Glyphosate: a once-in-a-century herbicide.

This article reports on glyphosate, a highly effective broad-spectrum herbicide. It discusses that glyphosate has become the dominant herbicide worldwide because it is very toxicologically and environmentally safe. Glyphosate is the only herbicide that targets 5-enolpyruvyl-shikimate-3-phosphate synthase and it translocates well. Its cost has dropped dramatically after glyphosate became a generic compound. However, the use of this herbicide is being threatened by the evolution of glyphosate-resistant weeds.