Structure of an enzyme revealed 80 years after it was crystallized – differential functional behaviour of plant and microbial ureases uncovered

Abstract

It is indeed a proud moment for Indian structural biologists, in particular to the Madras University crystallography group who have recently made a contribution of historical significance, by determining the three-dimensional structure of the Jack bean urease (JBU). JBU is not only the first enzyme ever to have been cry stallized way back in 1926, but also one that has demonstrated that enzymes are proteinaceous. James B. Sumner shared the Nobel Prize in chemistry with John Northrop and Wendell Standley in 1946 for this work. Surprisingly, JBU had to wait for more than 80 years for its struc tural revelation!