The crystal structures of truncated forms of the Streptococcus pyogenes
phage-encoded hyaluronate lyases HylP2 and HylP3 were determined by molecular
replacement to 1.6 and 1.9 A resolution, respectively. The truncated forms
crystallized in a hexagonal space group, forming a trimer around the threefold
crystallographic axis. The arrangement of the fold is very similar to that
observed in the structure of the related hyaluronate lyase HylP1. The structural
elements putatively involved in substrate recognition are found to be conserved
in both the HylP2 and HylP3 fragments.