Combining site-specific mutagenesis and seeding as a strategy to crystallize 'difficult' proteins: the case of
Goedele Roos1, Elke Brosens, Khadija Wahni
1Brussels Center for Redox Biology, Vlaams Interuniversitair Instituut voor Biotechnologie at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussel, Belgium.
Abstract:
The P31T mutant of Staphylococcus aureus thioredoxin crystallizes spontaneously in space group P2(1)2(1)2(1), with unit-cell parameters a = 41.7, b = 49.5, c = 55.6 A. The crystals diffract to 2.2 A resolution. Isomorphous crystals of wild-type thioredoxin as well as of other point mutants only grow when seeded with the P31T mutant. These results suggest seeding as a valuable tool complementing surface engineering for proteins that are hard to crystallize.


