Watching a signaling protein function in real time via 100-ps time-resolved Laue crystallography.

To understand how signaling proteins function, it is crucial to know the time-ordered sequence of events that lead to the signaling state. We recently developed on the BioCARS 14-IDB beamline at the Advanced Photon Source the infrastructure required to characterize structural changes in protein crystals with near-atomic spatial resolution and 150-ps time resolution, and have used this capability to track the reversible photocycle of photoactive yellow protein (PYP) following trans-to-cis photoisomerization of its p-coumaric acid (pCA) chromophore over 10 decades of time. The first of four major intermediates characterized in this study is highly contorted, with the pCA carbonyl rotated nearly 90° out of the plane of the phenolate. A hydrogen bond between the pCA carbonyl and the Cys69 backbone constrains the chromophore in this unusual twisted conformation. Density functional theory calculations confirm that this structure is chemically plausible and corresponds to a strained cis intermediate. This unique structure is short-lived (∼600 ps), has not been observed in prior cryocrystallography experiments, and is the progenitor of intermediates characterized in previous nanosecond time-resolved Laue crystallography studies. The structural transitions unveiled during the PYP photocycle include trans/cis isomerization, the breaking and making of hydrogen bonds, formation/relaxation of strain, and gated water penetration into the interior of the protein. This mechanistically detailed, near-atomic resolution description of the complete PYP photocycle provides a framework for understanding signal transduction in proteins, and for assessing and validating theoretical/computational approaches in protein biophysics.

Fast Detection Allows Analysis of the Electronic Structure of Metalloprotein by X-ray Emission Spectroscopy at Room Temperature.

The paradigm of "detection-before-destruction" was tested for a metalloprotein complex exposed at room temperature to the high x-ray flux typical of third generation synchrotron sources. Following the progression of the x-ray induced damage by Mn Kß x-ray emission spectroscopy, we demonstrated the feasibility of collecting room temperature data on the electronic structure of native Photosystem II, a trans-membrane metalloprotein complex containing a Mn(4)Ca cluster. The determined non-damaging observation timeframe (about 100 milliseconds using continuous monochromatic beam, deposited dose 1*10(7) photons/µm(2) or 1.3*10(4) Gy, and 66 microseconds in pulsed mode using pink beam, deposited dose 4*10(7) photons/µm(2) or 4.2*10(4) Gy) is sufficient for the analysis of this protein's electron dynamics and catalytic mechanism at room temperature. Reported time frames are expected to be representative for other metalloproteins. The described instrumentation, based on the short working distance dispersive spectrometer, and experimental methodology is broadly applicable to time-resolved x-ray emission analysis at synchrotron and x-ray free-electron laser light sources.

X-ray studies of the interface between two polar liquids: neat and with electrolytes.

We demonstrate the use of X-ray reflectivity to probe the electron density profile normal to the interface between two polar liquids. Measurements of the interfacial width at the neat nitrobenzene/water and the neat water/2-heptanone interfaces are presented. These widths are consistent with predictions from capillary wave theory that describe thermal interfacial fluctuations determined by the tension and bending rigidity of the interface. Variation of the temperature of the water/nitrobenzene interface from 25 degrees C to 55 degrees C indicates that the role of the bending rigidity decreases with increasing temperature. X-ray reflectivity measurements of the electrified interface between an aqueous solution of BaCl2 and a nitrobenzene solution of TBATPB demonstrate the sensitivity of these measurements to the electrolyte distribution at the interface. A preliminary analysis of these data illustrates the inadequacy of the simplest, classical Gouy-Chapman theory of the electrolyte distribution.