The apparent efficacy of linuron to control pigweeds (Amaranthus spp.) has declined in Ontario, Canada, in past decades, possibly due to resistance. Samples were collected in multiple fields across Ontario with reported linuron failure. These were characterized at the whole-plant and molecular levels. Screening with linuron revealed resistance in six out of nine green pigweed (Amaranthus powellii Wats.) populations and 36 out of 38 populations of redroot pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus L.). Sequencing of the psbA gene showed resistant plants had mutations conferring resistance to photosystem II (PSII) inhibitors. The most commonly seen mutation was coding for a Val219Ile substitution, while other populations had Ala251Val or Phe274Val. Two populations were documented with a double mutation at Val219Ile and Phe274Val. All substitutions endowed plants with low to moderate resistance to linuron, with various levels of cross resistance to other PSII inhibitors. The double mutants were characterized by higher levels of resistance to linuron and diuron compared with each single substitution. The widespread failure of linuron to control pigweed species in many carrot fields in Ontario is due to the selection of PSII mutants. This is the first report of double mutation in psbA in any weed species and the first report of Ala251Val and Phe273Val in pigweed species. The presence of a double mutation is probably the result of continuous selection of plants already resistant due to a single mutation. Our results illustrate the need for diversified weed management strategies in crops where herbicide options are limited.
As the remote delivery of digital learning content gains prominence, specifically following the Covid-19 pandemic, the design of remotely deliverable learning materials provides for expanded areas of research. An aim of this study is to establish whether first principles of fidelity can be established for designing and developing abstract learning contentnamely content that cannot be learned via direct simulationand where these first principles may be derived from. The initial experiment consists of the creation and deployment of a game that will be used to teach an abstract scientific principle and assess the potential for the design of further such experiments, based on the experiences and results. The initial experiment has recently completed the build phase and is at the beginning of the deployment phase, with results being generated from May 2022-onwards.
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