Research progress on the molecular targets of herbicides

Herbicides account for more than half of global pesticide applications. The long-term and massive use of herbicides led to the emergence of resistant weeds against the existing herbicides. Thus, it is very urgent to discover new molecular targets or new mechanisms of action of herbicides. In this view, the research progresses on the types, biochemical functions and three-dimensional structures of existing herbicide molecular targets, as well as representative commercialized herbicides in recent decades were summarized. An outlook on the current status of herbicide molecular target discovery as well as new technologies were provided. This review may provide some guidance for the discovery of herbicide molecular targets and the development of green herbicides.