HPPD: ligand- and target-based virtual screening on a herbicide target

J Chem Inf Model. 2010 May 24;50(5):801-14. doi: 10.1021/ci900498n.

Abstract

Hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase (HPPD) has proven to be a very successful target for the development of herbicides with bleaching properties, and today HPPD inhibitors are well established in the agrochemical market. Syngenta has a long history of HPPD-inhibitor research, and HPPD was chosen as a case study for the validation of diverse ligand- and target-based virtual screening approaches to identify compounds with inhibitory properties. Two-dimensional extended connectivity fingerprints, three-dimensional shape-based tools (ROCS, EON, and Phase-shape) and a pharmacophore approach (Phase) were used as ligand-based methods; Glide and Gold were used as target-based. Both the virtual screening utility and the scaffold-hopping ability of the screening tools were assessed. Particular emphasis was put on the specific pitfalls to take into account for the design of a virtual screening campaign in an agrochemical context, as compared to a pharmaceutical environment.

MeSH terms

  • 4-Hydroxyphenylpyruvate Dioxygenase / antagonists & inhibitors
  • 4-Hydroxyphenylpyruvate Dioxygenase / metabolism*
  • Herbicides / chemistry*
  • Herbicides / pharmacology*
  • Ligands
  • Models, Molecular
  • Molecular Structure
  • Plants / enzymology*

Substances

  • Herbicides
  • Ligands
  • 4-Hydroxyphenylpyruvate Dioxygenase