Primary Citation of Related Structures:   1D2E
PubMed Abstract: 
The crystal structure of bovine mitochondrial elongation factor Tu (EF-Tu) in complex with GDP has been determined at a resolution of 1. 94 A. The structure is similar to that of EF-Tu:GDP from Escherichia coli and Thermus aquaticus, but the orientation of the GDP-binding domain 1 is changed relative to domains 2 and 3 ...
The crystal structure of bovine mitochondrial elongation factor Tu (EF-Tu) in complex with GDP has been determined at a resolution of 1. 94 A. The structure is similar to that of EF-Tu:GDP from Escherichia coli and Thermus aquaticus, but the orientation of the GDP-binding domain 1 is changed relative to domains 2 and 3. Sixteen conserved water molecules common to EF-Tu and other G-proteins in the GDP-binding site are described. These water molecules create a network linking separated parts of the binding pocket. Mitochondrial EF-Tu binds nucleotides less tightly than prokaryotic EF-Tu possibly due to an increased mobility in regions close to the GDP-binding site. The C-terminal extension of mitochondrial EF-Tu has structural similarities with DNA recognising zinc fingers suggesting that the extension may be involved in recognition of RNA.
Related Citations: 
Crystal Structure of Intact Elongation Factor EF-Tu from Escherichia coli in GDP conformation at 2.05 A Resolution Song, H., Parsons, M.R., Rowsell, S., Leonard, G., Phillips, S.E.V. (1999) J Mol Biol 285: 1245
Helix Unwinding in the Effector Region of Elongation Factor EF-Tu-GDP Polekhina, G., Thirup, S., Kjeldgaard, M., Nissen, P., Lippmann, C., Nyborg, J. (1996) Structure 4: 1141
Organizational Affiliation: 
Institute of Molecular and Structural Biology, Aarhus University, Gustav Wiedsvej 10C, Aarhus, DK8000, Denmark.