A number of slow tight-binding inhibitors are known for glutamine synthetase that resemble the geometry of the tetrahedral intermediate formed during the enzyme-catalyzed condensation of gamma-glutamyl phosphate and ammonia. One of these inhibitors, phosphinothricin [L-2-amino-4-(hydroxymethyl-phosphinyl)butanoic acid], has been investigated by rapid kinetic methods. Phosphinothricin not only exhibits the kinetic properties of a slow tight-binding inhibitor but also undergoes phosphorylation during the course of the ATP-dependent inactivation. The acid lability of phosphinothricin phosphate enabled investigation of the kinetics of glutamine synthetase inactivation using rapid quench kinetic techniques. The rate-limiting step in the inhibition reaction is the binding of inhibitor (0.004-0.014 microM-1 s-1) and/or a conformational change associated with binding, which is several orders of magnitude slower than the binding of ATP. The association rate of phosphinothricin depends on which metal ion is bound to the enzyme (Mn2+ or Mg2+). With Mn2+ bound to glutamine synthetase the rate of association and the phosphorylation rate are faster than when Mg2+ is bound. The data are interpreted with use of a model in which the binding of a substrate analogue with a tetrahedral moiety enhances the phosphorylation rate of the reaction intermediate; however, the initial binding interaction is retarded because the enzyme has to bind a molecule that has a "transition-state" geometry rather than a ground-state substrate structure. During the course of the inactivation, progressively slower rates for binding and phosphoryl transfer were observed, indicating communication between active sites.