Crystal structure of (S)-3-O-geranylgeranylglyceryl phosphate synthase from Thermoplasma acidophilum in complex with the substrate sn-glycerol 1-phosphate.
Nemoto, N., Miyazono, K.I., Tanokura, M., Yamagishi, A.(2019) Acta Crystallogr F Struct Biol Commun 75: 470-479
- PubMed: 31282866 
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1107/S2053230X19007453
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:  
6JO3 - PubMed Abstract: 
(S)-3-O-Geranylgeranylglyceryl phosphate synthase (GGGPS) catalyzes the initial ether-bond formation between sn-glycerol 1-phosphate (G1P) and geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate to synthesize (S)-3-O-geranylgeranylglyceryl phosphate in the production of an archaeal cell-membrane lipid molecule. Archaeal GGGPS proteins are divided into two groups (group I and group II). In this study, the crystal structure of the archaeal group II GGGPS from Thermoplasma acidophilum (TaGGGPS) was determined at 2.35 Å resolution. The structure of TaGGGPS showed that it has a TIM-barrel fold, the third helix of which is disordered (α3*), and that it forms a homodimer, although a pre-existing structure of an archaeal group II GGGPS (from Methanothermobacter thermautotrophicus) showed a hexameric form. The structure of TaGGGPS showed the precise G1P-recognition mechanism of an archaeal group II GGGPS. The structure of TaGGGPS and molecular-dynamics simulation analysis showed fluctuation of the β2-α2, α3* and α5a regions, which is predicted to be important for substrate uptake and/or product release by TaGGGPS.
Organizational Affiliation: 
Faculty of Advanced Engineering, Chiba Institute of Technology, 2-17-1 Tsudanuma, Narashino, Chiba 275-0016, Japan.