Preliminary crystallographic analysis of l-2-keto-3-deoxyarabonate dehydratase, an enzyme involved in an alternative bacterial pathway of l-­arabinose metabolism

l-2-Keto-3-deoxyarabonate (l-KDA) dehydratase is a novel member of the dihydrodipicolinate synthase (DHDPS)/N-acetylneuraminate lyase (NAL) protein family and catalyzes the hydration of l-KDA to α-ketoglutaric semialdehyde. l-KDA dehydratase was overexpressed, purified and crystallized at 291 K using the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion method. The crystal diffracts to 2.0 Å resolution using synchrotron radiation and belongs to the trigonal space group P3(1)21 or its enantiomorph P3(2)21, with unit-cell parameters a = b = 78.91, c = 207.71 Å.