DL-Phosphinotricin
Encyclopedia
DL-Phosphinothricin is a herbicide
commonly used in plant molecular biology
and plant tissue culture. It is the ammonium
salt
of glufosinate
. It is also known as glufosinate ammonium.
The herbicide is a broad spectrum herbicide which is comparatively biodegradable, similar to glyphosate. Glyphosate was first sold by Monsanto Company under the tradename Roundup, but is no longer under patent. Glufosinate is sold under trade names Basta, Buster and Liberty. Crops have been developed (genetically engineered
) which are resistant to this herbicide through the insertion of the bar gene into plants.
Herbicide
Herbicides, also commonly known as weedkillers, are pesticides used to kill unwanted plants. Selective herbicides kill specific targets while leaving the desired crop relatively unharmed. Some of these act by interfering with the growth of the weed and are often synthetic "imitations" of plant...
commonly used in plant molecular biology
Molecular biology
Molecular biology is the branch of biology that deals with the molecular basis of biological activity. This field overlaps with other areas of biology and chemistry, particularly genetics and biochemistry...
and plant tissue culture. It is the ammonium
Ammonium
The ammonium cation is a positively charged polyatomic cation with the chemical formula NH. It is formed by the protonation of ammonia...
salt
Salt
In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
of glufosinate
Glufosinate
Glufosinate or its ammonium salt DL-phosphinothricin is an active ingredient in several nonselective systemic herbicides - Basta, Rely, Finale, Ignite, Challenge and Liberty. It interferes with the biosynthetic pathway of the amino acid glutamine and with ammonia detoxification.Some plants have...
. It is also known as glufosinate ammonium.
The herbicide is a broad spectrum herbicide which is comparatively biodegradable, similar to glyphosate. Glyphosate was first sold by Monsanto Company under the tradename Roundup, but is no longer under patent. Glufosinate is sold under trade names Basta, Buster and Liberty. Crops have been developed (genetically engineered
Genetic engineering
Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification, is the direct human manipulation of an organism's genome using modern DNA technology. It involves the introduction of foreign DNA or synthetic genes into the organism of interest...
) which are resistant to this herbicide through the insertion of the bar gene into plants.