Overexpression, crystallization and preliminary X-­ray crystallographic analysis of pyridoxal biosynthesis lyase PdxS from Pyrococcus horikoshii

Pyridoxal biosynthesis lyase (PdxS) is an important player in the biosynthesis of pyridoxal 5′-phosphate (PLP), the biologically active form of vitamin B₆. PLP is an important cofactor involved in the metabolic pathway of amine-containing natural products such as amino acids and amino sugars. PdxS catalyzes the condensation of ribulose 5-phosphate (Ru5P), glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate (G3P) and ammonia, while glutamine amidotransferase (PdxT) catalyzes the production of ammonia from glutamine. PdxS and PdxT form a complex, PLP synthase, and widely exist in eubacteria, archaea, fungi and plants. To facilitate further structural comparisons among PdxS proteins, the structural analysis of PdxS from Pyrococcus horikoshii encoded by the Ph1355 gene was initiated. PdxS from P. horikoshii was overexpressed in Escherichia coli and crystallized at 296 K using 2-methyl-2,4-pentanediol as a precipitant. Crystals of P. horikoshii PdxS diffracted to 2.61 Å resolution and belonged to the monoclinic space group P2₁, with unit-cell parameters a = 59.30, b = 178.56, c = 109.23 Å, β = 102.97°. The asymmetric unit contained six monomers, with a corresponding V_M of 2.54 ų Da⁻¹ and a solvent content of 51.5% by volume.