Numerous studies have confirmed that glyphosate forms a tight ternary complex with EPSP synthase and shikimate 3-phosphate. It has been proposed [Anton, D., Hedstrom, L., Fish, S., & Abeles, R. (1983) Biochemistry 22, 5903-5908; Steinrücken, H. C., & Amrhein, N. (1984) Eur. J. Biochem. 143, 351-357] that in this complex glyphosate functions as a transition-state analog of the putative phosphoenolpyruvoyl oxonium ion. For this to be true, glyphosate must occupy the space in the enzyme active site that is normally associated with PEP and, through turnover, the carboxyvinyl group of the product EPSP. According to this model, one would predict that, in the reverse EPSP synthase reaction with EPSP and phosphate as substrates, there should be little if any interaction of glyphosate with enzyme or enzyme.substrate complexes. In contrast to this expectation, rapid gel filtration experiments provided direct evidence that glyphosate could be trapped on the enzyme in the presence of EPSP to form a ternary complex of EPSPS.EPSP.glyphosate. The experimentally determined stoichiometry for this complex, 0.62 equiv of glyphosate/mole of EPSPS, is similar to that found for the EPSPS.S3P.glyphosate ternary complex (0.66). This direct binding result was corroborated and quantitated by fluorescence titration experiments which demonstrated that glyphosate forms a reasonably tight (Kd = 56 +/- 1 microM) ternary complex with enzyme and EPSP. This finding was further verified, and its impact on substrate turnover analyzed, by steady-state kinetics. Glyphosate was found to be an uncompetitive inhibitor versus EPSP with Kii(app) = 54 +/- 2 microM.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)