The best crystals of the year

Oeiras, 08.01.2014

Every year, the editors of Acta Crystallographica Section F select the best protein crystals, from all those published in the previous year, for the cover of their January edition. Protein crystals obtained at ITQB have already deserved a spot in this list but this year’s selection has a special taste. Marking the beginning of the International Year of Crystallography, the 2014 January issue features two crystals obtained in 2013 by the Macromolecular Crystallography Unit.

Crystals are often difficult to obtain but are essential for determining a protein's atomic structure by X-Ray Crystallography. The featured crystal allowed researchers to gain access to the structure of an electron-transfer metalloprotein from the archaeon Acidianus ambivalens, a microorganism able to withstand harsh environments such as 82°C and pH 2.0.

Original Article

Acta Cryst. (2013). F69, 555-558

SAD phasing towards structure determination of a thermostable Rieske ferredoxin with a novel stabilizing disulfide bridge

T. M. Bandeiras, M. C. Freitas, D. Petrasch, A. Kletzin and C. Frazão