Use of iron anomalous scattering with multiple models and data sets to identify and refine a weak molecular...

The structure of cytochrome c' from two bacterial species, Alcaligenes sp and Alcaligenes denitrificans, have been determined from X-ray diffraction data to 3.0 A resolution using the anomalous scattering of the single Fe atom in each to identify and refine a weak molecular-replacement solution. Molecular-replacement studies, with the program AMORE, used two isomorphous data sets (from the two species), two independent search models (the cytochromes c' from Rhodospirillum molischianum and Rhodospirillum rubrum), both with and without side chains, and two different resolution ranges (10.0-4.0 and 15.0-3.5A) to generate a large number of potential solutions. No single solution stood out and none appeared consistently. The Fe-atom position in each structure was then determined from its anomalous-scattering contribution and all molecular- replacement solutions were discarded which did not (i) place the Fe atom correctly and (ii) orient the molecule such that a crystallographic twofold axis generated a dimer like those of the two search models. Finally, electron-density maps phased solely by the Fe-atom anomalous scattering were calculated. As these were combined and subjected to solvent flattening and histogram matching (with the program SQUASH), correlation with the remaining molecular-replacement solutions identified one as correct and enabled it to be improved and subjected to preliminary refinement. The correctness of the solution is confirmed by parallel isomorphous-replacement studies.