Crystallization and preliminary X-ray analysis of VCBP3 from Branchiostoma floridae

VCBPs represent a family of proteins with highly diversified immunoglobulin-like variable regions in species thought to lack an adaptive immune system. These proteins are expected to reveal important structural and functional features that could be highly informative in projecting the evolutionary history of the adaptive immune response. Preliminary X-ray diffraction data from amphioxus (Branchiostoma floridae) VCBP3 crystals were collected to 2.4 A resolution and reduced to primitive trigonal space groups P3(1(2))21. Unit-cell parameters are a = b = 58.99, c = 79.21 A, alpha = beta = 90, gamma = 120 degrees . Two distinct crystallization conditions yielded crystals with similar morphologies and these crystals are isomorphous to each other.