Crystallization and preliminary crystallographic analysis of merohedrally twinned crystals of MJ0729, a CBS-domain protein from Methanococcus jannaschii

Trigonal crystals of MJ0729 showing different degrees of merohedral twinning that may vary from perfect hemihedral twinning to perfect tetartohedral twinning were obtained upon slight variation of the pH. CBS domains are small protein motifs, usually associated in tandem, that are implicated in binding to adenosyl groups. Several genetic diseases in humans have been associated with mutations in CBS sequences, which has made them very promising targets for rational drug design. Trigonal crystals of the CBS-domain protein MJ0729 from Methanococcus jannaschii were grown by the vapour-diffusion method at acidic pH. Preliminary analysis of nine X-ray diffraction data sets using Yeates statistics and Britton plots showed that slight variation in the pH as well as in the buffer used in the crystallization experiments led to crystals with different degrees of merohedral twinning that may vary from perfect hemihedral twinning to perfect tetartohedral twinning