Structure of the Bacillus anthracis dTDP-L-rhamnose biosynthetic pathway enzyme: dTDP- α-D-glucose 4,6-dehydratase, RfbB

Publication date: Available online 10 January 2018 Source:Journal of Structural Biology Author(s): Trevor Gokey, Andrei S. Halavaty, George Minasov, Wayne F. Anderson, Misty L. Kuhn Many bacteria require L-rhamnose as a key cell wall component. This sugar is transferred to the cell wall using an activated donor dTDP-L-rhamnose, which is produced by the dTDP-L-rhamnose biosynthetic pathway. We determined the crystal structure of the second enzyme of this pathway dTDP-α-D-glucose 4,6-dehydratase (RfbB) from Bacillus anthracis. Interestingly, RfbB only crystallized in the presence of the third enzyme of the pathway RfbC; however, RfbC was not present in the crystal. Our work represents the first complete structural characterization of the four proteins of this pathway in a single Gram-positive bacterium.

Source: Journal of Structural Biology - January 12, 2018 Category: Biology Source Type: research