Crystallization and preliminary X-ray crystallographic analysis of deoxyuridine triphosphate nucleotidohydrolase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Deoxyuridine triphosphate nucleotidohydrolase (dUTPase) from Saccharomyces cerevisiae is essential for cell viability. It has been overexpressed in Escherichia coli and has been crystallized at 296 K using polyethylene glycol (PEG) 1500 as a precipitant. The crystals belong to the orthorhombic space group P2₁2₁2₁, with unit-cell parameters a = 59.48, b = 138.54, c = 157.91 Å, α = β = γ = 90°. Two molecules of trimeric dUTPase from S. cerevisiae are present in the asymmetric unit, giving a crystal volume per protein mass (V_M) of 3.36 ų Da⁻¹ and a solvent content of 63%. The diffraction limit of the crystals could be significantly extended by the crystal-annealing procedure. A set of native data extending to 2.7 Å resolution has been collected at 100 K using synchrotron X-rays.