Imidazolinones: potent inhibitors of acetohydroxyacid synthase

The imidazolinones, a new chemical class of herbicides, were shown to be uncompetitive inhibitors of acetohydroxyacid synthase from corn. This is the first common enzyme in the biosynthetic pathway for valine, leucine, and isoleucine. The K_i for the imidazolinones tested ranged from 2 to 12 micromolar. These results may explain the mechanism of action of these new herbicides.