scholarly journals X-ray and UV radiation-damage-induced phasing using synchrotron serial crystallography

2018 ◽  
Vol 74 (4) ◽  
pp. 366-378 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas Foos ◽  
Carolin Seuring ◽  
Robin Schubert ◽  
Anja Burkhardt ◽  
Olof Svensson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Success Rate ◽  
Radiation Damage ◽  
Uv Radiation ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Individual Data ◽  
High Quality ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Serial Crystallography

Specific radiation damage can be used to determine phasesde novofrom macromolecular crystals. This method is known as radiation-damage-induced phasing (RIP). One limitation of the method is that the dose of individual data sets must be minimized, which in turn leads to data sets with low multiplicity. A solution to this problem is to use data from multiple crystals. However, the resulting signal can be degraded by a lack of isomorphism between crystals. Here, it is shown that serial synchrotron crystallography in combination with selective merging of data sets can be used to determine high-quality phases for insulin and thaumatin, and that the increased multiplicity can greatly enhance the success rate of the experiment.

scholarly journals Structural knowledge or X-ray damage? A case study on xylose isomerase illustrating both

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 931-944 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helena Taberman ◽  
Charles S. Bury ◽  
Mark J. van der Woerd ◽  
Edward H. Snell ◽  
Elspeth F. Garman
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Mechanism ◽  
Radiation Damage ◽  
Xylose Isomerase ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
High Resolution Data ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Metal Cofactor ◽  
Acid Environment ◽  
Radiation Induced ◽  
Catalytic Metal

Xylose isomerase (XI) is an industrially important metalloprotein studied for decades. Its reaction mechanism has been postulated to involve movement of the catalytic metal cofactor to several different conformations. Here, a dose-dependent approach was used to investigate the radiation damage effects on XI and their potential influence on the reaction mechanism interpreted from the X-ray derived structures. Radiation damage is still one of the major challenges for X-ray diffraction experiments and causes both global and site-specific damage. In this study, consecutive high-resolution data sets from a single XI crystal from the same wedge were collected at 100 K and the progression of radiation damage was tracked over increasing dose (0.13–3.88 MGy). The catalytic metal and its surrounding amino acid environment experience a build-up of free radicals, and the results show radiation-damage-induced structural perturbations ranging from an absolute metal positional shift to specific residue motions in the active site. The apparent metal movement is an artefact of global damage and the resulting unit-cell expansion, but residue motion appears to be driven by the dose. Understanding and identifying radiation-induced damage is an important factor in accurately interpreting the biological conclusions being drawn.

scholarly journals Approach of Serial Crystallography

Crystals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 854
Author(s):  
Ki Hyun Nam
Keyword(s):  
Radiation Damage ◽  
Room Temperature ◽  
Time Resolved ◽  
X Ray ◽  
X Ray Crystallography ◽  
The Past ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Experimental Limitation ◽  
Serial Crystallography ◽  
Collection Strategies

Radiation damage and cryogenic sample environment are an experimental limitation observed in the traditional X-ray crystallography technique. However, the serial crystallography (SX) technique not only helps to determine structures at room temperature with minimal radiation damage, but it is also a useful tool for profound understanding of macromolecules. Moreover, it is a new tool for time-resolved studies. Over the past 10 years, various sample delivery techniques and data collection strategies have been developed in the SX field. It also has a wide range of applications in instruments ranging from the X-ray free electron laser (XFEL) facility to synchrotrons. The importance of the various approaches in terms of the experimental techniques and a brief review of the research carried out in the field of SX has been highlighted in this editorial.

Error-estimation-guided rebuilding ofde novomodels increases the success rate ofab initiophasing

2012 ◽  
Vol 68 (11) ◽  
pp. 1522-1534 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rojan Shrestha ◽  
David Simoncini ◽  
Kam Y. J. Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Protein Structure ◽  
Ab Initio ◽  
Diffraction Data ◽  
Structure Prediction ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Coarse Grained ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Molecular Replacement ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Protein Targets

Recent advancements in computational methods for protein-structure prediction have made it possible to generate the high-qualityde novomodels required forab initiophasing of crystallographic diffraction data using molecular replacement. Despite those encouraging achievements inab initiophasing usingde novomodels, its success is limited only to those targets for which high-qualityde novomodels can be generated. In order to increase the scope of targets to whichab initiophasing withde novomodels can be successfully applied, it is necessary to reduce the errors in thede novomodels that are used as templates for molecular replacement. Here, an approach is introduced that can identify and rebuild the residues with larger errors, which subsequently reduces the overall Cαroot-mean-square deviation (CA-RMSD) from the native protein structure. The error in a predicted model is estimated from the average pairwise geometric distance per residue computed among selected lowest energy coarse-grained models. This score is subsequently employed to guide a rebuilding process that focuses on more error-prone residues in the coarse-grained models. This rebuilding methodology has been tested on ten protein targets that were unsuccessful using previous methods. The average CA-RMSD of the coarse-grained models was improved from 4.93 to 4.06 Å. For those models with CA-RMSD less than 3.0 Å, the average CA-RMSD was improved from 3.38 to 2.60 Å. These rebuilt coarse-grained models were then converted into all-atom models and refined to produce improvedde novomodels for molecular replacement. Seven diffraction data sets were successfully phased using rebuiltde novomodels, indicating the improved quality of these rebuiltde novomodels and the effectiveness of the rebuilding process. Software implementing this method, calledMORPHEUS, can be downloaded from http://www.riken.jp/zhangiru/software.html.

scholarly journals Titration of ionizable groups in proteins using multiple neutron data sets from a single crystal: application to the small GTPase Ras

2019 ◽  
Vol 75 (2) ◽  
pp. 111-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan Knihtila ◽  
Alicia Y. Volmar ◽  
Flora Meilleur ◽  
Carla Mattos
Keyword(s):  
Single Crystal ◽  
Radiation Damage ◽  
Communication Networks ◽  
Active Site ◽  
Small Gtpase ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Neutron Data ◽  
Major Drawback ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Ionizable Groups

Neutron protein crystallography (NPC) reveals the three-dimensional structures of proteins, including the positions of H atoms. The technique is particularly suited to elucidate ambiguous catalytic steps in complex biochemical reactions. While NPC uniquely complements biochemical assays and X-ray structural analyses by revealing the protonation states of ionizable groups at and around the active site of enzymes, the technique suffers from a major drawback: large single crystals must be grown to compensate for the relatively low flux of neutron beams. However, in addition to revealing the positions of hydrogens involved in enzyme catalysis, NPC has the advantage over X-ray crystallography that the crystals do not suffer radiation damage. The lack of radiation damage can be exploited to conduct in crystallo parametric studies. Here, the use of a single crystal of the small GTPase Ras to collect three neutron data sets at pD 8.4, 9.0 and 9.4 is reported, enabling an in crystallo titration study using NPC. In addition to revealing the behavior of titratable groups in the active site, the data sets will allow the analysis of allosteric water-mediated communication networks across the molecule, particularly regarding Cys118 and three tyrosine residues central to these networks, Tyr32, Tyr96 and Tyr137, with pK a values expected to be in the range sampled in our experiments.

scholarly journals Advancing Native-SAD Phasing at Synchrotron with 13 Real-life Case Studies

2014 ◽  
Vol 70 (a1) ◽  
pp. C601-C601
Author(s):  
Meitian Wang
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Single Crystal ◽  
Measurement Errors ◽  
Model Building ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Sad Phasing

The key step in elucidating de novo 3D X-ray structures relies on the incorporation of heavy elements into proteins or crystals. Selenomethionine incorporation or heavy metal derivatization are however not always possible and require additional efforts. Exploiting anomalous signals from intrinsically present elements like S, P, and Ca2+ from proteins and nucleic acids, as well as Cl-, SO42-, and PO42- from crystallization solutions, is therefore an appealing alternative. Such a method has been shown to be valid by collecting data from several crystals and combining them(1). Recent developments at macromolecular crystallography beamlines are however pushing the limits of what could be obtained out of a single crystal. Here we introduce a novel data collection routine for native-SAD phasing, which distributes tolerable X-ray life-doses to very high multiplicity X-ray diffraction data sets measured at 6 keV energy and at different crystal orientations on a single crystal. This allows the extraction of weak anomalous signals reliably by reducing both systematic and random measurement errors. The data collection method has been applied successfully to thirteen real-life examples including membrane proteins, a protein/DNA complex, and a large protein complex. In addition to de novo structure determination, we advocate such a data collection protocol for molecular replacement solvable structures where unbiased phase information is crucial in objective map interpretation and model building, especially for medium and low-resolution cases.

scholarly journals New opportunities in structural biology with XFEL: from sources to structures

2014 ◽  
Vol 70 (a1) ◽  
pp. C19-C19
Author(s):  
Soichi Wakatsuki
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Radiation Damage ◽  
Structural Biology ◽  
Single Particle ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Reconstruction Algorithm ◽  
Simultaneous Recording ◽  
Atomic Resolution ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Biology Research

X-ray free electron lasers (XFEL) have shown the promise of providing new opportunities in structural biology research with their extremely high peak brilliance and short pulses. It is reaching the stage where biologically important questions can be tackled using XFEL based on the "diffract-before-destroy" concept. The first part of this presentation will focus on macromolecular crystallography using XFEL with results obtained at LCLS so far and future scope. R&D efforts being pursued at SLAC/LCLS include new beam modes, (two-color beam for de novo phasing, wider bandwidth for SAXS/WAXS and spectroscopy), beam multiplexing, a dedicated new station for in-air data collection, next generation detectors, data analysis incorporating pulse-by-pulse spectrometer measurements and post refinement. These projects are being pursued in collaboration with many groups locally and globally with a goal to provide integrated facilities for cutting edge structural biology research. For example, two-color self-seeded XFEL mode is being developed for simultaneous recording of diffraction data at two energies in order to optimize the dispersive difference between the two wavelengths for phasing. Another area of collaborative effort is a development of dedicated station for in-air data collection with a variety of sample delivery schemes. The second part will discuss a possible roadmap towards atomic resolution single particle imaging using XFEL. Here, key questions are ·Can XFEL single particle 3D structural analysis at atomic resolution be done? ·What is the pulse characteristics required? ·Can we overcome the radiation damage at soft X-ray regime? ·What is the highest resolution attainable in comparison with cryoEM? A workshop at LCLS is being organized to discuss these questions in 4 areas: radiation damage, image reconstruction algorithm, beam modes and instrumentation, sample delivery and heterogeneity. The outcome of the workshop and follow-up discussions will be presented.

scholarly journals Low Multiplicity Sulfur SAD Phasing in the Home lab

2014 ◽  
Vol 70 (a1) ◽  
pp. C607-C607 ◽  
Author(s):  
Severine Freisz ◽  
Juergen Graf ◽  
Matthew Benning ◽  
Vernon Smith
Keyword(s):  
De Novo ◽  
Structural Information ◽  
Low Noise ◽  
Intensity Difference ◽  
Anomalous Scattering ◽  
High Quality ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Sad Phasing ◽  
Very High

Advances in crystallographic hardware and software are enabling structural biologists to investigate more challenging projects. Recent developments in hardware and software are greatly increasing the capabilities of in-house diffraction systems making it more routine to obtain de novo structural information in the home lab. Single-wavelength anomalous diffraction (SAD) techniques with Cu Ka or Ga Ka radiation are now widely used for structure solution even in cases involving weak anomalous scatterers, like sulfur. We have now introduced the D8 Venture solution for structural biology with the PHOTON 100 detector featuring the first CMOS active pixel sensor for X-ray crystallography. Our new microfocus source, the METALJET delivers beam intensity exceeding those of typical bending-magnet beamlines. The very high intensity, the small beam focus and the lower air scatter produced by Gallium Kα radiation help to greatly reduce the background scatter. This provides greater signal to noise essential to identify weak anomalous signal. Due to the very weak anomalous scattering of S, data multiplicities in the order of 40 are typically necessary to obtain phases by S-SAD. Collecting high-multiplicity data minimizes systematic experimental errors to measure with very high accuracy the minute intensity difference between Friedel Pairs (1.0 – 1.5 %) [1]. This requires software which optimizes the collection strategy, for example with respect to overall data collection time to minimize radiation damage. The combination of a brighter, more stable X-ray source with a high sensitivity low noise detector have greatly improved the quality of data collected in-house. The high quality allows successful SAD measurements far away from the absorption edge. Here we present a low multiplicity sulfur-SAD phasing experiment on a small Thaumatin crystal showing the high quality of the data collected on the D8 VENTURE with the METALJET.

scholarly journals Haploflow: Strain-resolved de novo assembly of viral genomes

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Fritz ◽  
A. Bremges ◽  
Z.-L. Deng ◽  
T.-R. Lesker ◽  
J. Götting ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Viral Infections ◽  
De Novo ◽  
De Bruijn Graph ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Viral Genomes ◽  
Benchmark Data ◽  
Flow Algorithm ◽  
De Bruijn ◽  
Host Evolution

In viral infections often multiple related viral strains are present, due to coinfection or within-host evolution. We describe Haploflow, a de Bruijn graph-based assembler for de novo genome assembly of viral strains from mixed sequence samples using a novel flow algorithm. We assessed Haploflow across multiple benchmark data sets of increasing complexity, showing that Haploflow is faster and more accurate than viral haplotype assemblers and generic metagenome assemblers not aiming to reconstruct strains. Haplotype reconstructed high-quality strain-resolved assemblies from clinical HCMV samples and SARS-CoV-2 genomes from wastewater metagenomes identical to genomes from clinical isolates.

scholarly journals Resolving polymorphs and radiation-driven effects in microcrystals using fixed-target serial synchrotron crystallography

2018 ◽  
Vol 75 (2) ◽  
pp. 151-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Ebrahim ◽  
Martin V. Appleby ◽  
Danny Axford ◽  
John Beale ◽  
Tadeo Moreno-Chicano ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Radiation Damage ◽  
Active Site ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Rapid Onset ◽  
Fixed Target ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Data Set ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Induced Changes

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.

scholarly journals High-throughput structures of protein–ligand complexes at room temperature using serial femtosecond crystallography

IUCrJ ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (6) ◽  
pp. 1074-1085 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tadeo Moreno-Chicano ◽  
Ali Ebrahim ◽  
Danny Axford ◽  
Martin V. Appleby ◽  
John H. Beale ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ligand Binding ◽  
Radiation Damage ◽  
High Throughput ◽  
High Throughput Screening ◽  
Room Temperature ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Binding Studies ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Temperature Damage ◽  
Serial Femtosecond Crystallography

High-throughput X-ray crystal structures of protein–ligand complexes are critical to pharmaceutical drug development. However, cryocooling of crystals and X-ray radiation damage may distort the observed ligand binding. Serial femtosecond crystallography (SFX) using X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs) can produce radiation-damage-free room-temperature structures. Ligand-binding studies using SFX have received only modest attention, partly owing to limited beamtime availability and the large quantity of sample that is required per structure determination. Here, a high-throughput approach to determine room-temperature damage-free structures with excellent sample and time efficiency is demonstrated, allowing complexes to be characterized rapidly and without prohibitive sample requirements. This yields high-quality difference density maps allowing unambiguous ligand placement. Crucially, it is demonstrated that ligands similar in size or smaller than those used in fragment-based drug design may be clearly identified in data sets obtained from <1000 diffraction images. This efficiency in both sample and XFEL beamtime opens the door to true high-throughput screening of protein–ligand complexes using SFX.

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