2026
Production of Protoplasts from Palmer Amaranth Cell Suspension Cultures
Contributor/Checkoff:
Category:
Sustainable Production
Keywords:
(none assigned)
Parent Project:
This is the first year of this project.
Lead Principal Investigator:
Michael Christoffers, North Dakota State University
Co-Principal Investigators:
Project Code:
2026_Agronomy_08
Contributing Organization (Checkoff):
Leveraged Funding (Non-Checkoff):
Institution Funded:
Brief Project Summary:
This project will develop research tools facilitating the investigation of genetic biocontrol methods for herbicide resistance mitigation in Palmer amaranth. Key audiences include those involved in herbicide resistance research and management.
Information And Results
Project Summary

Herbicide-resistant weeds result from genetic mutations that increase in frequency through selection by herbicides. The ability of scientists to make specific edits in weed genomes including the genes for herbicide resistance is becoming feasible. The value of such work is that studying changes in herbicide response due to specific gene edits would greatly further our understanding of potential solutions to the growing herbicide resistance problem. Gene editing processes could also one day be introduced into weed populations to facilitate increased weed control, including the reversion of resistant weeds back to susceptibility. To develop such gene editing systems, laboratory studies need to first be done using weed tissues that do not have the capacity to escape laboratory containment through the production of seed, pollen, or other propagules. Plants grown in tissue culture as undifferentiated cells do not have such capacity, yet still maintain most of the physiological processes that are targeted by herbicides. We previously developed a system to generate protoplasts (cells without cell walls) from cultured waterhemp cells, and more recently confirmed successful recovery and cell division of these protoplasts. The current proposal will adapt these waterhemp protocols to the production of healthy protoplasts from existing Palmer amaranth cell cultures. Successful production of Palmer amaranth protoplasts will facilitate gene editing experiments to develop genetic biocontrol methods for control of herbicide-resistant Palmer amaranth.

Project Objectives

Objectives of this project are: A) Evaluate production of protoplasts (cells without cell walls), from Palmer amaranth cell suspension tissue cultures by adapting the current protocol developed for waterhemp, and B) Assess cell division in Palmer amaranth protoplast tissue cultures.

Project Deliverables

This project is expected to deliver: 1) The ability to perform Palmer amaranth genetic research in a laboratory where escape of seeds and pollen is not a concern, and 2) The ability to develop and assess emerging genetic biocontrol methods for herbicide-resistant Palmer amaranth in North Dakota.

Progress Of Work

Final Project Results

Benefit To Soybean Farmers

Herbicide-resistant weeds such as Palmer amaranth are decreasing the effectiveness of existing herbicides for soybean production. Alternative weed control strategies need to be explored, including the potential of emerging genetic biocontrol technologies. As this research progresses, it is important that: 1) problems experienced by North Dakota soybean farmers are included among the priorities, 2) research is performed in a manner that does not risk negative impacts on North Dakota agriculture through unintentional weed escapes. The proposed research is a necessary step toward these goals.

The United Soybean Research Retention policy will display final reports with the project once completed but working files will be purged after three years. And financial information after seven years. All pertinent information is in the final report or if you want more information, please contact the project lead at your state soybean organization or principal investigator listed on the project.