Heavy metal-mediated crystallization of Escherichia coli phytase and analysis of bridging interactions.

Escherichia coli phytase is a phosphatase that catalyzes the hydrolysis of phytic acid into inorganic phosphate and myo-inositol. Two crystal forms of this enzyme were obtained in the presence of heavy metals. Crystal forms I and II were obtained with the heavy atoms CdCl(2) and HgCl(2) and diffracted to 1.5 A and 2.25 A resolution, respectively. Hg(2+) and Cd(2+) both acted as molecular bridge(s), linking and stabilizing E. coli phytase in the unit cell, and played a crucial role in the crystallization of phytase by bridging neighbouring symmetry related molecules.

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