Serial femtosecond crystallography requires reliable and efficient delivery of fresh crystals across the beam of an X-ray free-electron laser over the course of an experiment. We introduce a double-flow focusing nozzle to meet this challenge, with significantly reduced sample consumption, while improving jet stability over previous generations of nozzles. We demonstrate its use to determine the first room-temperature structure of RNA polymerase II at high resolution, revealing new structural details. Moreover, the double-flow focusing nozzles were successfully tested with three other protein samples and the first room temperature structure of an extradiol ring-cleaving dioxygenase was solved by utilizing the improved operation and characteristics of these devices [corrected].
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/srep44628 | DOI Listing |
Sci Rep
December 2024
Department of Life Sciences, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang, 37673, Kyungbook, Republic of Korea.
Alanine racemase (Alr) catalyzes the pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP)-dependent racemization between L- and D-alanine in bacteria. Owing to the potential interest in targeting Alr for antibacterial drug development, several studies have determined the structures of Alr from different species, proposing models for the reaction mechanism. Insights into its reaction dynamics may be conducive to a better understanding of the Alr reaction mechanism.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiochim Biophys Acta Bioenerg
December 2024
Laboratory of Computational Biology, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. Electronic address:
Photosystem II (PSII) is a unique natural catalyst that converts solar energy into chemical energy using earth abundant elements in water at physiological pH. Understanding the reaction mechanism will aid the design of biomimetic artificial catalysts for efficient solar energy conversion. The MnOCa cluster cycles through five increasingly oxidized intermediates before oxidizing two water molecules into O and releasing protons to the lumen and electrons to drive PSII reactions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMethods Enzymol
November 2024
Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science & Innovation Campus, Didcot, United Kingdom; Research Complex at Harwell, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot, United Kingdom. Electronic address:
Dynamic structural biology enables studying biological events at the atomic scale from 10's of femtoseconds to a few seconds duration. With the advent of X-ray Free Electron Lasers (XFELs) and 4th generation synchrotrons, serial crystallography is becoming a major player for time-resolved experiments in structural biology. Despite significant progress, challenges such as obtaining sufficient amounts of protein to produce homogeneous microcrystal slurry, remain.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMethods Enzymol
November 2024
Diamond Light Source Ltd, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom; Research Complex at Harwell, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom. Electronic address:
Methods Enzymol
November 2024
College of General Education, Kookmin University, Seoul, Republic of Korea. Electronic address:
Understanding the structures and dynamics of biomolecules and chemical compounds is crucial for deciphering their molecular functions and mechanisms. Serial femtosecond crystallography (SFX) using X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs) is a useful technique for determining structures at room temperature, while minimizing radiation damage. Time-resolved serial femtosecond crystallography (TR-SFX), which uses an optical laser or a mixing device, allows molecular dynamic visualization during a reaction at specific time points.
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