Crystallization and preliminary crystallographic analysis of the putative sugar-binding protein Msmeg_0515 (AgaE) from Mycobacterium smegmatis

Msmeg_0515, a gene from Mycobacterium smegmatis strain 155 encoding the ligand-binding domain, AgaE, of a putative ABC sugar transporter system, has been cloned into a pET-28a vector system, overexpressed in Escherichia coli and purified. The truncated protein lacking the first 27 residues, which correspond to a N-terminal signal sequence, was crystallized using the sitting-drop vapour-diffusion technique. The crystals of this protein diffracted to 1.48 Å resolution and belonged to space group P2₁2₁2₁, with unit-cell parameters a = 64.06, b = 69.26, c = 100.74 Å, α = β = γ = 90° and with one molecule in the asymmetric unit.