1
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Gotthard G, Flores-Ibarra A, Carrillo M, Kepa MW, Mason TJ, Stegmann DP, Olasz B, Pachota M, Dworkowski F, Ozerov D, Pedrini BF, Padeste C, Beale JH, Nogly P. Fixed-target pump-probe SFX: eliminating the scourge of light contamination. IUCRJ 2024; 11:749-761. [PMID: 38980142 PMCID: PMC11364036 DOI: 10.1107/s2052252524005591] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2023] [Accepted: 06/11/2024] [Indexed: 07/10/2024]
Abstract
X-ray free-electron laser (XFEL) light sources have enabled the rapid growth of time-resolved structural experiments, which provide crucial information on the function of macromolecules and their mechanisms. Here, the aim was to commission the SwissMX fixed-target sample-delivery system at the SwissFEL Cristallina experimental station using the PSI-developed micro-structured polymer (MISP) chip for pump-probe time-resolved experiments. To characterize the system, crystals of the light-sensitive protein light-oxygen-voltage domain 1 (LOV1) from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii were used. Using different experimental settings, the accidental illumination, referred to as light contamination, of crystals mounted in wells adjacent to those illuminated by the pump laser was examined. It was crucial to control the light scattering from and through the solid supports otherwise significant contamination occurred. However, the results here show that the opaque MISP chips are suitable for defined pump-probe studies of a light-sensitive protein. The experiment also probed the sub-millisecond structural dynamics of LOV1 and indicated that at Δt = 10 µs a covalent thioether bond is established between reactive Cys57 and its flavin mononucleotide cofactor. This experiment validates the crystals to be suitable for in-depth follow-up studies of this still poorly understood signal-transduction mechanism. Importantly, the fixed-target delivery system also permitted a tenfold reduction in protein sample consumption compared with the more common high-viscosity extrusion-based delivery system. This development creates the prospect of an increase in XFEL project throughput for the field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guillaume Gotthard
- Institute of Molecular Biology and BiophysicsETH ZurichRämistrasse 1018092ZürichSwitzerland
- Laboratory of Biomolecular ResearchPaul Scherrer InstitutForschungsstrasse 1115232VilligenSwitzerland
- Swiss Light SourcePaul Scherrer InstitutForschungsstrasse 1115232VilligenSwitzerland
| | - Andrea Flores-Ibarra
- Dioscuri Center for Structural Dynamics of Receptors, Faculty of Biochemistry, Biophysics and BiotechnologyJagiellonian UniversityGronostajowa 730-380KrakowPoland
| | - Melissa Carrillo
- Laboratory of Nanoscale BiologyPaul Scherrer InstitutForschungsstrasse 1115232VilligenSwitzerland
| | - Michal W. Kepa
- Laboratory of Biomolecular ResearchPaul Scherrer InstitutForschungsstrasse 1115232VilligenSwitzerland
| | - Thomas J. Mason
- Laboratory of Biomolecular ResearchPaul Scherrer InstitutForschungsstrasse 1115232VilligenSwitzerland
- Swiss Light SourcePaul Scherrer InstitutForschungsstrasse 1115232VilligenSwitzerland
| | - Dennis P. Stegmann
- Swiss Light SourcePaul Scherrer InstitutForschungsstrasse 1115232VilligenSwitzerland
| | - Bence Olasz
- Dioscuri Center for Structural Dynamics of Receptors, Faculty of Biochemistry, Biophysics and BiotechnologyJagiellonian UniversityGronostajowa 730-380KrakowPoland
| | - Magdalena Pachota
- Dioscuri Center for Structural Dynamics of Receptors, Faculty of Biochemistry, Biophysics and BiotechnologyJagiellonian UniversityGronostajowa 730-380KrakowPoland
| | - Florian Dworkowski
- Laboratory for Synchrotron Radiation and FemtochemistryPaul Scherrer InstitutForschungsstrasse 1115232VilligenSwitzerland
| | - Dmitry Ozerov
- Science IT Infrastructure and ServicesPaul Scherrer InstitutForschungsstrasse 1115232VilligenSwitzerland
| | - Bill F. Pedrini
- Laboratory for X-ray Nanoscience and TechnologiesPaul Scherrer InstitutForschungsstrasse 1115232VilligenSwitzerland
| | - Celestino Padeste
- Laboratory of Nanoscale BiologyPaul Scherrer InstitutForschungsstrasse 1115232VilligenSwitzerland
| | - John H. Beale
- Swiss Light SourcePaul Scherrer InstitutForschungsstrasse 1115232VilligenSwitzerland
| | - Przemyslaw Nogly
- Institute of Molecular Biology and BiophysicsETH ZurichRämistrasse 1018092ZürichSwitzerland
- Dioscuri Center for Structural Dynamics of Receptors, Faculty of Biochemistry, Biophysics and BiotechnologyJagiellonian UniversityGronostajowa 730-380KrakowPoland
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2
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Henkel A, Oberthür D. A snapshot love story: what serial crystallography has done and will do for us. Acta Crystallogr D Struct Biol 2024; 80:563-579. [PMID: 38984902 PMCID: PMC11301758 DOI: 10.1107/s2059798324005588] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/29/2024] [Accepted: 06/11/2024] [Indexed: 07/11/2024] Open
Abstract
Serial crystallography, born from groundbreaking experiments at the Linac Coherent Light Source in 2009, has evolved into a pivotal technique in structural biology. Initially pioneered at X-ray free-electron laser facilities, it has now expanded to synchrotron-radiation facilities globally, with dedicated experimental stations enhancing its accessibility. This review gives an overview of current developments in serial crystallography, emphasizing recent results in time-resolved crystallography, and discussing challenges and shortcomings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandra Henkel
- Center for Free-Electron Laser Science CFELDeutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESYNotkestr. 8522607HamburgGermany
| | - Dominik Oberthür
- Center for Free-Electron Laser Science CFELDeutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESYNotkestr. 8522607HamburgGermany
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3
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Grieco A, Boneta S, Gavira JA, Pey AL, Basu S, Orlans J, de Sanctis D, Medina M, Martin‐Garcia JM. Structural dynamics and functional cooperativity of human NQO1 by ambient temperature serial crystallography and simulations. Protein Sci 2024; 33:e4957. [PMID: 38501509 PMCID: PMC10949395 DOI: 10.1002/pro.4957] [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: 12/21/2023] [Revised: 02/16/2024] [Accepted: 02/17/2024] [Indexed: 03/20/2024]
Abstract
The human NQO1 (hNQO1) is a flavin adenine nucleotide (FAD)-dependent oxidoreductase that catalyzes the two-electron reduction of quinones to hydroquinones, being essential for the antioxidant defense system, stabilization of tumor suppressors, and activation of quinone-based chemotherapeutics. Moreover, it is overexpressed in several tumors, which makes it an attractive cancer drug target. To decipher new structural insights into the flavin reductive half-reaction of the catalytic mechanism of hNQO1, we have carried serial crystallography experiments at new ID29 beamline of the ESRF to determine, to the best of our knowledge, the first structure of the hNQO1 in complex with NADH. We have also performed molecular dynamics simulations of free hNQO1 and in complex with NADH. This is the first structural evidence that the hNQO1 functional cooperativity is driven by structural communication between the active sites through long-range propagation of cooperative effects across the hNQO1 structure. Both structural results and MD simulations have supported that the binding of NADH significantly decreases protein dynamics and stabilizes hNQO1 especially at the dimer core and interface. Altogether, these results pave the way for future time-resolved studies, both at x-ray free-electron lasers and synchrotrons, of the dynamics of hNQO1 upon binding to NADH as well as during the FAD cofactor reductive half-reaction. This knowledge will allow us to reveal unprecedented structural information of the relevance of the dynamics during the catalytic function of hNQO1.
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Grants
- P18-RT-2413 Consejería de Economía, Conocimiento, Empresas y Universidad, Junta de Andalucía
- RTI2018-096246-B-I00 ERDF/Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities-State Research Agency
- E35-23R Gobierno de Aragón
- B-BIO-84-UGR20 ERDF/Counseling of Economic Transformation, Industry, Knowledge and Universities
- CNS2022-135713 The European Union NextGenerationEU/PRTR
- 2019-T1/BMD-15552 Comunidad de Madrid
- MCIN/AEI/PID2022-136369NB-I00 MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033/ERDF
- Consejería de Economía, Conocimiento, Empresas y Universidad, Junta de Andalucía
- ERDF/Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities‐State Research Agency
- Gobierno de Aragón
- ERDF/Counseling of Economic Transformation, Industry, Knowledge and Universities
- Comunidad de Madrid
- MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033/ERDF
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Affiliation(s)
- Alice Grieco
- Department of Crystallography and Structural BiologyInstitute of Physical Chemistry Blas Cabrera, Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)MadridSpain
| | - Sergio Boneta
- Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular y Celular e Instituto de Biocomputación y Física de Sistemas Complejos (BIFI)Universidad de ZaragozaZaragozaSpain
| | - José A. Gavira
- Laboratory of Crystallographic StudiesIACT (CSIC‐UGR)ArmillaSpain
| | - Angel L. Pey
- Departamento de Química FísicaUnidad de Excelencia en Química Aplicada a Biomedicina y Medioambiente e Instituto de Biotecnología, Universidad de GranadaGranadaSpain
| | - Shibom Basu
- European Molecular Biology LaboratoryGrenobleFrance
| | | | | | - Milagros Medina
- Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular y Celular e Instituto de Biocomputación y Física de Sistemas Complejos (BIFI)Universidad de ZaragozaZaragozaSpain
| | - Jose Manuel Martin‐Garcia
- Department of Crystallography and Structural BiologyInstitute of Physical Chemistry Blas Cabrera, Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)MadridSpain
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4
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Thompson AJ, Sanchez-Weatherby J, Williams LJ, Mikolajek H, Sandy J, Worrall JAR, Hough MA. Efficient in situ screening of and data collection from microcrystals in crystallization plates. Acta Crystallogr D Struct Biol 2024; 80:279-288. [PMID: 38488731 PMCID: PMC10994175 DOI: 10.1107/s2059798324001955] [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: 12/15/2023] [Accepted: 02/28/2024] [Indexed: 04/05/2024] Open
Abstract
A considerable bottleneck in serial crystallography at XFEL and synchrotron sources is the efficient production of large quantities of homogenous, well diffracting microcrystals. Efficient high-throughput screening of batch-grown microcrystals and the determination of ground-state structures from different conditions is thus of considerable value in the early stages of a project. Here, a highly sample-efficient methodology to measure serial crystallography data from microcrystals by raster scanning within standard in situ 96-well crystallization plates is described. Structures were determined from very small quantities of microcrystal suspension and the results were compared with those from other sample-delivery methods. The analysis of a two-dimensional batch crystallization screen using this method is also described as a useful guide for further optimization and the selection of appropriate conditions for scaling up microcrystallization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amy J. Thompson
- Diamond Light Source Ltd, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0DE, United Kingdom
| | - Juan Sanchez-Weatherby
- Diamond Light Source Ltd, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0DE, United Kingdom
- Research Complex at Harwell, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0DE, United Kingdom
| | - Lewis J. Williams
- Diamond Light Source Ltd, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0DE, United Kingdom
- School of Life Sciences, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ, United Kingdom
| | - Halina Mikolajek
- Diamond Light Source Ltd, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0DE, United Kingdom
- Research Complex at Harwell, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0DE, United Kingdom
| | - James Sandy
- Diamond Light Source Ltd, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0DE, United Kingdom
| | - Jonathan A. R. Worrall
- School of Life Sciences, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ, United Kingdom
| | - Michael A. Hough
- Diamond Light Source Ltd, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0DE, United Kingdom
- Research Complex at Harwell, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0DE, United Kingdom
- School of Life Sciences, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ, United Kingdom
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5
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Stubbs J, Hornsey T, Hanrahan N, Esteban LB, Bolton R, Malý M, Basu S, Orlans J, de Sanctis D, Shim JU, Shaw Stewart PD, Orville AM, Tews I, West J. Droplet microfluidics for time-resolved serial crystallography. IUCRJ 2024; 11:237-248. [PMID: 38446456 PMCID: PMC10916287 DOI: 10.1107/s2052252524001799] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2024] [Accepted: 02/23/2024] [Indexed: 03/07/2024]
Abstract
Serial crystallography requires large numbers of microcrystals and robust strategies to rapidly apply substrates to initiate reactions in time-resolved studies. Here, we report the use of droplet miniaturization for the controlled production of uniform crystals, providing an avenue for controlled substrate addition and synchronous reaction initiation. The approach was evaluated using two enzymatic systems, yielding 3 µm crystals of lysozyme and 2 µm crystals of Pdx1, an Arabidopsis enzyme involved in vitamin B6 biosynthesis. A seeding strategy was used to overcome the improbability of Pdx1 nucleation occurring with diminishing droplet volumes. Convection within droplets was exploited for rapid crystal mixing with ligands. Mixing times of <2 ms were achieved. Droplet microfluidics for crystal size engineering and rapid micromixing can be utilized to advance time-resolved serial crystallography.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jack Stubbs
- School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, United Kingdom
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0DE, United Kingdom
| | - Theo Hornsey
- School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, United Kingdom
| | - Niall Hanrahan
- School of Chemistry, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, United Kingdom
- Institute for Life Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, United Kingdom
| | - Luis Blay Esteban
- Universitat Carlemany, Avenida Verge de Canolich, 47, Sant Julia de Loria, Principat d’Andorra AD600, Spain
| | - Rachel Bolton
- School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, United Kingdom
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0DE, United Kingdom
| | - Martin Malý
- School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, United Kingdom
- Institute for Life Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, United Kingdom
| | - Shibom Basu
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Grenoble Outstation, 71 Avenue des Martyrs, CS 90181, Grenoble 38042, Cedex 9, France
| | - Julien Orlans
- European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), 71 Avenue des Martyrs, Grenoble 38042, Cedex 9, France
| | - Daniele de Sanctis
- European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), 71 Avenue des Martyrs, Grenoble 38042, Cedex 9, France
| | - Jung-uk Shim
- Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, United Kingdom
| | | | - Allen M. Orville
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0DE, United Kingdom
- Research Complex at Harwell, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0FA, United Kingdom
| | - Ivo Tews
- School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, United Kingdom
- Institute for Life Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, United Kingdom
| | - Jonathan West
- Institute for Life Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, United Kingdom
- Cancer Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, United Kingdom
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6
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Carrillo M, Mason TJ, Karpik A, Martiel I, Kepa MW, McAuley KE, Beale JH, Padeste C. Micro-structured polymer fixed targets for serial crystallography at synchrotrons and XFELs. IUCRJ 2023; 10:678-693. [PMID: 37727961 PMCID: PMC10619457 DOI: 10.1107/s2052252523007595] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2023] [Accepted: 08/31/2023] [Indexed: 09/21/2023]
Abstract
Fixed targets are a popular form of sample-delivery system used in serial crystallography at synchrotron and X-ray free-electron laser sources. They offer a wide range of sample-preparation options and are generally easy to use. The supports are typically made from silicon, quartz or polymer. Of these, currently, only silicon offers the ability to perform an aperture-aligned data collection where crystals are loaded into cavities in precise locations and sequentially rastered through, in step with the X-ray pulses. The polymer-based fixed targets have lacked the precision fabrication to enable this data-collection strategy and have been limited to directed-raster scans with crystals randomly distributed across the polymer surface. Here, the fabrication and first results from a new polymer-based fixed target, the micro-structured polymer fixed targets (MISP chips), are presented. MISP chips, like those made from silicon, have a precise array of cavities and fiducial markers. They consist of a structured polymer membrane and a stabilization frame. Crystals can be loaded into the cavities and the excess crystallization solution removed through apertures at their base. The fiducial markers allow for a rapid calculation of the aperture locations. The chips have a low X-ray background and, since they are optically transparent, also allow for an a priori analysis of crystal locations. This location mapping could, ultimately, optimize hit rates towards 100%. A black version of the MISP chip was produced to reduce light contamination for optical-pump/X-ray probe experiments. A study of the loading properties of the chips reveals that these types of fixed targets are best optimized for crystals of the order of 25 µm, but quality data can be collected from crystals as small as 5 µm. With the development of these chips, it has been proved that polymer-based fixed targets can be made with the precision required for aperture-alignment-based data-collection strategies. Further work can now be directed towards more cost-effective mass fabrication to make their use more sustainable for serial crystallography facilities and users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melissa Carrillo
- Paul Scherrer Institut, Forschungsstrasse 111, 5232 Villigen, Switzerland
- Department of Chemistry, University of Basel, Mattenstrasse 24a, 4002 Basel, Switzerland
- Swiss Nanoscience Institute, Klingelbergstrasse 82, 4056 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Thomas J. Mason
- Paul Scherrer Institut, Forschungsstrasse 111, 5232 Villigen, Switzerland
| | - Agnieszka Karpik
- Paul Scherrer Institut, Forschungsstrasse 111, 5232 Villigen, Switzerland
- Institute of Polymer Nanotechnology (INKA), FHNW University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, School of Engineering, Klosterzelgstrasse 2, 5210 Windisch, Switzerland
| | - Isabelle Martiel
- Paul Scherrer Institut, Forschungsstrasse 111, 5232 Villigen, Switzerland
| | - Michal W. Kepa
- Paul Scherrer Institut, Forschungsstrasse 111, 5232 Villigen, Switzerland
| | | | - John H. Beale
- Paul Scherrer Institut, Forschungsstrasse 111, 5232 Villigen, Switzerland
| | - Celestino Padeste
- Paul Scherrer Institut, Forschungsstrasse 111, 5232 Villigen, Switzerland
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7
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Liu Z, Gu KK, Shelby ML, Gilbile D, Lyubimov AY, Russi S, Cohen AE, Narayanasamy SR, Botha S, Kupitz C, Sierra RG, Poitevin F, Gilardi A, Lisova S, Coleman MA, Frank M, Kuhl TL. A user-friendly plug-and-play cyclic olefin copolymer-based microfluidic chip for room-temperature, fixed-target serial crystallography. Acta Crystallogr D Struct Biol 2023; 79:944-952. [PMID: 37747292 PMCID: PMC10565732 DOI: 10.1107/s2059798323007027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2023] [Accepted: 08/07/2023] [Indexed: 09/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Over the past two decades, serial X-ray crystallography has enabled the structure determination of a wide range of proteins. With the advent of X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs), ever-smaller crystals have yielded high-resolution diffraction and structure determination. A crucial need to continue advancement is the efficient delivery of fragile and micrometre-sized crystals to the X-ray beam intersection. This paper presents an improved design of an all-polymer microfluidic `chip' for room-temperature fixed-target serial crystallography that can be tailored to broadly meet the needs of users at either synchrotron or XFEL light sources. The chips are designed to be customized around different types of crystals and offer users a friendly, quick, convenient, ultra-low-cost and robust sample-delivery platform. Compared with the previous iteration of the chip [Gilbile et al. (2021), Lab Chip, 21, 4831-4845], the new design eliminates cleanroom fabrication. It has a larger imaging area to volume, while maintaining crystal hydration stability for both in situ crystallization or direct crystal slurry loading. Crystals of two model proteins, lysozyme and thaumatin, were used to validate the effectiveness of the design at both synchrotron (lysozyme and thaumatin) and XFEL (lysozyme only) facilities, yielding complete data sets with resolutions of 1.42, 1.48 and 1.70 Å, respectively. Overall, the improved chip design, ease of fabrication and high modifiability create a powerful, all-around sample-delivery tool that structural biologists can quickly adopt, especially in cases of limited sample volume and small, fragile crystals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhongrui Liu
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California at Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Kevin K. Gu
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California at Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Megan L. Shelby
- Biosciences and Biotechnology Division, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94550, USA
| | - Deepshika Gilbile
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California at Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Artem Y. Lyubimov
- Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA
| | - Silvia Russi
- Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA
| | - Aina E. Cohen
- Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA
| | - Sankar Raju Narayanasamy
- Biosciences and Biotechnology Division, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94550, USA
| | - Sabine Botha
- Department of Physics, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
| | - Christopher Kupitz
- Linac Coherent Light Source, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA
| | - Raymond G. Sierra
- Linac Coherent Light Source, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA
| | - Fredric Poitevin
- Linac Coherent Light Source, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA
| | - Antonio Gilardi
- Linac Coherent Light Source, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA
| | - Stella Lisova
- Linac Coherent Light Source, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA
| | - Matthew A. Coleman
- Biosciences and Biotechnology Division, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94550, USA
- Department of Radiation Oncology, School of Medicine, University of California at Davis, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA
| | - Matthias Frank
- Biosciences and Biotechnology Division, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94550, USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, School of Medicine, University of California at Davis, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA
| | - Tonya L. Kuhl
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California at Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA
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8
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Doppler D, Sonker M, Egatz-Gomez A, Grieco A, Zaare S, Jernigan R, Meza-Aguilar JD, Rabbani MT, Manna A, Alvarez RC, Karpos K, Cruz Villarreal J, Nelson G, Yang JH, Carrion J, Morin K, Ketawala GK, Pey AL, Ruiz-Fresneda MA, Pacheco-Garcia JL, Hermoso JA, Nazari R, Sierra R, Hunter MS, Batyuk A, Kupitz CJ, Sublett RE, Lisova S, Mariani V, Boutet S, Fromme R, Grant TD, Botha S, Fromme P, Kirian RA, Martin-Garcia JM, Ros A. Modular droplet injector for sample conservation providing new structural insight for the conformational heterogeneity in the disease-associated NQO1 enzyme. LAB ON A CHIP 2023; 23:3016-3033. [PMID: 37294576 PMCID: PMC10503405 DOI: 10.1039/d3lc00176h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Droplet injection strategies are a promising tool to reduce the large amount of sample consumed in serial femtosecond crystallography (SFX) measurements at X-ray free electron lasers (XFELs) with continuous injection approaches. Here, we demonstrate a new modular microfluidic droplet injector (MDI) design that was successfully applied to deliver microcrystals of the human NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) and phycocyanin. We investigated droplet generation conditions through electrical stimulation for both protein samples and implemented hardware and software components for optimized crystal injection at the Macromolecular Femtosecond Crystallography (MFX) instrument at the Stanford Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS). Under optimized droplet injection conditions, we demonstrate that up to 4-fold sample consumption savings can be achieved with the droplet injector. In addition, we collected a full data set with droplet injection for NQO1 protein crystals with a resolution up to 2.7 Å, leading to the first room-temperature structure of NQO1 at an XFEL. NQO1 is a flavoenzyme associated with cancer, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, making it an attractive target for drug discovery. Our results reveal for the first time that residues Tyr128 and Phe232, which play key roles in the function of the protein, show an unexpected conformational heterogeneity at room temperature within the crystals. These results suggest that different substates exist in the conformational ensemble of NQO1 with functional and mechanistic implications for the enzyme's negative cooperativity through a conformational selection mechanism. Our study thus demonstrates that microfluidic droplet injection constitutes a robust sample-conserving injection method for SFX studies on protein crystals that are difficult to obtain in amounts necessary for continuous injection, including the large sample quantities required for time-resolved mix-and-inject studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diandra Doppler
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1604, USA.
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-7401, USA
| | - Mukul Sonker
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1604, USA.
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-7401, USA
| | - Ana Egatz-Gomez
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1604, USA.
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-7401, USA
| | - Alice Grieco
- Department of Crystallography and Structural Biology, Institute of Physical Chemistry Blas Cabrera, Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Serrano 119, 28006, Madrid, Spain.
| | - Sahba Zaare
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-7401, USA
- Department of Physics, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1504, USA
| | - Rebecca Jernigan
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1604, USA.
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-7401, USA
| | - Jose Domingo Meza-Aguilar
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-7401, USA
| | - Mohammad T Rabbani
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1604, USA.
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-7401, USA
| | - Abhik Manna
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1604, USA.
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-7401, USA
| | - Roberto C Alvarez
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-7401, USA
- Department of Physics, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1504, USA
| | - Konstantinos Karpos
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-7401, USA
- Department of Physics, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1504, USA
| | - Jorvani Cruz Villarreal
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1604, USA.
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-7401, USA
| | - Garrett Nelson
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-7401, USA
- Department of Physics, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1504, USA
| | - Jay-How Yang
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1604, USA.
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-7401, USA
| | - Jackson Carrion
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1604, USA.
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-7401, USA
| | - Katherine Morin
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1604, USA.
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-7401, USA
| | - Gihan K Ketawala
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1604, USA.
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-7401, USA
| | - Angel L Pey
- Departamento de Química Física, Unidad de Excelencia en Química Aplicada a Biomedicina y Medioambiente e Instituto de Biotecnología, Universidad de Granada, Av. Fuentenueva s/n, 18071, Granada, Spain
| | - Miguel Angel Ruiz-Fresneda
- Department of Crystallography and Structural Biology, Institute of Physical Chemistry Blas Cabrera, Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Serrano 119, 28006, Madrid, Spain.
| | - Juan Luis Pacheco-Garcia
- Departamento de Química Física, Universidad de Granada, Av. Fuentenueva s/n, 18071 Granada, Spain
| | - Juan A Hermoso
- Department of Crystallography and Structural Biology, Institute of Physical Chemistry Blas Cabrera, Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Serrano 119, 28006, Madrid, Spain.
| | - Reza Nazari
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-7401, USA
- Department of Physics, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1504, USA
| | - Raymond Sierra
- Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, 94025 CA, USA
| | - Mark S Hunter
- Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, 94025 CA, USA
| | - Alexander Batyuk
- Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, 94025 CA, USA
| | - Christopher J Kupitz
- Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, 94025 CA, USA
| | - Robert E Sublett
- Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, 94025 CA, USA
| | - Stella Lisova
- Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, 94025 CA, USA
| | - Valerio Mariani
- Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, 94025 CA, USA
| | - Sébastien Boutet
- Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, 94025 CA, USA
| | - Raimund Fromme
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1604, USA.
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-7401, USA
| | - Thomas D Grant
- Department of Structural Biology, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, SUNY University at Buffalo, 955 Main St, Buffalo, NY, 14203, USA
| | - Sabine Botha
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-7401, USA
- Department of Physics, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1504, USA
| | - Petra Fromme
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1604, USA.
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-7401, USA
| | - Richard A Kirian
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-7401, USA
- Department of Physics, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1504, USA
| | - Jose Manuel Martin-Garcia
- Department of Crystallography and Structural Biology, Institute of Physical Chemistry Blas Cabrera, Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Serrano 119, 28006, Madrid, Spain.
| | - Alexandra Ros
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1604, USA.
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-7401, USA
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9
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Shoeman RL, Hartmann E, Schlichting I. Growing and making nano- and microcrystals. Nat Protoc 2023; 18:854-882. [PMID: 36451055 DOI: 10.1038/s41596-022-00777-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2016] [Accepted: 08/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022]
Abstract
Thanks to recent technological advances in X-ray and micro-electron diffraction and solid-state NMR, structural information can be obtained by using much smaller crystals. Thus, microcrystals have become a valuable commodity rather than a mere stepping stone toward obtaining macroscopic crystals. Microcrystals are particularly useful for structure determination using serial data collection approaches at synchrotrons and X-ray free-electron lasers. The latter's enormous peak brilliance and short X-ray pulse duration mean that structural information can be obtained before the effects of radiation damage are seen; these properties also facilitate time-resolved crystallography. To establish defined reaction initiation conditions, microcrystals with a desired and narrow size distribution are critical. Here, we describe milling and seeding techniques as well as filtration approaches for the reproducible and size-adjustable preparation of homogeneous nano- and microcrystals. Nanocrystals and crystal seeds can be obtained by milling using zirconium beads and the BeadBug homogenizer; fragmentation of large crystals yields micro- or nanocrystals by flowing crystals through stainless steel filters by using an HPLC pump. The approaches can be scaled to generate micro- to milliliter quantities of microcrystals, starting from macroscopic crystals. The procedure typically takes 3-5 d, including the time required to grow the microcrystals.
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10
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Thorne RE. Determining biomolecular structures near room temperature using X-ray crystallography: concepts, methods and future optimization. Acta Crystallogr D Struct Biol 2023; 79:78-94. [PMID: 36601809 PMCID: PMC9815097 DOI: 10.1107/s2059798322011652] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2022] [Accepted: 12/04/2022] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
For roughly two decades, cryocrystallography has been the overwhelmingly dominant method for determining high-resolution biomolecular structures. Competition from single-particle cryo-electron microscopy and micro-electron diffraction, increased interest in functionally relevant information that may be missing or corrupted in structures determined at cryogenic temperature, and interest in time-resolved studies of the biomolecular response to chemical and optical stimuli have driven renewed interest in data collection at room temperature and, more generally, at temperatures from the protein-solvent glass transition near 200 K to ∼350 K. Fischer has recently reviewed practical methods for room-temperature data collection and analysis [Fischer (2021), Q. Rev. Biophys. 54, e1]. Here, the key advantages and physical principles of, and methods for, crystallographic data collection at noncryogenic temperatures and some factors relevant to interpreting the resulting data are discussed. For room-temperature data collection to realize its potential within the structural biology toolkit, streamlined and standardized methods for delivering crystals prepared in the home laboratory to the synchrotron and for automated handling and data collection, similar to those for cryocrystallography, should be implemented.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert E. Thorne
- Physics Department, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
- MiTeGen LLC, PO Box 3867, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA
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11
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Sonker M, Doppler D, Egatz-Gomez A, Zaare S, Rabbani MT, Manna A, Cruz Villarreal J, Nelson G, Ketawala GK, Karpos K, Alvarez RC, Nazari R, Thifault D, Jernigan R, Oberthür D, Han H, Sierra R, Hunter MS, Batyuk A, Kupitz CJ, Sublett RE, Poitevin F, Lisova S, Mariani V, Tolstikova A, Boutet S, Messerschmidt M, Meza-Aguilar JD, Fromme R, Martin-Garcia JM, Botha S, Fromme P, Grant TD, Kirian RA, Ros A. Electrically stimulated droplet injector for reduced sample consumption in serial crystallography. BIOPHYSICAL REPORTS 2022; 2:100081. [PMID: 36425668 PMCID: PMC9680787 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpr.2022.100081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2022] [Accepted: 09/27/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
With advances in X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs), serial femtosecond crystallography (SFX) has enabled the static and dynamic structure determination for challenging proteins such as membrane protein complexes. In SFX with XFELs, the crystals are typically destroyed after interacting with a single XFEL pulse. Therefore, thousands of new crystals must be sequentially introduced into the X-ray beam to collect full data sets. Because of the serial nature of any SFX experiment, up to 99% of the sample delivered to the X-ray beam during its "off-time" between X-ray pulses is wasted due to the intrinsic pulsed nature of all current XFELs. To solve this major problem of large and often limiting sample consumption, we report on improvements of a revolutionary sample-saving method that is compatible with all current XFELs. We previously reported 3D-printed injection devices coupled with gas dynamic virtual nozzles (GDVNs) capable of generating samples containing droplets segmented by an immiscible oil phase for jetting crystal-laden droplets into the path of an XFEL. Here, we have further improved the device design by including metal electrodes inducing electrowetting effects for improved control over droplet generation frequency to stimulate the droplet release to matching the XFEL repetition rate by employing an electrical feedback mechanism. We report the improvements in this electrically triggered segmented flow approach for sample conservation in comparison with a continuous GDVN injection using the microcrystals of lysozyme and 3-deoxy-D-manno-octulosonate 8-phosphate synthase and report the segmented flow approach for sample injection applied at the Macromolecular Femtosecond Crystallography instrument at the Linear Coherent Light Source for the first time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mukul Sonker
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
| | - Diandra Doppler
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
| | - Ana Egatz-Gomez
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
| | - Sahba Zaare
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
- Department of Physics, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
| | - Mohammad T. Rabbani
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
| | - Abhik Manna
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
| | - Jorvani Cruz Villarreal
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
| | - Garrett Nelson
- Department of Physics, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
| | - Gihan K. Ketawala
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
| | - Konstantinos Karpos
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
- Department of Physics, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
| | - Roberto C. Alvarez
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
- Department of Physics, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
| | - Reza Nazari
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
- Department of Physics, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
| | - Darren Thifault
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
| | - Rebecca Jernigan
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
| | - Dominik Oberthür
- Center for Free-Electron Laser Science, Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron, Hamburg, Germany
| | | | - Raymond Sierra
- Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, California
| | - Mark S. Hunter
- Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, California
| | - Alexander Batyuk
- Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, California
| | - Christopher J. Kupitz
- Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, California
| | - Robert E. Sublett
- Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, California
| | - Frederic Poitevin
- Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, California
| | - Stella Lisova
- Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, California
| | - Valerio Mariani
- Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, California
| | - Alexandra Tolstikova
- Center for Free-Electron Laser Science, Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Sebastien Boutet
- Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, California
| | - Marc Messerschmidt
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
| | - J. Domingo Meza-Aguilar
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
| | - Raimund Fromme
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
| | - Jose M. Martin-Garcia
- Institute Physical-Chemistry Rocasolano, Spanish National Research Council, Madrid, Spain
| | - Sabine Botha
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
- Department of Physics, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
| | - Petra Fromme
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
| | - Thomas D. Grant
- Department of Structural Biology, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, SUNY University at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York
| | - Richard A. Kirian
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
- Department of Physics, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
| | - Alexandra Ros
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
- Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
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12
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Moreno-Chicano T, Carey LM, Axford D, Beale JH, Doak RB, Duyvesteyn HME, Ebrahim A, Henning RW, Monteiro DCF, Myles DA, Owada S, Sherrell DA, Straw ML, Šrajer V, Sugimoto H, Tono K, Tosha T, Tews I, Trebbin M, Strange RW, Weiss KL, Worrall JAR, Meilleur F, Owen RL, Ghiladi RA, Hough MA. Complementarity of neutron, XFEL and synchrotron crystallography for defining the structures of metalloenzymes at room temperature. IUCRJ 2022; 9:610-624. [PMID: 36071813 PMCID: PMC9438502 DOI: 10.1107/s2052252522006418] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2021] [Accepted: 06/21/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Room-temperature macromolecular crystallography allows protein structures to be determined under close-to-physiological conditions, permits dynamic freedom in protein motions and enables time-resolved studies. In the case of metalloenzymes that are highly sensitive to radiation damage, such room-temperature experiments can present challenges, including increased rates of X-ray reduction of metal centres and site-specific radiation-damage artefacts, as well as in devising appropriate sample-delivery and data-collection methods. It can also be problematic to compare structures measured using different crystal sizes and light sources. In this study, structures of a multifunctional globin, dehaloperoxidase B (DHP-B), obtained using several methods of room-temperature crystallographic structure determination are described and compared. Here, data were measured from large single crystals and multiple microcrystals using neutrons, X-ray free-electron laser pulses, monochromatic synchrotron radiation and polychromatic (Laue) radiation light sources. These approaches span a range of 18 orders of magnitude in measurement time per diffraction pattern and four orders of magnitude in crystal volume. The first room-temperature neutron structures of DHP-B are also presented, allowing the explicit identification of the hydrogen positions. The neutron data proved to be complementary to the serial femtosecond crystallography data, with both methods providing structures free of the effects of X-ray radiation damage when compared with standard cryo-crystallography. Comparison of these room-temperature methods demonstrated the large differences in sample requirements, data-collection time and the potential for radiation damage between them. With regard to the structure and function of DHP-B, despite the results being partly limited by differences in the underlying structures, new information was gained on the protonation states of active-site residues which may guide future studies of DHP-B.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tadeo Moreno-Chicano
- School of Life Sciences, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ, United Kingdom
| | - Leiah M. Carey
- Department of Chemistry, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-8204, USA
| | - Danny Axford
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0DE, United Kingdom
| | - John H. Beale
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0DE, United Kingdom
| | - R. Bruce Doak
- Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Helen M. E. Duyvesteyn
- Division of Structural Biology (STRUBI), University of Oxford, The Henry Wellcome Building for Genomic Medicine, Roosevelt Drive, Oxford OX3 7BN, United Kingdom
| | - Ali Ebrahim
- School of Life Sciences, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ, United Kingdom
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0DE, United Kingdom
| | - Robert W. Henning
- BioCARS, University of Chicago, Building 434B, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Lemont, IL 60439, USA
| | - Diana C. F. Monteiro
- Hauptman–Woodward Medical Research Institute, 700 Ellicott Street, Buffalo, NY 14203-1102, USA
| | - Dean A. Myles
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA
| | - Shigeki Owada
- Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute, 1-1-1 Kouto, Sayo, Hyogo 679-5198, Japan
| | - Darren A. Sherrell
- Structural Biology Center, X-ray Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL 60439, USA
| | - Megan L. Straw
- School of Life Sciences, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ, United Kingdom
| | - Vukica Šrajer
- BioCARS, University of Chicago, Building 434B, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Lemont, IL 60439, USA
| | | | - Kensuke Tono
- Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute, 1-1-1 Kouto, Sayo, Hyogo 679-5198, Japan
| | - Takehiko Tosha
- RIKEN SPring-8 Center, 1-1-1 Kouto, Sayo, Hyogo 679-5198, Japan
| | - Ivo Tews
- Biological Sciences, University of Southampton, University Road, Southampton SO17 1BJ, United Kingdom
| | - Martin Trebbin
- Hauptman–Woodward Medical Research Institute, 700 Ellicott Street, Buffalo, NY 14203-1102, USA
- Department of Chemistry, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14260, USA
| | - Richard W. Strange
- School of Life Sciences, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ, United Kingdom
| | - Kevin L. Weiss
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA
| | - Jonathan A. R. Worrall
- School of Life Sciences, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ, United Kingdom
| | - Flora Meilleur
- Department of Chemistry, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-8204, USA
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA
| | - Robin L. Owen
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0DE, United Kingdom
| | - Reza A. Ghiladi
- Department of Chemistry, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-8204, USA
| | - Michael A. Hough
- School of Life Sciences, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ, United Kingdom
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0DE, United Kingdom
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13
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Sherrell DA, Lavens A, Wilamowski M, Kim Y, Chard R, Lazarski K, Rosenbaum G, Vescovi R, Johnson JL, Akins C, Chang C, Michalska K, Babnigg G, Foster I, Joachimiak A. Fixed-target serial crystallography at the Structural Biology Center. JOURNAL OF SYNCHROTRON RADIATION 2022; 29:1141-1151. [PMID: 36073872 PMCID: PMC9455217 DOI: 10.1107/s1600577522007895] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2022] [Accepted: 08/05/2022] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
Serial synchrotron crystallography enables the study of protein structures under physiological temperature and reduced radiation damage by collection of data from thousands of crystals. The Structural Biology Center at Sector 19 of the Advanced Photon Source has implemented a fixed-target approach with a new 3D-printed mesh-holder optimized for sample handling. The holder immobilizes a crystal suspension or droplet emulsion on a nylon mesh, trapping and sealing a near-monolayer of crystals in its mother liquor between two thin Mylar films. Data can be rapidly collected in scan mode and analyzed in near real-time using piezoelectric linear stages assembled in an XYZ arrangement, controlled with a graphical user interface and analyzed using a high-performance computing pipeline. Here, the system was applied to two β-lactamases: a class D serine β-lactamase from Chitinophaga pinensis DSM 2588 and L1 metallo-β-lactamase from Stenotrophomonas maltophilia K279a.
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Affiliation(s)
- Darren A. Sherrell
- Structural Biology Center, X-ray Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, IL 60439, USA
| | - Alex Lavens
- Structural Biology Center, X-ray Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, IL 60439, USA
| | - Mateusz Wilamowski
- Center for Structural Genomics of Infectious Diseases, Consortium for Advanced Science and Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60667, USA
| | - Youngchang Kim
- Structural Biology Center, X-ray Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, IL 60439, USA
- Center for Structural Genomics of Infectious Diseases, Consortium for Advanced Science and Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60667, USA
| | - Ryan Chard
- Data Science and Learning Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, IL 60439, USA
| | - Krzysztof Lazarski
- Structural Biology Center, X-ray Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, IL 60439, USA
| | - Gerold Rosenbaum
- Structural Biology Center, X-ray Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, IL 60439, USA
| | - Rafael Vescovi
- Data Science and Learning Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, IL 60439, USA
| | - Jessica L. Johnson
- Biosciences Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, IL 60439, USA
| | - Chase Akins
- Biosciences Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, IL 60439, USA
| | - Changsoo Chang
- Structural Biology Center, X-ray Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, IL 60439, USA
- Center for Structural Genomics of Infectious Diseases, Consortium for Advanced Science and Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60667, USA
| | - Karolina Michalska
- Structural Biology Center, X-ray Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, IL 60439, USA
- Center for Structural Genomics of Infectious Diseases, Consortium for Advanced Science and Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60667, USA
| | - Gyorgy Babnigg
- Biosciences Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, IL 60439, USA
| | - Ian Foster
- Data Science and Learning Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, IL 60439, USA
| | - Andrzej Joachimiak
- Structural Biology Center, X-ray Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, IL 60439, USA
- Center for Structural Genomics of Infectious Diseases, Consortium for Advanced Science and Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60667, USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60367, USA
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14
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Barends TR, Stauch B, Cherezov V, Schlichting I. Serial femtosecond crystallography. NATURE REVIEWS. METHODS PRIMERS 2022; 2:59. [PMID: 36643971 PMCID: PMC9833121 DOI: 10.1038/s43586-022-00141-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
With the advent of X-ray Free Electron Lasers (XFELs), new, high-throughput serial crystallography techniques for macromolecular structure determination have emerged. Serial femtosecond crystallography (SFX) and related methods provide possibilities beyond canonical, single-crystal rotation crystallography by mitigating radiation damage and allowing time-resolved studies with unprecedented temporal resolution. This primer aims to assist structural biology groups with little or no experience in serial crystallography planning and carrying out a successful SFX experiment. It discusses the background of serial crystallography and its possibilities. Microcrystal growth and characterization methods are discussed, alongside techniques for sample delivery and data processing. Moreover, it gives practical tips for preparing an experiment, what to consider and do during a beamtime and how to conduct the final data analysis. Finally, the Primer looks at various applications of SFX, including structure determination of membrane proteins, investigation of radiation damage-prone systems and time-resolved studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas R.M. Barends
- Department for Biological Mechanisms, Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Benjamin Stauch
- Department of Chemistry, The Bridge Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Vadim Cherezov
- Department of Chemistry, The Bridge Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Ilme Schlichting
- Department for Biological Mechanisms, Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Heidelberg, Germany,
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15
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Babnigg G, Sherrell D, Kim Y, Johnson JL, Nocek B, Tan K, Axford D, Li H, Bigelow L, Welk L, Endres M, Owen RL, Joachimiak A. Data collection from crystals grown in microfluidic droplets. Acta Crystallogr D Struct Biol 2022; 78:997-1009. [PMID: 35916224 PMCID: PMC9344473 DOI: 10.1107/s2059798322004661] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2021] [Accepted: 05/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Protein crystals grown in microfluidic droplets have been shown to be an effective and robust platform for storage, transport and serial crystallography data collection with a minimal impact on diffraction quality. Single macromolecular microcrystals grown in nanolitre-sized droplets allow the very efficient use of protein samples and can produce large quantities of high-quality samples for data collection. However, there are challenges not only in growing crystals in microfluidic droplets, but also in delivering the droplets into X-ray beams, including the physical arrangement, beamline and timing constraints and ease of use. Here, the crystallization of two human gut microbial hydrolases in microfluidic droplets is described: a sample-transport and data-collection approach that is inexpensive, is convenient, requires small amounts of protein and is forgiving. It is shown that crystals can be grown in 50-500 pl droplets when the crystallization conditions are compatible with the droplet environment. Local and remote data-collection methods are described and it is shown that crystals grown in microfluidics droplets and housed as an emulsion in an Eppendorf tube can be shipped from the US to the UK using a FedEx envelope, and data can be collected successfully. Details of how crystals were delivered to the X-ray beam by depositing an emulsion of droplets onto a silicon fixed-target serial device are provided. After three months of storage at 4°C, the crystals endured and diffracted well, showing only a slight decrease in diffracting power, demonstrating a suitable way to grow crystals, and to store and collect the droplets with crystals for data collection. This sample-delivery and data-collection strategy allows crystal droplets to be shipped and set aside until beamtime is available.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gyorgy Babnigg
- Biosciences Division, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Lemont, IL 60439, USA
| | - Darren Sherrell
- Structural Biology Center, X-ray Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Lemont, IL 60439, USA
| | - Youngchang Kim
- Structural Biology Center, X-ray Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Lemont, IL 60439, USA
| | - Jessica L. Johnson
- Biosciences Division, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Lemont, IL 60439, USA
| | - Boguslaw Nocek
- Biosciences Division, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Lemont, IL 60439, USA
| | - Kemin Tan
- Structural Biology Center, X-ray Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Lemont, IL 60439, USA
| | - Danny Axford
- Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Diamond Light Source, Fermi Avenue, Didcot OX11 0DE, United Kingdom
| | - Hui Li
- Biosciences Division, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Lemont, IL 60439, USA
| | - Lance Bigelow
- Biosciences Division, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Lemont, IL 60439, USA
| | - Lukas Welk
- Biosciences Division, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Lemont, IL 60439, USA
| | - Michael Endres
- Structural Biology Center, X-ray Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Lemont, IL 60439, USA
| | - Robin L. Owen
- Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Diamond Light Source, Fermi Avenue, Didcot OX11 0DE, United Kingdom
| | - Andrzej Joachimiak
- Structural Biology Center, X-ray Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Lemont, IL 60439, USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60367, USA
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16
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Nam KH. Beef tallow injection matrix for serial crystallography. Sci Rep 2022; 12:694. [PMID: 35027663 PMCID: PMC8758675 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-04714-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2021] [Accepted: 12/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Serial crystallography (SX) enables the visualization of the time-resolved molecular dynamics of macromolecular structures at room temperature while minimizing radiation damage. In SX experiments, the delivery of a large number of crystals into an X-ray interaction point in a serial and stable manner is key. Sample delivery using viscous medium maintains the stable injection stream at low flow rates, markedly reducing sample consumption compared with that of a liquid jet injector and is widely applied in SX experiments with low repetition rates. As the sample properties and experimental environment can affect the stability of the injection stream of a viscous medium, it is important to develop sample delivery media with various characteristics to optimize the experimental environment. In this study, a beef tallow injection matrix possessing a higher melting temperature than previously reported fat-based shortening and lard media was introduced as a sample delivery medium and applied to SX. Beef tallow was prepared by heat treating fats from cattle, followed by the removal of soluble impurities from the extract by phase separation. Beef tallow exhibited a very stable injection stream at room temperature and a flow rate of < 10 nL/min. The room-temperature structures of lysozyme and glucose isomerase embedded in beef tallow were successfully determined at 1.55 and 1.60 Å, respectively. The background scattering of beef tallow was higher than that of previously reported fat-based shortening and lard media but negligible for data processing. In conclusion, the beef tallow matrix can be employed for sample delivery in SX experiments conducted at temperatures exceeding room temperature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ki Hyun Nam
- Department of Life Sciences, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang, Gyeongbuk, 37673, Korea. .,POSTECH Biotech Center, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang, Gyeongbuk, 37673, Korea.
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17
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Axford D, Judge PJ, Bada Juarez JF, Kwan TOC, Birch J, Vinals J, Watts A, Moraes I. Two states of a light-sensitive membrane protein captured at room temperature using thin-film sample mounts. Acta Crystallogr D Struct Biol 2022; 78:52-58. [PMID: 34981761 PMCID: PMC8725165 DOI: 10.1107/s2059798321011220] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [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: 05/14/2021] [Accepted: 10/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Room-temperature diffraction methods are highly desirable for dynamic studies of biological macromolecules, since they allow high-resolution structural data to be collected as proteins undergo conformational changes. For crystals grown in lipidic cubic phase (LCP), an extruder is commonly used to pass a stream of microcrystals through the X-ray beam; however, the sample quantities required for this method may be difficult to produce for many membrane proteins. A more sample-efficient environment was created using two layers of low X-ray transmittance polymer films to mount crystals of the archaerhodopsin-3 (AR3) photoreceptor and room-temperature diffraction data were acquired. By using transparent and opaque polymer films, two structures, one corresponding to the desensitized, dark-adapted (DA) state and the other to the ground or light-adapted (LA) state, were solved to better than 1.9 Å resolution. All of the key structural features of AR3 were resolved, including the retinal chromophore, which is present as the 13-cis isomer in the DA state and as the all-trans isomer in the LA state. The film-sandwich sample environment enables diffraction data to be recorded at room temperature in both illuminated and dark conditions, which more closely approximate those in vivo. This simple approach is applicable to a wide range of membrane proteins crystallized in LCP and light-sensitive samples in general at synchrotron and laboratory X-ray sources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danny Axford
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0DE, United Kingdom
| | - Peter J. Judge
- Biochemistry Department, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QU, United Kingdom
| | - Juan F. Bada Juarez
- Biochemistry Department, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QU, United Kingdom
| | - Tristan O. C. Kwan
- National Physical Laboratory, Hampton Road, Teddington, London, United Kingdom
| | - James Birch
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0DE, United Kingdom
- Research Complex at Harwell, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0FA, United Kingdom
| | - Javier Vinals
- Biochemistry Department, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QU, United Kingdom
| | - Anthony Watts
- Biochemistry Department, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QU, United Kingdom
| | - Isabel Moraes
- National Physical Laboratory, Hampton Road, Teddington, London, United Kingdom
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18
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Grünbein ML, Kovacs GN, Kloos M, Gorel A, Doak RB, Shoeman RL, Barends TRM, Schlichting I. Crystallographic Studies of Rhodopsins: Structure and Dynamics. Methods Mol Biol 2022; 2501:147-168. [PMID: 35857227 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-2329-9_7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Crystal structures have provided detailed insight in the architecture of rhodopsin photoreceptors. Of particular interest are the protein-chromophore interactions that govern the light-induced retinal isomerization and ultimately induce the large structural changes important for the various biological functions of the family. The reaction intermediates occurring along the rhodopsin photocycle have vastly differing lifetimes, from hundreds of femtoseconds to milliseconds. Detailed insight at high spatial and temporal resolution can be obtained by time-resolved crystallography using pump-probe approaches at X-ray free-electron lasers. Alternatively, cryotrapping approaches can be used. Both the approaches are described, including illumination and sample delivery. The importance of appropriate photoexcitation avoiding multiphoton absorption is stressed.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Marco Kloos
- Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Alexander Gorel
- Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - R Bruce Doak
- Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Heidelberg, Germany
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19
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Nass Kovacs G. Potential of X-ray free-electron lasers for challenging targets in structure-based drug discovery. DRUG DISCOVERY TODAY. TECHNOLOGIES 2021; 39:101-110. [PMID: 34906320 DOI: 10.1016/j.ddtec.2021.08.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2020] [Revised: 07/29/2021] [Accepted: 08/05/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
X-ray crystallography has provided the vast majority of three-dimensional macromolecular structures. Most of these are high-resolution structures that enable a detailed understanding of the underlying molecular mechanisms. The standardized workflows and robust infrastructure of synchrotron-based macromolecular crystallography (MX) offer the high throughput essential to cost-conscious investigations in structure- and fragment-based drug discovery. Nonetheless conventional MX is limited by fundamental bottlenecks, in particular X-ray radiation damage, which limits the amount of data extractable from a crystal. While this limit can in principle be circumvented by using larger crystals, crystals of the requisite size often cannot be obtained in sufficient quality. That is especially true for membrane protein crystals, which constitute the majority of current drug targets. This conventional paradigm for MX-suitable samples changed dramatically with the advent of serial femtosecond crystallography (SFX) based on the ultra-short and extremely intense X-ray pulses of X-ray Free-Electron Lasers. SFX provides high-resolution structures from tiny crystals and does so with uniquely low levels of radiation damage. This has yielded a number of novel structures for G-protein coupled receptors, one of the most relevant membrane protein superfamilies for drug discovery, as well as tantalizing advances in time-resolved crystallography that elucidate protein dynamics. This article attempts to map the potential of SFX for drug discovery, while providing the reader with an overview of the yet remaining technical challenges associated with such a novel technique as SFX.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriela Nass Kovacs
- Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Jahnstr. 29, Heidelberg 69120, Germany.
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20
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Gilbile D, Shelby ML, Lyubimov AY, Wierman JL, Monteiro DCF, Cohen AE, Russi S, Coleman MA, Frank M, Kuhl TL. Plug-and-play polymer microfluidic chips for hydrated, room temperature, fixed-target serial crystallography. LAB ON A CHIP 2021; 21:4831-4845. [PMID: 34821226 PMCID: PMC8915944 DOI: 10.1039/d1lc00810b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
The practice of serial X-ray crystallography (SX) depends on efficient, continuous delivery of hydrated protein crystals while minimizing background scattering. Of the two major types of sample delivery devices, fixed-target devices offer several advantages over widely adopted jet injectors, including: lower sample consumption, clog-free delivery, and the ability to control on-chip crystal density to improve hit rates. Here we present our development of versatile, inexpensive, and robust polymer microfluidic chips for routine and reliable room temperature serial measurements at both synchrotrons and X-ray free electron lasers (XFELs). Our design includes highly X-ray-transparent enclosing thin film layers tuned to minimize scatter background, adaptable sample flow layers tuned to match crystal size, and a large sample area compatible with both raster scanning and rotation based serial data collection. The optically transparent chips can be used both for in situ protein crystallization (to eliminate crystal handling) or crystal slurry loading, with prepared samples stable for weeks in a humidified environment and for several hours in ambient conditions. Serial oscillation crystallography, using a multi-crystal rotational data collection approach, at a microfocus synchrotron beamline (SSRL, beamline 12-1) was used to benchmark the performance of the chips. High-resolution structures (1.3-2.7 Å) were collected from five different proteins - hen egg white lysozyme, thaumatin, bovine liver catalase, concanavalin-A (type VI), and SARS-CoV-2 nonstructural protein NSP5. Overall, our modular fabrication approach enables precise control over the cross-section of materials in the X-ray beam path and facilitates chip adaption to different sample and beamline requirements for user-friendly, straightforward diffraction measurements at room temperature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deepshika Gilbile
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California at Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
| | - Megan L Shelby
- Biosciences and Biotechnology Division, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94550, USA
| | - Artem Y Lyubimov
- Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA
| | | | - Diana C F Monteiro
- Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute, 700 Ellicott Street, Buffalo, New York 14203, USA
| | - Aina E Cohen
- Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA
| | - Silvia Russi
- Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA
| | - Matthew A Coleman
- Biosciences and Biotechnology Division, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94550, USA
- Department of Radiation Oncology, School of Medicine, University of California at Davis, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA
| | - Matthias Frank
- Biosciences and Biotechnology Division, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94550, USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, School of Medicine, University of California at Davis, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA
| | - Tonya L Kuhl
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California at Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
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21
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Martiel I, Beale JH, Karpik A, Huang CY, Vera L, Olieric N, Wranik M, Tsai CJ, Mühle J, Aurelius O, John J, Högbom M, Wang M, Marsh M, Padeste C. Versatile microporous polymer-based supports for serial macromolecular crystallography. Acta Crystallogr D Struct Biol 2021; 77:1153-1167. [PMID: 34473086 PMCID: PMC8411977 DOI: 10.1107/s2059798321007324] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2020] [Accepted: 07/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Serial data collection has emerged as a major tool for data collection at state-of-the-art light sources, such as microfocus beamlines at synchrotrons and X-ray free-electron lasers. Challenging targets, characterized by small crystal sizes, weak diffraction and stringent dose limits, benefit most from these methods. Here, the use of a thin support made of a polymer-based membrane for performing serial data collection or screening experiments is demonstrated. It is shown that these supports are suitable for a wide range of protein crystals suspended in liquids. The supports have also proved to be applicable to challenging cases such as membrane proteins growing in the sponge phase. The sample-deposition method is simple and robust, as well as flexible and adaptable to a variety of cases. It results in an optimally thin specimen providing low background while maintaining minute amounts of mother liquor around the crystals. The 2 × 2 mm area enables the deposition of up to several microlitres of liquid. Imaging and visualization of the crystals are straightforward on the highly transparent membrane. Thanks to their affordable fabrication, these supports have the potential to become an attractive option for serial experiments at synchrotrons and free-electron lasers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabelle Martiel
- Paul Scherrer Institute, Forschungsstrasse 111, 5232 Villigen, Switzerland
| | - John H. Beale
- Paul Scherrer Institute, Forschungsstrasse 111, 5232 Villigen, Switzerland
| | - Agnieszka Karpik
- Paul Scherrer Institute, Forschungsstrasse 111, 5232 Villigen, Switzerland
- Institute of Polymer Nanotechnology (INKA), FHNW University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, 5210 Windisch, Switzerland
| | - Chia-Ying Huang
- Paul Scherrer Institute, Forschungsstrasse 111, 5232 Villigen, Switzerland
| | - Laura Vera
- Paul Scherrer Institute, Forschungsstrasse 111, 5232 Villigen, Switzerland
| | - Natacha Olieric
- Paul Scherrer Institute, Forschungsstrasse 111, 5232 Villigen, Switzerland
| | - Maximilian Wranik
- Paul Scherrer Institute, Forschungsstrasse 111, 5232 Villigen, Switzerland
| | - Ching-Ju Tsai
- Paul Scherrer Institute, Forschungsstrasse 111, 5232 Villigen, Switzerland
| | - Jonas Mühle
- Paul Scherrer Institute, Forschungsstrasse 111, 5232 Villigen, Switzerland
| | - Oskar Aurelius
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Stockholm University, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
- MAX IV Laboratory, Lund University, Fotongatan 2, 224 84 Lund, Sweden
| | - Juliane John
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Stockholm University, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Martin Högbom
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Stockholm University, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Meitian Wang
- Paul Scherrer Institute, Forschungsstrasse 111, 5232 Villigen, Switzerland
| | - May Marsh
- Paul Scherrer Institute, Forschungsstrasse 111, 5232 Villigen, Switzerland
| | - Celestino Padeste
- Paul Scherrer Institute, Forschungsstrasse 111, 5232 Villigen, Switzerland
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22
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Liang M, Yu L, Wang Z, Zhou H, Zhang Y, Wang Q, He J. Novel combined crystallization plate for high-throughput crystal screening and in situ data collection at a crystallography beamline. Acta Crystallogr F Struct Biol Commun 2021; 77:319-327. [PMID: 34473109 PMCID: PMC8411933 DOI: 10.1107/s2053230x21008104] [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: 06/11/2021] [Accepted: 08/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
In situ microplates are small in size, crystal cultivation and operation are difficult, and the efficiency of crystal screening is relatively low. To solve this problem, a novel combined crystallization plate was designed for high-throughput crystal cultivation and in situ data collection. A frame was used to hold 48 in situ microplates, and the in situ microplates were sealed on one side with an ultralow background-scattering Kapton film. An automatic liquid handler (Mosquito) was used to add a liquid drop to the in situ microplates in the frame, and CrystalClear HD tape was used to seal the frame. A sealed frame holding 48 microplates was developed as a novel combined crystallization plate and was used for crystal cultivation under different conditions and in situ data collection at the synchrotron beamline. Moreover, individual microplates can be separated from the combined crystal plate and then fixed on a magnetic base or loaded onto a UniPuck for in situ data collection. Automatic grid scanning was used to locate crystals. The efficiency of the combined crystallization plate for crystal screening was verified. This method avoids the manual manipulation of crystals during crystal screening and diffraction data collection; therefore, the combined crystallization plate is suitable for large-scale screening of microcrystals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miao Liang
- Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201800, People’s Republic of China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, People’s Republic of China
| | - Li Yu
- Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201800, People’s Republic of China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, People’s Republic of China
| | - Zhijun Wang
- Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201800, People’s Republic of China
- Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Shanghai Advanced Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201204, People’s Republic of China
| | - Huan Zhou
- Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201800, People’s Republic of China
- Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Shanghai Advanced Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201204, People’s Republic of China
| | - Yi Zhang
- Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201800, People’s Republic of China
- Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Shanghai Advanced Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201204, People’s Republic of China
| | - Qisheng Wang
- Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201800, People’s Republic of China
- Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Shanghai Advanced Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201204, People’s Republic of China
| | - Jianhua He
- Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201800, People’s Republic of China
- The Institute for Advanced Studies, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, People’s Republic of China
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23
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Sui S, Mulichak A, Kulathila R, McGee J, Filiatreault D, Saha S, Cohen A, Song J, Hung H, Selway J, Kirby C, Shrestha OK, Weihofen W, Fodor M, Xu M, Chopra R, Perry SL. A capillary-based microfluidic device enables primary high-throughput room-temperature crystallographic screening. J Appl Crystallogr 2021; 54:1034-1046. [PMID: 34429718 PMCID: PMC8366422 DOI: 10.1107/s1600576721004155] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2021] [Accepted: 04/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
A novel capillary-based microfluidic strategy to accelerate the process of small-molecule-compound screening by room-temperature X-ray crystallography using protein crystals is reported. The ultra-thin microfluidic devices are composed of a UV-curable polymer, patterned by cleanroom photolithography, and have nine capillary channels per chip. The chip was designed for ease of sample manipulation, sample stability and minimal X-ray background. 3D-printed frames and cassettes conforming to SBS standards are used to house the capillary chips, providing additional mechanical stability and compatibility with automated liquid- and sample-handling robotics. These devices enable an innovative in situ crystal-soaking screening workflow, akin to high-throughput compound screening, such that quantitative electron density maps sufficient to determine weak binding events are efficiently obtained. This work paves the way for adopting a room-temperature microfluidics-based sample delivery method at synchrotron sources to facilitate high-throughput protein-crystallography-based screening of compounds at high concentration with the aim of discovering novel binding events in an automated manner.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuo Sui
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, USA
| | - Anne Mulichak
- IMCA-CAT, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, IL, USA
| | | | - Joshua McGee
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, USA
| | | | - Sarthak Saha
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, USA
| | - Aina Cohen
- Macromolecular Crystallography Group, Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource, Menlo Park, CA, USA
| | - Jinhu Song
- Macromolecular Crystallography Group, Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource, Menlo Park, CA, USA
| | | | - Jonathan Selway
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, USA
| | - Christina Kirby
- Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Om K. Shrestha
- Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | | | - Michelle Fodor
- Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Mei Xu
- Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Rajiv Chopra
- Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Sarah L. Perry
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, USA
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24
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Polyimide mesh-based sample holder with irregular crystal mounting holes for fixed-target serial crystallography. Sci Rep 2021; 11:13115. [PMID: 34162965 PMCID: PMC8222285 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-92687-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2021] [Accepted: 06/11/2021] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The serial crystallography (SX) technique enables the determination of the room-temperature structure of a macromolecule while causing minimal radiation damage, as well as the visualization of the molecular dynamics by time-resolved studies. The fixed-target (FT) scanning approach is one method for SX sample delivery that minimizes sample consumption and minimizes physical damage to crystals during data collection. Settling of the crystals on the sample holder in random orientation is important for complete three dimensional data collection. To increase the random orientation of crystals on the sample holder, we developed a polyimide mesh-based sample holder with irregular crystal mounting holes for FT-SX. The polyimide mesh was fabricated using a picosecond laser. Each hole in the polyimide mesh has irregularly shaped holes because of laser thermal damage, which may cause more crystals to settle at random orientations compared to regular shaped sample holders. A crystal sample was spread onto a polyimide-mesh, and a polyimide film was added to both sides to prevent dehydration. Using this sample holder, FT-SX was performed at synchrotron and determined the room-temperature lysozyme structure at 1.65 Å. The polyimide mesh with irregularly shaped holes will allow for expanded applications in sample delivery for FT-SX experiments.
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25
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Illava G, Jayne R, Finke AD, Closs D, Zeng W, Milano SK, Huang Q, Kriksunov I, Sidorenko P, Wise FW, Zipfel WR, Apker BA, Thorne RE. Integrated sample-handling and mounting system for fixed-target serial synchrotron crystallography. Acta Crystallogr D Struct Biol 2021; 77:628-644. [PMID: 33950019 PMCID: PMC8098472 DOI: 10.1107/s2059798321001868] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [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: 08/28/2020] [Accepted: 02/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Serial synchrotron crystallography (SSX) is enabling the efficient use of small crystals for structure-function studies of biomolecules and for drug discovery. An integrated SSX system has been developed comprising ultralow background-scatter sample holders suitable for room and cryogenic temperature crystallographic data collection, a sample-loading station and a humid `gloveless' glovebox. The sample holders incorporate thin-film supports with a variety of designs optimized for different crystal-loading challenges. These holders facilitate the dispersion of crystals and the removal of excess liquid, can be cooled at extremely high rates, generate little background scatter, allow data collection over >90° of oscillation without obstruction or the risk of generating saturating Bragg peaks, are compatible with existing infrastructure for high-throughput cryocrystallography and are reusable. The sample-loading station allows sample preparation and loading onto the support film, the application of time-varying suction for optimal removal of excess liquid, crystal repositioning and cryoprotection, and the application of sealing films for room-temperature data collection, all in a controlled-humidity environment. The humid glovebox allows microscope observation of the sample-loading station and crystallization trays while maintaining near-saturating humidities that further minimize the risks of sample dehydration and damage, and maximize working times. This integrated system addresses common problems in obtaining properly dispersed, properly hydrated and isomorphous microcrystals for fixed-orientation and oscillation data collection. Its ease of use, flexibility and optimized performance make it attractive not just for SSX but also for single-crystal and few-crystal data collection. Fundamental concepts that are important in achieving desired crystal distributions on a sample holder via time-varying suction-induced liquid flows are also discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabrielle Illava
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | | | | | - David Closs
- MiTeGen LLC, PO Box 3867, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA
| | - Wenjie Zeng
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Weill Institute for Cell and Molecular Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Shawn K. Milano
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | | | | | - Pavel Sidorenko
- School of Applied and Engineering Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Frank W. Wise
- School of Applied and Engineering Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Warren R. Zipfel
- Meinig School of Biomedical Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
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26
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Grünbein ML, Gorel A, Foucar L, Carbajo S, Colocho W, Gilevich S, Hartmann E, Hilpert M, Hunter M, Kloos M, Koglin JE, Lane TJ, Lewandowski J, Lutman A, Nass K, Nass Kovacs G, Roome CM, Sheppard J, Shoeman RL, Stricker M, van Driel T, Vetter S, Doak RB, Boutet S, Aquila A, Decker FJ, Barends TRM, Stan CA, Schlichting I. Effect of X-ray free-electron laser-induced shockwaves on haemoglobin microcrystals delivered in a liquid jet. Nat Commun 2021; 12:1672. [PMID: 33723266 PMCID: PMC7960726 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-21819-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2020] [Accepted: 02/15/2021] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs) enable obtaining novel insights in structural biology. The recently available MHz repetition rate XFELs allow full data sets to be collected in shorter time and can also decrease sample consumption. However, the microsecond spacing of MHz XFEL pulses raises new challenges, including possible sample damage induced by shock waves that are launched by preceding pulses in the sample-carrying jet. We explored this matter with an X-ray-pump/X-ray-probe experiment employing haemoglobin microcrystals transported via a liquid jet into the XFEL beam. Diffraction data were collected using a shock-wave-free single-pulse scheme as well as the dual-pulse pump-probe scheme. The latter, relative to the former, reveals significant degradation of crystal hit rate, diffraction resolution and data quality. Crystal structures extracted from the two data sets also differ. Since our pump-probe attributes were chosen to emulate EuXFEL operation at its 4.5 MHz maximum pulse rate, this prompts concern about such data collection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie Luise Grünbein
- grid.414703.50000 0001 2202 0959Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Jahnstrasse 29, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Alexander Gorel
- grid.414703.50000 0001 2202 0959Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Jahnstrasse 29, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Lutz Foucar
- grid.414703.50000 0001 2202 0959Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Jahnstrasse 29, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Sergio Carbajo
- grid.445003.60000 0001 0725 7771SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA USA
| | - William Colocho
- grid.445003.60000 0001 0725 7771SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA USA
| | - Sasha Gilevich
- grid.445003.60000 0001 0725 7771SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA USA
| | - Elisabeth Hartmann
- grid.414703.50000 0001 2202 0959Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Jahnstrasse 29, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Mario Hilpert
- grid.414703.50000 0001 2202 0959Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Jahnstrasse 29, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Mark Hunter
- grid.445003.60000 0001 0725 7771SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA USA
| | - Marco Kloos
- grid.414703.50000 0001 2202 0959Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Jahnstrasse 29, Heidelberg, Germany ,grid.434729.f0000 0004 0590 2900Present Address: European XFEL GmbH, Schenefeld, Germany
| | - Jason E. Koglin
- grid.445003.60000 0001 0725 7771SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA USA ,grid.148313.c0000 0004 0428 3079Present Address: Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM USA
| | - Thomas J. Lane
- grid.445003.60000 0001 0725 7771SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA USA ,grid.466493.a0000 0004 0390 1787Present Address: Center for Free-Electron Laser Science, DESY, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Jim Lewandowski
- grid.445003.60000 0001 0725 7771SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA USA
| | - Alberto Lutman
- grid.445003.60000 0001 0725 7771SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA USA
| | - Karol Nass
- grid.414703.50000 0001 2202 0959Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Jahnstrasse 29, Heidelberg, Germany ,grid.5991.40000 0001 1090 7501Present Address: Paul Scherrer Institut, Villigen, Switzerland
| | - Gabriela Nass Kovacs
- grid.414703.50000 0001 2202 0959Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Jahnstrasse 29, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Christopher M. Roome
- grid.414703.50000 0001 2202 0959Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Jahnstrasse 29, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - John Sheppard
- grid.445003.60000 0001 0725 7771SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA USA
| | - Robert L. Shoeman
- grid.414703.50000 0001 2202 0959Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Jahnstrasse 29, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Miriam Stricker
- grid.414703.50000 0001 2202 0959Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Jahnstrasse 29, Heidelberg, Germany ,grid.4991.50000 0004 1936 8948Present Address: Department of Statistics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Tim van Driel
- grid.445003.60000 0001 0725 7771SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA USA
| | - Sharon Vetter
- grid.445003.60000 0001 0725 7771SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA USA
| | - R. Bruce Doak
- grid.414703.50000 0001 2202 0959Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Jahnstrasse 29, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Sébastien Boutet
- grid.445003.60000 0001 0725 7771SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA USA
| | - Andrew Aquila
- grid.445003.60000 0001 0725 7771SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA USA
| | - Franz Josef Decker
- grid.445003.60000 0001 0725 7771SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA USA
| | - Thomas R. M. Barends
- grid.414703.50000 0001 2202 0959Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Jahnstrasse 29, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Claudiu Andrei Stan
- grid.430387.b0000 0004 1936 8796Department of Physics, Rutgers University Newark, Newark, NJ USA
| | - Ilme Schlichting
- grid.414703.50000 0001 2202 0959Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Jahnstrasse 29, Heidelberg, Germany
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27
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Han H, Round E, Schubert R, Gül Y, Makroczyová J, Meza D, Heuser P, Aepfelbacher M, Barák I, Betzel C, Fromme P, Kursula I, Nissen P, Tereschenko E, Schulz J, Uetrecht C, Ulicný J, Wilmanns M, Hajdu J, Lamzin VS, Lorenzen K. The XBI BioLab for life science experiments at the European XFEL. J Appl Crystallogr 2021; 54:7-21. [PMID: 33833637 PMCID: PMC7941304 DOI: 10.1107/s1600576720013989] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2020] [Accepted: 10/19/2020] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
The science of X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs) critically depends on the performance of the X-ray laser and on the quality of the samples placed into the X-ray beam. The stability of biological samples is limited and key biomolecular transformations occur on short timescales. Experiments in biology require a support laboratory in the immediate vicinity of the beamlines. The XBI BioLab of the European XFEL (XBI denotes XFEL Biology Infrastructure) is an integrated user facility connected to the beamlines for supporting a wide range of biological experiments. The laboratory was financed and built by a collaboration between the European XFEL and the XBI User Consortium, whose members come from Finland, Germany, the Slovak Republic, Sweden and the USA, with observers from Denmark and the Russian Federation. Arranged around a central wet laboratory, the XBI BioLab provides facilities for sample preparation and scoring, laboratories for growing prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, a Bio Safety Level 2 laboratory, sample purification and characterization facilities, a crystallization laboratory, an anaerobic laboratory, an aerosol laboratory, a vacuum laboratory for injector tests, and laboratories for optical microscopy, atomic force microscopy and electron microscopy. Here, an overview of the XBI facility is given and some of the results of the first user experiments are highlighted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huijong Han
- European XFEL GmbH, Holzkoppel 4, 22869 Schenefeld, Germany
- Biocenter Oulu and Faculty of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, University of Oulu, Aapistie 7, 90220 Oulu, Finland
| | - Ekaterina Round
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Notkestrasse 85, 22607 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Robin Schubert
- European XFEL GmbH, Holzkoppel 4, 22869 Schenefeld, Germany
- Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Laboratory for Structural Biology of Infection and Inflammation, University of Hamburg, c/o DESY, Building 22a, Notkestrasse 85, 22603 Hamburg, Germany
- The Hamburg Centre for Ultrafast Imaging (CUI), Luruper Chaussee 149, 22761 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Yasmin Gül
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Notkestrasse 85, 22607 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Jana Makroczyová
- European XFEL GmbH, Holzkoppel 4, 22869 Schenefeld, Germany
- Institute of Molecular Biology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dúbravská cesta 21, 845 51 Bratislava, Slovak Republic
| | - Domingo Meza
- Biodesign Center for Applied Structural Discovery and School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Philipp Heuser
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Notkestrasse 85, 22607 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Martin Aepfelbacher
- Institute of Medical Microbiology, Virology and Hygiene, University Medical Center Hamburg Eppendorf, Martinistrasse 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Imrich Barák
- Institute of Molecular Biology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dúbravská cesta 21, 845 51 Bratislava, Slovak Republic
| | - Christian Betzel
- Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Laboratory for Structural Biology of Infection and Inflammation, University of Hamburg, c/o DESY, Building 22a, Notkestrasse 85, 22603 Hamburg, Germany
- The Hamburg Centre for Ultrafast Imaging (CUI), Luruper Chaussee 149, 22761 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Petra Fromme
- Biodesign Center for Applied Structural Discovery and School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Inari Kursula
- Biocenter Oulu and Faculty of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, University of Oulu, Aapistie 7, 90220 Oulu, Finland
- Department of Biomedicine, University of Bergen, Jonas Lies vei 91, 5009 Bergen, Norway
| | - Poul Nissen
- DANDRITE, Nordic EMBL Partnership for Molecular Medicine, Aarhus University, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Gustav Wieds Vej 10C, DK – 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Elena Tereschenko
- Institute of Crystallography, Russian Academy of Sciences, 59 Leninsky prospekt, Moscow, 117333, Russian Federation
| | - Joachim Schulz
- European XFEL GmbH, Holzkoppel 4, 22869 Schenefeld, Germany
| | - Charlotte Uetrecht
- European XFEL GmbH, Holzkoppel 4, 22869 Schenefeld, Germany
- Heinrich Pette Institute, Leibniz Institute for Experimental Virology, Martinistrasse 52, 20251 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Jozef Ulicný
- Department of Biophysics, Institute of Physics, Faculty of Science, P. J. Šafárik University, Jesenná 5, 04154 Košice, Slovak Republic
| | - Matthias Wilmanns
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Notkestrasse 85, 22607 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Janos Hajdu
- The European Extreme Light Infrastructure, Institute of Physics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Za Radnici 835, 25241 Dolní Břežany, Czech Republic
- Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics, Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Uppsala University, Husargatan 3 (Box 596), SE-751 24 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Victor S. Lamzin
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Notkestrasse 85, 22607 Hamburg, Germany
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Abstract
X-ray crystallography enables detailed structural studies of proteins to understand and modulate their function. Conducting crystallographic experiments at cryogenic temperatures has practical benefits but potentially limits the identification of functionally important alternative protein conformations that can be revealed only at room temperature (RT). This review discusses practical aspects of preparing, acquiring, and analyzing X-ray crystallography data at RT to demystify preconceived impracticalities that freeze progress of routine RT data collection at synchrotron sources. Examples are presented as conceptual and experimental templates to enable the design of RT-inspired studies; they illustrate the diversity and utility of gaining novel insights into protein conformational landscapes. An integrative view of protein conformational dynamics enables opportunities to advance basic and biomedical research.
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29
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Dynamic Structural Biology Experiments at XFEL or Synchrotron Sources. Methods Mol Biol 2021; 2305:203-228. [PMID: 33950392 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-1406-8_11] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Macromolecular crystallography (MX) leverages the methods of physics and the language of chemistry to reveal fundamental insights into biology. Often beautifully artistic images present MX results to support profound functional hypotheses that are vital to entire life science research community. Over the past several decades, synchrotrons around the world have been the workhorses for X-ray diffraction data collection at many highly automated beamlines. The newest tools include X-ray-free electron lasers (XFELs) located at facilities in the USA, Japan, Korea, Switzerland, and Germany that deliver about nine orders of magnitude higher brightness in discrete femtosecond long pulses. At each of these facilities, new serial femtosecond crystallography (SFX) strategies exploit slurries of micron-size crystals by rapidly delivering individual crystals into the XFEL X-ray interaction region, from which one diffraction pattern is collected per crystal before it is destroyed by the intense X-ray pulse. Relatively simple adaptions to SFX methods produce time-resolved data collection strategies wherein reactions are triggered by visible light illumination or by chemical diffusion/mixing. Thus, XFELs provide new opportunities for high temporal and spatial resolution studies of systems engaged in function at physiological temperature. In this chapter, we summarize various issues related to microcrystal slurry preparation, sample delivery into the X-ray interaction region, and some emerging strategies for time-resolved SFX data collection.
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30
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Zhao FZ, Sun B, Yu L, Xiao QJ, Wang ZJ, Chen LL, Liang H, Wang QS, He JH, Yin DC. A novel sample delivery system based on circular motion for in situ serial synchrotron crystallography. LAB ON A CHIP 2020; 20:3888-3898. [PMID: 32966481 DOI: 10.1039/d0lc00443j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
A sample delivery system is one of the key parts of serial crystallography. It is the main limiting factor affecting the application of serial crystallography. At present, although a variety of useful sample delivery systems have been developed for serial crystallography, it still remains the focus of the field to further improve the performance and efficiency of sample delivery. In existing sample delivery technologies, samples are usually delivered in linear motion. Here we show that the samples can also be delivered using circular motion, which is a novel motion mode never tested before. In this paper, we report a microfluidic rotating-target sample delivery device, which is characterized by the circular motion of the samples, and verify the performance of the device at a synchrotron radiation facility. The microfluidic rotating-target sample delivery device consists of two parts: a microfluidic sample plate and a motion control system. Sample delivery is realized by rotating the microfluidic sample plate containing in situ grown crystals. This device offers significant advantages, including a very wide adjustable range of delivery speed, low background noise, and low sample consumption. Using the microfluidic rotating-target device, we carried out in situ serial crystallography experiments with lysozyme and proteinase K as model samples at the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility, and performed structural determination based on the serial crystallographic data. The results showed that the designed device is fully compatible with the synchrotron radiation facility, and the structure determination of proteins is successful using the serial crystallographic data obtained with the device.
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Affiliation(s)
- Feng-Zhu Zhao
- School of Life Sciences, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, China.
| | - Bo Sun
- Shanghai Advanced Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
| | - Li Yu
- Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.
| | - Qing-Jie Xiao
- Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China. and State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Zhi-Jun Wang
- Shanghai Advanced Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
| | - Liang-Liang Chen
- School of Life Sciences, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, China.
| | - Huan Liang
- School of Life Sciences, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, China.
| | - Qi-Sheng Wang
- Shanghai Advanced Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
| | - Jian-Hua He
- Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China. and The Institute for Advanced Studies, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Da-Chuan Yin
- School of Life Sciences, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, China. and Shenzhen Research Institute, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Shenzhen, China
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31
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Rabe P, Beale JH, Butryn A, Aller P, Dirr A, Lang PA, Axford DN, Carr SB, Leissing TM, McDonough MA, Davy B, Ebrahim A, Orlans J, Storm SLS, Orville AM, Schofield CJ, Owen RL. Anaerobic fixed-target serial crystallography. IUCRJ 2020; 7:901-912. [PMID: 32939282 PMCID: PMC7467159 DOI: 10.1107/s2052252520010374] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2020] [Accepted: 07/27/2020] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
Cryogenic X-ray diffraction is a powerful tool for crystallographic studies on enzymes including oxygenases and oxidases. Amongst the benefits that cryo-conditions (usually employing a nitro-gen cryo-stream at 100 K) enable, is data collection of di-oxy-gen-sensitive samples. Although not strictly anaerobic, at low temperatures the vitreous ice conditions severely restrict O2 diffusion into and/or through the protein crystal. Cryo-conditions limit chemical reactivity, including reactions that require significant conformational changes. By contrast, data collection at room temperature imposes fewer restrictions on diffusion and reactivity; room-temperature serial methods are thus becoming common at synchrotrons and XFELs. However, maintaining an anaerobic environment for di-oxy-gen-dependent enzymes has not been explored for serial room-temperature data collection at synchrotron light sources. This work describes a methodology that employs an adaptation of the 'sheet-on-sheet' sample mount, which is suitable for the low-dose room-temperature data collection of anaerobic samples at synchrotron light sources. The method is characterized by easy sample preparation in an anaerobic glovebox, gentle handling of crystals, low sample consumption and preservation of a localized anaerobic environment over the timescale of the experiment (<5 min). The utility of the method is highlighted by studies with three X-ray-radiation-sensitive Fe(II)-containing model enzymes: the 2-oxoglutarate-dependent l-arginine hy-droxy-lase VioC and the DNA repair enzyme AlkB, as well as the oxidase isopenicillin N synthase (IPNS), which is involved in the biosynthesis of all penicillin and cephalosporin antibiotics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick Rabe
- Chemistry Research Laboratory, University of Oxford, 12 Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TA, United Kingdom
| | - John H. Beale
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0DE, United Kingdom
| | - Agata Butryn
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0DE, United Kingdom
| | - Pierre Aller
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0DE, United Kingdom
| | - Anna Dirr
- Chemistry Research Laboratory, University of Oxford, 12 Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TA, United Kingdom
| | - Pauline A. Lang
- Chemistry Research Laboratory, University of Oxford, 12 Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TA, United Kingdom
| | - Danny N. Axford
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0DE, United Kingdom
| | - Stephen B. Carr
- Research Complex at Harwell, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot Oxfordshire OX11 0FA, United Kingdom
| | - Thomas M. Leissing
- Chemistry Research Laboratory, University of Oxford, 12 Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TA, United Kingdom
| | - Michael A. McDonough
- Chemistry Research Laboratory, University of Oxford, 12 Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TA, United Kingdom
| | - Bradley Davy
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0DE, United Kingdom
| | - Ali Ebrahim
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0DE, United Kingdom
- School of Life Sciences, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, Essex CO4 3SQ, United Kingdom
| | - Julien Orlans
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0DE, United Kingdom
- UMR0203, Biologie Fonctionnelle, Insectes et Interactions, Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Lyon, Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, University of Lyon, Villeurbanne F-69621, France
| | - Selina L. S. Storm
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0DE, United Kingdom
| | - Allen M. Orville
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0DE, United Kingdom
| | - Christopher J. Schofield
- Chemistry Research Laboratory, University of Oxford, 12 Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TA, United Kingdom
| | - Robin L. Owen
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0DE, United Kingdom
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32
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Lawrence JM, Orlans J, Evans G, Orville AM, Foadi J, Aller P. High-throughput in situ experimental phasing. Acta Crystallogr D Struct Biol 2020; 76:790-801. [PMID: 32744261 PMCID: PMC7397491 DOI: 10.1107/s2059798320009109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [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: 05/11/2020] [Accepted: 07/03/2020] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
In this article, a new approach to experimental phasing for macromolecular crystallography (MX) at synchrotrons is introduced and described for the first time. It makes use of automated robotics applied to a multi-crystal framework in which human intervention is reduced to a minimum. Hundreds of samples are automatically soaked in heavy-atom solutions, using a Labcyte Inc. Echo 550 Liquid Handler, in a highly controlled and optimized fashion in order to generate derivatized and isomorphous crystals. Partial data sets obtained on MX beamlines using an in situ setup for data collection are processed with the aim of producing good-quality anomalous signal leading to successful experimental phasing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua M. Lawrence
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0DE, United Kingdom
| | - Julien Orlans
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0DE, United Kingdom
- UMR0203, Biologie Fonctionnelle, Insectes et Interactions (BF2i); Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Lyon (INSA Lyon); Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), University of Lyon (Univ Lyon), F-69621 Villeurbanne, France
| | - Gwyndaf Evans
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0DE, United Kingdom
| | - Allen M. Orville
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0DE, United Kingdom
- Research Complex at Harwell, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot OX11 0FA, United Kingdom
| | - James Foadi
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0DE, United Kingdom
| | - Pierre Aller
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0DE, United Kingdom
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33
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Lee K, Lee D, Baek S, Park J, Lee SJ, Park S, Chung WK, Lee JL, Cho HS, Cho Y, Nam KH. Viscous-medium-based crystal support in a sample holder for fixed-target serial femtosecond crystallography. J Appl Crystallogr 2020. [DOI: 10.1107/s1600576720008663] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Serial femtosecond crystallography (SFX) enables the determination of the room-temperature crystal structure of macromolecules, as well as providing time-resolved molecular dynamics data in pump–probe experiments. Fixed-target SFX (FT-SFX) can minimize sample consumption and physical effects on crystals during sample delivery. In FT-SFX studies, having a sample holder that can stably fix crystal samples is one of the key elements required for efficient data collection. Hence, development of sample holders from new materials capable of supporting various crystal sizes and shapes may expand the applications of FT-SFX. Here, a viscous-media-based crystal support in a sample holder for FT-SFX is introduced. Crystal samples were embedded in viscous media, namely gelatin and agarose, which were enclosed in a polyimide film. In the vertically placed sample holder, 10–15%(w/v) viscous gelatin and 1–4%(w/v) agarose gel stably supported crystals between two polyimide films, thereby preventing the crystals from descending owing to gravity. Using this method, FT-SFX experiments were performed with glucose isomerase and lysozyme embedded in gelatin and agarose, respectively. The room-temperature crystal structures of glucose isomerase and lysozyme were successfully determined at 1.75 and 1.80 Å resolutions, respectively. The glucose isomerase and lysozyme diffraction analyses were not impeded by excessive background scattering from the viscous media. This method is useful for delivering crystal samples of various sizes and shapes in FT-SFX experiments.
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Lee D, Park S, Lee K, Kim J, Park G, Nam KH, Baek S, Chung WK, Lee JL, Cho Y, Park J. Application of a high-throughput microcrystal delivery system to serial femtosecond crystallography. J Appl Crystallogr 2020; 53:477-485. [PMID: 32280322 PMCID: PMC7133064 DOI: 10.1107/s1600576720002423] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2019] [Accepted: 02/20/2020] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Microcrystal delivery methods are pivotal in the use of serial femtosecond crystallography (SFX) to resolve the macromolecular structures of proteins. Here, the development of a novel technique and instruments for efficiently delivering microcrystals for SFX are presented. The new method, which relies on a one-dimensional fixed-target system that includes a microcrystal container, consumes an extremely low amount of sample compared with conventional two-dimensional fixed-target techniques at ambient temperature. This novel system can deliver soluble microcrystals without highly viscous carrier media and, moreover, can be used as a microcrystal growth device for SFX. Diffraction data collection utilizing this advanced technique along with a real-time visual servo scan system has been successfully demonstrated for the structure determination of proteinase K microcrystals at 1.85 Å resolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Donghyeon Lee
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, POSTECH, 77 Cheongam-Ro, Pohang, 37673, Republic of Korea
| | - Sehan Park
- PAL-XFEL, Pohang Accelerator Laboratory, 80 Jigok-ro 127 beongil, Pohang, 37673, Republic of Korea
| | - Keondo Lee
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, POSTECH, 77 Cheongam-Ro, Pohang, 37673, Republic of Korea
| | - Jangwoo Kim
- PAL-XFEL, Pohang Accelerator Laboratory, 80 Jigok-ro 127 beongil, Pohang, 37673, Republic of Korea
| | - Gisu Park
- PAL-XFEL, Pohang Accelerator Laboratory, 80 Jigok-ro 127 beongil, Pohang, 37673, Republic of Korea
| | - Ki Hyun Nam
- College of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Korea University, 145 Anam-ro, Seoul, 02841, Republic of Korea
- Institute of Life Science and Natural Resources, Korea University, 145 Anam-ro, Seoul, 02841, Republic of Korea
| | - Sangwon Baek
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, POSTECH, 77 Cheongam-Ro, Pohang, 37673, Republic of Korea
| | - Wan Kyun Chung
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, POSTECH, 77 Cheongam-Ro, Pohang, 37673, Republic of Korea
| | - Jong-Lam Lee
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, POSTECH, 77 Cheongam-Ro, Pohang, 37673, Republic of Korea
| | - Yunje Cho
- Department of Life Sciences, POSTECH, 77 Cheongam-Ro, Pohang, 37673, Republic of Korea
| | - Jaehyun Park
- PAL-XFEL, Pohang Accelerator Laboratory, 80 Jigok-ro 127 beongil, Pohang, 37673, Republic of Korea
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Abstract
The advent of the X-ray free electron laser (XFEL) in the last decade created the discipline of serial crystallography but also the challenge of how crystal samples are delivered to X-ray. Early sample delivery methods demonstrated the proof-of-concept for serial crystallography and XFEL but were beset with challenges of high sample consumption, jet clogging and low data collection efficiency. The potential of XFEL and serial crystallography as the next frontier of structural solution by X-ray for small and weakly diffracting crystals and provision of ultra-fast time-resolved structural data spawned a huge amount of scientific interest and innovation. To utilize the full potential of XFEL and broaden its applicability to a larger variety of biological samples, researchers are challenged to develop better sample delivery methods. Thus, sample delivery is one of the key areas of research and development in the serial crystallography scientific community. Sample delivery currently falls into three main systems: jet-based methods, fixed-target chips, and drop-on-demand. Huge strides have since been made in reducing sample consumption and improving data collection efficiency, thus enabling the use of XFEL for many biological systems to provide high-resolution, radiation damage-free structural data as well as time-resolved dynamics studies. This review summarizes the current main strategies in sample delivery and their respective pros and cons, as well as some future direction.
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Monteiro DCF, von Stetten D, Stohrer C, Sans M, Pearson AR, Santoni G, van der Linden P, Trebbin M. 3D-MiXD: 3D-printed X-ray-compatible microfluidic devices for rapid, low-consumption serial synchrotron crystallography data collection in flow. IUCRJ 2020; 7:207-219. [PMID: 32148849 PMCID: PMC7055382 DOI: 10.1107/s2052252519016865] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2019] [Accepted: 12/17/2019] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Serial crystallography has enabled the study of complex biological questions through the determination of biomolecular structures at room temperature using low X-ray doses. Furthermore, it has enabled the study of protein dynamics by the capture of atomically resolved and time-resolved molecular movies. However, the study of many biologically relevant targets is still severely hindered by high sample consumption and lengthy data-collection times. By combining serial synchrotron crystallography (SSX) with 3D printing, a new experimental platform has been created that tackles these challenges. An affordable 3D-printed, X-ray-compatible microfluidic device (3D-MiXD) is reported that allows data to be collected from protein microcrystals in a 3D flow with very high hit and indexing rates, while keeping the sample consumption low. The miniaturized 3D-MiXD can be rapidly installed into virtually any synchrotron beamline with only minimal adjustments. This efficient collection scheme in combination with its mixing geometry paves the way for recording molecular movies at synchrotrons by mixing-triggered millisecond time-resolved SSX.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diana C. F. Monteiro
- The Hamburg Centre for Ultrafast Imaging, Universität Hamburg, Luruper Chaussee 149, 22761 Hamburg, Germany
- Hauptman–Woodward Medical Research Institute, 700 Ellicott Street, Buffalo, NY 14203, USA
| | - David von Stetten
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Notkestrasse 85, 22607 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Claudia Stohrer
- The Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, England
| | - Marta Sans
- The Hamburg Centre for Ultrafast Imaging, Universität Hamburg, Luruper Chaussee 149, 22761 Hamburg, Germany
- Department of Physics, Universität Hamburg, Jungiusstrasse 9, 20355 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Arwen R. Pearson
- The Hamburg Centre for Ultrafast Imaging, Universität Hamburg, Luruper Chaussee 149, 22761 Hamburg, Germany
- Department of Physics, Universität Hamburg, Jungiusstrasse 9, 20355 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Gianluca Santoni
- European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, 71 Avenue des Martyrs, CS 40220, 38043 Grenoble, France
| | - Peter van der Linden
- Partnership for Soft Condensed Matter, European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, 71 Avenue des Martyrs, CS 40220, 38043 Grenoble, France
| | - Martin Trebbin
- Hauptman–Woodward Medical Research Institute, 700 Ellicott Street, Buffalo, NY 14203, USA
- Department of Chemistry, The State University of New York at Buffalo, Natural Sciences Complex 760, Buffalo, NY 14260-3000, USA
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Radiation damage and dose limits in serial synchrotron crystallography at cryo- and room temperatures. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020; 117:4142-4151. [PMID: 32047034 PMCID: PMC7049125 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1821522117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 75] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Macromolecular X-ray crystallography (MX) is the most prolific structure determination method in structural biology but is limited by radiation damage. To reduce damage progression, MX is usually carried out at cryogenic temperatures, sometimes blocking functionally important conformational heterogeneity. Lacking this shortcoming, room temperature MX has gained momentum with the recent advent of serial crystallography, whereby distribution of the X-ray dose over thousands of crystals mitigates damage. Here, an approach to serial crystallography is presented allowing visualization of specific damage to amino acids at room temperature and determination of a dose limit above which structural information from electron density maps decreases due to radiation damage. This limit provides important guidance for the growing number of synchrotron room temperature MX experiments. Radiation damage limits the accuracy of macromolecular structures in X-ray crystallography. Cryogenic (cryo-) cooling reduces the global radiation damage rate and, therefore, became the method of choice over the past decades. The recent advent of serial crystallography, which spreads the absorbed energy over many crystals, thereby reducing damage, has rendered room temperature (RT) data collection more practical and also extendable to microcrystals, both enabling and requiring the study of specific and global radiation damage at RT. Here, we performed sequential serial raster-scanning crystallography using a microfocused synchrotron beam that allowed for the collection of two series of 40 and 90 full datasets at 2- and 1.9-Å resolution at a dose rate of 40.3 MGy/s on hen egg white lysozyme (HEWL) crystals at RT and cryotemperature, respectively. The diffraction intensity halved its initial value at average doses (D1/2) of 0.57 and 15.3 MGy at RT and 100 K, respectively. Specific radiation damage at RT was observed at disulfide bonds but not at acidic residues, increasing and then apparently reversing, a peculiar behavior that can be modeled by accounting for differential diffraction intensity decay due to the nonuniform illumination by the X-ray beam. Specific damage to disulfide bonds is evident early on at RT and proceeds at a fivefold higher rate than global damage. The decay modeling suggests it is advisable not to exceed a dose of 0.38 MGy per dataset in static and time-resolved synchrotron crystallography experiments at RT. This rough yardstick might change for proteins other than HEWL and at resolutions other than 2 Å.
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Shelby ML, Gilbile D, Grant TD, Seuring C, Segelke BW, He W, Evans AC, Pakendorf T, Fischer P, Hunter MS, Batyuk A, Barthelmess M, Meents A, Coleman MA, Kuhl TL, Frank M. A fixed-target platform for serial femtosecond crystallography in a hydrated environment. IUCRJ 2020; 7:30-41. [PMID: 31949902 PMCID: PMC6949605 DOI: 10.1107/s2052252519014003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2019] [Accepted: 10/15/2019] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
For serial femtosecond crystallography at X-ray free-electron lasers, which entails collection of single-pulse diffraction patterns from a constantly refreshed supply of microcrystalline sample, delivery of the sample into the X-ray beam path while maintaining low background remains a technical challenge for some experiments, especially where this methodology is applied to relatively low-ordered samples or those difficult to purify and crystallize in large quantities. This work demonstrates a scheme to encapsulate biological samples using polymer thin films and graphene to maintain sample hydration in vacuum conditions. The encapsulated sample is delivered into the X-ray beam on fixed targets for rapid scanning using the Roadrunner fixed-target system towards a long-term goal of low-background measurements on weakly diffracting samples. As a proof of principle, we used microcrystals of the 24 kDa rapid encystment protein (REP24) to provide a benchmark for polymer/graphene sandwich performance. The REP24 microcrystal unit cell obtained from our sandwiched in-vacuum sample was consistent with previously established unit-cell parameters and with those measured by us without encapsulation in humidified helium, indicating that the platform is robust against evaporative losses. While significant scattering from water was observed because of the sample-deposition method, the polymer/graphene sandwich itself was shown to contribute minimally to background scattering.
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Affiliation(s)
- M. L. Shelby
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94550, USA
| | - D. Gilbile
- University of California at Davis, California, USA
| | - T. D. Grant
- Department of Structural Biology, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Hauptman-Woodward Institute, SUNY University at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, USA
| | - C. Seuring
- Center for Free-Electron Laser Science, Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron, Hamburg, Germany
| | - B. W. Segelke
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94550, USA
| | - W. He
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94550, USA
| | - A. C. Evans
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94550, USA
- University of California at Davis, California, USA
| | - T. Pakendorf
- Center for Free-Electron Laser Science, Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron, Hamburg, Germany
| | - P. Fischer
- Center for Free-Electron Laser Science, Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron, Hamburg, Germany
| | - M. S. Hunter
- Linac Coherent Light Source, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, California, USA
| | - A. Batyuk
- Linac Coherent Light Source, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, California, USA
| | - M. Barthelmess
- Center for Free-Electron Laser Science, Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron, Hamburg, Germany
| | - A. Meents
- Center for Free-Electron Laser Science, Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron, Hamburg, Germany
| | - M. A. Coleman
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94550, USA
- University of California at Davis, California, USA
| | - T. L. Kuhl
- University of California at Davis, California, USA
| | - M. Frank
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94550, USA
- University of California at Davis, California, USA
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Zhao F, Zhang B, Yan E, Sun B, Wang Z, He J, Yin D. A guide to sample delivery systems for serial crystallography. FEBS J 2019; 286:4402-4417. [PMID: 31618529 DOI: 10.1111/febs.15099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2019] [Revised: 09/26/2019] [Accepted: 10/15/2019] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Feng‐Zhu Zhao
- School of Life Sciences Northwestern Polytechnical University Xi'an China
| | - Bin Zhang
- School of Life Sciences Northwestern Polytechnical University Xi'an China
| | - Er‐Kai Yan
- School of Life Sciences Northwestern Polytechnical University Xi'an China
| | - Bo Sun
- Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics Chinese Academy of Sciences Shanghai China
| | - Zhi‐Jun Wang
- Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics Chinese Academy of Sciences Shanghai China
| | - Jian‐Hua He
- Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics Chinese Academy of Sciences Shanghai China
| | - Da‐Chuan Yin
- School of Life Sciences Northwestern Polytechnical University Xi'an China
- Shenzhen Research Institute Northwestern Polytechnical University Shenzhen China
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40
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Davy B, Axford D, Beale JH, Butryn A, Docker P, Ebrahim A, Leen G, Orville AM, Owen RL, Aller P. Reducing sample consumption for serial crystallography using acoustic drop ejection. JOURNAL OF SYNCHROTRON RADIATION 2019; 26:1820-1825. [PMID: 31490175 PMCID: PMC6730619 DOI: 10.1107/s1600577519009329] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2019] [Accepted: 06/28/2019] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
Efficient sample delivery is an essential aspect of serial crystallography at both synchrotrons and X-ray free-electron lasers. Rastering fixed target chips through the X-ray beam is an efficient method for serial delivery from the perspectives of both sample consumption and beam time usage. Here, an approach for loading fixed targets using acoustic drop ejection is presented that does not compromise crystal quality, can reduce sample consumption by more than an order of magnitude and allows serial diffraction to be collected from a larger proportion of the crystals in the slurry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bradley Davy
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0DE, UK
| | - Danny Axford
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0DE, UK
| | - John H. Beale
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0DE, UK
| | - Agata Butryn
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0DE, UK
| | - Peter Docker
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0DE, UK
| | - Ali Ebrahim
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0DE, UK
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, Essex CO4 3SQ, UK
| | - Gabriel Leen
- PolyPico Technologies Ltd, Unit 10, Airways Technology Park, Rathmacullig Wes, Ballygarvan, Cork T12 DY95, Ireland
- Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering, University of Limerick, Ireland
| | - Allen M. Orville
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0DE, UK
- Research Complex at Harwell, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot OX11 0FA, UK
| | - Robin L. Owen
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0DE, UK
| | - Pierre Aller
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0DE, UK
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41
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Ebrahim A, Moreno-Chicano T, Appleby MV, Chaplin AK, Beale JH, Sherrell DA, Duyvesteyn HME, Owada S, Tono K, Sugimoto H, Strange RW, Worrall JAR, Axford D, Owen RL, Hough MA. Dose-resolved serial synchrotron and XFEL structures of radiation-sensitive metalloproteins. IUCRJ 2019; 6:543-551. [PMID: 31316799 PMCID: PMC6608622 DOI: 10.1107/s2052252519003956] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2019] [Accepted: 03/22/2019] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
An approach is demonstrated to obtain, in a sample- and time-efficient manner, multiple dose-resolved crystal structures from room-temperature protein microcrystals using identical fixed-target supports at both synchrotrons and X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs). This approach allows direct comparison of dose-resolved serial synchrotron and damage-free XFEL serial femtosecond crystallography structures of radiation-sensitive proteins. Specifically, serial synchrotron structures of a heme peroxidase enzyme reveal that X-ray induced changes occur at far lower doses than those at which diffraction quality is compromised (the Garman limit), consistent with previous studies on the reduction of heme proteins by low X-ray doses. In these structures, a functionally relevant bond length is shown to vary rapidly as a function of absorbed dose, with all room-temperature synchrotron structures exhibiting linear deformation of the active site compared with the XFEL structure. It is demonstrated that extrapolation of dose-dependent synchrotron structures to zero dose can closely approximate the damage-free XFEL structure. This approach is widely applicable to any protein where the crystal structure is altered by the synchrotron X-ray beam and provides a solution to the urgent requirement to determine intact structures of such proteins in a high-throughput and accessible manner.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ali Ebrahim
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ, UK
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0DE, UK
| | - Tadeo Moreno-Chicano
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ, UK
| | - Martin V. Appleby
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0DE, UK
| | - Amanda K. Chaplin
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ, UK
| | - John H. Beale
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0DE, UK
| | - Darren A. Sherrell
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0DE, UK
| | - Helen M. E. Duyvesteyn
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0DE, UK
- Division of Structural Biology (STRUBI), The Henry Wellcome Building for Genomic Medicine, University of Oxford, Roosevelt Drive, Oxford, Oxfordshire OX3 7BN, UK
| | - Shigeki Owada
- RIKEN SPring-8 Center, 1-1-1 Kouto, Sayo, Hyogo 679-5148, Japan
- Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute, 1-1-1 Kouto, Sayo, Hyogo 679-5198, Japan
| | - Kensuke Tono
- RIKEN SPring-8 Center, 1-1-1 Kouto, Sayo, Hyogo 679-5148, Japan
- Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute, 1-1-1 Kouto, Sayo, Hyogo 679-5198, Japan
| | - Hiroshi Sugimoto
- Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute, 1-1-1 Kouto, Sayo, Hyogo 679-5198, Japan
| | - Richard W. Strange
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ, UK
| | - Jonathan A. R. Worrall
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ, UK
| | - Danny Axford
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0DE, UK
| | - Robin L. Owen
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0DE, UK
| | - Michael A. Hough
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ, UK
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42
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Echelmeier A, Sonker M, Ros A. Microfluidic sample delivery for serial crystallography using XFELs. Anal Bioanal Chem 2019; 411:6535-6547. [PMID: 31250066 DOI: 10.1007/s00216-019-01977-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2019] [Revised: 05/23/2019] [Accepted: 06/12/2019] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Serial femtosecond crystallography (SFX) with X-ray free electron lasers (XFELs) is an emerging field for structural biology. One of its major impacts lies in the ability to reveal the structure of complex proteins previously inaccessible with synchrotron-based crystallography techniques and allowing time-resolved studies from femtoseconds to seconds. The nature of this serial technique requires new approaches for crystallization, data analysis, and sample delivery. With continued advancements in microfabrication techniques, various developments have been reported in the past decade for innovative and efficient microfluidic sample delivery for crystallography experiments using XFELs. This article summarizes the recent developments in microfluidic sample delivery with liquid injection and fixed-target approaches, which allow exciting new research with XFELs. Graphical abstract.
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Affiliation(s)
- Austin Echelmeier
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Box 871604, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1604, USA.,Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Box 875001, Tempe, AZ, 85287-7401, USA
| | - Mukul Sonker
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Box 871604, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1604, USA.,Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Box 875001, Tempe, AZ, 85287-7401, USA
| | - Alexandra Ros
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Box 871604, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1604, USA. .,Center for Applied Structural Discovery, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Box 875001, Tempe, AZ, 85287-7401, USA.
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43
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Nylon mesh-based sample holder for fixed-target serial femtosecond crystallography. Sci Rep 2019; 9:6971. [PMID: 31061502 PMCID: PMC6502819 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-43485-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2018] [Accepted: 04/25/2019] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Fixed-target serial femtosecond crystallography (FT-SFX) was an important advance in crystallography by dramatically reducing sample consumption, while maintaining the benefits of SFX for obtaining crystal structures at room temperature without radiation damage. Despite a number of advantages, preparation of a sample holder for the sample delivery in FT-SFX with the use of many crystals in a single mount at ambient temperature is challenging as it can be complicated and costly, and thus, development of an efficient sample holder is essential. In this study, we introduced a nylon mesh-based sample holder enclosed by a polyimide film. This sample holder can be rapidly manufactured using a commercially available nylon mesh with pores of a desired size at a low cost without challenging technology. Furthermore, this simple device is highly efficient in data acquisition. We performed FT-SFX using a nylon mesh-based sample holder and collected over 130,000 images on a single sample holder using a 30 Hz X-ray pulse for 1.2 h. We determined the crystal structures of lysozyme and glucose isomerase using the nylon mesh at 1.65 and 1.75 Å, respectively. The nylon mesh exposed to X-rays produced very low levels of background scattering at 3.75 and 4.30 Å, which are negligible for data analysis. Our method provides a simple and rapid but highly efficient way to deliver samples for FT-SFX.
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44
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Nam KH. Sample Delivery Media for Serial Crystallography. Int J Mol Sci 2019; 20:E1094. [PMID: 30836596 PMCID: PMC6429298 DOI: 10.3390/ijms20051094] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2019] [Revised: 02/27/2019] [Accepted: 02/27/2019] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
X-ray crystallographic methods can be used to visualize macromolecules at high resolution. This provides an understanding of molecular mechanisms and an insight into drug development and rational engineering of enzymes used in the industry. Although conventional synchrotron-based X-ray crystallography remains a powerful tool for understanding molecular function, it has experimental limitations, including radiation damage, cryogenic temperature, and static structural information. Serial femtosecond crystallography (SFX) using X-ray free electron laser (XFEL) and serial millisecond crystallography (SMX) using synchrotron X-ray have recently gained attention as research methods for visualizing macromolecules at room temperature without causing or reducing radiation damage, respectively. These techniques provide more biologically relevant structures than traditional X-ray crystallography at cryogenic temperatures using a single crystal. Serial femtosecond crystallography techniques visualize the dynamics of macromolecules through time-resolved experiments. In serial crystallography (SX), one of the most important aspects is the delivery of crystal samples efficiently, reliably, and continuously to an X-ray interaction point. A viscous delivery medium, such as a carrier matrix, dramatically reduces sample consumption, contributing to the success of SX experiments. This review discusses the preparation and criteria for the selection and development of a sample delivery medium and its application for SX.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ki Hyun Nam
- Division of Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Korea University, Seoul 02841, Korea.
- Institute of Life Science and Natural Resources, Korea University, Seoul 02841, Korea.
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45
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Martiel I, Müller-Werkmeister HM, Cohen AE. Strategies for sample delivery for femtosecond crystallography. Acta Crystallogr D Struct Biol 2019; 75:160-177. [PMID: 30821705 PMCID: PMC6400256 DOI: 10.1107/s2059798318017953] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2018] [Accepted: 12/19/2018] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Highly efficient data-collection methods are required for successful macromolecular crystallography (MX) experiments at X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs). XFEL beamtime is scarce, and the high peak brightness of each XFEL pulse destroys the exposed crystal volume. It is therefore necessary to combine diffraction images from a large number of crystals (hundreds to hundreds of thousands) to obtain a final data set, bringing about sample-refreshment challenges that have previously been unknown to the MX synchrotron community. In view of this experimental complexity, a number of sample delivery methods have emerged, each with specific requirements, drawbacks and advantages. To provide useful selection criteria for future experiments, this review summarizes the currently available sample delivery methods, emphasising the basic principles and the specific sample requirements. Two main approaches to sample delivery are first covered: (i) injector methods with liquid or viscous media and (ii) fixed-target methods using large crystals or using microcrystals inside multi-crystal holders or chips. Additionally, hybrid methods such as acoustic droplet ejection and crystal extraction are covered, which combine the advantages of both fixed-target and injector approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabelle Martiel
- Swiss Light Source, Paul Scherrer Institute, 5232 Villigen, Switzerland
| | - Henrike M. Müller-Werkmeister
- Institute of Chemistry – Physical Chemistry, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse 24-25, 14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany
| | - Aina E. Cohen
- Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource, 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA
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Grünbein ML, Nass Kovacs G. Sample delivery for serial crystallography at free-electron lasers and synchrotrons. Acta Crystallogr D Struct Biol 2019; 75:178-191. [PMID: 30821706 PMCID: PMC6400261 DOI: 10.1107/s205979831801567x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2018] [Accepted: 11/05/2018] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The high peak brilliance and femtosecond pulse duration of X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs) provide new scientific opportunities for experiments in physics, chemistry and biology. In structural biology, one of the major applications is serial femtosecond crystallography. The intense XFEL pulse results in the destruction of any exposed microcrystal, making serial data collection mandatory. This requires a high-throughput serial approach to sample delivery. To this end, a number of such sample-delivery techniques have been developed, some of which have been ported to synchrotron sources, where they allow convenient low-dose data collection at room temperature. Here, the current sample-delivery techniques used at XFEL and synchrotron sources are reviewed, with an emphasis on liquid injection and high-viscosity extrusion, including their application for time-resolved experiments. The challenges associated with sample delivery at megahertz repetition-rate XFELs are also outlined.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie Luise Grünbein
- Department of Biomolecular Mechanisms, Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Jahnstrasse 29, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Gabriela Nass Kovacs
- Department of Biomolecular Mechanisms, Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Jahnstrasse 29, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
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