Ligand recognition mechanism of the ecdysone hormone receptor for the molecular design of a new pesticide

昆虫通过反复蜕皮而生长。本工作的目的是通过分析蜕皮激素受体的晶体结构来阐明其分子机制。该受体由ECR和USP两种蛋白组成，在大肠杆菌中共表达。用纯化的受体蛋白进行结晶实验，以X射线结晶学确定其三维结构。虽然得到了细小的晶体，但由于晶体生长困难，不能在一段时间内进行结构测定。然而，人们已经发现，受体可以在没有蜕皮激素的情况下结晶。

Insects grow by repeatedly molting. The aim of this work is to elucidate the molecular mechanism of the molting hormone receptor by analyzing its crystal structure. The receptor composed of two proteins, EcR and USP, was coexpressed in E coli. Crystallization trials were performed using the purified receptor proteins in order to determine the three dimensional structure by X-ray crystallography. Small crystals were obtained, but the structure determination could not be achieved in a period due to difficulty of its crystal growth. However, it has been found that the receptor can be crystallized without the molting hormone.