Synchronous RNA conformational changes trigger ordered phase transitions in crystals.
Saminathan RamakrishnanJason R StagnoChelsie E ConradJienyu DingPing YuYuba R BhandariYun-Tzai LeeGary PaulyOleksandr YefanovMax O WiedornJuraj KnoškaDominik OberthürThomas A WhiteAnton BartyValerio MarianiChufeng LiWolfgang BrehmWilliam F HeinzValentin MagidsonStephen LockettMark S HunterSébastien BoutetNadia A ZatsepinXiao-Bing ZuoThomas D GrantSuraj PandeyMarius SchmidtJohn C H SpenceHenry N ChapmanYun-Xing WangPublished in: Nature communications (2021)
Time-resolved studies of biomacromolecular crystals have been limited to systems involving only minute conformational changes within the same lattice. Ligand-induced changes greater than several angstroms, however, are likely to result in solid-solid phase transitions, which require a detailed understanding of the mechanistic interplay between conformational and lattice transitions. Here we report the synchronous behavior of the adenine riboswitch aptamer RNA in crystal during ligand-triggered isothermal phase transitions. Direct visualization using polarized video microscopy and atomic force microscopy shows that the RNA molecules undergo cooperative rearrangements that maintain lattice order, whose cell parameters change distinctly as a function of time. The bulk lattice order throughout the transition is further supported by time-resolved diffraction data from crystals using an X-ray free electron laser. The synchronous molecular rearrangements in crystal provide the physical basis for studying large conformational changes using time-resolved crystallography and micro/nanocrystals.
Keyphrases
- single molecule
- atomic force microscopy
- molecular dynamics
- molecular dynamics simulations
- room temperature
- high speed
- nucleic acid
- electron microscopy
- high resolution
- physical activity
- mental health
- gold nanoparticles
- single cell
- diabetic rats
- big data
- magnetic resonance imaging
- oxidative stress
- machine learning
- computed tomography
- magnetic resonance
- electronic health record
- bone marrow
- ionic liquid
- endothelial cells
- quantum dots
- solar cells