Crystallization and preliminary X-ray diffraction studies of tulip aryl acylamidase: a key enzyme in plant herbicide detoxification

Crystals of aryl acylamidase (E.C. 3.5.1.13) from tulip bulbs have been obtained by the hanging-drop vapor-diffusion method using polyethylene glycol (PEG) 8000 as a precipitant. The crystals belong to space group P2₁2₁2₁ with unit-cell dimensions a = 68.7, b = 80.1 and c = 112.9 Å. Assuming two molecules of molecular weight of 34 kDa in the asymmetric unit, V_m is 2.28 Å³ Da^-1, indicating a solvent content of approximately 46%. The intensity data have been collected to 2.5 Å resolution with an R_merge of 0.067.