1l0w: Difference between revisions

[[Image:1l0w.jpg|left|200px]]<br /><applet load="1l0w" size="350" color="white" frame="true" align="right" spinBox="true"  

Protein crystallization under microgravity aims at benefiting from the quasi-absence of convection and sedimentation to favor well ordered crystal nucleation and growth. The dimeric multidomain enzyme aspartyl-tRNA synthetase from Thermus thermophilus has been crystallized within dialysis reactors of the Advanced Protein Crystallization Facility in the laboratory on earth and under microgravity aboard the US Space Shuttle. A strictly comparative crystallographic analysis reveals that the crystals grown in space are superior in every respect to control crystals prepared in otherwise identical conditions on earth. They diffract X-rays more intensely and have a lower mosaicity, facilitating the process of protein structure determination. Indeed, the electron-density map calculated from diffraction data of space-grown crystals contains considerably more detail. The resulting three-dimensional structure model at 2.0 A resolution is more accurate than that produced in parallel using the data originating from earth-grown crystals. The major differences between the structures, including the better defined amino-acid side chains and the higher order of bound water molecules, are emphasized.

1L0W is a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_protein Single protein] structure of sequence from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermus_thermophilus Thermus thermophilus]. Active as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspartate--tRNA_ligase Aspartate--tRNA ligase], with EC number [http://www.brenda-enzymes.info/php/result_flat.php4?ecno=6.1.1.12 6.1.1.12] Full crystallographic information is available from [http://oca.weizmann.ac.il/oca-bin/ocashort?id=1L0W OCA].  

[[Category: Ng, J D.]]

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