Large-Scale Recombinant Production of the SARS-CoV-2 Proteome for High-Throughput and Structural Biology Applications
The highly infectious disease COVID-19 caused by the Betacoronavirus SARS-CoV-2 poses a severe threat to humanity and demands the redirection of scientific efforts and criteria to organized research projects. The international COVID19-NMR consortium seeks to provide such new approaches by gathering scientific expertise worldwide. In particular, making available viral proteins and RNAs will pave the way to understanding the SARS-CoV-2 molecular components in detail. The research in COVID19-NMR and the resources provided through the consortium are fully disclosed to accelerate access and exploitation. NMR investigations of the viral molecular components are designated to provide the essential…
Vinorine synthase from Rauvolfia: the first example of crystallization and preliminary X-ray diffraction analysis of an enzyme of the BAHD superfamily
Abstract Crystals of vinorine synthase (VS) from medicinal plant Rauvolfia serpentina expressed in Escherichia coli have been obtained by the hanging-drop technique at 305 K with ammonium sulfate and PEG 400 as precipitants. The enzyme is involved in the biosynthesis of the antiarrhythmic drug ajmaline and is a member of the BAHD superfamily of acyltransferases. So far, no three-dimensional structure of a member of this enzyme family is known. The crystals belong to the space group P 2 1 2 1 2 1 with cell dimensions of a =82.3 A, b =89.6 A and c =136.2 A. Under cryoconditions (120 K), a complete data set up to 2.8 A was collected at a synchrotron source.