Pectate lyases are the major pectinases that play a key role in the development of the soft-rot disease. Besides in phytopathogens, pectin depolymerization has also been reported in non-pathogenic plant associated bacteria such as the N2-fixing endosymbiont Rhizobium and the N2-fixing soil bacterium Azospirillum irakense. A gene from A. irakense encoding a pectate lyase (termed PelA) was isolated by heterologous expression of the gene in Escherichia coli. Analysis of the corresponding amino acid sequence revealed no homology to other bacterial, plant and fungal pectinases leading to the classification of the enzyme in a new pectate lyase family (family 10). The A. irakense PelA has been crystallized using the hanging-drop vapor diffusion method at 277K. These crystals are hexagonal with cell dimensions of a = b = 85.55 Å, c = 230.13 Å, γ = 120°, and space group P6522 having one molecule per asymmetric unit2. Diffraction data to a resolution of 1.97 Å were collected at synchrotron facilities, as well as a three-wavelengths MAD data set on a Hg derivate crystal to a resolution of 2.6 Å. In higher plants, acc (1-aminocycropropane-1-carboxylate) is a precursor of hormone ethylene that initiates fruit ripening and regulates various processes in growth and development. Several soil microorganisms have acc deaminase, a pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (plp) dependent enzyme, which catalyzes cyclopropane ring opening; the degradation of acc into 2-oxobutyrate and ammonia. Unlike other plp-dependent enzymes, the substrate of this enzyme has no a-hydrogen atom. Thus, a unique mechanism for the bond cleavage is required. In this study, six types of crystal structures have been determined including mutants and homologue protein. Several yACCD (from yeast Hansenula saturnus) mutants lost ACCD activity and were crystallized in the presence of substrate ACC. One of them, K51T made a main absorption band at around 330 nm, and loss of stereospesificity of the reaction to D-and L-serine. The 420 nm absorption was recovered by adding of ACC and structure determination was succeeded at this condition. The structure of yACCD reaction intermediates, K51T-ACC complex shows that PLP rotated to form Schiff base of ACC-PLP. On the other hand, hyperthermophilic archaebacteria Pyrococcus horikoshii OT3 has ACCDhomologue ORF named PH0054 whose amino acid sequence identity is 25% with other ACCD. However, recombinant PH0054 did not show ACCD activity. Crystal structure of PH0054-ACC complex shows similar active site environment with yACCD but a little difference is recognizable. The different conformation around active sites between yACCD and PH0054 complexes reveals that circumstance around PLP strictly controls enzyme activity. The existence of ACXs as a family of enzymes that differs in size, subunit composition and substrate specificity (short-, medium-, and long-chain specific) has been demonstrated in several plant species(1). The second step in the β -oxidation is catalyzed by MFE possessing 2-enoyl-CoA hydratase, 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenas...