Our team has developed a new serial crystallography method for rapid serial data collection with oscillation, lowering the total number of crystals needed. Crystals are deposited onto a silicon chip with thousands of microwells in precise locations. Using a piezoelectric translation stage, each crystal-containing microwell can be positioned in front of the X-ray beam rapidly and precisely. With oscillation, the total amount of data per crystal that can be obtained is improved, without effects from radiation damage.
Macromolecular crystallography (MX) and biological small-angle X-ray solution scattering (BioSAXS) are two of the most important methods used to investigate the structure of macromolecules and efforts are underway at CHESS to establish two of the first beamlines worldwide optimized for high pressure MX and BioSAXS. Enthusiasm and interest in the field as well as the new X-ray techniques offered by CHESS were documented by the participation of more than 50 scientists in the workshop on “Biomolecules Under Pressure” which was part of the recent CHESS Users Meeting.
What did the Scientists Discover?
What did the Scientists Discover?
The compound, kanglemycin A, is related to the antibiotic rifampicin, according to Katsuhiko Murakami, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at Penn State and one of leaders of the project. “Rifampicin is already part of the cocktail of antibiotics used to treat tuberculosis, but many strains of the tuberculosis-causing bacteria have developed resistance to it,” Murakami said.
RNR plays a critical role in regulating the total rate of DNA synthesis, which is necessary to maintain the constant DNA to cell mass ratio during cell division and DNA repair. The reaction is strictly conserved in all living organisms and proceeds via a free radical mechanism of action. Class Ia RNR (e. g. Escherichia coli RNR) enzymes are constructed from large RNR α2 and small RNR β2 subunits which associate to form an active heterodimeric tetramer: an α2β2 complex.
The G1 beamline control area has been renovated and reorganized to make more efficient use of space and to accommodate larger groups. The G-line chem room, which has a dedicated BioSAXS sample preparation area, now has high-quality ultrapure water on tap and all the equipment you need to prepare a wide variety of buffers.
Eukaryotic cells have found a nifty way of compacting this long strand into a more manageable size so that a cell can easily contain it. By wrapping portions of the DNA around histone octamers, the primary level of compactness is reached, which forms the basic building block of chromatin. Access to any portion of the DNA strand is ensured by continual remodeling of the chromatin structure, whereby small access sites are created and closed shortly after – just long enough for the cell to read that portion of the genetic code.