Expression, purification and crystallization of acetyl-CoA hydrolase from Neisseria meningitidis

Neisseria meningitidis is the causative microorganism of many human diseases, including bacterial meningitis; together with Streptococcus pneumoniae, it accounts for approximately 80% of bacterial meningitis infections. The emergence of antibiotic-resistant strains of N. meningitidis has created a strong urgency for the development of new therapeutics, and the high-resolution structural elucidation of enzymes involved in cell metabolism represents a platform for drug development. Acetyl-CoA hydrolase is involved in multiple functions in the bacterial cell, including membrane synthesis, fatty-acid and lipid metabolism, gene regulation and signal transduction. Here, the first recombinant protein expression, purification and crystallization of a hexameric acetyl-CoA hydrolase from N. meningitidis are reported. This protein was crystallized using the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion technique at pH 8.5 and 290 K using ammonium phosphate as a precipitant. Optimized crystals diffracted to 2.0 Å resolution at the Australian Synchrotron and belonged to space group P2₁3 (unit-cell parameters a = b = c = 152.2 Å), with four molecules in the asymmetric unit.