Imidazolinone Resistance in Oilseed Rape (Brassica napus L.): Current Status, Breeding, Molecular Markers and Prospects for Application in Hybrid Seed Purity Improvement

Abstract

Resistance of agricultural crops to herbicides is an important topic that concerns many researchers. One of the most popular groups of herbicides is the imidazolinone group. Resistant forms of crops such as wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.), corn (Zea mays L.), rice (Oryza sativa L.) and oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) have been developed to this group of herbicides. All crops resistant to this group of herbicides have the commercial name Clearfield®. In this review, the information concerning oilseed rape resistance to the imidazolinone group of herbicides is collected and summarized; it will be useful for breeders and researchers engaged in this direction. This review touches upon the topic of mechanisms of oilseed rape resistance to imidazolinones. Mutation variants known to date, which provide resistance to this group of herbicides, are described, and known molecular markers of them are presented. Approaches to the selection of oilseed rape for resistance to the imidazolinone group of herbicides are mentioned. Various methods of utilizing imidazolinone resistance to improve the purity of hybrid seeds are also considered.