Structure of a CRISPR-associated protein Cas2 from Desulfovibrio vulgaris

Acta Crystallogr Sect F Struct Biol Cryst Commun. 2010 Dec 1;66(Pt 12):1552-6. doi: 10.1107/S1744309110039801. Epub 2010 Nov 16.

Abstract

CRISPRs (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) provide bacteria and archaea with RNA-guided acquired immunity to invasive DNAs. CRISPR-associated (Cas) proteins carry out the immune effector functions. Cas2 is a universal component of the CRISPR system. Here, a 1.35 Å resolution crystal structure of Cas2 from the bacterium Desulfovibrio vulgaris (DvuCas2) is reported. DvuCas2 is a homodimer, with each protomer consisting of an N-terminal βαββαβ ferredoxin fold (amino acids 1-78) to which is appended a C-terminal segment (amino acids 79-102) that includes a short 3(10)-helix and a fifth β-strand. The β5 strands align with the β4 strands of the opposite protomers, resulting in two five-stranded antiparallel β-sheets that form a sandwich at the dimer interface. The DvuCas2 dimer is stabilized by a distinctive network of hydrophilic cross-protomer side-chain interactions.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Bacterial Proteins / chemistry*
  • Catalytic Domain
  • Crystallography, X-Ray
  • Desulfovibrio vulgaris / chemistry*
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Phosphoric Diester Hydrolases / metabolism
  • Protein Multimerization
  • Protein Structure, Secondary
  • Repetitive Sequences, Amino Acid*
  • Sequence Homology, Amino Acid

Substances

  • Bacterial Proteins
  • Phosphoric Diester Hydrolases

Associated data

  • PDB/3OQ2