A dual-target herbicidal inhibitor of lysine biosynthesis

Herbicides with novel modes of action are urgently needed to safeguard global agricultural industries against the damaging effects of herbicide-resistant weeds. We recently developed the first herbicidal inhibitors of lysine biosynthesis, which provided proof-of-concept for a promising novel herbicide target (Soares da Costa et al., 2021). In this study, we expanded upon our understanding of the mode of action of herbicidal lysine biosynthesis inhibitors. We previously postulated that these inhibitors may act as proherbicides (Soares da Costa et al., 2021). Here we show this is not the case. We report an additional mode of action of these inhibitors, through their inhibition of a second lysine biosynthesis enzyme, and investigate the molecular determinants of inhibition. Furthermore, we extend our herbicidal activity analyses to include a weed species of global significance.