Crystallization and preliminary X-ray analysis of the Clostridium thermocellum cellulosome xylanase Z feruloyl esterase domain

Feruloyl esterases cleave ferulic acid from arabinoxylan and pectin. Feruloyl groups are believed to crosslink the polysaccharide chain within the polymer and to link hemicellulose to lignin, which may play a role in controlling the growth of plants. The Clostridium thermocellum cellulosome xylanase Z feruloyl esterase was expressed in Escherichia coli, purified and crystallized. The crystals diffract to 2.4 Å resolution and belong to the orthorhombic space group P2₁2₁2₁, with unit-cell parameters a = 43.14, b = 63.77, c = 79.57 Å. Assuming one molecule per asymmetric unit, the Matthews coefficient is calculated to be 1.87 Å³ Da^-1, which corresponds to a solvent content of 34%.