Crystallization Buffer (crystallization + buffer)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Crystal structures of thymidylate synthase mutant R166Q: Structural basis for the nearly complete loss of catalytic activity,

JOURNAL OF BIOCHEMICAL AND MOLECULAR TOXICOLOGY, Issue 2 2006
Rogerio R. Sotelo-Mundo
Abstract Thymidylate synthase (TS) catalyzes the folate-dependent methylation of deoxyuridine monophosphate (dUMP) to form thymidine monophosphate (dTMP). We have investigated the role of invariant arginine 166, one of four arginines that contact the dUMP phosphate, using site-directed mutagenesis, X-ray crystallography, and TS from Escherichia coli. The R166Q mutant was crystallized in the presence of dUMP and a structure determined to 2.9 Å resolution, but neither the ligand nor the sulfate from the crystallization buffer was found in the active site. A second structure determined with crystals prepared in the presence of dUMP and the antifolate 10-propargyl-5,8-dideazafolate revealed that the inhibitor was bound in an extended, nonproductive conformation, partially occupying the nucleotide-binding site. A sulfate ion, rather than dUMP, was found in the nucleotide phosphate-binding site. Previous studies have shown that the substitution at three of the four arginines of the dUMP phosphate-binding site is permissive; however; for Arg166, all the mutations lead to a near-inactive mutant. The present structures of TS R166Q reveal that the phosphate-binding site is largely intact, but with a substantially reduced affinity for phosphate, despite the presence of the three remaining arginines. The position of Cys146, which initiates catalysis, is shifted in the mutant and resides in a position that interferes with the binding of the dUMP pyrimidine moiety. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biochem Mol Toxicol 20:88,92, 2006; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/jbt.20122 [source]


Structure at 1.5,Å resolution of cytochrome c552 with its flexible linker segment, a membrane-anchored protein from Paracoccus denitrificans

ACTA CRYSTALLOGRAPHICA SECTION D, Issue 7 2010
Chitra Rajendran
Electron transfer (ET) between the large membrane-integral redox complexes in the terminal part of the respiratory chain is mediated either by a soluble c -type cytochrome, as in mitochondria, or by a membrane-anchored cytochrome c, as described for the ET chain of the bacterium Paracoccus denitrificans. Here, the structure of cytochrome c552 from P. denitrificans with the linker segment that attaches the globular domain to the membrane anchor is presented. Cytochrome c552 including the linker segment was crystallized and its structure was determined by molecular replacement. The structural features provide functionally important information. The prediction of the flexibility of the linker region [Berry & Trumpower (1985), J. Biol. Chem.260, 2458,2467] was confirmed by our crystal structure. The N-terminal region from residues 13 to 31 is characterized by poor electron density, which is compatible with high mobility of this region. This result indicates that this region is highly flexible, which is functionally important for this protein to shuttle electrons between complexes III and IV in the respiratory chain. Zinc present in the crystallization buffer played a key role in the successful crystallization of this protein. It provided rigidity to the long negatively charged flexible loop by coordinating negatively charged residues from two different molecules and by enhancing the crystal contacts. [source]


Crystallization and preliminary X-ray analysis of mannosyl-3-phosphoglycerate synthase from Thermus thermophilus HB27

ACTA CRYSTALLOGRAPHICA SECTION F (ELECTRONIC), Issue 10 2009
Susana Gonçalves
Mannosylglycerate (MG) is a compatible solute that is widespread in marine organisms that are adapted to hot environments, with its intracellular pool generally increasing in response to osmotic stress. These observations suggest that MG plays a relevant role in osmoadaptation and thermoadaptation. The pathways for the synthesis of MG have been characterized in a number of thermophilic and hyperthermophilic organisms. Mannosyl-3-phosphoglycerate synthase (MpgS) is a key enzyme in the biosynthesis of MG. Here, the purification, crystallization and preliminary crystallographic characterization of apo MpgS from Thermus thermophilus HB27 are reported. The addition of Zn2+ to the crystallization buffer was essential in order to obtain crystals. The crystals belonged to one of the enantiomorphic tetragonal space groups P41212 or P43212, with unit-cell parameters a = b = 113, c = 197,Å. Diffraction data were obtained to a resolution of 2.97,Å. [source]


A preliminary neutron crystallographic study of proteinase K at pD 6.5

ACTA CRYSTALLOGRAPHICA SECTION F (ELECTRONIC), Issue 2 2009
Anna S. Gardberg
A preliminary neutron crystallographic study of the proteolytic enzyme proteinase K is presented. Large hydrogenated crystals were prepared in deuterated crystallization buffer using the vapor-diffusion method. Data were collected to a resolution of 2.3,Å on the LADI-III diffractometer at the Institut Laue,Langevin (ILL) in 2.5,d. The results demonstrate the feasibility of a full neutron crystallographic analysis of this structure with the aim of providing relevant information on the location of H atoms, particularly at the active site. This information will contribute to further understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the catalytic activity of proteinase K and to an enriched understanding of the subtilisin clan of serine proteases. [source]