Multifarious injection chamber for molecular structure study (MICOSS) system: development and application for serial femtosecond crystallography at Pohang Accelerator Laboratory X-ray Free-Electron Laser

Optical control of ultrafast structural dynamics in a fluorescent protein

The photoisomerization reaction of a fluorescent protein chromophore occurs on the ultrafast timescale. The structural dynamics that result from femtosecond optical excitation have contributions from vibrational and electronic processes and from reaction dynamics that involve the crossing through a conical intersection. The creation and progression of the ultrafast structural dynamics strongly depends on optical and molecular parameters. When using X-ray crystallography as a probe of ultrafast dynamics, the origin of the observed nuclear motions is not known. Now, high-resolution pump-probe X-ray crystallography reveals complex sub-ångström, ultrafast motions and hydrogen-bonding rearrangements in the active site of a fluorescent protein. However, we demonstrate that the measured motions are not part of the photoisomerization reaction but instead arise from impulsively driven coherent vibrational processes in the electronic ground state. A coherent-control experiment using a two-colour and two-pulse optical excitation strongly amplifies the X-ray crystallographic difference density, while it fully depletes the photoisomerization process. A coherent control mechanism was tested and confirmed the wave packets assignment.

Preliminary XFEL data from spontaneously grown endo-1,4-β-xylanase crystals from Hypocrea virens

The enzymatic degradation of semi-cellulosic substrates has recently received immense attention. The enzyme endo-1,4-β-xylanase is essential for the complete digestion of complex and heterogeneous hemicellulose. Here, the purification, crystallization and preliminary X-ray free-electron laser (XFEL) diffraction analysis of endo-1,4-β-xylanase from the fungus Hypocrea virens (HviGH11) are reported. Codon-optimized HviGH11 was overexpressed in Escherichia coli and spontaneously crystallized after His-tag purification and concentration. Preliminary XFEL diffraction data were collected at the Pohang Accelerator Laboratory XFEL (PAL-XFEL). A total of 1021 images containing Bragg peaks were obtained and indexed. The HviGH11 crystals belonged to the orthorhombic space group P212121, with unit-cell parameters a = 43.80, b = 51.90, c = 94.90 Å. Using 956 diffraction patterns, the phasing problem was solved and an initial model structure of HviGH11 was obtained.

Recent Progress of the PAL-XFEL

The X-ray free-electron laser of the Pohang Accelerator Laboratory (PAL-XFEL) was opened to users in 2017. Since then, significant progress has been made in PAL-XFEL operation and beamline experiments. This includes increasing the FEL pulse energy, increasing the FEL photon energy, generating self-seeding FEL, and trials of two-color operation. In the beamline, new instruments or endstations have been added or are being prepared. Overall, beamline operation has been stabilized since its initiation, which has enabled excellent scientific results through efficient user experiments. In this paper, we describe details of the recent progress of the PAL-XFEL.

Application of a high-throughput microcrystal delivery system to serial femtosecond crystallography

Microcrystal delivery methods are pivotal in the use of serial femtosecond crystallography (SFX) to resolve the macromolecular structures of proteins. Here, the development of a novel technique and instruments for efficiently delivering microcrystals for SFX are presented. The new method, which relies on a one-dimensional fixed-target system that includes a microcrystal container, consumes an extremely low amount of sample compared with conventional two-dimensional fixed-target techniques at ambient temperature. This novel system can deliver soluble microcrystals without highly viscous carrier media and, moreover, can be used as a microcrystal growth device for SFX. Diffraction data collection utilizing this advanced technique along with a real-time visual servo scan system has been successfully demonstrated for the structure determination of proteinase K microcrystals at 1.85 Å resolution.

A host dTMP-bound structure of T4 phage dCMP hydroxymethylase mutant using an X-ray free electron laser

The hydroxymethylation of cytosine bases plays a vital role in the phage DNA protection system inside the host Escherichia coli. This modification is known to be catalyzed by the dCMP hydroxymethylase from bacteriophage T4 (T4dCH); structural information on the complexes with the substrate, dCMP and the co-factor, tetrahydrofolate is currently available. However, the detailed mechanism has not been understood clearly owing to a lack of structure in the complex with a reaction intermediate. We have applied the X-ray free electron laser (XFEL) technique to determine a high-resolution structure of a T4dCH D179N active site mutant. The XFEL structure was determined at room temperature and exhibited several unique features in comparison with previously determined structures. Unexpectedly, we observed a bulky electron density at the active site of the mutant that originated from the physiological host (i.e., E. coli). Mass-spectrometric analysis and a cautious interpretation of an electron density map indicated that it was a dTMP molecule. The bound dTMP mimicked the methylene intermediate from dCMP to 5′-hydroxymethy-dCMP, and a critical water molecule for the final hydroxylation was convincingly identified. Therefore, this study provides information that contributes to the understanding of hydroxymethylation.

An outlook on using serial femtosecond crystallography in drug discovery

Introduction: X-ray crystallography has made important contributions to modern drug development but its application to many important drug targets has been extremely challenging. The recent emergence of X-ray free electron lasers (XFELs) and advancements in serial femtosecond crystallography (SFX) have offered new opportunities to overcome limitations of traditional crystallography to accelerate the structure-based drug discovery (SBDD) process. Areas covered: In this review, the authors describe the general principles of X-ray generation and the main properties of XFEL beams, outline details of SFX data collection and processing, and summarize the progress in the development of associated instrumentation for sample delivery and X-ray detection. An overview of the SFX applications to various important drug targets such as membrane proteins is also provided. Expert opinion: While SFX has already made clear advancements toward the understanding of the structure and dynamics of several major drug targets, its robust application in SBDD still needs further developments of new high-throughput techniques for sample production, automation of crystal delivery and data collection, as well as for processing and storage of large amounts of data. The expansion of the available XFEL beamtime is a key to the success of SFX in SBDD.

Laser systems for time-resolved experiments at the Pohang Accelerator Laboratory X-ray Free-Electron Laser beamlines

Optical laser systems for ultrafast X-ray sciences have been established at the Pohang Accelerator Laboratory X-ray Free-Electron Laser (PAL-XFEL) beamlines. Three Ti:sapphire regenerative amplifier systems are synchronized to the XFEL with femtosecond precision, and the low temporal jitter of the PAL-XFEL results in an experimental time resolution below 150 fs (full width at half-maximum). A fundamental wave and its harmonics are currently provided for all beamlines, and tunable sources from ultraviolet to near-infrared are available for one beamline. The position stability of the optical laser extracted from the intensity-based center of mass at the sample position is less than 3% (r.m.s.) of the spot size.

Non-Cryogenic Structure and Dynamics of HIV-1 Integrase Catalytic Core Domain by X-ray Free-Electron Lasers

HIV-1 integrase (HIV-1 IN) is an enzyme produced by the HIV-1 virus that integrates genetic material of the virus into the DNA of infected human cells. HIV-1 IN acts as a key component of the Retroviral Pre-Integration Complex (PIC). Protein dynamics could play an important role during the catalysis of HIV-1 IN; however, this process has not yet been fully elucidated. X-ray free electron laser (XFEL) together with nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) could provide information regarding the dynamics during this catalysis reaction. Here, we report the non-cryogenic crystal structure of HIV-1 IN catalytic core domain at 2.5 Å using microcrystals in XFELs. Compared to the cryogenic structure at 2.1 Å using conventional synchrotron crystallography, there was a good agreement between the two structures, except for a catalytic triad formed by Asp64, Asp116, and Glu152 (DDE) and the lens epithelium-derived growth factor binding sites. The helix III region of the 140-153 residues near the active site and the DDE triad show a higher dynamic profile in the non-cryogenic structure, which is comparable to dynamics data obtained from NMR spectroscopy in solution state.

Polyacrylamide injection matrix for serial femtosecond crystallography

Serial femtosecond crystallography (SFX) provides opportunities to observe the dynamics of macromolecules without causing radiation damage at room temperature. Although SFX provides a biologically more reliable crystal structure than provided by the existing synchrotron sources, there are limitations due to the consumption of many crystal samples. A viscous medium as a carrier matrix reduces the flow rate of the crystal sample from the injector, thereby dramatically reducing sample consumption. However, the currently available media cannot be applied to specific crystal samples owing to reactions between the viscous medium and crystal sample. The discovery and characterisation of a new delivery medium for SFX can further expand its use. Herein, we report the preparation of a polyacrylamide (PAM) injection matrix to determine the crystal structure with an X-ray free-electron laser. We obtained 11,936 and 22,213 indexed images using 0.5 mg lysozyme and 1.0 mg thermolysin, respectively. We determined the crystal structures of lysozyme and thermolysin delivered in PAM at 1.7 Å and 1.8 Å resolutions. The maximum background scattering from PAM was lower than monoolein, a commonly used viscous medium. Our results show that PAM can be used as a sample delivery media in SFX studies.

Strategies for sample delivery for femtosecond crystallography

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.