Improved expression, purification and crystallization of a putative N-acetyl-γ-glutamyl-phosphate reductase from rice (Oryza sativa)

N-Acetyl-γ-glutamyl-phosphate reductase (AGPR) catalyzes the third step in an eight-step arginine-biosynthetic pathway that starts with glutamate. This enzyme converts N-acetyl-γ-glutamyl phosphate to N-acetylglutamate-γ-semialdehyde by an NADPH-dependent reductive dephosphorylation. AGPR from Oryza sativa (OsAGPR) was expressed in Escherichia coli at 291 K as a soluble fusion protein with an upstream thioredoxin-hexahistidine [Trx-(His)₆] extension. OsAGPR(Ala50–Pro366) was purified and crystals were obtained using the sitting-drop vapour-diffusion method at 293 K and diffract X-rays to at least 1.8 Å resolution. They belong to the hexagonal space group P6₁, with unit-cell parameters a = 86.11, c = 316.3 Å.