Structure of a conserved hypothetical protein, TTHA0849 from Thermus thermophilus HB8, at 2.4 Å resolution: a putative member of the StAR-related lipid-transfer (START) domain superfamily

The crystal structure of a conserved hypothetical protein, TTHA0849 from Thermus thermophilus HB8, has been determined at 2.4 Å resolution as a part of a structural and functional genomics project on T. thermophilus HB8. The main-chain folding shows a compact α+β motif, forming a hydrophobic cavity in the molecule. A structural similarity search reveals that it resembles those steroidogenic acute regulatory proteins that contain the lipid-transfer (START) domain, even though TTHA0849 shows comparatively weak sequence identity to polyketide cyclases. However, the size of the ligand-binding cavity is distinctly smaller than other START domain-containing proteins, suggesting that it catalyses the transfer of smaller ligand molecules.