Structure of SAICAR synthase from Thermotoga maritima at 2.2 Å reveals an unusual covalent dimer

As a part of a structural genomics program, the 2.2 Å resolution crystal structure of the PurC gene product from Thermotoga maritima has been solved. This 26.2 kDa protein belongs to the phophoribosylaminoimidazole-succinocarboxamide or SAICAR synthase family of enzymes, the members of which are involved in de novo purine biosynthesis. SAICAR synthase can be divided into three subdomains: two α+β regions exhibiting structural homology with ATP-binding proteins and a carboxy-terminal subdomain of two α-helices. The asymmetric unit contains two copies of the protein which are covalently linked by a disulfide bond between Cys126(A) and Cys126(B). This 230-amino-acid protein exhibits high structural homology with SAICAR synthase from baker’s yeast. The protein structure is described and compared with that of the ATP–SAICAR synthase complex from yeast.