Crystallization and preliminary diffraction studies of a truncated form of a novel protease from spores of Bacillus megaterium

Abstract

During germination of spores of Bacillus species, a novel protease termed GPR initiates the degradation of a group of small acid-soluble spore proteins which protect the dormant spore's DNA from damage. Trypsin digestion of the zymogen of B. megaterium GPR removes ∼15 kDa from the C-terminal end of the 46 kDa zymogen subunit, leaving a 30 kDa subunit. Single crystals of this truncated form of GPR have been obtained by the vapor-diffusion method using PEG 4000 as a precipitating agent. The crystals belong to the monoclinic space group P21, with unit-cell parameters a = 67.99, b = 105.34, c = 108.63 Å, β = 95.68°. The cryofrozen crystals diffract X-rays to about 3.3 Å using synchrotron radiation.