Reductive methylation to improve crystallization of the putative oxidoreductase Rv0765c from Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Rv0765c from Mycobacterium tuberculosis was cloned and heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli. It was purified using affinity and size-exclusion chromatographic techniques and crystallized. The native protein crystallized in a hexagonal crystal form which diffracted to 7 A resolution. In an attempt to improve the quality of the Rv0765c crystals, the protein was modified by reductive methylation using dimethylaminoborane and formaldehyde. The modified protein crystallized under different conditions in a tetragonal crystal form, from which diffraction data could be collected to a resolution of 3.2 A. In both crystal forms of Rv0765c, the asymmetric unit contained two copies of the protein molecule.