Dehydroquinate dehydrase/shikimate dehydrogenase as a herbicide target

A method for generating variants of the nucleic acid sequences SEQ ID NO:

• 1 or SEQ ID NO:
• 3, which comprises the following process steps:
• (a) expression, in a heterologous system or in a cell-free system, of the proteins encoded by SEQ ID NO:
• 1 or SEQ ID NO:
• 3;
• (b) randomized or directed mutagenesis of the protein by modification of the nucleic acid;
• (c) measuring the interaction of the modified gene product with the herbicide;
• (d) identification of derivatives of the protein and of the nucleic acid sequences encoding the protein which demonstrate a lesser degree of interaction;
• (e) assaying the biological activity of the protein following application of the herbicide.

A method for generating a transgenic plant, which comprises transforming, into a plant, an expression cassette encompassing

• (a) a nucleic acid sequence with the sequence shown in SEQ ID NO:
• 1 or SEQ ID NO:
• 3, or
• (b) a nucleic acid sequence which, owing to the degeneracy of the genetic code, can be deduced from the amino acid sequences shown in SEQ ID NO:
• 2 or SEQ ID NO:
• 4 by back translation, or
• (c) functional analogs of the nucleic acid sequences shown in SEQ ID NO:
• 1 or SEQ ID NO:
• 3 which encode a polypeptide with the amino acid sequences shown in SEQ ID NO:
• 2 or SEQ ID NO:
• 4;
• or
• (d) functional analogs of the nucleic acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO:
• 1 or SEQ ID NO:
• 3 which encode functional analogs of the amino acid sequences shown in SEQ ID NO:
• 2 or SEQ ID NO:
• 4;
• or
• (e) parts of the nucleic acid sequences a), b), c) or d) encoding a polypeptide with dehydroquinate dehydratase/shikimate dehydrogenase activity;
• or
• (f) at least 300 nucleotide units of the nucleic acid sequences a), b), c) or d) encoding a polypeptide with dehydroquinate dehydratase/shikimate dehydrogenase activity;
• or a vector comprising the abovementioned expression cassette.