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Di Bonaventura G, Picciani C, Lupetti V, Pompilio A. Comparative Proteomic Analysis of Protein Patterns of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia in Biofilm and Planktonic Lifestyles. Microorganisms 2023; 11:microorganisms11020442. [PMID: 36838406 PMCID: PMC9960084 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms11020442] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2022] [Revised: 02/02/2023] [Accepted: 02/06/2023] [Indexed: 02/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is a clinically relevant bacterial pathogen, particularly in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. Despite the well-known ability to form biofilms inherently resistant to antibiotics and host immunity, many aspects involved in S. maltophilia biofilm formation are yet to be elucidated. In the present study, a proteomic approach was used to elucidate the differential protein expression patterns observed during the planktonic-to-biofilm transition of S. maltophilia Sm126, a strong biofilm producer causing chronic infection in a CF patient, to identify determinants potentially associated with S. maltophilia biofilm formation. In all, 57 proteins were differentially (3-fold; p < 0.01) expressed in biofilm cells compared with planktonic counterparts: 38 were overexpressed, and 19 were down-expressed. It is worth noting that 34 proteins were exclusively found in biofilm, mainly associated with quorum sensing-mediated intercellular communication, augmented glycolysis, amino acid metabolism, biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, phosphate signaling, response to nutrient starvation, and general stress. Further work is warranted to evaluate if these proteins can be suitable targets for developing anti-biofilm strategies effective against S. maltophilia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giovanni Di Bonaventura
- Department of Medical, Oral, and Biotechnological Sciences, G. d’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Via dei Vestini, 31, 66100 Chieti, Italy
- Center for Advanced Studies and Technology, G. d’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Via L. Polacchi 11, 66100 Chieti, Italy
- Correspondence:
| | - Carla Picciani
- Department of Medical, Oral, and Biotechnological Sciences, G. d’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Via dei Vestini, 31, 66100 Chieti, Italy
- Center for Advanced Studies and Technology, G. d’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Via L. Polacchi 11, 66100 Chieti, Italy
| | - Veronica Lupetti
- Department of Medical, Oral, and Biotechnological Sciences, G. d’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Via dei Vestini, 31, 66100 Chieti, Italy
- Center for Advanced Studies and Technology, G. d’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Via L. Polacchi 11, 66100 Chieti, Italy
| | - Arianna Pompilio
- Department of Medical, Oral, and Biotechnological Sciences, G. d’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Via dei Vestini, 31, 66100 Chieti, Italy
- Center for Advanced Studies and Technology, G. d’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Via L. Polacchi 11, 66100 Chieti, Italy
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2
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Bhatia I, Yadav S, Biswal BK. Identification, structure determination and analysis of Mycobacterium smegmatis acyl-carrier protein synthase (AcpS) crystallized serendipitously. Acta Crystallogr F Struct Biol Commun 2022; 78:252-264. [PMID: 35787552 PMCID: PMC9254898 DOI: 10.1107/s2053230x22005738] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2022] [Accepted: 05/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
The unintended crystallization of proteins which generally originate from the expression host instead of the target recombinant proteins is periodically reported. Despite the massive technological advances in the field, assigning a structural model to the corresponding diffraction data is not a trivial task. Here, the structure of acyl-carrier protein synthase (AcpS) from Mycobacterium smegmatis (msAcpS), which crystallized inadvertently in an experimental setup to grow crystals of a Mycobacterium tuberculosis protein using M. smegmatis as an expression system, is reported. After numerous unsuccessful attempts to solve the structure of the target protein by the molecular-replacement method no convincing solutions were obtained, indicating that the diffraction data may correspond to a crystal of an artifactual protein, which was finally identified by the Sequence-Independent Molecular replacement Based on Available Databases (SIMBAD) server. The msAcpS structure was solved at 2.27 Å resolution and structural analysis showed an overall conserved fold. msAcpS formed a trimeric structure similar to those of other reported structures of AcpS from various organisms; however, the residues involved in trimer formation are not strictly conserved. An unrelated metal ion (Ni2+), which was possibly incorporated during protein purification, was observed in the proximity of His49 and His116. Structural and sequence differences were observed in the loop connecting the α3 and α4 helices that is responsible for the open and closed conformations of the enzyme. Moreover, the structural analysis of msAcpS augments the current understanding of this enzyme, which plays a crucial role in the functional activation of acyl-carrier proteins in the fatty-acid biosynthesis pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Indu Bhatia
- Structural and Functional Biology Laboratory, National Institute of Immunology, Aruna Asaf Ali Marg, New Delhi 110 067, India
| | - Savita Yadav
- Structural and Functional Biology Laboratory, National Institute of Immunology, Aruna Asaf Ali Marg, New Delhi 110 067, India
| | - Bichitra K. Biswal
- Structural and Functional Biology Laboratory, National Institute of Immunology, Aruna Asaf Ali Marg, New Delhi 110 067, India
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3
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Chojnowski G, Simpkin AJ, Leonardo DA, Seifert-Davila W, Vivas-Ruiz DE, Keegan RM, Rigden DJ. findMySequence: a neural-network-based approach for identification of unknown proteins in X-ray crystallography and cryo-EM. IUCRJ 2022; 9:86-97. [PMID: 35059213 PMCID: PMC8733886 DOI: 10.1107/s2052252521011088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2021] [Accepted: 10/22/2021] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
Although experimental protein-structure determination usually targets known proteins, chains of unknown sequence are often encountered. They can be purified from natural sources, appear as an unexpected fragment of a well characterized protein or appear as a contaminant. Regardless of the source of the problem, the unknown protein always requires characterization. Here, an automated pipeline is presented for the identification of protein sequences from cryo-EM reconstructions and crystallographic data. The method's application to characterize the crystal structure of an unknown protein purified from a snake venom is presented. It is also shown that the approach can be successfully applied to the identification of protein sequences and validation of sequence assignments in cryo-EM protein structures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Grzegorz Chojnowski
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Hamburg Unit, Notkestrasse 85, 22607 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Adam J. Simpkin
- Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZB, United Kingdom
| | - Diego A. Leonardo
- São Carlos Institute of Physics, University of São Paulo, Avenida João Dagnone 1100, São Carlos, SP 13563-120, Brazil
| | | | - Dan E. Vivas-Ruiz
- Laboratorio de Biología Molecular, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Avenida Venezuela Cdra 34 S/N, Ciudad Universitaria, Lima, Peru
| | - Ronan M. Keegan
- Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Research Complex at Harwell, UKRI-STFC, Didcot OX11 0FA, United Kingdom
| | - Daniel J. Rigden
- Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZB, United Kingdom
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4
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Ding L, Wang J, Cai S, Smyth H, Cui Z. Pulmonary biofilm-based chronic infections and inhaled treatment strategies. Int J Pharm 2021; 604:120768. [PMID: 34089796 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2021.120768] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2021] [Revised: 05/20/2021] [Accepted: 05/31/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Certain pulmonary diseases, such as cystic fibrosis (CF), non-CF bronchiectasis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and ventilator-associated pneumonia, are usually accompanied by respiratory tract infections due to the physiological alteration of the lung immunological defenses. Recurrent infections may lead to chronic infection through the formation of biofilms. Chronic biofilm-based infections are challenging to treat using antimicrobial agents. Therefore, effective ways to eradicate biofilms and thus relieve respiratory tract infection require the development of efficacious agents for biofilm destruction, the design of delivery carriers with biofilm-targeting and/or penetrating abilities for these agents, and the direct delivery of them into the lung. This review provides an in-depth description of biofilm-based infections caused by pulmonary diseases and focuses on current existing agents that are administered by inhalation into the lung to treat biofilm, which include i) inhalable antimicrobial agents and their combinations, ii) non-antimicrobial adjuvants such as matrix-targeting enzymes, mannitol, glutathione, cyclosporin A, and iii) liposomal formulations of anti-biofilm agents. Finally, novel agents that have shown promise against pulmonary biofilms as well as traditional and new devices for pulmonary delivery of anti-biofilm agents into the lung are also discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li Ding
- Division of Molecular Pharmaceutics and Drug Delivery, College of Pharmacy, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA
| | - Jieliang Wang
- Division of Molecular Pharmaceutics and Drug Delivery, College of Pharmacy, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA
| | - Shihao Cai
- Division of Molecular Pharmaceutics and Drug Delivery, College of Pharmacy, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA
| | - Hugh Smyth
- Division of Molecular Pharmaceutics and Drug Delivery, College of Pharmacy, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
| | - Zhengrong Cui
- Division of Molecular Pharmaceutics and Drug Delivery, College of Pharmacy, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
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5
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Chowdhury R, Abboud MI, McAllister TE, Banerji B, Bhushan B, Sorensen JL, Kawamura A, Schofield CJ. Use of cyclic peptides to induce crystallization: case study with prolyl hydroxylase domain 2. Sci Rep 2020; 10:21964. [PMID: 33319810 PMCID: PMC7738489 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-76307-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2020] [Accepted: 10/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Crystallization is the bottleneck in macromolecular crystallography; even when a protein crystallises, crystal packing often influences ligand-binding and protein-protein interaction interfaces, which are the key points of interest for functional and drug discovery studies. The human hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase 2 (PHD2) readily crystallises as a homotrimer, but with a sterically blocked active site. We explored strategies aimed at altering PHD2 crystal packing by protein modification and molecules that bind at its active site and elsewhere. Following the observation that, despite weak inhibition/binding in solution, succinamic acid derivatives readily enable PHD2 crystallization, we explored methods to induce crystallization without active site binding. Cyclic peptides obtained via mRNA display bind PHD2 tightly away from the active site. They efficiently enable PHD2 crystallization in different forms, both with/without substrates, apparently by promoting oligomerization involving binding to the C-terminal region. Although our work involves a specific case study, together with those of others, the results suggest that mRNA display-derived cyclic peptides may be useful in challenging protein crystallization cases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rasheduzzaman Chowdhury
- Chemistry Research Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3TA, UK
| | - Martine I Abboud
- Chemistry Research Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3TA, UK
| | - Tom E McAllister
- Chemistry Research Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3TA, UK
- Chemistry - School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK
| | - Biswadip Banerji
- Chemistry Research Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3TA, UK
| | - Bhaskar Bhushan
- Chemistry Research Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3TA, UK
| | - John L Sorensen
- Chemistry Research Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3TA, UK
| | - Akane Kawamura
- Chemistry Research Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3TA, UK
- Chemistry - School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK
| | - Christopher J Schofield
- Chemistry Research Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3TA, UK.
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6
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Flores-Treviño S, Bocanegra-Ibarias P, Camacho-Ortiz A, Morfín-Otero R, Salazar-Sesatty HA, Garza-González E. Stenotrophomonas maltophilia biofilm: its role in infectious diseases. Expert Rev Anti Infect Ther 2019; 17:877-893. [PMID: 31658838 DOI: 10.1080/14787210.2019.1685875] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Introduction: Infections caused by the opportunistic Stenotrophomonas maltophilia pathogen in immunocompromised patients are complicated to treat due to antibiotic resistance and the ability of the bacteria to produce biofilm.Areas covered: A MEDLINE/PubMed search was performed of available literature to describe the role of biofilm produced by S. maltophilia in the diseases it causes, including biofilm-influencing factors, the biofilm forming process and composition. The antimicrobial resistance due to S. maltophilia biofilm production and current antibiofilm strategies is also included.Expert opinion: Through the production of biofilm, S. maltophilia strains can easily adhere to the surfaces in hospital settings and aid in its transmission. The biofilm can also cause antibiotic tolerance rendering some of the therapeutic options ineffective, causing setbacks in the selection of an appropriate treatment. Conventional susceptibility tests do not yet offer therapeutic guidelines to treat biofilm-associated infections. Current S. maltophilia biofilm control strategies include natural and synthetic compounds, chelating agents, and commonly prescribed antibiotics. As biofilm age and matrix composition affect the level of antibiotic tolerance, their characterization should be included in biofilm susceptibility testing, in addition to molecular and proteomic analyzes. As for now, several commonly recommended antibiotics can be used to treat biofilm-related S. maltophilia infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samantha Flores-Treviño
- Servicio de Gastroenterología, Hospital Universitario y Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Monterrey, México
| | - Paola Bocanegra-Ibarias
- Servicio de Gastroenterología, Hospital Universitario y Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Monterrey, México
| | - Adrián Camacho-Ortiz
- Servicio de Infectología, Hospital Universitario, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Monterrey, México
| | - Rayo Morfín-Otero
- Hospital Civil de Guadalajara, Fray Antonio Alcalde, Instituto de Patología Infecciosa y Experimental, Centro Universitario de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara, México
| | - Humberto Antonio Salazar-Sesatty
- Unidad de Terapias Experimentales, Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Monterrey, México
| | - Elvira Garza-González
- Servicio de Gastroenterología, Hospital Universitario y Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Monterrey, México
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7
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Andi B, Soares AS, Shi W, Fuchs MR, McSweeney S, Liu Q. Structure of the dihydrolipoamide succinyltransferase catalytic domain from Escherichia coli in a novel crystal form: a tale of a common protein crystallization contaminant. Acta Crystallogr F Struct Biol Commun 2019; 75:616-624. [PMID: 31475929 PMCID: PMC6718150 DOI: 10.1107/s2053230x19011488] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2019] [Accepted: 08/15/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The crystallization of amidase, the ultimate enzyme in the Trp-dependent auxin-biosynthesis pathway, from Arabidopsis thaliana was attempted using protein samples with at least 95% purity. Cube-shaped crystals that were assumed to be amidase crystals that belonged to space group I4 (unit-cell parameters a = b = 128.6, c = 249.7 Å) were obtained and diffracted to 3.0 Å resolution. Molecular replacement using structures from the PDB containing the amidase signature fold as search models was unsuccessful in yielding a convincing solution. Using the Sequence-Independent Molecular replacement Based on Available Databases (SIMBAD) program, it was discovered that the structure corresponded to dihydrolipoamide succinyltransferase from Escherichia coli (PDB entry 1c4t), which is considered to be a common crystallization contaminant protein. The structure was refined to an Rwork of 23.0% and an Rfree of 27.2% at 3.0 Å resolution. The structure was compared with others of the same protein deposited in the PDB. This is the first report of the structure of dihydrolipoamide succinyltransferase isolated without an expression tag and in this novel crystal form.
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Affiliation(s)
- Babak Andi
- National Synchrotron Light Source II, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973-5000, USA
| | - Alexei S. Soares
- National Synchrotron Light Source II, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973-5000, USA
| | - Wuxian Shi
- National Synchrotron Light Source II, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973-5000, USA
| | - Martin R. Fuchs
- National Synchrotron Light Source II, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973-5000, USA
| | - Sean McSweeney
- National Synchrotron Light Source II, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973-5000, USA
| | - Qun Liu
- National Synchrotron Light Source II, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973-5000, USA
- Biology Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973-5000, USA
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8
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Simpkin AJ, Simkovic F, Thomas JMH, Savko M, Lebedev A, Uski V, Ballard C, Wojdyr M, Wu R, Sanishvili R, Xu Y, Lisa MN, Buschiazzo A, Shepard W, Rigden DJ, Keegan RM. SIMBAD: a sequence-independent molecular-replacement pipeline. Acta Crystallogr D Struct Biol 2018; 74:595-605. [PMID: 29968670 PMCID: PMC6038384 DOI: 10.1107/s2059798318005752] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2018] [Accepted: 04/12/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The conventional approach to finding structurally similar search models for use in molecular replacement (MR) is to use the sequence of the target to search against those of a set of known structures. Sequence similarity often correlates with structure similarity. Given sufficient similarity, a known structure correctly positioned in the target cell by the MR process can provide an approximation to the unknown phases of the target. An alternative approach to identifying homologous structures suitable for MR is to exploit the measured data directly, comparing the lattice parameters or the experimentally derived structure-factor amplitudes with those of known structures. Here, SIMBAD, a new sequence-independent MR pipeline which implements these approaches, is presented. SIMBAD can identify cases of contaminant crystallization and other mishaps such as mistaken identity (swapped crystallization trays), as well as solving unsequenced targets and providing a brute-force approach where sequence-dependent search-model identification may be nontrivial, for example because of conformational diversity among identifiable homologues. The program implements a three-step pipeline to efficiently identify a suitable search model in a database of known structures. The first step performs a lattice-parameter search against the entire Protein Data Bank (PDB), rapidly determining whether or not a homologue exists in the same crystal form. The second step is designed to screen the target data for the presence of a crystallized contaminant, a not uncommon occurrence in macromolecular crystallography. Solving structures with MR in such cases can remain problematic for many years, since the search models, which are assumed to be similar to the structure of interest, are not necessarily related to the structures that have actually crystallized. To cater for this eventuality, SIMBAD rapidly screens the data against a database of known contaminant structures. Where the first two steps fail to yield a solution, a final step in SIMBAD can be invoked to perform a brute-force search of a nonredundant PDB database provided by the MoRDa MR software. Through early-access usage of SIMBAD, this approach has solved novel cases that have otherwise proved difficult to solve.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam J. Simpkin
- Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZB, England
- Synchrotron SOLEIL, L’Orme des Merisiers, Saint Aubin, BP 48, 91192 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Felix Simkovic
- Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZB, England
| | - Jens M. H. Thomas
- Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZB, England
| | - Martin Savko
- Synchrotron SOLEIL, L’Orme des Merisiers, Saint Aubin, BP 48, 91192 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Andrey Lebedev
- STFC, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Oxford, Didcot OX11 0FA, England
- CCP4, Research Complex at Harwell, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Oxford, Didcot OX11 0FA, England
| | - Ville Uski
- STFC, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Oxford, Didcot OX11 0FA, England
- CCP4, Research Complex at Harwell, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Oxford, Didcot OX11 0FA, England
| | - Charles Ballard
- STFC, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Oxford, Didcot OX11 0FA, England
- CCP4, Research Complex at Harwell, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Oxford, Didcot OX11 0FA, England
| | - Marcin Wojdyr
- STFC, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Oxford, Didcot OX11 0FA, England
- CCP4, Research Complex at Harwell, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Oxford, Didcot OX11 0FA, England
- Global Phasing Ltd, Cambridge CB3 0AX, England
| | - Rui Wu
- Feil Family Brain and Mind Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10021, USA
| | - Ruslan Sanishvili
- GM/CA@APS, The X-Ray Science Division, The Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, IL 60439, USA
| | - Yibin Xu
- Division of Structural Biology, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
- Department of Medical Biology, University of Melbourne, Royal Parade, Parkville, VIC 3050, Australia
| | - María-Natalia Lisa
- Laboratory of Molecular and Structural Microbiology, Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Mataojo 2020, 11400 Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Alejandro Buschiazzo
- Laboratory of Molecular and Structural Microbiology, Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Mataojo 2020, 11400 Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - William Shepard
- Synchrotron SOLEIL, L’Orme des Merisiers, Saint Aubin, BP 48, 91192 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Daniel J. Rigden
- Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZB, England
| | - Ronan M. Keegan
- Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZB, England
- STFC, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Oxford, Didcot OX11 0FA, England
- CCP4, Research Complex at Harwell, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Oxford, Didcot OX11 0FA, England
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9
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Clabbers MTB, Gruene T, Parkhurst JM, Abrahams JP, Waterman DG. Electron diffraction data processing with DIALS. Acta Crystallogr D Struct Biol 2018; 74:506-518. [PMID: 29872002 PMCID: PMC6096487 DOI: 10.1107/s2059798318007726] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2018] [Accepted: 05/23/2018] [Indexed: 03/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Electron diffraction is a relatively novel alternative to X-ray crystallography for the structure determination of macromolecules from three-dimensional nanometre-sized crystals. The continuous-rotation method of data collection has been adapted for the electron microscope. However, there are important differences in geometry that must be considered for successful data integration. The wavelength of electrons in a TEM is typically around 40 times shorter than that of X-rays, implying a nearly flat Ewald sphere, and consequently low diffraction angles and a high effective sample-to-detector distance. Nevertheless, the DIALS software package can, with specific adaptations, successfully process continuous-rotation electron diffraction data. Pathologies encountered specifically in electron diffraction make data integration more challenging. Errors can arise from instrumentation, such as beam drift or distorted diffraction patterns from lens imperfections. The diffraction geometry brings additional challenges such as strong correlation between lattice parameters and detector distance. These issues are compounded if calibration is incomplete, leading to uncertainty in experimental geometry, such as the effective detector distance and the rotation rate or direction. Dynamic scattering, absorption, radiation damage and incomplete wedges of data are additional factors that complicate data processing. Here, recent features of DIALS as adapted to electron diffraction processing are shown, including diagnostics for problematic diffraction geometry refinement, refinement of a smoothly varying beam model and corrections for distorted diffraction images. These novel features, combined with the existing tools in DIALS, make data integration and refinement feasible for electron crystallography, even in difficult cases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Max T. B. Clabbers
- Center for Cellular Imaging and NanoAnalytics (C-CINA), Biozentrum, University of Basel, Mattenstrasse 26, 4058 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Tim Gruene
- Paul Scherrer Institute, 5232 Villigen PSI, Switzerland
| | - James M. Parkhurst
- Diamond Light Source Ltd, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0DE, England
| | - Jan Pieter Abrahams
- Center for Cellular Imaging and NanoAnalytics (C-CINA), Biozentrum, University of Basel, Mattenstrasse 26, 4058 Basel, Switzerland
- Paul Scherrer Institute, 5232 Villigen PSI, Switzerland
| | - David G. Waterman
- STFC, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot OX11 0FA, England
- CCP4, Research Complex at Harwell, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot OX11 0FA, England
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10
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Keegan RM, McNicholas SJ, Thomas JMH, Simpkin AJ, Simkovic F, Uski V, Ballard CC, Winn MD, Wilson KS, Rigden DJ. Recent developments in MrBUMP: better search-model preparation, graphical interaction with search models, and solution improvement and assessment. Acta Crystallogr D Struct Biol 2018; 74:167-182. [PMID: 29533225 PMCID: PMC5947758 DOI: 10.1107/s2059798318003455] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2017] [Accepted: 02/27/2018] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Increasing sophistication in molecular-replacement (MR) software and the rapid expansion of the PDB in recent years have allowed the technique to become the dominant method for determining the phases of a target structure in macromolecular X-ray crystallography. In addition, improvements in bioinformatic techniques for finding suitable homologous structures for use as MR search models, combined with developments in refinement and model-building techniques, have pushed the applicability of MR to lower sequence identities and made weak MR solutions more amenable to refinement and improvement. MrBUMP is a CCP4 pipeline which automates all stages of the MR procedure. Its scope covers everything from the sourcing and preparation of suitable search models right through to rebuilding of the positioned search model. Recent improvements to the pipeline include the adoption of more sensitive bioinformatic tools for sourcing search models, enhanced model-preparation techniques including better ensembling of homologues, and the use of phase improvement and model building on the resulting solution. The pipeline has also been deployed as an online service through CCP4 online, which allows its users to exploit large bioinformatic databases and coarse-grained parallelism to speed up the determination of a possible solution. Finally, the molecular-graphics application CCP4mg has been combined with MrBUMP to provide an interactive visual aid to the user during the process of selecting and manipulating search models for use in MR. Here, these developments in MrBUMP are described with a case study to explore how some of the enhancements to the pipeline and to CCP4mg can help to solve a difficult case.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ronan M. Keegan
- CCP4, Research Complex at Harwell, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Oxford, Didcot OX11 0FA, England
- Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZB, England
- STFC, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Oxford, Didcot OX11 0FA, England
| | - Stuart J. McNicholas
- York Structural Biology Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, University of York, York YO10 5DD, England
| | - Jens M. H. Thomas
- Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZB, England
| | - Adam J. Simpkin
- Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZB, England
- Synchrotron SOLEIL, L’Orme des Merisiers, Saint Aubin, BP 48, 91192 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Felix Simkovic
- Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZB, England
| | - Ville Uski
- CCP4, Research Complex at Harwell, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Oxford, Didcot OX11 0FA, England
- STFC, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Oxford, Didcot OX11 0FA, England
| | - Charles C. Ballard
- CCP4, Research Complex at Harwell, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Oxford, Didcot OX11 0FA, England
- STFC, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Oxford, Didcot OX11 0FA, England
| | - Martyn D. Winn
- CCP4, Research Complex at Harwell, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Oxford, Didcot OX11 0FA, England
- STFC, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Oxford, Didcot OX11 0FA, England
| | - Keith S. Wilson
- York Structural Biology Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, University of York, York YO10 5DD, England
| | - Daniel J. Rigden
- Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZB, England
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11
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Parker ML, Ramaswamy R, van Gordon K, Powell CJ, Bosch J, Boulanger MJ. The structure of Plasmodium falciparum 3D7_0606800 reveals a bi-lobed architecture that supports re-annotation as a Venus Flytrap protein. Protein Sci 2017; 26:1878-1885. [PMID: 28681555 DOI: 10.1002/pro.3218] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2017] [Revised: 06/20/2017] [Accepted: 06/29/2017] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Plasmodium falciparum, the causative agent of malaria, employs a diverse array of surface displayed proteins to promote dissemination and establish infection in the human host. Of these, Pf3D7_0606800 is highly immunogenic and has been designated a potential top 10 candidate for inclusion in a multicomponent malarial vaccine. The role of Pf3D7_0606800 in parasite biology, however, is unknown and its characterization has been complicated by a lack of sequence identity with proteins of known structure or function. Towards elucidating Pf3D7_0606800 function, we determined its structure to a resolution of 2.35 Å using selenium single wavelength anomalous dispersion. A bi-lobed architecture displays the core structural hallmarks of Venus Flytrap (VFT) proteins prompting us to re-annotate Pf3D7_0606800 as PfVFT1. Structural analysis further revealed an extended inter-lobe groove that, when interrogated by molecular docking, appears well suited to bind peptide-based ligands. Collectively, our structural characterization of the highly antigenic P. falciparum surface protein PfVFT1 provides intriguing functional insight and establishes a structural template that could prove valuable for malaria vaccine engineering studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michelle L Parker
- Biochemistry & Microbiology, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, V8W 3P6, Canada
| | - Raghavendran Ramaswamy
- Biochemistry & Microbiology, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, V8W 3P6, Canada
| | - Kyle van Gordon
- Biochemistry & Microbiology, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, V8W 3P6, Canada
| | - Cameron J Powell
- Biochemistry & Microbiology, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, V8W 3P6, Canada
| | - Jürgen Bosch
- Pediatric Pulmonology Division, Department of Pediatrics, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio.,InterRayBio, LLC, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Martin J Boulanger
- Biochemistry & Microbiology, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, V8W 3P6, Canada
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12
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Pegos VR, Hey L, LaMirande J, Pfeffer R, Lipsh R, Amitay M, Gonzalez D, Elias M. Phosphate-binding protein from Polaromonas JS666: purification, characterization, crystallization and sulfur SAD phasing. Acta Crystallogr F Struct Biol Commun 2017; 73:342-346. [PMID: 28580922 PMCID: PMC5458391 DOI: 10.1107/s2053230x17007373] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2017] [Accepted: 05/19/2017] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Phosphate-binding proteins (PBPs) are key proteins that belong to the bacterial ABC-type phosphate transporters. PBPs are periplasmic (or membrane-anchored) proteins that capture phosphate anions from the environment and release them to the transmembrane transporter. Recent work has suggested that PBPs have evolved for high affinity as well as high selectivity. In particular, a short, unique hydrogen bond between the phosphate anion and an aspartate residue has been shown to be critical for selectivity, yet is not strictly conserved in PBPs. Here, the PBP from Polaromonas JS666 is focused on. Interestingly, this PBP is predicted to harbor different phosphate-binding residues to currently known PBPs. Here, it is shown that the PBP from Polaromonas JS666 is capable of binding phosphate, with a maximal binding activity at pH 8. Its structure is expected to reveal its binding-cleft configuration as well as its phosphate-binding mode. Here, the expression, purification, characterization, crystallization and X-ray diffraction data collection to 1.35 Å resolution of the PBP from Polaromonas JS666 are reported.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vanessa R. Pegos
- Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics Department and BioTechnology Institute, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA
| | - Louis Hey
- Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics Department and BioTechnology Institute, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA
| | - Jacob LaMirande
- Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics Department and BioTechnology Institute, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA
| | - Rachel Pfeffer
- Department of Bioinformatics, The Jerusalem College of Technology – Lev Academic Center, Jerusalem 91160, Israel
| | - Rosalie Lipsh
- Department of Bioinformatics, The Jerusalem College of Technology – Lev Academic Center, Jerusalem 91160, Israel
| | - Moshe Amitay
- Department of Bioinformatics, The Jerusalem College of Technology – Lev Academic Center, Jerusalem 91160, Israel
| | - Daniel Gonzalez
- URMITE, Aix Marseille Université, INSERM, CNRS, IRD, 27 Boulevard Jean Moulin, 13385 Marseille, France
| | - Mikael Elias
- Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics Department and BioTechnology Institute, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA
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13
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Simkovic F, Ovchinnikov S, Baker D, Rigden DJ. Applications of contact predictions to structural biology. IUCRJ 2017; 4:291-300. [PMID: 28512576 PMCID: PMC5414403 DOI: 10.1107/s2052252517005115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2016] [Accepted: 04/03/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Evolutionary pressure on residue interactions, intramolecular or intermolecular, that are important for protein structure or function can lead to covariance between the two positions. Recent methodological advances allow much more accurate contact predictions to be derived from this evolutionary covariance signal. The practical application of contact predictions has largely been confined to structural bioinformatics, yet, as this work seeks to demonstrate, the data can be of enormous value to the structural biologist working in X-ray crystallo-graphy, cryo-EM or NMR. Integrative structural bioinformatics packages such as Rosetta can already exploit contact predictions in a variety of ways. The contribution of contact predictions begins at construct design, where structural domains may need to be expressed separately and contact predictions can help to predict domain limits. Structure solution by molecular replacement (MR) benefits from contact predictions in diverse ways: in difficult cases, more accurate search models can be constructed using ab initio modelling when predictions are available, while intermolecular contact predictions can allow the construction of larger, oligomeric search models. Furthermore, MR using supersecondary motifs or large-scale screens against the PDB can exploit information, such as the parallel or antiparallel nature of any β-strand pairing in the target, that can be inferred from contact predictions. Contact information will be particularly valuable in the determination of lower resolution structures by helping to assign sequence register. In large complexes, contact information may allow the identity of a protein responsible for a certain region of density to be determined and then assist in the orientation of an available model within that density. In NMR, predicted contacts can provide long-range information to extend the upper size limit of the technique in a manner analogous but complementary to experimental methods. Finally, predicted contacts can distinguish between biologically relevant interfaces and mere lattice contacts in a final crystal structure, and have potential in the identification of functionally important regions and in foreseeing the consequences of mutations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felix Simkovic
- Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZB, England
| | - Sergey Ovchinnikov
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Washington, Box 357370, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - David Baker
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Washington, Box 357370, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Daniel J. Rigden
- Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZB, England
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14
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Hatti K, Biswas A, Chaudhary S, Dadireddy V, Sekar K, Srinivasan N, Murthy MRN. Structure determination of contaminant proteins using the MarathonMR procedure. J Struct Biol 2017; 197:372-378. [PMID: 28167161 DOI: 10.1016/j.jsb.2017.01.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2016] [Revised: 01/21/2017] [Accepted: 01/24/2017] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
In the recent decades, essential steps of protein structure determination such as phasing by multiple isomorphous replacement and multi wave length anomalous dispersion, molecular replacement, refinement of the structure determined and its validation have been fully automated. Several computer program suites that execute all these steps as a pipeline operation have been made available. In spite of these great advances, determination of a protein structure may turn out to be a challenging task for a variety of reasons. It might be difficult to obtain multiple isomorphous replacement or multi wave length anomalous dispersion data or the crystal may have defects such as twinning or pseudo translation. Apart from these usual difficulties, more frequent difficulties have been encountered in recent years because of the large number of projects handled by structural biologists. These new difficulties usually result from contamination of the protein of interest by other proteins or presence of proteins from pathogenic organisms that could withstand the antibiotics used to prevent bacterial contamination. It could also be a result of poor book keeping. Recently, we have developed a procedure called MarathonMR that has the power to resolve some of these problems automatically. In this communication, we describe how the MarathonMR was used to determine four different protein structures that had remained elusive for several years. We describe the plausible reasons for the difficulties encountered in determining these structures and point out that the method presented here could be a validation tool for protein structures deposited in the protein data bank.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaushik Hatti
- Molecular Biophysics Unit, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560012, India; Vittal Mallya Scientific Research Foundation, Kanakapura Road, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560062, India
| | - Ansuman Biswas
- Physics Department, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560062, India
| | - Santosh Chaudhary
- Physics Department, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560062, India
| | | | - Kanagaraj Sekar
- Department of Computational and Data Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560062, India
| | | | - Mathur R N Murthy
- Molecular Biophysics Unit, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560012, India.
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15
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Hungler A, Momin A, Diederichs K, Arold ST. ContaMiner and ContaBase: a webserver and database for early identification of unwantedly crystallized protein contaminants. J Appl Crystallogr 2016; 49:2252-2258. [PMID: 27980519 PMCID: PMC5140001 DOI: 10.1107/s1600576716014965] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2016] [Accepted: 09/21/2016] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Solving the phase problem in protein X-ray crystallography relies heavily on the identity of the crystallized protein, especially when molecular replacement (MR) methods are used. Yet, it is not uncommon that a contaminant crystallizes instead of the protein of interest. Such contaminants may be proteins from the expression host organism, protein fusion tags or proteins added during the purification steps. Many contaminants co-purify easily, crystallize and give good diffraction data. Identification of contaminant crystals may take time, since the presence of the contaminant is unexpected and its identity unknown. A webserver (ContaMiner) and a contaminant database (ContaBase) have been established, to allow fast MR-based screening of crystallographic data against currently 62 known contaminants. The web-based ContaMiner (available at http://strube.cbrc.kaust.edu.sa/contaminer/) currently produces results in 5 min to 4 h. The program is also available in a github repository and can be installed locally. ContaMiner enables screening of novel crystals at synchrotron beamlines, and it would be valuable as a routine safety check for 'crystallization and preliminary X-ray analysis' publications. Thus, in addition to potentially saving X-ray crystallographers much time and effort, ContaMiner might considerably lower the risk of publishing erroneous data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arnaud Hungler
- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Center for Computational Bioscience Research (CBRC), Division of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering (BESE), Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Afaque Momin
- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Center for Computational Bioscience Research (CBRC), Division of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering (BESE), Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Kay Diederichs
- Fachbereich Biologie, Universität Konstanz, M647, D-78457 Konstanz, Germany
| | - Stefan, T. Arold
- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Center for Computational Bioscience Research (CBRC), Division of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering (BESE), Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
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