Treatment with acifluorfen-methyl (AFM), methyl 5-(2-chloro-4-[tri-fluoromethyl] phenoxy)-2-nitrobenzoate, inhibited protochlorophyllide synthesis in dark-held, delta-amino levulinic acid-fed, excised cotyledons of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.). Protochlorophyllide and protoporphyrin IX levels in AFM-treated cotyledons were inversely related and dependent on AFM concentration; as the herbicide dose increased, protoporphyrin IX levels also increased with a concomitant loss of protochlorophyllide. Significant protoporphyrin IX accumulation was induced by concentrations of AFM from the linear region of the membrane disruption dose response curve. The pattern of precursor accumulation seen in HPLC chromatograms from extracts of AFM-treated tissue indicate that Mg insertion into the tetrapyrrole ring is inhibited, suggesting interference with Mg-chelatase. An inhibitor of delta-amino levulinic acid synthesis, gabaculine (3-amino-2,3-dihydrobenzoic acid), completely blocked the membrane disruption activity of AFM in illuminated cotyledons. Protoporphyrin IX accumulating in AFM-treated tissues may serve as the primary photosensitizer for initiating lipid peroxidation.