The Role of Momentum Partitioning in Covariance Ion Imaging Analysis.

We present results from a covariance ion imaging study, which employs extensive filtering, on the relationship between fragment momenta to gain deeper insight into photofragmentation dynamics. A new data analysis approach is introduced that considers the momentum partitioning between the fragments of the breakup of a molecular polycation to disentangle concurrent fragmentation channels, which yield the same ion species. We exploit this approach to examine the momentum exchange relationship between the products, which provides direct insight into the dynamics of molecular fragmentation. We apply these techniques to extensively characterize the dissociation of 1-iodopropane and 2-iodopropane dications prepared by site-selective ionization of the iodine atom using extreme ultraviolet intense femtosecond laser pulses with a photon energy of 95 eV. Our assignments are supported by classical simulations, using parameters largely obtained directly from the experimental data.

Multiparticle Cumulant Mapping for Coulomb Explosion Imaging.

We extend covariance velocity map ion imaging to four particles, establishing cumulant mapping and allowing for measurements that provide insights usually associated with coincidence detection, but at much higher count rates. Without correction, a fourfold covariance analysis is contaminated by the pairwise correlations of uncorrelated events, but we have addressed this with the calculation of a full cumulant, which subtracts pairwise correlations. We demonstrate the approach on the four-body breakup of formaldehyde following strong field multiple ionization in few-cycle laser pulses. We compare Coulomb explosion imaging for two different pulse durations (30 and 6 fs), highlighting the dynamics that can take place on ultrafast timescales. These results have important implications for Coulomb explosion imaging as a tool for studying ultrafast structural changes in molecules, a capability that is especially desirable for high-count-rate x-ray free-electron laser experiments.

Femtosecond Electronic and Hydrogen Structural Dynamics in Ammonia Imaged with Ultrafast Electron Diffraction.

Directly imaging structural dynamics involving hydrogen atoms by ultrafast diffraction methods is complicated by their low scattering cross sections. Here we demonstrate that megaelectronvolt ultrafast electron diffraction is sufficiently sensitive to follow hydrogen dynamics in isolated molecules. In a study of the photodissociation of gas phase ammonia, we simultaneously observe signatures of the nuclear and corresponding electronic structure changes resulting from the dissociation dynamics in the time-dependent diffraction. Both assignments are confirmed by ab initio simulations of the photochemical dynamics and the resulting diffraction observable. While the temporal resolution of the experiment is insufficient to resolve the dissociation in time, our results represent an important step towards the observation of proton dynamics in real space and time.

Disentangling sequential and concerted fragmentations of molecular polycations with covariant native frame analysis.

We present results from an experimental ion imaging study into the fragmentation dynamics of 1-iodopropane and 2-iodopropane following interaction with extreme ultraviolet intense femtosecond laser pulses with a photon energy of 95 eV. Using covariance imaging analysis, a range of observed fragmentation pathways of the resulting polycations can be isolated and interrogated in detail at relatively high ion count rates (∼12 ions shot-1). By incorporating the recently developed native frames analysis approach into the three-dimensional covariance imaging procedure, contributions from three-body concerted and sequential fragmentation mechanisms can be isolated. The angular distribution of the fragment ions is much more complex than in previously reported studies for triatomic polycations, and differs substantially between the two isomeric species. With support of simple simulations of the dissociation channels of interest, detailed physical insights into the fragmentation dynamics are obtained, including how the initial dissociation step in a sequential mechanism influences rovibrational dynamics in the metastable intermediate ion and how signatures of this nuclear motion manifest in the measured signals.

Transient vibration and product formation of photoexcited CS2 measured by time-resolved x-ray scattering.

We have observed details of the internal motion and dissociation channels in photoexcited carbon disulfide (CS2) using time-resolved x-ray scattering (TRXS). Photoexcitation of gas-phase CS2 with a 200 nm laser pulse launches oscillatory bending and stretching motion, leading to dissociation of atomic sulfur in under a picosecond. During the first 300 fs following excitation, we observe significant changes in the vibrational frequency as well as some dissociation of the C-S bond, leading to atomic sulfur in the both 1D and 3P states. Beyond 1400 fs, the dissociation is consistent with primarily 3P atomic sulfur dissociation. This channel-resolved measurement of the dissociation time is based on our analysis of the time-windowed dissociation radial velocity distribution, which is measured using the temporal Fourier transform of the TRXS data aided by a Hough transform that extracts the slopes of linear features in an image. The relative strength of the two dissociation channels reflects both their branching ratio and differences in the spread of their dissociation times. Measuring the time-resolved dissociation radial velocity distribution aids the resolution of discrepancies between models for dissociation proposed by prior photoelectron spectroscopy work.

Conserved residue His-257 of Vibrio cholerae flavin transferase ApbE plays a critical role in substrate binding and catalysis.

The flavin transferase ApbE plays essential roles in bacterial physiology, covalently incorporating FMN cofactors into numerous respiratory enzymes that use the integrated cofactors as electron carriers. In this work we performed a detailed kinetic and structural characterization of Vibrio cholerae WT ApbE and mutants of the conserved residue His-257, to understand its role in substrate binding and in the catalytic mechanism of this family. Bi-substrate kinetic experiments revealed that ApbE follows a random Bi Bi sequential kinetic mechanism, in which a ternary complex is formed, indicating that both substrates must be bound to the enzyme for the reaction to proceed. Steady-state kinetic analyses show that the turnover rates of His-257 mutants are significantly smaller than those of WT ApbE, and have increased Km values for both substrates, indicating that the His-257 residue plays important roles in catalysis and in enzyme-substrate complex formation. Analyses of the pH dependence of ApbE activity indicate that the pKa of the catalytic residue (pKES1) increases by 2 pH units in the His-257 mutants, suggesting that this residue plays a role in substrate deprotonation. The crystal structures of WT ApbE and an H257G mutant were determined at 1.61 and 1.92 Å resolutions, revealing that His-257 is located in the catalytic site and that the substitution does not produce major conformational changes. We propose a reaction mechanism in which His-257 acts as a general base that deprotonates the acceptor residue, which subsequently performs a nucleophilic attack on FAD for flavin transfer.

Crystallographic structure determination of B10 mutants of Vitreoscilla hemoglobin: role of Tyr29 (B10) in the structure of the ligand-binding site.

Site-directed mutants of the gene encoding wild-type Vitreoscilla hemoglobin were made that changed Tyr29 (B10) of the wild-type Vitreoscilla hemoglobin (VHb) to either Phe or Ala. The wild-type and the two mutant hemoglobins were expressed in Escherichia coli and purified to homogeneity. The binding of the two mutants to CO was essentially identical to that of wild-type VHb as determined by CO-difference spectra. Circular-dichroism spectra also showed the two mutants to be essentially the same as wild-type VHb regarding overall helicity. All three VHbs were crystallized and their structures were determined at resolutions of 1.7-1.9 Å, which are similar to that of the original wild-type structure determination. The Tyr29Phe mutant has a structure that is essentially indistinguishable from that of the wild type. However, the structure of the Tyr29Ala mutant has significant differences from that of the wild type. In addition, for the Tyr29Ala mutant it was possible to determine the positions of most of the residues in the D region, which was disordered in the originally reported structure of wild-type VHb as well as in the wild-type VHb structure reported here. In the Tyr29Ala mutant, the five-membered ring of proline E8 (Pro54) occupies the space occupied by the aromatic ring of Tyr29 in the wild-type structure. These results are discussed in the context of the proposed role of Tyr29 in the structure of the oxygen-binding pocket.

A recommendation on the teaching of Michaelis-Menten kinetics in biochemistry courses.

Most textbooks and lecturers present Michaelis-Menten kinetics using the equation v = Vmax [S]/(Km  + [S]). There are advantages to presenting this relationship in a slightly different form, namely v = Vmax /{1 + (Km /[S])}. We articulate advantages for single-substrate reactions and extend the formalism to include the three classes of bi-substrate reactions.

Filming enhanced ionization in an ultrafast triatomic slingshot.

Filming atomic motion within molecules is an active pursuit of molecular physics and quantum chemistry. A promising method is laser-induced Coulomb Explosion Imaging (CEI) where a laser pulse rapidly ionizes many electrons from a molecule, causing the remaining ions to undergo Coulomb repulsion. The ion momenta are used to reconstruct the molecular geometry which is tracked over time (i.e., filmed) by ionizing at an adjustable delay with respect to the start of interatomic motion. Results are distorted, however, by ultrafast motion during the ionizing pulse. We studied this effect in water and filmed the rapid "slingshot" motion that enhances ionization and distorts CEI results. Our investigation uncovered both the geometry and mechanism of the enhancement which may inform CEI experiments in many other polyatomic molecules.

Time-Resolved X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy: Ultrafast Dynamics in CS2 Probed at the S 2p Edge.

Recent developments in X-ray free-electron lasers have enabled a novel site-selective probe of coupled nuclear and electronic dynamics in photoexcited molecules, time-resolved X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (TRXPS). We present results from a joint experimental and theoretical TRXPS study of the well-characterized ultraviolet photodissociation of CS2, a prototypical system for understanding non-adiabatic dynamics. These results demonstrate that the sulfur 2p binding energy is sensitive to changes in the nuclear structure following photoexcitation, which ultimately leads to dissociation into CS and S photoproducts. We are able to assign the main X-ray spectroscopic features to the CS and S products via comparison to a first-principles determination of the TRXPS based on ab initio multiple-spawning simulations. Our results demonstrate the use of TRXPS as a local probe of complex ultrafast photodissociation dynamics involving multimodal vibrational coupling, nonradiative transitions between electronic states, and multiple final product channels.

Multi-Particle Three-Dimensional Covariance Imaging: "Coincidence" Insights into the Many-Body Fragmentation of Strong-Field Ionized D2O.

We demonstrate the applicability of covariance analysis to three-dimensional velocity-map imaging experiments using a fast time stamping detector. Studying the photofragmentation of strong-field doubly ionized D2O molecules, we show that combining high count rate measurements with covariance analysis yields the same level of information typically limited to the "gold standard" of true, low count rate coincidence experiments, when averaging over a large ensemble of photofragmentation events. This increases the effective data acquisition rate by approximately 2 orders of magnitude, enabling a new class of experimental studies. This is illustrated through an investigation into the dependence of three-body D2O2+ dissociation on the intensity of the ionizing laser, revealing mechanistic insights into the nuclear dynamics driven during the laser pulse. The experimental methodology laid out, with its drastic reduction in acquisition time, is expected to be of great benefit to future photofragment imaging studies.

Bone recognition mechanism of porcine osteocalcin from crystal structure.

Osteocalcin is the most abundant noncollagenous protein in bone, and its concentration in serum is closely linked to bone metabolism and serves as a biological marker for the clinical assessment of bone disease. Although its precise mechanism of action is unclear, osteocalcin influences bone mineralization, in part through its ability to bind with high affinity to the mineral component of bone, hydroxyapatite. In addition to binding to hydroxyapatite, osteocalcin functions in cell signalling and the recruitment of osteoclasts and osteoblasts, which have active roles in bone resorption and deposition, respectively. Here we present the X-ray crystal structure of porcine osteocalcin at 2.0 A resolution, which reveals a negatively charged protein surface that coordinates five calcium ions in a spatial orientation that is complementary to calcium ions in a hydroxyapatite crystal lattice. On the basis of our findings, we propose a model of osteocalcin binding to hydroxyapatite and draw parallels with other proteins that engage crystal lattices.

Purification and crystallization of Cor a 9, a major hazelnut allergen.

Hazelnut (Corylus avellana) is one of the food sources that induce allergic reaction in a subpopulation of people with food allergy. The 11S legumin-like seed-storage protein from hazelnut has been identified as one of the major hazelnut allergens and named Cor a 9. In this study, Cor a 9 was extracted from hazelnut kernels using a high-salt solution and was purified by desalting out and FPLC to a highly purified state. Diffraction-quality single crystals were obtained using the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion method. Diffraction data were collected and a structure solution has been obtained by molecular-replacement calculations. Further refinement of the structure is currently in progress.

Overproduction, purification, crystallization and preliminary X-ray diffraction studies of the human spliceosomal protein TXNL4B.

The human gene coding for the spliceosomal protein thioredoxin-like 4B (TXNL4B) was overexpressed in Escherichia coli and the encoded protein was purified and crystallized. Well diffracting single crystals were obtained by the vapor-diffusion method in hanging drops. The crystals belong to the primitive monoclinic space group P2, with unit-cell parameters a = 39.0, b = 63.6, c = 51.0 A, beta = 92.484 degrees,, and diffract to at least 1.50 A. A SeMet derivative of the protein was prepared and crystallized for MAD phasing.

Crystal structure of the YjeE protein from Haemophilus influenzae: a putative Atpase involved in cell wall synthesis.

A hypothetical protein encoded by the gene YjeE of Haemophilus influenzae was selected as part of a structural genomics project for X-ray analysis to assist with the functional assignment. The protein is considered essential to bacteria because the gene is present in virtually all bacterial genomes but not in those of archaea or eukaryotes. The amino acid sequence shows no homology to other proteins except for the presence of the Walker A motif G-X-X-X-X-G-K-T that indicates the possibility of a nucleotide-binding protein. The YjeE protein was cloned, expressed, and the crystal structure determined by the MAD method at 1.7-A resolution. The protein has a nucleotide-binding fold with a four-stranded parallel beta-sheet flanked by antiparallel beta-strands on each side. The topology of the beta-sheet is unique among P-loop proteins and has features of different families of enzymes. Crystallization of YjeE in the presence of ATP and Mg2+ resulted in the structure with ADP bound in the P-loop. The ATPase activity of YjeE was confirmed by kinetic measurements. The distribution of conserved residues suggests that the protein may work as a "molecular switch" triggered by ATP hydrolysis. The phylogenetic pattern of YjeE suggests its involvement in cell wall biosynthesis.

Crystal structure of Escherichia coli protein ybgI, a toroidal structure with a dinuclear metal site.

BACKGROUND: The protein encoded by the gene ybgI was chosen as a target for a structural genomics project emphasizing the relation of protein structure to function. RESULTS: The structure of the ybgI protein is a toroid composed of six polypeptide chains forming a trimer of dimers. Each polypeptide chain binds two metal ions on the inside of the toroid. CONCLUSION: The toroidal structure is comparable to that of some proteins that are involved in DNA metabolism. The di-nuclear metal site could imply that the specific function of this protein is as a hydrolase-oxidase enzyme.

Assisting functional assignment for hypothetical Heamophilus influenzae gene products through structural genomics.

The three-dimensional structures of Haemophilus influenzae proteins whose biological functions are unknown are being determined as part of a structural genomics project to ask whether structural information can assist in assigning the functions of proteins. The structures of the hypothetical proteins are being used to guide further studies and narrow the field of such studies for ultimately determining protein function. An outline of the structural genomics methodological approach is provided along with summaries of a number of completed and in progress crystallographic and NMR structure determinations. With more than twenty-five structures determined at this point and with many more in various stages of completion, the results are encouraging in that some level of functional understanding can be deduced from experimentally solved structures. In addition to aiding in functional assignment, this effort is identifying a number of possible new targets for drug development.