Acetohydroxyacid synthase (AHAS) is the first common enzyme in the biosynthetic pathway leading to the production of various branched-chain amino acids. AHAS is recognized as a promising target for new antituberculosis drugs, antibacterial drugs, and herbicides. Extensive first-principles quantum mechanical (QM) and hybrid quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical (QM/MM) calculations have enabled us, in this study, to uncover the fundamental reaction pathway, determine the activation barriers, and obtain valuable insights concerning the specific roles of key amino acid residues for the common s...
