Crystallization and preliminary X-ray diffraction studies of a novel alcohol dehydrogenase from the hyperthermophilic archaeon Aeropyrum pernix

A novel alcohol dehydrogenase enzyme has been cloned from the hyperthermophilic archaeon Aeropyrum pernix and overexpressed in Escherichia coli. This zinc-containing enzyme has been crystallized by the sitting-drop vapour-diffusion method using PEG 600 as precipitant. The crystals diffract to 1.5 Angstrom resolution and belong to the orthorhombic space group P2(1)2(1)2, with unit-cell parameters a = 100.7, b = 103.2, c = 67.5 Angstrom. The asymmetric unit contains two enzyme monomers. Two synchrotron data sets have been collected: one at a wavelength near the absorption edge of zinc and one at a remote wavelength. Three strong zinc-ion positions were visible in the anomalous Patterson map. Two additional weaker zinc ions have been identified by anomalous Fourier synthesis.