Ca2؉ is essential for in vitro activity of Erwinia chrysanthemi pectate lyase C (PelC). Crystallographic analyses of 11 PelC-Ca 2؉ complexes, formed at pH 4.5, 9.5, and 11.2 under varying Ca 2؉ concentrations, have been solved and refined at a resolution of 2.2 Å. The Ca 2؉ site represents a new motif for Ca 2؉ , consisting primarily of -turns and -strands. The principal differences between PelC and the PelC-Ca 2؉ structures at all pH values are the side-chain conformations of Asp-129 and Glu-166 as well as the occupancies of four water molecules. According to calculations of pK a values, the presence of Ca 2؉ and associated structural changes lower the pK a of Arg-218, the amino acid responsible for proton abstraction during catalysis. The Ca 2؉ affinity for PelC is weak, as the K d was estimated to be 0.132 (؎0.004) mM at pH 9.5, 1.09 (؎0.29) mM at pH 11.2, and 5.84 (؎0.41) mM at pH 4.5 from x-ray diffraction studies and 0.133 (؎0.045) mM at pH 9.5 from intrinsic tryptophan fluorescence measurements. Given the pH dependence of Ca 2؉ affinity, PelC activity at pH 4.5 has been reexamined. At saturating Ca 2؉ concentrations, PelC activity increases 10-fold at pH 4.5 but is less than 1% of maximal activity at pH 9.5. Taken together, the studies suggest that the primary Ca 2؉ ion in PelC has multiple functions.