Parge H E, McRee D E, Capozza M A, Bernstein S L, Getzoff E D, Tainer J A
Dept. of Molecular Biology, Research Institute of Scripps Clinic, La Jolla, CA 92037.
Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek. 1987;53(6):447-53. doi: 10.1007/BF00415501.
Crystallographic and associated biochemical and structural studies are in progress on the fiber-forming pilin proteins of the gonococcal pilus. Preparative scale purification procedures have been developed for the gonococcal pilin protein, which appear generally applicable to bacterial pilins. For three gonococcal pilin protein strains, we have obtained both reassembled pilus fibers and three-dimensional crystals. One needle-shaped crystal form of gonococcal C30 pilin diffracts beyond 3 A resolution using synchrotron x-ray radiation. A diffraction data set to 3.5 A resolution has been collected on these needle-shaped crystals (lattice spacings a = 125.4(3) b = 120.4(3), c = 26.61(4) A) in which the packing arrangement of the pilin subunits appears to resemble that seen in the pilus fibers using electron microscopy. X-ray diffraction data confirm our proposed model for the overall polypeptide fold of a pilin subunit, which is an antiparallel 4-alpha helix bundle similar to tobacco mosaic virus coat protein and myohemerythrin.
正在对淋病菌菌毛的纤维形成菌毛蛋白进行晶体学及相关的生化和结构研究。已开发出用于淋病菌菌毛蛋白的制备规模纯化程序，该程序似乎普遍适用于细菌菌毛蛋白。对于三种淋病菌菌毛蛋白菌株，我们已获得重新组装的菌毛纤维和三维晶体。使用同步加速器X射线辐射，淋病菌C30菌毛蛋白的一种针状晶体形式的衍射分辨率超过3埃。已收集了这些针状晶体（晶格间距a = 125.4(3)，b = 120.4(3)，c = 26.61(4)埃）的3.5埃分辨率的衍射数据集，其中菌毛蛋白亚基的堆积排列似乎类似于使用电子显微镜在菌毛纤维中看到的排列。X射线衍射数据证实了我们提出的菌毛蛋白亚基整体多肽折叠模型，该模型是一种反平行的4-α螺旋束，类似于烟草花叶病毒外壳蛋白和肌红蛋白。
