Structure of the Thdp-Dependent Enzyme Benzaldehyde Lyase Refined to 1.65 A Resolution.
Maraite, A., Schmidt, T., Ansorge-Schumacher, M.B., Brzozowski, A.M., Grogan, G.(2007) Acta Crystallogr Sect F Struct Biol Cryst Commun 63: 546
- PubMed: 17620706 
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1107/S1744309107028576
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:  
2UZ1 - PubMed Abstract: 
Benzaldehyde lyase (BAL; EC 4.1.2.38) is a thiamine diphosphate (ThDP) dependent enzyme that catalyses the enantioselective carboligation of two molecules of benzaldehyde to form (R)-benzoin. BAL has hence aroused interest for its potential in the industrial synthesis of optically active benzoins and derivatives. The structure of BAL was previously solved to a resolution of 2.6 A using MAD experiments on a selenomethionine derivative [Mosbacher et al. (2005), FEBS J. 272, 6067-6076]. In this communication of parallel studies, BAL was crystallized in an alternative space group (P2(1)2(1)2(1)) and its structure refined to a resolution of 1.65 A, allowing detailed observation of the water structure, active-site interactions with ThDP and also the electron density for the co-solvent 2-methyl-2,4-pentanediol (MPD) at hydrophobic patches of the enzyme surface.
Organizational Affiliation: 
Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, RWTH Aachen University, Worringerweg 1, 52074 Aachen, Germany.