In this study, the glucansucrase from the dental caries pathogen S. mutans was purified and crystallized by the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion method using ammonium sulfate as a precipitant.

A 118 kDa fragment, comprising the catalytic domain and four other domains, of the glucansucrase GTFA from L. reuteri 121, which synthesizes α-glucans with both α-1,6- and α-1,4-glycosidic linkages, was crystallized. The weakly diffracting crystals, which contained 85% solvent, were used to determine the structure at 3.6 Å resolution.

Apo and acarbose-complex structures of the catalytic domain of GtfB from Streptococcus mutans and the truncated structure of the catalytic domain of GtfD are described.