Crystal structure of a novel Sm‐like protein of putative cyanophage origin at 2.60 Å resolution

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Abstract
ECX21941 represents a very large family (over 600 members) of novel, ocean metagenome‐specific proteins identified by clustering of the dataset from the Global Ocean Sampling expedition. The crystal structure of ECX21941 reveals unexpected similarity to Sm/LSm proteins, which are important RNA‐binding proteins, despite no detectable sequence similarity. The ECX21941 protein assembles as a homopentamer in solution and in the crystal structure when expressed in Escherichia coli and represents the first pentameric structure for this Sm/LSm family of proteins, although the actual oligomeric form in vivo is currently not known. The genomic neighborhood analysis of ECX21941 and its homologs combined with sequence similarity searches suggest a cyanophage origin for this protein. The specific functions of members of this family are unknown, but our structure analysis of ECX21941 indicates nucleic acid‐binding capabilities and suggests a role in RNA and/or DNA processing. Proteins 2009.
Funding Information
  • National Institute of General Medical Sciences, Protein Structure Initiative (U54 GM074898)
  • U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences (DE-AC02-06CH11357)
  • National Cancer Institute (Y1-CO-1020)
  • National Institute of General Medical Science (Y1-GM-1104)
  • Department of Energy, Office of Biological and Environmental Research
  • National Institutes of Health

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