Crystallization and preliminary crystallographic study of a recombinant phospholipase D from cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp).

The plant phospholipase D (PLD) is considered to be a key enzyme involved in various physiological processes such as signal transduction and membrane metabolism. Crystals of the PLD protein from Vigna unguiculata have been produced from the recombinant 768 amino-acid protein. The crystals belong to the monoclinic space group C2, with unit-cell parameters a = 157.7, b = 65.6, c = 90.2 A, beta = 111.5 degrees. There is one molecule in the asymmetric unit. Frozen crystals diffract to at least 1.94 A resolution using synchrotron radiation. A search for heavy-atom derivatives using ytterbium and tungstate is currently under way in order to solve the three-dimensional structure.