Editorial.

Editorial.

Editorial.

Editorial.

The regulatory domain of M. tuberculosis aspartokinase, the enzyme which catalyses the first reaction step in the biosynthesis of the amino acids lysine, methionine and threonine, has been cloned, expressed, purified and crystallized. Preliminary X-ray diffraction analysis of several crystals revealed the presence of five distinct crystal forms.

The regulatory domain of Mycobacterium tuberculosis aspartokinase (Mtb-AK, Mtb-Ask, Rv3709c) has been cloned, heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli and purified using standard chromatographic techniques. Screening for initial crystallization conditions using the regulatory domain (AK-β) in the presence of the potential feedback inhibitor threonine identified four conditions which yielded crystals suitable for X-ray diffraction analysis. From these four conditions five different crystal forms of Mtb-AK-β resulted, three of which belonged to the orthorhombic system, one to the tetragonal system and one to the monoclinic system. The highest resolution (1.6 Å) was observed for a crystal form belonging to space group P212121, with unit-cell parameters a = 53.70, b = 63.43, c = 108.85 Å and two molecules per asymmetric unit.

Crystals of the wild-type haloalkane dehalogenase DhaA derived from R. rhodochrous NCIMB 13064 and of its catalytically inactive variant DhaA13 were grown in the presence of various ligands and diffraction data were collected to high and atomic resolution.

Haloalkane dehalogenases make up an important class of hydrolytic enzymes which catalyse the cleavage of carbon–halogen bonds in halogenated aliphatic compounds. There is growing interest in these enzymes owing to their potential use in environmental and industrial applications. The haloalkane dehalogenase DhaA from Rhodococcus rhodochrous NCIMB 13064 can slowly detoxify the industrial pollutant 1,2,3-trichloropropane (TCP). Structural analysis of this enzyme complexed with target ligands was conducted in order to obtain detailed information about the structural limitations of its catalytic properties. In this study, the crystallization and preliminary X-ray analysis of complexes of wild-type DhaA with 2-propanol and with TCP and of complexes of the catalytically inactive variant DhaA13 with the dye coumarin and with TCP are described. The crystals of wild-type DhaA were plate-shaped and belonged to the triclinic space group P1, while the variant DhaA13 can form prism-shaped crystals belonging to the orthorhombic space group P212121 as well as plate-shaped crystals belonging to the triclinic space group P1. Diffraction data for crystals of wild-type DhaA grown from crystallization solutions with different concentrations of 2-propanol were collected to 1.70 and 1.26 Å resolution, respectively. A prism-shaped crystal of DhaA13 complexed with TCP and a plate-shaped crystal of the same variant complexed with the dye coumarin diffracted X-rays to 1.60 and 1.33 Å resolution, respectively. A crystal of wild-type DhaA and a plate-shaped crystal of DhaA13, both complexed with TCP, diffracted to atomic resolutions of 1.04 and 0.97 Å, respectively.

The enzyme 3-isopropylmalate dehydrogenase (IPMDH) from T. thermophilus, which catalyses the penultimate reaction step of the leucine-biosynthesis pathway, has been crystallized in various states along its reaction coordinate.

The Thermus thermophilus 3-isopropylmalate dehydrogenase (Tt-IPMDH) enzyme catalyses the penultimate step of the leucine-biosynthesis pathway. It converts (2R,3S)-3-isopropylmalate to (2S)-2-isopropyl-3-­oxo­succinate in the presence of divalent Mg2+ or Mn2+ and with the help of NAD+. In order to elucidate the detailed structural and functional mode of the enzymatic reaction, crystals of Tt-IPMDH were grown in the presence of various combinations of substrate and/or cofactors. Here, the crystallization, data collection and preliminary crystallographic analyses of six such complexes are reported.

Glyoxalase I from L. infantum was cloned, overexpressed in E. coli, purified and crystallized.

Glyoxalase I (GLO1) is the first of the two glyoxalase-pathway enzymes. It catalyzes the formation of S-d-lactoyltrypanothione from the non-enzymatically formed hemithioacetal of methylglyoxal and reduced trypanothione. In order to understand its substrate binding and catalytic mechanism, GLO1 from Leishmania infantum was cloned, overexpressed in Escherichia coli, purified and crystallized. Two crystal forms were obtained: a cube-shaped form and a rod-shaped form. While the cube-shaped form did not diffract X-rays at all, the rod-­shaped form exhibited diffraction to about 2.0 Å resolution. The crystals belonged to space group P21212, with unit-cell parameters a = 130.03, b = 148.51, c = 50.63 Å and three dimers of the enzyme per asymmetric unit.

Editorial.

Human ADP-ribosylhydrolase 1, which cleaves the glycosidic bond between ADP-ribose and specific Arg residues in proteins, has been cloned, expressed, purified and crystallized.

Human ADP-ribosylhydrolase 1 (hARH1, ADPRH) cleaves the glycosidic bond of ADP-ribose attached to an Arg residue of a protein. hARH1 has been cloned, expressed heterologously in Escherichia coli, purified and crystallized in complex with K+ and ADP. The orthorhombic crystals contained one monomer per asymmetric unit, exhibited a solvent content of 43% and diffracted X-rays to a resolution of 1.9 Å. A prerequisite for obtaining well diffracting crystals was the performance of X-­ray fluorescence analysis on poorly diffracting apo hARH1 crystals, which revealed the presence of trace amounts of K+ in the crystal. Adding K-ADP to the crystallization cocktail then resulted in a crystal of different morphology and with dramatically improved diffraction properties.

Two C-terminally truncated variants of the small subunit of isopropylmalate isomerase from M. tuberculosis have been cloned, expressed, purified, crystallized and examined by X-ray diffraction.

Two C-terminally truncated variants of the small subunit of Mycobacterium tuberculosis isopropylmalate isomerase (Rv2987c; LeuD), LeuD_1-156 and LeuD_1-168, have been cloned, heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli, purified using standard chromatographic techniques and crystallized. The crystals of LeuD_1-156 belonged to the hexagonal system (space group P6122 or P6522) with up to four subunits in the asymmetric unit, whereas the crystals of LeuD_1-168 belonged to the monoclinic system (space group P21) with two subunits in the asymmetric unit. Both crystals diffracted X-rays to beyond 2.0 Å resolution and were suitable for further crystallographic analysis.

Editorial.

The problem of undercounting of citations that are published only in supplementary material is studied for the journals Nature, Science, Cell and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (USA).

M. tuberculosis tetrahydrodipicolinate-N-succinyltransferase, the enzyme that catalyses the fifth reaction step of the lysine-biosynthesis pathway, has been cloned, expressed, purified and crystallized.

Tetrahydrodipicolinate-N-succinyltransferase from Mycobacterium tuberculosis (DapD, Rv1201c) has been cloned, heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli, purified using standard chromatographic techniques and crystallized in the cubic space group I23 or I213. Preliminary diffraction data analysis indicates the presence of five molecules per asymmetric unit. Furthermore, the data exhibit icosahedral point-group symmetry. One possible explanation for this is that the enzyme assembles into a 60-mer exhibiting 235 point-group symmetry and crystallizes as such in space group I23. In this case, the combination of crystallographic and noncrystallographic symmetry elements results in an arrangement of the icosahedrons in the cubic crystal with one pentamer in the asymmetric unit. Another explanation is that the packing of the molecules itself mimics icosahedral symmetry. In this case both space groups I23 and I213 would be possible.

The enzyme aspartate semialdehyde dehydrogenase from M. tuberculosis has been expressed, purified and crystallized in two different crystal forms.

Aspartate semialdehyde dehydrogenase from Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Asd, ASADH, Rv3708c), which is the second enzyme in the lysine/homoserine-biosynthetic pathways, has been expressed heterologously in Escherichia coli. The enzyme was purified using affinity and gel-filtration chromatographic techniques and crystallized in two different crystal forms. Preliminary diffraction data analysis suggested the presence of up to four monomers in the asymmetric unit of the orthorhombic crystal form A and of one or two monomers in the cubic crystal form B.

The M. tuberculosis protein Rv0765c was cloned, expressed, purified and crystallized. In an attempt to improve the quality of the crystals of Rv0765c, the protein was modified by reductive methylation. The methylated protein crystallized in a new crystal form with profoundly improved diffraction properties.

Rv0765c from Mycobacterium tuberculosis was cloned and heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli. It was purified using affinity and size-exclusion chromatographic techniques and crystallized. The native protein crystallized in a hexagonal crystal form which diffracted to 7 Å resolution. In an attempt to improve the quality of the Rv0765c crystals, the protein was modified by reductive methylation using dimethylaminoborane and formaldehyde. The modified protein crystallized under different conditions in a tetragonal crystal form, from which diffraction data could be collected to a resolution of 3.2 Å. In both crystal forms of Rv0765c, the asymmetric unit contained two copies of the protein molecule.

SoxY from C. limicola f. thiosulfatophilum is involved in thiosulfate metabolism. Crystallization, preliminary crystallographic analysis and phasing of this protein are presented.

The 22 kDa SoxYZ protein complex from the green sulfur bacterium Chlorobium limicola f. thiosulfatophilum is a central player in the sulfur-oxidizing (Sox) enzyme system of the organism by activating thiosulfate for oxidation by SoxXA and SoxB. It has been proposed that SoxYZ exists as a heterodimer or heterotetramer, but the properties and role of the individual components of the complex thus far remain unknown. Here, the heterologous expression, purification, and the crystallization of stable tetrameric SoxY are reported. Crystals of SoxY diffract to 2.15 Å resolution and belong to space group C2221, with unit-cell parameters a = 41.22, b = 120.11, c = 95.30 Å. MIRAS data from Pt2+- and Hg2+-derivatized SoxY crystals resulted in an interpretable electron-density map at 3 Å resolution after density modification.