Two s
pecies resulting from the reaction of the SHV-1 class A
![](/images/gifchars/beta2.gif)
-lactamase with the sulfoneinhibitor tazobactam have been tra
pped at 100 K and ma
pped by X-ray crystallogra
phy at 2.0 Å resolution.An acyclic form of tazobactam is covalently bonded to the catalytic Ser70 side chain, and a second s
pecies,a five-atom vinyl carboxylic acid fragment of tazobactam, is bonded to Ser130. It is
pro
posed that theelectron density ma
p of the crystal is a
composite picture of two com
plexes, each with only a singlebound s
pecies. It is estimated that the two com
plexes exist in the crystal in a
pproximately equal
po
pulations.Results are discussed in relation to the mechanism-based inhibition of class A
![](/images/gifchars/beta2.gif)
-lactamases by the similarinhibitors sulbactam and clavulanic acid.