Crystallization and preliminary crystallographic analysis of the putative sugar‐binding protein Msmeg_0515 (AgaE) from Mycobacterium smegmatis

Msmeg_0515 , a gene from Mycobacterium smegmatis strain 155 encoding the ligand‐binding domain, AgaE, of a putative ABC sugar transporter system, has been cloned into a pET‐28a vector system, overexpressed in Escherichia coli and purified. The truncated protein lacking the first 27 residues, which correspond to a N‐terminal signal sequence, was crystallized using the sitting‐drop vapour‐diffusion technique. The crystals of this protein diffracted to 1.48 Å resolution and belonged to space group P 2 1 2 1 2 1 , with unit‐cell parameters a = 64.06, b = 69.26, c = 100.74 Å, α = β = γ = 90° and with one molecule in the asymmetric unit.