Purification, crystallization and preliminary crystallographic analysis of the putative thiamine-biosynthesis protein PH1313 from Pyrococcus horikoshii OT3

The putative thiamine-biosynthesis protein PH1313 from P. horikoshii OT3 was overexpressed, purified and crystallized. The crystals belong to space group P212121 and diffract X-rays to 1.9 Å resolution

Purification, crystallization and preliminary crystallographic analysis of archaeal 6-pyruvoyl tetrahydrobiopterin synthase homologue PH0634 from Pyrococcus horikoshii OT3

An archaeal 6-pyruvoyl tetrahydrobiopterin synthase homologue from P. horikoshii OT3 was overexpressed as native and selenomethionine-substituted protein, purified and crystallized. The native and selenomethionine-derivative crystals are isomorphous and diffract X-rays to 2.1 and 2.9 Å resolution, respectively

Purification, crystallization and preliminary crystallographic analysis of the biotin–protein ligase from Pyrococcus horikoshii OT3

The biotin–protein ligase from P. horikoshii OT3 was overexpressed, purified, crystallized and cocrystallized with biotin, ADP and biotinyl-5′-AMP. The crystals belong to space group P21 and diffract to beyond 1.6 Å resolution

Purification, crystallization and initial X-ray crystallographic analysis of the putative GTPase PH0525 from Pyrococcus horikoshii OT3

The putative GTPase PH0525 from P. horikoshii OT3 was crystallized using the microbatch method. Crystals were formed under two different conditions, providing two distinct crystal forms. Diffraction data from the two forms were measured to resolution limits of 2.30 and 2.40 Å and processed in space groups P21 and C2221, respectively

Activation of Heat Shock Genes Is Not Necessary for Protection by Heat Shock Transcription Factor 1 against Cell Death Due to a Single Exposure to High Temperatures

Heat shock response, which is characterized by the induction of a set of heat shock proteins, is essential for induced thermotolerance and is regulated by heat shock transcription factors (HSFs). Curiously, HSF1 is essential for heat shock response in mammals, whereas in avian HSF3, an avian-specific factor is required for the burst activation of heat shock genes. Amino acid sequences of chicken HSF1 are highly conserved with human HSF1, but those of HSF3 diverge significantly. Here, we demonstrated that chicken HSF1 lost the ability to activate heat shock genes through the amino-terminal domain containing an alanine-rich sequence and a DNA-binding domain. Surprisingly, chicken and human HSF1 but not HSF3 possess a novel function that protects against a single exposure to mild heat shock, which is not mediated through the activation of heat shock genes. Overexpression of HSF1 mutants that could not bind to DNA did not restore the susceptibility to cell death in HSF1-null cells, suggesting that the new protective role of HSF1 is mediated through regulation of unknown target genes other than heat shock genes. These results uncover a novel role of vertebrate HSF1, which has been masked underthe roles of heat shock proteins