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Thompson AJ, Sanchez-Weatherby J, Williams LJ, Mikolajek H, Sandy J, Worrall JAR, Hough MA. Efficient in situ screening of and data collection from microcrystals in crystallization plates. Acta Crystallogr D Struct Biol 2024; 80:279-288. [PMID: 38488731 PMCID: PMC10994175 DOI: 10.1107/s2059798324001955] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2023] [Accepted: 02/28/2024] [Indexed: 04/05/2024] Open
Abstract
A considerable bottleneck in serial crystallography at XFEL and synchrotron sources is the efficient production of large quantities of homogenous, well diffracting microcrystals. Efficient high-throughput screening of batch-grown microcrystals and the determination of ground-state structures from different conditions is thus of considerable value in the early stages of a project. Here, a highly sample-efficient methodology to measure serial crystallography data from microcrystals by raster scanning within standard in situ 96-well crystallization plates is described. Structures were determined from very small quantities of microcrystal suspension and the results were compared with those from other sample-delivery methods. The analysis of a two-dimensional batch crystallization screen using this method is also described as a useful guide for further optimization and the selection of appropriate conditions for scaling up microcrystallization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amy J. Thompson
- Diamond Light Source Ltd, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0DE, United Kingdom
| | - Juan Sanchez-Weatherby
- Diamond Light Source Ltd, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0DE, United Kingdom
- Research Complex at Harwell, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0DE, United Kingdom
| | - Lewis J. Williams
- Diamond Light Source Ltd, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0DE, United Kingdom
- School of Life Sciences, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ, United Kingdom
| | - Halina Mikolajek
- Diamond Light Source Ltd, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0DE, United Kingdom
- Research Complex at Harwell, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0DE, United Kingdom
| | - James Sandy
- Diamond Light Source Ltd, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0DE, United Kingdom
| | - Jonathan A. R. Worrall
- School of Life Sciences, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ, United Kingdom
| | - Michael A. Hough
- Diamond Light Source Ltd, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0DE, United Kingdom
- Research Complex at Harwell, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0DE, United Kingdom
- School of Life Sciences, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ, United Kingdom
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2
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Purohit V, Steussy CN, Rosales AR, Critchelow CJ, Schmidt T, Helquist P, Wiest O, Mesecar A, Cohen AE, Stauffacher CV. pH-dependent reaction triggering in PmHMGR crystals for time-resolved crystallography. Biophys J 2024; 123:622-637. [PMID: 38327055 PMCID: PMC10938121 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2024.02.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2023] [Revised: 11/22/2023] [Accepted: 02/02/2024] [Indexed: 02/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Serial crystallography and time-resolved data collection can readily be employed to investigate the catalytic mechanism of Pseudomonas mevalonii 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl (HMG)-coenzyme-A (CoA) reductase (PmHMGR) by changing the environmental conditions in the crystal and so manipulating the reaction rate. This enzyme uses a complex mechanism to convert mevalonate to HMG-CoA using the co-substrate CoA and cofactor NAD+. The multi-step reaction mechanism involves an exchange of bound NAD+ and large conformational changes by a 50-residue subdomain. The enzymatic reaction can be run in both forward and reverse directions in solution and is catalytically active in the crystal for multiple reaction steps. Initially, the enzyme was found to be inactive in the crystal starting with bound mevalonate, CoA, and NAD+. To observe the reaction from this direction, we examined the effects of crystallization buffer constituents and pH on enzyme turnover, discovering a strong inhibition in the crystallization buffer and a controllable increase in enzyme turnover as a function of pH. The inhibition is dependent on ionic concentration of the crystallization precipitant ammonium sulfate but independent of its ionic composition. Crystallographic studies show that the observed inhibition only affects the oxidation of mevalonate but not the subsequent reactions of the intermediate mevaldehyde. Calculations of the pKa values for the enzyme active site residues suggest that the effect of pH on turnover is due to the changing protonation state of His381. We have now exploited the changes in ionic inhibition in combination with the pH-dependent increase in turnover as a novel approach for triggering the PmHMGR reaction in crystals and capturing information about its intermediate states along the reaction pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vatsal Purohit
- Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana
| | - Calvin N Steussy
- Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana
| | - Anthony R Rosales
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana
| | | | - Tim Schmidt
- Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana
| | - Paul Helquist
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana
| | - Olaf Wiest
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana
| | - Andrew Mesecar
- Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana; Purdue Institute for Cancer Research, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana; Department of Biochemistry, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana
| | - Aina E Cohen
- Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, California
| | - Cynthia V Stauffacher
- Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana; Purdue Institute of Inflammation, Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana; Purdue Institute for Cancer Research, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana.
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3
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Schönherr R, Boger J, Lahey-Rudolph JM, Harms M, Kaiser J, Nachtschatt S, Wobbe M, Duden R, König P, Bourenkov G, Schneider TR, Redecke L. A streamlined approach to structure elucidation using in cellulo crystallized recombinant proteins, InCellCryst. Nat Commun 2024; 15:1709. [PMID: 38402242 PMCID: PMC10894269 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-45985-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2023] [Accepted: 02/02/2024] [Indexed: 02/26/2024] Open
Abstract
With the advent of serial X-ray crystallography on microfocus beamlines at free-electron laser and synchrotron facilities, the demand for protein microcrystals has significantly risen in recent years. However, by in vitro crystallization extensive efforts are usually required to purify proteins and produce sufficiently homogeneous microcrystals. Here, we present InCellCryst, an advanced pipeline for producing homogeneous microcrystals directly within living insect cells. Our baculovirus-based cloning system enables the production of crystals from completely native proteins as well as the screening of different cellular compartments to maximize chances for protein crystallization. By optimizing cloning procedures, recombinant virus production, crystallization and crystal detection, X-ray diffraction data can be collected 24 days after the start of target gene cloning. Furthermore, improved strategies for serial synchrotron diffraction data collection directly from crystals within living cells abolish the need to purify the recombinant protein or the associated microcrystals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert Schönherr
- Institute of Biochemistry, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Juliane Boger
- Institute of Biochemistry, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - J Mia Lahey-Rudolph
- Institute of Biochemistry, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
- Center for Free-Electron Laser Science (CFEL), Hamburg, Germany
- X-ray technology lab, TH Lübeck - University of Applied Sciences Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Mareike Harms
- Institute of Biochemistry, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | | | | | - Marla Wobbe
- Institute of Biochemistry, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Rainer Duden
- Institute of Biology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Peter König
- Institute of Anatomy, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
- Airway Research Center North (ARCN), University of Lübeck, German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Lübeck, Germany
| | - Gleb Bourenkov
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Hamburg Unit c/o Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Thomas R Schneider
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Hamburg Unit c/o Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Lars Redecke
- Institute of Biochemistry, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany.
- Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Hamburg, Germany.
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4
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Gu KK, Liu Z, Narayanasamy SR, Shelby ML, Chan N, Coleman MA, Frank M, Kuhl TL. All polymer microfluidic chips-A fixed target sample delivery workhorse for serial crystallography. BIOMICROFLUIDICS 2023; 17:051302. [PMID: 37840537 PMCID: PMC10576627 DOI: 10.1063/5.0167164] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2023] [Accepted: 09/27/2023] [Indexed: 10/17/2023]
Abstract
The development of x-ray free electron laser (XFEL) light sources and serial crystallography methodologies has led to a revolution in protein crystallography, enabling the determination of previously unobtainable protein structures and near-atomic resolution of otherwise poorly diffracting protein crystals. However, to utilize XFEL sources efficiently demands the continuous, rapid delivery of a large number of difficult-to-handle microcrystals to the x-ray beam. A recently developed fixed-target system, in which crystals of interest are enclosed within a sample holder, which is rastered through the x-ray beam, is discussed in detail in this Perspective. The fixed target is easy to use, maintains sample hydration, and can be readily modified to allow a broad range of sample types and different beamline requirements. Recent innovations demonstrate the potential of such microfluidic-based fixed targets to be an all-around "workhorse" for serial crystallography measurements. This Perspective will summarize recent advancements in microfluidic fixed targets for serial crystallography, examine needs for future development, and guide users in designing, choosing, and utilizing a fixed-target sample delivery device for their system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin K. Gu
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California at Davis, Davis, California 95616, USA
| | - Zhongrui Liu
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California at Davis, Davis, California 95616, USA
| | - Sankar Raju Narayanasamy
- Biosciences and Biotechnology Division, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550, USA
| | - Megan L. Shelby
- Biosciences and Biotechnology Division, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550, USA
| | - Nicholas Chan
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California at Davis, Davis, California 95616, USA
| | | | | | - Tonya L. Kuhl
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California at Davis, Davis, California 95616, USA
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5
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Doppler D, Sonker M, Egatz-Gomez A, Grieco A, Zaare S, Jernigan R, Meza-Aguilar JD, Rabbani MT, Manna A, Alvarez RC, Karpos K, Cruz Villarreal J, Nelson G, Yang JH, Carrion J, Morin K, Ketawala GK, Pey AL, Ruiz-Fresneda MA, Pacheco-Garcia JL, Hermoso JA, Nazari R, Sierra R, Hunter MS, Batyuk A, Kupitz CJ, Sublett RE, Lisova S, Mariani V, Boutet S, Fromme R, Grant TD, Botha S, Fromme P, Kirian RA, Martin-Garcia JM, Ros A. Modular droplet injector for sample conservation providing new structural insight for the conformational heterogeneity in the disease-associated NQO1 enzyme. LAB ON A CHIP 2023; 23:3016-3033. [PMID: 37294576 PMCID: PMC10503405 DOI: 10.1039/d3lc00176h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Droplet injection strategies are a promising tool to reduce the large amount of sample consumed in serial femtosecond crystallography (SFX) measurements at X-ray free electron lasers (XFELs) with continuous injection approaches. Here, we demonstrate a new modular microfluidic droplet injector (MDI) design that was successfully applied to deliver microcrystals of the human NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) and phycocyanin. We investigated droplet generation conditions through electrical stimulation for both protein samples and implemented hardware and software components for optimized crystal injection at the Macromolecular Femtosecond Crystallography (MFX) instrument at the Stanford Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS). Under optimized droplet injection conditions, we demonstrate that up to 4-fold sample consumption savings can be achieved with the droplet injector. In addition, we collected a full data set with droplet injection for NQO1 protein crystals with a resolution up to 2.7 Å, leading to the first room-temperature structure of NQO1 at an XFEL. NQO1 is a flavoenzyme associated with cancer, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, making it an attractive target for drug discovery. Our results reveal for the first time that residues Tyr128 and Phe232, which play key roles in the function of the protein, show an unexpected conformational heterogeneity at room temperature within the crystals. These results suggest that different substates exist in the conformational ensemble of NQO1 with functional and mechanistic implications for the enzyme's negative cooperativity through a conformational selection mechanism. Our study thus demonstrates that microfluidic droplet injection constitutes a robust sample-conserving injection method for SFX studies on protein crystals that are difficult to obtain in amounts necessary for continuous injection, including the large sample quantities required for time-resolved mix-and-inject studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diandra Doppler
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1604, USA.
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-7401, USA
| | - Mukul Sonker
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1604, USA.
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-7401, USA
| | - Ana Egatz-Gomez
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1604, USA.
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-7401, USA
| | - Alice Grieco
- Department of Crystallography and Structural Biology, Institute of Physical Chemistry Blas Cabrera, Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Serrano 119, 28006, Madrid, Spain.
| | - Sahba Zaare
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-7401, USA
- Department of Physics, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1504, USA
| | - Rebecca Jernigan
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1604, USA.
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-7401, USA
| | - Jose Domingo Meza-Aguilar
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-7401, USA
| | - Mohammad T Rabbani
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1604, USA.
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-7401, USA
| | - Abhik Manna
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1604, USA.
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-7401, USA
| | - Roberto C Alvarez
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-7401, USA
- Department of Physics, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1504, USA
| | - Konstantinos Karpos
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-7401, USA
- Department of Physics, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1504, USA
| | - Jorvani Cruz Villarreal
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1604, USA.
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-7401, USA
| | - Garrett Nelson
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-7401, USA
- Department of Physics, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1504, USA
| | - Jay-How Yang
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1604, USA.
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-7401, USA
| | - Jackson Carrion
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1604, USA.
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-7401, USA
| | - Katherine Morin
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1604, USA.
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-7401, USA
| | - Gihan K Ketawala
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1604, USA.
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-7401, USA
| | - Angel L Pey
- Departamento de Química Física, Unidad de Excelencia en Química Aplicada a Biomedicina y Medioambiente e Instituto de Biotecnología, Universidad de Granada, Av. Fuentenueva s/n, 18071, Granada, Spain
| | - Miguel Angel Ruiz-Fresneda
- Department of Crystallography and Structural Biology, Institute of Physical Chemistry Blas Cabrera, Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Serrano 119, 28006, Madrid, Spain.
| | - Juan Luis Pacheco-Garcia
- Departamento de Química Física, Universidad de Granada, Av. Fuentenueva s/n, 18071 Granada, Spain
| | - Juan A Hermoso
- Department of Crystallography and Structural Biology, Institute of Physical Chemistry Blas Cabrera, Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Serrano 119, 28006, Madrid, Spain.
| | - Reza Nazari
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-7401, USA
- Department of Physics, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1504, USA
| | - Raymond Sierra
- Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, 94025 CA, USA
| | - Mark S Hunter
- Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, 94025 CA, USA
| | - Alexander Batyuk
- Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, 94025 CA, USA
| | - Christopher J Kupitz
- Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, 94025 CA, USA
| | - Robert E Sublett
- Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, 94025 CA, USA
| | - Stella Lisova
- Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, 94025 CA, USA
| | - Valerio Mariani
- Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, 94025 CA, USA
| | - Sébastien Boutet
- Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, 94025 CA, USA
| | - Raimund Fromme
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1604, USA.
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-7401, USA
| | - Thomas D Grant
- Department of Structural Biology, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, SUNY University at Buffalo, 955 Main St, Buffalo, NY, 14203, USA
| | - Sabine Botha
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-7401, USA
- Department of Physics, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1504, USA
| | - Petra Fromme
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1604, USA.
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-7401, USA
| | - Richard A Kirian
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-7401, USA
- Department of Physics, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1504, USA
| | - Jose Manuel Martin-Garcia
- Department of Crystallography and Structural Biology, Institute of Physical Chemistry Blas Cabrera, Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Serrano 119, 28006, Madrid, Spain.
| | - Alexandra Ros
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1604, USA.
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-7401, USA
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6
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Thorne RE. Determining biomolecular structures near room temperature using X-ray crystallography: concepts, methods and future optimization. Acta Crystallogr D Struct Biol 2023; 79:78-94. [PMID: 36601809 PMCID: PMC9815097 DOI: 10.1107/s2059798322011652] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2022] [Accepted: 12/04/2022] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
For roughly two decades, cryocrystallography has been the overwhelmingly dominant method for determining high-resolution biomolecular structures. Competition from single-particle cryo-electron microscopy and micro-electron diffraction, increased interest in functionally relevant information that may be missing or corrupted in structures determined at cryogenic temperature, and interest in time-resolved studies of the biomolecular response to chemical and optical stimuli have driven renewed interest in data collection at room temperature and, more generally, at temperatures from the protein-solvent glass transition near 200 K to ∼350 K. Fischer has recently reviewed practical methods for room-temperature data collection and analysis [Fischer (2021), Q. Rev. Biophys. 54, e1]. Here, the key advantages and physical principles of, and methods for, crystallographic data collection at noncryogenic temperatures and some factors relevant to interpreting the resulting data are discussed. For room-temperature data collection to realize its potential within the structural biology toolkit, streamlined and standardized methods for delivering crystals prepared in the home laboratory to the synchrotron and for automated handling and data collection, similar to those for cryocrystallography, should be implemented.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert E. Thorne
- Physics Department, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
- MiTeGen LLC, PO Box 3867, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA
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7
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Sonker M, Doppler D, Egatz-Gomez A, Zaare S, Rabbani MT, Manna A, Cruz Villarreal J, Nelson G, Ketawala GK, Karpos K, Alvarez RC, Nazari R, Thifault D, Jernigan R, Oberthür D, Han H, Sierra R, Hunter MS, Batyuk A, Kupitz CJ, Sublett RE, Poitevin F, Lisova S, Mariani V, Tolstikova A, Boutet S, Messerschmidt M, Meza-Aguilar JD, Fromme R, Martin-Garcia JM, Botha S, Fromme P, Grant TD, Kirian RA, Ros A. Electrically stimulated droplet injector for reduced sample consumption in serial crystallography. BIOPHYSICAL REPORTS 2022; 2:100081. [PMID: 36425668 PMCID: PMC9680787 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpr.2022.100081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2022] [Accepted: 09/27/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
With advances in X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs), serial femtosecond crystallography (SFX) has enabled the static and dynamic structure determination for challenging proteins such as membrane protein complexes. In SFX with XFELs, the crystals are typically destroyed after interacting with a single XFEL pulse. Therefore, thousands of new crystals must be sequentially introduced into the X-ray beam to collect full data sets. Because of the serial nature of any SFX experiment, up to 99% of the sample delivered to the X-ray beam during its "off-time" between X-ray pulses is wasted due to the intrinsic pulsed nature of all current XFELs. To solve this major problem of large and often limiting sample consumption, we report on improvements of a revolutionary sample-saving method that is compatible with all current XFELs. We previously reported 3D-printed injection devices coupled with gas dynamic virtual nozzles (GDVNs) capable of generating samples containing droplets segmented by an immiscible oil phase for jetting crystal-laden droplets into the path of an XFEL. Here, we have further improved the device design by including metal electrodes inducing electrowetting effects for improved control over droplet generation frequency to stimulate the droplet release to matching the XFEL repetition rate by employing an electrical feedback mechanism. We report the improvements in this electrically triggered segmented flow approach for sample conservation in comparison with a continuous GDVN injection using the microcrystals of lysozyme and 3-deoxy-D-manno-octulosonate 8-phosphate synthase and report the segmented flow approach for sample injection applied at the Macromolecular Femtosecond Crystallography instrument at the Linear Coherent Light Source for the first time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mukul Sonker
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
| | - Diandra Doppler
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
| | - Ana Egatz-Gomez
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
| | - Sahba Zaare
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
- Department of Physics, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
| | - Mohammad T. Rabbani
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
| | - Abhik Manna
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
| | - Jorvani Cruz Villarreal
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
| | - Garrett Nelson
- Department of Physics, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
| | - Gihan K. Ketawala
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
| | - Konstantinos Karpos
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
- Department of Physics, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
| | - Roberto C. Alvarez
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
- Department of Physics, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
| | - Reza Nazari
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
- Department of Physics, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
| | - Darren Thifault
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
| | - Rebecca Jernigan
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
| | - Dominik Oberthür
- Center for Free-Electron Laser Science, Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron, Hamburg, Germany
| | | | - Raymond Sierra
- Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, California
| | - Mark S. Hunter
- Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, California
| | - Alexander Batyuk
- Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, California
| | - Christopher J. Kupitz
- Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, California
| | - Robert E. Sublett
- Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, California
| | - Frederic Poitevin
- Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, California
| | - Stella Lisova
- Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, California
| | - Valerio Mariani
- Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, California
| | - Alexandra Tolstikova
- Center for Free-Electron Laser Science, Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Sebastien Boutet
- Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, California
| | - Marc Messerschmidt
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
| | - J. Domingo Meza-Aguilar
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
| | - Raimund Fromme
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
| | - Jose M. Martin-Garcia
- Institute Physical-Chemistry Rocasolano, Spanish National Research Council, Madrid, Spain
| | - Sabine Botha
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
- Department of Physics, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
| | - Petra Fromme
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
| | - Thomas D. Grant
- Department of Structural Biology, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, SUNY University at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York
| | - Richard A. Kirian
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
- Department of Physics, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
| | - Alexandra Ros
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
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8
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Barends TR, Stauch B, Cherezov V, Schlichting I. Serial femtosecond crystallography. NATURE REVIEWS. METHODS PRIMERS 2022; 2:59. [PMID: 36643971 PMCID: PMC9833121 DOI: 10.1038/s43586-022-00141-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
With the advent of X-ray Free Electron Lasers (XFELs), new, high-throughput serial crystallography techniques for macromolecular structure determination have emerged. Serial femtosecond crystallography (SFX) and related methods provide possibilities beyond canonical, single-crystal rotation crystallography by mitigating radiation damage and allowing time-resolved studies with unprecedented temporal resolution. This primer aims to assist structural biology groups with little or no experience in serial crystallography planning and carrying out a successful SFX experiment. It discusses the background of serial crystallography and its possibilities. Microcrystal growth and characterization methods are discussed, alongside techniques for sample delivery and data processing. Moreover, it gives practical tips for preparing an experiment, what to consider and do during a beamtime and how to conduct the final data analysis. Finally, the Primer looks at various applications of SFX, including structure determination of membrane proteins, investigation of radiation damage-prone systems and time-resolved studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas R.M. Barends
- Department for Biological Mechanisms, Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Benjamin Stauch
- Department of Chemistry, The Bridge Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Vadim Cherezov
- Department of Chemistry, The Bridge Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Ilme Schlichting
- Department for Biological Mechanisms, Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Heidelberg, Germany,
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9
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Lee K, Kim J, Baek S, Park J, Park S, Lee JL, Chung WK, Cho Y, Nam KH. Combination of an inject-and-transfer system for serial femtosecond crystallography. J Appl Crystallogr 2022; 55:813-822. [DOI: 10.1107/s1600576722005556] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2022] [Accepted: 05/22/2022] [Indexed: 09/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Serial femtosecond crystallography (SFX) enables the determination of room-temperature crystal structures of macromolecules with minimized radiation damage and provides time-resolved molecular dynamics by pump–probe or mix-and-inject experiments. In SFX, a variety of sample delivery methods with unique advantages have been developed and applied. The combination of existing sample delivery methods can enable a new approach to SFX data collection that combines the advantages of the individual methods. This study introduces a combined inject-and-transfer system (BITS) method for sample delivery in SFX experiments: a hybrid injection and fixed-target scanning method. BITS allows for solution samples to be reliably deposited on ultraviolet ozone (UVO)-treated polyimide films, at a minimum flow rate of 0.5 nl min−1, in both vertical and horizontal scanning modes. To utilize BITS in SFX experiments, lysozyme crystal samples were embedded in a viscous lard medium and injected at flow rates of 50–100 nl min−1 through a syringe needle onto a UVO-treated polyimide film, which was mounted on a fixed-target scan stage. The crystal samples deposited on the film were raster scanned with an X-ray free electron laser using a motion stage in both horizontal and vertical directions. Using the BITS method, the room-temperature structure of lysozyme was successfully determined at a resolution of 2.1 Å, and thus BITS could be utilized in future SFX experiments.
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10
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Martiel I, Beale JH, Karpik A, Huang CY, Vera L, Olieric N, Wranik M, Tsai CJ, Mühle J, Aurelius O, John J, Högbom M, Wang M, Marsh M, Padeste C. Versatile microporous polymer-based supports for serial macromolecular crystallography. Acta Crystallogr D Struct Biol 2021; 77:1153-1167. [PMID: 34473086 PMCID: PMC8411977 DOI: 10.1107/s2059798321007324] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2020] [Accepted: 07/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Serial data collection has emerged as a major tool for data collection at state-of-the-art light sources, such as microfocus beamlines at synchrotrons and X-ray free-electron lasers. Challenging targets, characterized by small crystal sizes, weak diffraction and stringent dose limits, benefit most from these methods. Here, the use of a thin support made of a polymer-based membrane for performing serial data collection or screening experiments is demonstrated. It is shown that these supports are suitable for a wide range of protein crystals suspended in liquids. The supports have also proved to be applicable to challenging cases such as membrane proteins growing in the sponge phase. The sample-deposition method is simple and robust, as well as flexible and adaptable to a variety of cases. It results in an optimally thin specimen providing low background while maintaining minute amounts of mother liquor around the crystals. The 2 × 2 mm area enables the deposition of up to several microlitres of liquid. Imaging and visualization of the crystals are straightforward on the highly transparent membrane. Thanks to their affordable fabrication, these supports have the potential to become an attractive option for serial experiments at synchrotrons and free-electron lasers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabelle Martiel
- Paul Scherrer Institute, Forschungsstrasse 111, 5232 Villigen, Switzerland
| | - John H. Beale
- Paul Scherrer Institute, Forschungsstrasse 111, 5232 Villigen, Switzerland
| | - Agnieszka Karpik
- Paul Scherrer Institute, Forschungsstrasse 111, 5232 Villigen, Switzerland
- Institute of Polymer Nanotechnology (INKA), FHNW University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, 5210 Windisch, Switzerland
| | - Chia-Ying Huang
- Paul Scherrer Institute, Forschungsstrasse 111, 5232 Villigen, Switzerland
| | - Laura Vera
- Paul Scherrer Institute, Forschungsstrasse 111, 5232 Villigen, Switzerland
| | - Natacha Olieric
- Paul Scherrer Institute, Forschungsstrasse 111, 5232 Villigen, Switzerland
| | - Maximilian Wranik
- Paul Scherrer Institute, Forschungsstrasse 111, 5232 Villigen, Switzerland
| | - Ching-Ju Tsai
- Paul Scherrer Institute, Forschungsstrasse 111, 5232 Villigen, Switzerland
| | - Jonas Mühle
- Paul Scherrer Institute, Forschungsstrasse 111, 5232 Villigen, Switzerland
| | - Oskar Aurelius
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Stockholm University, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
- MAX IV Laboratory, Lund University, Fotongatan 2, 224 84 Lund, Sweden
| | - Juliane John
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Stockholm University, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Martin Högbom
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Stockholm University, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Meitian Wang
- Paul Scherrer Institute, Forschungsstrasse 111, 5232 Villigen, Switzerland
| | - May Marsh
- Paul Scherrer Institute, Forschungsstrasse 111, 5232 Villigen, Switzerland
| | - Celestino Padeste
- Paul Scherrer Institute, Forschungsstrasse 111, 5232 Villigen, Switzerland
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11
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Liang M, Yu L, Wang Z, Zhou H, Zhang Y, Wang Q, He J. Novel combined crystallization plate for high-throughput crystal screening and in situ data collection at a crystallography beamline. Acta Crystallogr F Struct Biol Commun 2021; 77:319-327. [PMID: 34473109 PMCID: PMC8411933 DOI: 10.1107/s2053230x21008104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2021] [Accepted: 08/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
In situ microplates are small in size, crystal cultivation and operation are difficult, and the efficiency of crystal screening is relatively low. To solve this problem, a novel combined crystallization plate was designed for high-throughput crystal cultivation and in situ data collection. A frame was used to hold 48 in situ microplates, and the in situ microplates were sealed on one side with an ultralow background-scattering Kapton film. An automatic liquid handler (Mosquito) was used to add a liquid drop to the in situ microplates in the frame, and CrystalClear HD tape was used to seal the frame. A sealed frame holding 48 microplates was developed as a novel combined crystallization plate and was used for crystal cultivation under different conditions and in situ data collection at the synchrotron beamline. Moreover, individual microplates can be separated from the combined crystal plate and then fixed on a magnetic base or loaded onto a UniPuck for in situ data collection. Automatic grid scanning was used to locate crystals. The efficiency of the combined crystallization plate for crystal screening was verified. This method avoids the manual manipulation of crystals during crystal screening and diffraction data collection; therefore, the combined crystallization plate is suitable for large-scale screening of microcrystals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miao Liang
- Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201800, People’s Republic of China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, People’s Republic of China
| | - Li Yu
- Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201800, People’s Republic of China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, People’s Republic of China
| | - Zhijun Wang
- Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201800, People’s Republic of China
- Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Shanghai Advanced Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201204, People’s Republic of China
| | - Huan Zhou
- Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201800, People’s Republic of China
- Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Shanghai Advanced Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201204, People’s Republic of China
| | - Yi Zhang
- Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201800, People’s Republic of China
- Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Shanghai Advanced Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201204, People’s Republic of China
| | - Qisheng Wang
- Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201800, People’s Republic of China
- Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Shanghai Advanced Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201204, People’s Republic of China
| | - Jianhua He
- Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201800, People’s Republic of China
- The Institute for Advanced Studies, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, People’s Republic of China
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12
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Brändén G, Neutze R. Advances and challenges in time-resolved macromolecular crystallography. Science 2021; 373:373/6558/eaba0954. [PMID: 34446579 DOI: 10.1126/science.aba0954] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Conformational changes within biological macromolecules control a vast array of chemical reactions in living cells. Time-resolved crystallography can reveal time-dependent structural changes that occur within protein crystals, yielding chemical insights in unparalleled detail. Serial crystallography approaches developed at x-ray free-electron lasers are now routinely used for time-resolved diffraction studies of macromolecules. These techniques are increasingly being applied at synchrotron radiation sources and to a growing diversity of macromolecules. Here, we review recent progress in the field, including visualizing ultrafast structural changes that guide the initial trajectories of light-driven reactions as well as capturing biologically important conformational changes on slower time scales, for which bacteriorhodopsin and photosystem II are presented as illustrative case studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gisela Brändén
- Department of Chemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Richard Neutze
- Department of Chemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
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13
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Sui S, Mulichak A, Kulathila R, McGee J, Filiatreault D, Saha S, Cohen A, Song J, Hung H, Selway J, Kirby C, Shrestha OK, Weihofen W, Fodor M, Xu M, Chopra R, Perry SL. A capillary-based microfluidic device enables primary high-throughput room-temperature crystallographic screening. J Appl Crystallogr 2021; 54:1034-1046. [PMID: 34429718 PMCID: PMC8366422 DOI: 10.1107/s1600576721004155] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2021] [Accepted: 04/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
A novel capillary-based microfluidic strategy to accelerate the process of small-molecule-compound screening by room-temperature X-ray crystallography using protein crystals is reported. The ultra-thin microfluidic devices are composed of a UV-curable polymer, patterned by cleanroom photolithography, and have nine capillary channels per chip. The chip was designed for ease of sample manipulation, sample stability and minimal X-ray background. 3D-printed frames and cassettes conforming to SBS standards are used to house the capillary chips, providing additional mechanical stability and compatibility with automated liquid- and sample-handling robotics. These devices enable an innovative in situ crystal-soaking screening workflow, akin to high-throughput compound screening, such that quantitative electron density maps sufficient to determine weak binding events are efficiently obtained. This work paves the way for adopting a room-temperature microfluidics-based sample delivery method at synchrotron sources to facilitate high-throughput protein-crystallography-based screening of compounds at high concentration with the aim of discovering novel binding events in an automated manner.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuo Sui
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, USA
| | - Anne Mulichak
- IMCA-CAT, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, IL, USA
| | | | - Joshua McGee
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, USA
| | | | - Sarthak Saha
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, USA
| | - Aina Cohen
- Macromolecular Crystallography Group, Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource, Menlo Park, CA, USA
| | - Jinhu Song
- Macromolecular Crystallography Group, Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource, Menlo Park, CA, USA
| | | | - Jonathan Selway
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, USA
| | - Christina Kirby
- Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Om K. Shrestha
- Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | | | - Michelle Fodor
- Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Mei Xu
- Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Rajiv Chopra
- Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Sarah L. Perry
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, USA
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14
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Lahey-Rudolph JM, Schönherr R, Barthelmess M, Fischer P, Seuring C, Wagner A, Meents A, Redecke L. Fixed-target serial femtosecond crystallography using in cellulo grown microcrystals. IUCRJ 2021; 8:665-677. [PMID: 34258014 PMCID: PMC8256716 DOI: 10.1107/s2052252521005297] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2020] [Accepted: 05/18/2021] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
The crystallization of recombinant proteins in living cells is an exciting new approach in structural biology. Recent success has highlighted the need for fast and efficient diffraction data collection, optimally directly exposing intact crystal-containing cells to the X-ray beam, thus protecting the in cellulo crystals from environmental challenges. Serial femtosecond crystallography (SFX) at free-electron lasers (XFELs) allows the collection of detectable diffraction even from tiny protein crystals, but requires very fast sample exchange to utilize each XFEL pulse. Here, an efficient approach is presented for high-resolution structure elucidation using serial femtosecond in cellulo diffraction of micometre-sized crystals of the protein HEX-1 from the fungus Neurospora crassa on a fixed target. Employing the fast and highly accurate Roadrunner II translation-stage system allowed efficient raster scanning of the pores of micro-patterned, single-crystalline silicon chips loaded with living, crystal-containing insect cells. Compared with liquid-jet and LCP injection systems, the increased hit rates of up to 30% and reduced background scattering enabled elucidation of the HEX-1 structure. Using diffraction data from only a single chip collected within 12 min at the Linac Coherent Light Source, a 1.8 Å resolution structure was obtained with significantly reduced sample consumption compared with previous SFX experiments using liquid-jet injection. This HEX-1 structure is almost superimposable with that previously determined using synchrotron radiation from single HEX-1 crystals grown by sitting-drop vapour diffusion, validating the approach. This study demonstrates that fixed-target SFX using micro-patterned silicon chips is ideally suited for efficient in cellulo diffraction data collection using living, crystal-containing cells, and offers huge potential for the straightforward structure elucidation of proteins that form intracellular crystals at both XFELs and synchrotron sources.
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Affiliation(s)
- J. Mia Lahey-Rudolph
- Institute of Biochemistry, University of Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23562 Lübeck, Germany
- Center for Free-Electron Laser Science (CFEL), Deutsches Elektronen Synchrotron (DESY), Notkestrasse 85, 22607 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Robert Schönherr
- Institute of Biochemistry, University of Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23562 Lübeck, Germany
- Photon Science, Deutsches Elektronen Synchrotron (DESY), Notkestrasse 85, 22607 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Miriam Barthelmess
- Center for Free-Electron Laser Science (CFEL), Deutsches Elektronen Synchrotron (DESY), Notkestrasse 85, 22607 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Pontus Fischer
- Center for Free-Electron Laser Science (CFEL), Deutsches Elektronen Synchrotron (DESY), Notkestrasse 85, 22607 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Carolin Seuring
- Center for Free-Electron Laser Science (CFEL), Deutsches Elektronen Synchrotron (DESY), Notkestrasse 85, 22607 Hamburg, Germany
- The Hamburg Center for Ultrafast Imaging, 22671 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Armin Wagner
- Diamond Light Source, Diamond House DH2-52, Chilton, Didcot OX11 0DE, United Kingdom
| | - Alke Meents
- Center for Free-Electron Laser Science (CFEL), Deutsches Elektronen Synchrotron (DESY), Notkestrasse 85, 22607 Hamburg, Germany
- Photon Science, Deutsches Elektronen Synchrotron (DESY), Notkestrasse 85, 22607 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Lars Redecke
- Institute of Biochemistry, University of Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23562 Lübeck, Germany
- Photon Science, Deutsches Elektronen Synchrotron (DESY), Notkestrasse 85, 22607 Hamburg, Germany
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15
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Protein Dynamics and Time Resolved Protein Crystallography at Synchrotron Radiation Sources: Past, Present and Future. CRYSTALS 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/cryst11050521] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
The ultrabright and ultrashort pulses produced at X-ray free electron lasers (XFELs) has enabled studies of crystallized molecular machines at work under ‘native’ conditions at room temperature by the so-called time-resolved serial femtosecond crystallography (TR-SFX) technique. Since early TR-SFX experiments were conducted at XFELs, it has been largely reported in the literature that time-resolved X-ray experiments at synchrotrons are no longer feasible or are impractical due to the severe technical limitations of these radiation sources. The transfer of the serial crystallography approach to newest synchrotrons upgraded for higher flux density and with beamlines using sophisticated focusing optics, submicron beam diameters and fast low-noise photon-counting detectors offers a way to overcome these difficulties opening new and exciting possibilities. In fact, there is an increasing amount of publications reporting new findings in structural dynamics of protein macromolecules by using time resolved crystallography from microcrystals at synchrotron sources. This review gathers information to provide an overview of the recent work and the advances made in this filed in the past years, as well as outlines future perspectives at the next generation of synchrotron sources and the upcoming compact pulsed X-ray sources.
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16
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Illava G, Jayne R, Finke AD, Closs D, Zeng W, Milano SK, Huang Q, Kriksunov I, Sidorenko P, Wise FW, Zipfel WR, Apker BA, Thorne RE. Integrated sample-handling and mounting system for fixed-target serial synchrotron crystallography. Acta Crystallogr D Struct Biol 2021; 77:628-644. [PMID: 33950019 PMCID: PMC8098472 DOI: 10.1107/s2059798321001868] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2020] [Accepted: 02/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Serial synchrotron crystallography (SSX) is enabling the efficient use of small crystals for structure-function studies of biomolecules and for drug discovery. An integrated SSX system has been developed comprising ultralow background-scatter sample holders suitable for room and cryogenic temperature crystallographic data collection, a sample-loading station and a humid `gloveless' glovebox. The sample holders incorporate thin-film supports with a variety of designs optimized for different crystal-loading challenges. These holders facilitate the dispersion of crystals and the removal of excess liquid, can be cooled at extremely high rates, generate little background scatter, allow data collection over >90° of oscillation without obstruction or the risk of generating saturating Bragg peaks, are compatible with existing infrastructure for high-throughput cryocrystallography and are reusable. The sample-loading station allows sample preparation and loading onto the support film, the application of time-varying suction for optimal removal of excess liquid, crystal repositioning and cryoprotection, and the application of sealing films for room-temperature data collection, all in a controlled-humidity environment. The humid glovebox allows microscope observation of the sample-loading station and crystallization trays while maintaining near-saturating humidities that further minimize the risks of sample dehydration and damage, and maximize working times. This integrated system addresses common problems in obtaining properly dispersed, properly hydrated and isomorphous microcrystals for fixed-orientation and oscillation data collection. Its ease of use, flexibility and optimized performance make it attractive not just for SSX but also for single-crystal and few-crystal data collection. Fundamental concepts that are important in achieving desired crystal distributions on a sample holder via time-varying suction-induced liquid flows are also discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabrielle Illava
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | | | | | - David Closs
- MiTeGen LLC, PO Box 3867, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA
| | - Wenjie Zeng
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Weill Institute for Cell and Molecular Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Shawn K. Milano
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | | | | | - Pavel Sidorenko
- School of Applied and Engineering Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Frank W. Wise
- School of Applied and Engineering Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Warren R. Zipfel
- Meinig School of Biomedical Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
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17
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Mehrabi P, Bücker R, Bourenkov G, Ginn HM, von Stetten D, Müller-Werkmeister HM, Kuo A, Morizumi T, Eger BT, Ou WL, Oghbaey S, Sarracini A, Besaw JE, Pare-Labrosse O, Meier S, Schikora H, Tellkamp F, Marx A, Sherrell DA, Axford D, Owen RL, Ernst OP, Pai EF, Schulz EC, Miller RJD. Serial femtosecond and serial synchrotron crystallography can yield data of equivalent quality: A systematic comparison. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2021; 7:7/12/eabf1380. [PMID: 33731353 PMCID: PMC7968842 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abf1380] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2020] [Accepted: 01/28/2021] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
For the two proteins myoglobin and fluoroacetate dehalogenase, we present a systematic comparison of crystallographic diffraction data collected by serial femtosecond (SFX) and serial synchrotron crystallography (SSX). To maximize comparability, we used the same batch of micron-sized crystals, the same sample delivery device, and the same data analysis software. Overall figures of merit indicate that the data of both radiation sources are of equivalent quality. For both proteins, reasonable data statistics can be obtained with approximately 5000 room-temperature diffraction images irrespective of the radiation source. The direct comparability of SSX and SFX data indicates that the quality of diffraction data obtained from these samples is linked to the properties of the crystals rather than to the radiation source. Therefore, for other systems with similar properties, time-resolved experiments can be conducted at the radiation source that best matches the desired time resolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- P Mehrabi
- Department for Atomically Resolved Dynamics, Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter, Luruper Chaussee 149, 22761 Hamburg, Germany.
- Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, 101 College Street, Toronto, Ontario M5G 1L7, Canada
- Campbell Family Cancer Research Institute, Ontario Cancer Institute, 101 College Street, Toronto, Ontario M5G 1L7, Canada
- Center for Free-Electron Laser Science, Luruper Chaussee 149, 22761 Hamburg, Germany
| | - R Bücker
- Department for Atomically Resolved Dynamics, Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter, Luruper Chaussee 149, 22761 Hamburg, Germany
- Centre for Structural Systems Biology, Department of Chemistry, University of Hamburg, Notkestraße 85, 22607 Hamburg, Germany
| | - G Bourenkov
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Hamburg Outstation c/o Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Notkestraße 85, D-22603 Hamburg, Germany
| | - H M Ginn
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0DE, UK
| | - D von Stetten
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Hamburg Outstation c/o Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Notkestraße 85, D-22603 Hamburg, Germany
| | - H M Müller-Werkmeister
- Institute of Chemistry-Physical Chemistry, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 24-25, 14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany
| | - A Kuo
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, 1 King's College Circle, Toronto, Ontario M5S 1A8, Canada
| | - T Morizumi
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, 1 King's College Circle, Toronto, Ontario M5S 1A8, Canada
| | - B T Eger
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, 1 King's College Circle, Toronto, Ontario M5S 1A8, Canada
| | - W-L Ou
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, 1 King's College Circle, Toronto, Ontario M5S 1A8, Canada
| | - S Oghbaey
- Departments of Chemistry and Physics, University of Toronto, 80 St. George Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3H6, Canada
| | - A Sarracini
- Departments of Chemistry and Physics, University of Toronto, 80 St. George Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3H6, Canada
| | - J E Besaw
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, 1 King's College Circle, Toronto, Ontario M5S 1A8, Canada
- Departments of Chemistry and Physics, University of Toronto, 80 St. George Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3H6, Canada
| | - O Pare-Labrosse
- Department for Atomically Resolved Dynamics, Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter, Luruper Chaussee 149, 22761 Hamburg, Germany
- Departments of Chemistry and Physics, University of Toronto, 80 St. George Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3H6, Canada
| | - S Meier
- Department of Physics, Universität Hamburg, Jungiusstrasse 9, 20355 Hamburg, Germany
| | - H Schikora
- Scientific Support Unit Machine Physics, Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter, Luruper Chaussee 149, 22761 Hamburg, Germany
| | - F Tellkamp
- Scientific Support Unit Machine Physics, Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter, Luruper Chaussee 149, 22761 Hamburg, Germany
| | - A Marx
- Department for Atomically Resolved Dynamics, Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter, Luruper Chaussee 149, 22761 Hamburg, Germany
- Center for Free-Electron Laser Science, Luruper Chaussee 149, 22761 Hamburg, Germany
| | - D A Sherrell
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0DE, UK
- Structural Biology Center, X-ray Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL, USA
| | - D Axford
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0DE, UK
| | - R L Owen
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0DE, UK
| | - O P Ernst
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, 1 King's College Circle, Toronto, Ontario M5S 1A8, Canada
- Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, 1 King's College Circle, Toronto, Ontario M5S 1A8, Canada
| | - E F Pai
- Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, 101 College Street, Toronto, Ontario M5G 1L7, Canada
- Campbell Family Cancer Research Institute, Ontario Cancer Institute, 101 College Street, Toronto, Ontario M5G 1L7, Canada
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, 1 King's College Circle, Toronto, Ontario M5S 1A8, Canada
| | - E C Schulz
- Department for Atomically Resolved Dynamics, Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter, Luruper Chaussee 149, 22761 Hamburg, Germany.
- Center for Free-Electron Laser Science, Luruper Chaussee 149, 22761 Hamburg, Germany
| | - R J D Miller
- Department for Atomically Resolved Dynamics, Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter, Luruper Chaussee 149, 22761 Hamburg, Germany
- Center for Free-Electron Laser Science, Luruper Chaussee 149, 22761 Hamburg, Germany
- Departments of Chemistry and Physics, University of Toronto, 80 St. George Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3H6, Canada
- Department of Physics, Universität Hamburg, Jungiusstrasse 9, 20355 Hamburg, Germany
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18
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Schneider DK, Shi W, Andi B, Jakoncic J, Gao Y, Bhogadi DK, Myers SF, Martins B, Skinner JM, Aishima J, Qian K, Bernstein HJ, Lazo EO, Langdon T, Lara J, Shea-McCarthy G, Idir M, Huang L, Chubar O, Sweet RM, Berman LE, McSweeney S, Fuchs MR. FMX - the Frontier Microfocusing Macromolecular Crystallography Beamline at the National Synchrotron Light Source II. JOURNAL OF SYNCHROTRON RADIATION 2021; 28:650-665. [PMID: 33650577 PMCID: PMC7941291 DOI: 10.1107/s1600577520016173] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2020] [Accepted: 12/11/2020] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
Two new macromolecular crystallography (MX) beamlines at the National Synchrotron Light Source II, FMX and AMX, opened for general user operation in February 2017 [Schneider et al. (2013). J. Phys. Conf. Ser. 425, 012003; Fuchs et al. (2014). J. Phys. Conf. Ser. 493, 012021; Fuchs et al. (2016). AIP Conf. Proc. SRI2015, 1741, 030006]. FMX, the micro-focusing Frontier MX beamline in sector 17-ID-2 at NSLS-II, covers a 5-30 keV photon energy range and delivers a flux of 4.0 × 1012 photons s-1 at 1 Å into a 1 µm × 1.5 µm to 10 µm × 10 µm (V × H) variable focus, expected to reach 5 × 1012 photons s-1 at final storage-ring current. This flux density surpasses most MX beamlines by nearly two orders of magnitude. The high brightness and microbeam capability of FMX are focused on solving difficult crystallographic challenges. The beamline's flexible design supports a wide range of structure determination methods - serial crystallography on micrometre-sized crystals, raster optimization of diffraction from inhomogeneous crystals, high-resolution data collection from large-unit-cell crystals, room-temperature data collection for crystals that are difficult to freeze and for studying conformational dynamics, and fully automated data collection for sample-screening and ligand-binding studies. FMX's high dose rate reduces data collection times for applications like serial crystallography to minutes rather than hours. With associated sample lifetimes as short as a few milliseconds, new rapid sample-delivery methods have been implemented, such as an ultra-high-speed high-precision piezo scanner goniometer [Gao et al. (2018). J. Synchrotron Rad. 25, 1362-1370], new microcrystal-optimized micromesh well sample holders [Guo et al. (2018). IUCrJ, 5, 238-246] and highly viscous media injectors [Weierstall et al. (2014). Nat. Commun. 5, 3309]. The new beamline pushes the frontier of synchrotron crystallography and enables users to determine structures from difficult-to-crystallize targets like membrane proteins, using previously intractable crystals of a few micrometres in size, and to obtain quality structures from irregular larger crystals.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Wuxian Shi
- Photon Sciences, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973, USA
| | - Babak Andi
- Photon Sciences, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973, USA
| | - Jean Jakoncic
- Photon Sciences, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973, USA
| | - Yuan Gao
- Photon Sciences, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973, USA
| | | | - Stuart F. Myers
- Photon Sciences, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973, USA
| | - Bruno Martins
- Facility for Rare Isotope Beams, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| | - John M. Skinner
- Photon Sciences, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973, USA
| | - Jun Aishima
- Photon Sciences, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973, USA
| | - Kun Qian
- Photon Sciences, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973, USA
| | - Herbert J. Bernstein
- Ronin Institute for Independent Scholarship, c/o NSLS-II, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973, USA
| | - Edwin O. Lazo
- Photon Sciences, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973, USA
| | - Thomas Langdon
- Photon Sciences, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973, USA
| | - John Lara
- Photon Sciences, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973, USA
| | | | - Mourad Idir
- Photon Sciences, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973, USA
| | - Lei Huang
- Photon Sciences, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973, USA
| | - Oleg Chubar
- Photon Sciences, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973, USA
| | - Robert M. Sweet
- Photon Sciences, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973, USA
| | - Lonny E. Berman
- Photon Sciences, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973, USA
| | - Sean McSweeney
- Photon Sciences, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973, USA
| | - Martin R. Fuchs
- Photon Sciences, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973, USA
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19
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Han H, Round E, Schubert R, Gül Y, Makroczyová J, Meza D, Heuser P, Aepfelbacher M, Barák I, Betzel C, Fromme P, Kursula I, Nissen P, Tereschenko E, Schulz J, Uetrecht C, Ulicný J, Wilmanns M, Hajdu J, Lamzin VS, Lorenzen K. The XBI BioLab for life science experiments at the European XFEL. J Appl Crystallogr 2021; 54:7-21. [PMID: 33833637 PMCID: PMC7941304 DOI: 10.1107/s1600576720013989] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2020] [Accepted: 10/19/2020] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
The science of X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs) critically depends on the performance of the X-ray laser and on the quality of the samples placed into the X-ray beam. The stability of biological samples is limited and key biomolecular transformations occur on short timescales. Experiments in biology require a support laboratory in the immediate vicinity of the beamlines. The XBI BioLab of the European XFEL (XBI denotes XFEL Biology Infrastructure) is an integrated user facility connected to the beamlines for supporting a wide range of biological experiments. The laboratory was financed and built by a collaboration between the European XFEL and the XBI User Consortium, whose members come from Finland, Germany, the Slovak Republic, Sweden and the USA, with observers from Denmark and the Russian Federation. Arranged around a central wet laboratory, the XBI BioLab provides facilities for sample preparation and scoring, laboratories for growing prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, a Bio Safety Level 2 laboratory, sample purification and characterization facilities, a crystallization laboratory, an anaerobic laboratory, an aerosol laboratory, a vacuum laboratory for injector tests, and laboratories for optical microscopy, atomic force microscopy and electron microscopy. Here, an overview of the XBI facility is given and some of the results of the first user experiments are highlighted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huijong Han
- European XFEL GmbH, Holzkoppel 4, 22869 Schenefeld, Germany
- Biocenter Oulu and Faculty of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, University of Oulu, Aapistie 7, 90220 Oulu, Finland
| | - Ekaterina Round
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Notkestrasse 85, 22607 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Robin Schubert
- European XFEL GmbH, Holzkoppel 4, 22869 Schenefeld, Germany
- Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Laboratory for Structural Biology of Infection and Inflammation, University of Hamburg, c/o DESY, Building 22a, Notkestrasse 85, 22603 Hamburg, Germany
- The Hamburg Centre for Ultrafast Imaging (CUI), Luruper Chaussee 149, 22761 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Yasmin Gül
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Notkestrasse 85, 22607 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Jana Makroczyová
- European XFEL GmbH, Holzkoppel 4, 22869 Schenefeld, Germany
- Institute of Molecular Biology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dúbravská cesta 21, 845 51 Bratislava, Slovak Republic
| | - Domingo Meza
- Biodesign Center for Applied Structural Discovery and School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Philipp Heuser
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Notkestrasse 85, 22607 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Martin Aepfelbacher
- Institute of Medical Microbiology, Virology and Hygiene, University Medical Center Hamburg Eppendorf, Martinistrasse 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Imrich Barák
- Institute of Molecular Biology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dúbravská cesta 21, 845 51 Bratislava, Slovak Republic
| | - Christian Betzel
- Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Laboratory for Structural Biology of Infection and Inflammation, University of Hamburg, c/o DESY, Building 22a, Notkestrasse 85, 22603 Hamburg, Germany
- The Hamburg Centre for Ultrafast Imaging (CUI), Luruper Chaussee 149, 22761 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Petra Fromme
- Biodesign Center for Applied Structural Discovery and School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Inari Kursula
- Biocenter Oulu and Faculty of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, University of Oulu, Aapistie 7, 90220 Oulu, Finland
- Department of Biomedicine, University of Bergen, Jonas Lies vei 91, 5009 Bergen, Norway
| | - Poul Nissen
- DANDRITE, Nordic EMBL Partnership for Molecular Medicine, Aarhus University, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Gustav Wieds Vej 10C, DK – 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Elena Tereschenko
- Institute of Crystallography, Russian Academy of Sciences, 59 Leninsky prospekt, Moscow, 117333, Russian Federation
| | - Joachim Schulz
- European XFEL GmbH, Holzkoppel 4, 22869 Schenefeld, Germany
| | - Charlotte Uetrecht
- European XFEL GmbH, Holzkoppel 4, 22869 Schenefeld, Germany
- Heinrich Pette Institute, Leibniz Institute for Experimental Virology, Martinistrasse 52, 20251 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Jozef Ulicný
- Department of Biophysics, Institute of Physics, Faculty of Science, P. J. Šafárik University, Jesenná 5, 04154 Košice, Slovak Republic
| | - Matthias Wilmanns
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Notkestrasse 85, 22607 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Janos Hajdu
- The European Extreme Light Infrastructure, Institute of Physics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Za Radnici 835, 25241 Dolní Břežany, Czech Republic
- Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics, Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Uppsala University, Husargatan 3 (Box 596), SE-751 24 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Victor S. Lamzin
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Notkestrasse 85, 22607 Hamburg, Germany
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20
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Analysis of Multi-Hit Crystals in Serial Synchrotron Crystallography Experiments Using High-Viscosity Injectors. CRYSTALS 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/cryst11010049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Serial Synchrotron Crystallography (SSX) is rapidly emerging as a promising technique for collecting data for time-resolved structural studies or for performing room temperature micro-crystallography measurements using micro-focused beamlines. SSX is often performed using high frame rate detectors in combination with continuous sample scanning or high-viscosity or liquid jet injectors. When performed using ultra-bright X-ray Free Electron Laser (XFEL) sources serial crystallography typically involves a process known as ’diffract-and-destroy’ where each crystal is measured just once before it is destroyed by the intense XFEL pulse. In SSX, however, particularly when using high-viscosity injectors (HVIs) such as Lipidico, the crystal can be intercepted multiple times by the X-ray beam prior to exiting the interaction region. This has a number of important consequences for SSX including whether these multiple-hits can be incorporated into the data analysis or whether they need to be excluded due to the potential impact of radiation damage. Here, we investigate the occurrence and characteristics of multiple hits on single crystals using SSX with lipidico. SSX data are collected from crystals as they tumble within a high viscous stream of silicone grease flowing through a micro-focused X-ray beam. We confirmed that, using the Eiger 16M, we are able to collect up to 42 frames of data from the same single crystal prior to it leaving the X-ray interaction region. The frequency and occurrence of multiple hits may be controlled by varying the sample flow rate and X-ray beam size. Calculations of the absorbed dose confirm that these crystals are likely to undergo radiation damage but that nonetheless incorporating multiple hits into damage-free data should lead to a significant reduction in the number of crystals required for structural analysis when compared to just looking at a single diffraction pattern from each crystal.
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21
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Abstract
X-ray crystallography enables detailed structural studies of proteins to understand and modulate their function. Conducting crystallographic experiments at cryogenic temperatures has practical benefits but potentially limits the identification of functionally important alternative protein conformations that can be revealed only at room temperature (RT). This review discusses practical aspects of preparing, acquiring, and analyzing X-ray crystallography data at RT to demystify preconceived impracticalities that freeze progress of routine RT data collection at synchrotron sources. Examples are presented as conceptual and experimental templates to enable the design of RT-inspired studies; they illustrate the diversity and utility of gaining novel insights into protein conformational landscapes. An integrative view of protein conformational dynamics enables opportunities to advance basic and biomedical research.
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22
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Dynamic Structural Biology Experiments at XFEL or Synchrotron Sources. Methods Mol Biol 2021; 2305:203-228. [PMID: 33950392 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-1406-8_11] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Macromolecular crystallography (MX) leverages the methods of physics and the language of chemistry to reveal fundamental insights into biology. Often beautifully artistic images present MX results to support profound functional hypotheses that are vital to entire life science research community. Over the past several decades, synchrotrons around the world have been the workhorses for X-ray diffraction data collection at many highly automated beamlines. The newest tools include X-ray-free electron lasers (XFELs) located at facilities in the USA, Japan, Korea, Switzerland, and Germany that deliver about nine orders of magnitude higher brightness in discrete femtosecond long pulses. At each of these facilities, new serial femtosecond crystallography (SFX) strategies exploit slurries of micron-size crystals by rapidly delivering individual crystals into the XFEL X-ray interaction region, from which one diffraction pattern is collected per crystal before it is destroyed by the intense X-ray pulse. Relatively simple adaptions to SFX methods produce time-resolved data collection strategies wherein reactions are triggered by visible light illumination or by chemical diffusion/mixing. Thus, XFELs provide new opportunities for high temporal and spatial resolution studies of systems engaged in function at physiological temperature. In this chapter, we summarize various issues related to microcrystal slurry preparation, sample delivery into the X-ray interaction region, and some emerging strategies for time-resolved SFX data collection.
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23
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Martiel I, Huang CY, Villanueva-Perez P, Panepucci E, Basu S, Caffrey M, Pedrini B, Bunk O, Stampanoni M, Wang M. Low-dose in situ prelocation of protein microcrystals by 2D X-ray phase-contrast imaging for serial crystallography. IUCRJ 2020; 7:1131-1141. [PMID: 33209324 PMCID: PMC7642777 DOI: 10.1107/s2052252520013238] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2020] [Accepted: 10/01/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Serial protein crystallography has emerged as a powerful method of data collection on small crystals from challenging targets, such as membrane proteins. Multiple microcrystals need to be located on large and often flat mounts while exposing them to an X-ray dose that is as low as possible. A crystal-prelocation method is demonstrated here using low-dose 2D full-field propagation-based X-ray phase-contrast imaging at the X-ray imaging beamline TOMCAT at the Swiss Light Source (SLS). This imaging step provides microcrystal coordinates for automated serial data collection at a microfocus macromolecular crystallography beamline on samples with an essentially flat geometry. This prelocation method was applied to microcrystals of a soluble protein and a membrane protein, grown in a commonly used double-sandwich in situ crystallization plate. The inner sandwiches of thin plastic film enclosing the microcrystals in lipid cubic phase were flash cooled and imaged at TOMCAT. Based on the obtained crystal coordinates, both still and rotation wedge serial data were collected automatically at the SLS PXI beamline, yielding in both cases a high indexing rate. This workflow can be easily implemented at many synchrotron facilities using existing equipment, or potentially integrated as an online technique in the next-generation macromolecular crystallography beamline, and thus benefit a number of dose-sensitive challenging protein targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabelle Martiel
- Paul Scherrer Institute, Forschungsstrasse 111, Villigen, 5232, Switzerland
| | - Chia-Ying Huang
- Paul Scherrer Institute, Forschungsstrasse 111, Villigen, 5232, Switzerland
| | - Pablo Villanueva-Perez
- Paul Scherrer Institute, Forschungsstrasse 111, Villigen, 5232, Switzerland
- Synchrotron Radiation Research and NanoLund, Lund University, Box 118, Lund, 221 00, Sweden
| | - Ezequiel Panepucci
- Paul Scherrer Institute, Forschungsstrasse 111, Villigen, 5232, Switzerland
| | - Shibom Basu
- Paul Scherrer Institute, Forschungsstrasse 111, Villigen, 5232, Switzerland
- EMBL Grenoble, 71 avenue des Martyrs, Grenoble, 38042, France
| | - Martin Caffrey
- School of Medicine and School of Biochemistry and Immunology, Trinity College, Dublin 2, D02 R590, Ireland
| | - Bill Pedrini
- Paul Scherrer Institute, Forschungsstrasse 111, Villigen, 5232, Switzerland
| | - Oliver Bunk
- Paul Scherrer Institute, Forschungsstrasse 111, Villigen, 5232, Switzerland
| | - Marco Stampanoni
- Paul Scherrer Institute, Forschungsstrasse 111, Villigen, 5232, Switzerland
- Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University and ETH Zurich, Zurich, 8092, Switzerland
| | - Meitian Wang
- Paul Scherrer Institute, Forschungsstrasse 111, Villigen, 5232, Switzerland
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24
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Lee K, Lee D, Baek S, Park J, Lee SJ, Park S, Chung WK, Lee JL, Cho HS, Cho Y, Nam KH. Viscous-medium-based crystal support in a sample holder for fixed-target serial femtosecond crystallography. J Appl Crystallogr 2020. [DOI: 10.1107/s1600576720008663] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Serial femtosecond crystallography (SFX) enables the determination of the room-temperature crystal structure of macromolecules, as well as providing time-resolved molecular dynamics data in pump–probe experiments. Fixed-target SFX (FT-SFX) can minimize sample consumption and physical effects on crystals during sample delivery. In FT-SFX studies, having a sample holder that can stably fix crystal samples is one of the key elements required for efficient data collection. Hence, development of sample holders from new materials capable of supporting various crystal sizes and shapes may expand the applications of FT-SFX. Here, a viscous-media-based crystal support in a sample holder for FT-SFX is introduced. Crystal samples were embedded in viscous media, namely gelatin and agarose, which were enclosed in a polyimide film. In the vertically placed sample holder, 10–15%(w/v) viscous gelatin and 1–4%(w/v) agarose gel stably supported crystals between two polyimide films, thereby preventing the crystals from descending owing to gravity. Using this method, FT-SFX experiments were performed with glucose isomerase and lysozyme embedded in gelatin and agarose, respectively. The room-temperature crystal structures of glucose isomerase and lysozyme were successfully determined at 1.75 and 1.80 Å resolutions, respectively. The glucose isomerase and lysozyme diffraction analyses were not impeded by excessive background scattering from the viscous media. This method is useful for delivering crystal samples of various sizes and shapes in FT-SFX experiments.
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25
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Thompson MC, Yeates TO, Rodriguez JA. Advances in methods for atomic resolution macromolecular structure determination. F1000Res 2020; 9:F1000 Faculty Rev-667. [PMID: 32676184 PMCID: PMC7333361 DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.25097.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/25/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent technical advances have dramatically increased the power and scope of structural biology. New developments in high-resolution cryo-electron microscopy, serial X-ray crystallography, and electron diffraction have been especially transformative. Here we highlight some of the latest advances and current challenges at the frontiers of atomic resolution methods for elucidating the structures and dynamical properties of macromolecules and their complexes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael C. Thompson
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, University of California, Merced, CA, USA
| | - Todd O. Yeates
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- UCLA-DOE Institute for Genomics and Proteomics, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Jose A. Rodriguez
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- UCLA-DOE Institute for Genomics and Proteomics, Los Angeles, CA, USA
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26
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Abstract
The advent of the X-ray free electron laser (XFEL) in the last decade created the discipline of serial crystallography but also the challenge of how crystal samples are delivered to X-ray. Early sample delivery methods demonstrated the proof-of-concept for serial crystallography and XFEL but were beset with challenges of high sample consumption, jet clogging and low data collection efficiency. The potential of XFEL and serial crystallography as the next frontier of structural solution by X-ray for small and weakly diffracting crystals and provision of ultra-fast time-resolved structural data spawned a huge amount of scientific interest and innovation. To utilize the full potential of XFEL and broaden its applicability to a larger variety of biological samples, researchers are challenged to develop better sample delivery methods. Thus, sample delivery is one of the key areas of research and development in the serial crystallography scientific community. Sample delivery currently falls into three main systems: jet-based methods, fixed-target chips, and drop-on-demand. Huge strides have since been made in reducing sample consumption and improving data collection efficiency, thus enabling the use of XFEL for many biological systems to provide high-resolution, radiation damage-free structural data as well as time-resolved dynamics studies. This review summarizes the current main strategies in sample delivery and their respective pros and cons, as well as some future direction.
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27
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Mehrabi P, Müller-Werkmeister HM, Leimkohl JP, Schikora H, Ninkovic J, Krivokuca S, Andriček L, Epp SW, Sherrell D, Owen RL, Pearson AR, Tellkamp F, Schulz EC, Miller RJD. The HARE chip for efficient time-resolved serial synchrotron crystallography. JOURNAL OF SYNCHROTRON RADIATION 2020; 27:360-370. [PMID: 32153274 PMCID: PMC7064102 DOI: 10.1107/s1600577520000685] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2019] [Accepted: 01/20/2020] [Indexed: 05/02/2023]
Abstract
Serial synchrotron crystallography (SSX) is an emerging technique for static and time-resolved protein structure determination. Using specifically patterned silicon chips for sample delivery, the `hit-and-return' (HARE) protocol allows for efficient time-resolved data collection. The specific pattern of the crystal wells in the HARE chip provides direct access to many discrete time points. HARE chips allow for optical excitation as well as on-chip mixing for reaction initiation, making a large number of protein systems amenable to time-resolved studies. Loading of protein microcrystals onto the HARE chip is streamlined by a novel vacuum loading platform that allows fine-tuning of suction strength while maintaining a humid environment to prevent crystal dehydration. To enable the widespread use of time-resolved serial synchrotron crystallography (TR-SSX), detailed technical descriptions of a set of accessories that facilitate TR-SSX workflows are provided.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pedram Mehrabi
- Department for Atomically Resolved Dynamics, Max-Planck-Institute for Structure and Dynamics of Matter, Luruper Chaussee 149, 22761 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Henrike M. Müller-Werkmeister
- Department for Atomically Resolved Dynamics, Max-Planck-Institute for Structure and Dynamics of Matter, Luruper Chaussee 149, 22761 Hamburg, Germany
- Institute of Chemistry – Physical Chemistry, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse 24-25, 14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany
| | - Jan-Philipp Leimkohl
- Scientific Support Unit Machine Physics, Max-Planck-Institute for Structure and Dynamics of Matter, Luruper Chaussee 149, 22761 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Hendrik Schikora
- Scientific Support Unit Machine Physics, Max-Planck-Institute for Structure and Dynamics of Matter, Luruper Chaussee 149, 22761 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Jelena Ninkovic
- Halbleiterlabor der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Otto-Hahn-Ring 6, D-81739 Munich, Germany
| | - Silvia Krivokuca
- Halbleiterlabor der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Otto-Hahn-Ring 6, D-81739 Munich, Germany
| | - Ladislav Andriček
- Halbleiterlabor der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Otto-Hahn-Ring 6, D-81739 Munich, Germany
| | - Sascha W. Epp
- Department for Atomically Resolved Dynamics, Max-Planck-Institute for Structure and Dynamics of Matter, Luruper Chaussee 149, 22761 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Darren Sherrell
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0DE, UK
| | - Robin L. Owen
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0DE, UK
| | - Arwen R. Pearson
- Department of Physics, Universität Hamburg, Jungiusstrasse 9, 20355 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Friedjof Tellkamp
- Scientific Support Unit Machine Physics, Max-Planck-Institute for Structure and Dynamics of Matter, Luruper Chaussee 149, 22761 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Eike C. Schulz
- Department for Atomically Resolved Dynamics, Max-Planck-Institute for Structure and Dynamics of Matter, Luruper Chaussee 149, 22761 Hamburg, Germany
| | - R. J. Dwayne Miller
- Department for Atomically Resolved Dynamics, Max-Planck-Institute for Structure and Dynamics of Matter, Luruper Chaussee 149, 22761 Hamburg, Germany
- Department of Physics, Universität Hamburg, Jungiusstrasse 9, 20355 Hamburg, Germany
- Departments of Chemistry and Physics, University of Toronto, 80 St George Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3H6, Canada
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28
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Martiel I, Mozzanica A, Opara NL, Panepucci E, Leonarski F, Redford S, Mohacsi I, Guzenko V, Ozerov D, Padeste C, Schmitt B, Pedrini B, Wang M. X-ray fluorescence detection for serial macromolecular crystallography using a JUNGFRAU pixel detector. JOURNAL OF SYNCHROTRON RADIATION 2020; 27:329-339. [PMID: 32153271 PMCID: PMC7064105 DOI: 10.1107/s1600577519016758] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2019] [Accepted: 12/14/2019] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
Detection of heavy elements, such as metals, in macromolecular crystallography (MX) samples by X-ray fluorescence is a function traditionally covered at synchrotron MX beamlines by silicon drift detectors, which cannot be used at X-ray free-electron lasers because of the very short duration of the X-ray pulses. Here it is shown that the hybrid pixel charge-integrating detector JUNGFRAU can fulfill this function when operating in a low-flux regime. The feasibility of precise position determination of micrometre-sized metal marks is also demonstrated, to be used as fiducials for offline prelocation in serial crystallography experiments, based on the specific fluorescence signal measured with JUNGFRAU, both at the synchrotron and at SwissFEL. Finally, the measurement of elemental absorption edges at a synchrotron beamline using JUNGFRAU is also demonstrated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabelle Martiel
- Paul Scherrer Institute, Forschungsstrasse 111, Villigen 5232, Switzerland
| | - Aldo Mozzanica
- Paul Scherrer Institute, Forschungsstrasse 111, Villigen 5232, Switzerland
| | - Nadia L. Opara
- Paul Scherrer Institute, Forschungsstrasse 111, Villigen 5232, Switzerland
- Center for Cellular Imaging and NanoAnalytics (C-CINA), Biozentrum, University of Basel, Basel 4058, Switzerland
- SwissNanoscience Institute, University of Basel, Basel 4056, Switzerland
| | - Ezequiel Panepucci
- Paul Scherrer Institute, Forschungsstrasse 111, Villigen 5232, Switzerland
| | - Filip Leonarski
- Paul Scherrer Institute, Forschungsstrasse 111, Villigen 5232, Switzerland
| | - Sophie Redford
- Paul Scherrer Institute, Forschungsstrasse 111, Villigen 5232, Switzerland
| | - Istvan Mohacsi
- Paul Scherrer Institute, Forschungsstrasse 111, Villigen 5232, Switzerland
| | - Vitaliy Guzenko
- Paul Scherrer Institute, Forschungsstrasse 111, Villigen 5232, Switzerland
| | - Dmitry Ozerov
- Paul Scherrer Institute, Forschungsstrasse 111, Villigen 5232, Switzerland
| | - Celestino Padeste
- Paul Scherrer Institute, Forschungsstrasse 111, Villigen 5232, Switzerland
| | - Bernd Schmitt
- Paul Scherrer Institute, Forschungsstrasse 111, Villigen 5232, Switzerland
| | - Bill Pedrini
- Paul Scherrer Institute, Forschungsstrasse 111, Villigen 5232, Switzerland
| | - Meitian Wang
- Paul Scherrer Institute, Forschungsstrasse 111, Villigen 5232, Switzerland
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29
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Monteiro DCF, von Stetten D, Stohrer C, Sans M, Pearson AR, Santoni G, van der Linden P, Trebbin M. 3D-MiXD: 3D-printed X-ray-compatible microfluidic devices for rapid, low-consumption serial synchrotron crystallography data collection in flow. IUCRJ 2020; 7:207-219. [PMID: 32148849 PMCID: PMC7055382 DOI: 10.1107/s2052252519016865] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2019] [Accepted: 12/17/2019] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Serial crystallography has enabled the study of complex biological questions through the determination of biomolecular structures at room temperature using low X-ray doses. Furthermore, it has enabled the study of protein dynamics by the capture of atomically resolved and time-resolved molecular movies. However, the study of many biologically relevant targets is still severely hindered by high sample consumption and lengthy data-collection times. By combining serial synchrotron crystallography (SSX) with 3D printing, a new experimental platform has been created that tackles these challenges. An affordable 3D-printed, X-ray-compatible microfluidic device (3D-MiXD) is reported that allows data to be collected from protein microcrystals in a 3D flow with very high hit and indexing rates, while keeping the sample consumption low. The miniaturized 3D-MiXD can be rapidly installed into virtually any synchrotron beamline with only minimal adjustments. This efficient collection scheme in combination with its mixing geometry paves the way for recording molecular movies at synchrotrons by mixing-triggered millisecond time-resolved SSX.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diana C. F. Monteiro
- The Hamburg Centre for Ultrafast Imaging, Universität Hamburg, Luruper Chaussee 149, 22761 Hamburg, Germany
- Hauptman–Woodward Medical Research Institute, 700 Ellicott Street, Buffalo, NY 14203, USA
| | - David von Stetten
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Notkestrasse 85, 22607 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Claudia Stohrer
- The Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, England
| | - Marta Sans
- The Hamburg Centre for Ultrafast Imaging, Universität Hamburg, Luruper Chaussee 149, 22761 Hamburg, Germany
- Department of Physics, Universität Hamburg, Jungiusstrasse 9, 20355 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Arwen R. Pearson
- The Hamburg Centre for Ultrafast Imaging, Universität Hamburg, Luruper Chaussee 149, 22761 Hamburg, Germany
- Department of Physics, Universität Hamburg, Jungiusstrasse 9, 20355 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Gianluca Santoni
- European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, 71 Avenue des Martyrs, CS 40220, 38043 Grenoble, France
| | - Peter van der Linden
- Partnership for Soft Condensed Matter, European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, 71 Avenue des Martyrs, CS 40220, 38043 Grenoble, France
| | - Martin Trebbin
- Hauptman–Woodward Medical Research Institute, 700 Ellicott Street, Buffalo, NY 14203, USA
- Department of Chemistry, The State University of New York at Buffalo, Natural Sciences Complex 760, Buffalo, NY 14260-3000, USA
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30
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Wolff AM, Young ID, Sierra RG, Brewster AS, Martynowycz MW, Nango E, Sugahara M, Nakane T, Ito K, Aquila A, Bhowmick A, Biel JT, Carbajo S, Cohen AE, Cortez S, Gonzalez A, Hino T, Im D, Koralek JD, Kubo M, Lazarou TS, Nomura T, Owada S, Samelson AJ, Tanaka T, Tanaka R, Thompson EM, van den Bedem H, Woldeyes RA, Yumoto F, Zhao W, Tono K, Boutet S, Iwata S, Gonen T, Sauter NK, Fraser JS, Thompson MC. Comparing serial X-ray crystallography and microcrystal electron diffraction (MicroED) as methods for routine structure determination from small macromolecular crystals. IUCRJ 2020; 7:306-323. [PMID: 32148858 PMCID: PMC7055375 DOI: 10.1107/s205225252000072x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2019] [Accepted: 01/21/2020] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Innovative new crystallographic methods are facilitating structural studies from ever smaller crystals of biological macromolecules. In particular, serial X-ray crystallography and microcrystal electron diffraction (MicroED) have emerged as useful methods for obtaining structural information from crystals on the nanometre to micrometre scale. Despite the utility of these methods, their implementation can often be difficult, as they present many challenges that are not encountered in traditional macromolecular crystallography experiments. Here, XFEL serial crystallography experiments and MicroED experiments using batch-grown microcrystals of the enzyme cyclophilin A are described. The results provide a roadmap for researchers hoping to design macromolecular microcrystallography experiments, and they highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the two methods. Specifically, we focus on how the different physical conditions imposed by the sample-preparation and delivery methods required for each type of experiment affect the crystal structure of the enzyme.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander M. Wolff
- Graduate Program in Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Iris D. Young
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
- Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California, USA
| | - Raymond G. Sierra
- Linac Coherent Light Source, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, California, USA
| | - Aaron S. Brewster
- Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California, USA
| | - Michael W. Martynowycz
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
- Department of Biological Chemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Eriko Nango
- RIKEN SPring-8 Center, 1-1-1 Kouto, Sayo-cho, Sayo-gun, Hyogo 679-5148, Japan
- Department of Cell Biology, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Yoshidakonoe-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
| | - Michihiro Sugahara
- RIKEN SPring-8 Center, 1-1-1 Kouto, Sayo-cho, Sayo-gun, Hyogo 679-5148, Japan
| | - Takanori Nakane
- Department of Biological Science, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Kazutaka Ito
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
- Laboratory for Drug Discovery, Pharmaceuticals Research Center, Asahi Kasei Pharma Corporation, 632-1 Mifuku, Izunokuni-shi, Shizuoka 410-2321, Japan
| | - Andrew Aquila
- Linac Coherent Light Source, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, California, USA
| | - Asmit Bhowmick
- Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California, USA
| | - Justin T. Biel
- Graduate Program in Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Sergio Carbajo
- Linac Coherent Light Source, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, California, USA
| | - Aina E. Cohen
- SSRL, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, California, USA
| | - Saul Cortez
- Department of Biology, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Ana Gonzalez
- SSRL, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, California, USA
| | - Tomoya Hino
- Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology, Graduate School of Engineering, Tottori University, 4-101 Koyama-cho, Minami, Tottori 680-8552, Japan
- Center for Research on Green Sustainable Chemistry, Tottori University, Tottori, Japan
| | - Dohyun Im
- Department of Cell Biology, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Yoshidakonoe-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
| | - Jake D. Koralek
- Linac Coherent Light Source, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, California, USA
| | - Minoru Kubo
- RIKEN SPring-8 Center, 1-1-1 Kouto, Sayo-cho, Sayo-gun, Hyogo 679-5148, Japan
- Graduate School of Life Science, University of Hyogo, Ako-gun, Hyogo 678-1297, Japan
| | | | - Takashi Nomura
- RIKEN SPring-8 Center, 1-1-1 Kouto, Sayo-cho, Sayo-gun, Hyogo 679-5148, Japan
| | - Shigeki Owada
- RIKEN SPring-8 Center, 1-1-1 Kouto, Sayo-cho, Sayo-gun, Hyogo 679-5148, Japan
- Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute, 1-1-1 Kouto, Sayo, Hyogo 679-5198, Japan
| | - Avi J. Samelson
- Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Tomoyuki Tanaka
- RIKEN SPring-8 Center, 1-1-1 Kouto, Sayo-cho, Sayo-gun, Hyogo 679-5148, Japan
- Department of Cell Biology, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Yoshidakonoe-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
| | - Rie Tanaka
- RIKEN SPring-8 Center, 1-1-1 Kouto, Sayo-cho, Sayo-gun, Hyogo 679-5148, Japan
- Department of Cell Biology, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Yoshidakonoe-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
| | - Erin M. Thompson
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
- Graduate Program in Chemistry and Chemical Biology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Henry van den Bedem
- Bioscience Department, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, California, USA
| | - Rahel A. Woldeyes
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
- Graduate Program in Chemistry and Chemical Biology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Fumiaki Yumoto
- Structural Biology Research Center, Institute of Materials Structure Science, KEK/High Energy Accelerator Research Organization, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0034, Japan
| | - Wei Zhao
- Department of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
| | - Kensuke Tono
- RIKEN SPring-8 Center, 1-1-1 Kouto, Sayo-cho, Sayo-gun, Hyogo 679-5148, Japan
- Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute, 1-1-1 Kouto, Sayo, Hyogo 679-5198, Japan
| | - Sebastien Boutet
- Linac Coherent Light Source, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, California, USA
| | - So Iwata
- RIKEN SPring-8 Center, 1-1-1 Kouto, Sayo-cho, Sayo-gun, Hyogo 679-5148, Japan
- Department of Cell Biology, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Yoshidakonoe-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
| | - Tamir Gonen
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
- Department of Biological Chemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
- Department of Physiology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Nicholas K. Sauter
- Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California, USA
| | - James S. Fraser
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Michael C. Thompson
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
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31
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Bücker R, Hogan-Lamarre P, Mehrabi P, Schulz EC, Bultema LA, Gevorkov Y, Brehm W, Yefanov O, Oberthür D, Kassier GH, Dwayne Miller RJ. Serial protein crystallography in an electron microscope. Nat Commun 2020; 11:996. [PMID: 32081905 PMCID: PMC7035385 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-14793-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2019] [Accepted: 01/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Serial X-ray crystallography at free-electron lasers allows to solve biomolecular structures from sub-micron-sized crystals. However, beam time at these facilities is scarce, and involved sample delivery techniques are required. On the other hand, rotation electron diffraction (MicroED) has shown great potential as an alternative means for protein nano-crystallography. Here, we present a method for serial electron diffraction of protein nanocrystals combining the benefits of both approaches. In a scanning transmission electron microscope, crystals randomly dispersed on a sample grid are automatically mapped, and a diffraction pattern at fixed orientation is recorded from each at a high acquisition rate. Dose fractionation ensures minimal radiation damage effects. We demonstrate the method by solving the structure of granulovirus occlusion bodies and lysozyme to resolutions of 1.55 Å and 1.80 Å, respectively. Our method promises to provide rapid structure determination for many classes of materials with minimal sample consumption, using readily available instrumentation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert Bücker
- Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter, CFEL, Luruper Chaussee 149, 22761, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Pascal Hogan-Lamarre
- Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter, CFEL, Luruper Chaussee 149, 22761, Hamburg, Germany
- Departments of Chemistry and Physics, University of Toronto, 80 St. George Street, Toronto, ON, M5S 3H6, Canada
| | - Pedram Mehrabi
- Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter, CFEL, Luruper Chaussee 149, 22761, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Eike C Schulz
- Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter, CFEL, Luruper Chaussee 149, 22761, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Lindsey A Bultema
- Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter, CFEL, Luruper Chaussee 149, 22761, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Yaroslav Gevorkov
- Center for Free-Electron Laser Science, DESY, Notkestrasse 85, 22607, Hamburg, Germany
- Institute of Vision Systems, Hamburg University of Technology, Harburger Schlossstrasse 20, 21079, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Brehm
- Center for Free-Electron Laser Science, DESY, Notkestrasse 85, 22607, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Oleksandr Yefanov
- Center for Free-Electron Laser Science, DESY, Notkestrasse 85, 22607, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Dominik Oberthür
- Center for Free-Electron Laser Science, DESY, Notkestrasse 85, 22607, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Günther H Kassier
- Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter, CFEL, Luruper Chaussee 149, 22761, Hamburg, Germany
| | - R J Dwayne Miller
- Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter, CFEL, Luruper Chaussee 149, 22761, Hamburg, Germany.
- Departments of Chemistry and Physics, University of Toronto, 80 St. George Street, Toronto, ON, M5S 3H6, Canada.
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32
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Nam KH. Stable sample delivery in viscous media via a capillary for serial crystallography. J Appl Crystallogr 2020. [DOI: 10.1107/s1600576719014985] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Serial crystallography (SX) is an innovative technology in structural biology that enables the visualization of the molecular dynamics of macromolecules at room temperature. SX experiments always require a considerable amount of effort to deliver a crystal sample to the X-ray interaction point continuously and reliably. Here, a sample-delivery method using a capillary and a delivery medium is introduced. The crystals embedded in the delivery medium can pass through the capillary tube, which is aligned with the X-ray beam, at very low flow rates without requiring elaborate delivery techniques, drastically reducing sample consumption. In serial millisecond crystallography using a viscous medium via a capillary, crystals of lysozyme embedded in agarose, which produce an unstable injection stream at atmospheric pressure, and crystals of glucose isomerase embedded in gelatin, which is known to be problematic for open-extruder operation, were stably delivered at a flow rate of 100 nl min−1. The room-temperature crystal structures of lysozyme and glucose isomerase were successfully determined at 1.85 and 1.70 Å resolutions, respectively. This simple but highly efficient sample-delivery method can allow researchers to deliver crystals precisely to an X-ray beam in SX experiments.
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33
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Shelby ML, Gilbile D, Grant TD, Seuring C, Segelke BW, He W, Evans AC, Pakendorf T, Fischer P, Hunter MS, Batyuk A, Barthelmess M, Meents A, Coleman MA, Kuhl TL, Frank M. A fixed-target platform for serial femtosecond crystallography in a hydrated environment. IUCRJ 2020; 7:30-41. [PMID: 31949902 PMCID: PMC6949605 DOI: 10.1107/s2052252519014003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2019] [Accepted: 10/15/2019] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
For serial femtosecond crystallography at X-ray free-electron lasers, which entails collection of single-pulse diffraction patterns from a constantly refreshed supply of microcrystalline sample, delivery of the sample into the X-ray beam path while maintaining low background remains a technical challenge for some experiments, especially where this methodology is applied to relatively low-ordered samples or those difficult to purify and crystallize in large quantities. This work demonstrates a scheme to encapsulate biological samples using polymer thin films and graphene to maintain sample hydration in vacuum conditions. The encapsulated sample is delivered into the X-ray beam on fixed targets for rapid scanning using the Roadrunner fixed-target system towards a long-term goal of low-background measurements on weakly diffracting samples. As a proof of principle, we used microcrystals of the 24 kDa rapid encystment protein (REP24) to provide a benchmark for polymer/graphene sandwich performance. The REP24 microcrystal unit cell obtained from our sandwiched in-vacuum sample was consistent with previously established unit-cell parameters and with those measured by us without encapsulation in humidified helium, indicating that the platform is robust against evaporative losses. While significant scattering from water was observed because of the sample-deposition method, the polymer/graphene sandwich itself was shown to contribute minimally to background scattering.
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Affiliation(s)
- M. L. Shelby
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94550, USA
| | - D. Gilbile
- University of California at Davis, California, USA
| | - T. D. Grant
- Department of Structural Biology, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Hauptman-Woodward Institute, SUNY University at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, USA
| | - C. Seuring
- Center for Free-Electron Laser Science, Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron, Hamburg, Germany
| | - B. W. Segelke
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94550, USA
| | - W. He
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94550, USA
| | - A. C. Evans
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94550, USA
- University of California at Davis, California, USA
| | - T. Pakendorf
- Center for Free-Electron Laser Science, Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron, Hamburg, Germany
| | - P. Fischer
- Center for Free-Electron Laser Science, Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron, Hamburg, Germany
| | - M. S. Hunter
- Linac Coherent Light Source, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, California, USA
| | - A. Batyuk
- Linac Coherent Light Source, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, California, USA
| | - M. Barthelmess
- Center for Free-Electron Laser Science, Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron, Hamburg, Germany
| | - A. Meents
- Center for Free-Electron Laser Science, Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron, Hamburg, Germany
| | - M. A. Coleman
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94550, USA
- University of California at Davis, California, USA
| | - T. L. Kuhl
- University of California at Davis, California, USA
| | - M. Frank
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94550, USA
- University of California at Davis, California, USA
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34
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Cheng R, Huang C, Hennig M, Nar H, Schnapp G. In situ
crystallography as an emerging method for structure solution of membrane proteins: the case of CCR2A. FEBS J 2019; 287:866-873. [DOI: 10.1111/febs.15098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2019] [Revised: 09/10/2019] [Accepted: 10/15/2019] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Chia‐Ying Huang
- Swiss Light Source Paul Scherrer Institute Villigen Switzerland
| | | | - Herbert Nar
- Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG Biberach Germany
| | - Gisela Schnapp
- Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG Biberach Germany
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35
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Ishchenko A, Stauch B, Han GW, Batyuk A, Shiriaeva A, Li C, Zatsepin N, Weierstall U, Liu W, Nango E, Nakane T, Tanaka R, Tono K, Joti Y, Iwata S, Moraes I, Gati C, Cherezov V. Toward G protein-coupled receptor structure-based drug design using X-ray lasers. IUCRJ 2019; 6:1106-1119. [PMID: 31709066 PMCID: PMC6830214 DOI: 10.1107/s2052252519013137] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2019] [Accepted: 09/23/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Rational structure-based drug design (SBDD) relies on the availability of a large number of co-crystal structures to map the ligand-binding pocket of the target protein and use this information for lead-compound optimization via an iterative process. While SBDD has proven successful for many drug-discovery projects, its application to G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) has been limited owing to extreme difficulties with their crystallization. Here, a method is presented for the rapid determination of multiple co-crystal structures for a target GPCR in complex with various ligands, taking advantage of the serial femtosecond crystallography approach, which obviates the need for large crystals and requires only submilligram quantities of purified protein. The method was applied to the human β2-adrenergic receptor, resulting in eight room-temperature co-crystal structures with six different ligands, including previously unreported structures with carvedilol and propranolol. The generality of the proposed method was tested with three other receptors. This approach has the potential to enable SBDD for GPCRs and other difficult-to-crystallize membrane proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrii Ishchenko
- Bridge Institute, Departments of Chemistry and Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA
| | - Benjamin Stauch
- Bridge Institute, Departments of Chemistry and Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA
| | - Gye Won Han
- Bridge Institute, Departments of Chemistry and Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA
| | - Alexander Batyuk
- Linac Coherent Light Source, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA
| | - Anna Shiriaeva
- Bridge Institute, Departments of Chemistry and Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA
| | - Chufeng Li
- Department of Physics, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
| | - Nadia Zatsepin
- Department of Physics, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
- Department of Chemistry and Physics, La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria 3086, Australia
| | - Uwe Weierstall
- Department of Physics, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
| | - Wei Liu
- School of Molecular Sciences and Biodesign Center for Applied Structural Discovery, Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
| | - Eriko Nango
- RIKEN SPring-8 Center, 1-1-1 Kouto, Sayo-cho, Sayo-gun, Hyogo 679-5148, Japan
- Department of Cell Biology, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Yoshidakonoe-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
| | - Takanori Nakane
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, 2-11-16 Yayoi, Bunkyo, Tokyo 113-0032, Japan
| | - Rie Tanaka
- RIKEN SPring-8 Center, 1-1-1 Kouto, Sayo-cho, Sayo-gun, Hyogo 679-5148, Japan
- Department of Cell Biology, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Yoshidakonoe-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
| | - Kensuke Tono
- Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute, 1-1-1 Kouto, Sayo-cho, Sayo-gun, Hyogo 679-5198, Japan
| | - Yasumasa Joti
- Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute, 1-1-1 Kouto, Sayo-cho, Sayo-gun, Hyogo 679-5198, Japan
| | - So Iwata
- RIKEN SPring-8 Center, 1-1-1 Kouto, Sayo-cho, Sayo-gun, Hyogo 679-5148, Japan
- Department of Cell Biology, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Yoshidakonoe-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
| | - Isabel Moraes
- National Physical Laboratory, Hampton Road, Teddington TW11 0LW, England
- Research Complex at Harwell, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0FA, England
| | - Cornelius Gati
- Department of Structural Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
- Biosciences Division, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA
| | - Vadim Cherezov
- Bridge Institute, Departments of Chemistry and Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA
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36
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Suga M, Shimada A, Akita F, Shen JR, Tosha T, Sugimoto H. Time-resolved studies of metalloproteins using X-ray free electron laser radiation at SACLA. Biochim Biophys Acta Gen Subj 2019; 1864:129466. [PMID: 31678142 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbagen.2019.129466] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2019] [Revised: 10/02/2019] [Accepted: 10/04/2019] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The invention of the X-ray free-electron laser (XFEL) has provided unprecedented new opportunities for structural biology. The advantage of XFEL is an intense pulse of X-rays and a very short pulse duration (<10 fs) promising a damage-free and time-resolved crystallography approach. SCOPE OF REVIEW Recent time-resolved crystallographic analyses in XFEL facility SACLA are reviewed. Specifically, metalloproteins involved in the essential reactions of bioenergy conversion including photosystem II, cytochrome c oxidase and nitric oxide reductase are described. MAJOR CONCLUSIONS XFEL with pump-probe techniques successfully visualized the process of the reaction and the dynamics of a protein. Since the active center of metalloproteins is very sensitive to the X-ray radiation, damage-free structures obtained by XFEL are essential to draw mechanistic conclusions. Methods and tools for sample delivery and reaction initiation are key for successful measurement of the time-resolved data. GENERAL SIGNIFICANCE XFEL is at the center of approaches to gain insight into complex mechanism of structural dynamics and the reactions catalyzed by biological macromolecules. Further development has been carried out to expand the application of time-resolved X-ray crystallography. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled Novel measurement techniques for visualizing 'live' protein molecules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michihiro Suga
- Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University, 3-1-1 Tsushima Naka, Okayama 700-8530, Japan..
| | - Atsuhiro Shimada
- Graduate School of Applied Biological Sciences and Faculty of Applied Biological Sciences, Gifu University, 1-1 Yanagido, Gifu 501-1193, Japan..
| | - Fusamichi Akita
- Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University, 3-1-1 Tsushima Naka, Okayama 700-8530, Japan
| | - Jian-Ren Shen
- Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University, 3-1-1 Tsushima Naka, Okayama 700-8530, Japan
| | - Takehiko Tosha
- Synchrotron Radiation Life Science Instrumentation Team, RIKEN SPring-8 Center, 1-1-1 Kouto, Sayo, Hyogo 679-5148, Japan
| | - Hiroshi Sugimoto
- Synchrotron Radiation Life Science Instrumentation Team, RIKEN SPring-8 Center, 1-1-1 Kouto, Sayo, Hyogo 679-5148, Japan..
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37
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Jensen SC, Sullivan B, Hartzler DA, Pushkar Y. DIY XES - development of an inexpensive, versatile, and easy to fabricate XES analyzer and sample delivery system. X-RAY SPECTROMETRY : XRS 2019; 48:336-344. [PMID: 32606482 PMCID: PMC7326317 DOI: 10.1002/xrs.3005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2018] [Accepted: 12/18/2018] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The application of X-ray emission spectroscopy (XES) has grown substantially with the development of X-ray free electron lasers, third and fourth generation synchrotron sources and high-power benchtop sources. By providing the high X-ray flux required for XES, these sources broaden the availability and application of this method of probing electronic structure. As the number of sources increase, so does the demand for X-ray emission detection and sample delivery systems that are cost effective and customizable. Here, we present a detailed fabrication protocol for von Hamos X-ray optics and give details for a 3D-printed spectrometer design. Additionally, we outline an automated, externally triggered liquid sample delivery system that can be used to repeatedly deliver nanoliter droplets onto a plastic substrate for measurement. These systems are both low cost, efficient and easy to recreate or modify depending on the application. A low cost multiple X-ray analyzer system enables measurement of dilute samples, whereas the sample delivery limits sample loss and replaces spent sample with fresh sample in the same position. While both systems can be used in a wide range of applications, the design addresses several challenges associated specifically with time-resolved XES (TRXES). As an example application, we show results from TRXES measurements of photosystem II, a dilute, photoactive protein.
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Affiliation(s)
- Scott C Jensen
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
| | - Brendan Sullivan
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
| | - Daniel A Hartzler
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
| | - Yulia Pushkar
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
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38
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Echelmeier A, Kim D, Cruz Villarreal J, Coe J, Quintana S, Brehm G, Egatz-Gomez A, Nazari R, Sierra RG, Koglin JE, Batyuk A, Hunter MS, Boutet S, Zatsepin N, Kirian RA, Grant TD, Fromme P, Ros A. 3D printed droplet generation devices for serial femtosecond crystallography enabled by surface coating. J Appl Crystallogr 2019; 52:997-1008. [PMID: 31636518 DOI: 10.1107/s1600576719010343] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2019] [Accepted: 07/19/2019] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
The role of surface wetting properties and their impact on the performance of 3D printed microfluidic droplet generation devices for serial femtosecond crystallography (SFX) are reported. SFX is a novel crystallography method enabling structure determination of proteins at room temperature with atomic resolution using X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs). In SFX, protein crystals in their mother liquor are delivered and intersected with a pulsed X-ray beam using a liquid jet injector. Owing to the pulsed nature of the X-ray beam, liquid jets tend to waste the vast majority of injected crystals, which this work aims to overcome with the delivery of aqueous protein crystal suspension droplets segmented by an oil phase. For this purpose, 3D printed droplet generators that can be easily customized for a variety of XFEL measurements have been developed. The surface properties, in particular the wetting properties of the resist materials compatible with the employed two-photon printing technology, have so far not been characterized extensively, but are crucial for stable droplet generation. This work investigates experimentally the effectiveness and the long-term stability of three different surface treatments on photoresist films and glass as models for our 3D printed droplet generator and the fused silica capillaries employed in the other fluidic components of an SFX experiment. Finally, the droplet generation performance of an assembly consisting of the 3D printed device and fused silica capillaries is examined. Stable and reproducible droplet generation was achieved with a fluorinated surface coating which also allowed for robust downstream droplet delivery. Experimental XFEL diffraction data of crystals formed from the large membrane protein complex photosystem I demonstrate the full compatibility of the new injection method with very fragile membrane protein crystals and show that successful droplet generation of crystal-laden aqueous droplets intersected by an oil phase correlates with increased crystal hit rates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Austin Echelmeier
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA.,Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
| | - Daihyun Kim
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA.,Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
| | - Jorvani Cruz Villarreal
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA.,Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
| | - Jesse Coe
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA.,Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
| | - Sebastian Quintana
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA.,Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
| | - Gerrit Brehm
- Institute for X-ray Physics, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Ana Egatz-Gomez
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA.,Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
| | - Reza Nazari
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA.,Department of Physics, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
| | - Raymond G Sierra
- Linac Coherent Light Source, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, California 94025, USA
| | - Jason E Koglin
- Linac Coherent Light Source, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, California 94025, USA
| | - Alexander Batyuk
- Linac Coherent Light Source, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, California 94025, USA
| | - Mark S Hunter
- Linac Coherent Light Source, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, California 94025, USA
| | - Sébastien Boutet
- Linac Coherent Light Source, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, California 94025, USA
| | - Nadia Zatsepin
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA.,Department of Physics, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
| | - Richard A Kirian
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA.,Department of Physics, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
| | - Thomas D Grant
- Hauptman-Woodward Institute, Department of Structural Biology, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, SUNY University at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, USA
| | - Petra Fromme
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA.,Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
| | - Alexandra Ros
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA.,Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
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39
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Ebrahim A, Moreno-Chicano T, Appleby MV, Chaplin AK, Beale JH, Sherrell DA, Duyvesteyn HME, Owada S, Tono K, Sugimoto H, Strange RW, Worrall JAR, Axford D, Owen RL, Hough MA. Dose-resolved serial synchrotron and XFEL structures of radiation-sensitive metalloproteins. IUCRJ 2019; 6:543-551. [PMID: 31316799 PMCID: PMC6608622 DOI: 10.1107/s2052252519003956] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2019] [Accepted: 03/22/2019] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
An approach is demonstrated to obtain, in a sample- and time-efficient manner, multiple dose-resolved crystal structures from room-temperature protein microcrystals using identical fixed-target supports at both synchrotrons and X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs). This approach allows direct comparison of dose-resolved serial synchrotron and damage-free XFEL serial femtosecond crystallography structures of radiation-sensitive proteins. Specifically, serial synchrotron structures of a heme peroxidase enzyme reveal that X-ray induced changes occur at far lower doses than those at which diffraction quality is compromised (the Garman limit), consistent with previous studies on the reduction of heme proteins by low X-ray doses. In these structures, a functionally relevant bond length is shown to vary rapidly as a function of absorbed dose, with all room-temperature synchrotron structures exhibiting linear deformation of the active site compared with the XFEL structure. It is demonstrated that extrapolation of dose-dependent synchrotron structures to zero dose can closely approximate the damage-free XFEL structure. This approach is widely applicable to any protein where the crystal structure is altered by the synchrotron X-ray beam and provides a solution to the urgent requirement to determine intact structures of such proteins in a high-throughput and accessible manner.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ali Ebrahim
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ, UK
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0DE, UK
| | - Tadeo Moreno-Chicano
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ, UK
| | - Martin V. Appleby
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0DE, UK
| | - Amanda K. Chaplin
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ, UK
| | - John H. Beale
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0DE, UK
| | - Darren A. Sherrell
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0DE, UK
| | - Helen M. E. Duyvesteyn
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0DE, UK
- Division of Structural Biology (STRUBI), The Henry Wellcome Building for Genomic Medicine, University of Oxford, Roosevelt Drive, Oxford, Oxfordshire OX3 7BN, UK
| | - Shigeki Owada
- RIKEN SPring-8 Center, 1-1-1 Kouto, Sayo, Hyogo 679-5148, Japan
- Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute, 1-1-1 Kouto, Sayo, Hyogo 679-5198, Japan
| | - Kensuke Tono
- RIKEN SPring-8 Center, 1-1-1 Kouto, Sayo, Hyogo 679-5148, Japan
- Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute, 1-1-1 Kouto, Sayo, Hyogo 679-5198, Japan
| | - Hiroshi Sugimoto
- Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute, 1-1-1 Kouto, Sayo, Hyogo 679-5198, Japan
| | - Richard W. Strange
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ, UK
| | - Jonathan A. R. Worrall
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ, UK
| | - Danny Axford
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0DE, UK
| | - Robin L. Owen
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0DE, UK
| | - Michael A. Hough
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ, UK
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40
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Echelmeier A, Sonker M, Ros A. Microfluidic sample delivery for serial crystallography using XFELs. Anal Bioanal Chem 2019; 411:6535-6547. [PMID: 31250066 DOI: 10.1007/s00216-019-01977-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2019] [Revised: 05/23/2019] [Accepted: 06/12/2019] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Serial femtosecond crystallography (SFX) with X-ray free electron lasers (XFELs) is an emerging field for structural biology. One of its major impacts lies in the ability to reveal the structure of complex proteins previously inaccessible with synchrotron-based crystallography techniques and allowing time-resolved studies from femtoseconds to seconds. The nature of this serial technique requires new approaches for crystallization, data analysis, and sample delivery. With continued advancements in microfabrication techniques, various developments have been reported in the past decade for innovative and efficient microfluidic sample delivery for crystallography experiments using XFELs. This article summarizes the recent developments in microfluidic sample delivery with liquid injection and fixed-target approaches, which allow exciting new research with XFELs. Graphical abstract.
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Affiliation(s)
- Austin Echelmeier
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Box 871604, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1604, USA.,Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Box 875001, Tempe, AZ, 85287-7401, USA
| | - Mukul Sonker
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Box 871604, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1604, USA.,Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Box 875001, Tempe, AZ, 85287-7401, USA
| | - Alexandra Ros
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Box 871604, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1604, USA. .,Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Box 875001, Tempe, AZ, 85287-7401, USA.
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41
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Abstract
X-ray free-electron lasers provide femtosecond-duration pulses of hard X-rays with a peak brightness approximately one billion times greater than is available at synchrotron radiation facilities. One motivation for the development of such X-ray sources was the proposal to obtain structures of macromolecules, macromolecular complexes, and virus particles, without the need for crystallization, through diffraction measurements of single noncrystalline objects. Initial explorations of this idea and of outrunning radiation damage with femtosecond pulses led to the development of serial crystallography and the ability to obtain high-resolution structures of small crystals without the need for cryogenic cooling. This technique allows the understanding of conformational dynamics and enzymatics and the resolution of intermediate states in reactions over timescales of 100 fs to minutes. The promise of more photons per atom recorded in a diffraction pattern than electrons per atom contributing to an electron micrograph may enable diffraction measurements of single molecules, although challenges remain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Henry N. Chapman
- Center for Free-Electron Laser Science, DESY, 22607 Hamburg, Germany
- Department of Physics, University of Hamburg, 22761 Hamburg, Germany
- Centre for Ultrafast Imaging, University of Hamburg, 22761 Hamburg, Germany
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42
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Nylon mesh-based sample holder for fixed-target serial femtosecond crystallography. Sci Rep 2019; 9:6971. [PMID: 31061502 PMCID: PMC6502819 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-43485-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2018] [Accepted: 04/25/2019] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Fixed-target serial femtosecond crystallography (FT-SFX) was an important advance in crystallography by dramatically reducing sample consumption, while maintaining the benefits of SFX for obtaining crystal structures at room temperature without radiation damage. Despite a number of advantages, preparation of a sample holder for the sample delivery in FT-SFX with the use of many crystals in a single mount at ambient temperature is challenging as it can be complicated and costly, and thus, development of an efficient sample holder is essential. In this study, we introduced a nylon mesh-based sample holder enclosed by a polyimide film. This sample holder can be rapidly manufactured using a commercially available nylon mesh with pores of a desired size at a low cost without challenging technology. Furthermore, this simple device is highly efficient in data acquisition. We performed FT-SFX using a nylon mesh-based sample holder and collected over 130,000 images on a single sample holder using a 30 Hz X-ray pulse for 1.2 h. We determined the crystal structures of lysozyme and glucose isomerase using the nylon mesh at 1.65 and 1.75 Å, respectively. The nylon mesh exposed to X-rays produced very low levels of background scattering at 3.75 and 4.30 Å, which are negligible for data analysis. Our method provides a simple and rapid but highly efficient way to deliver samples for FT-SFX.
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43
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The crystal structure of dGTPase reveals the molecular basis of dGTP selectivity. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2019; 116:9333-9339. [PMID: 31019074 PMCID: PMC6511015 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1814999116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
While cellular dNTPases display broad activity toward dNTPs (e.g., SAMHD1), Escherichia coli (Ec)-dGTPase is the only known enzyme that specifically hydrolyzes dGTP. Here, we present methods for highly efficient, fixed-target X-ray free-electron laser data collection, which is broadly applicable to multiple crystal systems including RNA polymerase II complexes, and the free Ec-dGTPase enzyme. Structures of free and bound Ec-dGTPase shed light on the mechanisms of dGTP selectivity, highlighted by a dynamic active site where conformational changes are coupled to dGTP binding. Moreover, despite no sequence homology between Ec-dGTPase and SAMHD1, both enzymes share similar active-site architectures; however, dGTPase residues at the end of the substrate-binding pocket provide dGTP specificity, while a 7-Å cleft separates SAMHD1 residues from dNTP. Deoxynucleotide triphosphohydrolases (dNTPases) play a critical role in cellular survival and DNA replication through the proper maintenance of cellular dNTP pools. While the vast majority of these enzymes display broad activity toward canonical dNTPs, such as the dNTPase SAMHD1 that blocks reverse transcription of retroviruses in macrophages by maintaining dNTP pools at low levels, Escherichia coli (Ec)-dGTPase is the only known enzyme that specifically hydrolyzes dGTP. However, the mechanism behind dGTP selectivity is unclear. Here we present the free-, ligand (dGTP)- and inhibitor (GTP)-bound structures of hexameric Ec-dGTPase, including an X-ray free-electron laser structure of the free Ec-dGTPase enzyme to 3.2 Å. To obtain this structure, we developed a method that applied UV-fluorescence microscopy, video analysis, and highly automated goniometer-based instrumentation to map and rapidly position individual crystals randomly located on fixed target holders, resulting in the highest indexing rates observed for a serial femtosecond crystallography experiment. Our structures show a highly dynamic active site where conformational changes are coupled to substrate (dGTP), but not inhibitor binding, since GTP locks dGTPase in its apo- form. Moreover, despite no sequence homology, Ec-dGTPase and SAMHD1 share similar active-site and HD motif architectures; however, Ec-dGTPase residues at the end of the substrate-binding pocket mimic Watson–Crick interactions providing guanine base specificity, while a 7-Å cleft separates SAMHD1 residues from dNTP bases, abolishing nucleotide-type discrimination. Furthermore, the structures shed light on the mechanism by which long distance binding (25 Å) of single-stranded DNA in an allosteric site primes the active site by conformationally “opening” a tyrosine gate allowing enhanced substrate binding.
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44
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Abstract
A review that summarizes the most recent technological developments in the field of ultrafast structural dynamics with focus on the use of ultrashort X-ray and electron pulses follows. Atomistic views of chemical processes and phase transformations have long been the exclusive domain of computer simulators. The advent of femtosecond (fs) hard X-ray and fs-electron diffraction techniques made it possible to bring such a level of scrutiny to the experimental area. The following review article provides a summary of the main ultrafast techniques that enabled the generation of atomically resolved movies utilizing ultrashort X-ray and electron pulses. Recent advances are discussed with emphasis on synchrotron-based methods, tabletop fs-X-ray plasma sources, ultrabright fs-electron diffractometers, and timing techniques developed to further improve the temporal resolution and fully exploit the use of intense and ultrashort X-ray free electron laser (XFEL) pulses.
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45
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Nam KH. Sample Delivery Media for Serial Crystallography. Int J Mol Sci 2019; 20:ijms20051094. [PMID: 30836596 PMCID: PMC6429298 DOI: 10.3390/ijms20051094] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2019] [Revised: 02/27/2019] [Accepted: 02/27/2019] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
X-ray crystallographic methods can be used to visualize macromolecules at high resolution. This provides an understanding of molecular mechanisms and an insight into drug development and rational engineering of enzymes used in the industry. Although conventional synchrotron-based X-ray crystallography remains a powerful tool for understanding molecular function, it has experimental limitations, including radiation damage, cryogenic temperature, and static structural information. Serial femtosecond crystallography (SFX) using X-ray free electron laser (XFEL) and serial millisecond crystallography (SMX) using synchrotron X-ray have recently gained attention as research methods for visualizing macromolecules at room temperature without causing or reducing radiation damage, respectively. These techniques provide more biologically relevant structures than traditional X-ray crystallography at cryogenic temperatures using a single crystal. Serial femtosecond crystallography techniques visualize the dynamics of macromolecules through time-resolved experiments. In serial crystallography (SX), one of the most important aspects is the delivery of crystal samples efficiently, reliably, and continuously to an X-ray interaction point. A viscous delivery medium, such as a carrier matrix, dramatically reduces sample consumption, contributing to the success of SX experiments. This review discusses the preparation and criteria for the selection and development of a sample delivery medium and its application for SX.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ki Hyun Nam
- Division of Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Korea University, Seoul 02841, Korea.
- Institute of Life Science and Natural Resources, Korea University, Seoul 02841, Korea.
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46
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Monteiro DCF, Vakili M, Harich J, Sztucki M, Meier SM, Horrell S, Josts I, Trebbin M. A microfluidic flow-focusing device for low sample consumption serial synchrotron crystallography experiments in liquid flow. JOURNAL OF SYNCHROTRON RADIATION 2019; 26:406-412. [PMID: 30855249 DOI: 10.1107/s1600577519000304] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2018] [Accepted: 01/07/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Serial synchrotron crystallography allows low X-ray dose, room-temperature crystal structures of proteins to be determined from a population of microcrystals. Protein production and crystallization is a non-trivial procedure and it is essential to have X-ray-compatible sample environments that keep sample consumption low and the crystals in their native environment. This article presents a fast and optimized manufacturing route to metal-polyimide microfluidic flow-focusing devices which allow for the collection of X-ray diffraction data in flow. The flow-focusing conditions allow for sample consumption to be significantly decreased, while also opening up the possibility of more complex experiments such as rapid mixing for time-resolved serial crystallography. This high-repetition-rate experiment allows for full datasets to be obtained quickly (∼1 h) from crystal slurries in liquid flow. The X-ray compatible microfluidic chips are easily manufacturable, reliable and durable and require sample-flow rates on the order of only 30 µl h-1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diana C F Monteiro
- The Hamburg Centre for Ultrafast Imaging, Universität Hamburg, Luruper Chaussee 149, Hamburg 22761, Germany
| | - Mohammad Vakili
- The Hamburg Centre for Ultrafast Imaging, Universität Hamburg, Luruper Chaussee 149, Hamburg 22761, Germany
| | - Jessica Harich
- The Hamburg Centre for Ultrafast Imaging, Universität Hamburg, Luruper Chaussee 149, Hamburg 22761, Germany
| | - Michael Sztucki
- ESRF, European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, 71 Avenue des Martyrs, Grenoble CS 40220, France
| | - Susanne M Meier
- The Hamburg Centre for Ultrafast Imaging, Universität Hamburg, Luruper Chaussee 149, Hamburg 22761, Germany
| | - Sam Horrell
- The Hamburg Centre for Ultrafast Imaging, Universität Hamburg, Luruper Chaussee 149, Hamburg 22761, Germany
| | - Inokentijs Josts
- The Hamburg Centre for Ultrafast Imaging, Universität Hamburg, Luruper Chaussee 149, Hamburg 22761, Germany
| | - Martin Trebbin
- The Hamburg Centre for Ultrafast Imaging, Universität Hamburg, Luruper Chaussee 149, Hamburg 22761, Germany
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47
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Wierman JL, Paré-Labrosse O, Sarracini A, Besaw JE, Cook MJ, Oghbaey S, Daoud H, Mehrabi P, Kriksunov I, Kuo A, Schuller DJ, Smith S, Ernst OP, Szebenyi DME, Gruner SM, Miller RJD, Finke AD. Fixed-target serial oscillation crystallography at room temperature. IUCRJ 2019; 6:305-316. [PMID: 30867928 PMCID: PMC6400179 DOI: 10.1107/s2052252519001453] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2018] [Accepted: 01/25/2019] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
A fixed-target approach to high-throughput room-temperature serial synchrotron crystallography with oscillation is described. Patterned silicon chips with microwells provide high crystal-loading density with an extremely high hit rate. The microfocus, undulator-fed beamline at CHESS, which has compound refractive optics and a fast-framing detector, was built and optimized for this experiment. The high-throughput oscillation method described here collects 1-5° of data per crystal at room temperature with fast (10° s-1) oscillation rates and translation times, giving a crystal-data collection rate of 2.5 Hz. Partial datasets collected by the oscillation method at a storage-ring source provide more complete data per crystal than still images, dramatically lowering the total number of crystals needed for a complete dataset suitable for structure solution and refinement - up to two orders of magnitude fewer being required. Thus, this method is particularly well suited to instances where crystal quantities are low. It is demonstrated, through comparison of first and last oscillation images of two systems, that dose and the effects of radiation damage can be minimized through fast rotation and low angular sweeps for each crystal.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Olivier Paré-Labrosse
- Departments of Chemistry and Physics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON Canada
- Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Antoine Sarracini
- Departments of Chemistry and Physics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON Canada
| | - Jessica E. Besaw
- Departments of Chemistry and Physics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON Canada
| | | | - Saeed Oghbaey
- Departments of Chemistry and Physics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON Canada
| | - Hazem Daoud
- Departments of Chemistry and Physics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON Canada
| | - Pedram Mehrabi
- Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter, Hamburg, Germany
| | | | - Anling Kuo
- Departments of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | | | - Scott Smith
- MacCHESS, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Oliver P. Ernst
- Departments of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | | | - Sol M. Gruner
- MacCHESS, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
- Department of Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
- Kavli Institute for Nanoscale Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - R. J. Dwayne Miller
- Departments of Chemistry and Physics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON Canada
- Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter, Hamburg, Germany
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48
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Martiel I, Müller-Werkmeister HM, Cohen AE. Strategies for sample delivery for femtosecond crystallography. Acta Crystallogr D Struct Biol 2019; 75:160-177. [PMID: 30821705 PMCID: PMC6400256 DOI: 10.1107/s2059798318017953] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2018] [Accepted: 12/19/2018] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Highly efficient data-collection methods are required for successful macromolecular crystallography (MX) experiments at X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs). XFEL beamtime is scarce, and the high peak brightness of each XFEL pulse destroys the exposed crystal volume. It is therefore necessary to combine diffraction images from a large number of crystals (hundreds to hundreds of thousands) to obtain a final data set, bringing about sample-refreshment challenges that have previously been unknown to the MX synchrotron community. In view of this experimental complexity, a number of sample delivery methods have emerged, each with specific requirements, drawbacks and advantages. To provide useful selection criteria for future experiments, this review summarizes the currently available sample delivery methods, emphasising the basic principles and the specific sample requirements. Two main approaches to sample delivery are first covered: (i) injector methods with liquid or viscous media and (ii) fixed-target methods using large crystals or using microcrystals inside multi-crystal holders or chips. Additionally, hybrid methods such as acoustic droplet ejection and crystal extraction are covered, which combine the advantages of both fixed-target and injector approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabelle Martiel
- Swiss Light Source, Paul Scherrer Institute, 5232 Villigen, Switzerland
| | - Henrike M. Müller-Werkmeister
- Institute of Chemistry – Physical Chemistry, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse 24-25, 14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany
| | - Aina E. Cohen
- Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource, 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA
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49
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Ebrahim A, Appleby MV, Axford D, Beale J, Moreno-Chicano T, Sherrell DA, Strange RW, Hough MA, Owen RL. Resolving polymorphs and radiation-driven effects in microcrystals using fixed-target serial synchrotron crystallography. Acta Crystallogr D Struct Biol 2019; 75:151-159. [PMID: 30821704 PMCID: PMC6400251 DOI: 10.1107/s2059798318010240] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2018] [Accepted: 07/16/2018] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
The ability to determine high-quality, artefact-free structures is a challenge in micro-crystallography, and the rapid onset of radiation damage and requirement for a high-brilliance X-ray beam mean that a multi-crystal approach is essential. However, the combination of crystal-to-crystal variation and X-ray-induced changes can make the formation of a final complete data set challenging; this is particularly true in the case of metalloproteins, where X-ray-induced changes occur rapidly and at the active site. An approach is described that allows the resolution, separation and structure determination of crystal polymorphs, and the tracking of radiation damage in microcrystals. Within the microcrystal population of copper nitrite reductase, two polymorphs with different unit-cell sizes were successfully separated to determine two independent structures, and an X-ray-driven change between these polymorphs was followed. This was achieved through the determination of multiple serial structures from microcrystals using a high-throughput high-speed fixed-target approach coupled with robust data processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ali Ebrahim
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ, England
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0DE, England
| | - Martin V. Appleby
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0DE, England
| | - Danny Axford
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0DE, England
| | - John Beale
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0DE, England
| | - Tadeo Moreno-Chicano
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ, England
| | - Darren A. Sherrell
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0DE, England
| | - Richard W. Strange
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ, England
| | - Michael A. Hough
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ, England
| | - Robin L. Owen
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0DE, England
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50
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Grünbein ML, Nass Kovacs G. Sample delivery for serial crystallography at free-electron lasers and synchrotrons. Acta Crystallogr D Struct Biol 2019; 75:178-191. [PMID: 30821706 PMCID: PMC6400261 DOI: 10.1107/s205979831801567x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2018] [Accepted: 11/05/2018] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The high peak brilliance and femtosecond pulse duration of X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs) provide new scientific opportunities for experiments in physics, chemistry and biology. In structural biology, one of the major applications is serial femtosecond crystallography. The intense XFEL pulse results in the destruction of any exposed microcrystal, making serial data collection mandatory. This requires a high-throughput serial approach to sample delivery. To this end, a number of such sample-delivery techniques have been developed, some of which have been ported to synchrotron sources, where they allow convenient low-dose data collection at room temperature. Here, the current sample-delivery techniques used at XFEL and synchrotron sources are reviewed, with an emphasis on liquid injection and high-viscosity extrusion, including their application for time-resolved experiments. The challenges associated with sample delivery at megahertz repetition-rate XFELs are also outlined.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie Luise Grünbein
- Department of Biomolecular Mechanisms, Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Jahnstrasse 29, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Gabriela Nass Kovacs
- Department of Biomolecular Mechanisms, Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Jahnstrasse 29, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
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