Gil Monreal, MiriamRoyuela Hernando, MercedesZabalza Aznárez, Ana2021-01-152021-01-1520202223-774710.3390/plants9080981https://academica-e.unavarra.es/handle/2454/38954The inhibition of acetolactate synthase (ALS; EC 2.2.1.6), an enzyme located in the biosynthetic pathway of branched-chain amino acids, is the target site of the herbicide imazamox. One of the physiological effects triggered after ALS inhibition is the induction of aerobic ethanol fermentation. The objective of this study was to unravel if fermentation induction is related to the toxicity of the herbicide or if it is a plant defense mechanism. Pea plants were exposed to two different times of hypoxia before herbicide application in order to induce the ethanol fermentation pathway, and the physiological response after herbicide application was evaluated at the level of carbohydrates and amino acid profile. The effects of the herbicide on total soluble sugars and starch accumulation, and changes in specific amino acids (branched-chain, amide, and acidic) were attenuated if plants were subjected to hypoxia before herbicide application. These results suggest that fermentation is a plant defense mechanism that decreases the herbicidal effect.14 p.application/pdfeng© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license.Acetolactate synthaseEthanol fermentationImidazolinonesMode of actionAerobic fermentationinfo:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess