Structure and function of a glycoside hydrolase family 8 endoxylanase from Teredinibacter turnerae

The symbionts of marine shipworms provide a rich reservoir of potential carbohydrate-active enzymes. Here, the 1.5 Å resolution three-dimensional structure of a T. turnerae GH8 xylanase is revealed and its potential in biomass degradation is highlighted.

Rational modification of vanillin derivatives to stereospecifically destabilize sickle hemoglobin polymer formation

The effect of the incorporation of a methylhydroxyl moiety into a synthetic antisickling agent in facilitating αF-helix interactions to destabilize the sickle hemoglobin polymer and enhance antisickling properties is described.

Precipitant–ligand exchange technique reveals the ADP binding mode in Mycobacterium tuberculosis de­thiobiotin synthetase

A crystallographic technique was developed to exchange protein-bound precipitants with ligands that competitively bind to the same site. This revealed unexpected binding modes for ADP in complex with Mycobacterium tuberculosis dethiobiotin synthetase, an antituberculosis drug target.

Co-crystallization of human inositol monophosphatase with the lithium mimetic L-690,330

The crystal structure of human inositol monophosphatase in complex with the substrate-based inhibitor L-690,330 is reported.

Identification of the site of oxidase substrate binding in Scytalidium thermophilum catalase

The structure of Scytalidium thermophilum catalase in complex with its well known inhibitor 3-amino-1,2,4-triazole revealed that the inhibitor occupies a surface pocket at the end of the lateral channel. This pocket corresponds to the site of NADPH binding in mammalian catalases. Peroxide-independent phenolic substrate oxidation is likely to occur in a similar manner to NADPH oxidation.

Using sound pulses to solve the crystal-harvesting bottleneck

A simple method for using sound pulses to harvest protein crystals from a commercially available crystallization plate is described. Crystals can be grown using conventional vapor-diffusion methods and then individually harvested or serially combined with a chemical library such as a fragment library.

Crystallography on a chip – without the chip: sheet-on-sheet sandwich

Fixed targets or chips offer an efficient means of high-throughput microcrystal delivery for serial measurements at synchrotrons and XFELs. A low-background Mylar sandwich chip that alleviates the challenges of chip availability and crystal loading is described.

The X-ray structure of human calbindin-D28K: an improved model

The X-ray structure of human calbindin-D28K, a calcium-buffering protein that is highly expressed in the central nervous system, is reported.

High-resolution crystal structures of the D1 and D2 domains of protein tyrosine phosphatase epsilon for structure-based drug design

Crystal structures of the individual D1 and D2 domains of human protein tyrosine phosphatase epsilon (PTP∊) were determined at 1.76 and 2.27 Å resolution, respectively. A microarray-based assay was developed to identify inhibitors of the catalytically active PTP∊ D1 domain by high-throughput screening.

Structural insights into the recognition of phosphorylated Hop1 by Mek1

The structural basis for the recognition of pT318 in Hop1 by the FHA domain of Mek1 is reported. The Mek1 FHA domain has a noncanonical PSXS motif but lacks the conserved GR and S(R/K/N) pT-binding motifs. The novel binding site of Schizosaccharomyces pombe Mek1 FHA is identified.