Crystallization and preliminary X-ray crystallographic studies of the N-terminal domain of FadD28, a fatty-acyl AMP ligase from Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

FadD28 from Mycobacterium tuberculosis belongs to the fatty-acyl AMP ligase (FAAL) family of proteins. It is essential for the biosynthesis of a virulent phthiocerol dimycocerosate (PDIM) lipid that is only found in the cell wall of pathogenic mycobacteria. The N-terminal domain, comprising of the first 460 residues, was crystallized by the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion method at 295 K. The crystals belong to space group P2(1)2(1)2(1), with unit-cell parameters a = 50.97, b = 60.74, c = 136.54 angstroms. The crystal structure of the N-terminal domain of FadD28 at 2.35 angstroms resolution has been solved using the MAD method.