Primary Citation of Related Structures:   1PAF, 1PAG
PubMed Abstract: 
The pokeweed antiviral protein (PAP), isolated from the leaves of Phytolacca americana, is one of a family of plant and bacterial ribosome-inhibiting proteins (RIPs) which act as specific N-glycosidases on rRNA. Here we report the three-dimensional structure of PAP determined to 2 ...
The pokeweed antiviral protein (PAP), isolated from the leaves of Phytolacca americana, is one of a family of plant and bacterial ribosome-inhibiting proteins (RIPs) which act as specific N-glycosidases on rRNA. Here we report the three-dimensional structure of PAP determined to 2.5 A resolution by X-ray crystallography. After 14 rounds of refinement, the R factor is 0.17 for 5.0 to 2.5 A data. The protein is homologous with the A chain of ricin and exhibits a very similar folding pattern. The positions of key active site residues are also similar. We also report the 2.8 A structure of PAP complexed with a substrate analog, formycin 5'-monophosphate. As seen previously in ricin, the formycin ring is stacked between invariant tyrosines 72 and 123. Arg179 bonds to N-3 which is thought to be important in catalysis.
Related Citations: 
Preliminary X-Ray Diffraction Studies on an Anti-Viral Protein Robertus, J.D., Monzingo, A.F., Irvin, J.D. (1977) Biochem Biophys Res Commun 74: 775
Organizational Affiliation: 
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Texas, Austin 78712.