DOI: 10.1002/ps.71436 ISSN: 1526-498X

Multi‐omics dissection of interactive cross‐stress tolerance to Penoxsulam and salinity in Echinochloa crus‐galli

Jian Zhao, Wenyong Jin, Liyao Hu, Lang Yang, Yingying Wang, Zuren Li, Lianyang Bai
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Abstract

BACKGROUND

Herbicide resistance and soil salinization increasingly co‐occur in rice paddies, yet how evolved penoxsulam resistance shapes the fitness of barnyardgrass ( Echinochloa crus‐galli ) under combined salt and herbicide stress remains poorly understood. This study aimed to resolve the physiological and molecular basis of such cross‐stress tolerance.

RESULTS

Using a fully factorial design contrasting a penoxsulam‐resistant (AH‐225, RI = 4.21) and a susceptible (HN‐232) biotype under 100 m

m
NaCl, 25 g a.i. ha −1 penoxsulam, and their combination, integrated phenotyping, untargeted metabolomics and RNA‐seq revealed that the two biotypes were equally suppressed by salinity alone but diverged under penoxsulam exposure; under combined dual stress, resistant plants maintained 3.78‐fold greater aboveground biomass, corresponding to an antagonistic buffering interaction quantified by Bliss independence modelling. Sequencing of eight ALS codons associated with target‐site resistance detected no mutation in either biotype, indicating a nontarget‐site (metabolic) basis of resistance. Metabolome‐wide profiling showed that susceptible plants mounted a costly defensive burst of flavonoids and anthocyanins (Group 9), whereas resistant plants preferentially sustained lignin precursors and accumulated rosin‐type diterpenoids (Group 15). Weighted gene co‐expression network analysis resolved two antagonistic transcriptional programs: a damage‐responsive module marked by the DNA‐repair gene MSH4 , and a growth‐homeostasis module enriched in lipid transfer proteins.

CONCLUSION

Penoxsulam resistance in E. crus‐galli operates through constitutive homeostasis maintenance and targeted carbon partitioning rather than amplified defence, providing a mechanistic framework for integrated resistance management in saline paddy fields. © 2026 Society of Chemical Industry.

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