Overexpression, crystallization and preliminary X-ray crystallographic analysis of β-N-acetylglucosaminidase from Thermotoga maritima encoded by the Tm0809 gene

β-N-acetylglucosaminidase (NagA) protein hs a chitin-degrading activity and chitin is one of the most abundant polymers in nature. NagA contains a family 3 glycoside (GH3)-type N-terminal domain and a unique C-terminal domain. The structurally uncharacterized C-terminal domain of NagA may be involved in substrate specificity. To provide a structural basis for the substrate specificity of NagA, structural analysis of NagA from Thermotoga maritima encoded by the Tm0809 gene was initiated. NagA from T. maritima has been overexpressed in Escherichia coli and crystallized at 296 K using ammonium sulfate as a precipitant. Crystals of T. maritima NagA diffracted to 3.80 Å resolution and belonged to the monoclinic space group C2, with unit-cell parameters a = 231.15, b = 133.62, c = 140.88 Å, β = 89.97°. The crystallization of selenomethionyl-substituted protein is in progress to solve the crystal structure of T. maritima NagA.