Acta Crystallogr D Biol Crystallogr. 2003 Jun;59(Pt 6):959-70.

[DOI Link]

Structure determination of adeno-associated virus 2: three complete virus particles per asymmetric unit.

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306-4380, USA.

The atomic structure of adeno-associated virus 2 (AAV-2) has been determined to 3.0 A resolution. AAV-2 crystallized in space group P1, with unit-cell parameters a = 249.7, b = 249.7, c = 644.8 A, alpha = 90.0, beta = 101.2, gamma = 120.0 degrees. The crystals contained three full virus particles in the asymmetric unit, allowing 180-fold non-crystallographic symmetry averaging. The particle orientations were determined using the self-rotation function and found to have similar but resolvably different orientations. Approximate alignment of icosahedral and interparticle threefold screw symmetry led to a native Patterson that was interpretable in terms of approximate particle positions. Accurate positions required a Patterson correlation search that was constrained to be consistent with non-crystallographic threefold projection symmetry evident in the diffraction intensities. Initial phases to 15.0 A resolution were calculated by molecular replacement using the known structure of a distantly related homolog (23% sequence identity). Real-space averaging was performed and phases were extended from 15.0 to 3.0 A. An atomic model was fitted and refined using a simulated-annealing real-space procedure.

PMID: 12777756 [PubMed - in process]

This publication is one of the several that describes a structure solved either at the Kasha Laboratory, Institute of Molecular Biophysics or in collaboration with the Institute Faculty. The data used for this structure determination came in full or part from the Macromolecular X-Ray Crystallography Facility.