Selenium incorporation using recombinant techniques

Using selenomethionine to phase macromolecular structures is common practice in structure determination, along with the use of selenocysteine. Selenium is consequently the most commonly used heavy atom for MAD. In addition to the well established recombinant techniques for the incorporation of selenium in pro­karyal expression systems, there have been recent advances in selenium labelling in eukaryal expression, which will be discussed. Tips and things to consider for the purification and crystallization of seleno-labelled proteins are also included.