Diffraction Data Sets Research Articles

Cyclic twinning and internal defects of boron-rich nanowires revealed by three-dimensional electron diffraction mapping

Structural characterization of individual nanosized boron-rich nanowires has been carried out through analysing the three-dimensional (3D) electron diffraction intensity distribution. Not only can the cyclic twinning structure of these nanowires be easily determined, the new approach also reveals the heterogeneous strain relaxation within the intact nanowire, through the accurate determination of the orientation relationship between the constituent crystallites. The quantitative analysis of the fine structure in the 3D diffraction dataset indicates that this may be related to the distribution of defects such as stacking faults, microtwins and dislocations. It is envisaged that the non-destructive nature of this approach could open the way for the in situ study of the structural evolution of complex nanomaterials and polycrystalline materials in general.

A general phase retrieval algorithm based on a ptychographical iterative engine for coherent diffractive imaging

Coherent diffractive imaging (CDI) is a lensless imaging technique and can achieve a resolution beyond the Rayleigh or Abbe limit. The ptychographical iterative engine (PIE) is a CDI phase retrieval algorithm that uses multiple diffraction patterns obtained through the scan of a localized illumination on the specimen, which has been demonstrated successfully at optical and X-ray wavelengths. In this paper, a general PIE algorithm (gPIE) is presented and demonstrated with an He—Ne laser light diffraction dataset. This algorithm not only permits the removal of the accurate model of the illumination function in PIE, but also provides improved convergence speed and retrieval quality.

Crystallization and preliminary X-ray crystallographic analysis of UDP-glucuronic acid:flavonol-3-O-glucuronosyltransferase (VvGT5) from the grapevine Vitis vinifera.

Grapevine (Vitis vinifera) glycosyltransferase 5 (VvGT5) is a UDP-glucuronic acid:flavonol-3-O-glucuronosyltransferase that catalyses the 3-O-specific glucuronosylation of flavonols using UDP-glucuronic acid as a sugar donor to produce flavonol 3-O-glucosides, which are important bioactive phytochemicals. Recombinant VvGT5 expressed in Escherichia coli cells was purified and crystallized by the sitting-drop vapour-diffusion method. A full set of X-ray diffraction data was collected to 2.2 Å Bragg spacing from a single crystal using a synchrotron-radiation source. The crystal was hexagonal, belonging to space group P6(1)22, with unit-cell parameters a = b = 102.70, c = 535.92 Å. The initial phases were determined by the molecular-replacement method.

Purification, crystallization and preliminary X-ray diffraction analysis of theStaphylococcus epidermidisextracellular serine protease Esp

Esp, an extracellular serine protease from Staphylococcus epidermidis, has been shown to inhibit S. aureus biofilm formation and nasal colonization. The full-length 27 kDa pro-Esp was purified and digested with thermolysin to obtain mature Esp. The mature Esp containing 216 residues crystallized in space group P2(1), with unit-cell parameters a = 39.5, b = 61.2, c= 42.5 Å, β=98.2° and one molecule in the asymmetric unit, with an estimated solvent content of 42%. A diffraction data set has been collected to 1.8 Å resolution on a rotating-anode home-source facility.

Experience with exchange and archiving of raw data: comparison of data from two diffractometers and four software packages on a series of lysozyme crystals.

The International Union of Crystallography has for many years been advocating archiving of raw data to accompany structural papers. Recently, it initiated the formation of the Diffraction Data Deposition Working Group with the aim of developing standards for the representation of these data. A means of studying this issue is to submit exemplar publications with associated raw data and metadata. A recent study on the effects of dimethyl sulfoxide on the binding of cisplatin and carboplatin to histidine in 11 different lysozyme crystals from two diffractometers led to an investigation of the possible effects of the equipment and X-ray diffraction data processing software on the calculated occupancies and B factors of the bound Pt compounds. 35.3 Gb of data were transferred from Manchester to Utrecht to be processed with EVAL. A systematic comparison shows that the largest differences in the occupancies and B factors of the bound Pt compounds are due to the software, but the equipment also has a noticeable effect. A detailed description of and discussion on the availability of metadata is given. By making these raw diffraction data sets available via a local depository, it is possible for the diffraction community to make their own evaluation as they may wish.

Crystallization and preliminary X-ray crystallographic analysis of human Apaf-1-interacting protein.

Apaf-1-interacting protein (APIP) is known to inhibit two different types of cell death: caspase-1-dependent pyroptosis and caspase-9-dependent apoptosis. APIP is also involved in the methionine-salvage pathway, where it is called 5-methylthioribulose-1-phosphate dehydratase (MtnB). The enzyme activity seems to be essential for inhibition of pyroptosis by APIP, but not for inhibition of apoptosis. In this study, human APIP was overproduced in Escherichia coli, purified and crystallized. An X-ray diffraction data set was collected to 2.40 Å resolution and the crystals belonged to space group C222(1), with unit-cell parameters a=106.61, b=107.50, c=189.76 Å. Given that four APIP molecules exist in the asymmetric unit, the Matthews coefficient is 2.70 Å3 Da(-1) and the corresponding solvent content is 54.4%.

Expression, purification, crystallization and preliminary X-ray diffraction analysis of the dihydroorotase domain of human CAD

CAD is a 243 kDa eukaryotic multifunctional polypeptide that catalyzes the first three reactions of de novo pyrimidine biosynthesis: glutamine-dependent carbamyl phosphate synthetase, aspartate transcarbamylase and dihydroorotase (DHO). In prokaryotes, these activities are associated with monofunctional proteins, for which crystal structures are available. However, there is no detailed structural information on the full-length CAD protein or any of its functional domains apart from that it associates to form a homohexamer of ∼1.5 MDa. Here, the expression, purification and crystallization of the DHO domain of human CAD are reported. The DHO domain forms homodimers in solution. Crystallization experiments yielded small crystals that were suitable for X-ray diffraction studies. A diffraction data set was collected to 1.75 Å resolution using synchrotron radiation at the SLS, Villigen, Switzerland. The crystals belonged to the orthorhombic space group C222(1), with unit-cell parameters a=82.1, b=159.3, c=61.5 Å. The Matthews coefficient calculation suggested the presence of one protein molecule per asymmetric unit, with a solvent content of 48%.

Purification, crystallization and preliminary X-ray crystallographic analysis of the ETS domain of human Ergp55 in complex with the cfos promoter DNA sequence.

The Ergp55 protein belongs to the Ets family of transciption factors. The Ets transcription factors are involved in various developmental processes and the regulation of cancer metabolism. They contain a highly similar DNA-binding domain known as the ETS domain and have diverse functions in oncogenesis and physiology. The Ets transcription factors differ in their DNA-binding preference at the ETS site and the mechanisms by which they target genes are not clearly understood. To understand its DNA-binding mechanism, the ETS domain of Ergp55 was expressed and purified. The ETS domain was crystallized in the native form and in complex forms with DNA sequences from the E74 and cfos promoters. An X-ray diffraction data set was collected from an ETS-cfos DNA complex crystal at a wavelength of 0.9725 Å on the BM14 synchrotron beamline at the ESRF, France. The ETS-cfos DNA complex crystal belonged to space group C222(1), with four molecules in the asymmetric unit. For structure analysis, initial phases for the ETS-cfos DNA complex were obtained by the molecular-replacement technique with Phaser in the CCP4 suite using the coordinates of Fli-1 protein (PDB entry 1fli) and cfos DNA (PDB entry 1bc7) as search models. Structure analysis of the ETS-cfos DNA complex may possibly explain the DNA-binding specificity and its mechanism of interaction with the ETS domain of Ergp55.

Crystal sample pins and a storage cassette system compatible with the protein crystallography beamlines at both the Photon Factory and SPring-8

Protein crystallography beamlines at the two major Japanese synchrotron facilities (SPring-8 and Photon Factory) employ different crystal-exchange robots. The robots SPACE and PAM, installed at SPring-8 and the Photon Factory, respectively, accelerate crystal exchange and assist in the efficient use of beamtime. SPACE also supports customizable automatic data collection, in which an X-ray beam is irradiated at a manually determined position during the crystal evaluation process. However, this data collection requires special crystal-mounting screw pins made of polyacetal, which are not compatible with PAM. In order to give users the flexibility to collect diffraction data sets at either of the two synchrotrons, we have developed a compatible cassette system. Pins stored in the cassette can be mounted or demounted using either SPACE or PAM, and are compatible with the customizable automatic data collection provided by SPACE. Users can handle the pins and cassettes easily, employing common tools and techniques for efficient protein cryocrystallography experiments.

Error-estimation-guided rebuilding ofde novomodels increases the success rate ofab initiophasing

Recent advancements in computational methods for protein-structure prediction have made it possible to generate the high-quality de novo models required for ab initio phasing of crystallographic diffraction data using molecular replacement. Despite those encouraging achievements in ab initio phasing using de novo models, its success is limited only to those targets for which high-quality de novo models can be generated. In order to increase the scope of targets to which ab initio phasing with de novo models can be successfully applied, it is necessary to reduce the errors in the de novo models that are used as templates for molecular replacement. Here, an approach is introduced that can identify and rebuild the residues with larger errors, which subsequently reduces the overall C(α) root-mean-square deviation (CA-RMSD) from the native protein structure. The error in a predicted model is estimated from the average pairwise geometric distance per residue computed among selected lowest energy coarse-grained models. This score is subsequently employed to guide a rebuilding process that focuses on more error-prone residues in the coarse-grained models. This rebuilding methodology has been tested on ten protein targets that were unsuccessful using previous methods. The average CA-RMSD of the coarse-grained models was improved from 4.93 to 4.06 Å. For those models with CA-RMSD less than 3.0 Å, the average CA-RMSD was improved from 3.38 to 2.60 Å. These rebuilt coarse-grained models were then converted into all-atom models and refined to produce improved de novo models for molecular replacement. Seven diffraction data sets were successfully phased using rebuilt de novo models, indicating the improved quality of these rebuilt de novo models and the effectiveness of the rebuilding process. Software implementing this method, called MORPHEUS, can be downloaded from http://www.riken.jp/zhangiru/software.html.

ChemInform Abstract: Structure of Malaria Pigment and Related Propanoate‐Linked Metalloporphyrin Dimers

AbstractReview: 37 refs.

Crystallization and preliminary X-ray diffraction analysis of PsaA, the adhesive pilin subunit that forms the pH 6 antigen on the surface of Yersinia pestis.

Yersinia pestis has been responsible for a number of high-mortality epidemics throughout human history. Like all other bacterial infections, the pathogenesis of Y. pestis begins with the attachment of bacteria to the surface of host cells. At least five surface proteins from Y. pestis have been shown to interact with host cells. Psa, the pH 6 antigen, is one of them and is deployed on the surface of bacteria as thin flexible fibrils that are the result of the polymerization of a single PsaA pilin subunit. Here, the crystallization of recombinant donor-strand complemented PsaA by the hanging-drop vapor-diffusion method is reported. X-ray diffraction data sets were collected to 1.9 Å resolution from a native crystal and to 1.5 Å resolution from a bromide-derivatized crystal. These crystals displayed the symmetry of the orthorhombic space group P222(1), with unit-cell parameters a = 26.3, b = 54.6, c = 102.1 Å. Initial phases were derived from single isomorphous replacement with anomalous scattering experiments, resulting in an electron-density map that showed a single molecule in the crystallographic asymmetric unit. Sequence assignment was aided by residues binding to bromide ions of the heavy-atom derivative.

Structure of Malaria Pigment and Related Propanoate‐Linked Metalloporphyrin Dimers

Malaria pigment, the heme detoxification product of malaria's invasion, digestion, and growth inside mammalian red blood cells, is an insoluble phase of iron(III)protoporphyrin-IX. Even though its structure was determined in 2000 by powder X-ray diffraction, significant questions remain about its formation and possible interaction with quinoline antimalarial drugs. A recent structural study, also with X-ray powder diffraction, has reconfirmed that the material isolated from the parasite is isostructural with its synthetic equivalent. It was recently suggested that other isomers may also be formed and may be present in synthetic samples. In particular, a series of stereoisomers are possible for the arrangement of vinyl groups on the periphery of the dimerized porphyrin rings. In principle, any given dimer can have vinyl groups at the α or β sites, and at γ or δ sites. In this paper, several models are evaluated, both biphasic and homogeneous methyl/vinyl disorder, against several sets of diffraction data, both published and new. We conclude that methyl/vinyl disorder is intrinsic to the system, and that the evidence at hand does not support the existence of any other crystalline isomers in carefully prepared samples of either natural or synthetic samples. Finally, the porphyrin-porphyrin interactions are evaluated using Scheidt's indicies for porphyrin π-stacking, and we find modest to weak π-interactions in these condensed phases.

Crystallization and preliminary X-ray crystallographic analysis of the putative NADP(H)-dependent oxidoreductase YncB fromVibrio vulnificus

The yncB gene product from Vibrio vulnificus, which belongs to the medium-chain dehydrogenase/reductase (MDR) superfamily, was crystallized using the microbatch crystallization method at 295 K. Diffraction data sets were collected using synchrotron radiation. Crystals of selenomethionine-substituted YncB protein belonged to space group P2(1)2(1)2(1), with unit-cell parameters a = 90.52, b = 91.56, c = 104.79 Å. Assuming the presence of two molecules in the asymmetric unit, the solvent content was estimated to be about 57%. Crystals of the YncB-NADP(H) complex belonged to space group P4(1)2(1)2 or P4(3)2(1)2, with unit-cell parameters a = b = 90.14, c = 105.61 Å. Assuming the presence of one molecule in the asymmetric unit, the solvent content was estimated to be about 56.42%.

Cloning, expression, purification and crystallization of dihydrodipicolinate synthase from Agrobacterium tumefaciens.

Dihydrodipicolinate synthase (DHDPS) catalyzes the first committed step of the lysine-biosynthesis pathway in bacteria, plants and some fungi. This study describes the cloning, expression, purification and crystallization of DHDPS (NP_354047.1) from the plant pathogen Agrobacterium tumefaciens (AgT-DHDPS). Enzyme-kinetics studies demonstrate that AgT-DHDPS possesses DHDPS activity in vitro. Crystals of AgT-DHDPS were grown in the unliganded form and in forms with substrate bound and with substrate plus allosteric inhibitor (lysine) bound. X-ray diffraction data sets were subsequently collected to a maximum resolution of 1.40 Å. Determination of the structure with and without substrate and inhibitor will offer insight into the design of novel pesticide agents.

On the Structure of Aqueous Cesium Fluoride and Cesium Iodide Solutions: Diffraction Experiments, Molecular Dynamics Simulations, and Reverse Monte Carlo Modeling

A detailed study of the microscopic structure of two electrolyte solutions, cesium fluoride (CsF) and cesium iodide (CsI) in water, is presented. For revealing the influence of salt concentration on the structure, CsF solutions at concentrations of 15.1 and 32.3 mol % and CsI solutions at concentrations of 1.0 and 3.9 mol % are investigated. For each concentration, we combine total scattering structure factors from neutron and X-ray diffraction and 10 partial radial distribution functions from molecular dynamics simulations in one single structural model, generated by reverse Monte Carlo modeling. For the present solutions we show that the level of consistency between simulations that use simple pair potentials and experimental structure factors is at least semiquantitative for even the extremely highly concentrated CsF solutions. Remaining inconsistencies seem to be caused primarily by water-water distribution functions, whereas slightly problematic parts appear on the ion-oxygen partials, too. As a final result, we obtained particle configurations from reverse Monte Carlo modeling that were in quantitative agreement with both sets of diffraction data and most of the MD simulated partial radial distribution functions. From the particle coordinates, distributions of the number of first neighbors as well as angular correlation functions were calculated. The average number of water molecules around cations in both materials decreases from about 8.0 to about 5.1 as concentration increases, whereas the same quantity for the anions (X) changes from about 5.3 to about 3.7 in the case of CsF and from about 6.2 to about 4.0 in the case of CsI. The average angle of X···H-O particle arrangements, characteristic of anion-water hydrogen bonds, is closer to 180° than that found for O···H-O arrangements (water-water hydrogen bonds) at higher concentrations.

Structure characterization of hard materials by precession electron diffraction and automatic diffraction tomography: 6H–SiC semiconductor and Ni1+xTe1 embedded nanodomains

Using a combination of automated diffraction tomography and precession electron diffraction techniques, quasi-kinematical electron diffraction data sets were collected from intermetallic Ni1+xTe1 embedded nanodomains and ion-thinned specimens of 6H–SiC semiconductor. Cell parameters and space groups were found automatically from the reconstructed 3D diffraction volume. The extracted intensities were used for fast ab initio structure determination by direct methods.

106 Tissue oxygenation measurements in vivo

The bacteriochlorophyll (BChl) a protein from Chlorobium tepidum, which participates in energy transfer in green photosynthetic bacteria, has been crystallized using the sitting drop method of vapor diffusion. X-ray diffraction data collected from these crystals indicate that the crystals belong to the cubic space group P 4132 with cell dimensions of a = b = c = 169.5 Å. A native X-ray diffraction data set has been collected to a resolution of 2.2 Å. The initial solution was determined by using the molecular replacement method using the structure of the previously solved BChl a protein from Prosthecochloris aestuarii. A unique rotation and translation solution was obtained for two monomers in the asymmetric unit giving a pseudo-body centered packing. After rebuilding and refinement the model yields an R factor of 19.0%, a free R-factor of 28.3%, and good geometry with root-mean-square deviations of 0.013 Å and 2.1° for the bond lengths and angles, respectively. The structure of the BChl a protein from C. tepidum consists of three identical subunits related by a 3-fold axis of crystallographic symmetry. In each subunit the polypeptide backbone forms large β-sheets and encloses a central core of seven BChl a molecules. The distances between neighboring bacteriochlorin systems within a subunit range between 4 Å to 11 Å and that between two bacteriochlorins from different subunits is more than 20 Å. The overall structure is comparable with that of P. aestuarii but significant differences are observed for the individual bacteriochlorophyll structures. The surface of the trimer has a hydrophobic region that is modeled as the complex being a peripheral membrane protein partially embedded in the membrane. A general model is presented for the membrane organization with two of the bacteriochlorophyll structures in the membrane and transferring energy to the reaction center complex. In this model these two bacteriochlorophyll structures serve a similar role to the cofactors of integral membrane light-harvesting complexes although the protein structure surrounding the cofactors is significantly different for the BChl a protein compared with the integral membrane complexes.

Structure of the Nuclear Factor κB-inducing Kinase (NIK) Kinase Domain Reveals a Constitutively Active Conformation

NF-κB-inducing kinase (NIK) is a central component in the non-canonical NF-κB signaling pathway. Excessive NIK activity is implicated in various disorders, such as autoimmune conditions and cancers. Here, we report the first crystal structure of truncated human NIK in complex with adenosine 5'-O-(thiotriphosphate) at a resolution of 2.5 Å. This truncated protein is a catalytically active construct, including an N-terminal extension of 60 residues prior to the kinase domain, the kinase domain, and 20 residues afterward. The structure reveals that the NIK kinase domain assumes an active conformation in the absence of any phosphorylation. Analysis of the structure uncovers a unique role for the N-terminal extension sequence, which stabilizes helix αC in the active orientation and keeps the kinase domain in the catalytically competent conformation. Our findings shed light on the long-standing debate over whether NIK is a constitutively active kinase. They also provide a molecular basis for the recent observation of gain-of-function activity for an N-terminal deletion mutant (ΔN324) of NIK, leading to constitutive non-canonical NF-κB signaling with enhanced B-cell adhesion and apoptosis resistance.

Crystallization and preliminary X-ray diffraction analysis of a novel type of phosphoserine phosphatase fromHydrogenobacter thermophilusTK-6

Two novel-type phosphoserine phosphatases (PSPs) with unique substrate specificity from the thermophilic and hydrogen-oxidizing bacterium Hydrogenobacter thermophilus TK-6 have previously been identified. Here, one of the PSPs (iPSP1) was heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli, purified and crystallized. Diffraction-quality crystals were obtained by the sitting-drop vapour-diffusion method using PEG 4000 as the precipitant. Two diffraction data sets with resolution ranges of 45.0-2.50 and 45.0-1.50 Å were collected from a single crystal and were merged to give a highly complete data set. The space group of the crystal was identified as primitive orthorhombic P2(1)2(1)2(1), with unit-cell parameters a = 49.8, b = 73.6, c = 124.3 Å. The calculated Matthews coefficient (V(M) = 2.32 Å(3) Da(-1)) indicated that the crystal contained one iPSP1 complex per asymmetric unit.