Acetohydroxyacid synthase (AHAS, EC 2.2.1.6) is the first enzyme in the biosynthetic pathway of the branched chain amino acids. The function of AHAS is to catalyze the condensation of two molecules of pyruvate to form acetolactate (the precursor of valine and leucine) or one molecule of pyruvate with a molecule of 2-ketobutyrate to generate 2-aceto-2-hydroxybutyrate (the precursor of isoleucine). AHAS is the target enzyme for several Keywords : Acetohydroxy Acid Synthase, Oryza Sativa , branched-chain amino acids, sulfonylurea herbicides