Crystallization and preliminary X-ray crystallographic analysis of Salmonella Typhimurium CueP

Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium ( S. Typhimurium) can survive in the phagosome of macrophages, causing serious medical and veterinary problems. CueP is uniquely found in S. Typhimurium and has been characterized as a major periplasmic copper-binding protein. Although cueP has been identified as being responsible for the copper resistance of the bacterium in vivo, the biochemical role and three-dimensional structure of CueP remain unknown. In this study, CueP from S. Typhimurium was overexpressed and the recombinant protein was purified using Ni-NTA affinity, anion-exchange and gel-filtration chromatographies. The purified CueP protein was crystallized using the vapour-diffusion method. A diffraction data set was collected to 2.5 angstrom resolution at 100 K. The crystal belonged to space group P2(1)2(1)2(1). To obtain initial phases, selenomethionyl-substituted protein was overproduced and purified. Optimization of crystallization conditions for the selenomethionyl-substituted protein is in progress.