Crystallization and preliminary X-ray analysis of the stress-response PPM phosphatase RsbX from Bacillus subtilis

Abstract

RsbX from Bacillus subtilis is a manganese-dependent PPM phosphatase and negatively regulates the signal transduction of the general stress response by the dephosphorylation of RsbS and RsbR, which are activators of the alternative RNA polymerase factor SigB. In order to elucidate the structural-functional relationship of its Ser/Thr protein-phosphorylation mechanism, an X-ray crystallographic diffraction study of RsbX was performed. Recombinant RsbX was expressed in Escherichia coli, purified and crystallized. Crystals were obtained using the sitting-drop vapour-diffusion method and X-ray diffraction data were collected to 1.06 Å resolution with an R merge of 8.1%. The crystals belonged to the triclinic space group P1, with unit-cell parameters a = 33.3, b = 41.7, c = 68.6 Å, = 98.8, β = 90.0, = 108.4°. © 2009 International Union of Crystallography. All rights reserved.