Structure of pyrR (Rv1379) from Mycobacterium tuberculosis: a persistence gene and protein drug target

The 1.9 Å native structure of the pyrimidine-biosynthesis regulatory protein encoded by the M. tuberculosis pyrR gene (Rv1379) is reported. Because pyrimidine biosynthesis is an essential step in the progression of TB, pyrR is an attractive antitubercular drug target.

Structure of CDP-D-glucose 4,6-dehydratase from Salmonella typhi complexed with CDP-D-xylose

The structure of CDP-D-glucose 4,6-dehydratase from S. typhi complexed with CDP-D-xylose has been determined to 1.8 Å resolution.

Structure of zinc-independent sorbitol de­hydrogenase from Rhodobacter sphaeroides at 2.4 Å resolution

This paper reports the first atomic structure of a bacterial sorbitol dehydrogenase, with a model of the active site containing the cofactor NAD and the substate sorbitol.

Crystallization of mitochondrial respiratory complex II from chicken heart: a membrane-protein complex diffracting to 2.0 Å

A multi-subunit mitochondrial membrane-protein complex involved in the Krebs cycle and respiratory chain has been crystallized in a form suitable for near-atomic resolution structure determination.

Automatic structure determination based on the single-wavelength anomalous diffraction technique away from an absorption edge

The routine use of the single-wavelength anomalous diffraction technique (SAD) at wavelengths remote from absorption edges as a method for automated structure determination is discussed.

Structure of a liganded type 2 non-specific lipid-transfer protein from wheat and the molecular basis of lipid binding

The crystal structure of wheat ns-LTP2 was determined ab initio to 1.12 Å resolution by direct methods. The α-helical bundle fold of this protein is maintained by four disulfide bridges and delineates two hydrophobic cavities filled by the alkyl chains of lipids.

Crystal and solution structures of 7-amino-actinomycin D complexes with d(TTAGBrUT), d(TTAGTT) and d(TTTAGTTT)

In the crystal, actinomycin D intercalates between G–T wobble pairs of DNA involving the sequence d(TTAGTT); in solution, the dominant binding is between guanine and actinomycin.

Combined use of AFM and X-ray diffraction to analyze crystals of an engineered, domain-deleted antibody

A human–mouse chimeric antibody lacking any C_H2 domain has been crystallized for diffraction analysis in the presence of detergent. Analysis by atomic force microscopy reveals the symmetry properties of the asymmetric unit and the presence of an unusual kind of defect within the crystals.

Synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction study of hexagonal turkey egg-white lysozyme

Powder diffraction data are shown to be sufficient to position a molecule of turkey egg-white lysozyme in the hexagonal unit cell by molecular replacement and to refine the structure at 3.35 Å resolution. The variation of the structure with sample preparation and upon freezing are also reported.

Structure of gramicidin D–RbCl complex at atomic resolution from low-temperature synchrotron data: interactions of double-stranded gramicidin channel contents and cations with channel wall

A 1.14 Å resolution study on the gramicidin D complex with RbCl confirms its right-handed antiparallel double-stranded dimeric structure. Rb cations distributed over seven binding sites in each gramicidin channel unit are `coordinated' by delocalized π-electrons of three to five carbonyl groups from the channel wall and by two water molecules.

Structures of complexes between echinomycin and duplex DNA

The classical bis-intercalation complexes of echinomycin with DNA have been examined at high resolution.

Auto-Rickshaw: an automated crystal structure determination platform as an efficient tool for the validation of an X-ray diffraction experiment

A description of the EMBL-Hamburg Automated Crystal Structure Determination Platform is given and examples of successful structure determination are presented.

Likelihood-enhanced fast translation functions

Derivation of likelihood-enhanced translation functions that can be calculated by fast Fourier transform.

A molecular viewer for the analysis of TLS rigid-body motion in macromolecules

TLSView is an interactive molecular viewer for the generation, visualization and analysis of TLS (translation/libration/screw) models of protein motion.

Structure of a pseudomerohedrally twinned monoclinic crystal form of a pyridoxal phosphate-dependent catalytic antibody

The structure of a pyridoxal phosphate-dependent catalytic antibody in complex with a substrate analogue has been determined from a monoclinic pseudomerohedrally twinned crystal. Iodide molecules are present in the combining site and at intermolecular contacts.

Favourable mediation of crystal contacts by coco­amido­propylbetaine (CAPB)

A novel approach for optimizing crystal contacts in a most favourable fashion by performing crystallization setups with the zwitterionic surfactant cocoamidoproylbetaine (CAPB) is introduced.

Structure of S35C flavodoxin mutant from Desulfovibrio vulgaris in the semi­quinone state

The crystal structure of the S35C flavodoxin from D. vulgaris in the semiquinone state at 1.8 Å resolution. shows as main difference with the oxidized form a conformational change of the carbonyl oxygen of Gly61, leading to the formation of a new hydrogen bond between the protein and the prosthetic group.

Unusual non-crystallographic symmetry in crystals of a 420 kDa crustacean clottable protein

The clottable protein from the California spiny lobster has been purified and crystallized in two forms. One of the crystal forms exhibits unusual pseudo-ninefold rotational symmetry in space group P2₁.

Expanding screening space through the use of alternative reservoirs in vapor-diffusion experiments

Equilibrating crystallization drops against different reservoirs can alter the results of a vapor-diffusion crystallization experiment.