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Newswise The axiom, growing like a weed, takes on new meaning in light of changes in gene expression that occur when weeds interact with the crops they infest, according to plant scientist Sharon Clay. Using sophisticated genetic-mapping techniques, the South Dakota State University professor and her research team are documenting how corn and weeds influence one another.

Weeds grow like weeds when they grow with corn, says Clay. They grow bigger and taller in corn than by themselves. And inversely, corn grows less among weeds.

Over the last 20 years, Clay has been studying weed management in range and cropping systems, weed physiology and interactions among herbicides, soil and crops. The weed scientist was the first woman to serve as president of the American Society of Agronomy.

She has received two awards from the Weed Science Society of America for outstanding papers published in Weed Science --one in 2007 and another in 2012. Both articles were written in collaboration with David Horvath, a research plant physiologist for the Agricultural Research Service at the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Fargo, N.D.

Growing better among corn To figure out how corn and weeds affect each others gene response, Clay and a team of two research associates and a soils expert, planted plots of velvetleaf alone, corn with velvetleaf and corn kept weed-free.

The researchers saw an entirely different response when velvetleaf was grown by itself versus among corn plants. The velvetleaf alone was shorter and stouter, Clay explains. In addition, specific genes that influenced photosynthesis and other important plant responses differed in expression.

Another study compared the corns growth and yield in response to weeds, lack of nitrogen, or shade. In all cases, Clay and Horvath found that genes were differentially expressed compared with nonstressed plants. However, each stress resulted in very different expression patterns.

Traditionally, weeds have been thought to reduce crop growth and yield due to competition for water, nutrients and light. This study, however, indicates that weed-crop interactions are much more complex than researchers have thought.

Continue reading here:
Weeds Grow Bigger Among Corn

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