Plants having increased tolerance to herbicides

Abstract

NOT VISIBLE DUE TO STATUS OF PATENT

Description

[0001] PLANTS HAVING INCREASED TOLERANCE TO HERBICIDES

[0002] FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0003] The present invention relates in general to methods for conferring on plants agricultural level tolerance to herbicides. Particularly, the invention refers to plants having an increased tolerance to diaminotriazine compounds. More specifically, the present invention relates to methods and plants obtained by mutagenesis and cross-breeding and transformation that have an increased tolerance to diaminotriazine compounds.

[0004] BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0005] Diaminotriazines and their use as herbicides are known from, for example, WO 2015 / 155272, WO 2015 / 162166 and WO 2022 / 161801.

[0006] Three main strategies are available for making plants tolerant to herbicides, such as diaminotriazines as mentioned above, i.e. (1) detoxifying the herbicide with an enzyme which transforms the herbicide, or its active metabolite, into non-toxic products, such as, for example, the enzymes for tolerance to bromoxynil, basta or certain azines (EP242236, EP337899, WO2016 / 116870, WO2018 / 011750, and WO2019 / 142099); (2) mutating and potentially overexpressing the target enzyme into a functional enzyme which is less sensitive to the herbicide, or to its active metabolite, such as, for example, the enzymes for tolerance to glyphosate or certain azines (EP293356, Padgette S. R. et al., J.Biol. Chem., 266, 33, 1991, WO2015 / 162143, WO2017 / 068543, and WO2017 / 068544); or (3) overexpressing the sensitive enzyme so as to produce quantities of the target enzyme in the plant which are sufficient in relation to the herbicide, in view of the kinetic constants of this enzyme, so as to have enough of the functional enzyme available despite the presence of its inhibitor.

[0007] WO2015 / 162143, WO2017 / 068543, and WO2017 / 068544, describe mutated cellulose synthase forms that confer tolerance to certain herbicides when expressed in crop plants.

[0008] Furthermore, WO2016 / 116870, WO2018 / 011750, and WO2019 / 142099 describe mutated variants of the melamine deaminase TriA, that confer tolerance to certain herbicides when expressed in crop plants.

[0009] The inventors of the present invention have now surprisingly found that over-expression of mutant cellulose synthase (CesA) forms and mutant TriA melamine deaminase enzymes confers in plants tolerance / resistance to particular diaminotriazines and mixtures thereof, as compared to the non-transformed and / or non-mutagenized plants or plant cells, respectively.

[0010] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0011] The problem is solved by the present invention which refers to a method for controlling undesired vegetation at a plant cultivation site, the method comprising the steps of: a) providing, at said site, a plant that comprises at least one nucleic acid comprising a nucleotide sequence encoding a polypeptide which is resistant or tolerant to a herbicide; b) applying to said site an effective amount of said herbicide, wherein the herbicide is a diaminotriazine compound of formula (I)

[0012] wherein

[0013] R1is F;

[0014] R2is selected from the group consisting of H, halogen, CR2A; wherein R2Ais H or halogen;

[0015] R3is H, F;

[0016] R4is selected from the group consisting of F, Cl, Br, I, CR4A; wherein R4Ais H or halogen;

[0017] R5is selected from the group consisting of H, halogen, CN, Ci-Ce-alkyl, (Ci-C6-alkoxy)-Ci-Ce-alkyl, C3-C6- cycloalkyl, (C3-C6-cycloalkyl)-Ci-C4-alkyl, Ci-Ce-alkoxy, C2-Ce-alkenyloxy, C2-Ce-alkynyloxy, Cs-Ce-cycloalkoxy, (C3-C6-cycloalkyl)-Ci-C4-alkoxy, where the aliphatic and cycloaliphatic parts of the radicals are unsubstituted, partly or completely halogenated;

[0018] R6is selected from the group consisting of H, halogen, CN, Ci-Ce-alkyl, Ci-Ce-haloalkyl, Ci-Ce-alkoxy and Ci-Ce-haloalkoxy;

[0019] R7is selected from the group consisting of halogen, CN, Ci-Ce-alkyl, C2-Ce-alkenyl, Cs-Ce-alkynyl, C3-C6- cycloalkyl, (C3-Ce-cycloalkyl)-Ci-C4-alkyl, Cs-Ce-cycloalkenyl and Ci-Ce-alkoxy-Ci-Ce-alkyl, where the aliphatic and cycloaliphatic parts of the radicals are unsubstituted, partly or completely halogenated;

[0020] R6and R7together with the carbon atom to which they are attached form a moiety selected from the group consisting of carbonyl, Cs-Ce-cycloalky I, Cs-Ce-cycloalkenyl, three- to six-membered saturated or partially unsaturated heterocyclyl, and the moiety >C=CRxRy, where Rxand Ry are hydrogen, Ci-C4-alkyl, C1-C4- haloalkyl, Cs-Ce-cycloalkyl or CRxRv form a 3- to 6-membered cycloalkyl;

[0021] R8is selected from the group consisting of Ci-Ce-alkyl, C2-Ce-alkeny I, C2-Ce-alkyny I, (Ci-C6-alkoxy)-Ci-Ce- alkyl, (Ci-C6-alkoxy)-C2-Ce-alkenyl, (Ci-C6-alkoxy)-C2-Ce-alkynyl, (Ci-Ce-cycloalkyl)-C2-Ce-alkynyl, (C3-C6- cycloalkyl)-Ci-C4-alkyl, (C3-C6-cycloalkoxy)-Ci-C4-alkyl, where the aforementioned radicals are unsubstituted, partly or completely halogenated and where the cycloaliphatic parts of the last 6 mentioned radicals may carry 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 methyl groups, and wherein the effective amount of said herbicide does not kill or inhibit the growth of the herbicide-tolerant plant of a).

[0022] In one embodiment, the herbicide resistant or tolerant polypeptide refers to a mutated cellulose synthase (CesA) which comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:

[0023] 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61,

[0024] 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90,

[0025] 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, or

[0026] 115, or a variant, homologue, or orthologue thereof

[0027] In another embodiment, the herbicide or tolerant polypeptide refers to a mutated TriA polypeptide which comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:

[0028] 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, or 31, or a variant, homologue, or orthologue thereof

[0029] In still another embodiment, the herbicide resistant or tolerant CesA polypeptide is encoded by a nucleic acid molecule comprising a sequence being, over the full length, at least 80% identical to the nucleic acid sequence of of SEQ ID NO:, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, or 130, or a variant, homologue, or orthologue thereof thereof.

[0030] In still another embodiment, the herbicide resistant or tolerant TriA polypeptide is encoded by a nucleic acid molecule comprising a sequence being, over the full length, at least 80% identical to the nucleic acid sequence of of SEQ ID NO: 1, or a variant, homologue, or orthologue thereof thereof.

[0031] Another object refers to a method of identifying a nucleotide sequence encoding a mutated CesA or TriA which is resistant or tolerant to a diaminotriazine herbicide, the method comprising: a) generating a library of mutated CesA or TriA-encoding nucleic acids, b) screening a population of the resulting mutated CesA or TriA-encoding nucleic acids by expressing each of said nucleic acids in a cell or plant and treating said cell or plant with a diaminotriazine, c) comparing the diaminotriazine herbicide-tolerance levels provided by said population of mutated CesA or TriA encoding nucleic acids with the diaminotriazine -tolerance level provided by a control CesA or TriA- encoding nucleic acid, d) selecting at least one mutated CesA or TriA-encoding nucleic acid that provides a significantly increased level of tolerance to a diaminotriazine as compared to that provided by the control CesA or TriA-encoding nucleic acid.

[0032] In a preferred embodiment, the mutated CesA or TriA-encoding nucleic acid selected in step d) provides at least 2-fold as much tolerance to a diaminotriazine as compared to that provided by the control CesA or TriA- encoding nucleic acid.

[0033] The resistance or tolerance can be determined by generating a transgenic plant comprising a nucleic acid sequence of the library of step a) and comparing said transgenic plant with a control plant.

[0034] In another embodiment, the invention refers to a plant cell transformed by and expressing a CesA or TriA nucleic acid according to the present invention or a plant which has been mutated to obtain a plant expressing, preferably over-expressing a wild-type or a mutated CesA or TriA nucleic acid according to the present invention, wherein expression of said nucleic acid in the plant cell results in increased resistance or tolerance to a diaminotriazine as compared to a wild type variety of the plant cell. In another embodiment, the invention refers to a plant that expresses a mutagenized or recombinant mutated CesA or TriA polypeptide, and wherein said mutated CesA or TriA confers upon the plant increased diaminotriazine tolerance as compared to the corresponding wild-type variety of the plant when expressed therein.

[0035] In another embodiment, the invention refers to a transgenic plant comprising a plant cell according to the present invention, wherein expression of the nucleic acid in the plant results in the plant's increased resistance to diaminotriazine herbicide as compared to a wild type variety of the plant.

[0036] Preferably, the expression of the nucleic acid of the invention in the plant results in the plant's increased resistance to diaminotriazine herbicides as compared to a wild type variety of the plant.

[0037] In another embodiment, the invention refers to a method for growing the plant according to the present invention while controlling weeds in the vicinity of said plant, said method comprising the steps of: a) growing said plant ; and b) applying a herbicide composition comprising a diaminotriazine herbicide to the plant and weeds, wherein the herbicide normally inhibits CesA or TriA enzymes, at a level of the herbicide that would inhibit the growth of a corresponding wild-type plant.

[0038] In another embodiment, the invention refers to a seed produced by a transgenic plant comprising a plant cell of the present invention, or to a seed produced by the non-transgenic plant that expresses a mutagenized CesA or TriA polypeptide, wherein the seed is true breeding for an increased resistance to a diaminotriazine herbicide as compared to a wild type variety of the seed.

[0039] In another embodiment, the invention refers to a method of producing a transgenic plant cell with an increased resistance to a diaminotriazine herbicide as compared to a wild type variety of the plant cell comprising, transforming the plant cell with an expression cassette comprising a wild-type or a mutated CesA or TriA nucleic acid.

[0040] In another embodiment, the invention refers to a method of producing a transgenic plant comprising, (a) transforming a plant cell with an expression cassette comprising a wild-type or a mutated CesA or TriA nucleic acid, and (b) generating a plant with an increased resistance to diaminotriazine herbicide from the plant cell.

[0041] Preferably, the expression cassette further comprises a transcription initiation regulatory region and a translation initiation regulatory region that are functional in the plant.

[0042] In another embodiment, the invention relates to using the mutated CesA or TriA of the invention as selectable marker. The invention provides a method of identifying or selecting a transformed plant cell, plant tissue, plant or part thereof comprising a) providing a transformed plant cell, plant tissue, plant or part thereof, wherein said transformed plant cell, plant tissue, plant or part thereof comprises an isolated nucleic acid encoding a mutated CesA or TriA polypeptide of the invention as described hereinafter, wherein the polypeptide is used as a selection marker, and wherein said transformed plant cell, plant tissue, plant or part thereof may optionally comprise a further isolated nucleic acid of interest; b) contacting the transformed plant cell, plant tissue, plant or part thereof with at least one Diami notriazinei n hi biting compound; c) determining whether the plant cell, plant tissue, plant or part thereof is affected by the inhibitor or inhibiting compound; and d) identifying or selecting the transformed plant cell, plant tissue, plant or part thereof. The invention is also embodied in purified mutated CesA or TriA proteins that contain the mutations described herein, which are useful in molecular modeling studies to design further improvements to herbicide tolerance. Methods of protein purification are well known, and can be readily accomplished using commercially available products or specially designed methods, as set forth for example, in Protein Biotechnology, Walsh and Headon (Wiley, 1994).

[0043] In another embodiment, the invention relates to a combination useful for weed control, comprising (a) a polynucleotide encoding a mutated CesA or TriA polypeptide according to the present invention, which polynucleotide is capable of being expressed in a plant to thereby provide to that plant tolerance to a diaminotriazine herbicide; and (b) a diaminotriazine herbicide.

[0044] In another embodiment, the invention relates to a process for preparing a combination useful for weed control comprising (a) providing a polynucleotide encoding a mutated CesA or TriA polypeptide according to the present invention, which polynucleotide is capable of being expressed in a plant to thereby provide to that plant tolerance to a diaminotriazine herbicide; and (b) providing a diaminotriazine herbicide.

[0045] In a preferred embodiment, said step of providing a polynucleotide comprises providing a plant containing the polynucleotide.

[0046] In another preferred embodiment, said step of providing a polynucleotide comprises providing a seed containing the polynucleotide.

[0047] In another preferred embodiment, said process further comprises a step of applying the diaminotriazine herbicide to the seed.

[0048] In another embodiment, the invention relates to the use of a combination useful for weed control, comprising (a) a polynucleotide encoding a mutated CesA or TriA polypeptide according to the present invention, which polynucleotide is capable of being expressed in a plant to thereby provide to that plant tolerance to a diaminotriazine herbicide; and (b) a diaminotriazine herbicide, to control weeds at a plant cultivation site.

[0049] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0050] (NB: full name of used diaminotriazines is given in the Example section)

[0051] Figure 1 (A) - (C) shows the results of Arabidopsis germination assays as described in Example 11 (A) employing mutated CesA enzymes as e.g. disclosed in WO2015 / 162143, WO2017 / 068543, WO2017 / 068544, or WO2024 / 126113, treated with 0-500nM of 6-(1 -fluoro-1 -methyl-ethyl)-<l>N< / l>2-(2,3,5-trifluoro-6-methoxy- phenyl)-1 ,3,5-triazine-2,4-diamine

[0052] Constructs numbers mean the following Arabidopsis CesA mutants:

[0053] ET 0716 = AtCesA3_S1037F (fpx1 -2)

[0054] ET 0766 = AtCesA1_G1013R (fpx2-1)

[0055] ET 0886 AtCesA1_G1013E

[0056] ET 0926 AtCesA3_S983F

[0057] ET 0919 AtCesA3_S983F_S1037F

[0058] ET 0887 AtCesA1_G1013K

[0059] ET 0892 AtCesA3_S1037L Figure 2

[0060] A: shows the result of a soybean hairy root assay employing a mutated TriA polypeptide comprising a variant of SEQ ID NO: 2, in which at least one amino acid at a position corresponding to position 84, 92, 93, 155, 157, 217, or 219, of SEQ ID NO: 2 (as disclosed in WO2016 / 116870, WQ2018 / 011750, WO2019 / 142099) has been substituted by any other amino acid, treated with herbicide 6-(1 -fluoro-1 -methyl-ethyl)-<l>N< / l>2-(2,3,5-trifluoro- 6-methoxy-phenyl)-1,3,5-triazine-2,4-diamine (1= untransformed, no herbicide, 2 = untransformed 0 nM herbicide, 3=transformed; 3nM herbicide). B shows Substrate consumption and formation of the deaminated substrate 6-(1 -fluoro-1 -methyl-ethyl)-<l>N< / l>2-(2, 3, 5-trifluoro-6-methoxy-phenyl)-1 , 3, 5-triazine-2,4-diamine in a reaction conducted in 250 mM Hepes buffer at pH 8.0 and 37°C. The reaction contained a final substrate concentration of approximately 1 pM and 20% (v / v) crude extract from an E. coli expression culture producing a variant of TriA comprising a variant of SEQ ID NO: 2, in which at least one amino acid at a position corresponding to position 84, 92, 93, 155, 157, 217, or 219, of SEQ ID NO: 2 (as disclosed in WQ2016 / 116870, WQ2018 / 011750, WQ2019 / 142099) has been substituted by any other amino acid. The data illustrate the dynamics of substrate utilization and the corresponding production of the deaminated product over time, highlighting the enzymatic activity of the expressed variant.

[0061] DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0062] The articles "a" and "an" are used herein to refer to one or more than one (i.e., to at least one) of the grammatical object of the article. By way of example, "an element" means one or more elements.

[0063] As used herein, the word "comprising," or variations such as "comprises" or "comprising," will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps, but not the exclusion of any other element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps.

[0064] The inventors of the present invention have found, that the tolerance or resistance of a plant to a diaminotriazine herbicide could be remarkably increased by overexpressing a nucleic acid encoding CesA or TriA polypeptides described hereinafter.

[0065] The present invention refers to a method for controlling undesired vegetation at a plant cultivation site, the method comprising the steps of: a) providing, at said site, a plant that comprises at least one nucleic acid comprising a nucleotide sequence encoding a mutated CesA or TriA polypeptide which is resistant or tolerant to a herbicide as defined hereinafter, b) applying to said site an effective amount of said herbicide, wherein the herbicide is a diaminotriazine of formula (I) wherein

[0066] R1is F;

[0067] R2is selected from the group consisting of H, halogen, CR2A; wherein R2Ais H or halogen;

[0068] R3is H, F;

[0069] R4is selected from the group consisting of F, Cl, Br, I, CR4A; wherein R4Ais H or halogen;

[0070] R5is selected from the group consisting of H, halogen, CN, Ci-Ce-alkyl, (Ci-C6-alkoxy)-Ci-Ce-alkyl, C3-C6- cycloalkyl, (C3-C6-cycloalkyl)-Ci-C4-alkyl, Ci-Ce-alkoxy, C2-Ce-alkenyloxy, C2-Ce-alkynyloxy, Cs-Ce-cycloalkoxy, (C3-C6-cycloalkyl)-Ci-C4-alkoxy, where the aliphatic and cycloaliphatic parts of the radicals are unsubstituted, partly or completely halogenated;

[0071] R6is selected from the group consisting of H, halogen, CN, Ci-Ce-alkyl, Ci-Ce-haloalkyl, Ci-Ce-alkoxy and Ci-Ce-haloalkoxy;

[0072] R7is selected from the group consisting of halogen, CN, Ci-Ce-alkyl, C2-Ce-alkenyl, Cs-Ce-alkynyl, C3-C6- cycloalkyl, (C3-Ce-cycloalkyl)-Ci-C4-alkyl, Cs-Ce-cycloalkenyl and Ci-Ce-alkoxy-Ci-Ce-alkyl, where the aliphatic and cycloaliphatic parts of the radicals are unsubstituted, partly or completely halogenated;

[0073] R6and R7together with the carbon atom to which they are attached form a moiety selected from the group consisting of carbonyl, Cs-Ce-cycloalky I, Cs-Ce-cycloalkenyl, three- to six-membered saturated or partially unsaturated heterocyclyl, and the moiety >C=CRxRy, where Rxand Ry are hydrogen, Ci-C4-alkyl, C1-C4- haloalkyl, Cs-Ce-cycloalkyl or CRxRv form a 3- to 6-membered cycloalkyl;

[0074] R8is selected from the group consisting of Ci-Ce-alkyl, C2-Ce-alkeny I, C2-Ce-alkyny I, (Ci-Ce-alkoxy)- Ci-Ce-alkyl, (Ci-C6-alkoxy)-C2-Ce-alkenyl, (Ci-C6-alkoxy)-C2-Ce-alkynyl, (Ci-Ce-cycloalkyl)-C2-Ce-alkynyl, (C3-Ce-cycloalkyl)-Ci-C4-alkyl, (C3-C6-cycloalkoxy)-Ci-C4-alkyl, where the aforementioned radicals are unsubstituted, partly or completely halogenated and where the cycloaliphatic parts of the last 6 mentioned radicals may carry 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 methyl groups.

[0075] The term “control of undesired vegetation” is to be understood as meaning the killing of weeds and / or otherwise retarding or inhibiting the normal growth of the weeds. Weeds, in the broadest sense, are understood as meaning all those plants which grow in locations where they are undesired, e.g. (crop) plant cultivation sites. The weeds of the present invention include, for example, dicotyledonous and monocotyledonous weeds. Dicotyledonous weeds include, but are not limited to, weeds of the genera: Sinapis, Lepidium, Galium, Stellaria, Matricaria, Anthemis, Galinsoga, Chenopodium, Urtica, Senecio, Amaranthus, Portulaca, Xanthium, Convolvulus, Ipomoea, Polygonum, Sesbania, Ambrosia, Cirsium, Carduus, Sonchus, Solanum, Rorippa, Rotala, Lindernia, Lamium, Veronica, Abutilon, Emex, Datura, Viola, Galeopsis, Papaver, Centaurea, Trifolium, Ranunculus, and Taraxacum. Monocotyledonous weeds include, but are not limited to, weeds of of the genera: Echinochloa, Setaria, Panicum, Digitaria, Phleum, Poa, Festuca, Eleusine, Brachiaria, Lolium, Bromus, Avena, Cyperus, Sorghum, Agropyron, Cynodon, Monochoria, Fimbristyslis, Sagittaria, Eleocharis, Scirpus, Paspalum, Ischaemum, Sphenoclea, Dactyloctenium, Agrostis, Alopecurus, and Apera. In addition, the weeds of the present invention can include, for example, crop plants that are growing in an undesired location. For example, a volunteer maize plant that is in a field that predominantly comprises soybean plants can be considered a weed, if the maize plant is undesired in the field of soybean plants. The term “plant’ is used in its broadest sense as it pertains to organic material and is intended to encompass eukaryotic organisms that are members of the Kingdom Plantae, examples of which include but are not limited to vascular plants, vegetables, grains, flowers, trees, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, fungi and algae, etc, as well as clones, offsets, and parts of plants used for asexual propagation (e.g. cuttings, pipings, shoots, rhizomes, underground stems, clumps, crowns, bulbs, corms, tubers, rhizomes, plants / tissues produced in tissue culture, etc.). The term “plant’ further encompasses whole plants, ancestors and progeny of the plants and plant parts, including seeds, shoots, stems, leaves, roots (including tubers), flowers, florets, fruits, pedicles, peduncles, stamen, anther, stigma, style, ovary, petal, sepal, carpel, root tip, root cap, root hair, leaf hair, seed hair, pollen grain, microspore, cotyledon, hypocotyl, epicotyl, xylem, phloem, parenchyma, endosperm, a companion cell, a guard cell, and any other known organs, tissues, and cells of a plant, and tissues and organs, wherein each of the aforementioned comprise the gene / nucleic acid of interest. The term “plant’ also encompasses plant cells, suspension cultures, callus tissue, embryos, meristematic regions, gametophytes, sporophytes, pollen and microspores, again wherein each of the aforementioned comprises the gene / nucleic acid of interest.

[0076] Plants that are particularly useful in the methods of the invention include all plants which belong to the superfamily Viridiplantae, in particular monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous plants including fodder or forage legumes, ornamental plants, food crops, trees or shrubs selected from the list comprising Acer spp., Actinidia spp., Abelmoschus spp., Agave sisalana, Agropyron spp., Agrostis stolonifera, Allium spp., Amaranthus spp., Ammophila arenaria, Ananas comosus, Annona spp., Apium graveolens, Arachis spp, Artocarpus spp., Asparagus officinalis, Avena spp. (e.g. Avena sativa, Avena fatua, Avena byzantina, Avena fatua var. sativa, Avena hybrida), Averrhoa carambola, Bambusa sp., Benincasa hispida, Bertholletia excelsea, Beta vulgaris, Brassica spp. (e.g. Brassica napus, Brassica rapa ssp. [canola, oilseed rape, turnip rape]), Cadaba farinosa, Camellia sinensis, Canna indica, Cannabis sativa, Capsicum spp., Carex elata, Carica papaya, Carissa macrocarpa, Carya spp., Carthamus tinctorius, Castanea spp., Ceiba pentandra, Cichorium endivia, Cinnamomum spp., Citrullus lanatus, Citrus spp., Cocos spp., Coffea spp., Colocasia esculenta, Cola spp., Corchorus sp., Coriandrum sativum, Corylus spp., Crataegus spp., Crocus sativus, Cucurbita spp., Cucumis spp., Cynara spp., Daucus carota, Desmodium spp., Dimocarpus longan, Dioscorea spp., Diospyros spp., Echinochloa spp., Elaeis (e.g. Elaeis guineensis, Elaeis oleifera), Eleusine coracana, Eragrostis tef, Erianthus sp., Eriobotrya japonica, Eucalyptus sp., Eugenia uniflora, Fagopyrum spp., Fagus spp., Festuca arundinacea, Ficus carica, Fortunella spp., Fragaria spp., Ginkgo biloba, Glycine spp. (e.g. Glycine max, Soja hispida or Soja max), Gossypium hirsutum, Helianthus spp. (e.g. Helianthus annuus), Hemerocallis fulva, Hibiscus spp., Hordeum spp. (e.g. Hordeum vulgare), Ipomoea batatas, Juglans spp., Lactuca sativa, Lathyrus spp., Lens culinaris, Linum usitatissimum, Litchi chinensis, Lotus spp., Luffa acutangula, Lupinus spp., Luzula sylvatica, Lycopersicon spp. (e.g. Lycopersicon esculentum, Lycopersicon lycopersicum, Lycopersicon pyriforme), Macrotyloma spp., Malus spp., Malpighia emarginata, Mammea americana, Mangifera indica, Manihot spp., Manilkara zapota, Medicago sativa, Melilotus spp., Mentha spp., Miscanthus sinensis, Momordica spp., Morus nigra, Musa spp., Nicotiana spp., Olea spp., Opuntia spp., Ornithopus spp., Oryza spp. (e.g. Oryza sativa, Oryza latifolia), Panicum miliaceum, Panicum virgatum, Passiflora edulis, Pastinaca sativa, Pennisetum sp., Persea spp., Petroselinum crispum, Phalaris arundinacea, Phaseolus spp., Phleum pratense, Phoenix spp., Phragmites australis, Physalis spp., Pinus spp., Pistacia vera, Pisum spp., Poa spp., Populus spp., Prosopis spp., Prunus spp., Psidium spp., Punica granatum, Pyrus communis, Quercus spp., Raphanus sativus, Rheum rhabarbarum, Ribes spp., Ricinus communis, Rubus spp., Saccharum spp., Salix sp., Sambucus spp., Secale cereale, Sesamum spp., Sinapis sp., Solanum spp. (e.g. Solanum tuberosum, Solanum integrifolium or Solanum lycopersicum), Sorghum bicolor, Spinacia spp., Syzygium spp., Tagetes spp., Tamarindus indica, Theobroma cacao, Trifolium spp., Tripsacum dactyloides, Triticosecale rimpaui, Triticum spp. (e.g. Triticum aestivum, Triticum durum, Triticum turgidum, Triticum hybernum, Triticum macha, Triticum sativum, Triticum monococcum or Triticum vulgare), Tropaeolum minus, Tropaeolum majus, Vaccinium spp., Vicia spp., Vigna spp., Viola odorata, Vitis spp., Zea mays, Zizania palustris, Ziziphus spp., amaranth, artichoke, asparagus, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, canola, carrot, cauliflower, celery, collard greens, flax, kale, lentil, oilseed rape, okra, onion, potato, rice, soybean, strawberry, sugar beet, sugar cane, sunflower, tomato, squash, tea and algae, amongst others. According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the plant is a crop plant. Examples of crop plants include inter alia soybean, sunflower, canola, alfalfa, rapeseed, cotton, tomato, potato or tobacco. Further preferebly, the plant is a monocotyledonous plant, such as sugarcane. Further preferably, the plant is a cereal, such as rice, maize, wheat, barley, millet, rye, sorghum or oats.

[0077] In a preferred embodiment, the plant has been previously produced by a process comprising recombinantly preparing a plant by introducing and over-expressing a wild-type or mutated CesA or TriA transgene according to the present invention, as described in greater detail hereinfter.

[0078] As disclosed herein, the nucleic acids of the invention find use in enhancing the herbicide tolerance of plants that comprise in their genomes a gene encoding a herbicide-tolerant wild-type or mutated CesA or TriA protein. Such a gene may be an endogenous gene or a transgene, as described hereinafter.

[0079] In another embodiment the present invention refers to a method of increasing or enhancing the diaminotriazine herbicide tolerance or resistance of a plant, the method comprising overexpressing a nucleic acid encoding a herbicide resistant or tolerant TriA polypeptide which comprises comprises a sequence being, over the full length, at least 80% identical to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, or 31, or a variant, homologue or orthologue thereof.

[0080] In another embodiment the present invention refers to a method of increasing or enhancing the diaminotriazine herbicide tolerance or resistance of a plant, the method comprising overexpressing a nucleic acid encoding a herbicide resistant or tolerant CesA polypeptide which comprises comprises a sequence being, over the full length, at least 80% identical to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, or 115, or a variant, homologue or orthologue thereof

[0081] In another embodiment the present invention refers to a method of increasing or enhancing the diaminotriazine herbicide tolerance or resistance of a plant, the method comprising overexpressing a nucleic acid comprising a sequence being, over the full length, at least 80% identical to the nucleic acid sequence of of SEQ ID NO: 1, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, or a variant, homologue or orthologue thereof.

[0082] Additionally, in certain embodiments, the nucleic acids of the present invention can be stacked with any combination of polynucleotide sequences of interest in order to create plants with a desired phenotype. For example, the nucleic acids of the present invention may be stacked with any other polynucleotides encoding polypeptides having pesticidal and / or insecticidal activity, such as, for example, the Bacillus thuringiensis toxin proteins (described in U.S. Patent Nos. 5,366,892; 5,747,450; 5,737,514; 5,723,756; 5,593,881; and Geiser et al (1986) Gene 48: 109), By way of example, polynucleotides that may be stacked with the nucleic acids of the present invention include nucleic acids encoding polypeptides conferring resistance to pests / pathogens such as viruses, nematodes, insects or fungi, and the like. Exemplary polynucleotides that may be stacked with nucleic acids of the invention include polynucleotides encoding: polypeptides having pesticidal and / or insecticidal activity, such as other Bacillus thuringiensis toxic proteins (described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,366,892; 5,747,450; 5,737,514; 5,723,756; 5,593,881; and Geiser et al., (1986) Gene 48:109), lectins (Van Damme et al. (1994) Plant Mol. Biol. 24:825, pentin (described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,981,722), and the like; traits desirable for disease or herbicide resistance (e.g., fumonisin detoxification genes (U.S. Pat. No. 5,792,931); avirulence and disease resistance genes (Jones et al. (1994) Science 266:789; Martin et al., (1993) Science 262:1432; Mindrinos et al. (1994) Cell 78:1089); acetolactate synthase (ALS) mutants that lead to herbicide resistance such as the S4 and / or Hra mutations; glyphosate resistance (e.g., 5-enol-pyrovyl-shikimate-3-phosphate-synthase (EPSPS) gene, described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,940,935 and 5,188,642; or the glyphosate N-acetyltransferase (GAT) gene, described in Castle et al. (2004) Science, 304:1151-1154; and in U.S. Patent App. Pub. Nos. 20070004912, 20050246798, and 20050060767)); glufosinate resistance (e.g, phosphinothricin acetyl transferase genes PAT and BAR, described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,561,236 and 5,276,268); resistance to herbicides including sulfonyl urea, DHT (2,4D), and PPO herbicides (e.g., glyphosate acetyl transferase, aryloxy alkanoate dioxygenase, acetolactate synthase, and protoporphyrinogen oxidase); a cytochrome P450 or variant thereof that confers herbicide resistance or tolerance to, inter alia, HPPD herbicides (U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12 / 156,247; U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,380,465; 6,121,512; 5,349,127; 6,649,814; and 6,300,544; and PCT Patent App. Pub. No. W02007000077); and traits desirable for processing or process products such as high oil (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 6,232,529); modified oils (e.g., fatty acid desaturase genes (U.S. Pat. No. 5,952,544; WO 94 / 11516)); modified starches (e.g., ADPG pyrophosphorylases (AGPase), starch synthases (SS), starch branching enzymes (SBE), and starch debranching enzymes (SDBE)); and polymers or bioplastics (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,602,321; beta-ketothiolase, polyhydroxybutyrate synthase, and acetoacetyl-CoA reductase (Schubert et al. (1988) J. Bacteriol. 170:5837- 5847) facilitate expression of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs)); the disclosures of which are herein incorporated by reference.

[0083] In a preferred embodiment, the plant comprises at least one additional heterologous nucleic acid comprising a nucleotide sequence encoding a herbicide tolerance enzyme selected, for example, from the group consisting of 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS), Glyphosate acetyl transferase (GAT), cytochrome P450 monooxygenase, phosphinothricin acetyltransferase (PAT), Acetohydroxyacid synthase (AHAS; EC 4.1.3.18, also known as acetolactate synthase or ALS), hydroxyphenyl pyruvate dioxygenase (HPPD), Phytoene desaturase (PD) and dicamba degrading enzymes as disclosed in WO 02 / 068607, or phenoxyaceticacid- and phenoxypropionicacid-derivative degrading enzymes as disclosed in WO 2008141154 or WO 2005107437. The combinations generated can also include multiple copies of any one of the polynucleotides of interest.

[0084] Generally, the term “herbicide” is used herein to mean an active ingredient that kills, controls or otherwise adversely modifies the growth of plants. The preferred amount or concentration of the herbicide is an "effective amount" or "effective concentration." By "effective amount" and "effective concentration" is intended an amount and concentration, respectively, that is sufficient to kill or inhibit the growth of a similar, wild-type, plant, plant tissue, plant cell, or host cell, but that said amount does not kill or inhibit as severely the growth of the herbicideresistant plants, plant tissues, plant cells, and host cells of the present invention. Typically, the effective amount of a herbicide is an amount that is routinely used in agricultural production systems to kill weeds of interest. Such an amount is known to those of ordinary skill in the art. Herbicidal activity is exhibited by herbicides useful for the the present invention when they are applied directly to the plant or to the locus of the plant at any stage of growth or before planting or emergence. The effect observed depends upon the plant species to be controlled, the stage of growth of the plant, the application parameters of dilution and spray drop size, the particle size of solid components, the environmental conditions at the time of use, the specific compound employed, the specific adjuvants and carriers employed, the soil type, and the like, as well as the amount of chemical applied. These and other factors can be adjusted as is known in the art to promote non-selective or selective herbicidal action. Generally, it is preferred to apply the herbicide postemergence to relatively immature undesirable vegetation to achieve the maximum control of weeds.

[0085] By a "herbicide-tolerant" or "herbicide-resistant" plant, it is intended that a plant that is tolerant or resistant to at least one herbicide at a level that would normally kill, or inhibit the growth of, a normal or wild-type plant. By "herbicide-tolerant wildtype or mutated CesA or TriA protein" or "herbicide -resistant wildtype or mutated CesA or TriA protein", it is intended that such a CesA or TriA protein displays higher CesA or TriA activity, relative to the CesA or TriA activity of a wild-type CesA or TriA protein, when in the presence of at least one herbicide that is known to interfere with CesA or TriA activity and at a concentration or level of the herbicide that is known to inhibit the CesA or TriA activity of the wild-type mutated CesA or TriA protein. Furthermore, the CesA or TriA activity of such a herbicide-tolerant or herbicide-resistant mutated CesA or TriA protein may be referred to herein as "herbicide-tolerant" or "herbicide-resistant" CesA or TriA activity.

[0086] In a particularly preferred embodiment, the herbicides useful for the present invention refer diaminotriazines of formula (I) wherein

[0087] R1is F;

[0088] R2is selected from the group consisting of H, halogen, CR2A; wherein R2Ais H or halogen;

[0089] R3is H, F;

[0090] R4is selected from the group consisting of F, Cl, Br, I, CR4A; wherein R4Ais H or halogen;

[0091] R5is selected from the group consisting of H, halogen, CN, Ci-Ce-alkyl, (Ci-Ce-alkoxyj-Ci-Ce-alkyl, C3-C6- cycloalkyl, (C3-C6-cycloalkyl)-Ci-C4-alkyl, Ci-Ce-alkoxy, C2-Ce-alkenyloxy, C2-Ce-alkynyloxy, Cs-Ce-cycloalkoxy, (C3-C6-cycloalkyl)-Ci-C4-alkoxy, where the aliphatic and cycloaliphatic parts of the radicals are unsubstituted, partly or completely halogenated;

[0092] R6is selected from the group consisting of H, halogen, CN, Ci-Ce-alkyl, Ci-Ce-haloalkyl, Ci-Ce-alkoxy and Ci-Ce-haloalkoxy; R7is selected from the group consisting of halogen, CN, Ci-Ce-alkyl, C2-Ce-alkenyl, Cs-Ce-alkynyl, C3-C6- cycloalkyl, (C3-C6-cycloalkyl)-Ci-C4-alkyl, Cs-Ce-cycloalkenyl and Ci-Ce-alkoxy-Ci-Ce-alkyl, where the aliphatic and cycloaliphatic parts of the radicals are unsubstituted, partly or completely halogenated;

[0093] R6and R7together with the carbon atom to which they are attached form a moiety selected from the group consisting of carbonyl, Cs-Ce-cycloalky I, Cs-Ce-cycloalkenyl, three- to six-membered saturated or partially unsaturated heterocyclyl, and the moiety >C=CRxRy, where Rxand Ry are hydrogen, Ci-C4-alkyl, C1-C4- haloalkyl, Cs-Ce-cycloalkyl or CRxR form a 3- to 6-membered cycloalkyl;

[0094] R8is selected from the group consisting of Ci -Ce-alky I, C2-Ce-alkeny I, C2-Ce-alkyny I, (Ci-C6-alkoxy)-Ci-Ce- alkyl, (Ci-C6-alkoxy)-C2-Ce-alkenyl, (Ci-C6-alkoxy)-C2-Ce-alkynyl, (Ci-C6-cycloalkyl)-C2-C6-alkynyl, (C3-C6- cycloalkyl)-Ci-C4-alkyl, (C3-C6-cycloalkoxy)-Ci-C4-alkyl, where the aforementioned radicals are unsubstituted, partly or completely halogenated and where the cycloaliphatic parts of the last 6 mentioned radicals may carry 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 methyl groups.

[0095] If the compounds of formula (I), the herbicidal compounds B and / or the safeners C as described herein are capable of forming geometrical isomers, for example E / Z isomers, it is possible to use both, the pure isomers and mixtures thereof, in the compositions useful for the invention.

[0096] If the compounds of formula (I), the herbicidal compounds B and / or the safeners C as described herein have one or more centers of chirality and, as a consequence, are present as enantiomers or diastereomers, it is possible to use both, the pure enantiomers and diastereomers and their mixtures, in the compositions useful for the invention.

[0097] Within the substituents of the compounds of formula (I), instead of hydrogen also the corresponding isotope deuterium can be used.

[0098] If the compounds of formula (I), the herbicidal compounds B and / or the safeners C as described herein have ionizable functional groups, they can also be employed in the form of their agriculturally acceptable salts. Suitable are, in general, the salts of those cations and the acid addition salts of those acids whose cations and anions, respectively, have no adverse effect on the activity of the active compounds.

[0099] Preferred cations are the ions of the alkali metals, preferably of lithium, sodium and potassium, of the alkaline earth metals, preferably of calcium and magnesium, and of the transition metals, preferably of manganese, copper, zinc and iron, further ammonium and substituted ammonium in which one to four hydrogen atoms are replaced by Ci-C4-alkyl, hydroxy-Ci-C4-alkyl, Ci-C4-alkoxy-Ci-C4-alkyl, hydroxy-Ci-C4-alkoxy-Ci-C4-alkyl, phenyl or benzyl, preferably ammonium, methylammonium, isopropylammonium, dimethylammonium, diethylammonium, diisopropylammonium, trimethylammonium, triethylammonium, tris(isopropyl)ammonium, heptylammonium, dodecylammonium, tetradecylammonium, tetramethylammonium, tetraethylammonium, tetrabutylammonium, 2-hydroxyethylammonium (olamine salt), 2-(2-hydroxyeth-1-oxy)eth-1-ylammonium (diglycolamine salt), di(2-hydroxyeth-1-yl)ammonium (diolamine salt), tris(2-hydroxyethyl)ammonium (trolamine salt), tris(2-hydroxypropyl)ammonium, benzyltrimethylammonium, benzyltriethylammonium, N,N,N- trimethylethanolammonium (choline salt), furthermore phosphonium ions, sulfonium ions, preferably tri(Ci-C4- alkyl)sulfonium, such as trimethylsulfonium, and sulfoxonium ions, preferably tri(Ci-C4-alkyl)sulfoxonium, and finally the salts of polybasic amines such as N,N-bis-(3-aminopropyl)methylamine and diethylenetriamine.

[0100] Anions of useful acid addition salts are primarily chloride, bromide, fluoride, iodide, hydrogensulfate, methylsulfate, sulfate, dihydrogenphosphate, hydrogenphosphate, nitrate, bicarbonate, carbonate, hexafluorosilicate, hexafluorophosphate, benzoate and also the anions of Ci-C4-alkanoic acids, preferably formate, acetate, propionate and butyrate. Compound of formula (I), herbicidal compounds B and / or safeners C as described herein having a carboxyl group can be employed in the form of the acid, in the form of an agriculturally suitable salt as mentioned above or else in the form of an agriculturally acceptable derivative, for example as amides, such as mono- and di-Ci- Ce-alkylamides or arylamides, as esters, for example as allyl esters, propargyl esters, Ci-Cw-alkyl esters, alkoxyalkyl esters, tefuryl ((tetrahydrofuran-2-yl)methyl) esters and also as thioesters, for example as C1-C10- alkylthio esters. Preferred mono- and di-Ci-Ce-alkylamides are the methyl and the dimethylamides. Preferred arylamides are, for example, the anilides and the 2-chloroanilides. Preferred alkyl esters are, for example, the methyl, ethyl, propyl, isopropyl, butyl, isobutyl, pentyl, mexyl (1 -methylhexyl), meptyl (1 -methylheptyl), heptyl, octyl or isooctyl (2-ethylhexyl) esters. Preferred Ci-C4-alkoxy-Ci-C4-alkyl esters are the straight-chain or branched Ci-C4-alkoxy ethyl esters, for example the 2-methoxyethyl, 2-ethoxyethyl, 2-butoxyethyl (butotyl), 2- butoxypropyl or 3-butoxypropyl ester. An example of a straight-chain or branched Ci-Cw-alkylthio ester is the ethylthio ester.

[0101] The organic moieties mentioned in the definition of the variables R1to R6and Rato Reare - like the term halogen - collective terms for individual enumerations of the individual group members. The term halogen denotes in each case fluorine, chlorine, bromine or iodine. All hydrocarbon chains can be straight-chain or branched, the prefix Cn-Cmdenoting in each case the possible number of carbon atoms in the group.

[0102] Examples of such meanings are:

[0103] Ci -Cs-alky I and also the Ci -Cs-alky I moieties of di(Ci-C3-alkyl)amino, Ci -Cs-alkoxy-Ci -Cs-alky I: for example CH3, C2H5, n-propyl and CH(CH3)2;

[0104] Ci-C4-alkyl: for example CH3, C2H5, n-propyl, CH(CH3)2, n-butyl, CH(CH3)-C2H5, CH2-CH(CH3)2 and C(CH3)3;

[0105] CI -Ce-alky I and also the Ci -Ce-alky I moieties of Ci-Ce-cyanoalkyl, Ci -Ce-alkyoxy-Ci -Ce-alky I, Ci-Ce- alkoxy-Ci-Ce-alkoxy-Ci-Ce-alkyl, di(Ci-Ce-alkoxy)Ci-C6-alkyl, Ci-Ce-haloalkoxy-Ci-Ce-alkyl, Cs-Ce-alkenyloxy- Ci-Ce-alkyl, Cs-Ce-haloalkenyloxy-Ci-Ce-alkyl, Cs-Ce-alkenyloxy-Ci-Ce-alkoxy-Ci-Ce-alkyl, Ci-Ce-alkylthio-Ci-Ce- alkyl, Ci-Ce-alkylsulfinyl-Ci-Ce-alkyl, Ci-Ce-alkylsulfonyl-Ci-Ce-alkyl, Ci-Ce-alkylcarbonyl-Ci-Ce-alkyl, Ci-Ce- alkoxycarbonyl-Ci-Ce-alkyl, Ci-Ce-haloalkoxycarbonyl-Ci-Ce-alkyl, Cs-Ce-alkenyloxycarbonyl-Ci-Ce-alkyl, C3-C6- alkynyloxycarbonyl-Ci-Ce-alkyl: Ci-C4-alkyl as mentioned above, and also, for example, n-pentyl, 1 -methylbutyl, 2-methylbutyl, 3-methylbutyl, 2,2-dimethylpropyl, 1 -ethylpropyl, n-hexyl, 1,1 -dimethylpropyl, 1 ,2-dimethylpropyl,

[0106] 1 -methylpentyl, 2-methylpentyl, 3-methylpentyl, 4-methylpentyl, 1,1 -dimethylbutyl, 1 ,2-dimethylbutyl, 1,3- dimethylbutyl, 2,2-dimethylbutyl, 2,3-dimethylbutyl, 3,3-dimethylbutyl, 1 -ethylbutyl, 2-ethylbutyl, 1,1,2- trimethylpropyl, 1 ,2,2-trimethylpropyl, 1-ethyl-1 -methylpropyl or 1 -ethyl-2-methylpropyl, preferably methyl, ethyl, n-propyl, 1 -methylethyl, n-butyl, 1,1 -dimethylethyl, n-pentyl or n-hexyl;

[0107] Ci -Cs-haloalky I: Ci -Cs-alky I as mentioned above which is partially or fully substituted by fluorine, chlorine, bromine and / or iodine, for example, chloromethyl, dichloromethyl, trichloromethyl, fluoromethyl, difluoromethyl, trifluoromethyl, chlorofluoromethyl, dichlorofluoromethyl, chlorodifluoromethyl, bromomethyl, iodomethyl, 2- fluoroethyl, 2-chloroethyl, 2-bromoethyl, 2-iodoethyl, 1,1 -difluoroethyl, 2,2-difluoroethyl, 2,2,2-trifluoroethyl, 2- chloro-2-fluoroethyl, 2-chloro-2,2-difluoroethyl, 2,2-dichloro-2-fluoroethyl, 2,2,2-trichloroethyl, pentafluoroethyl,

[0108] 2-fluoropropyl, 3-fluoropropyl, 2,2-difluoropropyl, 2,3-difluoropropyl, 2-chloropropyl, 3-chloropropyl, 2,3-dichloro- propyl, 2-bromopropyl, 3-bromopropyl, 3,3,3-trifluoropropyl, 3,3,3-trichloropropyl, 2,2,3,3,3-pentafluoropropyl, heptafluoropropyl, 1-(fluoromethyl)-2-fluoroethyl, 1-(chloromethyl)-2-chloroethyl, 1-(bromomethyl)-2-bromoethyl;

[0109] Ci -C4-haloalky I: Ci -C4-alky I as mentioned above which is partially or fully substituted by fluorine, chlorine, bromine and / or iodine, for example, chloromethyl, dichloromethyl, trichloromethyl, fluoromethyl, difluoromethyl, trifluoromethyl, chlorofluoromethyl, dichlorofluoromethyl, chlorodifluoromethyl, bromomethyl, iodomethyl, 2- fluoroethyl, 2-chloroethyl, 2-bromoethyl, 2-iodoethyl, 2,2-difluoroethyl, 2,2,2-trifluoroethyl, 2-chloro-2-fluoroethyl, 2-chloro-2,2-difluoroethyl, 2,2-dichloro-2-fluoroethyl, 2,2,2-trichloroethyl, pentafluoroethyl, 2-fluoropropyl, 3- fluoropropyl, 2,2-difluoropropyl, 2,3-difluoropropyl, 2-chloropropyl, 3-chloropropyl, 2,3-dichloropropyl, 2- bromopropyl, 3-bromopropyl, 3,3,3-trifluoropropyl, 3,3,3-trichloropropyl, 2,2,3,3,3-pentafluoropropyl, heptafluoropropyl, 1-(fluoromethyl)-2-fluoroethyl, 1-(chloromethyl)-2-chloroethyl, 1-(bromomethyl)-2-bromoethyl, 4-fluorobutyl, 4-chlorobutyl, 4-bromobutyl, nonafluorobutyl, 1,1, 2, 2, -tetrafluoroethyl and 1 -trifluoromethyl-1, 2,2,2- tetrafluoroethyl;

[0110] Ci-Ce-haloalkyl: Ci-C4-haloalkyl as mentioned above, and also, for example, 5-fluoropentyl, 5- chloropentyl, 5-bromopentyl, 5-iodopentyl, undecafluoropentyl, 6-fluorohexyl, 6-chlorohexyl, 6-bromohexyl, 6- iodohexyl and dodecafluorohexyl;

[0111] Cs-Ce-alkenyl and also the Cs-Ce-alkenyl moieties of Cs-Ce-alkenyloxy-Ci -Ce-alky I, Cs-Ce-alkenyloxy-Ci- Ce-alkoxy-Ci-Ce-alkyl, Cs-Ce-alkenyloxycarbonyl-Ci-Ce-alkyl: for example 1-propenyl, 2-propenyl,

[0112] 1 -methylethenyl, 1 -butenyl, 2-butenyl, 3-butenyl, 1-methyl-1 -propenyl, 2-methyl-1 -propenyl, 1-methyl-2- propenyl, 2-methyl-2-propenyl, 1 -pentenyl, 2-pentenyl, 3-pentenyl, 4-pentenyl, 1-methyl-1 -butenyl, 2-methyl-1- butenyl, 3-methyl-1-butenyl, 1-methyl-2-butenyl, 2-methyl-2-butenyl, 3-methyl-2-butenyl, 1-methyl-3-butenyl,

[0113] 2-methyl-3-butenyl, 3-methyl-3-butenyl, 1 , 1-dimethyl-2-propenyl, 1 ,2-dimethyl-1 -propenyl, 1 ,2-dimethyl-2- propenyl, 1-ethyl-1 -propenyl, 1 -ethyl-2-propenyl, 1 -hexenyl, 2-hexenyl, 3-hexenyl, 4-hexenyl, 5-hexenyl, 1-me- thyl-1 -pentenyl, 2-methyl-1 -pentenyl, 3-methyl-1 -pentenyl, 4-methyl-1 -pentenyl, 1-methyl-2-pentenyl, 2-methyl- 2-pentenyl, 3-methyl-2-pentenyl, 4-methyl-2-pentenyl, 1-methyl-3-pentenyl, 2-methyl-3-pentenyl, 3-methyl-3- pentenyl, 4-methyl-3-pentenyl, 1-methyl-4-pentenyl, 2-methyl-4-pentenyl, 3-methyl-4-pentenyl, 4-methyl-4- pentenyl, 1,1-dimethyl-2-butenyl, 1,1-dimethyl-3-butenyl, 1,2-dimethyl-1 -butenyl, 1 ,2-dimethyl-2-butenyl, 1,2- dimethyl-3-butenyl, 1 ,3-dimethyl-1-butenyl, 1 ,3-dimethyl-2-butenyl, 1 ,3-dimethyl-3-butenyl, 2,2-dimethyl-3- butenyl, 2,3-dimethyl-1 -butenyl, 2,3-dimethyl-2-butenyl, 2,3-dimethyl-3-butenyl, 3,3-dimethyl-1 -butenyl, 3,3- dimethyl-2-butenyl, 1-ethyl-1 -butenyl, 1 -ethyl-2-butenyl, 1 -ethyl-3-butenyl, 2-ethyl-1 -butenyl, 2-ethyl-2-butenyl, 2-ethyl-3-butenyl, 1,1,2-trimethyl-2-propenyl, 1-ethyl-1-methyl-2-propenyl, 1-ethyl-2-methyl-1 -propenyl and 1- ethyl-2-methyl-2-propenyl;

[0114] Cs-Ce-haloalkenyl and also the Cs-Ce-haloalkenyl moieties of Cs-Ce-haloalkenyloxy-Ci-Ce-alkyl: a Cs-Ce- alkenyl radical as mentioned above which is partially or fully substituted by fluorine, chlorine, bromine and / or iodine, for example 2-chloroprop-2-en-1-yl, 3-chloroprop-2-en-1-yl, 2,3-dichloroprop-2-en-1-yl, 3,3-dichloroprop- 2-en-1-yl, 2,3,3-trichloro-2-en-1-yl, 2,3-dichlorobut-2-en-1-yl, 2-bromoprop-2-en-1-yl, 3-bromoprop-2-en-1-yl, 2,3-dibromoprop-2-en-1-yl, 3,3-dibromoprop-2-en-1-yl, 2,3,3-tribromo-2-en-1-yl or 2,3-dibromobut-2-en-1-yl;

[0115] Cs-Ce-alkynyl and also the Cs-Ce-alkynyl moieties of Cs-Ce-alkynyloxycarbonyl-Ci-Ce-alkyl: for example 1- propynyl, 2-propynyl, 1-butynyl, 2-butynyl, 3-butynyl, 1-methyl-2-propynyl, 1 -pentynyl, 2-pentynyl, 3-pentynyl, 4-pentynyl, 1-methyl-2-butynyl, 1-methyl-3-butynyl, 2-methyl-3-butynyl, 3-methyl-1-butynyl, 1 ,1-dimethyl-2- propynyl, 1 -ethyl-2-propynyl, 1 -hexynyl, 2-hexynyl, 3-hexynyl, 4-hexynyl, 5-hexynyl, 1-methyl-2-pentynyl, 1- methyl-3-pentynyl, 1 -methyl-4-pentynyl, 2-methyl-3-pentynyl, 2-methyl-4-pentynyl, 3-methyl-1 -pentynyl, 3- methyl-4-pentynyl, 4-methyl-1 -pentynyl, 4-methyl-2-pentynyl, 1 , 1-dimethyl-2-butynyl, 1 ,1-dimethyl-3-butynyl, 1 ,2-dimethyl-3-butynyl, 2,2-dimethyl-3-butynyl, 3,3-dimethyl-1-butynyl, 1 -ethyl-2-butynyl, 1 -ethyl-3-butynyl, 2- ethyl-3-butynyl and 1 -ethyl-1 -methyl-2-propynyl;

[0116] Cs-Ce-haloalkyny I: a Cs-Ce-alkynyl radical as mentioned above which is partially or fully substituted by fluorine, chlorine, bromine and / or iodine, for example 1 , 1 -difluoroprop-2-yn-1 -yl, 3-chloroprop-2-yn-1-yl, 3- bromoprop-2-yn-1-yl, 3-iodoprop-2-yn-1-yl, 4-fluorobut-2-yn-1-yl, 4-chlorobut-2-yn-1-yl, 1 ,1-difluorobut-2-yn-1-yl, 4-iodobut-3-yn-1 -yl, 5-fluoropent-3-yn-1 -yl, 5-iodopent-4-yn-1 -yl, 6-fluorohex-4-yn-1 -yl or 6-iodohex-5-yn-1 -yl; Ci-Cs-alkoxy and also the Ci-Cs-alkoxy moieties of Ci -Cs-alkoxy-Ci -Cs-alky I, Ci-Cs-alkoxycarbonyl: for example methoxy, ethoxy, propoxy;

[0117] Ci-C4-alkoxy: for example methoxy, ethoxy, propoxy, 1 -methylethoxy butoxy, 1 -methylpropoxy, 2- methylpropoxy and 1,1 -dimethylethoxy;

[0118] Ci-Ce-alkoxy and also the Ci-Ce-alkoxy moieties of Ci -Ce-alkyoxy-Ci -Ce-alky I, Ci-Ce-alkoxy-Ci-Ce- alkoxy-Ci-Ce-alkyl, di(Ci-C6-alkoxy)Ci-Ce-alkyl, Cs-Ce-alkenyloxy-Ci-Ce-alkoxy-Ci-Ce-alkyl, Ci-Ce- alkoxycarbonyl-Ci-Ce-alkyl: Ci-C4-alkoxy as mentioned above, and also, for example, pentoxy, 1 -methylbutoxy, 2-methylbutoxy, 3-methoxylbutoxy, 1,1 -dimethylpropoxy, 1 ,2-dimethylpropoxy, 2,2-dimethylpropoxy, 1- ethylpropoxy, hexoxy, 1 -methylpentoxy, 2-methylpentoxy, 3-methylpentoxy, 4-methylpentoxy, 1,1- dimethylbutoxy, 1 ,2-dimethylbutoxy, 1 ,3-dimethylbutoxy, 2,2-dimethylbutoxy, 2,3-dimethylbutoxy, 3,3- dimethylbutoxy, 1 -ethylbutoxy, 2-ethylbutoxy, 1,1 ,2-trimethylpropoxy, 1 ,2,2-trimethylpropoxy, 1-ethyl-1 -methylpropoxy and 1-ethyl-2-methylpropoxy.

[0119] Ci-Cs-haloalkoxy: a Ci-Cs-alkoxy radical as mentioned above which is partially or fully substituted by fluorine, chlorine, bromine and / or iodine, i.e., for example, fluoromethoxy, difluoromethoxy, trifluoromethoxy, chlorodifluoromethoxy, bromodifluoromethoxy, 2-fluoroethoxy, 2-chloroethoxy, 2-bromomethoxy, 2-iodoethoxy, 2,2-difluoroethoxy, 2,2,2-trifluoroethoxy, 2-chloro-2-fluoroethoxy, 2-chloro-2,2-difluoroethoxy, 2,2-dichloro-2- fluoroethoxy, 2,2,2-trichloroethoxy, pentafluoroethoxy, 2-fluoropropoxy, 3-fluoropropoxy, 2-chloropropoxy, 3- chloropropoxy, 2-bromopropoxy, 3-bromopropoxy, 2,2-difluoropropoxy, 2,3-difluoropropoxy, 2,3- dichloropropoxy, 3,3,3-trifluoropropoxy, 3,3,3-trichloropropoxy, 2,2,3,3,3-pentafluoropropoxy, heptafluoropropoxy, 1 -(fluoromethyl)-2-fluoroethoxy, 1 -(chloromethyl)-2-chloroethoxy, 1 -(bromomethyl)-2- bromoethoxy;

[0120] Ci-C4-haloalkoxy: a Ci-C4-alkoxy radical as mentioned above which is partially or fully substituted by fluorine, chlorine, bromine and / or iodine, i.e., for example, fluoromethoxy, difluoromethoxy, trifluoromethoxy, chlorodifluoromethoxy, bromodifluoromethoxy, 2-fluoroethoxy, 2-chloroethoxy, 2-bromomethoxy, 2-iodoethoxy, 2,2-difluoroethoxy, 2,2,2-trifluoroethoxy, 2-chloro-2-fluoroethoxy, 2-chloro-2,2-difluoroethoxy, 2,2-dichloro-2- fluoroethoxy, 2,2,2-trichloroethoxy, pentafluoroethoxy, 2-fluoropropoxy, 3-fluoropropoxy, 2-chloropropoxy, 3- chloropropoxy, 2-bromopropoxy, 3-bromopropoxy, 2,2-difluoropropoxy, 2,3-difluoropropoxy, 2,3- dichloropropoxy, 3,3,3-trifluoropropoxy, 3,3,3-trichloropropoxy, 2,2,3,3,3-pentafluoropropoxy, heptafluoropropoxy, 1 -(fluoromethyl)-2-fluoroethoxy, 1 -(chloromethyl)-2-chloroethoxy, 1 -(bromomethyl)-2- bromoethoxy, 4-fluorobutoxy, 4-chlorobutoxy, 4-bromobutoxy and nonafluorobutoxy;

[0121] Ci-Ce-haloalkoxy and also the Ci-Ce-haloalkoxy moieties of Ci -Ce-haloalkoxy-Ci -Ce-alky I, Ci-Ce- haloalkoxycarbonyl-Ci-Ce-alkyl: a Ci-C4-haloalkoxy as mentioned above, and also, for example, 5- fluoropentoxy, 5-chloropentoxy, 5-bromopentoxy, 5-iodopentoxy, undecafluoropentoxy, 6-fluorohexoxy, 6- chlorohexoxy, 6-bromohexoxy, 6-iodohexoxy and dodecafluorohexoxy;

[0122] Ci-Cs-alkylthio: for example methylthio, ethylthio, propylthio, 1 -methylethylthio;

[0123] Ci-C4-alkylthio: for example methylthio, ethylthio, propylthio, 1 -methylethylthio, butylthio, 1- methylpropylthio, 2-methylpropylthio and 1,1 -dimethylethylthio;

[0124] Ci -Ce-alky Ithio and also the Ci -Ce-alky Ithio moieties of Ci -Ce-alky Ithio-Ci -Ce-alky I: Ci -C4-alky Ithio as mentioned above, and also, for example, pentylthio, 1 -methylbutylthio, 2-methylbutylthio, 3-methylbutylthio, 2,2- dimethylpropylthio, 1 -ethylpropylthio, hexylthio, 1,1 -dimethylpropylthio, 1 ,2-dimethylpropylthio, 1- methylpentylthio, 2-methylpentylthio, 3-methylpentylthio, 4-methylpentylthio, 1,1 -dimethylbutylthio, 1,2- dimethylbutylthio, 1 ,3-dimethylbutylthio, 2,2-dimethylbutylthio, 2,3-dimethylbutylthio, 3,3-dimethylbutylthio, 1- ethylbutylthio, 2-ethylbutylthio, 1,1,2-trimethylpropylthio, 1,2,2-trimethylpropylthio, 1-ethyl-1 -methylpropylthio and 1- ethyl-2-methylpropylthio;

[0125] Ci -Ce-alkylsu Ifiny I (Ci -Ce-alky l-S(=O)-) and also the Ci -Ce-alky Isulfinyl moieties of Ci -Ce-alky Isu Ifiny l-Ci - Ce-alkyl: for example methylsulfinyl, ethylsulfinyl, propylsulfinyl, 1 -methylethylsulfinyl, butylsulfinyl, 1- methylpropylsulfinyl, 2-methylpropylsulfinyl, 1,1 -dimethylethylsulfinyl, pentylsulfinyl, 1 -methylbutylsulfinyl, 2- methylbutylsulfinyl, 3-methylbutylsulfinyl, 2,2-dimethylpropylsulfinyl, 1 -ethylpropylsulfinyl, 1,1 -dimethylpropylsulfinyl, 1 ,2-dimethylpropylsulfinyl, hexylsulfinyl, 1 -methylpentylsulfinyl, 2-methylpentylsulfinyl, 3- methylpentylsulfinyl, 4-methylpentyl-sulfinyl, 1,1 -dimethylbutylsulfinyl, 1 ,2-dimethylbutylsulfinyl, 1,3- dimethylbutyl-sulfinyl, 2,2-dimethylbutylsulfinyl, 2,3-dimethylbutylsulfinyl, 3,3-dimethylbutyl-sulfinyl, 1- ethylbutylsulfinyl, 2-ethylbutylsulfinyl, 1 ,1 ,2-trimethylpropylsulfinyl, 1,2,2-trimethylpropylsulfinyl, 1-ethyl-1- methylpropylsulfinyl and 1 -ethyl-2-methylpropylsulfinyl;

[0126] Ci -Ce-alkylsu Ifony I (Ci -Ce-alky l-S(O)2-) and also the Ci -Ce-alky Isu Ifony I moieties of Ci -Ce-alky Isu Ifonyl- Ci-Ce-alkyl: for example methylsulfonyl, ethylsulfonyl, propylsulfonyl, 1 -methylethylsulfonyl, butylsulfonyl, 1- methylpropylsulfonyl, 2-methyl-propylsulfonyl, 1,1 -dimethylethylsulfonyl, pentylsulfonyl, 1 -methylbutylsulfonyl, 2- methylbutylsulfonyl, 3-methylbutylsulfonyl, 1,1 -dimethylpropylsulfonyl, 1 ,2-dimethylpropylsulfonyl, 2,2- dimethylpropylsulfonyl, 1 -ethylpropylsulfonyl, hexylsulfonyl, 1 -methylpentylsulfonyl, 2-methylpentylsulfonyl, 3- methylpentylsulfonyl, 4-methylpentylsulfonyl, 1,1 -dimethylbutylsulfonyl, 1 ,2-dimethylbutylsulfonyl, 1,3- dimethylbutylsulfonyl, 2,2-dimethylbutylsulfonyl, 2,3-dimethylbutylsulfonyl, 3,3-dimethylbutylsulfonyl, 1- ethylbutylsulfonyl, 2-ethylbutylsulfonyl, 1 ,1 ,2-trimethyl-propylsulfonyl, 1 ,2,2-trimethylpropylsulfonyl, 1-ethyl-1- methylpropylsulfonyl and 1 -ethyl-2-methylpropylsulfonyl;

[0127] (Ci-C3-alkyl)amino: for example methylamino, ethylamino, propylamino, 1 -methylethylamino.

[0128] The preferred embodiments of the invention mentioned herein below have to be understood as being preferred either independently from each other or in combination with one another.

[0129] According to a preferred embodiment of the invention preference is also given to the use of those compounds of formula (I), wherein the variables, either independently of one another or in combination with one another, have the following meanings:

[0130] Particular groups of the embodiment relate to the use of diaminotriazine compound of formula (I), wherein:

[0131] R1is F.

[0132] Also preferred are the use of diaminotriazine compounds of formula (I), wherein

[0133] R2is selected from the group consisting of H, halogen, CH3, Ci-haloalkyl; in particular consisting of H, halogen, CH3; more particularly consisting of H, F, Cl, CH3.

[0134] Further particular groups of embodiments relate to the diaminotriazine compounds of formula (I), wherein

[0135] R3is H or F; preferably H.

[0136] Further particular groups of embodiments relate to the use of diaminotriazine compounds of formula (I), wherein R4is selected from the group consisting of halogen, CH3, Ci-haloalkyl; in particular consisting of halogen,

[0137] CH3; more particularly consisting of F, Br, Cl, CH3.

[0138] Also preferred are diaminotriazine compounds of formula (I), wherein R5is selected from the group consisting of H, halogen, CN, Ci-Ce-alkyl, Ci-Ce-haloalkyl, Ci-Ce-alkoxy and Ci-Ce-haloalkoxy, in particular from the group consisting of hydrogen, fluorine, Ci-C4-alkyl, such as methyl, ethyl, n-propyl, 2-propyl, n-butyl, 2-butyl, isobutyl or tert.-butyl, Ci-C4-haloalkyl, such as difluoromethyl, trifluoromethyl, 2,2,2-trifluoroethyl, 1,1 -difluoroethyl, 1 ,1 ,2,2-tetrafluoroethyl or pentafluoroethyl, Ci-C4-alkoxy, such as methoxy or ethoxy and Ci-C4-haloalkoxy, such as difluoromethoxy or trifluoromethoxy.

[0139] Further particular groups embodiments relate to the diaminotriazine compounds of formula (I), wherein

[0140] R6is selected from the group consisting of H, halogen, CN, Ci-Ce-alkyl, Ci-Ce-haloalkyl, Ci-Ce-alkoxy and Ci-Ce-haloalkoxy, in particular from the group consisting of hydrogen, fluorine and C 1 -C4-alky I, more particularly from hydrogen, fluorine and methyl, especially from fluorine and methyl.

[0141] In groups (1) of embodiments, R7is as defined above. Preferably

[0142] R7is selected from the group consisting of halogen, Ci-Ce-alkyl, Ci-Ce-haloalkyl, C2-Ce-alkenyl, C3-C6- alkynyl, Cs-Ce-cycloalkyl, C3-Ce-cycloalkyl-Ci-Ce-alkyl, Cs-Ce-cycloalkenyl, Ci-Ce-alkoxy-Ci-Ce-alkyl.

[0143] Further particular groups of embodiments relate to the use of diaminotriazine compounds of formula (I), wherein R6and R7together with the carbon atom to which they are attached form a moiety selected from the group consisting of carbonyl, Cs-Ce-cycloalkan, Cs-Ce-cycloalkenyl, three- to six-membered saturated or partially unsaturated heterocyclyl, where the carbocycle and the heterocycle are unsubstituted, partly or completely halogenated or carry from 1 to 6 Ci-Ce-alkyl groups, and the moiety >C=CRxRy, where Rxand Ry are hydrogen, Ci-C4-alkyl, Ci-C4-haloalkyl, Cs-Ce-cycloalkyl or CRxRv form a 3- to 6-membered cycloalkyl. Preferably, R6and R7together with the carbon atom to which they are attached form Cs-Ce-cycloalkan.

[0144] Especially preferred examples of CR5R6R7are those radicals, where R2, R3and R4are given in rows 1 to 65 of table 1a

[0145] Table 1a

[0146] R8is selected from the group consisting of Ci -Ce-alky I, C2-Ce-alkeny I, C2-Ce-alkyny I, (Ci-C6-alkoxy)-Ci-Ce- alkyl, (Ci-C6-alkoxy)-C2-C6-alkenyl, (Ci-C6-alkoxy)-C2-C6-alkynyl, (Ci-C6-cycloalkyl)-C2-C6-alkynyl, (C3- C6-cycloalkyl)-Ci-C4-alkyl, (C3-C6-cycloalkoxy)-Ci-C4-alkyl, where the the aforementioned radicals are unsubstituted, partly or completely halogenated and where the cycloaliphatic parts of the last 6 mentioned radicals may carry 1 , 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 methyl groups; preferably, R8is is selected from the group consisting of Ci -Ce-alky I, C2-Ce-alkeny I, C2-Ce-alkyny I, (Ci-Ce- alkoxy)-Ci-Ce-alkyl.

[0147] In particular R8is selected from the group consisting of of CH3, CH2CCH, CH2CCCH3, CH2OCH3, CH(CH3)CCH, CH(CH3)CCCH3, especially CH3, CH2CCH, CH2CCCH3, CH2OCH3. Particular embodiments of the compounds I are the following compounds: l-A, l-B, l-C, l-D, l-E, l-F:

[0148]

[0149] Table 1-1 Compounds of the formula l-A, l-B, l-C, l-D, l-E, l-F in which the meaning for the combination of R2, R4and R8for each individual compound corresponds in each case to one line of Table A (compounds l-A.1 - 1.A-1 to l-A.1-1.A-48, l-B.1-1.A-1 to l-B.1-1.A-48, l-C.1-1.A-1 to l-C.1-1.A-48, l-D.1-1.A-1 to l-D.1-1.A-48, I-E.1- 1 . A-1 to l-E.1 -1 . A-48, l-F.1 -1 .A-1 to l-F.1 -1 . A-48).

[0150] Table A

[0151] According to another preferred embodiment of the invention the composition useful for the present invention contains as component A at least one compound selected from l-A.1-1.A-1 to l-A.1-1 .A-48.

[0152] According to another preferred embodiment of the invention the composition useful for the present invention contains as component A at least one compound selected from l-B.1-1.A-1 to l-B.1-1 .A-48.

[0153] According to another preferred embodiment of the invention the composition useful for the present invention contains as component A at least one compound selected from l-C.1-1.A-1 to l-C.1-1 .A-48.

[0154] According to another preferred embodiment of the invention the composition useful for the present invention contains as component A at least one compound selected from l-D.1-1.A-1 to l-D.1-1 .A-48.

[0155] According to another preferred embodiment of the invention the composition useful for the present invention contains as component A at least one compound selected from l-E.1-1.A-1 to l-E.1-1 .A-48.

[0156] According to another preferred embodiment of the invention the composition useful for the present invention contains as component A at least one compound selected from l-F.1-1.A-1 to l-F.1-1 .A-48.

[0157] According to another preferred embodiment of the invention the composition useful for the present invention contains as component A compound of the formula

[0158] According to another preferred embodiment of the invention the composition useful for the present invention contains as component A compound of the formula

[0159] According to another preferred embodiment of the invention the composition useful for the present invention contains as component A compound of the formula

[0160]

[0161] According to another preferred embodiment of the invention the useful for the present invention contains as component A compound of the formula

[0162] In one embodiment of the present invention the compositions useful for the present invention comprise at least one compound of formula (I) and at least one further active compound B (herbicide B).

[0163] According to a first embodiment of the invention the compositions useful for the present invention contain at least one inhibitor of the lipid biosynthesis (herbicide b1). These are compounds that inhibit lipid biosynthesis. Inhibition of the lipid biosynthesis can be affected either through inhibition of acetylCoA carboxylase (hereinafter termed ACC herbicides) or through a different mode of action (hereinafter termed non-ACC herbicides). The ACC herbicides belong to the group A (or group 1) of the HRAC classification system whereas the non-ACC herbicides belong to the group N (or now group 15) of the HRAC classification.

[0164] According to a second embodiment of the invention the compositions useful for the present invention contain at least one ALS inhibitor (herbicide b2). The herbicidal activity of these compounds is based on the inhibition of acetolactate synthase and thus on the inhibition of the branched chain amino acid biosynthesis. These inhibitors belong to the group B (or 2) of the HRAC classification system.

[0165] According to a third embodiment of the invention the compositions useful for the present invention contain at least one inhibitor of photosynthesis (herbicide b3). The herbicidal activity of these compounds is based either on the inhibition of the photosystem II in plants (so-called PSII inhibitors, groups C1 (or group 5), C2 (group 5) and C3 (group 6) of HRAC classification) or on diverting the electron transfer in photosystem I in plants (so- called PSI inhibitors, group D (or group 22) of HRAC classification) and thus on an inhibition of photosynthesis. Amongst these, PSII inhibitors are preferred.

[0166] According to a fourth embodiment of the invention the compositions useful for the present invention contain at least one inhibitor of protoporphyrinogen-IX-oxidase (herbicide b4). The herbicidal activity of these compounds is based on the inhibition of the protoporphyrinogen-IX-oxidase. These inhibitors belong to the group E of the HRAC classification system.

[0167] According to a fifth embodiment of the invention the compositions useful for the present invention contain at least one bleacher-herbicide (herbicide b5). The herbicidal activity of these compounds is based on the inhibition of the carotenoid biosynthesis. These include compounds which inhibit carotenoid biosynthesis by inhibition of phytoene desaturase (so-called PDS inhibitors, group F1 (group 12) of HRAC classification), compounds that inhibit the 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate-dioxygenase (HPPD inhibitors, group F2 (group 27) of HRAC classification), compounds that inhibit DOXsynthase (group F4 (group 13) of HRAC class) and compounds which inhibit carotenoid biosynthesis by an unknown mode of action (bleacher - unknown target, group F3 (group 32 + 33) of HRAC classification).

[0168] According to a sixth embodiment of the invention the compositions useful for the present invention contain at least one EPSP synthase inhibitor (herbicide b6). The herbicidal activity of these compounds is based on the inhibition of enolpyruvyl shikimate 3-phosphate synthase, and thus on the inhibition of the amino acid biosynthesis in plants. These inhibitors belong to the group G (9) of the HRAC classification system.

[0169] According to a seventh embodiment of the invention the compositions useful for the present invention contain at least one glutamine synthetase inhibitor (herbicide b7). The herbicidal activity of these compounds is based on the inhibition of glutamine synthetase, and thus on the inhibition of the aminoacid biosynthesis in plants. These inhibitors belong to the group H (10) of the HRAC classification system.

[0170] According to an eighth embodiment of the invention the compositions useful for the present invention contain at least one DHP synthase inhibitor (herbicide b8). The herbicidal activity of these compounds is based on the inhibition of 7,8-dihydropteroate synthase. These inhibitors belong to the group I (18) of the HRAC classification system.

[0171] According to a ninth embodiment of the invention the compositions useful for the present invention contain at least one mitosis inhibitor (herbicide b9). The herbicidal activity of these compounds is based on the disturbance or inhibition of microtubule formation or organization, and thus on the inhibition of mitosis. These inhibitors belong to the groups K1 (3) and K2 (23) of the HRAC classification system. Among these, compounds of the group K1, in particular dinitroanilines andicafolin are preferred.

[0172] According to a tenth embodiment of the invention the compositions useful for the present invention contain at least one VLCFA inhibitor (herbicide b10). The herbicidal activity of these compounds is based on the inhibition of the synthesis of very long chain fatty acids and thus on the disturbance or inhibition of cell division in plants. These inhibitors belong to the group K3 (15) of the HRAC classification system.

[0173] According to an eleventh embodiment of the invention the compositions useful for the present invention contain at least one cellulose biosynthesis inhibitor (herbicide b11). The herbicidal activity of these compounds is based on the inhibition of the biosynthesis of cellulose and thus on the inhibition of the synthesis of cell walls in plants. These inhibitors belong to the group L (29) of the HRAC classification system.

[0174] According to a twelfth embodiment of the invention the compositions useful for the present invention contain at least one decoupler herbicide (herbicide b12). The herbicidal activity of these compounds is based on the disruption of the cell membrane. These inhibitors belong to the group M (24) of the HRAC classification system.

[0175] According to a th irtheenth embodiment of the invention the compositions useful for the present invention contain at least one auxinic herbicide (herbicide b13). These include compounds that mimic auxins, i.e. plant hormones, and affect the growth of the plants. These compounds belong to the group 0 (4) of the HRAC classification system. According to a fourteenth embodiment of the invention the compositions useful for the present invention contain at least one auxin transport inhibitor (herbicide b14). The herbicidal activity of these compounds is based on the inhibition of the auxin transport in plants. These compounds belong to the group P (19) of the HRAC classification system.

[0176] As to the given mechanisms of action and classification of the active substances, see e.g. "HRAC, Classification of Herbicides According to Mode of Action", http: / / www.plantprotection.org / hrac / MOA.html).

[0177] Preference is given to those compositions useful for the present invention comprising at least one herbicide B selected from herbicides of class b1, b2, b3, b4, b5, b6, b7, b9, b10, b13 and b14.

[0178] Specific preference is given to those compositions useful for the present invention which comprise at least one herbicide B selected from the herbicides of class b1, b4, b5, b6, b7 and b10 and b13.

[0179] Particular preference is given to those compositions useful for the present invention which comprise at least one herbicide B selected from the herbicides of class b4 and b10.

[0180] Examples of herbicides B which can be used in combination with the compounds of formula (I) according to the present invention are: b1) selected from the group of the lipid biosynthesis inhibitors:

[0181] ACC-herbicides such as alloxydim, alloxydim-sodium, butroxydim, clethodim, clodinafop, clodinafop-propargyl, cycloxydim, cyhalofop, cyhalofop-butyl, diclofop, diclofop-methyl, fenoxaprop, fenoxaprop-ethyl, fenoxaprop-P, fenoxaprop-P-ethyl, fluazifop, fluazifop-butyl, fluazifop-P, fluazifop-P-butyl, haloxyfop, haloxyfop-methyl, haloxyfop-P, haloxyfop-P-methyl, metamifop, pinoxaden, profoxydim, propaquizafop, quizalofop, quizalofop- ethyl, quizalofop-tefuryl, quizalofop-P, quizalofop-P-ethyl, quizalofop-P-tefuryl, sethoxydim, tepraloxydim, tralkoxydim, 4-(4'-Chloro-4-cyclopropyl-2'-fluoro[1,1 '-biphenyl]-3-yl)-5-hydroxy-2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-2H-pyran- 3(6H)-one (CAS 1312337-72-6); 4-(2',4'-Dichloro-4-cyclopropyl[1,T-biphenyl]-3-yl)-5-hydroxy-2, 2,6,6- tetramethyl-2H-pyran-3(6H)-one (CAS 1312337-45-3); 4-(4'-Chloro-4-ethyl-2'-fluoro[1,T-biphenyl]-3-yl)-5- hydroxy-2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-2H-pyran-3(6H)-one (CAS 1033757-93-5); 4-(2',4'-Dich loro-4-ethy l[1 , 1 '-bipheny l]-3- yl)-2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-2H-pyran-3,5(4H,6H)-dione (CAS 1312340-84-3); 5-(Acetyloxy)-4-(4'-chloro-4- cyclopropyl-2'-fluoro[1,1 '-biphenyl]-3-yl)-3,6-dihydro-2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-2H-pyran-3-one (CAS 1312337-48-6); 5-(Acetyloxy)-4-(2',4'-dichloro-4-cyclopropyl- [1 ,1 '-biphenyl]-3-yl)-3,6-dihydro-2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-2H-pyran-3- one; 5-(Acety loxy)-4-(4'-ch loro-4-ethy l-2'-f luoro [1 , 1 '-bipheny l]-3-yl)-3, 6-d i hydro-2, 2, 6, 6-tetramethyl-2 H-pyran-3- one (CAS 1312340-82-1); 5-(Acetyloxy)-4-(2',4'-dichloro-4-ethyl[1,T-biphenyl]-3-yl)-3,6-dihydro-2, 2,6,6- tetramethyl-2H-pyran-3-one (CAS 1033760-55-2); 4-(4'-Chloro-4-cyclopropyl-2'-fluoro[1 ,1 '-biphenyl]-3-yl)-5,6- dihydro-2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-5-oxo-2H-pyran-3-yl carbonic acid methyl ester (CAS 1312337-51-1); 4-(2',4'- Dichloro -4-cyclopropyl- [1 , 1 '-biphenyl]-3-yl)-5,6-dihydro-2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-5-oxo-2H-pyran-3-yl carbonic acid methyl ester; 4-(4'-Chloro-4-ethyl-2'-fluoro[1 ,1 '-biphenyl]-3-yl)-5,6-dihydro-2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-5-oxo-2H-pyran-3- yl carbonic acid methyl ester (CAS 1312340-83-2); 4-(2',4'-Dichloro-4-ethyl[1 ,1 '-biphenyl]-3-yl)-5,6-dihydro- 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-5-oxo-2H-pyran-3-yl carbonic acid methyl ester (CAS 1033760-58-5); and non ACC herbicides such as benfuresate, butylate, cycloate, dalapon, dimepiperate, EPTC, esprocarb, ethofumesate, flupropanate, molinate, orbencarb, pebulate, prosulfocarb, TCA, thiobencarb, tiocarbazil, triallate and vernolate; b2) is selected from the group of the ALS inhibitors: sulfonylureas such as amidosulfuron, azimsulfuron, bensulfuron, bensulfuron-methyl, chlorimuron, chlorimuron- ethyl, chlorsulfuron, cinosulfuron, cyclosulfamuron, ethametsulfuron, ethametsulfuron-methyl, ethoxysulfuron, flazasulfuron, flucetosulfuron, flupyrsulfuron, flupyrsulfuron-methyl-sodium, foramsulfuron, halosulfuron, halosulfuron-methyl, imazosulfuron, iodosulfuron, iodosulfuron-methyl-sodium, iofensulfuron, iofensulfuron- sodium, mesosulfuron, metazosulfuron, metsulfuron, metsulfuron-methyl, nicosulfuron, orthosulfamuron, oxasulfuron, primisulfuron, primisulfuron-methyl, propyrisulfuron, prosulfuron, pyrazosulfuron, pyrazosulfuron- ethyl, rimsulfuron, sulfometuron, sulfometuron-methyl, sulfosulfuron, thifensulfuron, thifensulfuron-methyl, triasulfuron, tribenuron, tribenuron-methyl, trifloxysulfuron, triflusulfuron, triflusulfuron-methyl and tritosulfuron, imidazolinones such as imazamethabenz, imazamethabenz-methyl, imazamox, imazapic, imazapyr, imazaquin and imazethapyr, triazolopyrimidine herbicides and sulfonanilides such as cloransulam, cloransulam-methyl, diclosulam, flumetsulam, florasulam, metosulam, penoxsulam, pyrimisulfan and pyroxsulam, pyrimidinylbenzoates such as bispyribac, bispyribac-sodium, pyribenzoxim, pyriftalid, pyriflubenzoxin, pyriminobac, pyriminobac-methyl, pyrithiobac, pyrithiobac-sodium, 4-[[[2-[(4,6-dimethoxy-2- pyrimidinyl)oxy]phenyl]methyl]amino]-benzoic acid-1 -methylethyl ester (CAS 420138-41-6), 4-[[[2-[(4,6- dimethoxy-2-pyrimidinyl)oxy]phenyl]methyl]amino]-benzoic acid propyl ester (CAS 420138-40-5), N-(4- bromophenyl)-2-[(4,6-dimethoxy-2-pyrimidinyl)oxy]benzenemethanamine (CAS 420138-01-8), sulfonylaminocarbonyl-triazolinone herbicides such as flucarbazone, flucarbazone-sodium, propoxycarbazone, propoxycarbazone-sodium, thiencarbazone and thiencarbazone-methyl; and triafamone; among these, a preferred embodiment of the invention relates to those compositions comprising at least one imidazolinone herbicide; b3) is selected from the group of the photosynthesis inhibitors: amicarbazone, inhibitors of the photosystem II, e.g. 1-(6-tert-butylpyrimidin-4-yl)-2-hydroxy-4-methoxy-3-methyl- 2H-pyrrol-5-one (CAS 1654744-66-7), 1-(5-tert-butylisoxazol-3-yl)-2-hydroxy-4-methoxy-3-methyl-2H-pyrrol-5- one (CAS 1637455-12-9), 1-(5-tert-butylisoxazol-3-yl)-4-chloro-2-hydroxy-3-methyl-2H-pyrrol-5-one (CAS 1637453-94-1 ), 1 -(5-tert-buty 1-1 -methyl-pyrazol-3-yl)-4-chloro-2-hydroxy-3-methyl-2H-pyrrol-5-one (CAS 1654057-29-0), 1 -(5-tert-buty 1-1 -methyl-pyrazol-3-yl)-3-chloro-2-hydroxy-4-methyl-2H-pyrrol-5-one (CAS 1654747-80-4), 4-hydroxy-1 -methoxy-5-methy l-3-[4-(trif luoromethy l)-2-pyridy l]i mid azo lid i n-2-one; (CAS 2023785-78-4), 4-hydroxy-1 ,5-dimethy l-3-[4-(trifluoromethy l)-2-pyridy l]i mid azo lid in-2-one (CAS 2023785-79-5), 5-ethoxy-4-hydroxy-1-methyl-3-[4-(trifluoromethyl)-2-pyridyl]imidazolidin-2-one (CAS 1701416-69-4), 4-hydroxy- 1 -methy l-3-[4-(trif luoromethy l)-2-pyridyl]i m id azo lid i n-2-one (CAS 1708087-22-2), 4-hydroxy-1 , 5-d i methy l-3-[1 - methy l-5-(trif luoromethy l)pyrazo l-3-y l]im id azo lid i n-2-one (CAS 2023785-80-8), 1 -(5-tert-buty lisoxazo l-3-y l)-4- ethoxy-5-hydroxy-3-methyl-imidazolidin-2-one (CAS 1844836-64-1), triazine herbicides, including of chlorotriazine, triazinones, triazindiones, methylthiotriazines and pyridazinones such as ametryn, atrazine, chloridazone, cyanazine, desmetryn, dimethametryn.hexazinone, metribuzin, prometon, prometryn, propazine, simazine, simetryn, terbumeton, terbuthylazin, terbutryn and trietazin, aryl urea such as chlorobromuron, chlorotoluron, chloroxuron, dimefuron, diuron, fluometuron, isoproturon, isouron, linuron, metamitron, methabenzthiazuron, metobenzuron, metoxuron, monolinuron, neburon, siduron, tebuthiuron and thiadiazuron, phenyl carbamates such as desmedipham, karbutilat, phenmedipham, phenmedipham-ethyl, nitrile herbicides such as bromofenoxim, bromoxynil and its salts and esters, ioxynil and its salts and esters, uraciles such as bromacil, lenacil and terbacil, and bentazon and bentazon-sodium, pyridate, pyridafol, pentanochlor and propanil and inhibitors of the photosystem I such as diquat, diquat-dibromide, paraquat, paraquat-dichloride and paraquat-dimeti Isu Ifate. Among these, a preferred embodiment of the invention relates to those compositions comprising at least one aryl urea herbicide. Among these, likewise a preferred embodiment of the invention relates to those compositions comprising at least one triazine herbicide. Among these, likewise a preferred embodiment of the invention relates to those compositions comprising at least one nitrile herbicide; b4) is selected from the group of the protoporphyrinogen-IX oxidase inhibitors: acifluorfen, acifluorfen-sodium, azafenidin, bencarbazone, benzfendizone, bifenox, butafenacil, carfentrazone, carfentrazone-ethyl, chlomethoxyfen, chlorphthalim, cinidon-ethyl, cyclopyranil, fluazolate, flufenoximacil, flufenpyr, flufenpyr-ethyl, flumiclorac, flumiclorac-pentyl, flumioxazin, fluoroglycofen, fluoroglycofen-ethyl, fluthiacet, fluthiacet-methyl, fomesafen, halosafen, lactofen, oxadiargyl, oxadiazon, oxyfluorfen, pentoxazone, profluazol, pyraclonil, pyraflufen, pyraflufen-ethyl, saflufenacil, sulfentrazone, thidiazimin, tiafenacil, trifludimoxazin, epyrifenacil, N-ethyl-3-(2,6-dichloro-4-trifluoromethylphenoxy)-5-methyl-1 H-pyrazole-1- carboxamide (CAS 452098-92-9), N-tetrahydrofurfury l-3-(2,6-dich loro-4-trif luoromethy lphenoxy)-5-methy 1-1 H- pyrazole-1 -carboxamide (CAS 915396-43-9), N-ethyl-3-(2-chloro-6-fluoro-4-trifluoromethylphenoxy)-5-methyl- 1 H-pyrazole-1 -carboxamide (CAS 452099-05-7), N-tetrahydrofurfury l-3-(2-ch loro-6-f luoro-4-trif luoromethy lphenoxy)-5-methy I- 1 H-pyrazole-1 -carboxamide (CAS 452100-03-7), 3-[7-fluoro-3-oxo-4-(prop-2-ynyl)- 3,4-dihydro-2H-benzo[1 ,4]oxazin-6-yl]-1 ,5-dimethyl-6-thioxo-[1 , 3, 5]triazinan-2, 4-dione (CAS 451484-50-7) 2- (2,2,7-trifluoro-3-oxo-4-prop-2-ynyl-3,4-dihydro-2H-benzo[1 ,4]oxazin-6-yl)-4,5,6,7-tetrahydro-isoindole-1 ,3-dione (CAS 1300118-96-0), 1 -methyl-6-trifluoromethyl-3-(2,2,7-trifluoro-3-oxo-4-prop-2-ynyl-3,4-dihydro-2H- benzo[1 ,4]oxazin-6-yl)-1 H-pyrimidine-2, 4-dione (CAS 1304113-05-0), methyl (£)-4-[2-chloro-5-[4-chloro-5- (difluoromethoxy)-l H-methyl-pyrazol-3-yl]-4-fluoro-phenoxy]-3-methoxy-but-2-enoate (CAS 948893-00-3), and 3-[7-chloro-5-fluoro-2-(trifluoromethyl)-1 H-benzimidazol-4-yl]-1-methyl-6-(trifluoromethyl)-1 H-pyrimidine-2, 4- dione (CAS 212754-02-4),

[0182] 2-[2-chloro-5-[3-chloro-5-(trifluoromethyl)-2-pyridinyl]-4-fluorophenoxy]-2-methoxy-acetic acid methyl ester (CAS 1970221-16-9), 2-[2-[[3-chloro-6-[3,6-dihydro-3-methyl-2,6-dioxo-4-(trifluoromethyl)-1 (2H)-pyrimidinyl]-5-fluoro- 2-pyridinyl]oxy]phenoxy]-acetic acid methyl ester (CAS 2158274-96-3), 2-[2-[[3-chloro-6-[3,6-dihydro-3-methyl- 2,6-dioxo-4-(trifluoromethyl)-1(2H)-pyrimidinyl]-5-fluoro-2-pyridinyl]oxy]phenoxy] acetic acid ethyl ester (CAS 2158274-50-9), methyl 2-[[3-[2-chloro-5-[4-(difluoromethyl)-3-methyl-5-oxo-1,2,4-triazol-1-yl]-4-fluoro-phenoxy]-

[0183] 2-pyridyl]oxy]acetate (CAS 2271389-22-9), ethyl 2-[[3-[2-chloro-5-[4-(difluoromethyl)-3-methyl-5-oxo-1 ,2,4- triazol-1 -y l]-4-f luoro-phenoxy]-2-pyr idy l]oxy]acetate (CAS 2230679-62-4), 2-[[3-[[3-ch loro-6-[3, 6-d i hydro-3- methyl-2,6-dioxo-4-(trifluoromethyl)-1 (2H)-pyrimidinyl]-5-fluoro-2-pyridinyl]oxy]-2-pyridinyl]oxy]-acetic acid methyl ester (CAS 2158275-73-9), 2-[[3-[[3-chloro-6-[3,6-dihydro-3-methyl-2,6-dioxo-4-(trifluoromethyl)-1(2H)- pyrimidinyl]-5-fluoro-2-pyridinyl]oxy]-2-pyridinyl]oxy] acetic acid ethyl ester (CAS 2158274-56-5), 2-[2-[[3-chloro- 6-[3,6-dihydro-3-methyl-2,6-dioxo-4-(trifluoromethyl)-1 (2H)-pyrimidinyl]-5-fluoro-2-pyridinyl]oxy]phenoxy]-N- (methylsulfonyl)-acetamide (CAS 2158274-53-2), 2-[[3-[[3-chloro-6-[3,6-dihydro-3-methyl-2,6-dioxo-4- (trifluoromethyl)-l (2H)-pyrimidinyl]-5-fluoro-2-pyridinyl]oxy]-2-pyridinyl]oxy]-N-(methylsulfonyl)-acetamide (CAS 2158276-22-1),

[0184] 3-[2-chloro-5-[3,6-dihydro-3-methyl-2,6-dioxo-4-(trifluoromethyl)-1 (2H)-pyrimidinyl]-4-fluorophenyl]-4,5-dihydro- 5-methyl-5-isoxazolecarboxylic acid ethyl ester (CAS 1949837-17-5); b5) is selected from the group of the bleacher herbicides:

[0185] PDS inhibitors: beflubutamid, diflufenican, fluridone, flurochloridone, flurtamone, norflurazon, picolinafen, 4-(3- trifluoromethylphenoxy)-2-(4-trifluoromethylphenyl)pyrimidine (CAS 180608-33-7), rimisoxafen, HPPD inhibitors: benzobicyclon, benzofenap, bicyclopyrone, clomazone, fenquinotrione, isoxaflutole, mesotrione, oxotrione (CAS 1486617-21-3), pyrasulfotole, pyrazolynate, pyrazoxyfen, sulcotrione, tefuryltrione, tembotrione, tolpyralate, topramezone, bipyrazone, fenpyrazone, cypyrafluone, tripyrasulfone, benquitrione, dioxopyritrione; bleacher, unknown target: aclonifen, amitrole flumeturon,2-chloro-3-methylsulfanyl-N-(1-methyltetrazol-5-yl)-4- (trifluoromethyl)benzamide (CAS 1361139-71-0), bixlozone and 2-(2,5-dichlorophenyl)methyl-4,4-dimethyl-3- isoxazolidinone (CAS 81778-66-7), broclozone, flusulfinam, iptriazopyrid, pyraquinate b6) from the group of the EPSP synthase inhibitors: glyphosate, glyphosate-isopropylammonium, glyposate-potassium and glyphosate-trimesium (sulfosate); b7) from the group of the glutamine synthase inhibitors: bilanaphos (bialaphos), bilanaphos-sodium, glufosinate, glufosinate-P, glufosinate-ammonium and glufosinate- P-ammonium. b8) from the group of the DHP synthase inhibitors: asulam; b9) is selected from the group of the mitosis inhibitors: compounds of group K1: dinitroanilines such as benfluralin, butralin, dinitramine, ethalfluralin, fluchloralin, oryzalin, pendimethalin, prodiamine and trifluralin, phosphoramidates such as amiprophos, amiprophos-methyl, and butamiphos, benzoic acid herbicides such as chlorthal, chlorthal-dimethyl, pyridines such as dithiopyr and thiazopyr, benzamides such as propyzamide and tebutam; compounds of group K2: carbetamide, chlorpropham, flamprop, flamprop-isopropyl, flamprop-methyl, flamprop-M-isopropyl, flamprop-M-methyl and propham ; among these, compounds of group K1, in particular dinitroanilines and icafolin are preferred; b10) is selected from the group of the VLCFA inhibitors: chloroacetamides such as acetochlor, alachlor, amidochlor, butachlor, dimethachlor, dimethenamid, dimethenamid-P, metazachlor, metolachlor, metolachlor-S, pethoxamid, pretilachlor, propachlor, propisochlor and thenylchlor, oxyacetanilides such as flufenacet and mefenacet, acetanilides such as diphenamid, naproanilide, napropamide and napropamide-M, tetrazolinones such fentrazamide, and other herbicides such as anilofos, cafenstrole, fenoxasulfone, ipfencarbazone, piperophos, pyroxasulfone, dimesulfazet and isoxazoline compounds of the formulae 11.1, II.2, II.3, II.4, II.5, II.6, II.7, II.8 and II.9

[0186] II.3 II.4 II.5 the isoxazoline compounds of the formula (II) are known in the art, e.g. from WO 2006 / 024820, WO 2006 / 037945, WO 2007 / 071900 and WO 2007 / 096576; among the VLCFA inhibitors, preference is given to chloroacetamides, isoxazolines and oxyacetamides; b11) is selected from the group of the cellulose biosynthesis inhibitors: chlorthiamid, dichlobenil, flupoxam, indaziflam, isoxaben, triaziflam and 1-cyclohexyl-5-pentafluorphenyloxy-14- [1,2,4,6]thiatriazin-3-ylamine (CAS 175899-01-1); b12) from the group of the decoupler herbicides: dinoseb, dinoterb and DNOC and its salts; b13) is selected from the group of the auxinic herbicides:

[0187] 2,4-D and its salts and esters such as clacyfos, 2,4-DB and its salts and esters, aminocyclopyrachlor and its salts and esters, aminopyralid and its salts such as aminopyralid-dimethylammonium, aminopyralid-tris(2- hydroxypropyl)ammonium and its esters, benazolin, benazolin-ethyl, chloramben and its salts and esters, clomeprop, clopyralid and its salts and esters, dicamba and its salts and esters, dichlorprop and its salts and esters, dichlorprop-P and its salts and esters, flopyrauxifen, fluroxypyr, fluroxypyr-butometyl, fluroxypyr-meptyl, halauxifen and its salts and esters (CAS 943832-60-8), MCPA and its salts and esters, MCPA-thioethy I, MCPB and its salts and esters, mecoprop and its salts and esters, mecoprop-P and its salts and esters, picloram and its salts and esters, quinclorac, quinmerac, TBA (2,3,6) and its salts and esters, triclopyr and its salts and esters, florpyrauxifen), and 4-amino-3-chloro-5-fluoro-6-(7-fluoro-1 H-indol-6-yl)picolinic acid (CAS 1629965-65- 6); b14) from the group of the auxin transport inhibitors: fluchloraminopyr, diflufenzopyr, diflufenzopyr-sodium, naptalam and naptalam-sodium; b15) is selected from the group of the other herbicides: bromobutide, chlorflurenol, chlorflurenol-methyl, cinmethylin, cumyluron, cyclopyrimorate and its salts and esters, dalapon, dazomet, difenzoquat, difenzoquat-metilsulfate, dimethipin, DSMA, dymron, endothal and its salts, etobenzanid, flurenol, flurenol-butyl, flurprimidol, fosamine, fosamine-ammonium, indanofan, maleic hydrazide, mefluidide, metam, methiozolin, methyl azide, methyl bromide, methyl-dymron, methyl iodide, MSMA, oleic acid, oxaziclomefone, pelargonic acid, pyributicarb, quinoclamine, tetflupyrolimet, tridiphane, 6-chloro-4-(2,7-dimethyl-1 -naphthyl)-5- hydroxy-2-methyl-pyridazin-3-one (CAS 2414510-21-5).

[0188] Preferred herbicides B that can be used in combination with the compounds of the formula (I) according to the present invention are: b1) from the group of the lipid biosynthesis inhibitors: clodinafop-propargyl, cycloxydim, cyhalofop-butyl, fenoxaprop-P-ethyl, pinoxaden, profoxydim, tepraloxydim, tralkoxydim, 4-(4'-Chloro-4-cyclopropyl-2'-fluoro[1 , 1 '- biphenyl]-3-yl)-5-hydroxy-2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-2H-pyran-3(6H)-one (CAS 1312337-72-6); 4-(2',4'-Dichloro-4- cyclopropyl[1,1'-biphenyl]-3-yl)-5-hydroxy-2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-2H-pyran-3(6H)-one (CAS 1312337-45-3); 4-(4'- Chloro-4-ethyl-2'-fluoro[1,1'-biphenyl]-3-yl)-5-hydroxy-2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-2H-pyran-3(6H)-one (CAS 1033757- 93-5); 4-(2',4'-Dich loro-4-ethy l[1 , 1 '-bi pheny l]-3-y l)-2, 2, 6, 6-tetramethy I-2 H-pyran-3, 5(4H , 6 H)-d ione (CAS 1312340-84-3); 5-(Acetyloxy)-4-(4'-chloro-4-cyclopropyl-2'-fluoro[1 ,1 '-biphenyl]-3-yl)-3,6-dihydro-2, 2,6,6- tetramethyl-2H-pyran-3-one (CAS 1312337-48-6); 5-(Acetyloxy)-4-(2',4'-dichloro-4-cyclopropyl- [1 ,1 '-biphenyl]- 3-yl)-3,6-dihydro-2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-2H-pyran-3-one; 5-(Acetyloxy)-4-(4'-chloro-4-ethyl-2'-fluoro[1,1'-biphenyl]- 3-yl)-3,6-dihydro-2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-2H-pyran-3-one (CAS 1312340-82-1); 5-(Acetyloxy)-4-(2',4'-dichloro-4- ethyl[1,1'-biphenyl]-3-yl)-3,6-dihydro-2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-2H-pyran-3-one (CAS 1033760-55-2); 4-(4'-Chloro-4- cyclopropy l-2'-f luoro [1 , 1 '-bi pheny l]-3-yl)-5, 6-d i hydro-2,2, 6, 6-tetramethy l-5-oxo-2 H-pyran-3-y I carbonic acid methyl ester (CAS 1312337-51-1); 4-(2',4'-Dichloro -4-cyclopropyl- [1 ,1 '-biphenyl]-3-yl)-5,6-dihydro-2, 2,6,6- tetramethyl-5-oxo-2H-pyran-3-yl carbonic acid methyl ester; 4-(4'-Chloro-4-ethyl-2'-fluoro[1 , 1'-biphenyl]-3-yl)- 5,6-dihydro-2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-5-oxo-2H-pyran-3-yl carbonic acid methyl ester (CAS 1312340-83-2); 4-(2',4'- Dichloro-4-ethyl[1,1'-biphenyl]-3-yl)-5,6-dihydro-2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-5-oxo-2H-pyran-3-yl carbonic acid methyl ester (CAS 1033760-58-5); esprocarb, prosulfocarb, thiobencarb and triallate; b2) from the group of the ALS inhibitors: bensulfuron-methyl, bispyribac-sodium, cyclosulfamuron, diclosulam, flumetsulam, flupyrsulfuron-methyl-sodium, foramsulfuron, imazamox, imazapic, imazapyr, imazaquin, imazethapyr, imazosulfuron, iodosulfuron, iodosulfuron-methyl-sodium, iofensulfuron, iofensulfuron-sodium, mesosulfuron, metazosulfuron, nicosulfuron, penoxsulam, propoxycarbazon-sodium, propyrisulfuron, pyrazosulfuron-ethyl, pyroxsulam, rimsulfuron, sulfosulfuron, thiencarbazon-methyl, tritosulfuron and triafamone; b3) from the group of the photosynthesis inhibitors: ametryn, atrazine, diuron, fluometuron, hexazinone, isoproturon, linuron, metribuzin, paraquat, paraquat-dichloride, propanil, terbutryn, terbuthylazine, 1 -(5-tert- butylisoxazol-3-yl)-2-hydroxy-4-methoxy-3-methyl-2H-pyrrol-5-one (CAS 1637455-12-9), 1-(5-tert-butylisoxazol- 3-yl)-4-chloro-2-hydroxy-3-methyl-2H-pyrrol-5-one (CAS 1637453-94-1 ), 1 -(5-tert-buty lisoxazo l-3-y l)-4-ethoxy-5- hydroxy-3-methyl-imidazolidin-2-one (CAS 1844836-64-1); b4) from the group of the protoporphyrinogen-IX oxidase inhibitors: cyclopyranil, flumioxazin, oxyfluorfen, pyraflufen, pyraflufen-ethyl, saflufenacil, sulfentrazone, trifludimoxazin, epyrifenacil, 3-[7-fluoro-3-oxo-4-(prop-2- ynyl)-3,4-dihydro-2H-benzo[1 ,4]oxazin-6-yl]-1 ,5-dimethyl-6-thioxo-[1 , 3, 5]triazinan-2, 4-dione (CAS 451484-50-7), 2-(2,2,7-trifluoro-3-oxo-4-prop-2-ynyl-3,4-dihydro-2H-benzo[1 ,4]oxazin-6-yl)-4,5,6,7-tetrahydro-isoindole-1,3- dione (CAS 1300118-96-0), and 1-methyl-6-trifluoromethyl-3-(2,2,7-trifluoro-3-oxo-4-prop-2-ynyl-3,4-dihydro-2H- benzo[1 ,4]oxazin-6-yl)-1 H-pyrimidine-2, 4-dione (CAS 1304113-05-0); 2-[2-chloro-5-[3-chloro-5-(trifluoromethyl)- 2-pyridinyl]-4-fluorophenoxy]-2-methoxy-acetic acid methyl ester (CAS 1970221-16-9), 2-[2-[[3-chloro-6-[3,6- dihydro-3-methyl-2,6-dioxo-4-(trifluoromethyl)-1 (2H)-pyrimidinyl]-5-fluoro-2-pyridinyl]oxy]phenoxy]-acetic acid methyl ester (CAS 2158274-96-3), 2-[2-[[3-chloro-6-[3,6-dihydro-3-methyl-2,6-dioxo-4-(trifluoromethyl)-1(2H)- pyrimidinyl]-5-fluoro-2-pyridinyl]oxy]phenoxy] acetic acid ethyl ester (CAS 158274-50-9), methyl 2-[[3-[2-chloro- 5-[4-(difluoromethyl)-3-methyl-5-oxo-1 ,2,4-triazol-1-yl]-4-fluoro-phenoxy]-2-pyridyl]oxy]acetate (CAS 2271389- 22-9), ethyl 2-[[3-[2-chloro-5-[4-(difluoromethyl)-3-methyl-5-oxo-1 , 2, 4-tri azo I- 1 -y l]-4-f luoro-phenoxy]-2- pyridyl]oxy]acetate (CAS 2230679-62-4), 2-[[3-[[3-chloro-6-[3,6-dihydro-3-methyl-2,6-dioxo-4-(trifluoromethyl)- 1 (2H)-pyrimidinyl]-5-fluoro-2-pyridinyl]oxy]-2-pyridinyl]oxy]-acetic acid methyl ester (CAS 2158275-73-9), 2-[[3- [[3-chloro-6-[3,6-dihydro-3-methyl-2,6-dioxo-4-(trifluoromethyl)-1 (2H)-pyrimidinyl]-5-fluoro-2-pyridinyl]oxy]-2- pyridinyl]oxy] acetic acid ethyl ester (CAS 2158274-56-5), 2-[2-[[3-chloro-6-[3,6-dihydro-3-methyl-2,6-dioxo-4- (trifluoromethyl)-l (2H)-pyrimidinyl]-5-fluoro-2-pyridinyl]oxy]phenoxy]-N-(methylsulfonyl)-acetamide (CAS 2158274-53-2), 2-[[3-[[3-chloro-6-[3,6-dihydro-3-methyl-2,6-dioxo-4-(trifluoromethyl)-1 (2H)-pyrimidinyl]-5-fluoro-

[0189] 2-pyridinyl]oxy]-2-pyridinyl]oxy]-N-(methylsulfonyl)-acetamide (CAS 2158276-22-1),

[0190] 3-[2-chloro-5-[3,6-dihydro-3-methyl-2,6-dioxo-4-(trifluoromethyl)-1 (2H)-pyrimidinyl]-4-fluorophenyl]-4,5-dihydro- 5-methyl-5-isoxazolecarboxylic acid ethyl ester (CAS 1949837-17-5); b5) from the group of the bleacher herbicides: amitrole, bicyclopyrone, clomazone, diflufenican, fenquinotrione, flumeturon, flurochloridone, isoxaflutole, mesotrione, oxotrione (CAS 1486617-21-3), picolinafen, sulcotrione, tefuryltrione, tembotrione, tolpyralate, topramezone, 2-chloro-3-methylsulfanyl-N-(1 -methyltetrazol-5-yl)-4- (trifluoromethyl)benzamide (CAS 1361139-71-0), bixlozone, 2-(2,5-dichlorophenyl)methyl-4,4-dimethyl-3- isoxazolidinone (CAS 81778-66-7), rimisoxafen, broclozone, flusulfinam, iptriazopyrid and pyraquinate; b6) from the group of the EPSP synthase inhibitors: glyphosate, glyphosate-isopropylammonium and glyphosate-trimesium (sulfosate); b7) from the group of the glutamine synthase inhibitors: glufosinate, glufosinate-P and glufosinate-ammonium; b9) from the group of the mitosis inhibitors: pendimethali n ,trif luralin and icafolin b10) from the group of the VLCFA inhibitors: acetochlor, cafenstrole, dimethenamid-P, fentrazamide, flufenacet, mefenacet, metazachlor, metolachlor, S-metolachlor, fenoxasulfone, ipfencarbazone and pyroxasulfone; likewise, preference is given to isoxazoline compounds of the formulae 11.1, II.2, II.3, II.4, II.5, II.6, II.7, II.8 and 11.9 as mentioned above; b11) from the group of the cellulose biosynthesis inhibitors: indaziflam, isoxaben and triaziflam; b13) from the group of the auxinic herbicides: 2,4-D and its salts and esters such as clacyfos, and aminocyclopyrachlor and its salts and esters, aminopyralid and its salts and its esters, clopyralid and its salts and esters, dicamba and its salts and esters, flopyrauxifen, fluroxypyr-mepty I, halauxifen, halauxifen-methyl, quinclorac, quinmerac, florpyrauxifen, florpyrauxifen-benzyl (CAS 1390661-72-9), 4-amino-3-chloro-5-fluoro-6- (7-fluoro-1 H-indol-6-yl)picolinic acid (CAS 1629965-65-6) and fluchloraminopyr; b14) from the group of the auxin transport inhibitors: fluchloraminopyr, diflufenzopyr and diflufenzopyr-sodium, b15) from the group of the other herbicides: cinmethylin, dymon (= daimuron), indanofan, oxaziclomefone, tetflupyrolimet, 6-chloro-4-(2,7-dimethyl-1-naphthyl)-5-hydroxy-2-methyl-pyridazin-3-one (CAS 2414510-21-5) According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the composition comprises, in addition to a compound of formula (I), at least one and especially exactly one herbicidally active compound from group b1), in particular selected from the group consisting of clethodim, clodinafop-propargyl, cycloxydim, cyhalofop-butyl, fenoxaprop-ethyl, fenoxaprop-P-ethyl, metamifop, pinoxaden, profoxydim, sethoxydim, tepraloxydim, tralkoxydim, esprocarb, ethofumesate, molinate, prosulfocarb, thiobencarb and triallate.

[0191] According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the composition comprises, in addition to a compound of formula (I) at least one and especially exactly one herbicidally active compound from group b2), in particular selected from the group consisting of bensulfuron-methyl, bispyribac-sodium, cloransulam-methyl, chlorsulfuron, clorimuron, cyclosulfamuron, diclosulam, florasulam, flumetsulam, flupyrsulfuron-methyl-sodium, foramsulfuron, imazamox, imazamox-ammonium, imazapic, imazapic-ammonium, imazapic- isopropylammonium, imazapyr, imazapyr-ammonium, imazethapyr-isopropylammonium, imazaquin, imazaquin- ammonium, imazethapyr, imazethapyr-ammonium, imazethapyr-isopropylammonium, imazosulfuron, iodosulfuron-methyl-sodium, iofensulfuron, iofensulfuron-sodium, mesosulfuron-methyl, metazosulfuron, metsulfuron-methyl, metosulam, nicosulfuron, penoxsulam, propoxycarbazon-sodium, pyrazosulfuron-ethyl, pyribenzoxim, pyriftalid, pyroxsulam, propyrisulfuron, rimsulfuron, sulfosulfuron, thiencarbazon-methyl, thifensulfuron-methyl, tribenuron-methyl, tritosulfuron and triafamone.

[0192] According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the composition comprises, in addition to a compound of formula (I) at least one and especially exactly one herbicidally active compound from group b3), in particular selected from the group consisting of ametryn, atrazine, bentazon, bromoxynil, bromoxynil-octanoate, bromoxynil-heptanoate, bromoxynil-potassium, diuron, fluometuron, hexazinone, isoproturon, linuron, metamitron, metribuzin, paraquat-dichloride, propanil, simazin, terbutryn and terbuthylazine.

[0193] According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the composition comprises, in addition to a compound of formula (I), especially an active compound from the group consisting of at least one and especially exactly one herbicidally active compound from group b4), in particular selected from the group consisting of acifluorfen, butafencil, carfenetrazone-ethyl, flumioxazin, fomesafen, oxadiargyl, oxyfluorfen, pyraflufen, pyraflufen-ethyl, saflufenacil, sulfentrazone, trifludimoxazin, epyrifenacil, 3-[2-chloro-5-[3,6-dihydro-3-methyl-2,6- dioxo-4-(trifluoromethyl)-1 (2H)-pyrimidinyl]-4-fluorophenyl]-4,5-dihydro-5-methyl-5-isoxazolecarboxylic acid ethyl ester (CAS 1949837-17-5) and flufenoximacil.

[0194] According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the composition comprises, in addition to a compound of formula (I) at least one and especially exactly one herbicidally active compound from group b5), in particular selected from the group consisting of amitrole, benzobicyclon, bicyclopyrone, clomazone, diflufenican, fenquintrone, fluometuron, flurochloridone, isoxaflutole, mesotrione, norflurazone, oxotrione (CAS 1486617-21- 3), picolinafen, sulcotrione, tefuryltrione, tembotrione, tolpyralate, topramezone, topramezone-sodium, 2-chloro- 3-methylsulfanyl-N-(1-methyltetrazol-5-yl)-4-(trifluoromethyl)benzamide (CAS 1361139-71-0), bixlozone, 2-(2,5- dichlorophenyl)-methyl-4,4-dimethyl-3-isoxazolidinone (CAS 81778-66-7)rimisoxafen and broclozone, flusulfinam, iptriazopyrid, pyraquinate

[0195] According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the composition comprises, in addition to a compound of formula (I) at least one and especially exactly one herbicidally active compound from group b6), in particular selected from the group consisting of glyphosate, glyphosate-ammonium, glyphosate- dimethylammonium , glyphosate-isopropylammonium and glyphosate-trimesium (sulfosate) and glyphosate- potassium.

[0196] According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the composition comprises, in addition to a compound of formula (I) at least one and especially exactly one herbicidally active compound from group b7), in particular selected from the group consisting of glufosinate, glufosinate-ammonium, glufosinate-P and glufosinate-P-ammonium.

[0197] According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the composition comprises, in addition to a compound of formula (I) at least one and especially exactly one herbicidally active compound from group b9), in particular selected from the group consisting of pendimethalin and trifluralin.

[0198] According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the composition comprises, in addition to a compound of formula (I) at least one and especially exactly one herbicidally active compound from group b10), in particular selected from the group consisting of acetochlor, butachlor, cafenstrole, dimethenamid-P, fentrazamide, flufenacet, mefenacet, metazachlor, metolachlor, S-metolachlor, fenoxasulfone, ipfencarbazone and pyroxasulfone.

[0199] According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the composition comprises, in addition to a compound of formula (I), at least one and especially exactly one herbicidally active compound from group b11), in particular indaziflam, isoxaben and triaziflam.

[0200] According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the composition comprises, in addition to a compound of formula (I) at least one and especially exactly one herbicidally active compound from group b13), in particular selected from the group consisting of 2,4-D, 2,4-D-isobuty I, 2,4-D-dimethylammonium, 2,4-D- N,N,N-trimethylethanolammonium, aminocyclopyrachlor, aminocyclopyrachlor-potassium, aminocyclopyrachlor- methyl, aminopyralid, aminopyralid-methyl, aminopyralid-dimethylammonium, aminopyralid-tris(2- hydroxypropyl)ammonium, clopyralid, clopyralid-methyl, clopyralid-olamine, dicamba, dicamba-butotyl, dicamba- diglycolamine, dicamba-dimethylammonium, dicamba-diolamine, dicamba-isopropylammonium, dicamba- potassium, dicamba-sodium, dicamba-trolamine, dicamba-N,N-bis-(3-aminopropyl)methylamine, dicamba- diethylenetriamine, flopyrauxifen, fluroxypyr, fluroxypyr-meptyl, halauxifen, halauxifen-methyl, MCPA, MCPA-2- ethylhexyl, MCPA-dimethylammonium, quinclorac, quinclorac-dimethylammonium, quinmerac, quinmerac- dimethylammonium, florpyrauxifen, florpyrauxifen-benzyl (CAS 1390661-72-9), 4-amino-3-chloro-5-fluoro-6-(7- fluoro-1 H-indol-6-yl)picolinic acid (CAS 1629965-65-6) and fluchloraminopyr.

[0201] According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the composition comprises, in addition to a compound of formula (I) at least one and especially exactly one herbicidally active compound from group b14), in particular selected from the group consisting of diflufenzopyr, diflufenzopyr-sodium, dymron, indanofan and diflufenzopyr-sodium.

[0202] According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the composition comprises, in addition to a compound of formula (I) at least one and especially exactly one herbicidally active compound from group b15), in particular selected from the group consisting of cinmethylin, dymron (= daimuron), indanofan, oxaziclomefone, tetflupyrolimet, 6-chloro-4-(2,7-dimethyl-1-naphthyl)-5-hydroxy-2-methyl-pyridazin-3-one (CAS 2414510-21-5).

[0203] According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the composition comprises, in addition to a compound of formula (I) at least one and especially exactly one safener C, in particular selected from the group consisting of benoxacor, cloquintocet, cyprosulfamide, dichlormid, fenchlorazole, fenclorim, furilazole, isoxadifen, mefenpyr, 4-(dichloroacetyl)-1-oxa-4-azaspiro[4.5]decane (MON4660, CAS 71526-07-3) and 2,2,5- trimethyl-3-(dichloroacetyl)-1 ,3-oxazolidine (R-29148, CAS 52836-31-4).

[0204] According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the composition comprises, in addition to a compound of formula (I) at least one and especially exactly one herbicidally active compound selected from: b1): clethodim, clodinafop-propargyl, cyhalofop-butyl, metamifop, profoxydim, quizalofop-ethyl, sethoxydim, prosulfocarb, triallate; b2): mesosulfuron, pyrazosulfuron-ethyl, imazamox, imazethapyr, diclosulam, penoxsulam, pyroxsulam, bispyribac-sodium, thiencarbazone-methyl; and triafamone; b3): atrazine, metribuzin, terbuthylazin, bromoxynil and its salts and esters bentazon and bentazon-sodium, propanil. b4): flumioxazin, saflufenacil, trifludimoxazin, epyrifenacil, 2-[2-[[3-chloro-6-[3,6-dihydro-3-methyl-2,6-dioxo-4- (trifluoromethyl)-l (2H)-pyrimidinyl]-5-fluoro-2-pyridinyl]oxy]phenoxy] acetic acid ethyl ester (CAS 2158274-50-9) andflufenoximacil. b5): diflufenican, picolinafen, clomazone, isoxaflutole, mesotrione, topramezone, aclonifen, bixlozone. b6) and b7): glyphosate, glufosinate, glufosinate-P, glufosinate-ammonium and glufosinate-P-ammonium. b9): trifluralin, propyzamide: b10): butachlor, dimethenamid-P, metolachlor, pretilachlor, flufenacet pyroxasulfone. b11): indaziflam, isoxaben. b13): 2,4-D and its salts and esters, dicamba and its salts and esters. b15): cinmethylin, cyclopyrimorate, tetflupyrolimet, 6-chloro-4-(2,7-dimethyl-1 -naphthyl)-5-hydroxy-2-methyl- pyridazin-3-one (CAS 2414510-21-5).

[0205] In another embodiment of the present invention the compositions useful for the present invention comprise at least one compound of formula (I) and at least one safener C.

[0206] Safeners are chemical compounds which prevent or reduce damage on useful plants without having a major impact on the herbicidal action of the herbicidal active components of the present compositions towards unwanted plants. They can be applied either before sowings (e.g. on seed treatments, shoots or seedlings) or in the pre-emergence application or post-emergence application of the useful plant. The safeners and the compounds of formula (I) and / or the herbicides B can be applied simultaneously or in succession.

[0207] Suitable safeners are e.g. (quinolin-8-oxy)acetic acids, 1 -phenyl-5-haloalkyl-1 H-1 ,2,4-triazol-3-carboxylic acids, 1 -phenyl-4,5-dihydro-5-alkyl-1 H-pyrazol-3,5-dicarboxylic acids, 4,5-dihydro-5,5-diaryl-3-isoxazol carboxylic acids, dichloroacetamides, alpha-oximinophenylacetonitriles, acetophenonoximes, 4,6-dihalo-2- phenylpyrimidines, N-[[4-(aminocarbonyl)phenyl]sulfonyl]-2-benzoic amides, 1 ,8-naphthalic anhydride, 2-halo-4- (haloalkyl)-5-thiazol carboxylic acids, phosphorthiolates and N-alkyl-O-phenylcarbamates and their agriculturally acceptable salts and their agriculturally acceptable derivatives such amides, esters, and thioesters, provided they have an acid group.

[0208] Examples of preferred safeners C are benoxacor, cloquintocet, cyometrinil, cyprosulfamide, dichlormid, dicyclonon, dietholate, fenchlorazole, fenclorim, flurazole, fluxofenim, furilazole, isoxadifen, mefenpyr, mephenate, naphthalic anhydride, oxabetrinil, 4-(dichloroacetyl)-1-oxa-4-azaspiro[4.5]decane (MON4660, CAS 71526-07-3), 2,2,5-trimethyl-3-(dichloroacetyl)-1 ,3-oxazolidine (R-29148, CAS 52836-31-4), metcamifen and BPCMS (CAS 54091-06-4).

[0209] Especially preferred safeners C are benoxacor, cloquintocet, cyprosulfamide, dichlormid, fenchlorazole, fenclorim, flurazole, fluxofenim, furilazole, isoxadifen, mefenpyr, naphthalic anhydride, oxabetrinil, 4- (dichloroacetyl)-1-oxa-4-azaspiro[4.5]decane (MON4660, CAS 71526-07-3), 2,2,5-trimethyl-3-(dichloroacetyl)- 1 ,3-oxazolidine (R-29148, CAS 52836-31-4) and metcamifen.

[0210] Particularly preferred safeners C are cloquintocet, cyprosulfamide, fenclori, furilazole isoxadifen-ethyl, mefenpyr-diethyl.

[0211] Particularly preferred safeners C, which, as component C, are constituent of the composition according to the invention are the safeners C as defined above; in particular the safeners C.1 - C.17 listed below in table C: Table C

[0212] The active compounds B of groups b1) to b15) and the active compounds C are known herbicides and safeners, see, for example, The Compendium of Pesticide Common Names (http: / / www.alanwood.net / pesticides / ); Farm Chemicals Handbook 2000 volume 86, Meister Publishing Company, 2000; B. Hock, C. Fedtke, R. R. Schmidt, Herbizide [Herbicides], Georg Thieme Verlag, Stuttgart 1995; W. H. Ahrens, Herbicide Handbook, 7th edition, Weed Science Society of America, 1994; and K. K. Hatzios, Herbicide Handbook, Supplement for the 7th edition, Weed Science Society of America, 1998. 2,2,5-Trimethyl-3-(dichloroacetyl)-1 ,3-oxazolidine [CAS No. 52836-31-4] is also referred to as R-29148. 4-(Dichloroacetyl)-1-oxa-4-azaspiro[4.5]decane [CAS No. 71526-07- 3] is also referred to as AD-67 and MON 4660.

[0213] The assignment of the active compounds to the respective mechanisms of action is based on current knowledge. If several mechanisms of action apply to one active compound, this substance was only assigned to one mechanism of action. Active compounds B and C having a carboxyl group can be employed in the form of the acid, in the form of an agriculturally suitable salt as mentioned above or else in the form of an agriculturally acceptable derivative in the compositions according to the invention.

[0214] In the case of dicamba, suitable salts include those, where the counterion is an agriculturally acceptable cation. For example, suitable salts of dicamba are dicamba-sodium, dicamba-potassium, dicamba-methylammonium, dicamba-dimethylammonium, dicamba-isopropylammonium, dicamba-diglycolamine, dicamba-olamine, dicamba-diolamine, dicamba-trolamine, dicamba-N,N-bis-(3-aminopropyl)methylamine and dicamba- diethy lenetriamine. Examples of a suitable ester are dicamba-methyl and dicamba-butotyl.

[0215] Suitable salts of 2,4-D are 2,4-D-ammonium, 2,4-D-dimethylammonium, 2,4-D-diethylammonium, 2,4-D- diethanolammonium (2,4-D-diolamine), 2,4-D-triethanolammonium, 2,4-D-isopropylammonium, 2,4-D- triisopropanolammonium, 2,4-D-heptylammonium, 2,4-D-dodecylammonium, 2,4-D-tetradecylammonium, 2,4-D- triethylammonium, 2,4-D-tris(2-hydroxypropyl)ammonium, 2,4-D-tris(isopropyl)ammonium, 2,4-D-trolamine, 2,4- D-lithium, 2,4-D-sodium and 2,4-D-N,N,N-trimethylethanolammonium (2,4-D choline). Examples of suitable esters of 2,4-D are 2,4-D-butotyl, 2,4-D-2-butoxypropyl, 2,4-D-3-butoxypropyl, 2,4-D-butyl, 2,4-D-ethy I, 2,4-D- ethylhexyl, 2,4-D-isobutyl, 2,4-D-isooctyl, 2,4-D-isopropyl, 2,4-D-meptyl, 2,4-D-methyl, 2,4-D-octyl, 2,4-D-pentyl, 2,4-D-propyl, 2,4-D-tefuryl and clacyfos.

[0216] Suitable salts of 2,4-DB are for example 2,4-DB-sodium, 2,4-DB-potassium and 2,4-DB-dimethylammonium. Suitable esters of 2,4-DB are for example 2,4-DB-buty I and 2,4-DB-isocty I.

[0217] Suitable salts of dichlorprop are for example dichlorprop-sodium, dichlorprop-potassium and dichlorpropdimethylammonium. Examples of suitable esters of dichlorprop are dich lorprop-butoty I and dich lorprop-isoctyl.

[0218] Suitable salts and esters of MCPA include MCPA-butotyl, MCPA-butyl, MCPA-dimethylammonium, MCPA- diolamine, MCPA-ethyl, MCPA-thioethyl, MCPA-2-ethylhexyl, MCPA-isobutyl, MCPA-isoctyl, MCPA-isopropyl, MCPA-isopropylammonium, MCPA-methyl, MCPA-olamine, MCPA-potassium, MCPA-sodium and MCPA- trolamine.

[0219] A suitable salt of MCPB is MCPB sodium. A suitable ester of MCPB is MCPB-ethyl.

[0220] Suitable salts of clopyralid are clopyralid-potassium, clopyralid-olamine and clopyralid-tris-(2- hydroxypropyl)ammonium. Example of suitable esters of clopyralid is clopyralid-methyl.

[0221] Examples of a suitable ester of fluroxypyr are fluroxypyr-meptyl and fluroxypyr-2-butoxy-1 -methylethyl, wherein fluroxypyr-meptyl is preferred.

[0222] Suitable salts of picloram are picloram-dimethylammonium, picloram-potassium, picloram- triisopropanolammonium, picloram-triisopropylammonium and picloram-trolamine. A suitable ester of picloram is picloram-isoctyl.

[0223] A suitable salt of triclopyr is triclopyr-triethylammonium. Suitable esters of triclopyr are for example triclopyr- ethyl and triclopyr-butotyl.

[0224] Suitable salts and esters of chloramben include chloramben-ammonium, chloramben-diolamine, chloramben- methyl, chloramben-methylammonium and chloramben-sodium. Suitable salts and esters of 2,3,6-TBA include 2,3,6-TBA-dimethylammonium, 2,3,6-TBA-lithium, 2,3,6-TBA-potassium and 2,3,6-TBA-sodium.

[0225] Suitable salts and esters of aminopyralid include aminopyralid-potassium, aminopyralid-dimethylammonium, and aminopyralid-tris(2-hydroxypropyl)ammonium.

[0226] Suitable salts of glyphosate are for example glyphosate-ammonium, glyphosate-diammonium, glyphoste- dimethylammonium, glyphosate-isopropylammonium, glyphosate-potassium, glyphosate-sodium, glyphosate- trimesium as well as the ethanolamine and diethanolamine salts, preferably glyphosate-diammonium, glyphosate-isopropylammonium and glyphosate-trimesium (sulfosate).

[0227] A suitable salt of glufosinate is for example glufosinate-ammonium.

[0228] A suitable salt of glufosinate-P is for example glufosinate-P-ammonium.

[0229] Suitable salts and esters of bromoxynil are for example bromoxynil-butyrate, bromoxynil-heptanoate, bromoxynil-octanoate, bromoxynil-potassium and bromoxynil-sodium.

[0230] Suitable salts and esters of ioxonil are for example ioxonil-octanoate, ioxonil-potassium and ioxonil-sodium.

[0231] Suitable salts and esters of mecoprop include mecoprop-butotyl, mecoprop-dimethylammonium, mecoprop- diolamine, mecoprop-ethadyl, mecoprop-2-ethylhexyl, mecoprop-isoctyl, mecoprop-methyl, mecoprop- potassium, mecoprop-sodium and mecoprop-trolamine.

[0232] Suitable salts of mecoprop-P are for example mecoprop-P-butotyl, mecoprop-P-dimethylammonium, mecoprop- P-2-ethylhexyl, mecoprop-P-isobutyl, mecoprop-P-potassium and mecoprop-P-sodium.

[0233] A suitable salt of diflufenzopyr is for example diflufenzopyr-sodium.

[0234] A suitable salt of naptalam is for example naptalam-sodium.

[0235] Suitable salts and esters of aminocyclopyrachlor are for example aminocyclopyrachlor-dimethylammonium, aminocyclopyrachlor-methyl, aminocyclopyrachlor-triisopropanolammonium, aminocyclopyrachlor-sodium and aminocyclopyrachlor-potassium.

[0236] A suitable salt of quinclorac is for example quinclorac-dimethylammonium.

[0237] A suitable salt of quinmerac is for example quinmerac-dimethylammonium.

[0238] A suitable salt of imazamox is for example imazamox-ammonium.

[0239] Suitable salts of imazapic are for example imazapic-ammonium and imazapic-isopropylammonium.

[0240] Suitable salts of imazapyr are for example imazapyr-ammonium and imazapyr-isopropylammonium.

[0241] A suitable salt of imazaquin is for example imazaquin-ammonium.

[0242] Suitable salts of imazethapyr are for example imazethapyr-ammonium and imazethapyr-isopropylammonium.

[0243] A suitable salt of topramezone is for example topramezone-sodium.

[0244] According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the composition comprises as herbicidal active compound B or component B at least one, preferably exactly one herbicide B.

[0245] According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the composition comprises as herbicidal active compounds B or component B at least two, preferably exactly two herbicides B different from each other.

[0246] According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the composition comprises as herbicidal active compounds B or component B at least three, preferably exactly three herbicides B different from each other.

[0247] According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the composition comprises as safening component C or component C at least one, preferably exactly one safener C.

[0248] According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the composition comprises as component B at least one, preferably exactly one herbicide B, and as component C at least one, preferably exactly one, safener C. According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the composition comprises at least two, preferably exactly two, herbicides B different from each other, and as component C at least one, preferably exactly one, safener C.

[0249] According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the composition comprises at least three, preferably exactly three, herbicides B different from each other, and as component C at least one, preferably exactly one, safener C.

[0250] Here and below, the term “binary compositions” includes compositions comprising one or more, for example 1, 2 or 3, active compounds of the formula (I) and either one or more, for example 1, 2 or 3, herbicides B or one or more safeners C.

[0251] Correspondingly, the term “ternary compositions” includes compositions comprising one or more, for example 1, 2 or 3, active compounds of the formula (I), one or more, for example 1, 2 or 3, herbicides B and one or more, for example 1, 2 or 3, safeners C.

[0252] In binary compositions comprising at least one compound of the formula (I) as component A and at least one herbicide B, the weight ratio of the active compounds A: B is generally in the range of from 1 :1000 to 1000:1, preferably in the range of from 1 :500 to 500:1, in particular in the range of from 1 :250 to 250:1 and particularly preferably in the range of from 1 :75 to 75:1.

[0253] In binary compositions comprising at least one compound of the formula (I) as component A and at least one safener C, the weight ratio of the active compounds A:C is generally in the range of from 1 :1000 to 1000:1, preferably in the range of from 1 :500 to 500:1, in particular in the range of from 1:250 to 250:1 and particularly preferably in the range of from 1 :75 to 75:1.

[0254] In ternary compositions comprising at least one compound of formula (I) as component A, at least one herbicide B and at least one safener C, the relative proportions by weight of the components A:B are generally in the range of from 1 :1000 to 1000:1, preferably in the range of from 1 :500 to 500:1, in particular in the range of from 1 :250 to 250:1 and particularly preferably in the range of from 1 :75 to 75:1, the weight ratio of the components A:C is generally in the range of from 1 :1000 to 1000:1, preferably in the range of from 1 :500 to 500:1, in particular in the range of from 1 :250 to 250:1 and particularly preferably in the range of from 1 :75 to 75:1, and the weight ratio of the components B:C is generally in the range of from 1 :1000 to 1000:1, preferably in the range of from 1 :500 to 500:1, in particular in the range of from 1 :250 to 250:1 and particularly preferably in the range of from 1 :75 to 75: 1 . The weight ratio of components A + B to component C is preferably in the range of from 1:500 to 500:1, in particular in the range of from 1 :250 to 250:1 and particularly preferably in the range of from 1 :75 to 75:1.

[0255] The weight ratios of the individual components in the preferred mixtures mentioned below are within the limits given above, in particular within the preferred limits..

[0256] It is generally preferred to use the compounds of the invention in combination with herbicides that are selective for the crop being treated and which complement the spectrum of weeds controlled by these compounds at the application rate employed. It is further generally preferred to apply the compounds of the invention and other complementary herbicides at the same time, either as a combination formulation or as a tank mix.

[0257] It is recognized that the polynucleotide molecules and polypeptides of the invention encompass polypeptides comprising an amino acid sequence that is sufficiently identical to the amino acid sequences set forth in SEQ ID Nos: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, or 115. The term "sufficiently identical" is used herein to refer to a first amino acid or nucleotide sequence that contains a sufficient or minimum number of identical or equivalent (e.g., with a similar side chain) amino acid residues or nucleotides to a second amino acid or nucleotide sequence such that the first and second amino acid or nucleotide sequences have a common structural domain and / or common functional activity.

[0258] Generally, "sequence identity" refers to the extent to which two optimally aligned DNA or amino acid sequences are invariant throughout a window of alignment of components, e.g., nucleotides or amino acids. An "identity fraction" for aligned segments of a test sequence and a reference sequence is the number of identical components that are shared by the two aligned sequences divided by the total number of components in reference sequence segment, i.e., the entire reference sequence or a smaller defined part of the reference sequence. "Percent identity" is the identity fraction times 100. Optimal alignment of sequences for aligning a comparison window are well known to those skilled in the art and may be conducted by tools such as the local homology algorithm of Smith and Waterman, the homology alignment algorithm of Needleman and Wunsch, the search for similarity method of Pearson and Lipman, and preferably by computerized implementations of these algorithms such as GAP, BESTFIT, FASTA, and TFASTA available as part of the GCG. Wisconsin Package. (Accelrys Inc. Burlington, Mass.)

[0259] Polynucleotides and Oligonucleotides

[0260] By an "isolated polynucleotide", including DNA, RNA, or a combination of these, single or double stranded, in the sense or antisense orientation or a combination of both, dsRNA or otherwise, we mean a polynucleotide which is at least partially separated from the polynucleotide sequences with which it is associated or linked in its native state. That means other nucleic acid molecules are present in an amount less than 5% based on weight of the amount of the desired nucleic acid, preferably less than 2% by weight, more preferably less than 1 % by weight, most preferably less than 0.5% by weight. Preferably, an “isolated” nucleic acid is free of some of the sequences that naturally flank the nucleic acid (i.e., sequences located at the 5’ and 3’ ends of the nucleic acid) in the genomic DNA of the organism from which the nucleic acid is derived. For example, in various embodiments, the isolated herbicide resistance and / or tolerance related protein encoding nucleic acid molecule can contain less than about 5 kb, 4 kb, 3 kb, 2 kb, 1 kb, 0.5 kb or 0.1 kb of nucleotide sequences which naturally flank the nucleic acid molecule in genomic DNA of the cell from which the nucleic acid is derived. Moreover, an “isolated” nucleic acid molecule, such as a cDNA molecule, can be free from some of the other cellular material with which it is naturally associated, or culture medium when produced by recombinant techniques, or chemical precursors or other chemicals when chemically synthesized. Preferably, the isolated polynucleotide is at least 60% free, preferably at least 75% free, and most preferably at least 90% free from other components with which they are naturally associated. As the skilled addressee would be aware, an isolated polynucleotide can be an exogenous polynucleotide present in, for example, a transgenic organism which does not naturally comprise the polynucleotide. Furthermore, the terms "polynucleotide(s)", "nucleic acid sequence(s)", "nucleotide sequence(s)", “nucleic acid(s)”, “nucleic acid molecule” are used interchangeably herein and refer to nucleotides, either ribonucleotides or deoxyribonucleotides or a combination of both, in a polymeric unbranched form of any length.

[0261] The term “mutated CesA or TriA nucleic acid” refers to a CesA or TriA nucleic acid having a sequence that is mutated from a wild-type CesA or TriA nucleic acid; and that confers increased diaminotriazine herbicide tolerance to a plant in which it is expressed. Furthermore, the term “mutated cellulose synthase or TriA enzyme” (mutated CesA or TriA) refers to the replacement of an amino acid of the wild-type primary sequences SEQ ID NO: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12,

[0262] 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42,

[0263] 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71,

[0264] 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100,

[0265] 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, or 115, or a variant, a derivative, a homologue, an orthologue, or paralogue thereof, with another amino acid. The expression "mutated amino acid" will be used below to designate the amino acid which is replaced by another amino acid, thereby designating the site of the mutation in the primary sequence of the protein.

[0266] In a preferred embodiment, the CesA or TriA nucleotide sequence encoding a mutated CesA or TriA comprises the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, or a variant or derivative thereof.

[0267] Furthermore, it will be understood by the person skilled in the art that the CesA or TriA nucleotide sequences encompasse homologues, paralogues and and orthologues of SEQ ID NO: 1, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121,

[0268] 122. 123. 124. 125. 126. 127. 128. 129. 130, as defined hereinafter.

[0269] The term "variant" with respect to a sequence (e.g., a polypeptide or nucleic acid sequence such as - for example - a transcription regulating nucleotide sequence of the invention) is intended to mean substantially similar sequences. For nucleotide sequences comprising an open reading frame, variants include those sequences that, because of the degeneracy of the genetic code, encode the identical amino acid sequence of the native protein. Naturally occurring allelic variants such as these can be identified with the use of well-known molecular biology techniques, as, for example, with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and hybridization techniques. Variant nucleotide sequences also include synthetically derived nucleotide sequences, such as those generated, for example, by using site-directed mutagenesis and for open reading frames, encode the native protein, as well as those that encode a polypeptide having amino acid substitutions relative to the native protein, e.g. the mutated CesA or TriA according to the present invention as disclosed herein.

[0270] Generally, nucleotide sequence variants of the invention will have at least 30, 40, 50, 60, to 70%, e.g., preferably 71%, 72%, 73%, 74%, 75%, 76%, 77%, 78%, to 79%, generally at least 80%, e.g., 81%84%, at least 85%, e.g., 86%, 87%, 88%, 89%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, to 98% and 99% nucleotide “sequence identity” to the nucleotide sequence of : 1, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126,

[0271] 127. 128. 129. 130, or to a nucleotide sequence encoding a polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10,

[0272] 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40,

[0273] 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69,

[0274] 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98,

[0275] 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, or 115.

[0276] The % identity of a polynucleotide is determined by GAP (Needleman and Wunsch, 1970) analysis (GCG program) with a gap creation penalty=5, and a gap extension penalty=0.3. Unless stated otherwise, the query sequence is at least 45 nucleotides in length, and the GAP analysis aligns the two sequences over a region of at least 45 nucleotides. Preferably, the query sequence is at least 150 nucleotides in length, and the GAP analysis aligns the two sequences over a region of at least 150 nucleotides. More preferably, the query sequence is at least 300 nucleotides in length and the GAP analysis aligns the two sequences over a region of at least 300 nucleotides. Even more preferably, the GAP analysis aligns the two sequences over their entire length.

[0277] Polypeptides

[0278] By "substantially purified polypeptide" or "purified" a polypeptide is meant that has been separated from one or more lipids, nucleic acids, other polypeptides, or other contaminating molecules with which it is associated in its native state. It is preferred that the substantially purified polypeptide is at least 60% free, more preferably at least 75% free, and more preferably at least 90% free from other components with which it is naturally associated. As the skilled addressee will appreciate, the purified polypeptide can be a recombinantly produced polypeptide. The terms "polypeptide" and "protein" are generally used interchangeably and refer to a single polypeptide chain which may or may not be modified by addition of non-amino acid groups. It would be understood that such polypeptide chains may associate with other polypeptides or proteins or other molecules such as co-factors. The terms "proteins" and "polypeptides" as used herein also include variants, mutants, modifications, analogous and / or derivatives of the polypeptides of the invention as described herein.

[0279] The % identity of a polypeptide is determined by GAP (Needleman and Wunsch, 1970) analysis (GCG program) with a gap creation penalty=5, and a gap extension penalty=0.3. The query sequence is at least 25 amino acids in length, and the GAP analysis aligns the two sequences over a region of at least 25 amino acids. More preferably, the query sequence is at least 50 amino acids in length, and the GAP analysis aligns the two sequences over a region of at least 50 amino acids. More preferably, the query sequence is at least 100 amino acids in length and the GAP analysis aligns the two sequences over a region of at least 100 amino acids. Even more preferably, the query sequence is at least 250 amino acids in length and the GAP analysis aligns the two sequences over a region of at least 250 amino acids. Even more preferably, the GAP analysis aligns the two sequences over their entire length.

[0280] With regard to a defined polypeptide, it will be appreciated that % identity figures higher than those provided above will encompass preferred embodiments. Thus, where applicable, in light of the minimum % identity figures, it is preferred that the CesA or Tri A polypeptide useful for the invention comprises an amino acid sequence which is at least 40%, more preferably at least 45%, more preferably at least 50%, more preferably at least 55%, more preferably at least 60%, more preferably at least 65%, more preferably at least 70%, more preferably at least 75%, more preferably at least 80%, more preferably at least 85%, more preferably at least 90%, more preferably at least 91 %, more preferably at least 92%, more preferably at least 93%, more preferably at least 94%, more preferably at least 95%, more preferably at least 96%, more preferably at least 97%, more preferably at least 98%, more preferably at least 99%, more preferably at least 99.1 %, more preferably at least 99.2%, more preferably at least 99.3%, more preferably at least 99.4%, more preferably at least 99.5%, more preferably at least 99.6%, more preferably at least 99.7%, more preferably at least 99.8%, and even more preferably at least 99.9% identical to SEQ ID NO: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20,

[0281] 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50,

[0282] 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79,

[0283] 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106,

[0284] 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, or 115.

[0285] By "variant" polypeptide is intended a polypeptide derived from the protein of SEQ ID NO: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9,

[0286] 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39,

[0287] 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68,

[0288] 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, or 115, by deletion (so-called truncation) or addition of one or more amino acids to the N-terminal and / or C-terminal end of the native protein; deletion or addition of one or more amino acids at one or more sites in the native protein; or substitution of one or more amino acids at one or more sites in the native protein. Such variants may result from, for example, genetic polymorphism or from human manipulation. Methods for such manipulations are generally known in the art.

[0289] “Derivatives” of a protein encompass peptides, oligopeptides, polypeptides, proteins and enzymes having amino acid substitutions, deletions and / or insertions relative to the unmodified protein in question and having similar biological and functional activity as the unmodified protein from which they are derived.

[0290] “Homologues” of a protein encompass peptides, oligopeptides, polypeptides, proteins and enzymes having amino acid substitutions, deletions and / or insertions relative to the unmodified protein in question and having similar biological and functional activity as the unmodified protein from which they are derived.

[0291] A deletion refers to removal of one or more amino acids from a protein.

[0292] An insertion refers to one or more amino acid residues being introduced into a predetermined site in a protein. Insertions may comprise N-terminal and / or C-terminal fusions as well as intra-sequence insertions of single or multiple amino acids. Generally, insertions within the amino acid sequence will be smaller than N- or C-terminal fusions, of the order of about 1 to 10 residues. Examples of N- or C-terminal fusion proteins or peptides include the binding domain or activation domain of a transcriptional activator as used in the yeast two-hybrid system, phage coat proteins, (histidine)-6-tag, glutathione S-transferase-tag, protein A, maltose-binding protein, dihydrofolate reductase, Tag*100 epitope, c-myc epitope, FLAG®-epitope, lacZ, CMP (calmodulin-binding peptide), HA epitope, protein C epitope and VSV epitope.

[0293] A substitution refers to replacement of amino acids of the protein with other amino acids having similar properties (such as similar hydrophobicity, hydrophilicity, antigenicity, propensity to form or break a-helical structures or p-sheet structures). Amino acid substitutions are typically of single residues, but may be clustered depending upon functional constraints placed upon the polypeptide and may range from 1 to 10 amino acids; insertions will usually be of the order of about 1 to 10 amino acid residues. The amino acid substitutions are preferably conservative amino acid substitutions. Conservative substitution tables are well known in the art (see for example Creighton (1984) Proteins. W.H. Freeman and Company (Eds).

[0294] Table 1 : Examples of conserved amino acid substitutions

[0295] Amino acid substitutions, deletions and / or insertions may readily be made using peptide synthetic techniques well known in the art, such as solid phase peptide synthesis and the like, or by recombinant DNA manipulation. Methods for the manipulation of DNA sequences to produce substitution, insertion or deletion variants of a protein are well known in the art. For example, techniques for making substitution mutations at predetermined sites in DNA are well known to those skilled in the art and include M13 mutagenesis, T7-Gen in vitro mutagenesis (USB, Cleveland, OH), QuickChange Site Directed mutagenesis (Stratagene, San Diego, CA), PCR-mediated site-directed mutagenesis or other site-directed mutagenesis protocols.

[0296] “Derivatives” further include peptides, oligopeptides, polypeptides which may, compared to the amino acid sequence of the naturally-occurring form of the protein, such as the protein of interest, comprise substitutions of amino acids with non-naturally occurring amino acid residues, or additions of non-naturally occurring amino acid residues. “Derivatives” of a protein also encompass peptides, oligopeptides, polypeptides which comprise naturally occurring altered (glycosylated, acylated, prenylated, phosphorylated, myristoylated, sulphated etc.) or non-naturally altered amino acid residues compared to the amino acid sequence of a naturally-occurring form of the polypeptide. A derivative may also comprise one or more non-amino acid substituents or additions compared to the amino acid sequence from which it is derived, for example a reporter molecule or other ligand, covalently or non-covalently bound to the amino acid sequence, such as a reporter molecule which is bound to facilitate its detection, and non-naturally occurring amino acid residues relative to the amino acid sequence of a naturally-occurring protein. Furthermore, “derivatives” also include fusions of the naturally-occurring form of the protein with tagging peptides such as FLAG, HIS6 or thioredoxin (for a review of tagging peptides, see Terpe, Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 60, 523-533, 2003).

[0297] “Orthologues” and “paralogues” encompass evolutionary concepts used to describe the ancestral relationships of genes. Paralogues are genes within the same species that have originated through duplication of an ancestral gene; orthologues are genes from different organisms that have originated through speciation, and are also derived from a common ancestral gene.

[0298] It is well-known in the art that paralogues and orthologues may share distinct domains harboring suitable amino acid residues at given sites, such as binding pockets for particular substrates or binding motifs for interaction with other proteins.

[0299] The term "domain" refers to a set of amino acids conserved at specific positions along an alignment of sequences of evolutionarily related proteins. While amino acids at other positions can vary between homologues, amino acids that are highly conserved at specific positions indicate amino acids that are likely essential in the structure, stability or function of a protein. Identified by their high degree of conservation in aligned sequences of a family of protein homologues, they can be used as identifiers to determine if any polypeptide in question belongs to a previously identified polypeptide family.

[0300] The term “motif’ or “consensus sequence” refers to a short conserved region in the sequence of evolutionarily related proteins. Motifs are frequently highly conserved parts of domains, but may also include only part of the domain, or be located outside of conserved domain (if all of the amino acids of the motif fall outside of a defined domain).

[0301] Specialist databases exist for the identification of domains, for example, SMART (Schultz et al. (1998) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 95, 5857-5864; Letunic et al. (2002) Nucleic Acids Res 30, 242-244), InterPro (Mulder et al., (2003) Nucl. Acids. Res. 31, 315-318), Prosite (Bucher and Bairoch (1994), A generalized profile syntax for biomolecular sequences motifs and its function in automatic sequence interpretation. (In) ISMB-94; Proceedings 2nd International Conference on Intelligent Systems for Molecular Biology. Altman R., Brutlag D., Karp P., Lathrop R., Searls D., Eds., pp53-61, AAAI Press, Menlo Park; Hulo et al., Nucl. Acids. Res. 32: D134-D137, (2004)), or Pfam (Bateman et al., Nucleic Acids Research 30(1): 276-280 (2002)). A set of tools for in silico analysis of protein sequences is available on the ExPASy proteomics server (Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (Gasteiger et al., ExPASy: the proteomics server for in-depth protein knowledge and analysis, Nucleic Acids Res. 31 :3784-3788(2003)). Domains or motifs may also be identified using routine techniques, such as by sequence alignment.

[0302] Methods for the alignment of sequences for comparison are well known in the art, such methods include GAP, BESTFIT, BLAST, FASTA and TFASTA. GAP uses the algorithm of Needleman and Wunsch ((1970) J Mol Biol 48: 443-453) to find the global (i.e. spanning the complete sequences) alignment of two sequences that maximizes the number of matches and minimizes the number of gaps. The BLAST algorithm (Altschul et al. (1990) J Mol Biol 215: 403-10) calculates percent sequence identity and performs a statistical analysis of the similarity between the two sequences. The software for performing BLAST analysis is publicly available through the National Centre for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). Homologues may readily be identified using, for example, the ClustalW multiple sequence alignment algorithm (version 1.83), with the default pairwise alignment parameters, and a scoring method in percentage. Global percentages of similarity and identity may also be determined using one of the methods available in the MatGAT software package (Campanella et al., BMC Bioinformatics. 2003 Jul 10;4:29. MatGAT: an application that generates similarity / identity matrices using protein or DNA sequences.). Minor manual editing may be performed to optimise alignment between conserved motifs, as would be apparent to a person skilled in the art. Furthermore, instead of using full-length sequences for the identification of homologues, specific domains may also be used. The sequence identity values may be determined over the entire nucleic acid or amino acid sequence or over selected domains or conserved motif(s), using the programs mentioned above using the default parameters. For local alignments, the Smith-Waterman algorithm is particularly useful (Smith TF, Waterman MS (1981) J. Mol. Biol 147(1); 195-7).

[0303] The proteins of the invention may be altered in various ways including amino acid substitutions, deletions, truncations, and insertions. Methods for such manipulations are generally known in the art. For example, amino acid sequence variants can be prepared by mutations in the DNA. Methods for mutagenesis and nucleotide sequence alterations are well known in the art. See, for example, Kunkel (1985) PNAS, 82:488-492; Kunkel et al. (1987) Methods in Enzymol. 154:367-382; U.S. Patent No. 4,873,192; Walker and Gaastra, eds. (1983) Techniques in Molecular Biology (MacMillan Publishing Company, New York) and the references cited therein. Guidance as to appropriate amino acid substitutions that do not affect biological activity of the protein of interest may be found in the model of Dayhoff et al. (1978) Atlas of Protein Sequence and Structure (Natl. Biomed. Res. Found., Washington, D. C), herein incorporated by reference. Conservative substitutions, such as exchanging one amino acid with another having similar properties, may be preferable.

[0304] Alternatively, variant nucleotide sequences can be made by introducing mutations randomly along all or part of a coding sequence, such as by saturation mutagenesis, and the resultant mutants can be screened to identify mutants that encode proteins that retain activity. For example, following mutagenesis, the encoded protein can be expressed recombinantly, and the activity of the protein can be determined using standard assay techniques

[0305] The inventors of the present invention have found that by substituting one or more of the key amino acid residues of the TriA enzyme of SEQ ID NO: 2, e.g. by employing one of the above described methods to mutate the TriA encoding nucleic acids, the tolerance or resistance to particular herbicides could be remarkably increased. Preferred substitutions of mutated TriA are those that increase the herbicide tolerance of the plant, but leave the biological activitiy of the deaminase activity substantially unaffected.

[0306] Accordingly, in another object of the present invention refers to a mutated TriA polypeptide, comprising the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue or homologue thereof, the key amino acid residues of which is substituted by any other amino acid.

[0307] It will be understood by the person skilled in the art that amino acids located in a close proximity to the positions of amino acids mentioned below may also be substituted. Thus, in another embodiment the variant of SEQ ID NO: 2, a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue or homologue thereof comprises a mutated TriA, wherein an amino acid ±3, ±2 or ±1 amino acid positions from a key amino acid is substituted by any other amino acid. Based on techniques well-known in the art, a highly characteristic sequence pattern can be developed, by means of which further of mutated TriA candidates with the desired activity may be searched.

[0308] Searching for further mutated TriA candidates by applying a suitable sequence pattern would also be encompassed by the present invention. It will be understood by a skilled reader that the present sequence pattern is not limited by the exact distances between two adjacent amino acid residues of said pattern. Each of the distances between two neighbours in the above patterns may, for example, vary independently of each other by up to ±10, ± 5, ±3, ±2 or ±1 amino acid positions without substantially affecting the desired activity. Furthermore, by applying the method of site directed mutagenesis, e.g. saturation mutagenes (see e.g. Schenk et al., Biospektrum 03 / 2006, pages 277-279), the inventors of the present invention have identified and generated specific amino acid subsitutions and combinations thereof, which - when introduced into a plant by transforming and expressing the respective mutated TriA encoding nucleic acid - confer increased herbicide resistance or tolerance to a herbicide to said plant.

[0309] Thus, in a particularly preferred embodiment, the variant or derivative of the mutated TriA refers to a TriA polypeptide comprising SEQ ID NO:2, a orthologue, paralogue, or homologue thereof, wherein the amino acid sequence differs from the wildtype amino acid sequence of a TriA polypeptide at one or more positions corresponding to the following positions of SEQ ID NO:2:

[0310] 69, 70, 71, 74, 82, 84, 85, 87, 88, 89, 91, 92, 93, 96, 126, 128, 129, 130, 131, 155, 157, 160, 167, 170, 174, 180, 182, 216, 217, 219, 220, 246, 247, 248, 249, 250, 251, 298, 301, 302, 304, 328.

[0311] Examples of differences at these amino acid positions include, but are not limited to, one or more of the following: the amino acid corresponding to position 69 is substituted by any other amino acid; the amino acid corresponding to position 70 is substituted by any other amino acid; the amino acid corresponding to position 71 is substituted by any other amino acid; the amino acid corresponding to position 74 is substituted by any other amino acid; the amino acid corresponding to position 82 is substituted by any other amino acid; the amino acid corresponding to position 84 is substituted by any other amino acid; the amino acid corresponding to position 85 is substituted by any other amino acid; the amino acid corresponding to position 87 is substituted by any other amino acid; the amino acid corresponding to position 88 is substituted by any other amino acid; the amino acid corresponding to position 89 is substituted by any other amino acid; the amino acid corresponding to position 91 is substituted by any other amino acid; the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is substituted by any other amino acid; the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is substituted by any other amino acid; the amino acid corresponding to position 96 is substituted by any other amino acid; the amino acid corresponding to position 126 is substituted by any other amino acid; the amino acid corresponding to position 128 is substituted by any other amino acid; the amino acid corresponding to position 129 is substituted by any other amino acid; the amino acid corresponding to position 130 is substituted by any other amino acid; the amino acid corresponding to position 131 is substituted by any other amino acid; the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is substituted by any other amino acid; the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is substituted by any other amino acid; the amino acid corresponding to position 160 is substituted by any other amino acid; the amino acid corresponding to position 167 is substituted by any other amino acid; the amino acid corresponding to position 170 is substituted by any other amino acid; the amino acid corresponding to position 174 is substituted by any other amino acid; the amino acid corresponding to position 180 is substituted by any other amino acid; the amino acid corresponding to position 182 is substituted by any other amino acid; the amino acid corresponding to position 216 is substituted by any other amino acid; the amino acid corresponding to position 217 is substituted by any other amino acid; the amino acid corresponding to position 219 is substituted by any other amino acid; the amino acid corresponding to position 220 is substituted by any other amino acid; the amino acid corresponding to position 246 is substituted by any other amino acid; the amino acid corresponding to position 247 is substituted by any other amino acid; the amino acid corresponding to position 248 is substituted by any other amino acid; the amino acid corresponding to position 249 is substituted by any other amino acid; the amino acid corresponding to position 250 is substituted by any other amino acid; the amino acid corresponding to position 251 is substituted by any other amino acid; the amino acid corresponding to position 298 is substituted by any other amino acid; the amino acid corresponding to position 301 is substituted by any other amino acid; the amino acid corresponding to position 302 is substituted by any other amino acid; the amino acid corresponding to position 304 is substituted by any other amino acid; the amino acid corresponding to position 328 is substituted by any other amino acid;

[0312] Examples of differences at these amino acid positions include, but are not limited to, one or more of the following: the amino acid corresponding to position 69 is other than Valine; the amino acid corresponding to position 70 is other than Asparagine; the amino acid corresponding to position 71 is other than Glutamine; the amino acid corresponding to position 74 is other than Leucine; the amino acid corresponding to position 82 is other than Arginine; the amino acid corresponding to position 84 is other than Leucine; the amino acid corresponding to position 85 is other than Tyrosine; the amino acid corresponding to position 87 is other than Tryptophan; the amino acid corresponding to position 88 is other than Leucine; the amino acid corresponding to position 89 is other than Phenylalanine; the amino acid corresponding to position 91 is other than Valine; the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is other than Leucine; the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is other than Tyrosine; the amino acid corresponding to position 96 is other than Glutamine; the amino acid corresponding to position 126 is other than Asparagine; the amino acid corresponding to position 128 is other than Aspartic Acid; the amino acid corresponding to position 129 is other than Serine; the amino acid corresponding to position 130 is other than Alanine; the amino acid corresponding to position 131 is other than Isoleucine; the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is other than Methionine; the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is other than Phenylalanine; the amino acid corresponding to position 160 is other than Methionine; the amino acid corresponding to position 167 is other than Tyrosine; the amino acid corresponding to position 170 is other than Alanine; the amino acid corresponding to position 174 is other than Lysine; the amino acid corresponding to position 180 is other than Leucine; the amino acid corresponding to position 182 is other than Serine; the amino acid corresponding to position 216 is other than Alanine; the amino acid corresponding to position 217 is other than Isoleucine; the amino acid corresponding to position 219 is other than Proline; the amino acid corresponding to position 220 is other than Alanine; the amino acid corresponding to position 246 is other than Glutamate; the amino acid corresponding to position 247 is other than Serine; the amino acid corresponding to position 248 is other than Aspartate; the amino acid corresponding to position 249 is other than Histidine; the amino acid corresponding to position 250 is other than Aspartate; the amino acid corresponding to position 251 is other than Glutamate; the amino acid corresponding to position 298 is other than Glutamine; the amino acid corresponding to position 301 is other than Serine; the amino acid corresponding to position 302 is other than Asparagine; the amino acid corresponding to position 304 is other than Tyrosine; the amino acid corresponding to position 328 is other than Aspartate;

[0313] In a preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 70 is Thr, Cys, Gly, Vai, or Ser.

[0314] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 71 is Thr, Vai, Gly, Cys, or Ser.

[0315] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 70 is Vai, and the amino acid corresponding to position 71 is Vai.

[0316] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 70 is Vai, and the amino acid corresponding to position 71 is Thr.

[0317] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 70 is Thr, and the amino acid corresponding to position 71 is Vai.

[0318] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 70 is Thr, and the amino acid corresponding to position 71 is Thr.

[0319] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Leu.

[0320] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 128 is Gly, Pro, or Vai.

[0321] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 70 is Vai, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Vai.

[0322] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 70 is Vai, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Vai, and the amino acid corresponding to position 128 is Ser.

[0323] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 70 is Vai, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Vai, and the amino acid corresponding to position 128 is Thr.

[0324] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Thr, Ala, Met or Ser.

[0325] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 70 is Leu, and the amino acid corresponding to position 71 is Leu.

[0326] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 70 is lie, and the amino acid corresponding to position 71 is lie. In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 88 is Vai, and the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is lie.

[0327] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 88 is Vai, and the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Vai.

[0328] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Vai, and the amino acid corresponding to position 88 is Vai, and the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is lie.

[0329] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 88 is Vai, and the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is lie.

[0330] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 96 is Vai.

[0331] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 71 is Vai, and the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Vai, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Ala.

[0332] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 128 is lie, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Vai, and the amino acid corresponding to position 70 is Leu, and the amino acid corresponding to position 71 is lie.

[0333] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 71 is Leu, and the amino acid corresponding to position 91 is Ala.

[0334] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 71 is Leu, and the amino acid corresponding to position 91 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Vai.

[0335] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 71 is Leu, and the amino acid corresponding to position 91 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Vai, and the amino acid corresponding to position 88 is Ala. In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 88 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is lie.

[0336] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 88 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Leu.

[0337] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 69 is Ala, Leu, or Ser.

[0338] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 74 is Vai, or Ala.

[0339] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 74 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 70 is Leu, and the amino acid corresponding to position 71 is lie.

[0340] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 82 is Leu, Met, or Gly.

[0341] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 96 is Glu, Asp, Ala, Thr or Asn.

[0342] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 126 is Ala, Met, Ser, or Asp.

[0343] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 128 is Ser, Ala, or Asn.

[0344] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Gly, Ala, or Glu.

[0345] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Met, or Ala. In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 167 is lie, and the amino acid corresponding to position 88 is Ala.

[0346] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 167 is lie, and the amino acid corresponding to position 88 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 84 is Vai.

[0347] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 167 is lie, and the amino acid corresponding to position 88 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 84 is Thr.

[0348] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 216 is Ser, or Gly.

[0349] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 217 is Ala, Ser, or Thr.

[0350] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 219 is Gly, and the amino acid corresponding to position 249 is Asn.

[0351] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 219 is Gly, and the amino acid corresponding to position 249 is Asn, and the amino acid corresponding to position 217 is Vai.

[0352] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 220 is Thr, Ser, or Gly.

[0353] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 220 is Gly, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Ala.

[0354] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 246 is Ser, Thr, Gin, or Asp.

[0355] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 247 is Ala, Asn, Vai, Gly, or Pro. In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 248 is Ser, Asn, or Gly.

[0356] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 249 is Vai, lie, or Asn.

[0357] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 250 is Glu, or Asn.

[0358] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 251 is Asp.

[0359] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 251 is Asp, and the amino acid corresponding to position 248 is Glu.

[0360] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 298 is Cys, Asn, Thr, or Ser.

[0361] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 301 is Ala, Thr, or Vai.

[0362] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 302 is Glu.

[0363] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 304 is Lys.

[0364] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 87 is Thr.

[0365] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 71 is Asn, and the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala.

[0366] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 71 is Asn, and the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 88 is Ala.

[0367] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 71 is Asn, and the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Leu.

[0368] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 71 is Asn, and the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Phe.

[0369] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 71 is Asn, and the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 128 is Gly.

[0370] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 71 is Asn, and the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 128 is Ala.

[0371] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 71 is Asn, and the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 88 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Leu.

[0372] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 71 is Asn, and the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 88 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Phe.

[0373] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 71 is Asn, and the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 88 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 128 is Gly.

[0374] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 71 is Asn, and the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 88 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 128 is Ala.

[0375] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 71 is Asn, and the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Phe, and the amino acid corresponding to position 128 is Gly.

[0376] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 71 is Asn, and the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Phe, and the amino acid corresponding to position 128 is Ala.

[0377] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 71 is Asn, and the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Thr, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Leu.

[0378] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 71 is Asn, and the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Thr, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Vai.

[0379] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 71 is Asn, and the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Vai, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Leu.

[0380] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 71 is Asn, and the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Vai, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Vai.

[0381] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 71 is Asn, and the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 328 is Gly.

[0382] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 89 is Ala.

[0383] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 89 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Ala.

[0384] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 89 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 160 is Gly. In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Ala.

[0385] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Leu.

[0386] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Phe.

[0387] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 89 is Ala, Vai, or Leu.

[0388] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Ala, Vai, Leu, or Phe.

[0389] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 217 is Gly.

[0390] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 160 is Gly.

[0391] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 250 is Ser.

[0392] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 328 is Gly, or Ala.

[0393] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which:

[0394] The amino acid corresponding to position 129 and / or position 130 is deleted.

[0395] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which:

[0396] The amino acid corresponding to position 130 and / or position 131 is deleted.

[0397] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: The amino acid corresponding to position 170 and / or position 182 is deleted.

[0398] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which:

[0399] The amino acid corresponding to position 174 and / or position 180 is deleted.

[0400] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 89 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Leu.

[0401] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 89 is Leu, and the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Leu.

[0402] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 85 is Leu, and the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Leu.

[0403] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 85 is Leu, and the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Vai.

[0404] In a particularly preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Vai, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Thr, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Leu.

[0405] In another particularly preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Leu, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Thr, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Leu.

[0406] In another particularly preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Leu, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Vai, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Leu.

[0407] In another particularly preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Leu, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Leu. In another particularly preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 71 is Asn, the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Phe, and the amino acid corresponding to position 96 is Thr, and the amino acid corresponding to position 128 is Gly.

[0408] In another particularly preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue therof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 71 is Asn, the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Leu, and the amino acid corresponding to position 96 is Thr, and the amino acid corresponding to position 128 is Gly.

[0409] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue thereof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, Cys, Asp, Glu, Gly, His, lie, Met, Asn, Pro, Gin, Ser, Thr, or Vai, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Leu, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Thr, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Leu.

[0410] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue thereof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Leu, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Thr, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Leu.

[0411] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue thereof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Cys, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Leu, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Thr, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Leu.

[0412] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue thereof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Asp, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Leu, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Thr, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Leu.

[0413] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue thereof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Glu, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Leu, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Thr, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Leu.

[0414] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue thereof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Gly, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Leu, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Thr, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Leu.

[0415] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue thereof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is His, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Leu, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Thr, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Leu.

[0416] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue thereof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is lie, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Leu, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Thr, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Leu.

[0417] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue thereof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Met, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Leu, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Thr, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Leu.

[0418] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue thereof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Asn, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Leu, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Thr, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Leu.

[0419] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue thereof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Pro, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Leu, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Thr, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Leu.

[0420] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue thereof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Gin, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Leu, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Thr, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Leu.

[0421] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue thereof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ser, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Leu, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Thr, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Leu.

[0422] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue thereof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Thr, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Leu, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Thr, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Leu.

[0423] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue thereof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Vai, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Leu, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Thr, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Leu.

[0424] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue thereof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Ala, Cys, Glu, Phe, Gly, His, lie, Lys, Met, Asn, Gin, Arg, Ser, Thr, Vai, or Trp, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Thr, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Leu.

[0425] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue thereof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Thr, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Leu.

[0426] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue thereof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Cys, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Thr, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Leu.

[0427] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue thereof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Glu, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Thr, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Leu.

[0428] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue thereof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Phe, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Thr, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Leu.

[0429] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue thereof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Gly, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Thr, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Leu.

[0430] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue thereof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is His, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Thr, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Leu.

[0431] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue thereof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is lie, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Thr, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Leu.

[0432] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue thereof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Lys, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Thr, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Leu.

[0433] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue thereof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Met, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Thr, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Leu.

[0434] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue thereof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Asn, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Thr, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Leu.

[0435] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue thereof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Gin, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Thr, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Leu.

[0436] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue thereof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Arg, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Thr, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Leu.

[0437] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue thereof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Ser, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Thr, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Leu.

[0438] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue thereof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Thr, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Thr, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Leu.

[0439] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue thereof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Vai, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Thr, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Leu.

[0440] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue thereof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Trp, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Thr, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Leu.

[0441] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue thereof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Leu, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Ala, Cys, Gly, His, lie, Lys, Leu, Asn, Pro, Gin, Ser, Vai, Tyr, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Leu.

[0442] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue thereof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Leu, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Leu.

[0443] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue thereof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Leu, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Cys, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Leu.

[0444] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue thereof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Leu, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Gly, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Leu.

[0445] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue thereof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Leu, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is His, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Leu.

[0446] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue thereof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Leu, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is lie, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Leu.

[0447] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue thereof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Leu, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Lys, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Leu.

[0448] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue thereof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Leu, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Leu, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Leu.

[0449] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue thereof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Leu, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Asn, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Leu.

[0450] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue thereof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Leu, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Pro, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Leu.

[0451] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue thereof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Leu, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Gin, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Leu.

[0452] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue thereof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Leu, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Ser, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Leu.

[0453] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue thereof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Leu, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Vai, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Leu.

[0454] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue thereof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Leu, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Tyr, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Leu.

[0455] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue thereof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Leu, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Thr, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Ala, Cys, Glu, Gly, His, lie, Lys, Met, Asn, Gin, Arg, Ser, Thr, Vai, Trp, Tyr.

[0456] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue thereof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Leu, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Thr, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Ala.

[0457] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue thereof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Leu, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Thr, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Cys.

[0458] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue thereof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Leu, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Thr, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Glu.

[0459] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue thereof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Leu, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Thr, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Gly.

[0460] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue thereof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Leu, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Thr, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is His.

[0461] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue thereof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Leu, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Thr, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is lie.

[0462] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue thereof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Leu, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Thr, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Lys.

[0463] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue thereof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Leu, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Thr, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Met.

[0464] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue thereof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Leu, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Thr, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Asn.

[0465] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue thereof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Leu, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Thr, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Gin.

[0466] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue thereof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Leu, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Thr, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Arg.

[0467] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue thereof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Leu, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Thr, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Ser.

[0468] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue thereof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Leu, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Thr, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Thr.

[0469] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue thereof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Leu, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Thr, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Vai.

[0470] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue thereof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Leu, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Thr, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Trp.

[0471] In another preferred embodiment, the mutated TriA comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 a variant, derivative, orthologue, paralogue of homologue thereof, in which: the amino acid corresponding to position 92 is Ala, and the amino acid corresponding to position 93 is Leu, and the amino acid corresponding to position 155 is Thr, and the amino acid corresponding to position 157 is Tyr

[0472] Furthermore, the inventors of the present invention have found that by substituting one or more amino acid residues of a cellulose synthase (CesA) having a sequence being a variant of SEQ ID NO: 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, or 115, e.g. by employing one of the above described methods to mutate the CesA encoding nucleic acids, the tolerance or resistance to particular herbicides could be remarkably increased. Preferred substitutions of mutated CesA are those that increase the herbicide tolerance of the plant, but leave the biological activitiy of the cellulose synthase activity substantially unaffected.

[0473] In a preferred embodiment, the CesA polypeptide useful for the present invention, comprises one or more of the following motifs: i) Motif 1a:

[0474] [V / I][A / V]G[V / I / F][S / T][Y / D / N / A]A[V / I / L][N / S / G][S / N]G[Y / F / E][Q / D / G / E / H][S / A]WG[P / A]L[F / M / L]G[K / R][L / V][F / L]F (SEQ ID NO: 131).

[0475] Preferably said motif is [V / I]AG[V / I]S[Y / D / N]A[V / I][N / S][S / N]G[Y / F][Q / D]SWGPL[F / M / L]G[K / R]L[F / L]F (motif 1b; SEQ ID NO: 132).

[0476] More preferably said motif is VAG[V / I]SYA[V / I]NSGYQSWGPL[F / M]GKL[F / L]F (motif 1c; SEQ ID NO:133) ii) Motif 2a:

[0477] [V / L / I]W[S / A][V / A / I]LL[A / S]S[I / F / V][F / L][S / T][L / V][L / M / V / I]WV[R / K][IA / ][N / D]PF (SEQ ID NO: 134) Preferably, said motif is

[0478] VW[S / A][V / A / I]LL[A / S]S[I / F][F / L][S / T][L / V][L / M]WV[R / K][I / V][N / D]PF (motif 2b; SEQ ID NO: 135); More preferably said motif is

[0479] VW[S / A][V / A / I]LLASIFSL[L / M]WV[R / K]I[N / D]PF (motif 2c; SEQ ID NO: 136)

[0480] Motifs 1a-c, 2a-c, given above were derived using the ClustalW algorithm to generate the alignments of cellulose synthase sequences (Figure 2 A - C) (Larkin et al., Bioinformatics 23:21 (2007) 2947 - 2948 pp. 28- 36,). The motifs were essentially derived based on sequence alignment; highly conserved regions were identified that contain the site of mutations conferring azine-herbicide tolerance. Residues within square brackets represent alternatives.

[0481] Preferably the motifs in a CESA polypeptide have, in increasing order of preference, at least 70%, 71%, 72%, 73%, 74%, 75%, 76%, 77%, 78%, 79%, 80%, 81%, 82%, 83%, 84%, 85%, 86%, 87%, 88%, 89%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, or 99% sequence identity to any one or more of the motifs represented by SEQ ID NO: 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, or 136. (Motifs 1a, 1b, 1c, 2a, 2b, 2c)

[0482] In another preferred embodiment, the variant or derivative of the CESA polypeptide refers to a CESA polypeptide comprising SEQ ID NO: 33, a orthologue, paralogue, or homologue thereof, wherein the amino acid sequence differs from the wildtype amino acid sequence of a CESA polypeptide at one or more positions corresponding to the following positions of SEQ ID NO:33: 998, 1009, 1010, 1013, 1052, 1055.

[0483] Examples of differences at these amino acid positions include, but are not limited to, one or more of the following: the amino acid at or corresponding to position 998 of SEQ ID NO: 33 is other than serine; the amino acid at or corresponding to position 1009 of SEQ ID NO: 33 is other than glycine; the amino acid at or corresponding to position 1010 of SEQ ID NO: 33 is other than proline; the amino acid at or corresponding to position 1013 of SEQ ID NO: 33 is other than glycine, the amino acid at or corresponding to position 1052 of SEQ ID NO: 33 is other than serine, the amino acid at or corresponding to position 1055 of SEQ ID NO: 33 is other than serine,

[0484] In some embodiments, the mutated CESA enzyme comprising SEQ ID NO:33, a orthologue, paralogue, or homologue thereof, comprises one or more of the following: the amino acid corresponding to position 998 of SEQ ID NO:33 is Arg,His,Lys,Asp,Glu,Thr,Asn,Gln,Cys,Gly,Pro,Ala,Val,Leu,lle,Met,Phe,Tyr, or Trp; the amino acid corresponding to position 1009 of SEQ ID NO:33 is

[0485] Arg,His,Lys,Asp,Glu,Ser,Thr,Asn,Gln,Cys,Pro,Ala,Val,Leu,lle,Met,Phe,Tyr, or Trp, the amino acid corresponding to position 1010 of SEQ ID NO:33 is

[0486] Arg,His,Lys,Asp,Glu,Ser,Thr,Asn,Gln,Cys,Gly,Ala,Val,Leu,lle,Met,Phe,Tyr, or Trp, the amino acid corresponding to position 1013 of SEQ ID NO:33 is

[0487] Arg,His,Lys,Asp,Glu,Ser,Thr,Asn,Gln,Cys,Pro,Ala,Val,Leu,lle,Met,Phe,Tyr, or Trp, the amino acid corresponding to position 1052 of SEQ ID NO:33 is

[0488] Arg,His,Lys,Asp,Glu,Thr,Asn,Gln,Cys,Gly,Pro,Ala,Val,Leu,lle,Met,Phe,Tyr, or Trp, the amino acid corresponding to position 1055 of SEQ ID NO:33 is Arg,His,Lys,Asp,Glu,Thr,Asn,Gln,Cys,Gly,Pro,Ala,Val,Leu,lle,Met,Phe,Tyr, or Trp.

[0489] In a preferred embodiment, the amino acid corresponding to position 1009 of SEQ ID NO: 1 is Asp.

[0490] In another preferred embodiment, the amino acid corresponding to position 1010 of SEQ ID NO: 33 is Leu. In another preferred embodiment, the amino acid corresponding to position 1013 of SEQ ID NO: 33 is Arg.

[0491] In another preferred embodiment, the amino acid corresponding to position 983 of SEQ ID NO: 35 is Phe. In another preferred embodiment, the amino acid corresponding to position 1037 of SEQ ID NO: 35 is Phe.

[0492] In another preferred embodiment, the amino acid corresponding to position 1040 of SEQ ID NO: 35 is Leu.

[0493] It will be within the knowledge of the skilled artisan to identify conserved regions and motifs shared between the homologues, orthologues and paralogues encoded by SEQ ID NO: 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, Having identified such conserved regions that may represent suitable binding motifs, amino acids corresponding to the amino acids listed below in Table 2, can be chosen to be subsituted by any other amino acid, for example by conserved amino acids, preferably by the amino acid substitutions described SUPRA using SEQ ID NO:33 as reference.

[0494] Table 2 provides an overview of positions in the orthologues and homologues to SEQ ID NO:33, i.e. the corresponding positions in SEQ ID NOs: 33 to 96.

[0495] Table 2

[0496] Thus, in another preferred embodiment, the variant or derivative of the CESA polypeptide refers to a mutated CESA polypeptide which comprises one or more of the following motifs: i) Motif 3a:

[0497] L[C / G / M / S][F / V / L / I]F[L / F][Q / H / R]YR[T / V / C / I][T / S / M / L][H / N]P[V / A][K / N / P / R / T / E][N / D]A[Y / F][P / G / A / T] LWL[T / V / I / L]SVICE[I / V]WFA[F / L / I / V / M]SW (SEQ ID NO: 137).

[0498] Preferably said motif is

[0499] L[C / G / M / S][F / V / L / I]F[L / F][Q / H]YR[T / V / C / I][T / S / L][H / N]PV[K / N / P / R / T / E][N / D]A[Y / F][P / G / A / T]LWL|T /

[0500] V / I / L]SVICE[I / V]WFA[F / L / I / V]SW

[0501] (motif 3b; SEQ ID NO: 138).

[0502] More preferably said motif is

[0503] L[C / G / M][F / V]F[L / F][Q / H]YR[T / V / C / I][T / S]HPV[K / N / R / E][N / D]AY[P / G / A]LWL[T / V]SVICE[I / V]WFA[F /

[0504] L]SW

[0505] (motif 3c; SEQ ID NO:139)

[0506] Wherein the amino acid at position 8, and / or 23 within said motif of the corresponding wildtype sequence is substituted by any other amino acid ii) Motif 4a:

[0507] YC[I / T / V / M / S / A]LPA[F / V / I]CL[I / L / F]T[D / N / G][R / K / T / Q]FI[I / V / T]P[E / A / Q / K][I / L][S / N / T]N[Y / F / L / I / A][A / E ][S / G][I / M / L / A / V][W / C / F / L / V / I]F[I / M / L / V][L / S][ L / S / A]F[I / V / A / L / S / M / G][S / C]I(SEQ ID NO: 140) Preferably, said motif is

[0508] YC[I / T / V / M]LPA[F / V / I]CL[I / L / F]T[D / N / G][R / K / T / Q]FIIP[E / A / Q / K]ISN[Y / F / L / I][A / E][S / G][I / M / L / A / V][W /

[0509] C / F]F[I / M / L][L / S]LF[I / V / A / L]SI (motif 4b; SEQ ID NO: 141);

[0510] More preferably said motif is

[0511] YC[I / T / V / M]LPA[F / V / I]CL[I / L]T[D / N / G][R / K / T]FIIP[E / A]ISN[Y / F / L]A[S / G][I / M / L / A][W / C / F]F[I / M]LLF[I /

[0512] V / A]SI (motif 4c; SEQ ID NO: 142)

[0513] Wherein the amino acid at position 4, 17, and / or 24 within said motif of the corresponding wildtype sequence is substituted by any other amino acid iii) Motif 5a:

[0514] VIGG[T / V / I / A]S[A / S]H[L / F][F / L]A[V / L][F / V][Q / L]G[L / I / M][L / F]KV[L / F / I]AG[I / V][D / N / S / E / K]T[N / S]F|T / I]

[0515] V[T / A]SK (SEQ ID NO: 143)

[0516] Preferably, said motif is

[0517] VIGG[T / V / I]SAHLFAVFQG[L / I]LKV[L / F]AGIDT[N / S]FTVTSK (motif 5b; SEQ ID NO: 144);

[0518] More preferably said motif is

[0519] VIGGTSAHLFAVFQGLLKV[L / F]AGIDTNFTVTSK (motif 5c; SEQ ID NO: 145)

[0520] Wherein the amino acid at position 1, 3, 18, and / or 28 within said motif of the corresponding wildtype sequence is substituted by any other amino acid iv) Motif 6a:

[0521] A[V / I][N / S][S / N]G[Y / F][Q / D / E]SWGPL[F / M / L]G[K / R]L[F / L]F[A / S][L / I / F]WV[I / V][A / V / I / L]HLYPFLKG[L

[0522] / M / V][L / M / V(I]G (SEQ ID NO: 146)

[0523] Preferably, said motif is

[0524] A[V / I]NSGYQSWGPL[F / M]GKL[F / L]F[A / S][L / I / F]WV[I / V][A / V / I / L]H LYPFLKGL[L / M]G (motif 6b; SEQ ID NO: 147);

[0525] More preferably said motif is

[0526] A[V / I]N SGYQS WGPL[F / M]GK L[F / L]F[A / S][L / I / F]WV[I / V][A / V / L]H LYPFLKGL[L / M]G (motif 6c; SEQ ID NO: 148) Wherein the amino acid at position 9, 12, 13, 15, 19, and / or 24 within said motif of the corresponding wildtype sequence is substituted by any other amino acid v) Motif 7a:

[0527] [G / A][I / M / V][V / I][A / S / V]G[V / I / F]S[Y / T / D / N]A[V / I][N / S][S / N]G[Y / F] (SEQ ID NO: 149)

[0528] Preferably, said motif is

[0529] G[I / MA / ]V[A / S]G[V / I / F]S[Y / T]A[V / I]NSGY (motif 7b; SEQ ID NO: 150);

[0530] More preferably said motif is

[0531] GWAG[V / I / F]SYAINSGY (motif 7c; SEQ ID NO: 151)

[0532] Wherein the amino acid at position 8 within said motif of the corresponding wildtype sequence is substituted by any other amino acid vi) Motif 8a:

[0533] [V / I][I / V / L]VW[S / A][V / I / A]L[L / I][A / S]S[I / F][F / L][S / T][L / V][L / M]WV[R / K][I / V][N / D]PF (SEQ ID NO: 152) Preferably, said motif is

[0534] V[I / V]VW[S / A][V / I / A]LLASIFSL[L / M]WV[R / K]I[N / D]PF (motif 8b; SEQ ID NO: 153);

[0535] More preferably said motif is

[0536] VWW[S / A][V / I]LLASIFSL[L / M]WVRIDPF (motif 8c; SEQ ID NO: 154)

[0537] Wherein the amino acid at position 9, 11, 12, and / or 14 within said motif of the corresponding wildtype sequence is substituted by any other amino acid vii) Motif 9a:

[0538] EI[L / F][L / F / M]S[R / K / N]HCP[I / L]WYGY[H / T / N / S / G][G / C][R / K / G]L (SEQ ID NO: 155)

[0539] Preferably, said motif is

[0540] EI[L / F][L / F]SRHCP[I / L]WYGY[H / T / N / S / G][G / C][R / K / G]L (motif 9b; SEQ ID NO: 156);

[0541] More preferably said motif is

[0542] EILFSRHCP[I / L]WYGY[N / S / G]GRL (motif 9c; SEQ ID NO: 157)

[0543] Wherein the amino acid at position 5, 13, 15, and / or 16 within said motif of the corresponding wildtype sequence is substituted by any other amino acid viii) Motif 10a:

[0544] [F / L]KWT[A / S / T]LLI[P / T]P[T / M / L]T[V / I / L]L (SEQ ID NO: 158)

[0545] Preferably, said motif is

[0546] FKWT[A / S / T]LLIPPTT[V / I / L]L (motif 10b; SEQ ID NO: 159);

[0547] More preferably said motif is

[0548] FKWT[A / S / T]LLIPPTT[V / I]L (motif 10c; SEQ ID NO: 160)

[0549] Wherein the amino acid at position 10 within said motif of the corresponding wildtype sequence is substituted by any other amino acid

[0550] In another embodiment, the variant or derivative of the CESA polypeptide refers to a CESA polypeptide comprising SEQ ID NO: 33, a orthologue, paralogue, or homologue thereof, wherein the amino acid sequence differs from the wildtype amino acid sequence of a CESA polypeptide at one or more positions corresponding to the following positions of SEQ ID NO:33:

[0551] 292,297, 307,872,892,945,1008,1011,1012,1014,1018,1023, 1031. Examples of differences at these amino acid positions include, but are not limited to, one or more of the following: the amino acid at or corresponding to position 292 is other than arginine; the amino acid at or corresponding to position 297 is other than valine; the amino acid at or corresponding to position 307 is other than serine; the amino acid at or corresponding to position 872 is other than leucine; the amino acid at or corresponding to position 892 is other than serine, the amino acid at or corresponding to position 945 is other than lysine, the amino acid at or corresponding to position 1008 is other than tryptophan, the amino acid at or corresponding to position 1011 is other than leucine; the amino acid at or corresponding to position 1012 is other than phenylalanine; the amino acid at or corresponding to position 1014 is other than lysine; the amino acid at or corresponding to position 1018 is other than alanine, the amino acid at or corresponding to position 1023 is other than alanine, the amino acid at or corresponding to position 1031 is other than glycine;

[0552] In some embodiments, the mutated CESA enzyme comprising SEQ ID NO: 33, a orthologue, paralogue, or homologue thereof, comprises one or more of the following: the amino acid at or corresponding to position 292 is Ala, Asn, Asp, Cys, Gin, Glu, Gly, His, lie, Leu, Lys, Met, Phe, Pro, Ser, Thr, Trp, Tyr, or Vai; the amino acid at or corresponding to position 297 is Ala, Asn, Asp, Cys, Gin, Glu, Gly, His, lie, Leu, Lys, Met, Phe, Pro, Ser, Thr, Trp, Tyr, or Arg; the amino acid at or corresponding to position 307 is Ala, Arg, Asn, Asp, Cys, Gin, Glu, Gly, His, lie, Leu, Lys, Met, Phe, Pro, Thr, Trp, Tyr, or Vai; the amino acid at or corresponding to position 872 is Ala, Arg, Asn, Asp, Cys, Gin, Glu, Gly, His, lie, Lys, Met, Phe, Pro, Ser, Thr, Trp, Tyr, or Vai; the amino acid at or corresponding to position 892 is Ala, Arg, Asn, Asp, Cys, Gin, Glu, Gly, His, lie, Leu, Lys, Met, Phe, Pro, Thr, Trp, Tyr, or Vai; the amino acid at or corresponding to position 945 is Ala, Arg, Asn, Asp, Cys, Gin, Glu, Gly, His, lie, Leu, Met, Phe, Pro, Ser, Thr, Trp, Tyr, or Vai; the amino acid at or corresponding to position 1008 is Ala, Arg, Asn, Asp, Cys, Gin, Glu, Gly, His, lie, Leu, Lys, Met, Phe, Pro, Ser, Thr, Tyr, or Vai; the amino acid at or corresponding to position 1011 is Ala, Arg, Asn, Asp, Cys, Gin, Glu, Gly, His, lie, Lys, Met, Phe, Pro, Ser, Thr, Trp, Tyr, or Vai; the amino acid at or corresponding to position 1012 is Ala, Arg, Asn, Asp, Cys, Gin, Glu, Gly, His, lie, Leu, Lys, Met, Pro, Ser, Thr, Trp, Tyr, or Vai; the amino acid at or corresponding to position 1014 is Ala, Arg, Asn, Asp, Cys, Gin, Glu, Gly, His, lie, Leu, Met, Phe, Pro, Ser, Thr, Trp, Tyr, or Vai; the amino acid at or corresponding to position 1018 is Arg, Asn, Asp, Cys, Gin, Glu, Gly, His, lie, Leu, Lys, Met, Phe, Pro, Ser, Thr, Trp, Tyr, or Vai; the amino acid at or corresponding to position 1023 is Arg, Asn, Asp, Cys, Gin, Glu, Gly, His, lie, Leu, Lys, Met, Phe, Pro, Ser, Thr, Trp, Tyr, or Vai; the amino acid at or corresponding to position 1031 is Arg, Asn, Asp, Cys, Gin, Glu, Ala, His, lie, Leu, Lys, Met, Phe, Pro, Ser, Thr, Trp, Tyr, or Vai; In a preferred embodiment, the amino acid at or corresponding to position 292 of SEQ ID NO: 33 is His.

[0553] In a preferred embodiment, the amino acid at or corresponding to position 297 of SEQ ID NO: 33 is Met.

[0554] In another preferred embodiment, the amino acid at or corresponding to position 307 of SEQ ID NO: 33 is Leu,

[0555] In another preferred embodiment, the amino acid at or corresponding to position 872 of SEQ ID NO: 33 is Phe,

[0556] In another preferred embodiment, the amino acid at or corresponding to position 892 of SEQ ID NO: 33 is Asn,

[0557] In another preferred embodiment, the amino acid at or corresponding to position 945 of SEQ ID NO: 33 is Arg,

[0558] In another preferred embodiment, the amino acid at or corresponding to position 1008 of SEQ ID NO: 33 is Phe or Ala

[0559] In another preferred embodiment, the amino acid at or corresponding to position 1011 of SEQ ID NO: 33 is Phe or Ala;

[0560] In another preferred embodiment, the amino acid at or corresponding to position 1012 of SEQ ID NO: 33 is Leu or Tyr;

[0561] In another preferred embodiment, the amino acid at or corresponding to position 1014 of SEQ ID NO: 33 is Arg, or Gin;

[0562] In another preferred embodiment, the amino acid at or corresponding to position 1018 of SEQ ID NO: 33 is Vai;

[0563] In another preferred embodiment, the amino acid at or corresponding to position 1023 of SEQ ID NO: 33 is Thr.

[0564] In another preferred embodiment, the amino acid at or corresponding to position 1031 of SEQ ID NO: 33 is Arg.

[0565] In another embodiment, the variant or derivative of the CESA polypeptide refers to a CESA polypeptide comprising SEQ ID NO: 35, a orthologue, paralogue, or homologue thereof, wherein the amino acid sequence differs from the wildtype amino acid sequence of a CESA polypeptide at one or more positions corresponding to the following positions of SEQ ID NO:35:

[0566] 984,1036,1038,1039,1041.

[0567] Examples of differences at these amino acid positions include, but are not limited to, one or more of the following: the amino acid at or corresponding to position 984 is other than tyrosine; the amino acid at or corresponding to position 1036 is other than alanine; the amino acid at or corresponding to position 1038 is other than isoleucine; the amino acid at or corresponding to position 1039 is other than phenylalanine, the amino acid at or corresponding to position 1041 is other than Leucine,

[0568] In some embodiments, the mutated CESA enzyme comprising SEQ ID NO: 35, a orthologue, paralogue, or homologue thereof, comprises one or more of the following: the amino acid at or corresponding to position 984 is Ala, Arg, Asn, Asp, Cys, Gin, Glu, Gly, His, lie, Leu, Lys, Met, Phe, Pro, Ser, Thr, Trp, or Vai the amino acid at or corresponding to position 1036 is Arg, Asn, Asp, Cys, Gin, Glu, Gly, His, lie, Leu, Lys, Met, Phe, Pro, Ser, Thr, Trp, Tyr, or Vai the amino acid at or corresponding to position 1038 is Ala, Arg, Asn, Asp, Cys, Gin, Glu, Gly, His, Leu, Lys, Met, Phe, Pro, Ser, Thr, Trp, Tyr, or Vai the amino acid at or corresponding to position 1039 is Ala, Arg, Asn, Asp, Cys, Gin, Glu, Gly, His, lie, Leu, Lys, Met, Pro, Ser, Thr, Trp, Tyr, Vai the amino acid at or corresponding to position 1041 is Ala, Arg, Asn, Asp, Cys, Gin, Glu, Gly, His, lie, Lys, Met, Phe, Pro, Ser, Thr, Trp, Tyr, Vai

[0569] In a preferred embodiment, the amino acid at or corresponding to position 984 of SEQ ID NO: 35 is Asp,

[0570] In another preferred embodiment, the amino acid at or corresponding to position 1036 of SEQ ID NO: 35 is Leu or Phe

[0571] In another preferred embodiment, the amino acid at or corresponding to position 1038 of SEQ ID NO: 35 is Ala, or Phe,

[0572] In another preferred embodiment, the amino acid at or corresponding to position 1039 of SEQ ID NO: 35 is Leu, n another preferred embodiment, the amino acid at or corresponding to position 1041 of SEQ ID NO: 35 is Ala, or Phe,

[0573] In another embodiment, the variant or derivative of the CESA polypeptide refers to a CESA polypeptide comprising SEQ ID NO: 33, a orthologue, paralogue, or homologue thereof, wherein the amino acid sequence differs from the wildtype amino acid sequence of a CESA polypeptide at one or more positions corresponding to the following positions of SEQ ID NO:33: 832, 840, 842, 843, 885, 928, 930, 957, 982.

[0574] Examples of differences at these amino acid positions include, but are not limited to, one or more of the following: the amino acid at or corresponding to position 832 is other than serine; the amino acid at or corresponding to position 840 is other than glycine; the amino acid at or corresponding to position 842 is other than histidine; the amino acid at or corresponding to position 843 is other than glycine, the amino acid at or corresponding to position 885 is other than proline, the amino acid at or corresponding to position 928 is other than valine, the amino acid at or corresponding to position 930, is other than glycine; the amino acid at or corresponding to position 957 is other than threonine; the amino acid at or corresponding to position 982 is other than proline;

[0575] In some embodiments, the mutated CESA enzyme comprising SEQ ID NO: 33, a orthologue, paralogue, or homologue thereof, comprises one or more of the following: the amino acid at or corresponding to position 832 is Ala, Arg, Asn, Asp, Cys, Gin, Glu, Gly, His, lie, Leu, Lys, Met, Phe, Pro, Thr, Trp, Tyr, or Vai the amino acid at or corresponding to position 840 is Ala, Arg, Asn, Asp, Cys, Gin, Glu, His, lie, Leu, Lys, Met, Phe, Pro, Ser, Thr, Trp, Tyr, or Vai the amino acid at or corresponding to position 842 is Ala, Arg, Asn, Asp, Cys, Gin, Glu, Gly, lie, Leu, Lys, Met, Phe, Pro, Ser, Thr, Trp, Tyr, or Vai the amino acid at or corresponding to position 843 is Ala, Arg, Asn, Asp, Cys, Gin, Glu, His, lie, Leu, Lys, Met, Phe, Pro, Ser, Thr, Trp, Tyr, or Vai the amino acid at or corresponding to position 885 is Ala, Arg, Asn, Asp, Cys, Gin, Glu, Gly, His, lie, Leu, Lys, Met, Phe, Ser, Thr, Trp, Tyr, or Vai the amino acid at or corresponding to position 928 is Ala, Arg, Asn, Asp, Cys, Gin, Glu, Gly, His, lie, Leu, Lys, Met, Phe, Pro, Ser, Thr, Trp, or Tyr, the amino acid at or corresponding to position 930, is Ala, Arg, Asn, Asp, Cys, Gin, Glu, His, lie, Leu, Lys, Met, Phe, Pro, Ser, Thr, Trp, Tyr, or Vai the amino acid at or corresponding to position 957 is Ala, Arg, Asn, Asp, Cys, Gin, Glu, Gly, His, lie, Leu, Lys, Met, Phe, Pro, Ser, Trp, Tyr, or Vai the amino acid at or corresponding to position 982 is Ala, Arg, Asn, Asp, Cys, Gin, Glu, Gly, His, lie, Leu, Lys, Met, Phe, Ser, Thr, Trp, Tyr, or Vai

[0576] In a preferred embodiment, the amino acid at or corresponding to position 832 of SEQ ID NO: 33 is Asn,

[0577] In another preferred embodiment, the amino acid at or corresponding to position 840 of SEQ ID NO: 33 is Asp,

[0578] In another preferred embodiment, the amino acid at or corresponding to position 842 of SEQ ID NO: 33 is Glu,

[0579] In another preferred embodiment, the amino acid at or corresponding to position 843 of SEQ ID NO: 33 is Glu,

[0580] In another preferred embodiment, the amino acid at or corresponding to position 885 of SEQ ID NO: 33 Ser,

[0581] In another preferred embodiment, the amino acid at or corresponding to position 928 of SEQ ID NO: 33 is lie,

[0582] In another preferred embodiment, he amino acid at or corresponding to position 930 of SEQ ID NO: 33 is Asp,

[0583] In another preferred embodiment, the amino acid at or corresponding to position 957 of SEQ ID NO: 33 is lie,

[0584] In another preferred embodiment, the amino acid at or corresponding to position 982 of SEQ ID NO: 33 is Ser,

[0585] In another embodiment, the variant or derivative of the CESA polypeptide refers to a CESA polypeptide comprising SEQ ID NO: 83, a orthologue, paralogue, or homologue thereof, wherein the amino acid sequence differs from the wildtype amino acid sequence of a CESA polypeptide at or corresponding to the position 1066 of SEQ ID NO:83.

[0586] Examples of differences at these amino acid positions include, but are not limited to, one or more of the following: the amino acid at or corresponding to position 1066 of SEQ ID NO:83 is other than alanine;

[0587] In some embodiments, the mutated CESA enzyme comprising SEQ ID NO:83, a orthologue, paralogue, or homologue thereof, comprises one or more of the following the amino acid at or corresponding to position 1066 is Vai, Arg, Asn, Asp, Cys, Gin, Glu, Gly, His, lie, Leu, Lys, Met, Phe, Pro, Ser, Thr, Trp, or Tyr.

[0588] In a particularly preferred embodiment, the amino acid at or corresponding to position 1066 of SEQ ID NO:83 is Thr.

[0589] In another embodiment, the variant or derivative of the CESA polypeptide refers to a CESA polypeptide comprising SEQ ID NO: 87, a orthologue, paralogue, or homologue thereof, wherein the amino acid sequence differs from the wildtype amino acid sequence of a CESA polypeptide at or corresponding to the position 1022 of SEQ ID NO:87.

[0590] Examples of differences at these amino acid positions include, but are not limited to, one or more of the following: the amino acid at or corresponding to position 1022 of SEQ ID NO:87 is other than valine;

[0591] In some embodiments, the mutated CESA enzyme comprising SEQ ID NO:87, a orthologue, paralogue, or homologue thereof, comprises one or more of the following the amino acid at or corresponding to position 1022 is Ala, Arg, Asn, Asp, Cys, Gin, Glu, Gly, His, lie, Leu, Lys, Met, Phe, Pro, Ser, Thr, Trp, or Tyr.

[0592] In a particularly preferred embodiment, the amino acid at or corresponding to position 1022 of SEQ ID NO:87 is Leu.

[0593] It will be within the knowledge of the skilled artisan to identify conserved regions and motifs shared between the homologues, orthologues and paralogues of TriA or CesA polypeptides comprising SEQ ID NO: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, or 31, or 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, or 115. Having identified such conserved regions that may represent suitable binding motifs, amino acids can be chosen to be subsituted by any other amino acid.

[0594] In addition, the present invention refers to a method for identifying a diaminotriazine herbicide by using a herbicide tolerant CesA or TriA polypeptide as defined SUPRA.

[0595] Said method comprises the steps of: a) generating a transgenic cell or plant comprising a nucleic acid encoding a mutated CesA or TriA, wherein the mutated CesA or TriA is expressed; b) applying a diaminotriazine herbicide to the transgenic cell or plant of a) and to a control cell or plant of the same variety; c) determining the growth or the viability of the transgenic cell or plant and the control cell or plant after application of said diaminotriazine herbicide, and d) selecting “diaminotriazine herbicides” which confer reduced growth to the control cell or plant as compared to the growth of the transgenic cell or plant.

[0596] By “control cell” or "similar, wild-type, plant, plant tissue, plant cell or host cell" is intended a plant, plant tissue, plant cell, or host cell, respectively, that lacks the herbicide-resistance characteristics and / or particular polynucleotide of the invention that are disclosed herein. The use of the term "wild-type" is not, therefore, intended to imply that a plant, plant tissue, plant cell, or other host cell lacks recombinant DNA in its genome, and / or does not possess herbicide-resistant characteristics that are different from those disclosed herein.

[0597] Another object refers to a method of identifying a nucleotide sequence encoding a mutated CesA or TriA which is resistant or tolerant to a diaminotriazine herbicide, the method comprising: a) generating a library of mutated CesA or TriA-encoding nucleic acids, b) screening a population of the resulting mutated CesA or TriA-encoding nucleic acids by expressing each of said nucleic acids in a cell or plant and treating said cell or plant with a diaminotriazine herbicide, c) comparing the diaminotriazine herbicide-tolerance levels provided by said population of mutated CesA or TriA encoding nucleic acids with the diaminotriazine herbicide-tolerance level provided by a control CesA or TriA-encoding nucleic acid, d) selecting at least one mutated CesA or TriA-encoding nucleic acid that provides a significantly increased level of tolerance to a diaminotriazine herbicide as compared to that provided by the control CesA or TriA- encoding nucleic acid.

[0598] In a preferred embodiment, the mutated CesA or TriA-encoding nucleic acid selected in step d) provides at least 2-fold as much resistance or tolerance of a cell or plant to a diaminotriazine herbicide as compared to that provided by the control CesA or TriA-encoding nucleic acid.

[0599] In a further preferred embodiment, the mutated CesA or TriA-encoding nucleic acid selected in step d) provides at least 2-fold, at least 5-fold, at least 10-fold, at least 20-fold, at least 50-fold, at least 100-fold, at least 500-fold, as much resistance or tolerance of a cell or plant to a diaminotriazine herbicide as compared to that provided by the control CesA or TriA-encoding nucleic acid.

[0600] The resistance or tolerance can be determined by generating a transgenic plant or host cell, preferably a plant cell, comprising a nucleic acid sequence of the library of step a) and comparing said transgenic plant with a control plant or host cell, preferably a plant cell.

[0601] Another object refers to a method of identifying a plant or algae containing a nucleic acid comprising a nucleotide sequence encoding a wild-type or mutated CesA or TriA which is resistant or tolerant to a diaminotriazine herbicide, the method comprising: a) identifying an effective amount of a diaminotriazine herbicide in a culture of plant cells or green algae that leads to death of said cells. b) treating said plant cells or green algae with a mutagenizing agent, c) contacting said mutagenized cells population with an effective amount of diaminotriazine herbicide, identified in a), d) selecting at least one cell surviving these test conditions, e) PCR-amplification and sequencing of CesA or TriA genes from cells selected in d) and comparing such sequences to wild-type CesA or TriA gene sequences, respectively.

[0602] In a preferred embodiment, said mutagenizing agent is ethylmethanesulfonate (EMS).

[0603] Many methods well known to the skilled artisan are available for obtaining suitable candidate nucleic acids for identifying a nucleotide sequence encoding a mutated CesA or TriA from a variety of different potential source organisms including microbes, plants, fungi, algae, mixed cultures etc. as well as environmental sources of DNA such as soil. These methods include inter alia the preparation of cDNA or genomic DNA libraries, the use of suitably degenerate oligonucleotide primers, the use of probes based upon known sequences or complementation assays (for example, for growth upon tyrosine) as well as the use of mutagenesis and shuffling in order to provide recombined or shuffled mutated CesA or TriA-encoding sequences.

[0604] Nucleic acids comprising candidate and control CesA or TriA encoding sequences can be expressed in yeast, in a bacterial host strain, in an alga or in a higher plant such as tobacco or Arabidopsis and the relative levels of inherent tolerance of the CesA or TriA encoding sequences screened according to a visible indicator phenotype of the transformed strain or plant in the presence of different concentrations of the selected diaminotriazine herbicide. Dose responses and relative shifts in dose responses associated with these indicator phenotypes (formation of brown color, growth inhibition, herbicidal effect etc) are conveniently expressed in terms, for example, of GR50 (concentration for 50% reduction of growth) or MIC (minimum inhibitory concentration) values where increases in values correspond to increases in inherent tolerance of the expressed CesA or TriA. For example, in a relatively rapid assay system based upon transformation of a bacterium such as E. coli, each mutated CesA or TriA encoding sequence may be expressed, for example, as a DNA sequence under expression control of a controllable promoter such as the lacZ promoter and taking suitable account, for example by the use of synthetic DNA, of such issues as codon usage in order to obtain as comparable a level of expression as possible of different CesA or TriA sequences. Such strains expressing nucleic acids comprising alternative candidate CesA or TriA sequences may be plated out on different concentrations of the selected diaminotriazine herbicide in, optionally, a tyrosine supplemented medium and the relative levels of inherent tolerance of the expressed CesA or TriA enzymes estimated on the basis of the extent and MIC for inhibition of the formation of the brown, ochronotic pigment.

[0605] In another embodiment, candidate nucleic acids are transformed into plant material to generate a transgenic plant, regenerated into morphologically normal fertile plants which are then measured for differential tolerance to selected diaminotriazine herbicides as described in the Example section hereinafter. Many suitable methods for transformation using suitable selection markers such as kanamycin, binary vectors such as from Agrobacterium and plant regeneration as, for example, from tobacco leaf discs are well known in the art. Optionally, a control population of plants is likewise transformed with a nucleic acid expressing the control CesA or TriA. Alternatively, an untransformed dicot plant such as Arabidopsis or Tobacco can be used as a control since this, in any case, expresses its own endogenous CesA or TriA. The average, and distribution, of herbicide tolerance levels of a range of primary plant transformation events or their progeny to diaminotriazine herbicides described supra are evaluated in the normal manner based upon plant damage, meristematic bleaching symptoms etc. at a range of different concentrations of herbicides. These data can be expressed in terms of, for example, GR50 values derived from dose / response curves having "dose" plotted on the x-axis and "percentage kill", "herbicidal effect", "numbers of emerging green plants" etc. plotted on the y-axis where increased GR50 values correspond to increased levels of inherent tolerance of the expressed CesA or TriA. Herbicides can suitably be applied preemergence or post-emergence.

[0606] In another embodiment, the invention refers to a plant cell transformed by a nucleic acid encoding a herbicide tolerant CesA or TriA polypeptide disclosed herein or to a plant cell which has been mutated to obtain a plant expressing a nucleic acid encoding a mutated CesA or TriA polypeptide according to the present invention, wherein expression of the nucleic acid in the plant cell results in increased resistance or tolerance to a diaminotriazine herbicide as compared to a wild type variety of the plant cell.

[0607] The term “expression / expressing” or “gene expression” means the transcription of a specific gene or specific genes or specific genetic construct. The term “expression” or “gene expression” in particular means the transcription of a gene or genes or genetic construct into structural RNA (rRNA, tRNA) or mRNA with or without subsequent translation of the latter into a protein. The process includes transcription of DNA and processing of the resulting mRNA product.

[0608] To obtain the desired effect, i.e. plants that are tolerant or resistant to the diaminotriazine herbicide derivative herbicide of the present invention, it will be understood that the at least one nucleic acid is “over-expressed” by methods and means known to the person skilled in the art.

[0609] The term “increased expression” or “overexpression” as used herein means any form of expression that is additional to the original wild-type expression level. Methods for increasing expression of genes or gene products are well documented in the art and include, for example, overexpression driven by appropriate promoters, the use of transcription enhancers or translation enhancers. Isolated nucleic acids which serve as promoter or enhancer elements may be introduced in an appropriate position (typically upstream) of a non- heterologous form of a polynucleotide so as to upregulate expression of a nucleic acid encoding the polypeptide of interest. For example, endogenous promoters may be altered in vivo by mutation, deletion, and / or substitution (see, Kmiec, US 5,565,350; Zarling et al., WO9322443), or isolated promoters may be introduced into a plant cell in the proper orientation and distance from a gene of the present invention so as to control the expression of the gene.

[0610] If polypeptide expression is desired, it is generally desirable to include a polyadenylation region at the 3'-end of a polynucleotide coding region. The polyadenylation region can be derived from the natural gene, from a variety of other plant genes, or from T-DNA. The 3' end sequence to be added may be derived from, for example, the nopaline synthase or octopine synthase genes, or alternatively from another plant gene, or less preferably from any other eukaryotic gene.

[0611] An intron sequence may also be added to the 5' untranslated region (UTR) or the coding sequence of the partial coding sequence to increase the amount of the mature message that accumulates in the cytosol. Inclusion of a spliceable intron in the transcription unit in both plant and animal expression constructs has been shown to increase gene expression at both the mRNA and protein levels up to 1000-fold (Buchman and Berg (1988) Mol. Cell biol. 8: 4395-4405; Callis et al. (1987) Genes Dev 1 :1183-1200). Such intron enhancement of gene expression is typically greatest when placed near the 5' end of the transcription unit. Use of the maize introns Adh1-S intron 1, 2, and 6, the Bronze-1 intron are known in the art. For general information see: The Maize Handbook, Chapter 116, Freeling and Walbot, Eds., Springer, N.Y. (1994)

[0612] The term “introduction” or “transformation” as referred to herein encompasses the transfer of an exogenous polynucleotide into a host cell, irrespective of the method used for transfer. Plant tissue capable of subsequent clonal propagation, whether by organogenesis or embryogenesis, may be transformed with a genetic construct of the present invention and a whole plant regenerated there from. The particular tissue chosen will vary depending on the clonal propagation systems available for, and best suited to, the particular species being transformed. Exemplary tissue targets include leaf disks, pollen, embryos, cotyledons, hypocotyls, megagametophytes, callus tissue, existing meristematic tissue (e.g., apical meristem, axillary buds, and root meristems), and induced meristem tissue (e.g., cotyledon meristem and hypocotyl meristem). The polynucleotide may be transiently or stably introduced into a host cell and may be maintained non-integrated, for example, as a plasmid. Alternatively, it may be integrated into the host genome. The resulting transformed plant cell may then be used to regenerate a transformed plant in a manner known to persons skilled in the art.

[0613] The transfer of foreign genes into the genome of a plant is called transformation. Transformation of plant species is now a fairly routine technique. Advantageously, any of several transformation methods may be used to introduce the gene of interest into a suitable ancestor cell. The methods described for the transformation and regeneration of plants from plant tissues or plant cells may be utilized for transient or for stable transformation. Transformation methods include the use of liposomes, electroporation, chemicals that increase free DNA uptake, injection of the DNA directly into the plant, particle gun bombardment, transforrmation using viruses or pollen and microprojection. Methods may be selected from the calcium / polyethylene glycol method for protoplasts (Krens, F.A. et al., (1982) Nature 296, 72-74; Negrutiu I et al. (1987) Plant Mol Biol 8: 363-373); electroporation of protoplasts (Shillito R.D. et al. (1985) Bio / Technol 3, 1099-1102); microinjection into plant material (Crossway A et al., (1986) Mol. Gen Genet 202: 179-185); DNA or RNA-coated particle bombardment (Klein TM et al., (1987) Nature 327: 70) infection with (non-integrative) viruses and the like. Transgenic plants, including transgenic crop plants, are preferably produced via Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. An advantageous transformation method is the transformation in planta. To this end, it is possible, for example, to allow the agrobacteria to act on plant seeds or to inoculate the plant meristem with agrobacteria. It has proved particularly expedient in accordance with the invention to allow a suspension of transformed agrobacteria to act on the intact plant or at least on the flower primordia. The plant is subsequently grown on until the seeds of the treated plant are obtained (Clough and Bent, Plant J. (1998) 16, 735-743). Methods for Agrobacterium- mediated transformation of rice include well known methods for rice transformation, such as those described in any of the following: European patent application EP 1198985 A1, Aldemita and Hodges (Planta 199: 612-617, 1996); Chan et al. (Plant Mol Biol 22 (3): 491-506, 1993), Hiei et al. (Plant J 6 (2): 271-282, 1994), which disclosures are incorporated by reference herein as if fully set forth. In the case of corn transformation, the preferred method is as described in either Ishida et al. (Nat. Biotechnol 14(6): 745-50, 1996) or Frame et al. (Plant Physiol 129(1): 13-22, 2002), which disclosures are incorporated by reference herein as if fully set forth. Said methods are further described by way of example in B. Jenes et al., Techniques for Gene Transfer, in: Transgenic Plants, Vol. 1, Engineering and Utilization, eds. S.D. Kung and R. Wu, Academic Press (1993) 128- 143 and in Potrykus Annu. Rev. Plant Physiol. Plant Molec. Biol. 42 (1991) 205-225). The nucleic acids or the construct to be expressed is preferably cloned into a vector, which is suitable for transforming Agrobacterium tumefaciens, for example pBin 19 (Bevan et al., Nucl. Acids Res. 12 (1984) 8711). Agrobacteria transformed by such a vector can then be used in known manner for the transformation of plants, such as plants used as a model, like Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thalian a is within the scope of the present invention not considered as a crop plant), or crop plants such as, by way of example, tobacco plants, for example by immersing bruised leaves or chopped leaves in an agrobacterial solution and then culturing them in suitable media. The transformation of plants by means of Agrobacterium tumefaciens is described, for example, by Hofgen and Willmitzer in Nucl. Acid Res. (1988) 16, 9877 or is known inter alia from F.F. White, Vectors for Gene Transfer in Higher Plants; in Transgenic Plants, Vol. 1, Engineering and Utilization, eds. S.D. Kung and R. Wu, Academic Press, 1993, pp. 15-38.

[0614] In addition to the transformation of somatic cells, which then have to be regenerated into intact plants, it is also possible to transform the cells of plant meristems and in particular those cells which develop into gametes. In this case, the transformed gametes follow the natural plant development, giving rise to transgenic plants. Thus, for example, seeds of Arabidopsis are treated with agrobacteria and seeds are obtained from the developing plants of which a certain proportion is transformed and thus transgenic [Feldman, KA and Marks MD (1987). Mol Gen Genet 208:274-289; Feldmann K (1992). In: C Koncz, N-H Chua and J Shell, eds, Methods in Arabidopsis Research. Word Scientific, Singapore, pp. 274-289], Alternative methods are based on the repeated removal of the inflorescences and incubation of the excision site in the center of the rosette with transformed agrobacteria, whereby transformed seeds can likewise be obtained at a later point in time (Chang (1994). Plant J. 5: 551-558; Katavic (1994). Mol Gen Genet, 245: 363-370). However, an especially effective method is the vacuum infiltration method with its modifications such as the “floral dip” method. In the case of vacuum infiltration of Arabidopsis, intact plants under reduced pressure are treated with an agrobacterial suspension [Bechthold, N (1993). C R Acad Sci Paris Life Sci, 316: 1194-1199], while in the case of the ’’floral dip” method the developing floral tissue is incubated briefly with a surfactant-treated agrobacterial suspension [Clough, SJ and Bent AF (1998) The Plant J. 16, 735-743], A certain proportion of transgenic seeds are harvested in both cases, and these seeds can be distinguished from non-transgenic seeds by growing under the above-described selective conditions. In addition the stable transformation of plastids is of advantages because plastids are inherited maternally is most crops reducing or eliminating the risk of transgene flow through pollen. The transformation of the chloroplast genome is generally achieved by a process which has been schematically displayed in Klaus et al., 2004 [Nature Biotechnology 22 (2), 225-229], Briefly the sequences to be transformed are cloned together with a selectable marker gene between flanking sequences homologous to the chloroplast genome. These homologous flanking sequences direct site specific integration into the plastome. Plastidal transformation has been described for many different plant species and an overview is given in Bock (2001) Transgenic plastids in basic research and plant biotechnology. J Mol Biol. 2001 Sep 21; 312 (3):425-38 or Maliga, P (2003) Progress towards commercialization of plastid transformation technology. Trends Biotechnol. 21, 20-28. Further biotechnological progress has recently been reported in form of marker free plastid transformants, which can be produced by a transient co-integrated maker gene (Klaus et al., 2004, Nature Biotechnology 22(2), 225-229). The genetically modified plant cells can be regenerated via all methods with which the skilled worker is familiar. Suitable methods can be found in the abovementioned publications by S.D. Kung and R. Wu, Potrykus or Hofgen and Willmitzer.

[0615] Generally after transformation, plant cells or cell groupings are selected for the presence of one or more markers which are encoded by plant-expressible genes co-transferred with the gene of interest, following which the transformed material is regenerated into a whole plant. To select transformed plants, the plant material obtained in the transformation is, as a rule, subjected to selective conditions so that transformed plants can be distinguished from untransformed plants. For example, the seeds obtained in the above-described manner can be planted and, after an initial growing period, subjected to a suitable selection by spraying. A further possibility consists in growing the seeds, if appropriate after sterilization, on agar plates using a suitable selection agent so that only the transformed seeds can grow into plants. Alternatively, the transformed plants are screened for the presence of a selectable marker such as the ones described above.

[0616] Following DNA transfer and regeneration, putatively transformed plants may also be evaluated, for instance using Southern analysis, for the presence of the gene of interest, copy number and / or genomic organisation. Alternatively or additionally, expression levels of the newly introduced DNA may be monitored using Northern and / or Western analysis, both techniques being well known to persons having ordinary skill in the art.

[0617] The generated transformed plants may be propagated by a variety of means, such as by clonal propagation or classical breeding techniques. For example, a first generation (or T1) transformed plant may be selfed and homozygous second-generation (or T2) transformants selected, and the T2 plants may then further be propagated through classical breeding techniques. The generated transformed organisms may take a variety of forms. For example, they may be chimeras of transformed cells and non-transformed cells; clonal transformants (e.g., all cells transformed to contain the expression cassette); grafts of transformed and untransformed tissues (e.g., in plants, a transformed rootstock grafted to an untransformed scion).

[0618] Preferably, CesA or TriA nucleic acid comprises a polynucleotide sequence selected from the group consisting of: a) a polynucleotide comprising the sequence as shown in SEQ ID NO: 1 , 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121 , 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, or 130; b) a polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide as shown in SEQ ID NO: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23,

[0619] 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, or 31 or 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52,

[0620] 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81,

[0621] 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107,

[0622] 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, or 115, or a variant or derivative thereof; c) a polynucleotide comprising at least 60 consecutive nucleotides of any of a); and b) and d) a polynucleotide complementary to the polynucleotide of any of a) through c).

[0623] Preferably, the expression of the nucleic acid in the plant results in the plant's increased resistance to diaminotriazine herbicide as compared to a wild type variety of the plant.

[0624] In another embodiment, the invention refers to a plant, preferably a transgenic plant, comprising a plant cell according to the present invention, wherein expression of the nucleic acid in the plant results in the plant's increased resistance to diaminotriazine herbicide as compared to a wild type variety of the plant.

[0625] The plants described herein can be either transgenic crop plants or non-transgenic plants.

[0626] For the purposes of the invention, "transgenic", “transgene” or "recombinant" means with regard to, for example, a nucleic acid sequence, an expression cassette, gene construct or a vector comprising the nucleic acid sequence or an organism transformed with the nucleic acid sequences, expression cassettes or vectors according to the invention, all those constructions brought about by recombinant methods in which either

[0627] (a) the nucleic acid sequences encoding proteins useful in the methods of the invention, or

[0628] (b) genetic control sequence(s) which is operably linked with the nucleic acid sequence according to the invention, for example a promoter, or

[0629] (c) a) and b) are not located in their natural genetic environment or have been modified by recombinant methods, it being possible for the modification to take the form of, for example, a substitution, addition, deletion, inversion or insertion of one or more nucleotide residues in order to allow for the expression of the mutated CesA or Tri A of the present invention. The natural genetic environment is understood as meaning the natural genomic or chromosomal locus in the original plant or the presence in a genomic library. In the case of a genomic library, the natural genetic environment of the nucleic acid sequence is preferably retained, at least in part. The environment flanks the nucleic acid sequence at least on one side and has a sequence length of at least 50 bp, preferably at least 500 bp, especially preferably at least 1000 bp, most preferably at least 5000 bp. A naturally occurring expression cassette - for example the naturally occurring combination of the natural promoter of the nucleic acid sequences with the corresponding nucleic acid sequence encoding a polypeptide useful in the methods of the present invention, as defined above - becomes a transgenic expression cassette when this expression cassette is modified by non-natural, synthetic ("artificial") methods such as, for example, mutagenic treatment. Suitable methods are described, for example, in US 5,565,350 or WO 00 / 15815.

[0630] A transgenic plant for the purposes of the invention is thus understood as meaning, as above, that the nucleic acids of the invention are not at their natural locus in the genome of said plant, it being possible for the nucleic acids to be expressed homologously or heterologously. However, as mentioned, transgenic also means that, while the nucleic acids according to the invention or used in the inventive method are at their natural position in the genome of a plant, the sequence has been modified with regard to the natural sequence, and / or that the regulatory sequences of the natural sequences have been modified. Transgenic is preferably understood as meaning the expression of the nucleic acids according to the invention at an unnatural locus in the genome, i.e. homologous or, preferably, heterologous expression of the nucleic acids takes place. Preferred transgenic plants are mentioned herein. Furthermore, the term “transgenic” refers to any plant, plant cell, callus, plant tissue, or plant part, that contains all or part of at least one recombinant polynucleotide. In many cases, all or part of the recombinant polynucleotide is stably integrated into a chromosome or stable extra-chromosomal element, so that it is passed on to successive generations. For the purposes of the invention, the term “recombinant polynucleotide” refers to a polynucleotide that has been altered, rearranged, or modified by genetic engineering. Examples include any cloned polynucleotide, or polynucleotides, that are linked or joined to heterologous sequences. The term “recombinant’ does not refer to alterations of polynucleotides that result from naturally occurring events, such as spontaneous mutations, or from non-spontaneous mutagenesis followed by selective breeding.

[0631] Plants containing mutations arising due to non-spontaneous mutagenesis and selective breeding are referred to herein as non-transgenic plants and are included in the present invention. In embodiments wherein the plant is transgenic and comprises multiple mutated CesA or TriA nucleic acids, the nucleic acids can be derived from different genomes or from the same genome. Alternatively, in embodiments wherein the plant is non-transgenic and comprises multiple mutated CesA or TriA nucleic acids, the nucleic acids are located on different genomes or on the same genome.

[0632] As used herein, “mutagenized” refers to an organism or DNA thereof having alteration(s) in the biomolecular sequence of its native genetic material as compared to the sequence of the genetic material of a corresponding wild-type organism or DNA, wherein the alteration(s) in genetic material were induced and / or selected by human action. Methods of inducing mutations can induce mutations in random positions in the genetic material or can induce mutations in specific locations in the genetic material (i.e., can be directed mutagenesis techniques), such as by use of a genoplasty technique.

[0633] In certain embodiments, the present invention involves herbidicide-resistant plants that are produced by mutation breeding. Such plants comprise a polynucleotide encoding a mutated CesA or TriA and are tolerant to one or more diaminotriazine herbicides. Such methods can involve, for example, exposing the plants or seeds to a mutagen, particularly a chemical mutagen such as, for example, ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) and selecting for plants that have enhanced tolerance to at least one or more diaminotriazine herbicide.

[0634] However, the present invention is not limited to herbicide-tolerant plants that are produced by a mutagenesis method involving the chemical mutagen EMS. Any mutagenesis method known in the art may be used to produce the herbicide-resistant plants of the present invention. Such mutagenesis methods can involve, for example, the use of any one or more of the following mutagens: radiation, such as X-rays, Gamma rays (e.g., cobalt 60 or cesium 137), neutrons, (e.g., product of nuclear fission by uranium 235 in an atomic reactor), Beta radiation (e.g., emitted from radioisotopes such as phosphorus 32 or carbon 14), and ultraviolet radiation (preferably from 2500 to 2900 nm), and chemical mutagens such as base analogues (e.g., 5-bromo-uracil), related compounds (e.g., 8-ethoxy caffeine), antibiotics (e.g., streptonigrin), alkylating agents (e.g., sulfur mustards, nitrogen mustards, epoxides, ethylenamines, sulfates, sulfonates, sulfones, lactones), azide, hydroxylamine, nitrous acid, or acridines. Herbicide-resistant plants can also be produced by using tissue culture methods to select for plant cells comprising herbicide-resistance mutations and then regenerating herbicide-resistant plants therefrom. See, for example, U.S. Patent Nos. 5,773,702 and 5,859,348, both of which are herein incorporated in their entirety by reference. Further details of mutation breeding can be found in "Principals of Cultivar Development" Fehr, 1993 Macmillan Publishing Company the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference

[0635] Alternatively, herbicide-resistant plants according to the present invention can also be produced by using genome editing methods to select for plant cells comprising herbicide-resistance mutations and then regenerating herbicide-resistant plants therefrom. “Genome Editing” refers to a type of genetic engineering in which DNA is inserted, deleted or replaced in the genome of an organism using engineered nucleases.These nucleases are known to the skilled artisan to create site-specific double-strand breaks at desired locations in the genome. The induced double-strand breaks are repaired through nonhomologous end-joining or homologous recombination, resulting in targeted mutations. Known in the art are currently four families of engineered nucleases which can be used for the puposes of the present invention: meganucleases, zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs), transcription activator-like effector-based nucleases (TALEN), and the CRISPR-Cas system.-For references, see, for example, Esvelt, KM. and Wang, HH. (2013) "Genome-scale engineering for systems and synthetic biology", Mol Syst Biol. 9 (1): 641; Tan, WS. et al., (2012) "Precision editing of large animal genomes", Adv Genet. 80: 37-97; Puchta, H. and Fauser, F. (2013) "Gene targeting in plants: 25 years later", Int. J. Dev. Biol. 57: 629-637; Boglioli, Elsy and Richard, Magali "Rewriting the book of life: a new era in precision genome editing", Boston Consulting Group, Retrieved November 30, 2015; Method of the Year 2011. Nat Meth 9 (1 ), 1 - 1.

[0636] Conesequently, in another embodiment, the invention refers to a non-transgenic plant, comprising a plant cell according to the present invention, wherein expression of the nucleic acid encoding a mutated CesA or TriA in the plant results in the plant's increased resistance to diaminotriazine herbicide as compared to a wild type variety of the plant.

[0637] In addition to the definition above, the term “plant’ is intended to encompass crop plants at any stage of maturity or development, as well as any tissues or organs (plant parts) taken or derived from any such plant unless otherwise clearly indicated by context. Plant parts include, but are not limited to, stems, roots, flowers, ovules, stamens, leaves, embryos, meristematic regions, callus tissue, anther cultures, gametophytes, sporophytes, pollen, microspores, protoplasts, and the like.

[0638] The plant of the present invention comprises at least one mutated CesA or TriA nucleic acid or over-expressed wild-type CesA or TriA nucleic acid, and has increased tolerance to a diaminotriazine herbicide as compared to a wild-type variety of the plant. It is possible for the plants of the present invention to have multiple wild-type or mutated CesA or TriA nucleic acids from different genomes since these plants can contain more than one genome. For example, a plant contains two genomes, usually referred to as the A and B genomes. Because CesA or TriA is a required metabolic enzyme, it is assumed that each genome has at least one gene coding for the CesA or TriA enzyme (i.e. at least one CesA or TriA gene). As used herein, the term “CesA or TriA gene locus” refers to the position of an CesA or TriA gene on a genome, and the terms “CesA or TriA gene” and “CesA or TriA nucleic acid” refer to a nucleic acid encoding the CesA or TriA enzyme. The CesA or TriA nucleic acid on each genome differs in its nucleotide sequence from an CesA or TriA nucleic acid on another genome. One of skill in the art can determine the genome of origin of each CesA or TriA nucleic acid through genetic crossing and / or either sequencing methods or exonuclease digestion methods known to those of skill in the art.

[0639] The present invention includes plants comprising one, two, three, or more mutated CesA or TriA alleles, wherein the plant has increased tolerance to a diaminotriazine herbicide as compared to a wild-type variety of the plant. The mutated CesA or TriA alleles can comprise a nucleotide sequence selected from the group consisting of a polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide as defined in SEQ ID NO: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, or 31, or 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45,

[0640] 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74,

[0641] 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102,

[0642] 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111 , 112, 113, 114, or 115, or a variant or derivative, homologue, orthologue, paralogue thereof, a polynucleotide comprising at least 60 consecutive nucleotides of any of the aforementioned polynucleotides; and a polynucleotide complementary to any of the aforementioned polynucleotides.

[0643] “Alleles” or “allelic variants” are alternative forms of a given gene, located at the same chromosomal position. Allelic variants encompass Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs), as well as Small Insertion / Deletion Polymorphisms (INDELs). The size of INDELs is usually less than 100 bp. SNPs and INDELs form the largest set of sequence variants in naturally occurring polymorphic strains of most organisms

[0644] The term “variety” refers to a group of plants within a species defined by the sharing of a common set of characteristics or traits accepted by those skilled in the art as sufficient to distinguish one cultivar or variety from another cultivar or variety. There is no implication in either term that all plants of any given cultivar or variety will be genetically identical at either the whole gene or molecular level or that any given plant will be homozygous at all loci. A cultivar or variety is considered “true breeding” for a particular trait if, when the true-breeding cultivar or variety is self-pollinated, all of the progeny contain the trait. The terms “breeding line” or “line” refer to a group of plants within a cultivar defined by the sharing of a common set of characteristics or traits accepted by those skilled in the art as sufficient to distinguish one breeding line or line from another breeding line or line. There is no implication in either term that all plants of any given breeding line or line will be genetically identical at either the whole gene or molecular level or that any given plant will be homozygous at all loci. A breeding line or line is considered “true breeding” for a particular trait if, when the true-breeding line or breeding line is self-pollinated, all of the progeny contain the trait. In the present invention, the trait arises from a mutation in a CesA or Tri A gene of the plant or seed.

[0645] In some embodiments, traditional plant breeding is employed whereby the diaminotriazine herbicides-tolerant trait is introduced in the progeny plant resulting therefrom. In one embodiment, the present invention provides a method for producing a diaminotriazine herbicides-tolerant progeny plant, the method comprising: crossing a parent plant with a diaminotriazine herbicides-tolerant plant to introduce the diaminotriazine herbicides-tolerance characteristics of the diaminotriazine herbicides-tolerant plant into the germplasm of the progeny plant, wherein the progeny plant has increased tolerance to the diaminotriazine herbicides relative to the parent plant. In other embodiments, the method further comprises the step of introgressing the diaminotriazine herbicides-tolerance characteristics through traditional plant breeding techniques to obtain a descendent plant having the diaminotriazine herbicides-tolerance characteristics.

[0646] The herbicide-resistant plants of the invention that comprise polynucleotides encoding mutated CesA or TriApolypeptides also find use in methods for increasing the herbicide-resistance of a plant through conventional plant breeding involving sexual reproduction. The methods comprise crossing a first plant that is a herbicide-resistant plant of the invention to a second plant that may or may not be resistant to the same herbicide or herbicides as the first plant or may be resistant to different herbicide or herbicides than the first plant. The second plant can be any plant that is capable of producing viable progeny plants (i.e. , seeds) when crossed with the first plant. Typically, but not necessarily, the first and second plants are of the same species. The methods can optionally involve selecting for progeny plants that comprise the mutated CesA or TriA polypeptides of the first plant and the herbicide resistance characteristics of the second plant. The progeny plants produced by this method of the present invention have increased resistance to a herbicide when compared to either the first or second plant or both. When the first and second plants are resistant to different herbicides, the progeny plants will have the combined herbicide tolerance characteristics of the first and second plants. The methods of the invention can further involve one or more generations of backcrossing the progeny plants of the first cross to a plant of the same line or genotype as either the first or second plant. Alternatively, the progeny of the first cross or any subsequent cross can be crossed to a third plant that is of a different line or genotype than either the first or second plant. The present invention also provides plants, plant organs, plant tissues, plant cells, seeds, and non-human host cells that are transformed with the at least one polynucleotide molecule, expression cassette, or transformation vector of the invention. Such transformed plants, plant organs, plant tissues, plant cells, seeds, and non-human host cells have enhanced tolerance or resistance to at least one herbicide, at levels of the herbicide that kill or inhibit the growth of an untransformed plant, plant tissue, plant cell, or non-human host cell, respectively. Preferably, the transformed plants, plant tissues, plant cells, and seeds of the invention are Arabidopsis thaliana and crop plants.

[0647] In other aspects, plants of the invention include those plants which, in addition to being tolerant to diaminotriazine herbicides, have been subjected to further genetic modifications by breeding, mutagenesis or genetic engineering, e.g. have been rendered tolerant to applications of specific other classes of herbicides, such as AHAS inhibitors; auxinic herbicides; bleaching herbicides such as hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase (HPPD) inhibitors or phytoene desaturase (PDS) inhibitors; EPSPS inhibitors such as glyphosate; glutamine synthetase (GS) inhibitors such as glufosinate; lipid biosynthesis inhibitors such as acetyl CoA carboxylase (ACCase) inhibitors; or oxynil {i.e. bromoxynil or ioxynil) herbicides as a result of conventional methods of breeding or genetic engineering, Thus, diaminotriazine herbicides-tolerant plants of the invention can be made resistant to multiple classes of herbicides through multiple genetic modifications, such as resistance to both glyphosate and glufosinate or to both glyphosate and a herbicide from another class such as HPPD inhibitors, AHAS inhibitors, or ACCase inhibitors. These herbicide resistance technologies are, for example, described in Pest Management Science (at volume, year, page): 61, 2005, 246; 61, 2005, 258; 61, 2005, 277; 61, 2005, 269; 61, 2005, 286; 64, 2008, 326; 64, 2008, 332; Weed Science 57, 2009, 108; Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 58, 2007, 708; Science 316, 2007, 1185; and references quoted therein. For example, diaminotriazine herbicides-tolerant plants of the invention, in some embodiments, may be tolerant to ACCase inhibitors, such as "dims" {e.g., cycloxydim, sethoxydim, clethodim, or tepraloxydim), "fops" {e.g. , clodinafop, diclofop, fluazifop, haloxyfop, or quizalofop), and "dens" (such as pinoxaden); to auxinic herbicides, such as dicamba; to EPSPS inhibitors, such as glyphosate; and to GS inhibitors, such as glufosinate.

[0648] In addition to these classes of inhibitors, diaminotriazine herbicides-tolerant plants of the invention may also be tolerant to herbicides having other modes of action, for example, chlorophyll / carotenoid pigment inhibitors, cell membrane disrupters, photosynthesis inhibitors, cell division inhibitors, root inhibitors, shoot inhibitors, and combinations thereof.

[0649] Such tolerance traits may be expressed, e.g. : as mutant or wildtype CesA or Tri A proteins, as mutant AHASL proteins, mutant ACCase proteins, mutant EPSPS proteins, or mutant glutamine synthetase proteins; or as mutant native, inbred, or transgenic aryloxyalkanoate dioxygenase (AAD or DHT), haloarylnitri lase (BXN), 2,2- dichloropropionic acid dehalogenase (DEH), glyphosate-N- acetyltransferase (GAT), glyphosate decarboxylase (GDC), glyphosate oxidoreductase (GOX), glutathione-S-transferase (GST), phosphinothricin acetyltransferase (PAT or bar), or CYP450s proteins having an herbicide-degrading activity. Diaminotriazine herbicides- tolerant plants hereof can also be stacked with other traits including, but not limited to, pesticidal traits such as Bt Cry and other proteins having pesticidal activity toward coleopteran, lepidopteran, nematode, or other pests; nutrition or nutraceutical traits such as modified oil content or oil profile traits, high protein or high amino acid concentration traits, and other trait types known in the art.

[0650] Furthermore, in other embodiments, diaminotriazine herbicides-tolerant plants are also covered which are, by the use of recombinant DNA techniques and / or by breeding and / or otherwise selected for such characteristics, rendered able to synthesize one or more insecticidal proteins, especially those known from the bacterial genus Bacillus, particularly from Bacillus thuringiensis, such as [delta]-endotoxins, e.g. CrylA(b), CrylA(c), CrylF, CrylF(a2), CryllA(b), CrylllA, CrylllB(bl) or Cry9c; vegetative insecticidal proteins (VIP), e.g. VIP1, VIP2, VIP3 or VIP3A; insecticidal proteins of bacteria colonizing nematodes, e.g. Photorhabdus spp. or Xenorhabdus spp.; toxins produced by animals, such as scorpion toxins, arachnid toxins, wasp toxins, or other insect-specific neurotoxins; toxins produced by fungi, such streptomycete toxins; plant lectins, such as pea or barley lectins; agglutinins; proteinase inhibitors, such as trypsin inhibitors, serine protease inhibitors, patatin, cystatin or papain inhibitors; ribosome-inactivating proteins (RIP), such as ricin, maize-RIP, abrin, luffin, saporin or bryodin; steroid metabolism enzymes, such as 3-hydroxy-steroid oxidase, ecdysteroid-IDP-glycosyl-transferase, cholesterol oxidases, ecdysone inhibitors or HMG- CoA-reductase; ion channel blockers, such as blockers of sodium or calcium channels; juvenile hormone esterase; diuretic hormone receptors (helicokinin receptors); stilben synthase, bibenzyl synthase, chitinases or glucanases. In the context of the present invention these insecticidal proteins or toxins are to be understood expressly also as pre-toxins, hybrid proteins, truncated or otherwise modified proteins. Hybrid proteins are characterized by a new combination of protein domains, (see, e.g. WO 02 / 015701). Further examples of such toxins or genetically modified plants capable of synthesizing such toxins are disclosed, e.g., in EP-A 374 753, WO 93 / 007278, WO 95 / 34656, EP-A 427 529, EP-A 451 878, WO 03 / 18810 und WO 03 / 52073. The methods for producing such genetically modified plants are generally known to the person skilled in the art and are described, e.g. in the publications mentioned above. These insecticidal proteins contained in the genetically modified plants impart to the plants producing these proteins tolerance to harmful pests from all taxonomic groups of arthropods, especially to beetles (Coeloptera), two-winged insects (Diptera), and moths (Lepidoptera) and to nematodes (Nematoda).

[0651] In some embodiments, expression of one or more protein toxins (e.g., insecticidal proteins) in the diaminotriazine herbicides-tolerant plants is effective for controlling organisms that include, for example, members of the classes and orders: Coleoptera such as the American bean weevil Acanthoscelides obtectus; the leaf beetle Agelastica alni; click beetles (Agriotes lineatus, Agriotes obscurus, Agriotes bicolor); the grain beetle Ahasverus advena; the summer schafer Amphimallon solstitialis; the furniture beetle Anobium punctatum; Anthonomus spp. (weevils); the Pygmy mangold beetle Atomaria linearis; carpet beetles (Anthrenus spp., Attagenus spp.); the cowpea weevil Callosobruchus maculates; the fried fruit beetle Carpophilus hemipterus; the cabbage seedpod weevil Ceutorhynchus assimilis; the rape winter stem weevil Ceutorhynchus picitarsis; the wireworms Conoderus vespertinus and Conoderus falli; the banana weevil Cosmopolites sordidus; the New Zealand grass grub Costelytra zealandica; the June beetle Cotinis nitida; the sunflower stem weevil Cylindrocopturus adspersus; the larder beetle Dermestes lardarius; the corn rootworms Diabrotica virgifera, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera, and Diabrotica barberi; the Mexican bean beetle Epilachna varivestis; the old house borer Hylotropes bajulus; the lucerne weevil Hypera postica; the shiny spider beetle Gibbium psylloides; the cigarette beetle Lasioderma serricorne; the Colorado potato beetle Leptinotarsa decemlineata; Lyctus beetles {Lyctus spp. , the pollen beetle Meligethes aeneus; the common cockshafer Melolontha melolontha; the American spider beetle Mezium americanum; the golden spider beetle Niptus hololeuc s; the grain beetles Oryzaephilus surinamensis and Oryzaephilus Mercator; the black vine weevil Otiorhynchus sulcatus; the mustard beetle Phaedon cochleariae, the crucifer flea beetle Phyllotreta cruciferae; the striped flea beetle Phyllotreta striolata; the cabbage steam flea beetle Psy Diodes chrysocephala; Ptinus spp. (spider beetles); the lesser grain borer Rhizopertha dominica; the pea and been weevil Sitona lineatus; the rice and granary beetles Sitophilus oryzae and Sitophilus granaries; the red sunflower seed weevil Smicronyx fulvus; the drugstore beetle Stegobium paniceum; the yellow mealworm beetle Tenebrio molitor, the flour beetles Tribolium castaneum and Tribolium confusum; warehouse and cabinet beetles {Trogoderma spp.); the sunflower beetle Zygogramma exclamationis; Dermaptera (earwigs) such as the European earwig Forficula auricularia and the striped earwig Labidura riparia; Dictyoptera such as the oriental cockroach Blatta orientalis; the greenhouse millipede Oxidus gracilis; the beet fly Pegomyia betae; the frit fly Oscinella frit; fruitflies (Dacus spp., Drosophila spp.); Isoptera (termites) including species from the familes Hodotermitidae, Kalotermitidae, Mastotermitidae, Rhinotermitidae, Serritermitidae, Termitidae, Termopsidae; the tarnished plant bug Lygus lineolaris; the black bean aphid Aphis fabae; the cotton or melon aphid Aphis gossypii; the green apple aphid Aphis pomi; the citrus spiny whitefly Aleurocanthus spiniferus; the sweet potato whitefly Bemesia tabaci; the cabbage aphid Brevicoryne brassicae; the pear psy Ila Cacopsylla pyricola; the currant aphid Cryptomyzus ribis; the grape phylloxera Daktulosphaira vitifoliae; the citrus psylla Diaphorina citri; the potato leafhopper Empoasca fabae; the bean leafhopper Empoasca Solana; the vine leafhopper Empoasca vitis; the woolly aphid Eriosoma lanigerum; the European fruit scale Eulecanium corni; the mealy plum aphid Hyalopterus arundinis; the small brown planthopper Laodelphax striatellus; the potato aphid Macrosiphum euphorbiae; the green peach aphid Myzus persicae; the green rice leafhopper Nephotettix cinticeps; the brown planthopper Nilaparvata lugens; the hop aphid Phorodon humuli; the bird-cherry aphid Rhopalosiphum padi; the grain aphid Sitobion avenae;

[0652] Lepidoptera such as Adoxophyes orana (summer fruit tortrix moth); Archips podana (fruit tree tortrix moth); Bucculatrix pyrivorella (pear leafminer); Bucculatrix thurberiella (cotton leaf perforator); Bupalus piniarius (pine looper); Carpocapsa pomonella (codling moth); Chilo suppressalis (striped rice borer); Choristoneura fumiferana (eastern spruce budworm); Cochylis hospes (banded sunflower moth); Diatraea grandiosella (southwestern corn borer); Eupoecilia ambiguella (European grape berry moth); Helicoverpa armigera (cotton bollworm); Helicoverpa zea (cotton bollworm); Heliothis vires cens (tobacco budworm), Homeosoma electellum (sunflower moth); Homona magnanima (oriental tea tree tortrix moth); Lithocolletis blancardella (spotted tentiform leafminer); Lymantria dispar (gypsy moth); Malacosoma neustria (tent caterpillar); Mamestra brassicae (cabbage armyworm); Mamestra configurata (Bertha armyworm); Operophtera brumata (winter moth); Ostrinia nubilalis (European corn borer), Panolis flammea (pine beauty moth), Phyllocnistis citrella (citrus leafminer); Pieris brassicae (cabbage white butterfly); Rachiplusia ni (soybean looper); Spodoptera exigua (beet armywonn); Spodoptera littoralis (cotton leafworm); Sylepta derogata (cotton leaf roller); Trichoplusia ni (cabbage looper); Orthoptera such as the common cricket Acheta domesticus, tree locusts (Anacridium spp.), the migratory locust Locusta migratoria, the twostriped grasshopper Melanoplus bivittatus, the differential grasshopper Melanoplus differ entialis, the redlegged grasshopper Melanoplus femurrubrum, the migratory grasshopper Melanoplus sanguinipes, the northern mole cricket Neocurtilla hexadectyla, the red locust Nomadacris septemfasciata, the shortwinged mole cricket Scapteriscus abbreviatus, the southern mole cricket Scapteriscus borellii, the tawny mole cricket Scapteriscus vicinus, and the desert locust Schistocerca gregaria; Symphyla such as the garden symphylan Scutigerella immaculata; Thysanoptera such as the tobacco thrips Frankliniella fusca, the flower thrips Frankliniella intonsa, the western flower thrips Frankliniella occidentalism the cotton bud thrips Frankliniella schultzei, the banded greenhouse thrips Hercinothrips femoralis, the soybean thrips Neohydatothrips variabilis, Kelly's citrus thrips Pezothrips kellyanus, the avocado thrips Scirtothrips perseae, the melon thrips Thrips palmi, and the onion thrips Thrips tabaci; and the like, and combinations comprising one or more of the foregoing organisms. In some embodiments, expression of one or more protein toxins (e.g., insecticidal proteins) in the diaminotriazine herbicides-tolerant plants is effective for controlling flea beetles, i.e. members of the flea beetle tribe of family Chrysomelidae, preferably against Phyllotreta spp., such as Phyllotreta cruciferae and / or

[0653] Phy llotreta triolata. In other embodiments, expression of one or more protein toxins {e.g., insecticidal proteins) in the diaminotriazine herbicides- tolerant plants is effective for controlling cabbage seedpod weevil, the Bertha armyworm, Lygus bugs, or the diamondback moth.

[0654] Furthermore, in one embodiment, diaminotriazine herbicides-tolerant plants are also covered which are, e.g. by the use of recombinant DNA techniques and / or by breeding and / or otherwise selected for such traits, rendered able to synthesize one or more proteins to increase the resistance or tolerance of those plants to bacterial, viral or fungal pathogens. The methods for producing such genetically modified plants are generally known to the person skilled in the art.

[0655] Furthermore, in another embodiment, diaminotriazine herbicides-tolerant plants are also covered which are, e.g. by the use of recombinant DNA techniques and / or by breeding and / or otherwise selected for such traits, rendered able to synthesize one or more proteins to increase the productivity (e.g. oil content), tolerance to drought, salinity or other growth- limiting environmental factors or tolerance to pests and fungal, bacterial or viral pathogens of those plants.

[0656] Furthermore, in other embodiments, diaminotriazine herbicides-tolerant plants are also covered which are, e.g. by the use of recombinant DNA techniques and / or by breeding and / or otherwise selected for such traits, altered to contain a modified amount of one or more substances or new substances, for example, to improve human or animal nutrition, e.g. oil crops that produce health-promoting long-chain omega-3 fatty acids or unsaturated omega-9 fatty acids (e.g. Nexera(R) rape, Dow Agro Sciences, Canada).

[0657] Furthermore, in some embodiments, diaminotriazine herbicides-tolerant plants are also covered which are, e.g. by the use of recombinant DNA techniques and / or by breeding and / or otherwise selected for such traits, altered to contain increased amounts of vitamins and / or minerals, and / or improved profiles of nutraceutical compounds.

[0658] In one embodiment, diaminotriazine herbicides-tolerant plants of the present invention, relative to a wild-type plant, comprise an increased amount of, or an improved profile of, a compound selected from the group consisting of: glucosinolates (e.g., glucoraphanin (4-methylsulfinylbutyl-glucosinolate), sulforaphane, 3- indolylmethyl-glucosinolate(glucobrassicin), I -methoxy-3-indolylmethyl-glucosinolate (neoglucobrassicin)); phenolics (e.g., flavonoids (e.g., quercetin, kaempferol), hydroxycinnamoyl derivatives (e.g., 1 ,2,2'- trisinapoylgentiobiose, 1 ,2-diferuloylgentiobiose, 1 ,2'-disinapoyl-2-feruloylgentiobiose, 3-0- caffeoyl-quinic (neochlorogenic acid)); and vitamins and minerals (e.g., vitamin C, vitamin E, carotene, folic acid, niacin, riboflavin, thiamine, calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, selenium, and zinc).

[0659] In another embodiment, diaminotriazine herbicides-tolerant plants of the present invention, relative to a wildtype plant, comprise an increased amount of, or an improved profile of, a compound selected from the group consisting of: progoitrin; isothiocyanates; indoles (products of glucosinolate hydrolysis); glutathione; carotenoids such as beta-carotene, lycopene, and the xanthophyll carotenoids such as lutein and zeaxanthin; phenolics comprising the flavonoids such as the flavonols (e.g. quercetin, rutin), the flavans / tannins (such as the procyanidins comprising coumarin, proanthocyanidins, catechins, and anthocyanins); flavones; phytoestrogens such as coumestans, lignans, resveratrol, isoflavones e.g. genistein, daidzein, and glycitein; resorcyclic acid lactones; organosulphur compounds; phytosterols; terpenoids such as carnosol, rosmarinic acid, glycyrrhizin and saponins; chlorophyll; chlorphyllin, sugars, anthocyanins, and vanilla. In other embodiments, diaminotriazine herbicides-tolerant plants of the present invention, relative to a wild-type plant, comprise an increased amount of, or an improved profile of, a compound selected from the group consisting of: vincristine, vinblastine, taxanes (e.g., taxol (paclitaxel), baccatin III, 10-desacetylbaccatin III, 10-desacetyl taxol, xylosyl taxol, 7- epitaxol, 7-epibaccatin III, 10-desacetylcephalomannine, 7-epicephalomannine, taxotere, cephalomannine, xylosyl cephalomannine, taxagifine, 8-benxoyloxy taxagifine, 9-acetyloxy taxusin, 9-hydroxy taxusin, taiwanxam, taxane la, taxane lb, taxane Ic, taxane Id, GMP paclitaxel, 9-dihydro 13-acetylbaccatin III, 10-desacetyl-7-epitaxol, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), cannabidiol (CBD), genistein, diadzein, codeine, morphine, quinine, shikonin, ajmalacine, serpentine, and the like.

[0660] It is to be understood that the plant of the present invention can comprise a wild type CesA or Tri A nucleic acid in addition to a mutated CesA or TriA nucleic acid. It is contemplated that the diaminotriazine herbicide tolerant lines may contain a mutation in only one of multiple CesA or TriA isoenzymes. Therefore, the present invention includes a plant comprising one or more mutated CesA or TriA nucleic acids in addition to one or more wild type CesA or TriA nucleic acids.

[0661] In another embodiment, the invention refers to a seed produced by a transgenic plant comprising a plant cell of the present invention, wherein the seed is true breeding for an increased resistance to a diaminotriazine herbicide as compared to a wild type variety of the seed.

[0662] In another embodiment, the invention refers to a method of producing a transgenic plant cell with an increased resistance to a diaminotriazine herbicide as compared to a wild type variety of the plant cell comprising, transforming the plant cell with an expression cassette comprising a mutated CesA or TriA nucleic acid.

[0663] In another embodiment, the invention refers to a method of producing a transgenic plant comprising, (a) transforming a plant cell with an expression cassette comprising a mutated CesA or TriA nucleic acid, and (b) generating a plant with an increased resistance to diaminotriazine herbicide from the plant cell.

[0664] Consequently, mutated CesA or TriA nucleic acids of the invention are provided in expression cassettes for expression in the plant of interest. The cassette will include regulatory sequences operably linked to a mutated CesA or TriA nucleic acid sequence of the invention. The term "regulatory element" as used herein refers to a polynucleotide that is capable of regulating the transcription of an operably linked polynucleotide. It includes, but not limited to, promoters, enhancers, introns, 5' UTRs, and 3' UTRs. By "operably linked" is intended a functional linkage between a promoter and a second sequence, wherein the promoter sequence initiates and mediates transcription of the DNA sequence corresponding to the second sequence. Generally, operably linked means that the nucleic acid sequences being linked are contiguous and, where necessary to join two protein coding regions, contiguous and in the same reading frame. The cassette may additionally contain at least one additional gene to be cotransformed into the organism. Alternatively, the additional gene(s) can be provided on multiple expression cassettes.

[0665] Such an expression cassette is provided with a plurality of restriction sites for insertion of the mutated CesA or TriA nucleic acid sequence to be under the transcriptional regulation of the regulatory regions. The expression cassette may additionally contain selectable marker genes.

[0666] The expression cassette of the present invention will include in the 5'-3' direction of transcription, a transcriptional and translational initiation region (i.e., a promoter), a mutated CesA or TriA encoding nucleic acid sequence of the invention, and a transcriptional and translational termination region (i.e., termination region) functional in plants. The promoter may be native or analogous, or foreign or heterologous, to the plant host and / or to the mutated CesA or TriA nucleic acid sequence of the invention. Additionally, the promoter may be the natural sequence or alternatively a synthetic sequence. Where the promoter is "foreign" or "heterologous" to the plant host, it is intended that the promoter is not found in the native plant into which the promoter is introduced. Where the promoter is "foreign" or "heterologous" to the mutated CesA or TriA nucleic acid sequence of the invention, it is intended that the promoter is not the native or naturally occurring promoter for the operably linked mutated CesA or TriA nucleic acid sequence of the invention. As used herein, a chimeric gene comprises a coding sequence operably linked to a transcription initiation region that is heterologous to the coding sequence.

[0667] While it may be preferable to express the mutated CesA or TriA nucleic acids of the invention using heterologous promoters, the native promoter sequences may be used. Such constructs would change expression levels of the mutated CesA or TriA protein in the plant or plant cell. Thus, the phenotype of the plant or plant cell is altered.

[0668] The termination region may be native with the transcriptional initiation region, may be native with the operably linked mutated CesA or TriA sequence of interest, may be native with the plant host, or may be derived from another source (i.e., foreign or heterologous to the promoter, the mutated CesA or TriA nucleic acid sequence of interest, the plant host, or any combination thereof). Convenient termination regions are available from the Ti- plasmid of A. tumefaciens, such as the octopine synthase and nopaline synthase termination regions. See also Guerineau et al. (1991) Mol. Gen. Genet. 262: 141-144; Proudfoot (1991) Cell 64:671-674; Sanfacon et al. (1991) Genes Dev. 5: 141-149; Mogen et al. (1990) Plant Cell 2: 1261-1272; Munroe et al. (1990) Gene 91 : 151-158; Ballas t ai. (1989) Nucleic Acids Res. 17:7891-7903; and Joshi et al. (1987) Nucleic Acid Res. 15:9627-9639. Where appropriate, the gene(s) may be optimized for increased expression in the transformed plant. That is, the genes can be synthesized using plant-preferred codons for improved expression. See, for example, Campbell and Gowri (1990) Plant Physiol. 92: 1-11 for a discussion of host-preferred codon usage. Methods are available in the art for synthesizing plant-preferred genes. See, for example, U.S. Patent Nos. 5,380,831, and 5,436,391, and Murray et al. (1989) Nucleic Acids Res. 17:477-498, herein incorporated by reference.

[0669] Additional sequence modifications are known to enhance gene expression in a cellular host. These include elimination of sequences encoding spurious polyadenylation signals, exon-intron splice site signals, transposonlike repeats, and other such well-characterized sequences that may be deleterious to gene expression. The G-C content of the sequence may be adjusted to levels average for a given cellular host, as calculated by reference to known genes expressed in the host cell. When possible, the sequence is modified to avoid predicted hairpin secondary mRNA structures. Nucleotide sequences for enhancing gene expression can also be used in the plant expression vectors. These include the introns of the maize Adhl, intron I gene (Callis et al. Genes and Development 1: 1183-1200, 1987), and leader sequences, (W- sequence) from the Tobacco Mosaic virus (TMV), Maize Chlorotic Mottle Virus and Alfalfa Mosaic Virus (Gallie et al. Nucleic Acid Res. 15:8693-8711, 1987 and Skuzeski et al. Plant Mol. Biol. 15:65-79, 1990). The first intron from the shrunken- 1 locus of maize, has been shown to increase expression of genes in chimeric gene constructs. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,424,412 and 5,593,874 disclose the use of specific introns in gene expression constructs, and Gallie et al. (Plant Physiol. 106:929-939, 1994) also have shown that introns are useful for regulating gene expression on a tissue specific basis. To further enhance or to optimize mutated CesA or TriA gene expression, the plant expression vectors of the invention may also contain DNA sequences containing matrix attachment regions (MARs). Plant cells transformed with such modified expression systems, then, may exhibit overexpression or constitutive expression of a nucleotide sequence of the invention. The expression cassetes of the present invention may additionally contain 5' leader sequences in the expression cassete construct. Such leader sequences can act to enhance translation. Translation leaders are known in the art and include: picornavirus leaders, for example, EMCV leader (Encephalomyocarditis 5' noncoding region) (Elroy-Stein et al. (1989) Proc. Natl. Acad. ScL USA 86:6126-6130); potyvirus leaders, for example, TEV leader (Tobacco Etch Virus) (Gallie et al. (1995) Gene 165(2):233-238), MDMV leader (Maize Dwarf Mosaic Virus) (Virology 154:9-20), and human immunoglobulin heavy-chain binding protein (BiP) (Macejak et al. (1991) Nature 353:90-94); untranslated leader from the coat protein mRNA of alfalfa mosaic virus (AMV RNA 4) (Jobling et al. (1987) Nature 325:622-625); tobacco mosaic virus leader (TMV) (Gallie et al. (1989) in Molecular Biology of RNA, ed. Cech (Liss, New York), pp. 237-256); and maize chlorotic motle virus leader (MCMV) (Lommel et al. (1991) Virology 81 :382-385). See also, Della-Cioppa et al. (1987) Plant Physiol. 84:965-968. Other methods known to enhance translation can also be utilized, for example, introns, and the like.

[0670] In preparing the expression cassete, the various DNA fragments may be manipulated, so as to provide for the DNA sequences in the proper orientation and, as appropriate, in the proper reading frame. Toward this end, adapters or linkers may be employed to join the DNA fragments or other manipulations may be involved to provide for convenient restriction sites, removal of superfluous DNA, removal of restriction sites, or the like. For this purpose, in vitro mutagenesis, primer repair, restriction, annealing, resubstitutions, e.g., transitions and trans versions, may be involved.

[0671] A number of promoters can be used in the practice of the invention. The promoters can be selected based on the desired outcome. The nucleic acids can be combined with constitutive, tissue -preferred, or other promoters for expression in plants. Such constitutive promoters include, for example, the core promoter of the Rsyn7 promoter and other constitutive promoters disclosed in WO 99 / 43838 and U.S. Patent No. 6,072,050; the core CaMV 35S promoter (Odell et al. (1985) Nature 313:810-812); rice actin (McElroy et al. (1990) Plant Cell 2: 163- 171); ubiquitin (Christensen et al. (1989) Plant Mol. Biol. 12:619-632 and Christensen et al. (1992) Plant Mol. Biol. 18:675-689); pEMU (Last et al. (1991) Theor. Appl. Genet. 81 :581- 588); MAS (Velten et al. (1984) EMBO J. 3:2723-2730); ALS promoter (U.S. Patent No. 5,659,026), and the like. Other constitutive promoters include, for example, U.S. Patent Nos. 5,608,149; 5,608,144; 5,604,121; 5,569,597; 5,466,785; 5,399,680; 5,268,463; 5,608,142; and 6,177,611.

[0672] Tissue-preferred promoters can be utilized to target enhanced mutated CesA or TriA expression within a particular plant tissue. Such tissue-preferred promoters include, but are not limited to, leaf -preferred promoters, root-preferred promoters, seed- preferred promoters, and stem-preferred promoters. Tissue-preferred promoters include Yamamoto et al. (1997) Plant J. 12(2):255-265; Kawamata et al. (1997) Plant Cell Physiol. 38(7)792- 803; Hansen et al. (1997) Mol. Gen Genet. 254(3):337-343; Russell et al. (1997) Transgenic Res. 6(2): 157- 168; Rinehart et al. (1996) Plant Physiol. 112(3): 1331-1341; Van Camp et a...

Claims

Claims:1 . A method for controlling undesired vegetation at a plant cultivation site, the method comprising the steps of: c) providing, at said site, a plant that comprises at least one nucleic acid comprising a nucleotide sequence encoding a polypeptide which is resistant or tolerant to a herbicide; d) applying to said site an effective amount of said herbicide, wherein the herbicide is a diaminotriazine compound of formula (I)whereinR1is F;R2is selected from the group consisting of H, halogen, CR2A; wherein R2Ais H or halogen;R3is H, F;R4is selected from the group consisting of F, Cl, Br, I, CR4A; wherein R4Ais H or halogen;R5is selected from the group consisting of H, halogen, CN, Ci-Ce-alkyl, (Ci-C6-alkoxy)-Ci-Ce-alkyl, Cs-Ce-cycloalkyl, (Cs-Ce-cycloalkyl)-Ci-C4-alkyl, Ci-Ce-alkoxy, C2-Ce-alkenyloxy, C2-Ce-alkynyloxy, C3-C6- cycloalkoxy, (C3-C6-cycloalkyl)-Ci-C4-alkoxy, where the aliphatic and cycloaliphatic parts of the radicals are unsubstituted, partly or completely halogenated;R6is selected from the group consisting of H, halogen, CN, Ci-Ce-alkyl, Ci-Ce-haloalkyl, Ci-Ce-alkoxy and Ci-Ce-haloalkoxy;R7is selected from the group consisting of halogen, CN, Ci-Ce-alkyl, C2-Ce-alkenyl, Cs-Ce-alkynyl, Cs- Ce-cycloalkyl, (C3-Ce-cycloalkyl)-Ci-C4-alkyl, Cs-Ce-cycloalkenyl and Ci-Ce-alkoxy-Ci-Ce-alkyl, where the aliphatic and cycloaliphatic parts of the radicals are unsubstituted, partly or completely halogenated;R6and R7together with the carbon atom to which they are attached form a moiety selected from the group consisting of carbonyl, Cs-Ce-cycloalkyl, Cs-Ce-cycloalkenyl, three- to six-membered saturated or partially unsaturated heterocyclyl, and the moiety >C=CRxRy, where Rxand Ry are hydrogen, Ci-C4-alkyl, C1-C4- haloalkyl, Cs-Ce-cycloalkyl or CRxRv form a 3- to 6-membered cycloalkyl;R8is selected from the group consisting of Ci-Ce-alkyl, C2-Ce-alkeny I, C2-Ce-alkyny I, (Ci-Ce- alkoxy)-Ci-Ce-alkyl, (Ci-Ce-alkoxy)-C2-Ce-alkenyl, (Ci-Ce-alkoxy)-C2-Ce-alkynyl, (Ci-Ce-cycloalkyl)-C2-Ce-alkynyl, (C3-C6-cycloalkyl)-Ci-C4-alkyl, (C3-C6-cycloalkoxy)-Ci-C4-alkyl, where the aforementioned radicals are unsubstituted, partly or completely halogenated and where the cycloaliphatic parts of the last 6 mentioned radicals may carry 1 , 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 methyl groups, and wherein the effective amount of said herbicide does not kill or inhibit the growth of the herbicide- tolerant plant of a).

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the herbicide resistant or tolerant polypeptide is a mutated celluloses synthase (CesA) which comprises a sequence being, over the full length, at least 80% identical to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46,47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73,74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100,101.

102.

103.

104.

105.

106.

107.

108.

109.

110.

111.

112.

113. 114, or 115, or a variant, homologue, or orthologue thereof.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the mutated CesA polypeptide comprises a variant of SEQ ID NO: 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109,110.

111.

112.

113. 114, or 115, which differs from the wildtype amino acid sequence of a CesA polypeptide at one or more positions corresponding to the following positions of SEQ ID NO:33: 998, 1009, 1010, 1013, 1052, 1055, 292, 297, 307, 872, 892, 945, 1008, 1011, 1012, 1014, 1018, 1023, 1031, 832, 840, 842, 843, 885, 928, 930, 957, or 982.

4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the herbicide resistant or tolerant polypeptide is a mutated TriA deaminase which comprises a sequence being, over the full length, at least 80% identical to the amino acid sequence of 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, or 31, or a variant, homologue, or orthologue thereof.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the mutated TriA polypeptide comprises a variant of the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, which variant differs from the wildtype amino acid sequence of a TriA polypeptide at one or more positions corresponding to the following positions of SEQ ID NO:2: 69, 70, 71, 74, 82, 84, 85, 87, 88, 89, 91, 92, 93, 96, 126, 128, 129, 130, 131, 155, 157, 160, 167, 170, 174, 180, 182, 216, 217, 219, 220, 246, 247, 248, 249, 250, 251, 298, 301, 302, 304, 328.

6. The method according to claims any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the plant comprises at least one additional heterologous nucleic acid comprising a nucleotide sequence encoding a herbicide tolerance enzyme.

7. The method according to any of claims 1 to 6 wherein the diaminotriazine of formula (I) is applied in conjunction with one or more additional herbicides.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the one or more additional herbicide is selected from the compounds of the following classes b1)-b15)b1) lipid biosynthesis inhibitors; b2) acetolactate synthase inhibitors; b3) photosynthesis inhibitors; b4) protoporphyrinogen-IX oxidase inhibitors, b5) bleacher herbicides; b6) enolpyruvyl shikimate 3-phosphate synthase inhibitors; b7) glutamine synthetase inhibitors; b8) 7,8-dihydropteroate synthase inhibitors; b9) mitosis inhibitors; b10) inhibitors of the synthesis of very long chain fatty acids; b11) cellulose biosynthesis inhibitors; b12) decoupler herbicides; b13) auxinic herbicides; b14) auxin transport inhibitors and b15) other herbicides selected from the group consisting of bromobutide, chlorflurenol, chlorflurenol-methyl, cinmethylin, cumyluron, dalapon, dazomet, difenzoquat, difenzoquat- metilsulfate, dimethipin, DSMA, dymron, endothal and its salts, etobenzanid, flamprop, flamprop-isopropyl, flamprop-methyl, flamprop-M-isopropyl, flamprop-M-methyl, flurenol, flurenol-butyl, flurprimidol, fosamine, fosamine-ammonium, indanofan, indaziflam, maleic hydrazide, mefluidide, metam, methiozolin, methyl azide, methyl bromide, methyl-dymron, methyl iodide, MSMA, oleic acid, oxaziclomefone, pelargonic acid, pyributicarb, quinoclamine, tetflupyrolimet, triaziflam, tridiphane and 6-chloro-3-(2-cyclopropyl-6-methylphenoxy)-4- pyridazinol and its salts and esters including their agriculturally acceptable salts or derivatives