scholarly journals Illuminating the Secrets of Crystals - Microcrystal Electron Diffraction in Structural Biology

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rob Barringer ◽  
Thomas Meier
Keyword(s):  
Electron Diffraction ◽  
Structural Biology ◽  
Biological Macromolecules ◽  
X Ray ◽  
X Ray Crystallography ◽  
Novel Method ◽  
Practical Level ◽  
Crystallographic Theory

An exploration of the crystallographic theory of the relatively novel method of Microcrystal Electron Diffraction (MicroED), via comparison to X-ray crystallography at the theoretical and practical level as it applies to biological macromolecules. We then attempt to outline the limitations and challenges that the technique currently faces in structural biology, and suggest future areas of study that may improve and optimize the technique.

scholarly journals Illuminating the Secrets of Crystals - Microcrystal Electron Diffraction in Structural Biology

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rob Barringer ◽  
Thomas Meier
Keyword(s):  
Electron Diffraction ◽  
Structural Biology ◽  
Biological Macromolecules ◽  
X Ray ◽  
X Ray Crystallography ◽  
Novel Method ◽  
Practical Level ◽  
Crystallographic Theory

An exploration of the crystallographic theory of the relatively novel method of Microcrystal Electron Diffraction (MicroED), via comparison to X-ray crystallography at the theoretical and practical level as it applies to biological macromolecules. We then attempt to outline the limitations and challenges that the technique currently faces in structural biology, and suggest future areas of study that may improve and optimize the technique.

scholarly journals Illuminating the Secrets of Crystals - Microcrystal Electron Diffraction in Structural Biology

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rob Barringer ◽  
Thomas Meier
Keyword(s):  
Electron Diffraction ◽  
Structural Biology ◽  
X Ray ◽  
X Ray Crystallography ◽  
Novel Method ◽  
Practical Level ◽  
Crystallographic Theory

An exploration of the crystallographic theory of the relatively novel method of Microcrystal Electron Diffraction (MicroED), via comparison to X-ray crystallography at the theoretical and practical level. We then attempt to outline the limitations and challenges that the technique currently faces, and suggests future areas of study that may improve and optimize the technique.

scholarly journals Comparing serial X-ray crystallography and microcrystal electron diffraction (MicroED) as methods for routine structure determination from small macromolecular crystals

IUCrJ ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 306-323 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander M. Wolff ◽  
Iris D. Young ◽  
Raymond G. Sierra ◽  
Aaron S. Brewster ◽  
Michael W. Martynowycz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electron Diffraction ◽  
Structural Information ◽  
Biological Macromolecules ◽  
Structural Studies ◽  
Macromolecular Crystallography ◽  
Delivery Methods ◽  
X Ray ◽  
X Ray Crystallography ◽  
Physical Conditions ◽  
Serial Crystallography

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.

scholarly journals Comparing serial X-ray crystallography and microcrystal electron diffraction (MicroED) as methods for routine structure determination from small macromolecular crystals

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander M Wolff ◽  
Iris D Young ◽  
Raymond G Sierra ◽  
Aaron S Brewster ◽  
Michael W Martynowycz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electron Diffraction ◽  
Structural Information ◽  
Biological Macromolecules ◽  
Structural Studies ◽  
Macromolecular Crystallography ◽  
Delivery Methods ◽  
X Ray ◽  
X Ray Crystallography ◽  
Physical Conditions ◽  
Serial Crystallography

AbstractInnovative 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 nanometer to micron scale. Despite the utility of these methods, their implementation can often be difficult, as they present many challenges not encountered in traditional macromolecular crystallography experiments. Here, we describe XFEL serial crystallography experiments and MicroED experiments using batch-grown microcrystals of the enzyme cyclophilin A (CypA). Our 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 effect the crystal structure of the enzyme.

scholarly journals Introduction to high-resolution cryo-electron microscopy

2016 ◽  
Vol 62 (3) ◽  
pp. 383-394
Author(s):  
Mariusz Czarnocki-Cieciura ◽  
Marcin Nowotny
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Nmr Spectroscopy ◽  
Structural Biology ◽  
Atomic Resolution ◽  
Biological Macromolecules ◽  
X Ray ◽  
X Ray Crystallography ◽  
Cryo Electron Microscopy ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Electron Microscopes

For many years two techniques have dominated structural biology – X-ray crystallography and NMR spectroscopy. Traditional cryo-electron microscopy of biological macromolecules produced macromolecular reconstructions at resolution limited to 6–10 Å. Recent development of transmission electron microscopes, in particular the development of direct electron detectors, and continuous improvements in the available software, have led to the “resolution revolution” in cryo-EM. It is now possible to routinely obtain near-atomic-resolution 3D maps of intact biological macromolecules as small as ~100 kDa. Thus, cryo-EM is now becoming the method of choice for structural analysis of many complex assemblies that are unsuitable for structure determination by other methods.

Membrane protein crystallography in the era of modern structural biology

2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (6) ◽  
pp. 2505-2524
Author(s):  
Tristan O. C. Kwan ◽  
Danny Axford ◽  
Isabel Moraes
Keyword(s):  
Structural Biology ◽  
Molecular Level ◽  
Protein Structures ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Biological Macromolecules ◽  
X Ray ◽  
X Ray Crystallography ◽  
Cellular Processes ◽  
Biochemical Level

The aim of structural biology has been always the study of biological macromolecules structures and their mechanistic behaviour at molecular level. To achieve its goal, multiple biophysical methods and approaches have become part of the structural biology toolbox. Considered as one of the pillars of structural biology, X-ray crystallography has been the most successful method for solving three-dimensional protein structures at atomic level to date. It is however limited by the success in obtaining well-ordered protein crystals that diffract at high resolution. This is especially true for challenging targets such as membrane proteins (MPs). Understanding structure-function relationships of MPs at the biochemical level is vital for medicine and drug discovery as they play critical roles in many cellular processes. Though difficult, structure determination of MPs by X-ray crystallography has significantly improved in the last two decades, mainly due to many relevant technological and methodological developments. Today, numerous MP crystal structures have been solved, revealing many of their mechanisms of action. Yet the field of structural biology has also been through significant technological breakthroughs in recent years, particularly in the fields of single particle electron microscopy (cryo-EM) and X-ray free electron lasers (XFELs). Here we summarise the most important advancements in the field of MP crystallography and the significance of these developments in the present era of modern structural biology.

Reflections on the Many Facets of Protein Microcrystallography

2014 ◽  
Vol 67 (12) ◽  
pp. 1793 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marion Boudes ◽  
Damià Garriga ◽  
Fasséli Coulibaly
Keyword(s):  
Structural Biology ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Data Bank ◽  
Biological Macromolecules ◽  
Structure Based Drug Design ◽  
X Ray ◽  
X Ray Crystallography ◽  
The Many ◽  
The Impact

The use of X-ray crystallography for the structure determination of biological macromolecules has experienced a steady expansion over the last 20 years with the Protein Data Bank growing from <1000 deposited structures in 1992 to >100 000 in 2014. The large number of structures determined each year not only reflects the impact of X-ray crystallography on many disciplines in the biological and medical fields but also its accessibility to non-expert laboratories. Thus protein crystallography is now largely a mainstream research technique and is routinely integrated in high-throughput pipelines such as structural genomics projects and structure-based drug design. Yet, significant frontiers remain that continuously require methodological developments. In particular, membrane proteins, large assemblies, and proteins from scarce natural sources still represent challenging targets for which obtaining the large diffracting crystals required for classical crystallography is often difficult. These limitations have fostered the emergence of microcrystallography, novel approaches in structural biology that collectively aim at determining structures from the smallest crystals. Here, we review the state of the art of macromolecular microcrystallography and recent progress achieved in this field.

Biophysical applications in structural and molecular biology

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Solomon Tsegaye ◽  
Gobena Dedefo ◽  
Mohammed Mehdi
Keyword(s):  
Structural Biology ◽  
Structural Information ◽  
Conformational Dynamics ◽  
Biological Macromolecules ◽  
X Ray Diffraction ◽  
Biological Mechanisms ◽  
X Ray ◽  
X Ray Crystallography ◽  
Cryo Electron Microscopy ◽  
Biophysical Techniques

Abstract The main objective of structural biology is to model proteins and other biological macromolecules and link the structural information to function and dynamics. The biological functions of protein molecules and nucleic acids are inherently dependent on their conformational dynamics. Imaging of individual molecules and their dynamic characteristics is an ample source of knowledge that brings new insights about mechanisms of action. The atomic-resolution structural information on most of the biomolecules has been solved by biophysical techniques; either by X-ray diffraction in single crystals or by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy in solution. Cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) is emerging as a new tool for analysis of a larger macromolecule that couldn’t be solved by X-ray crystallography or NMR. Now a day’s low-resolution Cryo-EM is used in combination with either X-ray crystallography or NMR. The present review intends to provide updated information on applications like X-ray crystallography, cryo-EM and NMR which can be used independently and/or together in solving structures of biological macromolecules for our full comprehension of their biological mechanisms.

Three-dimensional crystallization of membrane proteins

1988 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 429-477 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Kühlbrandt
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Membrane Proteins ◽  
Membrane Protein ◽  
Protein Complexes ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Biological Macromolecules ◽  
X Ray ◽  
X Ray Crystallography ◽  
Membrane Protein Complexes ◽  
Essential Prerequisite

As recently as 10 years ago, the prospect of solving the structure of any membrane protein by X-ray crystallography seemed remote. Since then, the threedimensional (3-D) structures of two membrane protein complexes, the bacterial photosynthetic reaction centres of Rhodopseudomonas viridis (Deisenhofer et al. 1984, 1985) and of Rhodobacter sphaeroides (Allen et al. 1986, 1987 a, 6; Chang et al. 1986) have been determined at high resolution. This astonishing progress would not have been possible without the pioneering work of Michel and Garavito who first succeeded in growing 3-D crystals of the membrane proteins bacteriorhodopsin (Michel & Oesterhelt, 1980) and matrix porin (Garavito & Rosenbusch, 1980). X-ray crystallography is still the only routine method for determining the 3-D structures of biological macromolecules at high resolution and well-ordered 3-D crystals of sufficient size are the essential prerequisite.

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