Isolation and characterization of herbicide resistant mutants in the cyanobacterium synechococcus R2

Abstract

A variety of mutants which are resistant to triazine – and urea – classes of herbicides have been isolated in the cyanobacterium Synechococcus R2. All the mutants that have been analyzed, show some cross-resistance to different herbicides suggesting that these herbicides share a common binding site in photosystem II. Three psbA genes have been identified in Synechococcus R2. The psbA-copy I gene was cloned from three mutants and used in DNA-mediated genetic transformation. It was found that in all three mutants this gene could transferthe mutation for herbicide resistance indicating that this gene codes for the herbicide resistant protein. © 1987, Walter de Gruyter. All rights reserved.