Slow‐binding inhibitors with long residence time on the target often display superior efficacy in vivo. Rationally designing inhibitors with low off‐target rates is restricted by a limited understanding of the structural basis of slow‐binding inhibition kinetics in enzyme–drug interactions. 4‐Hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase (HPPD) is an important target for drug and herbicide development. Although the time‐dependent behavior of HPPD inhibitors has been studied for decades, its structural basis and mechanism remain unclear. Herein, we report a detailed experimental and computational study that explores structures for illustrating the slow‐binding inhibition kinetics of HPPD. We observed the conformational change of Phe428 at the C‐terminal α‐helix in the inhibitor‐bound structures and further identified that the inhibition kinetics of drugs are related to steric hindrance of Phe428. These detailed structural and mechanistic insights illustrate that steric hindrance is highly associated with the time‐dependent behavior of HPPD inhibitors. These findings may enable rational design of new potent HPPD‐targeted drugs or herbicides with longer target residence time and improved properties. Database Structure data are available in the PDB under the accession numbers (released), (released), and (released).

4-Hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase (EC 1.13.11.27, HPPD) is an important target for new bleaching herbicides discovery. As a continuous work to discover novel crop selective HPPD inhibitor, a series of 2-(aryloxyacetyl)cyclohexane-1,3-diones were rationally designed and synthesized by an efficient one-pot procedure using N,N'-carbonyldiimidazole (CDI), triethylamine, and acetone cyanohydrin in CHCl. A total of 58 triketone compounds were synthesized in good to excellent yields. Some of the triketones displayed potent in vitro Arabidopsis thaliana HPPD (AtHPPD) inhibitory activity. 2-(2-((1-Bromonaphthalen-2-yl)oxy)acetyl)-3-hydroxycyclohex-2-en-1-one, II-13, displayed high, broad-spectrum, and postemergent herbicidal activity at the dosage of 37.5-150 g ai/ha, nearly as potent as mesotrione against some weeds. Furthermore, II-13 showed good crop safety against maize and canola at the rate of 150 g ai/ha, indicating that II-13 might have potential as a herbicide for weed control in maize and canola fields. II-13 is the first HPPD inhibitor showing good crop safety toward canola.

4-Hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase (EC 1.13.11.27, HPPD) is one of the most important targets for herbicide discovery. In the search for new HPPD inhibitors with novel scaffolds, triketone-quinoline hybrids were designed and subsequently optimized on the basis of the structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies. Most of the synthesized compounds displayed potent inhibition of Arabidopsis thaliana HPPD (AtHPPD), and some of them exhibited broad-spectrum and promising herbicidal activity at the rate of 150 g ai/ha by postemergence application. Most promisingly, compound III-l, 3-hydroxy-2-(2-methoxy-7-(methylthio)quinoline-3-carbonyl)cyclohex-2-enone (Ki = 0.009 μM, AtHPPD), had broader spectrum of weed control than mesotrione. Furthermore, compound III-l was much safer to maize at the rate of 150 g ai/ha than mesotrione, demonstrating its great potential as herbicide for weed control in maize fields. Therefore, triketone-quinoline hybrids may serve as new lead structures for novel herbicide discovery.

The present work indicated that the triketone-containing quinazoline-2,4-dione motif could be a potential lead structure for further development of novel herbicides.

Exploring novel 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase (EC 1.13.11.27, HPPD) inhibitors is one of the most promising research directions in herbicide discovery. To discover new triketone herbicides with broad-spectrum weed control as well as excellent crop selectivity, a series of (total 52) novel triketone-containing quinazoline-2,4-dione derivatives were synthesized and further bioevaluated. The greenhouse testing indicated that many of the newly synthesized compounds showed better or excellent herbicidal activity against broadleaf and monocotyledonous weeds at the dosages of 37.5-150 g of active ingredient (ai)/ha. The structure and activity relationship in this study indicated that the triketone-containing quinazoline-2,4-dione motif has possessed great impact on herbicide activity and may be used for further optimization. Among the new compounds, III-b and VI-a-VI-d displayed a broader spectrum of weed control than mesotrione. In addition, the compound III-b also demonstrated comparatively superior crop selectivity to mesotrione, thus possessing great potential for weed control in the field.