Agronomy and Horticulture Department
Inhibitors of Fatty Acid Synthesis and Elongation
Date of this Version
2008
Document Type
Article
Citation
Plant and Soil Sciences eLibrary (PASSeL) Lesson
Abstract
Overview
Fatty acid synthesis and fatty acid elongation are two parts of a critically important pathway in plants. The end-products are essential components of cell membranes, waxes, and suberin. Two chemical families of herbicide (groups that share similar chemical structures) inhibit fatty acid synthesis, while fatty acid elongation is inhibited by two other families. This lesson will provide an overview of fatty acid synthesis and elongation, and explain where herbicides inhibit the pathway. Mechanisms of resistance to these herbicides will be described.
Objectives
At the completion of the lesson, students will be able to:
- Describe the fatty acid biosynthetic pathway and its cellular location in plants, including differences between monocots and dicots.
- Describe the symptoms and identify the inhibited enzymatic steps of susceptible plants treated with herbicides that inhibit fatty acid synthesis.
- Describe the symptoms and identify the inhibited enzymatic steps of susceptible plants treated with herbicides that inhibit fatty acid elongation.
- Understand how herbicide use has selected for resistant plants and the mechanisms of resistance.
Modules:
COinS
Comments
Copyright © 2008 William E. Dyer. Used by permission.
JNRLSE approved 2008
This project was supported in part by the National Research Initiative Competitive Grants CAP project 2011-68002-30029 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, administered by the University of California-Davis and by the National Science Foundation (NSF), Division of Undergraduate Education, National SMETE Digital Library Program, Award #0938034, administered by the University of Nebraska. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the USDA or NSF.
Development of this lesson was supported in part by the Montana Agricultural Experiment Station, Montana State University, and the Western Society of Weed Science.