Cloning, production, and purification of proteins for a medium-scale structural genomics project.

The South-Paris Yeast Structural Genomics Pilot Project (http://www.genomics.eu.org) aims at systematically expressing, purifying, and determining the three-dimensional structures of Saccharomyces cerevisiae proteins. We have already cloned 240 yeast open reading frames in the Escherichia coli pET system. Eighty-two percent of the targets can be expressed in E. coli, and 61% yield soluble protein. We have currently purified 58 proteins. Twelve X-ray structures have been solved, six are in progress, and six other proteins gave crystals. In this chapter, we present the general experimental flowchart applied for this project. One of the main difficulties encountered in this pilot project was the low solubility of a great number of target proteins. We have developed parallel strategies to recover these proteins from inclusion bodies, including refolding, coexpression with chaperones, and an in vitro expression system. A limited proteolysis protocol, developed to localize flexible regions in proteins that could hinder crystallization, is also described.

Refolding strategies from inclusion bodies in a structural genomics project.

The South-Paris Yeast Structural Genomics Project aims at systematically expressing, purifying and determining the structure of S. cerevisiae proteins with no detectable homology to proteins of known structure. We brought 250 yeast ORFs to expression in E. coli, but 37% of them form inclusion bodies. This important fraction of proteins that are well expressed but lost for structural studies prompted us to test methodologies to recover these proteins. Three different strategies were explored in parallel on a set of 20 proteins: (1) refolding from solubilized inclusion bodies using an original and fast 96-well plates screening test, (2) co-expression of the targets in E. coli with DnaK-DnaJ-GrpE and GroEL-GroES chaperones, and (3) use of the cell-free expression system. Most of the tested proteins (17/20) could be resolubilized at least by one approach, but the subsequent purification proved to be difficult for most of them.

Crystal structure of the YGR205w protein from Saccharomyces cerevisiae: close structural resemblance to E. coli pantothenate kinase.

The protein product of the YGR205w gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae was targeted as part of our yeast structural genomics project. YGR205w codes for a small (290 amino acids) protein with unknown structure and function. The only recognizable sequence feature is the presence of a Walker A motif (P loop) indicating a possible nucleotide binding/converting function. We determined the three-dimensional crystal structure of Se-methionine substituted protein using multiple anomalous diffraction. The structure revealed a well known mononucleotide fold and strong resemblance to the structure of small metabolite phosphorylating enzymes such as pantothenate and phosphoribulo kinase. Biochemical experiments show that YGR205w binds specifically ATP and, less tightly, ADP. The structure also revealed the presence of two bound sulphate ions, occupying opposite niches in a canyon that corresponds to the active site of the protein. One sulphate is bound to the P-loop in a position that corresponds to the position of beta-phosphate in mononucleotide protein ATP complex, suggesting the protein is indeed a kinase. The nature of the phosphate accepting substrate remains to be determined.

Crystal structure of the yeast Phox homology (PX) domain protein Grd19p complexed to phosphatidylinositol-3-phosphate.

Phox homology (PX) domains have been recently identified in a number of different proteins and are involved in various cellular functions such as vacuolar targeting and membrane protein trafficking. It was shown that these modules of about 130 amino acids specifically binding to phosphoinositides and that this interaction is crucial for their cellular function. The yeast genome contains 17 PX domain proteins. One of these, Grd19p, is involved in the localization of the late Golgi membrane proteins DPAP A and Kex2p. Grd19p consists of the PX domain with 30 extra residues at the N-terminal and is homologous to the functionally characterized human sorting nexin protein SNX3. We determined the 2.0 A crystal structure of Grd19p in the free form and in complex with d-myo-phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate (diC4PtdIns(3)P), representing the first case of both free and ligand-bound conformations of the same PX module. The ligand occupies a well defined positively charged binding pocket at the interface between the beta-sheet and alpha-helical parts of the molecule. The structure of the free and bound protein are globally similar but show some significant differences in a region containing a polyproline peptide and a putative membrane attachment site.

A structural genomics initiative on yeast proteins.

A canonical structural genomics programme is being conducted at the Paris-Sud campus area on baker's yeast proteins. Experimental strategies, first results and identified bottlenecks are presented. The actual or potential contributions to the structural genomics of several experimental structure-determination methods are discussed.