Two-fold repeated (betaalpha)4 half-barrels may provide a molecular tool for dual substrate specificity.

Some bacterial genomes contain an incomplete set of genes encoding phosphoribosyl isomerases, raising the question of whether there exists broadened substrate specificity for the missing gene products. To investigate the underlying molecular principles of this hypothesis, we have determined the crystal structure of the bifunctional enzyme PriA from Streptomyces coelicolor at 1.8 A resolution.