Lipidic Cubic Phase Crystal Structure of the Photosynthetic Reaction Centre from Rhodobacter Sphaeroides at 2.35 A Resolution
Katona, G., Andreasson, U., Landau, E.M., Andreasson, L.-E., Neutze, R.(2003) J Mol Biol 331: 681
- PubMed: 12899837 
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/s0022-2836(03)00751-4
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:  
1OGV - PubMed Abstract: 
Well-ordered crystals of the bacterial photosynthetic reaction centre from Rhodobacter sphaeroides were grown from a lipidic cubic phase. Here, we report the type I crystal packing that results from this crystallisation medium, for which 3D crystals grow as stacked 2D crystals, and the reaction centre X-ray structure is refined to 2.35A resolution. In this crystal form, the location of the membrane bilayer could be assigned with confidence. A cardiolipin-binding site is found at the protein-protein interface within the membrane-spanning region, shedding light on the formation of crystal contacts within the membrane. A chloride-binding site was identified in the membrane-spanning region, which suggests a putative site for interaction with the light-harvesting complex I, the cytochrome bc(1) complex or PufX. Comparisons with the X-ray structures of this reaction centre deriving from detergent-based crystals are drawn, indicating that a slight compression occurs in this lipid-rich environment.
Organizational Affiliation: 
Department of Molecular Biotechnology, Chalmers University of Technology, P.O. Box 462, SE-405 30 Gothenburg, Sweden.