, December.
    2. Morgan E. Walker & Wei Zhu & Janine H. Peterson & Hao Wang & Jon Patteson & Aileen Soriano & Han Zhang & Todd Mayhood & Yan Hou & Samaneh Mesbahi-Vasey & Meigang Gu & John Frost & Jun Lu & Jennifer Jo, 2025. "Antibacterial macrocyclic peptides reveal a distinct mode of BamA inhibition," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-20, December.
    3. Lidija Begović & Nikola Jurišić & Martina Šrajer Gajdošik & Alma Mikuška & Selma Mlinarić, 2023. "Photosynthetic Efficiency and Antioxidative Response of Soybean Exposed to Selective Herbicides: A Field Study," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-16, July.
    4. Alfredo Junior Paiola Albrecht & Guilherme Thomazini & Leandro Paiola Albrecht & Afonso Pires & Juliano Bortoluzzi Lorenzetti & Maikon Tiago Yamada Danilussi & André Felipe Moreira Silva & Fernando St, 2020. "Conyza sumatrensis Resistant to Paraquat, Glyphosate and Chlorimuron: Confirmation and Monitoring the First Case of Multiple Resistance in Paraguay," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-11, November.
    5. Euro Pannacci & Daniele Del Buono & Maria Luce Bartucca & Luigi Nasini & Primo Proietti & Francesco Tei, 2020. "Herbicide Uptake and Regrowth Ability of Tall Fescue and Orchardgrass in S-Metolachlor-Contaminated Leachates from Sand Pot Experiment," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-10, October.
    6. Tibugari, Handsen & Chiduza, Cornelius & Mashingaidze, AB & Mabasa, S, 2022. "Reduced atrazine doses combined with sorghum aqueous extracts inhibit emergence and growth of weeds," African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development (AJFAND), African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development (AJFAND), vol. 22(03).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jagris:v:15:y:2025:i:12:p:1288-:d:1679433. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.