Expression and Purification of an Intrinsically Disordered Protein

Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) describe a group of proteins that do not have a regular tertiary structure and typically have very little ordered secondary structure. Despite not following the biochemical dogma of "structure determines function" and "function determines structure," IDPs have been identified as having numerous biological functions. We describe here the steps to express and purify the intrinsically disordered stress response protein, Late embryogenesis abundant protein 3-2 from Arabidopsis thaliana (AtLEA 3-2), with 15N and 13C isotopes in E. coli, although the protocol can be adapted for any IDP with or without isotopic labeling. The atlea 3-2 gene has been cloned into the pET-SUMO vector that in addition to the SUMO portion encodes an N-terminal hexahistidine sequence (His-tag). This vector allows for the SUMO-AtLEA 3-2 fusion protein to be purified using Ni-affinity chromatography and, through the use of ubiquitin-like-specific protease 1 (Ulp1, a SUMO protease), results in an AtLEA 3-2 with a native N-terminus. We also describe the expression and purification of Ulp1 itself.