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Abstract:
The three-dimensional structure of the complex of agglutinin from Ricinus communis with β-D-galactose was established and refined at 2.5 Å resolution by X-ray structure analysis. Biocrystals were obtained using dialysis through a semipermeable membrane. X-ray intensity data (R merge = 4.6%) were collected from one crystal at 100 K using synchrotron radiation at the DESY outstation [European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Hamburg, Germany]. The initial phases were calculated by the molecular replacement method. The atoms of both protein and sugar molecules were localized. Unlike ricin, the ricinlike heterodimer RcA contains only one galactose-binding center in the region of the Asn46-Gly25-Trp37-Lys40 site in the first domain of the B subunit, whereas the second galactose-binding site of the B subunit is lost. One functionally important water molecule, which is bound to the residues Tyr123-Glu176-Arg179-Glu207, was revealed in the region of the active center in the A subunit.