Structural basis for herbicidal inhibitor selectivity revealed by comparison of crystal structures of plant and mammalian 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenases.

A high degree of selectivity toward the target site of the pest organism is a desirable attribute for new safer agrochemicals. To assist in the design of novel herbicides, we determined the crystal structures of the herbicidal target enzyme 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase (HPPD; EC 1.13.