title: Structure of a conserved hypothetical protein, TTHA0849 from Thermus thermophilus HB8, at 2.4 A resolution: a putative member of the StAR-related lipid-transfer (START) domain superfamily.
abstract: The crystal structure of a conserved hypothetical protein, TTHA0849 from Thermus thermophilus HB8, has been determined at 2.4 A resolution as a part of a structural and functional genomics project on T. thermophilus HB8. The main-chain folding shows a compact alpha+beta motif, forming a hydrophobic cavity in the molecule. A structural similarity search reveals that it resembles those steroidogenic acute regulatory proteins that contain the lipid-transfer (START) domain, even though TTHA0849 shows comparatively weak sequence identity to polyketide cyclases. However, the size of the ligand-binding cavity is distinctly smaller than other START domain-containing proteins, suggesting that it catalyses the transfer of smaller ligand molecules.
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Science, Graduate School of Life Science, University of Hyogo, Himeji Institute of Technology, 3-2-1 Koto, Ako-gun, Hyogo 678-1297, Japan.
authors.forename: Makoto
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nakabayashi
authors.forename: Naoki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Shibata
authors.forename: Hirofumi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Komori
authors.forename: Yasufumi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ueda
authors.forename: Hitoshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Iino
authors.forename: Akio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ebihara
authors.forename: Seiki
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kuramitsu
authors.forename: Yoshiki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Higuchi
mesh_terms: D018360:Crystallography, X-Ray / Q000379:methods*; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000378:metabolism; D006860:Hydrogen Bonding; D008024:Ligands; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000737:chemistry*; D008958:Models, Molecular; D005810:Multigene Family; D011485:Protein Binding; D011487:Protein Conformation; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D016963:Thermus thermophilus / Q000378:metabolism*; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction
chemical_list: D008024:Ligands; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins