Crystallization and preliminary X-ray crystallographic analysis of verotoxin-1 B-subunit

The B-subunit of verotoxin-1, which is believed to form a pentamer (monomer Mr = 7691), has been crystallized by vapor diffusion over a wide range of conditions. The best crystals, obtained with polyethylene glycol 8000 as the precipitant, belong to the orthorhombic space group P2(1)2(1)2(1), with cell dimensions a = 59.2 A, b = 102.7 A, c = 56.3 A. The cell dimensions are consistent with one B-subunit pentamer per asymmetric unit, and the crystals diffract to at least 2.0 A resolution. Data collected using synchrotron radiation at a wavelength of 2.070 A may allow the structure to be solved using the anomalous signal from three sulfur atoms in the monomer, combined with averaging over the non-crystallographic symmetry.