Cloning, expression, purification, crystallization and preliminary X-ray analysis of Mycoplasma genitalium protein MG289

Mycoplasma genitalium is a human pathogen that is associated with non-gonococcal urethritis in men and cervicitis in women. The cloning, expression, purification and crystallization of the protein MG289 from M. genitalium strain G37 are reported here. Crystals of MG289 diffracted X-rays to 2.8 angstrom resolution. The crystals belonged to the orthorhombic space group P2(1)2(1)2(1), with unit-cell parameters a = 49.7, b = 90.9, c = 176.1 angstrom. The diffraction data after processing had an overall R-merge of 8.7%. The crystal structure of Cypl, the ortholog of MG289 from M. hyorhinis, has recently been determined, providing a reasonable phasing model; molecular replacement is currently under way.