National Institutes of Health/National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIH/NIGMS)
GM136508
United States
Citation
Journal: J Struct Biol X / Year: 2022 Title: Hydrogens and hydrogen-bond networks in macromolecular MicroED data. Authors: Max T B Clabbers / Michael W Martynowycz / Johan Hattne / Tamir Gonen / Abstract: Microcrystal electron diffraction (MicroED) is a powerful technique utilizing electron cryo-microscopy (cryo-EM) for protein structure determination of crystalline samples too small for X-ray ...Microcrystal electron diffraction (MicroED) is a powerful technique utilizing electron cryo-microscopy (cryo-EM) for protein structure determination of crystalline samples too small for X-ray crystallography. Electrons interact with the electrostatic potential of the sample, which means that the scattered electrons carry information about the charged state of atoms and provide relatively stronger contrast for visualizing hydrogen atoms. Accurately identifying the positions of hydrogen atoms, and by extension the hydrogen bonding networks, is of importance for understanding protein structure and function, in particular for drug discovery. However, identification of individual hydrogen atom positions typically requires atomic resolution data, and has thus far remained elusive for macromolecular MicroED. Recently, we presented the structure of triclinic hen egg-white lysozyme at 0.87 Å resolution. The corresponding data were recorded under low exposure conditions using an electron-counting detector from thin crystalline lamellae. Here, using these subatomic resolution MicroED data, we identified over a third of all hydrogen atom positions based on strong difference peaks, and directly visualize hydrogen bonding interactions and the charged states of residues. Furthermore, we find that the hydrogen bond lengths are more accurately described by the inter-nuclei distances than the centers of mass of the corresponding electron clouds. We anticipate that MicroED, coupled with ongoing advances in data collection and refinement, can open further avenues for structural biology by uncovering the hydrogen atoms and hydrogen bonding interactions underlying protein structure and function.
Cryogen: NITROGEN / Specimen holder model: FEI TITAN KRIOS AUTOGRID HOLDER / Temperature (max): 90 K / Temperature (min): 77 K
Image recording
Average exposure time: 0.5 sec. / Electron dose: 0.001 e/Å2 / Film or detector model: FEI FALCON IV (4k x 4k) / Num. of diffraction images: 840 / Num. of grids imaged: 1 / Num. of real images: 1
Image scans
Sampling size: 28 µm / Width: 2048 / Height: 2048
EM diffraction
Camera length: 1536 mm
EM diffraction shell
Resolution: 0.87→0.9 Å / Fourier space coverage: 37.64 % / Multiplicity: 2.1 / Num. of structure factors: 2783 / Phase residual: 30 °
EM diffraction stats
Fourier space coverage: 87.58 % / High resolution: 0.87 Å / Num. of intensities measured: 569407 / Num. of structure factors: 64974 / Phase error: 30 ° / Phase error rejection criteria: None / Rmerge: 0.236 / Rsym: 0.073
-
Processing
Software
Name: REFMAC / Version: 5.8.0267 / Classification: refinement / Contact author: Garib N. Murshudov / Contact author email: garib[at]mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk / Date: 2020-24-08 Description: (un)restrained refinement or idealisation of macromolecular structures
EM software
ID
Name
Version
Category
8
REFMAC
5.8.0267
modelrefinement
12
AIMLESS
crystallographymerging
13
REFMAC
5.8.0267
3Dreconstruction
Image processing
Details: Binned by 2
EM 3D crystal entity
∠α: 88.319 ° / ∠β: 109.095 ° / ∠γ: 112.075 ° / A: 26.42 Å / B: 30.72 Å / C: 33.01 Å / Space group name: P1 / Space group num: 1
CTF correction
Type: NONE
3D reconstruction
Resolution method: DIFFRACTION PATTERN/LAYERLINES / Symmetry type: 3D CRYSTAL
Atomic model building
B value: 11.981 / Protocol: AB INITIO MODEL / Space: RECIPROCAL / Target criteria: Maximum likelihood
Refinement
Resolution: 0.87→19.876 Å / Cor.coef. Fo:Fc: 0.951 / Cor.coef. Fo:Fc free: 0.949 / SU B: 1.286 / SU ML: 0.031 / Cross valid method: THROUGHOUT / ESU R: 0.028 / ESU R Free: 0.028 Details: Hydrogens have been added in their riding positions
Rfactor
Num. reflection
% reflection
Rfree
0.2197
3168
4.876 %
Rwork
0.1973
61806
-
all
0.198
-
-
obs
-
64974
87.578 %
Solvent computation
Ion probe radii: 0.8 Å / Shrinkage radii: 0.8 Å / VDW probe radii: 1.2 Å / Solvent model: MASK BULK SOLVENT