Abstract
The SIBYLS beamline (12.3.1) of the Advanced Light Source at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, supported by the US Department of Energy and the National Institutes of Health, is optimized for both small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and macromolecular crystallography (MX), making it unique among the world's mostly SAXS or MX dedicated beamlines. Since SIBYLS was commissioned, assessments of the limitations and advantages of a combined SAXS and MX beamline have suggested new strategies for integration and optimal data collection methods and have led to additional hardware and software enhancements. Features described include a dual mode monochromator [containing both Si(111) crystals and Mo/B(4)C multilayer elements], rapid beamline optics conversion between SAXS and MX modes, active beam stabilization, sample-loading robotics, and mail-in and remote data collection. These features allow users to gain valuable insights from both dynamic solution scattering and high-resolution atomic diffraction experiments performed at a single synchrotron beamline. Key practical issues considered for data collection and analysis include radiation damage, structural ensembles, alternative conformers and flexibility. SIBYLS develops and applies efficient combined MX and SAXS methods that deliver high-impact results by providing robust cost-effective routes to connect structures to biology and by performing experiments that aid beamline designs for next generation light sources.
Highlights
The SIBYLS beamline produced its first structure in 2004 (Barondeau et al, 2004) and became available to general users in 2005 (Trame et al, 2004)
Automated liquid-handling systems have been installed at several synchrotron small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) beamlines, including X33 of EMBL (Round et al, 2008; Blanchet et al, 2012), 4–2 at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL), SWING at SOLEIL (David & Perez, 2009) and the SIBYLS beamline at the Advanced Light Source (ALS) (Hura et al, 2009; Classen et al, 2010)
Our knowledge of the nature of macromolecular function has been substantially advanced by major progress in two distinct areas, both supported efficiently by the SIBYLS beamline: (1) the ability to obtain high-resolution detail from MX coupled to (2) experimental data on flexibility
Summary
The SIBYLS beamline (structurally integrated biology for life sciences) produced its first structure in 2004 (Barondeau et al, 2004) and became available to general users in 2005 (Trame et al, 2004) From the outset, it was envisaged as a highly configurable structural biology beamline: a tool for tackling difficult problems in biology exemplified by large, dynamic and not- crystallized macromolecules. It was envisaged as a highly configurable structural biology beamline: a tool for tackling difficult problems in biology exemplified by large, dynamic and not- crystallized macromolecules By offering both solution scattering and macromolecular crystallographic capabilities, SIBYLS was designed to leverage the individual strengths of each technique and combine them to reveal new insights into the structure, and the function and mechanism, of challenging biological systems. This manuscript will describe the major features of the SIBYLS beamdoi:10.1107/S0021889812048698 1 research papers line, some of the more recent advancements in hardware and software, and scientific highlights
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