Publications (2)14.66 Total impact
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Article: The 2.35 A structure of the TenA homolog from Pyrococcus furiosus supports an enzymatic function in thiamine metabolism.
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ABSTRACT: TenA (transcriptional enhancer A) has been proposed to function as a transcriptional regulator based on observed changes in gene-expression patterns when overexpressed in Bacillus subtilis. However, studies of the distribution of proteins involved in thiamine biosynthesis in different fully sequenced genomes have suggested that TenA may be an enzyme involved in thiamine biosynthesis, with a function related to that of the ThiC protein. The crystal structure of PF1337, the TenA homolog from Pyrococcus furiosus, is presented here. The protomer comprises a bundle of alpha-helices with a similar tertiary structure and topology to that of human heme oxygenase-1, even though there is no significant sequence homology. A solvent-sequestered cavity lined by phylogenetically conserved residues is found at the core of this bundle in PF1337 and this cavity is observed to contain electron density for 4-amino-5-hydroxymethyl-2-methylpyrimidine phosphate, the product of the ThiC enzyme. In contrast, the modestly acidic surface of PF1337 shows minimal levels of sequence conservation and a dearth of the basic residues that are typically involved in DNA binding in transcription factors. Without significant conservation of its surface properties, TenA is unlikely to mediate functionally important protein-protein or protein-DNA interactions. Therefore, the crystal structure of PF1337 supports the hypothesis that TenA homologs have an indirect effect in altering gene-expression patterns and function instead as enzymes involved in thiamine metabolism.Acta Crystallographica Section D Biological Crystallography 06/2005; 61(Pt 5):589-98. · 12.62 Impact Factor -
Article: Robotic cloning and Protein Production Platform of the Northeast Structural Genomics Consortium.
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ABSTRACT: In this chapter we describe the core Protein Production Platform of the Northeast Structural Genomics Consortium (NESG) and outline the strategies used for producing high-quality protein samples using Escherichia coli host vectors. The platform is centered on 6X-His affinity-tagged protein constructs, allowing for a similar purification procedure for most targets, and the implementation of high-throughput parallel methods. In most cases, these affinity-purified proteins are sufficiently homogeneous that a single subsequent gel filtration chromatography step is adequate to produce protein preparations that are greater than 98% pure. Using this platform, over 1000 different proteins have been cloned, expressed, and purified in tens of milligram quantities over the last 36-month period (see Summary Statistics for All Targets, ). Our experience using a hierarchical multiplex expression and purification strategy, also described in this chapter, has allowed us to achieve success in producing not only protein samples but also many three-dimensional structures. As of December 2004, the NESG Consortium has deposited over 145 new protein structures to the Protein Data Bank (PDB); about two-thirds of these protein samples were produced by the NESG Protein Production Facility described here. The methods described here have proven effective in producing quality samples of both eukaryotic and prokaryotic proteins. These improved robotic and?or parallel cloning, expression, protein production, and biophysical screening technologies will be of broad value to the structural biology, functional proteomics, and structural genomics communities.Methods in Enzymology 02/2005; 394:210-43. · 2.04 Impact Factor
