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The ferredoxin component of carbazole 1,9a-dioxygenase (CARDO-F) is involved in an electron-transfer reaction. The CARDO-F from Novosphingobium sp. KA1 was crystallized under anaerobic conditions and diffracted to a resolution of 1.9 Å.

Novosphingobium sp. KA1 uses carbazole 1,9a-dioxygenase (CARDO) as the first dioxygenase in its carbazole-degradation pathway. The CARDO of KA1 contains a terminal oxygenase component and two electron-transfer components: ferredoxin and ferredoxin reductase. In contrast to the CARDO systems of other species, the ferredoxin component of KA1 is a putidaredoxin-type protein. This novel ferredoxin was crystallized at 293 K by the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion method using PEG MME 550 as the precipitant under anaerobic conditions. The crystals belong to space group C2221 and diffraction data were collected to a resolution of 1.9 Å (the diffraction limit was 1.6 Å).

The ferredoxin reductase component of carbazole 1,9a-dioxygenase (Red) is involved in electron transfer from NAD(P)H to ferredoxin. The class IIA Red from Novosphingobium sp. KA1 was crystallized and the crystal diffracted to a resolution of 1.58 Å.

Carbazole 1,9a-dioxygenase (CARDO) is the initial enzyme of the carbazole-degradation pathway. The CARDO of Novosphingobium sp. KA1 consists of a terminal oxygenase, a putidaredoxin-type ferredoxin and a ferredoxin-NADH oxidoreductase (Red) and is classified as a class IIA Rieske oxygenase. Red from KA1 was crystallized at 278 K by the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion method using PEG 4000. The crystal diffracted to 1.58 Å resolution and belonged to space group P32, with unit-cell parameters a = b = 92.2, c = 78.6 Å, α = γ = 90, β = 120°. Preliminary analysis of the X-ray diffraction data revealed that the asymmetric unit contained two Red monomers. The crystal appeared to be a merohedral twin, with a twin fraction of 0.32 and twin law (−h, −k, l).

The electron-transfer complex between the terminal oxygenase and ferredoxin of carbazole 1,9a-dioxygenase was crystallized and diffraction data were collected to 1.90 Å resolution.

Carbazole 1,9a-dioxygenase, which consists of an oxygenase component (CARDO-O) and the electron-transport components ferredoxin (CARDO-F) and ferredoxin reductase (CARDO-R), catalyzes dihydroxylation at the C1 and C9a positions of carbazole. The electron-transport complex between CARDO-­O and CARDO-F crystallizes at 293 K using hanging-drop vapour diffusion with the precipitant PEG MME 2000 (type I crystals) or PEG 3350 (type II). Blossom-shaped crystals form from a pile of triangular plate-shaped crystals. The type I crystal diffracts to a maximum resolution of 1.90 Å and belongs to space group P21, with unit-cell parameters a = 97.1, b = 89.8, c = 104.9 Å, α = γ = 90, β = 103.8°. Diffraction data for the type I crystal gave an overall R merge of 8.0% and a completeness of 100%. Its V M value is 2.63 Å3 Da−1, indicating a solvent content of 53.2%.

The NAD(P)H:ferredoxin oxidoreductase in carbazole 1,9a-dioxygenase from Janthinobacterium sp. J3 was crystallized and diffraction data were collected to 2.60 Å resolution.

Carbazole 1,9a-dioxygenase (CARDO), which consists of an oxygenase component (CARDO-O) and the electron-transport components ferredoxin (CARDO-F) and ferredoxin reductase (CARDO-R), catalyzes dihydroxylation at the C1 and C9a positions of carbazole. CARDO-R was crystallized at 277 K using the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion method with the precipitant PEG 8000. Two crystal types (types I and II) were obtained. The type I crystal diffracted to a maximum resolution of 2.80 Å and belonged to space group P42212, with unit-cell parameters a = b = 158.7, c = 81.4 Å. The type II crystal was obtained in drops from which type I crystals had been removed; it diffracted to 2.60 Å resolution and belonged to the same space group, with unit-cell parameters a = b = 161.8, c = 79.5 Å.

The ferredoxin component of carbazole 1,9a-dioxygenase from N. aromaticivorans IC177 was crystallized and diffraction data were collected to 2.0 Å resolution.

Carbazole 1,9a-dioxygenase (CARDO) catalyzes the dihydroxylation of carbazole by angular position (C9a) carbon bonding to the imino nitrogen and its adjacent C1 carbon. CARDO consists of a terminal oxygenase component and two electron-transfer components: ferredoxin and ferredoxin reductase. The ferredoxin component of carbazole 1,9a-dioxygenase from Nocardioides aromaticivorans IC177 was crystallized at 293 K using the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion method with ammonium sulfate as the precipitant. The crystals, which were improved by macroseeding, diffract to 2.0 Å resolution and belong to space group P41212.

The terminal oxygenase component of carbazole 1,9a-dioxygenase from N. aromaticivorans IC177 was crystallized and diffraction data were collected to 2.30 Å resolution.

Carbazole 1,9a-dioxygenase (CARDO) catalyzes the dihydroxylation of carbazole by angular-position (C9a) carbon bonding to the imino nitrogen and its adjacent C1 carbon. CARDO consists of a terminal oxygenase component and two electron-transfer components: ferredoxin and ferredoxin reductase. The terminal oxygenase component (43.9 kDa) of carbazole 1,9a-dioxygenase from Nocardioides aromaticivorans IC177 was crystallized at 293 K using the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion method with PEG 8000 as the precipitant. The crystals diffract to 2.3 Å resolution and belong to space group C2.

Background

Dihydroxylation of tandemly linked aromatic carbons in a cis-configuration, catalyzed by multicomponent oxygenase systems known as Rieske nonheme iron oxygenase systems (ROs), often constitute the initial step of aerobic degradation pathways for various aromatic compounds. Because such RO reactions inherently govern whether downstream degradation processes occur, novel oxygenation mechanisms involving oxygenase components of ROs (RO-Os) is of great interest. Despite substantial progress in structural and physicochemical analyses, no consensus exists on the chemical steps in the catalytic cycles of ROs. Thus, determining whether conformational changes at the active site of RO-O occur by substrate and/or oxygen binding is important. Carbazole 1,9a-dioxygenase (CARDO), a RO member consists of catalytic terminal oxygenase (CARDO-O), ferredoxin (CARDO-F), and ferredoxin reductase. We have succeeded in determining the crystal structures of oxidized CARDO-O, oxidized CARDO-F, and both oxidized and reduced forms of the CARDO-O: CARDO-F binary complex.

Results

In the present study, we determined the crystal structures of the reduced carbazole (CAR)-bound, dioxygen-bound, and both CAR- and dioxygen-bound CARDO-O: CARDO-F binary complex structures at 1.95, 1.85, and 2.00 Å resolution. These structures revealed the conformational changes that occur in the catalytic cycle. Structural comparison between complex structures in each step of the catalytic mechanism provides several implications, such as the order of substrate and dioxygen bindings, the iron-dioxygen species likely being Fe(III)-(hydro)peroxo, and the creation of room for dioxygen binding and the promotion of dioxygen binding in desirable fashion by preceding substrate binding.

Conclusions

The RO catalytic mechanism is proposed as follows: When the Rieske cluster is reduced, substrate binding induces several conformational changes (e.g., movements of the nonheme iron and the ligand residue) that create room for oxygen binding. Dioxygen bound in a side-on fashion onto nonheme iron is activated by reduction to the peroxo state [Fe(III)-(hydro)peroxo]. This state may react directly with the bound substrate, or O–O bond cleavage may occur to generate Fe(V)-oxo-hydroxo species prior to the reaction. After producing a cis-dihydrodiol, the product is released by reducing the nonheme iron. This proposed scheme describes the catalytic cycle of ROs and provides important information for a better understanding of the mechanism.

The carbazole degradative car-I gene cluster (carAaIBaIBbICIAcI) of Sphingomonas sp. strain KA1 is located on the 254-kb circular plasmid pCAR3. Carbazole conversion to anthranilate is catalyzed by carbazole 1,9a-dioxygenase (CARDO; CarAaIAcI), meta-cleavage enzyme (CarBaIBbI), and hydrolase (CarCI). CARDO is a three-component dioxygenase, and CarAaI and CarAcI are its terminal oxygenase and ferredoxin components. The car-I gene cluster lacks the gene encoding the ferredoxin reductase component of CARDO. In the present study, based on the draft sequence of pCAR3, we found multiple carbazole degradation genes dispersed in four loci on pCAR3, including a second copy of the car gene cluster (carAaIIBaIIBbIICIIAcII) and the ferredoxin/reductase genes fdxI-fdrI and fdrII. Biotransformation experiments showed that FdrI (or FdrII) could drive the electron transfer chain from NAD(P)H to CarAaI (or CarAaII) with the aid of ferredoxin (CarAcI, CarAcII, or FdxI). Because this electron transfer chain showed phylogenetic relatedness to that consisting of putidaredoxin and putidaredoxin reductase of the P450cam monooxygenase system of Pseudomonas putida, CARDO systems of KA1 can be classified in the class IIA Rieske non-heme iron oxygenase system. Reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) and quantitative RT-PCR analyses revealed that two car gene clusters constituted operons, and their expression was induced when KA1 was exposed to carbazole, although the fdxI-fdrI and fdrII genes were expressed constitutively. Both terminal oxygenases of KA1 showed roughly the same substrate specificity as that from the well-characterized carbazole degrader Pseudomonas resinovorans CA10, although slight differences were observed.

The carbazole 1,9a-dioxygenase (CARDO) system of Pseudomonas resinovorans strain CA10 consists of terminal oxygenase (CarAa), ferredoxin (CarAc), and ferredoxin reductase (CarAd). Each component of CARDO was expressed in Escherichia coli strain BL21(DE3) as a native form (CarAa) or a His-tagged form (CarAc and CarAd) and was purified to apparent homogeneity. CarAa was found to be trimeric and to have one Rieske type [2Fe-2S] cluster and one mononuclear iron center in each monomer. Both His-tagged proteins were found to be monomeric and to contain the prosthetic groups predicted from the deduced amino acid sequence (His-tagged CarAd, one FAD and one [2Fe-2S] cluster per monomer protein; His-tagged CarAc, one Rieske type [2Fe-2S] cluster per monomer protein). Both NADH and NADPH were effective as electron donors for His-tagged CarAd. However, since the kcat/Km for NADH is 22.3-fold higher than that for NADPH in the 2,6-dichlorophenolindophenol reductase assay, NADH was supposed to be the physiological electron donor of CarAd. In the presence of NADH, His-tagged CarAc was reduced by His-tagged CarAd. Similarly, CarAa was reduced by His-tagged CarAc, His-tagged CarAd, and NADH. The three purified proteins could reconstitute the CARDO activity in vitro. In the reconstituted CARDO system, His-tagged CarAc seemed to be indispensable for electron transport, while His-tagged CarAd could be replaced by some unrelated reductases.

Carbazole 1,9a-dioxygenase (CARDO) from Pseudomonas sp. strain CA10 is a multicomponent enzyme that catalyzes the angular dioxygenation of carbazole, dibenzofuran, and dibenzo-p-dioxin. It was revealed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and 1H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance analyses that xanthene and phenoxathiin were converted to 2,2′,3-trihydroxydiphenylmethane and 2,2′,3-trihydroxydiphenyl sulfide, respectively. Thus, for xanthene and phenoxathiin, angular dioxygenation by CARDO occurred at the angular position adjacent to the oxygen atom to yield hetero ring-cleaved compounds. In addition to the angular dioxygenation, CARDO catalyzed the cis dihydroxylation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and biphenyl. Naphthalene and biphenyl were converted by CARDO to cis-1,2-dihydroxy-1,2-dihydronaphthalene and cis-2,3-dihydroxy-2,3-dihydrobiphenyl, respectively. On the other hand, CARDO also catalyzed the monooxygenation of sulfur heteroatoms in dibenzothiophene and of the benzylic methylenic group in fluorene to yield dibenzothiophene-5-oxide and 9-hydroxyfluorene, respectively. These results indicate that CARDO has a broad substrate range and can catalyze diverse oxygenation: angular dioxygenation, cis dihydroxylation, and monooxygenation. The diverse oxygenation catalyzed by CARDO for several aromatic compounds might reflect the differences in the binding of the substrates to the reaction center of CARDO.

PheB, an extradiol-cleaving catecholic dioxygenase, was crystallized by the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion method using PEG 4000 as a precipitant. The crystal belongs to the orthorhombic system, space group P212121, and diffracts to 2.3 Å resolution.

Class II extradiol-cleaving catecholic dioxygenase, a key enzyme of aromatic compound degradation in bacteria, cleaves the aromatic ring of catechol by adding two O atoms. PheB is one of the class II extradiol-cleaving catecholic dioxygenases and shows a high substrate specificity for catechol derivatives, which have one aromatic ring. In order to reveal the mechanism of the substrate specificity of PheB, PheB has been crystallized by the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion method using PEG 4000 as a precipitant. The space group of the obtained crystal was P212121, with unit-cell parameters a = 65.5, b = 119.2, c = 158.7 Å. The crystal diffracted to 2.3 Å resolution.

BphA3, a Rieske-type [2Fe–2S] ferredoxin, was crystallized by the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion method. A molecular-replacement calculation yielded a satisfactory solution.

BphA3, a Rieske-type [2Fe–2S] ferredoxin component of a biphenyl dioxygenase (BphA) from Pseudomonas sp. strain KKS102, was crystallized by the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion method. Two crystal forms were obtained from the same conditions. The form I crystal belongs to space group P21212, with unit-cell parameters a = 26.3, b = 144.3, c = 61.5 Å, and diffracted to 2.45 Å resolution. The form II crystal belongs to space group P212121, with unit-cell parameters a = 26.2, b = 121.3, c = 142.7 Å, and diffracted to 2.8 Å resolution. A molecular-replacement calculation using BphF as a search model yielded a satisfactory solution for both forms.

Salicylate 1,2-dioxygenase, a new ring-fission dioxygenase from the naphthalenesulfonate-degrading strain P. salicylatoxidans, which oxidizes salicylate to 2-oxohepta-3,5-dienedioic acid by a novel ring-fission mechanism, has been crystallized. The crystals obtained give diffraction data to 2.9 Å resolution which could assist in the elucidation of the catalytic mechanism of this peculiar dioxygenase.

Salicylate 1,2-dioxygenase, a new ring-fission dioxygenase from the naphthalenesulfonate-degrading strain Pseudaminobacter salicylatoxidans which oxidizes salicylate to 2-oxohepta-3,5-dienedioic acid by a novel ring-fission mechanism, has been crystallized. Diffraction-quality crystals of salicylate 1,2-dioxygenase were obtained using the sitting-drop vapour-diffusion method at 277 K from a solution containing 10%(w/v) ethanol, 6%(w/v) PEG 400, 0.1 M sodium acetate pH 4.6. Crystals belong to the primitive tetragonal space group P43212 or P41212, with unit-cell parameters a = 133.3, c = 191.51 Å. A complete data set at 100 K extending to a maximum resolution of 2.9 Å was collected at a wavelength of 0.8423 Å. Molecular replacement using the coordinates of known extradiol dioxygenases structures as a model has so far failed to provide a solution for salicylate 1,2-dioxygenase. Attempts are currently being made to solve the structure of the enzyme by MAD experiments using the anomalous signal of the catalytic FeII ions. The salicylate 1,2-dioxygenase structural model will assist in the elucidation of the catalytic mechanism of this ring-fission dioxygenase from P. salicylatoxidans, which differs markedly from the known gentisate 1,2-­dioxygenases or 1-hydroxy-2-naphthoate dioxygenases because of its unique ability to oxidatively cleave salicylate, gentisate and 1-hydroxy-2-naphthoate with high catalytic efficiency.

Biphenyl 2,3-dioxygenase from B. xenovorans LB400 and its variants BPDOP4 and BPDORR41 were crystallized using agarose gel and the crystals were characterized using X-ray diffraction.

Biphenyl 2,3-dioxygenase (BPDO; EC 1.14.12.18) catalyzes the initial step in the degradation of biphenyl and some polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). BPDOLB400, the terminal dioxygenase component from Burkholderia xenovorans LB400, a proteobacterial species that degrades a broad range of PCBs, has been crystallized under anaerobic conditions by sitting-drop vapour diffusion. Initial crystals obtained using various polyethylene glycols as precipitating agents diffracted to very low resolution (∼8 Å) and the recorded reflections were diffuse and poorly shaped. The quality of the crystals was significantly improved by the addition of 0.2% agarose to the crystallization cocktail. In the presence of agarose, wild-type BPDOLB400 crystals that diffracted to 2.4 Å resolution grew in space group P1. Crystals of the BPDOP4 and BPDORR41 variants of BPDOLB400 grew in space group P21.

Preliminary crystallographic data are reported for 1H-3-hydroxy-4-oxoquinaldine 2,4-dioxygenase (HOD) from A. nitroguajacolicus Rü61a.

1H-3-Hydroxy-4-oxoquinaldine 2,4-dioxygenase (HOD) is a cofactor-devoid dioxygenase that is involved in the anthranilate pathway of quinaldine degradation. HOD has been proposed to belong to the α/β-hydrolase-fold superfamily of enzymes. N-terminally His6-tagged HOD has been crystallized by the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion method using sodium/potassium tartrate as a precipitant and CuCl2 as an additive. The structure was solved by the single anomalous dispersion (SAD) technique using data collected to 3.5 Å resolution at the Cu absorption peak wavelength. The crystals belong to the primitive tetragonal space group P43212, with unit-cell parameters a = b = 153.788, c = 120.872 Å.

Background

The initial step involved in oxidative hydroxylation of monoaromatic and polyaromatic compounds by the microorganism Sphingobium yanoikuyae strain B1 (B1), previously known as Sphingomonas yanoikuyae strain B1 and Beijerinckia sp. strain B1, is performed by a set of multiple terminal Rieske non-heme iron oxygenases. These enzymes share a single electron donor system consisting of a reductase and a ferredoxin (BPDO-FB1). One of the terminal Rieske oxygenases, biphenyl 2,3-dioxygenase (BPDO-OB1), is responsible for B1's ability to dihydroxylate large aromatic compounds, such as chrysene and benzo[a]pyrene.

Results

In this study, crystal structures of BPDO-OB1 in both native and biphenyl bound forms are described. Sequence and structural comparisons to other Rieske oxygenases show this enzyme to be most similar, with 43.5 % sequence identity, to naphthalene dioxygenase from Pseudomonas sp. strain NCIB 9816-4. While structurally similar to naphthalene 1,2-dioxygenase, the active site entrance is significantly larger than the entrance for naphthalene 1,2-dioxygenase. Differences in active site residues also allow the binding of large aromatic substrates. There are no major structural changes observed upon binding of the substrate. BPDO-FB1 has large sequence identity to other bacterial Rieske ferredoxins whose structures are known and demonstrates a high structural homology; however, differences in side chain composition and conformation around the Rieske cluster binding site are noted.

Conclusion

This is the first structure of a Rieske oxygenase that oxidizes substrates with five aromatic rings to be reported. This ability to catalyze the oxidation of larger substrates is a result of both a larger entrance to the active site as well as the ability of the active site to accommodate larger substrates. While the biphenyl ferredoxin is structurally similar to other Rieske ferredoxins, there are distinct changes in the amino acids near the iron-sulfur cluster. Because this ferredoxin is used by multiple oxygenases present in the B1 organism, this ferredoxin-oxygenase system provides the structural platform to dissect the balance between promiscuity and selectivity in protein-protein electron transport systems.

All three components of the toluene dioxygenase system have been expressed, purified and crystallized.

Pseudomonas putida F1 can grow with toluene as its sole source of carbon and energy. The initial reaction of the degradation of toluene is catalyzed by a three-component toluene dioxygenase enzyme system consisting of a reductase (ReductaseTOL), a ferredoxin (FerredoxinTOL) and a Rieske non-heme iron dioxygenase (OxygenaseTOL). The three components and the apoenzyme of the dioxygenase (apo-OxygenaseTOL) were overexpressed, purified and crystallized. ReductaseTOL diffracts to 1.8 Å and belongs to space group P41212, with unit-cell parameters a = b = 77.1, c = 156.3 Å. FerredoxinTOL diffracts to 1.2 Å and belongs to space group P21, with unit-cell parameters a = 30.5, b = 52.0, c = 30.95 Å, β = 113.7°. Apo-OxygenaseTOL and OxygenaseTOL diffract to 3.2 Å and belong to space group P4332, with unit-cell parameters a = 235.9 Å and a = 234.5 Å, respectively.

The extracellular rubber-degrading enzyme rubber oxygenase A (RoxA) from Xanthomonas sp. strain 35Y has been crystallized and diffraction data have been collected to high resolution.

Rubber oxygenase A (RoxA) from Xanthomonas sp. strain 35Y is an extracellular dioxygenase that is capable of cleaving the double bonds of poly(cis-1,4-isoprene) into short-chain isoprene units with 12-oxo-4,8-dimethyl-trideca-4,8-diene-1-al (ODTD) as the major cleavage product. Crystals of the dihaem c-type cytochrome RoxA were grown by sitting-drop vapour diffusion using polyethylene glycol as a precipitant. RoxA crystallized in space group P21, with unit-cell parameters a = 72.4, b = 97.1, c = 101.1 Å, β = 98.39°, resulting in two monomers per asymmetric unit. Diffraction data were collected to a limiting resolution of 1.8 Å. Despite a protein weight of 74.1 kDa and only two iron sites per monomer, phasing was successfully carried out by multiple-wavelength anomalous dispersion.

PHBH from Corynebacterium glutamicum was crystallized using the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion method in the presence of NaH2PO4 and K2HPO4 as precipitants. X-ray diffraction data were collected to a maximum resolution of 2.5 Å on a synchrotron beamline.

p-Hydroxybenzoate hydroxylase (PHBH) is an FAD-dependent mono­oxygenase that catalyzes the hydroxylation of p-hydroxybenzoate (pOHB) to 3,4-dihydroxybenzoate in an NADPH-dependent reaction and plays an important role in the biodegradation of aromatic compounds. PHBH from Corynebacterium glutamicum was crystallized using the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion method in the presence of NaH2PO4 and K2HPO4 as precipitants. X-ray diffraction data were collected to a maximum resolution of 2.5 Å on a synchrotron beamline. The crystal belongs to the hexagonal space group P6322, with unit-cell parameters a = b = 94.72, c = 359.68 Å, γ = 120°. The asymmetric unit contains two molecules, corresponding to a packing density of 2.65 Å3 Da−1. The structure was solved by molecular replacement. Structure refinement is in progress.

Gallate dioxygenase (DesB) from Sphingobium sp. SYK-6, which belongs to the type II extradiol dioxygenase family, was purified and crystallized in two different crystal forms, which were subjected to X-ray analysis.

Gallate dioxygenase (DesB) from Sphingobium sp. SYK-6, which belongs to the type II extradiol dioxygenase family, was purified and crystallized using the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion method. Two crystal forms were obtained. The form I crystal belonged to space group C2, with unit-cell parameters a = 136.2, b = 53.6, c = 55.1 Å, β = 112.8°, and diffracted to 1.6 Å resolution. The form II crystal belonged to space group P21, with unit-cell parameters a = 56.2, b = 64.7, c = 116.1 Å, β = 95.1°, and diffracted to 1.9 Å resolution. A molecular-replacement calculation using LigAB as a search model yielded a satisfactory solution for both crystal forms.

The crystal structures of the three-component toluene 2,3-dioxygenase system provide a model for electron transfer among bacterial Rieske non-heme iron dioxygenases.

Bacterial Rieske non-heme iron oxygenases catalyze the initial hydroxylation of aromatic hydrocarbon substrates. The structures of all three components of one such system, the toluene 2,3-dioxygenase system, have now been determined. This system consists of a reductase, a ferredoxin and a terminal dioxygenase. The dioxygenase, which was cocrystallized with toluene, is a heterohexamer containing a catalytic and a structural subunit. The catalytic subunit contains a Rieske [2Fe–2S] cluster and mononuclear iron at the active site. This iron is not strongly bound and is easily removed during enzyme purification. The structures of the enzyme with and without mononuclear iron demonstrate that part of the structure is flexible in the absence of iron. The orientation of the toluene substrate in the active site is consistent with the regiospecificity of oxygen incorporation seen in the product formed. The ferredoxin is Rieske type and contains a [2Fe–2S] cluster close to the protein surface. The reductase belongs to the glutathione reductase family of flavoenzymes and consists of three domains: an FAD-binding domain, an NADH-binding domain and a C-terminal domain. A model for electron transfer from NADH via FAD in the reductase and the ferredoxin to the terminal active-site mononuclear iron of the dioxygenase is proposed.

The reduced form of BphA3, a Rieske-type [2Fe–2S] ferredoxin, was crystallized by the sitting-drop vapour-diffusion method under anaerobic conditions. A molecular-replacement calculation yielded a satisfactory solution.

The reduced form of BphA3, a Rieske-type [2Fe–2S] ferredoxin component of the biphenyl dioxygenase BphA from Pseudomonas sp. strain KKS102, was crystallized by the sitting-drop vapour-diffusion method under anaerobic conditions. The crystal belongs to space group P3121, with unit-cell parameters a = b = 49.6, c = 171.9 Å, and diffracts to a resolution of 1.95 Å. A molecular-replacement calculation using oxidized BphA3 as a search model yielded a satisfactory solution.

The d-2-hydroxyacid dehydrogenase from Haloferax mediterranei has been crystallized in two different forms. Diffraction data have been collected to 1.9 Å resolution for the non-productive ternary complex of the enzyme and to 2.7 Å for the selenomethionyl derivative.

d-2-Hydroxyacid dehydrogenase (D2-HDH) from Haloferax mediterranei has been overexpressed in Escherichia coli, solubilized in 8 M urea and refolded by rapid dilution. The protein was purified and crystallized by the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion method using ammonium sulfate or PEG 3350 as precipitant. Two crystal forms representing the free enzyme and the non­productive ternary complex with α-ketohexanoic acid and NAD+ grew under these conditions. Crystals of form I diffracted to beyond 3.0 Å resolution and belonged to the monoclinic space group P21, with unit-cell parameters a = 66.0, b = 119.6, c = 86.2 Å, β = 96.3°. Crystals of form II diffracted to beyond 2.0 Å resolution and belonged to the triclinic space group P1, with unit-cell parameters a = 66.5, b = 75.2, c = 77.6 Å, α = 109.1, β = 107.5, γ = 95.9°. The calculated values for V M and analysis of the self-rotation and self-Patterson functions suggest that the asymmetric unit in both crystal forms contains two dimers related by pseudo-translational symmetry.

CMS1MS2, a cysteine proteinase from C. candamarcensis, displays high amidase activity against the substrate BAPNA. The enzyme was purified and crystallized by the hanging-drop method and preliminary diffraction data were collected to 1.8 Å resolution.

Cysteine proteinases from the latex of plants of the family Caricaceae are widely used industrially as well as in pharmaceutical preparations. In the present work, a 23 kDa cysteine proteinase from Carica candamarcensis latex (designated CMS1MS2) was purified for crystallization using three chromatography steps. The enzyme shows about fourfold higher activity than papain with BAPNA as substrate. Crystals suitable for X-ray diffraction experiments were obtained by the hanging-drop method in the presence of PEG and ammonium sulfate as precipitants. The crystals are monoclinic (space group P21), with unit-cell parameters a = 53.26, b = 75.71, c = 53.23 Å, β = 96.81°, and diffract X-rays to 1.8 Å resolution.

E. coli aminopeptidase N has been crystallized by the vapour-diffusion method. Diffraction data have been collected and processed to 2.0 Å resolution.

A recombinant form of aminopeptidase N (molecular weight 99 kDa) from Escherichia coli was crystallized by the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion method using ammonium sulfate as a precipitating agent. The crystals belong to the hexagonal space group P3121, with unit-cell parameters a = b = 120.5, c = 171.0 Å. The crystals are most likely to contain one molecule in the asymmetric unit, with a V M value of 3.62 Å3 Da−1. Diffraction data were collected to 2.0 Å resolution using Cu Kα radiation from a rotating-anode X-ray generator.