| 1. |
- Cellini, Andrea, 1991, et al.
(författare)
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Structural basis of the radical pair state in photolyases and cryptochromes
- 2022
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Ingår i: Chemical Communications. - : Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). - 1359-7345 .- 1364-548X. ; , s. 4889-4892
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present the structure of a photoactivated animal (6-4) photolyase in its radical pair state, captured by serial crystallography. We observe how a conserved asparigine moves towards the semiquinone FAD chromophore and stabilizes it by hydrogen bonding. Several amino acids around the final tryptophan radical rearrange, opening it up to the solvent. The structure explains how the protein environment stabilizes the radical pair state, which is crucial for function of (6-4) photolyases and cryptochromes.
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| 2. |
- Cellini, Andrea, 1991, et al.
(författare)
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The three-dimensional structure of Drosophila melanogaster (6-4) photolyase at room temperature
- 2021
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Ingår i: Acta Crystallographica Section D-Structural Biology. - : International Union of Crystallography (IUCr). - 2059-7983. ; 77, s. 1001-1009
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- (6-4) photolyases are flavoproteins that belong to the photolyase/cryptochrome family. Their function is to repair DNA lesions using visible light. Here, crystal structures of Drosophila melanogaster (6-4) photolyase [Dm(6-4)photolyase] at room and cryogenic temperatures are reported. The room-temperature structure was solved to 2.27 angstrom resolution and was obtained by serial femtosecond crystallography (SFX) using an X-ray free-electron laser. The crystallization and preparation conditions are also reported. The cryogenic structure was solved to 1.79 angstrom resolution using conventional X-ray crystallography. The structures agree with each other, indicating that the structural information obtained from crystallography at cryogenic temperature also applies at room temperature. Furthermore, UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy confirms that Dm(6-4)photolyase is photoactive in the crystals, giving a green light to time-resolved SFX studies on the protein, which can reveal the structural mechanism of the photoactivated protein in DNA repair.
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| 3. |
- Claesson, Elin, 1989, et al.
(författare)
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The primary structural photoresponse of phytochrome proteins captured by a femtosecond X-ray laser
- 2020
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Ingår i: eLife. - 2050-084X. ; 9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Phytochrome proteins control the growth, reproduction, and photosynthesis of plants, fungi, and bacteria. Light is detected by a bilin cofactor, but it remains elusive how this leads to activation of the protein through structural changes. We present serial femtosecond X-ray crystallographic data of the chromophore-binding domains of a bacterial phytochrome at delay times of 1 ps and 10 ps after photoexcitation. The data reveal a twist of the D-ring, which leads to partial detachment of the chromophore from the protein. Unexpectedly, the conserved so-called pyrrole water is photodissociated from the chromophore, concomitant with movement of the A-ring and a key signaling aspartate. The changes are wired together by ultrafast backbone and water movements around the chromophore, channeling them into signal transduction towards the output domains. We suggest that the observed collective changes are important for the phytochrome photoresponse, explaining the earliest steps of how plants, fungi and bacteria sense red light.
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| 4. |
- Konold, Patrick E., et al.
(författare)
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3D-printed sheet jet for stable megahertz liquid sample delivery at X-ray free-electron lasers
- 2023
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Ingår i: IUCrJ. - : International Union Of Crystallography. - 2052-2525. ; 10, s. 662-670
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs) can probe chemical and biological reactions as they unfold with unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution. A principal challenge in this pursuit involves the delivery of samples to the X-ray interaction point in such a way that produces data of the highest possible quality and with maximal efficiency. This is hampered by intrinsic constraints posed by the light source and operation within a beamline environment. For liquid samples, the solution typically involves some form of high-speed liquid jet, capable of keeping up with the rate of X-ray pulses. However, conventional jets are not ideal because of radiation-induced explosions of the jet, as well as their cylindrical geometry combined with the X-ray pointing instability of many beamlines which causes the interaction volume to differ for every pulse. This complicates data analysis and contributes to measurement errors. An alternative geometry is a liquid sheet jet which, with its constant thickness over large areas, eliminates the problems related to X-ray pointing. Since liquid sheets can be made very thin, the radiation-induced explosion is reduced, boosting their stability. These are especially attractive for experiments which benefit from small interaction volumes such as fluctuation X-ray scattering and several types of spectroscopy. Although their use has increased for soft X-ray applications in recent years, there has not yet been wide-scale adoption at XFELs. Here, gas-accelerated liquid sheet jet sample injection is demonstrated at the European XFEL SPB/SFX nano focus beamline. Its performance relative to a conventional liquid jet is evaluated and superior performance across several key factors has been found. This includes a thickness profile ranging from hundreds of nanometres to 60 nm, a fourfold increase in background stability and favorable radiation-induced explosion dynamics at high repetition rates up to 1.13 MHz. Its minute thickness also suggests that ultrafast single-particle solution scattering is a possibility.
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| 5. |
- Nimmrich, Amke, 1995
(författare)
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Escape from the cage: Ultrafast structural dynamics of photodissociation reactions observed with X-ray solution scattering
- 2023
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The environment of a molecule is known to greatly impact the course of a reaction. Such an environment can, for instance, be the solvent in a solution phase reaction or the amino acid residues surrounding a chromophore in photoreceptor proteins. For a deeper understanding of the influence of the molecular environment, a structural insight into the underlying mechanisms is necessary. In this work, time-resolved X-ray techniques are applied to directly observe the photoinduced structural dynamics of chromophores and their interaction with the environment. Solvent-solute interactions in the photodissociation reactions of triiodide and diiodomethane in solution were investigated using X-ray Solution Scattering (XSS). The studies give direct insight into the structural dynamics of the solute and the solvent cage. Further, we observe solvent-dependent branching ratios between geminate and non-geminate recombination. To investigate the solvent rearrangement during a reaction in more detail, both XSS experiments and molecular dynamics simulations on the photoionisation of aqueous iodide were performed. Comparison of experimental and simulated data reveal the ultrafast breaking of the initial solvent cage and formation of a new hydrogen bonding network. Finally, the light-induced structural dynamics in photoreceptor proteins were observed using both XSS and Serial Crystallography (SX). The results from SX studies on photolyases and phytochromes reveal how the amino acid residues around the chromophore move to accommodate the changes in structure and charge distribution on the chromophore. This work presents the potential of time-resolved studies performed at X-ray Free Electron Lasers to gain direct insight into the structural dynamics of photo-initiated reactions and the complex interplay between chromophores and their environment.
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| 6. |
- Nimmrich, Amke, 1995, et al.
(författare)
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Solvent-Dependent Structural Dynamics in the Ultrafast Photodissociation Reaction of Triiodide Observed with Time-Resolved X-ray Solution Scattering
- 2023
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Ingår i: Journal of the American Chemical Society. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0002-7863 .- 1520-5126. ; 145:29, s. 15754-15765
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Resolving the structural dynamics of bond breaking, bond formation, and solvation is required for a deeper understanding of solutionphase chemical reactions. In this work, we investigate the photodissociation of triiodide in four solvents using femtosecond time-resolved X-ray solution scattering following 400 nm photoexcitation. Structural analysis of the scattering data resolves the solvent-dependent structural evolution during the bond cleavage, internal rearrangements, solvent-cage escape, and bond reformation in real time. The nature and structure of the reaction intermediates during the recombination are determined, elucidating the full mechanism of photodissociation and recombination on ultrafast time scales. We resolve the structure of the precursor state for recombination as a geminate pair. Further, we determine the size of the solvent cages from the refined structures of the radical pair. The observed structural dynamics present a comprehensive picture of the solvent influence on structure and dynamics of dissociation reactions.
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| 7. |
- Panman, Matthijs R, 1983, et al.
(författare)
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Observing the Structural Evolution in the Photodissociation of Diiodomethane with Femtosecond Solution X-Ray Scattering
- 2020
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Ingår i: Physical Review Letters. - 0031-9007 .- 1079-7114. ; 125:22
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Resolving the structural dynamics of the initial steps of chemical reactions is challenging. We report the femtosecond time-resolved wide-angle x-ray scattering of the photodissociation of diiodomethane in cyclohexane. The data reveal with structural detail how the molecule dissociates into radicals, how the radicals collide with the solvent, and how they form the photoisomer. We extract how translational and rotational kinetic energy is dispersed into the solvent. We also find that 85% of the primary radical pairs are confined to their original solvent cage and discuss how this influences the downstream recombination reactions.
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