The molecular structure of Rv1873, a conserved hypothetical protein from Mycobacterium tuberculosis, at 1.38 Å resolution

The X-ray crystal structure of the gene product encoded by open reading frame Rv1873 of Mycobacterium tuberculosis has been determined by single isomorphous replacement with anomalous scattering (SIRAS) phasing tech­niques at 1.38 Å resolution from monoclinic crystals with unit-cell parameters a = 33.44, b = 31.63, c = 53.19 Å, β = 90.8°. The 16.2 kDa Rv1873 is a monomer that adopts a primarily α-helical fold with limited structural similarity to previously determined tertiary structures. It has been annotated as a conserved hypothetical protein of unknown function and is classified by the Clusters of Orthologous Groups (COG) database as belonging to COG5579. The three-dimensional structure of the Rv1873 gene product reveals limited similarity to a repeated motif that is found in a variety of other proteins. While not a novel fold, it serves as a model for orthologues predicted to be related by sequence and it is hoped that knowledge of the structure of Rv1873 will aid in determining a possible function for this protein.