Conceptual design of a macromolecular diffractometer for the Jülich high brilliance source

In this work, a concept for a neutron diffractometer for high-resolution macromolecular structures has been developed within the Jülich High Brilliance Neutron Source (HBS) project. The SELENE optics are adapted to the requirements of the instrument to achieve a tunable low background neutron beam at mm2 scale sample area. With the optimized guide geometry, a low background neutron beam can be achieved at the small sample area with tunable divergence and size. For the 1 × 1 mm2 sample, a flux of 1.10 × 107 n/s/cm2 for 0.38° divergence is calculated in the 2-4 Å wavelength range, which is about 84.6% of the flux at MaNDi of the high-power spallation source SNS at ORNL. Virtual neutron scattering experiments have been performed to demonstrate the instrument's capabilities for studies of mm scale samples with large unit cells. Results of Vitesse simulations indicate that unit cell sizes of up to 200 Å are possible to be resolved with the proposed instrument.

Experimental-theoretical study of laccase as a detoxifier of aflatoxins

We investigate laccase-mediated detoxification of aflatoxins, fungal carcinogenic food contaminants. Our experimental comparison between two aflatoxins with similar structures (AFB₁ and AFG₂) shows significant differences in laccase-mediated detoxification. A multi-scale modeling approach (Docking, Molecular Dynamics, and Density Functional Theory) identifies the highly substrate-specific changes required to improve laccase detoxifying performance. We employ a large-scale density functional theory-based approach, involving more than 7000 atoms, to identify the amino acid residues that determine the affinity of laccase for aflatoxins. From this study we conclude: (1) AFB₁ is more challenging to degrade, to the point of complete degradation stalling; (2) AFG₂ is easier to degrade by laccase due to its lack of side products and favorable binding dynamics; and (3) ample opportunities to optimize laccase for aflatoxin degradation exist, especially via mutations leading to π-π stacking. This study identifies a way to optimize laccase for aflatoxin bioremediation and, more generally, contributes to the research efforts aimed at rational enzyme optimization.

Protonation State of an Important Histidine from High Resolution Structures of Lytic Polysaccharide Monooxygenases

Lytic Polysaccharide Monooxygenases (LPMOs) oxidatively cleave recalcitrant polysaccharides. The mechanism involves (i) reduction of the Cu, (ii) polysaccharide binding, (iii) binding of different oxygen species, and (iv) glycosidic bond cleavage. However, the complete mechanism is poorly understood and may vary across different families and even within the same family. Here, we have investigated the protonation state of a secondary co-ordination sphere histidine, conserved across AA9 family LPMOs that has previously been proposed to be a potential proton donor. Partial unrestrained refinement of newly obtained higher resolution data for two AA9 LPMOs and re-refinement of four additional data sets deposited in the PDB were carried out, where the His was refined without restraints, followed by measurements of the His ring geometrical parameters. This allowed reliable assignment of the protonation state, as also validated by following the same procedure for the His brace, for which the protonation state is predictable. The study shows that this histidine is generally singly protonated at the Nε2 atom, which is close to the oxygen species binding site. Our results indicate robustness of the method. In view of this and other emerging evidence, a role as proton donor during catalysis is unlikely for this His.