<p style="text-align: justify;">Rice lines CL121, CL141, and CFX51, were developed through a combination of chemically-induced accelerated mutagenesis and traditional cross-breeding to exhibit tolerance to imidazolinone containing herbicides, such as imazethapyr. Imidazolinone herbicides are active against the acetolactate synthase (ALS) enzyme in plants, which catalyzes the first reaction in the biosynthesis of branched-chain amino acids. Imidazolinone inhibits the production of these essential amino acids (valine, leucine and isoleucine), resulting in a decrease in protein synthesis and the eventual death of the plant.</p>
