Preliminary crystallography confirms that the archaeal DNA-binding and tryptophan-sensing regulator TrpY is a dimer

TrpY regulates the transcription of the metabolically expensive tryptophan-biosynthetic operon in the thermophilic archaeon Methanothermobacter thermautotrophicus. TrpY was crystallized using the hanging-drop method with ammonium sulfate as the precipitant. The crystals belonged to the tetragonal space group P4(3)2(1)2 or P4(1)2(1)2, with unit-cell parameters a = b = 87, c = 147 A, and diffracted to 2.9 A resolution. The possible packing of molecules within the cell based on the values of the Matthews coefficient (V (M)) and analysis of the self-rotation function are consistent with the asymmetric unit being a dimer. Determining the structure of TrpY in detail will provide insight into the mechanisms of DNA binding, tryptophan sensing and transcription regulation at high temperature by this novel archaeal protein.