CRYSTALLIZATION OF PHOSPHATIDYLINOSITOL-SPECIFIC PHOSPHOLIPASE-C FROM BACILLUS-CEREUS

Phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C (PI-PLC) cleaves phosphoinositides into two parts, lipid-soluble diacylglycerol and the water-soluble phosphorylated inositol. Two crystal forms of Bacillus cereus PI-PLC have been obtained by the vapor diffusion technique. Hexagonal crystals were grown from solutions containing polyethylene glycol (PEG; 4,000 to 8,000 D). The space group of these hexagonal crystals is P6(1)22 (or the enantiomorphic space group P6(5)22), with cell constants a = b = 133 angstrom, and c = 231 angstrom. The crystals diffract to 2.8 angstrom. The second crystalline form was grown from a two-phase PEG (600 D)-sodium citrate solution. The phase diagram and PI-PLC distribution between phases has been determined. The enzyme crystallizes from the PEG-rich phase. The crystals are orthorhombic with space group P2(1)2(1)2(1) (a = 45 angstrom, b = 46 angstrom, c = 160 angstrom), and contain one PI-PLC monomer per asymmetric unit. The orthorhombic crystals diffract to 2.5 angstrom. Both the hexagonal and orthorhombic forms are suitable for crystallographic studies.