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June 2010 issue
Cover illustration: Tetrameric arrangement of a subdomain of the InvA cytoplasmic region of Salmonella (p. 709). InvA is a core element of the protein type III secretion system, and consists of a transmembrane N-terminal domain and a soluble cytoplasmic domain. The crystal structure of roughly half the cytoplasmic domain of Salmonella InvA reveals that it contains a repeating fold found in many elements of the type III secretion system `molecular syringe'. In addition, this domain forms a crystallographic tetramer (shown with each chain a different color) that buries roughly 10 000 Å2 of surface area.
research papers
The GPL-licenced CCP4-compatible program DIBER (an acronym for DNA and FIBER) reads diffraction data and predicts whether the crystal contains only protein, only DNA or a mixture of both.
High-pressure crystallography at 0.57 GPa highlights flexible regions of superoxide dismutase and stabilizes high-energy conformational substates.
PDB reference: CuZnSOD at 0.57 GPa, 3hw7
The structure of EhpF from P. agglomerans has been solved alone and in complex with phenazine-1,6-dicarboxylate. Apo EhpF was solved and refined in two different space groups at 1.95 and 2.3 Å resolution and the EhpF–phenazine-1,6-dicarboxylate complex structure was determined at 2.8 Å resolution.
The first structure of tartrate dehydrogenase, solved as an intermediate analog complex, allows identification of the substrate-binding and catalytic functional groups. Roles are confirmed for the required monovalent and divalent cations, and intersubunit communication channels are proposed in support of an alternating-site reaction mechanism.
PDB reference: tartrate dehydrogenase, 3flk
A crystallization screen that exclusively uses alternative polymers as precipitants has been developed and its practical applicability has been evaluated using a set of 20 test proteins and complexes, some of which were commercially available and others of which were from past and ongoing research projects.
The crystal structure of bovine H-protein, which is involved in glycine cleavage, was determined at 0.88 Å resolution. This is the first high-resolution structure of an H-protein.
PDB reference: bovine H-protein, 3klr
Open 
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The cytoplasmic domain of Salmonella InvA shares homology to a recurring scaffold in the membrane-spanning components of the type II and type III secretion systems.
PDB reference: cytoplasmic domain of InvA, 3lw9
High-resolution refinements of urate oxidase complexes are reported.
Open access
access
The structure of Arabidopsis monothiol glutaredoxin AtGRXcp has been determined and reveals unique structural features of monothiol glutaredoxins, key residues for their interaction with glutathione and structural determinants for their distinct biochemical properties.
PDB reference: AtGRXcp, 3ipz
A method to evaluate the amount of instrument error in a crystallographic data collection is presented and discussed.
short communications
Correction for ice-rings in diffraction images is demonstrated as an alternative to exclusion of affected reflections. Completeness can be increased without significant loss of quality in the integrated data.
PDB reference: arginine kinase, 3m10
