Crystallization of Arthrobacter sp. strain 1C N-(1-D-carboxyethyl)-L-norvaline dehydrogenase and its complex with NAD+

The novel NAD+-linked opine dehydrogenase from a soil isolate Arthrobacter sp. strain 1C belongs to an enzyme superfamily whose members exhibit quite diverse substrate specificites. Crystals of this opine dehydrogenase, obtained in the presence or absence of co-factor and substrates, have been shown to diffract to beyond 1.8 ? resolution. X-ray precession photographs have established that the crystals belong to space group P21212, with cell parameters a = 104.9, b = 80.0, c = 45.5 ? and a single subunit in the asymmetric unit. The elucidation of the three-dimensional structure of this enzyme will provide a structural framework for this novel class of dehydrogenases to enable a comparison to be made with other enzyme families and also as the basis for mutagenesis experiments directed towards the production of natural and synthetic opine-type compounds containing two chiral centres.     

Dissociative excitation of some aliphatic hydrocarbons by electron impact

Cross sections and threshold energies are compared for radiation from fragments produced by electron impact on methane, ethylene, ethane and acetylene. Some previous measurements have been repeated. The emission cross sections for corresponding Balmer radiation are within 10% equal for these hydrocarbons. Also the thresholds for Balmer radiation lie close together. These results can be explained in a model where H fragments arise from Rydberg states excited by promotion of an inner valence electron to a non-bonding orbital. In this model a comparison between dissociative ionization yielding H⁺ and dissociative excitation yielding H⁺ is made. For radiation from molecular fragments it is shown that the CH(A² Δ-X²Π) emission cross sections are particularly high in the case of acetylene. The electron impact data appear to be consistent with photoabsorption data.