An N-carbamoyl-beta-alanine amidohydrolase of industrial interest from Agrobacterium tumefaciens C58 (beta car(At)) has been characterized. Beta car(At) is most active at 30 degrees C and pH 8.0 with N-carbamoyl-beta-alanine as a substrate. The purified enzyme is completely inactivated by the metal-chelating agent 8-hydroxyquinoline-5-sulfonic acid (HQSA), and activity is restored by the addition of divalent metal ions, such as Mn(2+), Ni(2+), and Co(2+). The native enzyme is a homodimer with a molecular mass of 90 kDa from pH 5.5 to 9.0. The enzyme has a broad substrate spectrum and hydrolyzes nonsubstituted N-carbamoyl-alpha-, -beta-, -gamma-, and -delta-amino acids, with the greatest catalytic efficiency for N-carbamoyl-beta-alanine. Beta car(At) also recognizes substrate analogues substituted with sulfonic and phosphonic acid groups to produce the beta-amino acids taurine and ciliatine, respectively. Beta car(At) is able to produce monosubstituted beta(2)- and beta(3)-amino acids, showing better catalytic efficiency (k(cat)/K(m)) for the production of the former. For both types of monosubstituted substrates, the enzyme hydrolyzes N-carbamoyl-beta-amino acids with a short aliphatic side chain better than those with aromatic rings. These properties make beta car(At) an outstanding candidate for application in the biotechnology industry.