Advanced herbicides and treatments for infection may result from the unraveling of a 50-year-old mystery by University of Queensland researchers.

The research team, led by UQ’s Professor Luke Guddat, revealed the complete three-dimensional structure of an enzyme, providing the first step in the biosynthesis of three essential amino acids —leucine, valine and isoleucine.

“This is a major scientific advance, which has been pursued globally by chemists for half a century,” Professor Guddat said.