Two-dimensional crystallization of brush border myosin I

Brush border myosin-I (BBMI) is a single-headed unconventional myosin found in the microvilli of intestinal epithelial cells, where it links the core bundle of actin filaments to the plasma membrane, An association of BBMI with anionic phospholipids has been shown to be mediated by a carboxy-terminal domain which is rich in basic amino acids, We have exploited this natural affinity of BBMI for negatively charged lipids to form two-dimensional (2D) crystals of this protein which are suitable for structural analysis by electron crystallographic techniques, The 2D crystals which we have obtained belong to one of two space groups, p22(1)2(1) or p2. We present here projection maps calculated from images of negatively stained crystals for each of these crystal types to a resolution of 20 Angstrom and show that the asymmetric unit is the same in both crystal types. (C) 1996 Academic Press