title: High-throughput production of Pyrococcus furiosus proteins: considerations for metalloproteins.
abstract: Free-living prokaryotic organisms contain all of the proteins required for the basic biochemical processes of life. As part of the Southeastern Collaboratory for Structural Genomics (SECSG), Pyrococcus furiosus is being used as a model system for developing a high-throughput protein expression and purification protocol. Its 1.9 million basepair genome encodes approximately 2200 putative proteins, less than 25% of which show similarity to any structurally characterized protein in the Protein Data Bank. The overall goal of the structural genomics initiative is to determine, in total, all existing protein folds. The immediate objective of this work is to obtain recombinant forms of all P. furiosus proteins in their functional states for structural determination. Proteins successfully produced by overexpression in another organism such as the bacterium Escherichia coli typically contain a single subunit, are soluble and do not contain (complex) cofactors. Analyses of the P. furiosus genome suggest that perhaps only a quarter of the genes encode proteins that would fall into this category. The hypothesis is that lack of the appropriate cofactor or of the partner protein(s) necessary to form a complex are major reasons why many recombinant proteins are insoluble. This work describes development of the production pipeline with attention to prediction and incorporation of cofactors.
authors.affiliation: Southeastern Collaboratory for Structural Genomics, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602-7229, USA. fjenney@bmb.uga.edu
authors.forename: F E
authors.initials: FE
authors.lastname: Jenney
authors.forename: P S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Brereton
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Izumi
authors.forename: F L
authors.initials: FL
authors.lastname: Poole
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Shah
authors.forename: F J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Sugar
authors.forename: H-S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: M W W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Adams
mesh_terms: D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D005796:Genes; D016680:Genome, Bacterial; D023281:Genomics / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D008667:Metalloproteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics; D017510:Protein Folding; D020027:Pyrococcus furiosus / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics; D013057:Spectrum Analysis / Q000379:methods*; D014965:X-Rays
chemical_list: D008667:Metalloproteins