Crystallographic analysis of the Staphylococcus epidermidis lipase involved in esterification in aqueous solution

The Staphylococcus epidermidis lipase (SeLip, GehC) can be used in flavour-compound production via esterification in aqueous solution. This study reports the crystallization and crystallographic analysis of recombinant GehC (rGehC; Lys303–Lys688) with a molecular weight of 43 kDa. rGehC was crystallized at 293 K using PEG 10 000 as a precipitant, and a 99.9% complete native data set was collected from a cooled crystal at 77 K to a resolution of 1.9 Å with an overall R_merge value of 7.3%. The crystals were orthorhombic and belonged to space group P2₁2₁2₁, with unit-cell parameters a = 42.07, b = 59.31, c = 171.30 Å, α = β = γ = 90°. Solvent-content calculations suggest that there is likely to be one lipase subunit in the asymmetric unit.