issue contents
April 2018 issue
research communications
The crystal structure of chorismate mutase from B. phymatum reveals the prototypical AroQγ topology, as observed in the homolog from M. tuberculosis.
PDB reference: chorismate mutase from Burkholderia phymatum, 5ts9
Pyrimidine-nucleoside phosphorylases participate in DNA/RNA synthesis and are essential in anticancer drug therapies. Here, the structure of pyrimidine-nucleoside phosphorylase from B. subtilis in complex with imidazole is reported at 1.88 Å resolution.
The putative large and small terminase genes of bacteriophage N4 that are essential for genome packaging were identified, cloned and expressed, and the proteins were purified. The purified wild-type large terminase exhibited basal and small terminase-stimulated ATPase activity and produced thin plate-like crystals under one condition.
Structural view of the helicase reveals that Zika virus uses a conserved mechanism for unwinding RNA
This article reports the crystal structure of the apo form and the AMPPNP- and Mn2+- bound forms of the essential helicase of ZIKV refined to 1.78 and 1.3 Å resolution, respectively.
The crystal structure of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) bound to a peptide carrying an AlkB homologue 2 PCNA-interacting motif consensus sequence, RFLVK, was determined. The phenylalanine and leucine residues of the peptide, plus a preceding hydrophobic residue, are involved in interactions with PCNA, providing a structural basis for regulation of the PCNA interaction.
PDB reference: human PCNA bound to an APIM peptide, 5yd8
The 2.2 Å resolution crystal structure of the homologous recombination protein RecR from P. aeruginosa PAO1 is reported. The crystal structure shows that dimeric P. aeruginosa RecR forms a ring-like tetramer architecture via crystal symmetry.
PDB reference: RecR, 5z2v
Open access
The putative compatible solute-binding protein ProX from Mycobacterium tuberculosis was found to bind polyphenols instead of betaine, choline or carnitine. X-ray diffraction data were collected to 2.10 Å resolution.
The crystal structure of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase from S. agalactiae is reported at 1.36 Å resolution.
PDB reference: glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, 5y37
The crystal structure of methionyl-tRNA synthetase (MetRS) from Mycobacterium tuberculosis in complex with the catalytic intermediate methionyl adenylate at 2.6 Å resolution is described. Comparisons with other MetRSs, including human cytosolic MetRS, reveal substantial differences that could be of use in the development of new antituberculosis inhibitors.
PDB reference: mycobacterial methionyl-tRNA synthetase, 6ax8
The 2.6 Å resolution crystal structure of the 2A protease from human rhinovirus C15 (HRV-C15) reveals the presence of a conserved His–Asp–Cys catalytic triad and a Zn2+-binding site. Comparison with the structures of 2A proteases from other enteroviruses reveals that the substrate-binding cleft of the 2A protease from HRV-C15 shows a more open conformation and is presumably more accessible for substrate binding.
PDB reference: HRV-C15 2A protease, 5x45
Complexes of the rice immune receptor RGA5A_S and the rice blast fungus effector AVR1-CO39 were prepared using mixing, by fusing the two proteins in one gene construct and by co-expression. Diffracting crystals were obtained using the first two methods under two different conditions.