RESEARCHERS from Adelaide and La Trobe universities have discovered a way to potentially stop weeds dead in their tracks in a “game-changer” for agriculture.
Weeds have developed resistance to many existing herbicides, resulting in being unable to control them and costing Australian farmers more than $5 billion annually.
“We have identified herbicidal compounds that work by blocking the production of the amino acid lysine, which is essential for weed growth,” said lead researcher, Dr Tatiana Soares da Costa, a Future Making Fellow at the University of Adelaide’s Waite Research Institute.
“This has the potential to be a game-changer for the agriculture sector, given the lack of new herbicides that have entered the market in the past 30 years.”
Dr Soares da Costa said the compounds target two steps in lysine production in weeds, which could lead to the development of multi-target herbicides for the first time.
“A multi-target herbicide could make it more difficult for weeds to evolve resistance, helping to prolong the efficacy of existing herbicides and improving crop quality and yield,” she said.
“The development of new herbicides, especially multi-target herbicides, is a high priority to combat weeds that are resistant to herbicides.
“This research is particularly significant to Australia, where herbicide-resistant weeds have invaded more than 40 per cent of cropping land, resulting in a cost to farmers of more than $5 billion per year.
“This work will directly impact farmers by giving them the tools they need to overcome weeds and improve the quality and yields of crops.
“The next steps for this work will involve large-scale field trials and toxicology screening to ensure they are effective and safe to use.”
The Soares da Costa group is working towards new and safe herbicides that can slow down resistance development to be introduced to the market.
The research has been published in eLife Sciences, titled ‘A duel target herbicidal inhibitor of lysine biosynthesis’.
Funding for this research was provided by the Australian Research Council through a Discovery Early Career Researcher Awards Fellowship to Dr Soares da Costa.
