Strobilurins and Other Qo Inhibitors

Strobilurins have long been among the most commercially successful and heavily researched crop protection fungicides. The story of the discovery and continuing evolution of these compounds encompasses many fascinating aspects of modern crop protection research. These include: (i) the strobilurins' origins in natural products targeting the Qo binding site of the mitochondrial bc 1 complex, (ii) simultaneous industrial research programs resulting in an intense patent race leading to the first commercial products, (iii) the early availability of biochemical and bioanalytical techniques enabling a more rational approach to lead compound optimization, and (iv) the emergence of fungal resistance and the impetus thus provided to recent research activities. By surveying and distilling the key features of decades of research on strobilurins and other Qo inhibitors, this chapter aims to provide an example that might be widely instructive for crop protection research.