PNNL

Abstract

Here we describe the solution structure of YjbJ (gil418541) as part of a structural proteomics project on the feasibility of the high-throughput generation of samples from Escherichia coli for structural studies. YjbJ is a hypothetical protein from Escherichia coli protein of unknown function. It is conserved, showing significant sequence identity to four predicted prokaryotic proteins, also of unknown function (Figure 1A). These include gil16762921 from Salmonella enterica (S. typhi), gil17938413 from Agrobacterium tumefaciens, gil16265654 from Sinorizhobium meliloti, and gil15599932 from Pseudomona aeruginosa. The structure of YjbJ reveals a new variation of a common motif (four-helix bundle) that could not be predicted from the protein sequence. Although the biochemical function is unknown, the existence of patterns of conserved residues on the protein surface suggest that the fold and function of all these proteins could be similar.