<p style="text-align: justify;">Canola (<i>Brassica napus</i>) line Oxy-235 (ACS-BN&Oslash;11-5) was developed to allow the use of oxynil herbicides as weed control options in canola. Bromoxynil is very effective on broadleaf weeds that are common in canola fields and the deployment of transgenic bromoxynil-tolerant canola will allow the post-emergence control of these weeds without crop injury.</p>

<p style="text-align: justify;">The herbicides ioxynil (3,5-di-iodo-4-hydroxybenzonitrile) and bromoxynil (3,5-dibromo-4-hydorxybenzonitrile) act on conventional dicotyledenous plants by blocking electron flow during the light reaction of photosynthesis (photosystem II). This causes super oxide production resulting in the destruction of cell membranes and an inhibition of chlorophyll formation, resulting in plant death.</p>

<p style="text-align: justify;">Tolerance to oxynil herbicides in Oxy-235 was achieved by introduction of the <i>bxn</i> gene isolated from the bacterium <i>Klebsiella pneumoniae</i> (sub. sp <i>ozaenae</i>), which encodes a nitrilase enzyme that hydrolyzes oxynil herbicides to non-phytotoxic compounds.</p>
