The resistance to existing herbicides throughout the world has increased dramatically over recent years; therefore, the discoveries of new herbicides became an essential task for weed management. We developed a new biological assay model based on tobacco pollen for the screening and discovery of new herbicides using the HCS platform in 384-well plate format. We designed an algorithm, which allows measurement of the inhibition efficacy based on assessment of the area of pollen grain population using images collected by the ImageXpress XL system. The assay robustness and reproducibility were estimated with statistical analysis (Z factor > 0.4). Screening of 1000 compounds resulted in 24 potential inhibitors (hits). The inhibitory effect for 7 hits was confirmed in Arabidopsis seed germination and root growth. Considering the advantages of this newly developed assay (fast screening and high reliability) we propose to use HCS technique as a very productive approach to screen for new herbicides.

High content screening to discover new potential plant herbicides

248th National Meeting (2014)

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