Characterization of crystals of a cytochrome oxidase (nitrite reductase) from Pseudomonas aeruginosa by x-ray diffraction and electron microscopy

Cytochrome oxidase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa has been crystallized from 2 m-ammonium sulfate. The crystals occur principally as thin diamond-shaped plates of space group P2₁2₁2 with unit cell dimensions of 92 Å × 115 Å × 76 Å. Determination of the density of glutaraldehyde-fixed, water-equilibrated crystals (1.167 g/cm³), coupled with the unit cell volume (804,000 ų), indicates that there is one subunit (~63,000 Mr) per asymmetric unit. X-ray diffraction data which were limited to 12 Å resolution due to small crystal size were obtained for the hk0 and 0kl zones using precession photography. Amplitude and phase data for the hk0, 0kl, and h0l zones were obtained from computer-based Fourier analysis of appropriate micrographs recorded from negatively stained microplates and thin sections of larger crystals using minimal beam electron microscopy. For crystals embedded in the presence of tannic acid it was possible to achieve 20 Å resolution which is comparable to the resolution achieved with negative staining of thin crystalline arrays. In addition, unstained electron diffraction on glutaraldehyde-fixed, glucose-stabilized plates was recorded to a resolution of 9 Å. The three-dimensional packing of the cytochrome oxidase dimer in the unit cell has been deduced from computer reconstructed images of the three principal projections along the crystallographic axes. The cytochrome oxidase dimer is located in the unit cell with the dimer axis coincident with a crystallographic 2-fold axis; thus within the resolution of the present data in projection (9 Å) the two subunits are identical, in agreement with biochemical evidence. The crystals have been prepared with the enzyme in the fully oxidized state and upon reduction a progressive cracking of the crystals is observed, possibly due to a conformational change dependent on the oxidation state of the heme iron.     

Structure of the tubulin dimer in zinc-induced sheets

The structure of tubulin has been studied in projection by minimum beam electron microscopy and image processing of negatively stained zinc-induced sheets. The reconstructed images include data to 15 Å resolution.We report here a clear and reproducible 82 Å repeat arising from the arrangement of heterodimers in sheet aggregates of tubulin. This repeat is only observed in diffraction patterns from images recorded by minimum beam methods (10 to 20 e/Ų) and arises from small, but consistent, structural differences between two similar subunits believed to represent the two chemical species of tubulin monomer (M_r, 55,000). At higher electron doses (100 to 200 e/Ų), the additional information is lost or very much reduced, and only a repeat of 41 Å is observed, owing to the loss of distinction between monomers in the tubulin heterodimer.The sheets are composed of 49 Å wide, polar protofilaments, similar to those observed in microtubules; however, the interprotofilament packing is completely different in the two structures. In these sheets, adjacent protofilaments point and face in opposite directions; i.e. they are related by dyad-screw axes normal to the protofilament axes and in the plane of the sheet. Thus, the zinc-induced sheets are crystals of space group P2₁, with cell dimensions of about 97 Å × 82 Å, containing one tubulin heterodimer per asymmetric unit.Reconstructed images of four individual sheets, and their average, show the arrangement and shapes of the two heterodimers contained in each unit cell. The structure and packing of heterodimers in sheets are compared to those in opened out microtubules where all protofilaments point and face in the same direction.     

Crystallization and preliminary X-ray diffraction study of 1,3,8-trihydroxynaphthalene reductase from Magnaporthe grisea

1,3,8-Trihydroxynaphthalene reductase was crystallized in the presence of NADPH and the inhibitor tricyclazole. The crystals are trigonal, space group P3₁21 or its enantiomorph P3₂21. Two crystal forms with slightly different cell dimensions were obtained. Form A has unit cell dimensions a = b = 142.6 Å, c = 70.1 Å and form B cell dimensions a = b = 142.6 Å, c = 72.9 Å. The diffraction pattern of the latter crystal form extends to 2.5 Å resolution.     

Electron microscopy of thin protein crystal sections.

In continuation of an earlier publication (Hoppe et al., 1968), further experiments are described here on the preparation of thin film sections of embedded protein crystals for investigation by electron microscopy and electron diffraction. Several embedding media were compared, the best being Aquon. Periodicities were observed in electron micrographs as well as in electron diffraction patterns. In diffraction experiments the best resolution observed was approximately 10 to 11 Å.     

Structures of the OmpF porin crystallized in the presence of foscholine‐12

The endogenous Escherichia coli porin OmpF was crystallized as an accidental by‐product of our efforts to express, purify, and crystallize the E. coli integral membrane protein KdpD in the presence of foscholine‐12 (FC12). FC12 is widely used in membrane protein studies, but no crystal structure of a protein that was both purified and crystallized with this detergent has been reported in the Protein Data Bank. Crystallization screening for KdpD yielded two different crystals of contaminating protein OmpF. Here, we report two OmpF structures, the first membrane protein crystal structures for which extraction, purification, and crystallization were done exclusively with FC12. The first structure was refined in space group P21 with cell parameters a = 136.7 Å, b = 210.5 Å, c = 137 Å, and β = 100.5°, and the resolution of 3.8 Å. The second structure was solved at the resolution of 4.4 Å and was refined in the P321 space group, with unit cell parameters a = 215.5 Å, b = 215.5 Å, c = 137.5 Å, and γ = 120°. Both crystal forms show novel crystal packing, in which the building block is a tetrahedral arrangement of four trimers. Additionally, we discuss the use of FC12 for membrane protein crystallization and structure determination, as well as the problem of the OmpF contamination for membrane proteins overexpressed in E. coli.     

Three-dimensional structures of cytochrome c oxidase vesicle crystals in negative stain

We have investigated the structure of cytochrome c oxidase vesicle crystals by analysis at 20 Å resolution of electron micrographs of negatively stained specimens. The map clearly shows the shape of the part of the cytochrome c oxidase molecule which protrudes from the lipid bilayer. On the side of the membrane corresponding to the cytoplasmic face of the mitochondrial inner membrane, the molecule projects over 50 Å into solution. About half of the mass of the protein is in this domain, which contains the cytochrome c binding site. On the side of the membrane corresponding to the matrix face, no features are observed, which at this resolution means the protein protrudes less than 20 Å. In vesicle crystals, and probably in the mitochondrion, cytochrome c oxidase monomers are closely paired as dimers, with a clear cleft showing the boundary between monomers.     

Crystallization of Thermus thermophilus histidyl-tRNA synthetase and Its complex with tRNAHis

Histidyl-tRNA synthetase (HisRS) has been purified from the extreme thermophile Thermus thermophilus. The protein has been crystallized separately with histidine and with its cognate tRNA^His. Both crystals have been obtained using the vapor diffusion method with ammonium sulphate as precipitant. The crystals of HisRS with histidine belong to the spacegroup P2₁2₁2 with cell parameters a = 171.3 Å, b = 214.7 Å, c = 49.3 Å, α = β = γ = 90°. A complete data set to a resolution of 2.7Å with an R_merge on intensities of 4.1% has been collected on a single frozen crystal. A partial data set collected on a crystal of HisRS in complex with tRNA_His shows that the crystals are tetragonal with cell parameters a = b = 232 Å, c = 559 Å, α = β = γ = 90° and diffract to about 4.5 Å resolution. © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Crystallization of preliminary electron diffraction study to 3.7 A of DNA helix-destabilizing protein gp32*I.

A two-dimensionally large and thin crystal has been obtained from gp32¹I, a proteolytically digested product of a DNA helix-destabilizing protein coded by gene 32 in bacteriophage T4. High-resolution electron diffraction patterns (~3.7Å) are recorded from both unstained and stained protein crystals embedded in glucose. The crystal is of orthorhombic space group with $\text{a = 62.9}\text{A}\text{?}\text{and}\text{b = 47.3}\text{A}\text{?}$.     

Freezing of tissue-limits for the autoradiographic localization of diffusible substances

Frozen thin sections and sections from freeze-dried and embedded tissue are used for the autoradiographic localization of diffusible substances at the electron microscope level. The presence of ice crystals in such sections may limit the autoradiographic resolution. Ice crystals are formed during freezing and may grow during subsequent processing of tissue. The contribution of ice crystal growth to the final image was estimated by measuring the distribution of the ice crystal sizes in freeze-etch replicas and in sections from freeze-dried and embedded tissues. A surface layer (10-15 mu) without visible ice crystals was present in both preparations. Beneath this surface layer the diameter of ice crystals increased towards the interior with the same relationship between crystal size and distance from the surface in the freeze-etch preparation as in the freeze-dry preparation. Ice crystal growth occurring during a much longer time during freeze-drying compared to freeze-etching does not significantly contribute to the final image in the electron microscope. The formation of ice crystals during freezing determines to a large extent the image (and therefore the autoradiographic resolution) of freeze-dry preparations and this probably holds also for thin cryosections of which examples are given.     

Packing analysis of crystalline myosin subfragment-1. Implications for the size and shape of the myosin head

Crystals of myosin subfragment-1 have been examined by X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy to determine how the molecules pack in the unit cell and to gain preliminary information on the size and shape of the myosin head. Subfragment-1 crystallizes in space group P212121. Analysis of the X-ray diffraction photographs shows that there are eight molecules in the unit cell with two in the asymmetric unit related by a non-crystallographic or local 2-fold axis. It also indicates that in projection down the a axis, two molecules of myosin subfragment-1 lie almost directly on top of one another except for a translation of about 9 A along c. Small crystals were fixed and embedded in the presence of tannic acid, and thin sections were cut perpendicular to each of the three crystallographic axes. Image analysis of micrographs recorded from these sections confirm the packing arrangement deduced from X-ray diffraction, and give the approximate size and shape of the molecule in the crystal lattice. They show that the molecule is at least 160 A long with a maximum thickness of about 60 A, and that it has marked curvature in the unit cell.     

Crystallization and preliminary crystallographic analysis of the N-terminal actin binding domain of human fimbrin

We have crystallized the N-terminal actin binding domain (ABD1) of human fimbrin, a representative member of the largest class of actin crosslinking proteins. Diffraction from these crystals is consistent with the orthorhombic space group P2₁2₁2₁ (a = 50.03 Å, b = 61.24 Å, c = 102.30 Å). These crystals contain one molecule in the asymmetric unit and diffract to at least 1.9 Å resolution. The crystal structure of ABD1 will be the first structure of an actin crosslinking domain. Proteins 28:452–453, 1997. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Characterization of two crystal forms of Clostridium thermocellum endoglucanase CelC

Endoglucanase CelC from Clostridium thermocellum expressed in Escherichia coli has been crystallized in two different crystal forms by the hanging drop method. Crystals of form I were grown with polyethylene glycol as a precipitant. They are orthorhombic, space group P2₁2₁2₁, with cell dimensions a =51.4 Å, b =84.3 Å, and c =87.5 Å. Crystals of form II, obtained in ammonium sulfate solutions, belong to the tetragonal space group P4₁2₁2 (or P4₃2₁2) with cell dimensions of a = b = 130.7 Å and c = 69.6 Å. Diffraction data to 2.8 Å resolution were observed for both crystal forms with a rotating anode generator. Preliminary oscillation images of the orthorhombic form I crystals using a synchrotron radiation source show diffraction to 2.2 Å resolution, indicating that these crystals are suitable for high resolution crystallographic analysis. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Two-Dimensional Crystallization of Brush Border Myosin I

Brush border myosin-I (BBMI) is a single-headed unconventional myosin found in the microvilli of intestinal epithelial cells, where it links the core bundle of actin filaments to the plasma membrane. An association of BBMI with anionic phospholipids has been shown to be mediated by a carboxy-terminal domain which is rich in basic amino acids. We have exploited this natural affinity of BBMI for negatively charged lipids to form two-dimensional (2D) crystals of this protein which are suitable for structural analysis by electron crystallographic techniques. The 2D crystals which we have obtained belong to one of two space groups, p22₁2₁or p2. We present here projection maps calculated from images of negatively stained crystals for each of these crystal types to a resolution of 20 Å and show that the asymmetric unit is the same in both crystal types.     

Crystallization and preliminary X-ray crystallographic studies of ketosteroid isomerase from Pseudomonas putida biotype B

The Δ⁵-3-ketosteroid isomerase from Pseudomonas putida biotype B has been crystallized. The crystals belong to the space group P2₁2₁2₁ with unit cell dimensions of a = 36.48 Å, b = 74.30 Å, c = 96.02 Å, and contain one homodimer per asymmetric unit. Native diffraction data to 2.19 Å resolution have been obtained from one crystal at room temperature indicating that the crystals are quite suitable for structure determination by multiple isomorphous replacement.     

Purification,crystallization, and preliminary X-ray studies of 10-formyltetrahydrofolate synthetase from Clostridia acidici-urici

The monofunctional enzyme 10-formyltetrahydrofolate synthetase (THFS), which is responsible for the recruitment of single carbon units from the formate pool into a variety of folate-dependent biosynthetic pathways, has been subcloned, purified, and crystallized. The crystals belong to space group P2₁, with unit cell dimensions a= 102.4 Å b= 116.5 Å c= 115.8 Å and β = 103.5 Å. The crystal unit cell and diffraction is consistent with an asymmetric unit consisting of the enzyme tetramer, and a specific volume of the unit cell of 2.7 Å₃/Da. The crystals diffract to at least 2.3 Å resolution after flash-cooling, when using a rotating anode x-ray source and an RAXIS image plate detector. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Crystallization and preliminary diffraction studies of thioesterase II from rat mammary gland

Thioesterase II from rat mammary gland has been crystallized in the presence of decanoic acid by the vapor diffusion method. The crystals belong to the orthorhombic space group P2₁2₁2₁, and have cell dimensions, a = 52.7 Å, b = 78.0 Å, and c = 133.6 Å. The asymmetric unit likely consists of two protein monomers based on predictions from its calculated Matthews coefficient. Crystals typically diffract to at least 2.5 Å resolution and are suitable for X-ray crystallographic analysis. © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Three-dimensional crystals of CaATPase from sarcoplasmic reticulum. Symmetry and molecular packing.

Structural studies of CaATPase from sarcoplasmic reticulum have so far been restricted to low resolution due to the poor order of two-dimensional crystal forms. However, we report that three-dimensional microcrystals of detergent-solubilized CaATPase diffract to 7.2 A in x-ray powder patterns and may therefore provide an opportunity to study CaATPase structure at higher resolutions. In the present study, we have characterized the symmetry and molecular packing of negatively stained crystals by electron microscopy (em). By altering the detergent-to-lipid ratio, different sized crystals were produced, which adhere to an em grid in different orientations. Thus, we obtained micrographs of three different projections and from these determined unit cell dimensions to be 151 X 51 X 158 A and the three-dimensional space group to be C2 with an angle beta very close to 90 degrees; x-ray powder patterns of hydrated, unstained crystals yielded dimensions of 166 X 58 X 164 A. Micrographs from each of two principal projections were averaged to produce two-dimensional density maps. Based on these maps and on the previously determined low-resolution structure of CaATPase, a packing diagram for these three-dimensional crystals is presented and major intermolecular contacts are proposed.     

Crystallization and preliminary X-ray diffraction studies of the cartilage link protein from bovine trachea

Cartilage extracellular matrix link protein, having molecular mass of approximately 40 kDa, is a metalloprotein that binds divalent cations and is only soluble in low ionic strength solutions. The link protein was purified from bovine trachea and has been crystallized by a vapor diffusion method using PEG 3350 as precipitant. The crystal symmetry is P1, and the unit cell dimensions are a = 43.55, b = 53.11, c = 60.10 Å, α = 90.44, β = 106.21, γ = 101.51°. The V_M of 1.8 Å₃/Da is consistent with the presence of two molecules of the link protein in the asymmetric unit. The crystals diffract X-rays from a synchrotron source to 1.7 Å resolution. © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Preparation and initial characterization of crystals of the photoprotein aequorin from Aequorea victoria

Crystals of recombinant aequorin, the photoprotein from the jellyfish Aequorea victoria, have been grown from solutions containing sodium phosphate. The crystals grow as thin plates which diffract to beyond 2.2 Å resolution. The crystals are orthorhombic, space group P2₁2₁2 ₁; the axes are a = 89.1(1), b = 88.4(1), and c = 52.7(1) Å. The asymmetric unit contains two molecules. Crystals exposed to calcium ion solutions emit a steady glow and slowly deteriorate, confirming that the crystals consist of a charged, competent photoprotein. This represents the first successful preparation of single crystals of a photoprotein suitable for diffraction analysis. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Crystallization and preliminary X-ray diffraction data of two heparin-binding fragments of human fibronectin

Two different heparin-binding fragments of human fibronectin have been crystallized in forms which are suitable for crystal structure analyses. The 30 kDa hep-2A fragment, consisting of type III domains 12–14, was crystallized from solutions containing ammonium sulfate or polyethylene glycol 6000. The crystals grown in ammonium sulfate solutions were orthorhombic with space group I222 or I2₁2₁2₁ with a = 68.1 Å, b = 88.6 Å, and c = 144.9 Å. The crystals grown in polyethylene glycol solutions are hexagonal with space group P6₁22 or P6₅22 witha a = b = 66.7 Å and c = 245.7 Å. The 40 kDa hep-2B fragment, consisting of type III domains 12–15, was also crystallized from solutions containing ammonium sulfate with the addition of glycerol. Glycerol proved an effective agent for reducing the number of crystals in the crystallization experiments, and thus, increasing the size of the crystals in these experiments. This crystal form is nearly isomorphous to the orthorhombic form of the hep-2A fragment with space group I222 or I2₁2₁2₁ and a = 67.5 Å, b = 87.0 Å, and c = 144.3 Å. All crystal forms diffract to at least 3.5 Å resolution and contain a single molecule in the asymmetric unit. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.