Structure of Lmaj006129AAA, a hypothetical protein from Leishmania major.

The gene product of structural genomics target Lmaj006129 from Leishmania major codes for a 164-residue protein of unknown function. When SeMet expression of the full-length gene product failed, several truncation variants were created with the aid of Ginzu, a domain-prediction method. 11 truncations were selected for expression, purification and crystallization based upon secondary-structure elements and disorder. The structure of one of these variants, Lmaj006129AAH, was solved by multiple-wavelength anomalous diffraction (MAD) using ELVES, an automatic protein crystal structure-determination system. This model was then successfully used as a molecular-replacement probe for the parent full-length target, Lmaj006129AAA. The final structure of Lmaj006129AAA was refined to an R value of 0.185 (Rfree = 0.229) at 1.60 A resolution. Structure and sequence comparisons based on Lmaj006129AAA suggest that proteins belonging to Pfam sequence families PF04543 and PF01878 may share a common ligand-binding motif.