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I Rayment

Publications and source records attributed to I Rayment.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Three-dimensional structure of the high-potential iron-sulfur protein isolated from the purple phototrophic bacterium Rhodocyclus tenuis determined and refined at 1.5 A resolution.

The molecular structure of the high-potential iron-sulfur protein (HiPIP) isolated from the phototrophic bacterium, Rhodocyclus tenuis, has been solved and refined to a nominal resolution of 1.5 A with a crystallographic R-factor of 17.3% for all measured X-ray data from 30 A to 1.5 A. It is the smallest of the HiPIP structures studied thus far with 62 amino acid residues. Crystals used in the investigation belonged to the space group P2(1) with unit cell dimensions of a = 36.7 A, b = 52.6 A, c = 27.6 A and beta = 90.8 degrees and contained two molecules per asymmetric unit. The structure was solved by a combination of multiple isomorphous replacement with two heavy-atom derivatives, anomalous scattering from the iron-sulfur cluster, symmetry averaging and solvent flattening. The folding motif for this HiPIP is characterized by one small alpha-helix, six Type I turns, an approximate Type II turn and one Type I' turn. As in other HiPIPs, the iron-sulfur cluster is co-ordinated by four cysteinyl ligands and exhibits a cubane-like motif. These cysteinyl ligands are all located in Type I turns. The hydrogen bonding around the metal cluster in the R. tenuis protein is similar to the patterns observed in the Chromatium vinosum and Ectothiorhodospira halophila HiPIPs. Several of the amino acid residues invariant in the previously determined C. vinosum and E. halophila structures are not retained in the R. tenuis molecule. There are 13 solvent molecules structurally conserved between the two R. tenuis HiPIP molecules in the asymmetric unit, some of which are important for stabilizing surface loops. Interestingly, while it is assumed that this HiPIP functions as a monomer in solution, the two molecules in the asymmetric unit pack as a dimer and are related to each other by an approximate twofold rotation axis.

Bacterial Proteins

X-ray structure determination of telokin, the C-terminal domain of myosin light chain kinase, at 2.8 A resolution.

The three-dimensional structure of telokin, an acidic protein identical to the C-terminal portion of smooth muscle myosin light chain kinase from turkey gizzard, has been determined at 2.8 A resolution and refined to a crystallographic R-factor of 19.5% for all measured X-ray data from 30 A to 2.8 A. Crystals used in the investigation belonged to the space group P3(2)21, with one molecule per asymmetric unit and unit cell dimensions of a = b = 64.4 A and c = 50.6 A. Telokin contains 154 amino acid residues, 103 of which were visible in the electron density map. The overall molecular fold of telokin consists of seven strands of antiparallel beta-pleated sheet that wrap around to form a barrel. There is also an extended tail of eight amino acid residues at the N terminus that does not participate in beta-sheet formation. The beta-barrel can be simply envisioned as two layers of beta-sheet, nearly parallel to one another, with one layer containing four and the other three beta-strands. This type of beta-barrel, as seen in telokin, was first observed for the CH2 domain of an immunoglobulin fragment Fc. Telokin is an intracellular protein and, as such, does not contain the disulphide linkage between beta-strands B and F normally observed in the immunoglobulin constant domains. It does, however, contain two cysteine amino acid residues (Cys63 and Cys115) that are situated at structurally identical positions to those forming the disulphide linkage in the immunoglobulin constant domain.

Amino Acid Sequence

Crystallization and preliminary crystallographic analysis of a thermostable mutant of kanamycin nucleotidyltransferase.

A thermostable mutant of kanamycin nucleotidyltransferase isolated by cloning and selection for kanamycin resistance in Bacillus stearothermophilus at 70 degrees C has been crystallized in a form suitable for high-resolution diffraction analysis. This enzyme catalyzes nucleotidyl group transfer from nucleoside triphosphates such as ATP to hydroxyl groups of various aminoglycosides, thus inactivating the antibiotic. The kanamycin nucleotidyltransferase gene, originally encoded on plasmid pUB110 from the mesophile Staphylococcus aureus, was transferred to the thermophile B. stearothermophilus via shuttle plasmids and the mutant carrying the substitutions D80Y and T130K was isolated from kanamycin-resistant colonies grown at 70 degrees C. The thermostable enzyme was crystallized in two forms from solutions of polyethylene glycol 8000 (PEG8000) using batch and vapor diffusion methods. Type I crystals grown from 19% (w/v) PEG8000 and 200 mM NaCl belong to the orthorhombic space group C222(1), have unit cell dimensions of a = 128.4, b = 156.8, c = 155.8 A, and diffract to at least 2.4-A resolution. The type II form of the crystals were grown from 10% PEG8000, 200 mM KCl, and 3 mM CoCl2, and belong to the tetragonal space group P4(1)2(1)2 or P4(3)2(1)2 with unit cell dimensions of a = b = 78.9, and c = 220.4 A; these crystals diffract to at least 2.5-A resolution.

Crystallization

Inside polyomavirus at 25-A resolution.

Empty capsids and complete virions of polyomavirus crystallize isomorphously. Here we use difference Fourier analysis of X-ray diffraction data at 25-A resolution from these crystals to obtain an electron-density map of the inside of the virion. The polyomavirus capsid is built from 72 pentamers of VP1 that form three different types of connections in the T = 7d icosahedral surface lattice. Self-assembly of purified recombinant VP1 into capsid-like aggregates has shown that switching of the bonding specificity to form the unanticipated non-equivalent connections is an inherent property of the VP1 pentamers. Our map of the inside of the virion displays 72 prongs of electron density extending from the core into the axial cavities of the VP1 pentamers. We identify these prongs with the VP2 and VP3 molecules, which may function to guide the assembly of the highly ordered capsid on the nucleohistone core. The atomic structure of the closely related simian virus-40 capsid has been determined from the high-resolution diffraction data. Our polyomavirus map, calculated using all the low-resolution diffraction data, shows no indication of regular order inside the spherical core.

Capsid

The molecular structure of UDP-galactose 4-epimerase from Escherichia coli determined at 2.5 A resolution.

UDP-galactose 4-epimerase catalyzes the conversion of UDP-galactose to UDP-glucose during normal galactose metabolism. The molecular structure of UDP-galactose 4-epimerase from Escherichia coli has now been solved to a nominal resolution of 2.5 A. As isolated from E. coli, the molecule is a dimer of chemically identical subunits with a total molecular weight of 79,000. Crystals of the enzyme used for this investigation were grown as a complex with the substrate analogue, UDP-benzene, and belonged to the space group P2(1)2(1)2(1) with unit cell dimensions of a = 76.3 A, b = 83.1 A, c = 132.1 A, and one dimer per asymmetric unit. An interpretable electron density map calculated to 2.5 A resolution was obtained by a combination of multiple isomorphous replacement with six heavy atom derivatives, molecular averaging, and solvent flattening. Each subunit of epimerase is divided into two domains. The larger N-terminal domain, composed of amino acid residues 1-180, shows a classic NAD+ binding motif with seven strands of parallel beta-pleated sheet flanked on either side of alpha-helices. The seventh strand of the beta-pleated sheet is contributed by amino acid residues from the smaller domain. In addition, this smaller C-terminal domain, consisting of amino acid residues 181-338, contains three strands of beta-pleated sheet, two major alpha-helices and one helical turn. The substrate analogue, UDP-benzene, binds in the cleft located between the two domains with its phenyl ring in close proximity to the nicotinamide ring of NAD+. Contrary to the extensive biochemical literature suggesting that epimerase binds only one NAD+ per functional dimer, the map clearly shows electron density for two nicotinamide cofactors binding in symmetry-related positions in the dimer. Likewise, each subunit in the dimer also binds one substrate analogue.

Computer Simulation

Trimethyllead acetate: a first-choice heavy atom derivative for protein crystallography.

The three-dimensional conformation of a protein provides a wealth of biochemical information and with the advent of cloning techniques that allow the preparation of proteins almost at will, a renewed interest has arisen in the crystallographic determination of protein structures. As in any research technique, however, there are often many difficulties encountered in an X-ray crystallographic investigation. One of these is the "phase problem." Although in recent years there has been considerable progress in the development of techniques for phase determination, including the use of molecular replacement and multiple wavelength measurements, the multiple isomorphous replacement method is still the most successful method for obtaining a three-dimensional structure. Here we report the use of trimethyllead acetate as a heavy atom compound of first choice in the preparation of an isomorphous heavy atom derivative.

Models, Molecular

The molecular structure of the high potential iron-sulfur protein isolated from Ectothiorhodospira halophila determined at 2.5-A resolution.

The molecular structure of a high potential iron-sulfur protein (HiPIP) isolated from the purple photosynthetic bacterium, Ectothiorhodospira halophila strain BN9626, has been solved by x-ray diffraction analysis to a nominal resolution of 2.5 A and refined to a crystallographic R value of 18.4% including all measured x-ray data from 30.0- to 2.5-A resolution. Crystals used in the investigation contained two molecules/asymmetric unit and belonged to the space group P21 with unit cell dimensions of a = 60.00 A, b = 31.94 A, c = 40.27 A, and beta = 100.5 degrees. An interpretable electron density map, obtained by combining x-ray data from one isomorphous heavy atom derivative with non-crystallographic symmetry averaging and solvent flattening, clearly showed that this high potential iron-sulfur protein contains 71 amino acid residues, rather than 70 as originally reported. As in other bacterial ferredoxins, the [4Fe-4S] cluster adopts a cubane-like conformation and is ligated to the protein via four cysteinyl sulfur ligands. The overall secondary structure of the E. halophila HiPIP is characterized by a series of Type I and Type II turns allowing the polypeptide chain to wrap around the [4Fe-4S] prosthetic group. The hydrogen bonding pattern around the cluster is nearly identical to that originally observed in the 85-amino acid residue Chromatium vinosum HiPIP and consequently, the 240 mV difference in redox potentials between these two proteins cannot be simply attributed to hydrogen bonding patterns alone.

Amino Acid Sequence

Molecular structure of cytochrome c2 isolated from Rhodobacter capsulatus determined at 2.5 A resolution.

The molecular structure of the cytochrome c2, isolated from the purple photosynthetic bacterium Rhodobacter capsulatus, has been solved to a nominal resolution of 2.5 A and refined to a crystallographic R-factor of 16.8% for all observed X-ray data. Crystals used for this investigation belong to the space group R32 with two molecules in the asymmetric unit and unit cell dimensions of a = b = 100.03 A, c = 162.10 A as expressed in the hexagonal setting. An interpretable electron density map calculated at 2.5 A resolution was obtained by the combination of multiple isomorphous replacement with four heavy atom derivatives, molecular averaging and solvent flattening. At this stage of the structural analysis the electron densities corresponding to the side-chains are well ordered except for several surface lysine, glutamate and aspartate residues. Like other c-type cytochromes, the secondary structure of the protein consists of five alpha-helices forming a basket around the heme prosthetic group with one heme edge exposed to the solvent. The overall alpha-carbon trace of the molecule is very similar to that observed for the bacterial cytochrome c2, isolated from Rhodospirillum rubrum, with the exception of a loop, delineated by amino acid residues 21 to 32, that forms a two stranded beta-sheet-like motif in the Rb. capsulatus protein. As observed in the eukaryotic cytochrome c proteins, but not in the cytochrome c2 from Rsp. rubrum, there are two evolutionarily conserved solvent molecules buried within the heme binding pocket.

Amino Acid Sequence

Two-dimensional magnetization exchange spectroscopy of Anabaena 7120 ferredoxin. Nuclear Overhauser effect and electron self-exchange cross peaks from amino acid residues surrounding the 2Fe-2S* cluster.

Hyperfine 1H NMR signals of the 2Fe-2S* vegetative ferredoxin from Anabaena 7120 have been studied by two-dimensional (2D) magnetization exchange spectroscopy. The rapid longitudinal relaxation rates of these signals required the use of very short nuclear Overhauser effect (NOE) mixing times (0.5-20 ms). The resulting pattern of NOE cross-relaxation peaks when combined with previous 1D NOE results [Dugad, L. B., La Mar, G. N., Banci, L., & Bertini, I. (1990) Biochemistry 29, 2263-2271] led to elucidation of the carbon-bound proton spin systems from each of the four cysteines ligated to the 2Fe-2S* cluster in the reduced ferredoxin. Additional NOE cross peaks were observed that provide information about other amino acid residues that interact with the iron-sulfur cluster. NOE cross peaks were assigned tentatively to Leu27, Arg42, and Ala43 on the basis of the X-ray coordinates of oxidized Anabaena 7120 ferredoxin [Rypniewski, W.R., Breiter, D.R., Benning, M.M., Wesenberg, G., Oh, B.-H., Markley, J.L., Rayment, I., & Holden, H. M. (1991) Biochemistry 30, 4126-4131]. Three chemical exchange cross peaks were detected in magnetization exchange spectra of half-reduced ferredoxin and assigned to the 1H alpha protons of Cys49 and Cys79 [both of whose sulfur atoms are ligated to Fe(III)] and Arg42 (whose amide nitrogen is hydrogen-bonded to one of the inorganic sulfurs of the 2Fe-2S* cluster). The chemical exchange cross peaks provide a means of extending assignments in the spectrum of reduced ferredoxin to assignments in the spectrum of the oxidized protein.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Alanine

Crystallization and structure determination to 2.5-A resolution of the oxidized [2Fe-2S] ferredoxin isolated from Anabaena 7120.

The molecular structure of the oxidized form of the [2Fe-2S] ferredoxin isolated from the cyanobacterium Anabaena species strain PCC 7120 has been determined by X-ray diffraction analysis to a nominal resolution of 2.5 A and refined to a crystallographic R factor of 18.7%. Crystals used in this investigation belong to the space group P2(1)2(1)2(1) with unit cell dimensions of a = 37.42 A, b = 38.12 A, and c = 147.12 A and two molecules in the asymmetric unit. The three-dimensional structure of this ferredoxin was solved by a method that combined X-ray data from one isomorphous heavy-atom derivative with noncrystallographic symmetry averaging and solvent flattening. As in other plant-type [2Fe-2S] ferredoxins, the iron-sulfur cluster is located toward the outer edge of the molecule, and the irons are tetrahedrally coordinated by both inorganic sulfurs and sulfurs provided by protein cysteine residues. The main secondary structural elements include four strands of beta-pleated sheet and three alpha-helical regions.

Crystallization

Crystallization and preliminary analysis of telokin, the C-terminal domain of myosin light chain kinase.

Telokin, an acidic protein related to the C-terminal portion of smooth muscle myosin light chain kinase from turkey gizzard has been crystallized in a form suitable for a high-resolution diffraction analysis. The crystals were grown from solutions of polyethylene glycol 8000 using the hanging-drop vapor diffusion method. They belong to the trigonal space group P3(1)21 or P3(2)21 with cell parameters a = 64.0 A, c = 59.4 A and diffract to at least 2.7 A resolution.

Animals

Molecular structure of an apolipoprotein determined at 2.5-A resolution.

The three-dimensional structure of an apolipoprotein isolated from the African migratory locust Locusta migratoria has been determined by X-ray analysis to a resolution of 2.5 A. The overall molecular architecture of this protein consists of five long alpha-helices connected by short loops. As predicted from amino acid sequence analyses, these helices are distinctly amphiphilic with the hydrophobic residues pointing in toward the interior of the protein and the hydrophilic side chains facing outward. The molecule falls into the general category of up-and-down alpha-helical bundles as previously observed, for example, in cytochrome c'. Although the structure shows the presence of five long amphiphilic alpha-helices, the alpha-helical moment and hydrophobicity of the entire molecule fall into the range found for normal globular proteins. Thus, in order for the amphiphilic helices to play a role in the binding of the protein to a lipid surface, there must be a structural reorganization of the protein which exposes the hydrophobic interior to the lipid surface. The three-dimensional motif of this apolipoprotein is compatible with a model in which the molecule binds to the lipid surface via a relatively nonpolar end and then spreads on the surface in such a way as to cause the hydrophobic side chains of the helices to come in contact with the lipid surface, the charged and polar residues to remain in contact with water, and the overall helical motif of the protein to be maintained.

Amino Acid Sequence

The isolation, purification, and preliminary crystallographic characterization of UDP-galactose-4-epimerase from Escherichia coli.

Uridine diphosphogalactose-4-epimerase from E. coli has been crystallized in a form suitable for a high-resolution X-ray crystallographic structural analysis. The enzyme complexed with a substrate analogue, uridine diphosphobenzene (UDP-benzene), crystallizes readily using polyethylene glycol 8000 as the precipitant. The crystals belong to the orthorhombic space group P2(1)2(1)2(1) with unit cell dimensions, a = 76.3 A, b = 83.1 A, and c = 132.1 A. Based on still setting photographs, the crystals diffract to a nominal resolution of 2.3 A and are stable in the X-ray beam. The enzyme used in these experiments was produced by a new expression system and a modified purification scheme.

Crystallization

Crystallization and preliminary analysis of enzyme-substrate complexes of pyruvate kinase from rabbit muscle.

Pyruvate kinase from rabbit muscle has been crystallized in a form suitable for high resolution X-ray analysis. Complexes of the enzyme with Mn2+ and either pyruvate or oxalate crystallize from solutions of polyethyl-eneglycol 8000 at pH 6.0. Crystals obtained from solutions of the complexes with pyruvate or oxalate appear isomorphous and belong to the triclinic space group P1. The crystals have unit cell dimensions a = 83.3(4) A, b = 109.4(6) A, c = 145.7 (7) A, alpha = 94.9 degrees, beta = 93.6 degrees, gamma = 112.2 degrees. These crystals diffract to better than 2.4 A resolution and are stable in the X-ray beam for at least 20 hr. Electron paramagnetic resonance measurements on a single crystal show that Mn2+ is bound to the crystalline protein.

Animals

Three-dimensional structure of myosin subfragment-1 from electron microscopy of sectioned crystals.

Image analysis of electron micrographs of thin-sectioned myosin subfragment-1 (S1) crystals has been used to determine the structure of the myosin head at approximately 25-A resolution. Previous work established that the unit cell of type I crystals of myosin S1 contains eight molecules arranged with orthorhombic space group symmetry P212121 and provided preliminary information on the size and shape of the myosin head (Winkelmann, D. A., H. Mekeel, and I. Rayment. 1985. J. Mol. Biol. 181:487-501). We have applied a systematic method of data collection by electron microscopy to reconstruct the three-dimensional (3D) structure of the S1 crystal lattice. Electron micrographs of thin sections were recorded at angles of up to 50 degrees by tilting the sections about the two orthogonal unit cell axes in sections cut perpendicular to the three major crystallographic axes. The data from six separate tilt series were merged to form a complete data set for 3D reconstruction. This approach has yielded an electron density map of the unit cell of the S1 crystals of sufficient detail. to delineate the molecular envelope of the myosin head. Myosin S1 has a tadpole-shaped molecular envelope that is very similar in appearance to the pear-shaped myosin heads observed by electron microscopy of rotary-shadowed and negatively stained myosin. The molecule is divided into essentially three morphological domains: a large domain on one end of the molecule corresponding to approximately 60% of the total molecular volume, a smaller central domain of approximately 30% of the volume that is separated from the larger domain by a cleft on one side of the molecule, and the smallest domain corresponding to a thin tail-like region containing approximately 10% of the volume. This molecular organization supports models of force generation by myosin which invoke conformational mobility at interdomain junctions within the head.

Actomyosin

Crystallization and preliminary analysis of crystals of apolipophorin III isolated from Locusta migratoria.

Crystals of apolipophorin III, isolated from the locust Locusta migratoria, have been reproducibly grown from ammonium sulfate solutions and are well suited for an x-ray crystallographic analysis. Locust apolipophorin III is a glycosylated protein with a molecular weight of 19,100 and interacts with lipophorin, the major lipoprotein complex in insects. The crystals belong to the space group P6122 or P6522 with unit cell dimensions of a = b = 67.5 A, c = 155.6 A and diffract to a nominal resolution of 2.5 A. They are physically robust and are stable in the x-ray beam for over a week. A complete native x-ray data set has been collected and processed to 3.0-A resolution.

Animals

Crystallization and preliminary analysis of crystals of cytochrome c2 from Rhodopseudomonas capsulata.

Two crystal forms of the cytochrome c2 isolated from Rhodopseudomonas capsulata have been obtained. One crystal form (type I), grown from ammonium sulfate solutions at pH 7.5, belongs to the space group R32 with unit cell dimensions of a = b = 100.0 A, and c = 162.2 A in the hexagonal setting. These crystals most likely contain two molecules in the asymmetric unit. The other crystal form (type II) was obtained from polyethylene glycol 6000 solutions at pH 6.5. Type II crystals belong to the space group P3(1)21 or P3(2)21 with one molecule per asymmetric unit and unit cell dimensions of a = b = 52.4 A, and c = 87.9 A. Both crystal forms diffract to at least 1.8 A resolution and appear to be resistant to radiation damage.

Crystallography