Is radiation damage dependent on the dose rate used during macromolecular crystallography data collection?

A systematic study of the specific radiation damage caused by different rates of X-ray irradiation is presented. The results suggest a small dose-rate related effect.

The structure of human deoxycytidine kinase in complex with clofarabine reveals key interactions for prodrug activation

The crystal structure of human dCK in complex with clofarabine reveals the structural basis of activation by purine-nucleoside prodrugs.

Structure of Toxoplasma gondii adenosine kinase in complex with an ATP analog at 1.1 Å resolution

The crystal structure of T. gondii adenosine kinase in complex with an ATP analog at 1.1 Å resolution reveals that ATP binding and the formation of the induced anion hole can occur before adenosine binding.

Fluorescence detection of nucleic acids and proteins in multi-component crystals

A highly sensitive and specific fluorescence-based assay for the rapid detection of nucleic acids in crystals of macromolecular complexes is described.

2.0 Å structure of prostaglandin H₂ synthase-1 reconstituted with a manganese porphyrin cofactor

The structure of the manganese form of prostaglandin H₂ synthase-1 reveals that metal substitution has no effect on the enzyme's structure; however, the manganese is displaced farther out of the porphyrin plane than is the native iron.

Structure of DraD invasin from uropathogenic Escherichia coli: a dimer with swapped β-tails

The structure of the uropathogenic E. coli invasin DraD containing a C-terminal extension of 13 amino acids has been solved at 1.05 Å resolution. It forms dimers through the exchange of the C-terminal donor strands, resulting in a variant of the immunoglobulin fold.

Extension to 2268 atoms of direct methods in the ab initio determination of the unknown structure of bacteriophage P22 lysozyme

The X-ray crystal structure of the previously unknown bacteriophage P22 lysozyme was determined ab initio by direct methods using the program SIR2002. The asymmetric unit contained 2268 non-H protein atoms, making this one of the largest structures determined to date by ab initio direct methods.

Structures of the Dsk2 UBL and UBA domains and their complex

The structures of Dsk2 UBL, Dsk2 UBA and their complex are described. The complex explains the reduced affinity of the UBA domain for UBL compared with that for ubiquitin.

LAFIRE: software for automating the refinement process of protein-structure analysis

A manual intervention-free automatic refinement software package (LAFIRE) has been developed for high-throughput protein-structure analysis. This program begins from an initial model that can be approximate, fragmentary or even only main-chain and performs a whole refinement process to provide a final model including water molecules.

New crystal structures of human gluta­thione transferase A1-1 shed light on gluta­thione binding and the conformation of the C-terminal helix

New crystal structures of glutathione transferase A1-1 show that the C-terminal region of the apo form can be ordered and helix-like. They also show how glutathione is bound in the absence of a second substrate and provide insight into the binding of a decarboxylated glutathione conjugate.

Molecular replacement with pseudosymmetry and model dissimilarity: a case study

The highly pseudosymmetric crystal structure of HTLV-1 protease could be solved using low-sequence-identity models with Phaser but, with a single exception, not with standard application of other molecular-replacement programs.

High-resolution structure of recombinant Trichomonas vaginalis thioredoxin

The high-resolution structure of thioredoxin from the parasite T. vaginalis has been determined. The redox-active disulfide has been partially photoreduced by the intense synchrotron radiation used in the analysis. Comparisons with human thioredoxin are presented.

Notes for authors 2006