Protoporphyrinogen oxidase (PPO, E.C. 1.3.3.4) is known as a key action target for several structurally diverse herbicides. As a continuation of our research work on the development of new PPO-inhibiting herbicides, a series of novel 3-(2'-halo-5'-substituted-benzothiazol-1'-yl)-1-methyl-6-(trifluoromethyl)pyrimidine-2,4-diones 9 were designed and synthesized. The bioassay results indicated that a number of the newly synthesized compounds exhibited higher inhibition activity against tobacco PPO (mtPPO) than the controls, saflufenacil and sulfentrazone. Compound 9F-5 was identified as the most potent inhibitor with a Ki value of 0.0072 μM against mtPPO, showing about 4.2-fold and 1.4-fold higher potency than sulfentrazone (Ki = 0.03 μM) and saflufenacil (Ki = 0.01 μM), respectively. An additional green house assay demonstrated that compound 9F-6 (Ki = 0.012 μM) displayed the most promising postemergence herbicidal activity with a broad spectrum even at a concentration as low as 37.5 g of active ingredient (ai)/ha. Maize exhibits relative tolerance against compound 9F-6 at the dosage of 150 g ai/ha, but it is susceptible to saflufenacil even at 75 g ai/ha. Thus, compound 9F-6 exhibits the potential to be a new herbicide for weed control in maize fields.

To search for new protoporphyrinogen oxidase (PPO, EC 1.3.3.4) inhibitors with improved bioactivity, a series of novel pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidine-2,4-dione-benzoxazinone hybrids, 9-13, were designed and synthesized. Several compounds with improved tobacco PPO (mtPPO)-inhibiting and promising herbicidal activities were found. Among them, the most potent compound, 3-(7-fluoro-3-oxo-4-(prop-2-yn-1-yl)-3,4-dihydro-2H-benzo[b][1,4] oxazin-6-yl)-1-methylpyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidine-2,4(1H,3H)-dione, 11q, with a K value of 0.0074 μM, showed six times more activity than flumioxazin (K = 0.046 μM) against mtPPO. Compound 11q displayed a strong and broad spectrum of weed control at 37.5-150 g of active ingredient (ai)/ha by both post- and pre-emergence application, which was comparable to that of flumioxazin. 11q was safe to maize, soybean, peanut, and cotton at 150 g ai/ha, and selective to rice and wheat at 75 g ai/ha by pre-emergence application, indicating potential applicability in these fields.

Acetohydroxyacid synthase (AHAS; also known as acetolactate synthase; EC 2.2.1.6, formerly EC 4.1.3.18) is the first common enzyme in the biosynthetic pathway leading to the branched-chain amino acids in plants and a wide range of microorganisms. Weed resistance to AHAS-inhibiting herbicides, increasing at an exponential rate, is becoming a global problem and leading to an urgent demand of developing novel compounds against both resistant and wild AHAS. In the present work, a series of novel 2-aroxyl-1,2,4-triazolopyrimidine derivatives (a total of 55) were designed and synthesized with the aim to discover an antiresistant lead compound. Fortunately, the screening results indicated that many of the newly synthesized compounds showed a better, even excellent, inhibition effect against both the wild-type Arabidopsis thaliana AHAS and P197L mutants. Among them, compounds 5-3 to 5-17, compounds 5-19 to 5-26, compounds 5-28 to 5-45, and compound 5-48 have the lower values of resistance factor (RF) and display a potential power to overcome resistance associated with the P197L mutation in the enzyme levels. Further greenhouse in vivo assay showed that compounds 5-15 and 5-20 displayed "moderate" to "good" herbicidal activity against both the wild type-and the resistant (P197L mutation) Descurainia sophia, even at a rate as low as 0.9375 (g of ai/ha). The above results indicated that these two compounds could be used as new leads for the future development of antiresistance herbicides.

A series of 2-substituted-8-(4,6-dimethoxypyrimidin-2-yloxy)-4-methylphthalazin-1-one derivatives, 7a-7w, were designed via an ortho-substituent cyclization strategy to discover a new herbicidal lead structure. These compounds were synthesized by a seven-step route using 3-hydroxy-acetophenone as a starting material. Determination of the Ki values against wild-type A. thaliana acetohydroxyacid synthase (AHAS) (EC 4.1.3.18) indicated that some of the compounds displayed good enzyme inhibition activity comparable to that of KIH-6127. The further preliminary bioassay data on weeds showed that the synthesized compounds exhibited typical injury symptoms of AHAS-inhibiting herbicides, and some of them showed broad-spectrum and high herbicidal activities in postemergence treatments against Echinochloa crusgalli, Digitaria sanguinalis, Setaria viridis, Brassica juncea, Amaranthus retroflexus, and Chenopodium album at an application rate of 150 g ai/ha. To our knowledge, this is the first report of methylphthalazin-1-one derivatives as AHAS inhibitors.