A Bright Future for Serial Femtosecond Crystallography with XFELs.

X-ray free electron lasers (XFELs) have the potential to revolutionize macromolecular structural biology due to the unique combination of spatial coherence, extreme peak brilliance, and short duration of X-ray pulses. A recently emerged serial femtosecond (fs) crystallography (SFX) approach using XFEL radiation overcomes some of the biggest hurdles of traditional crystallography related to radiation damage through the diffraction-before-destruction principle. Intense fs XFEL pulses enable high-resolution room-temperature structure determination of difficult-to-crystallize biological macromolecules, while simultaneously opening a new era of time-resolved structural studies. Here, we review the latest developments in instrumentation, sample delivery, data analysis, crystallization methods, and applications of SFX to important biological questions, and conclude with brief insights into the bright future of structural biology using XFELs.

On the limits of observing motion in time-resolved X-ray scattering.

Limits on the ability of time-resolved X-ray scattering (TRXS) to observe harmonic motion of amplitude, A and frequency, ω0, about an equilibrium position, R0, are considered. Experimental results from a TRXS experiment at the LINAC Coherent Light Source are compared to classical and quantum theories that demonstrate a fundamental limitation on the ability to observe the amplitude of motion. These comparisons demonstrate dual limits on the spatial resolution through Qmax and the temporal resolution through ωmax for observing the amplitude of motion. In the limit where ωmax ≈ ω0, the smallest observable amplitude of motion is A = 2 π/ Qmax. In the limit where ωmax≥2 ω0, A≤2 π/ Qmax is observable provided there are sufficient statistics. This article is part of the theme issue 'Measurement of ultrafast electronic and structural dynamics with X-rays'.

Chemical kinetics study through observation of individual reaction events with atomic-resolution electron microscopy.

Single-molecule atomic-resolution real-time electron microscopic movie imaging is an emerging new tool for obtaining dynamic structural information on molecules and molecular assemblies. This method provides a hitherto inaccessible possibility to in situ observe the time evolution of chemical events at various temperatures from the beginning till the end, as demonstrated for the kinetics study of [2 + 2] cycloaddition of [60]fullerene molecules, which was found to occur via an excited state or via radical cation depending on the temperature. One unique feature of this methodology is that, by observing directly the reaction events, one can obtain information on the frequency of events unperturbed by molecular diffusion. With the obtained experimental data set, we provided the first experimental proof of what the quantum mechanical transition state theory predicted, in that isolated molecules behave as if all their accessible states were occupied in a random order. We also found that, under the 1-D reaction conditions, molecular-level information on a few hundred molecules suffices to deduce statistically meaningful kinetics data that match with those obtained by bulk experiments.

Molecular Mechanism of pH-Induced Protrusion Configuration Switching in Piscine Betanodavirus Implies a Novel Antiviral Strategy.

Many viruses contain surface spikes or protrusions that are essential for virus entry. These surface structures can thereby be targeted by antiviral drugs to treat viral infections. Nervous necrosis virus (NNV), a simple nonenveloped virus in the genus of betanodavirus, infects fish and damages aquaculture worldwide. NNV has 60 conspicuous surface protrusions, each comprising three protrusion domains (P-domain) of its capsid protein. NNV uses protrusions to bind to common receptors of sialic acids on the host cell surface to initiate its entry via the endocytic pathway. However, structural alterations of NNV in response to acidic conditions encountered during this pathway remain unknown, while detailed interactions of protrusions with receptors are unclear. Here, we used cryo-EM to discover that Grouper NNV protrusions undergo low-pH-induced compaction and resting. NMR and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were employed to probe the atomic details. A solution structure of the P-domain at pH 7.0 revealed a long flexible loop (amino acids 311-330) and a pocket outlined by this loop. Molecular docking analysis showed that the N-terminal moiety of sialic acid inserted into this pocket to interact with conserved residues inside. MD simulations demonstrated that part of this loop converted to a ß-strand under acidic conditions, allowing for P-domain trimerization and compaction. Additionally, a low-pH-favored conformation is attained for the linker connecting the P-domain to the NNV shell, conferring resting protrusions. Our findings uncover novel pH-dependent conformational switching mechanisms underlying NNV protrusion dynamics potentially utilized for facilitating NNV entry, providing new structural insights into complex NNV-host interactions with the identification of putative druggable hotspots on the protrusion.

Capturing structural changes of the S1 to S2 transition of photosystem II using time-resolved serial femtosecond crystallography.

Photosystem II (PSII) catalyzes light-induced water oxidation through an S i -state cycle, leading to the generation of di-oxygen, protons and electrons. Pump-probe time-resolved serial femtosecond crystallography (TR-SFX) has been used to capture structural dynamics of light-sensitive proteins. In this approach, it is crucial to avoid light contamination in the samples when analyzing a particular reaction intermediate. Here, a method for determining a condition that avoids light contamination of the PSII microcrystals while minimizing sample consumption in TR-SFX is described. By swapping the pump and probe pulses with a very short delay between them, the structural changes that occur during the S1-to-S2 transition were examined and a boundary of the excitation region was accurately determined. With the sample flow rate and concomitant illumination conditions determined, the S2-state structure of PSII could be analyzed at room temperature, revealing the structural changes that occur during the S1-to-S2 transition at ambient temperature. Though the structure of the manganese cluster was similar to previous studies, the behaviors of the water molecules in the two channels (O1 and O4 channels) were found to be different. By comparing with the previous studies performed at low temperature or with a different delay time, the possible channels for water inlet and structural changes important for the water-splitting reaction were revealed.