The purification, crystallization and preliminary diffraction of a glycerophosphodiesterase from Enterobacter aerogenes

The metallo-glycerophosphodiesterase from Enterobacter aerogenes (GpdQ) has been cloned, expressed in Escherichia coli and purified. Initial screening of crystallization conditions for this enzyme resulted in the identification of needles from one condition in a sodium malonate grid screen. Removal of the metals from the enzyme and subsequent optimization of these conditions led to crystals that diffracted to 2.9 Å and belonged to space group P2₁3, with unit-cell parameter a = 164.1 Å. Self-rotation function analysis and V_M calculations indicated that the asymmetric unit contains two copies of the monomeric enzyme, corresponding to a solvent content of 79%. It is intended to determine the structure of this protein utilizing SAD phasing from transition metals or molecular replacement.