Bernard Lorber

The crystallization of biological macromolecules from precipitates: evidence for Ostwald ripening

Abstract Crystals were obtained by different methods under conditions where nucleation and growth occur from precipitated macromolecular material. The phenomenon was observed with compounds of different size and nature, such as thaumatin, concanavalin A, an α-amylase, a thermostable aspartyl-tRNA synthetase, the nucleo-protein complex between a tRNA Asp transcript and its cognate yeast aspartyl-tRNA synthetase, and tomato bushy stunt virus. In each system, after a rather rapid precipitation step at high supersaturation lasting one to several days, a few microcrystals appear after prolonged equilibration at constant temperature. With α-amylase, the virus and the thermostable synthetase, crystallization is accompanied by appearance of depletion zones around the growing crystals and growth of the largest crystals at the expense of the smaller ones. These features are evidences for crystal growth by Ostwald ripening. In the case of thaumatin, concanavalin A and the nucleo-protein complex, crystallization occurs by a phase transition mechanism since it is never accompanied by the disappearance of the smallest crystals. A careful analysis with thermostable aspartyl-tRNA synthetase indicates that its crystallization at 4°C under high supersaturation starts by a phase transition mechanism with the formation of small crystals within an amorphous protein precipitate. Ostwald ripening follows over a period of up to three/four months with a growth rate of about 0.8 A/s that is 13 times slower than that of crystals growing at 20°C in the absence of precipitate without ripening. At the end of the ripening process at 4°C, only one unique synthetase crystal remains per microassay with dimensions as large as 1 mm.

Effect of macromolecular impurities on lysozyme solubility and crystallizability: dynamic light scattering, phase diagram, and crystal growth studies

Abstract The effects of macromolecular impurities on protein solubility and crystallizability were investigated by dynamic light scattering and crystal growth experiments using hen egg-white lysozyme as the model protein. In the presence of traces of protein impurities, representing no more than 2% (w/w) of the total protein, the average diffusion coefficients of the macromolecular particles found in undersaturated lysozyme solutions are significantly lower than those measured with purest lysozyme preparations. This fact is explained by the simultaneous existence of individual molecules and of large size aggregates in contaminated solutions, as indicated by the bimodal light scattering autocorrelation function. Controlled contamination experiments in which ovalbumin or conalbumin were added to purest lysozyme indicate that aggregates result from heterogeneous association of lysozyme molecules with the structurally unrelated proteins. These aggregates might become starting points for heterogeneous nucleation leading to the growth of ill-shaped microcrystals. Aggregates in under- or supersaturated lysozyme solutions containing NaCl can be eliminated by filtration over microporous membranes. As a result the number of ill-shaped crystals diminishes drastically; that of well-shaped tetragonal crystals decreases also but their size increases.

The role of purification in the crystallization of proteins and nucleic acids

Abstract In structural biology, the crystallization of the macromolecules often represents the most challenging step. Beside classical factors which determine the solubility of macromolecules, purity of compounds is another major parameter governing crystal growth. With aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases and transfer ribonucleic acids as examples, it will be shown that molecules to be crystallized not only have to be pure in terms of contaminating molecules, but also in terms of sequence integrity and conformational homogeneity. A chromatographic method based on salting-out of proteins or nucleic acids on Sepharose 4B gels and back-solubilization with inverse salt gradients will be discussed in the light of crystal growth experiments.

Effect of high hydrostatic pressure on nucleation and growth of protein crystals

Abstract The influence of hydrostatic pressure on the nucleation and growth of protein crystals was studied. A micromethod was developed to establish a solubility phase diagram of hen egg-white lysozyme as a function of pressure and protein concentration. The pressure dependence of the formation of canonical tetragonal crystals was investigated at different precipitating agent and protein concentrations (in the range 0.6–1.2M NaCl and 10–35 mg/ml lysozyme). The apparent protein solubility significantly increases when pressure is raised from 0.1 MPa (atmospheric pressure) to 250 MPa. With an increase in pressure, the size and number of lysozyme crystals decline and a transition to urchin-like particles made of crystalline needles progressively occurs. The shape of tetragonal crystals becomes more elongated in a limited region of the phase diagram as indicated by the ratio of the lengths of the (110) and (101) faces. Single tetragonal crystals grown under high pressure diffract X-rays at high resolution. They belong to the same space group and have identical cell parameters as control crystals grown at atmospheric pressure. Changes in solubility and crystallizability are explained by pressure-induced minor reversible alterations in the protein structure.

The influence of impurities on protein crystallization ; the case of lysozyme

Several batches of hen egg white lysozyme were compared on the basis of their biochemical purity and homogeneity as well as of their ability to crystallize in the tetragonal space group in the presence of sodium chloride and sodium acetate at pH 4.5. Trace amounts (

Crystal growth of proteins, nucleic acids, and viruses in gels.

Medium-sized single crystals with perfect habits and no defect producing intense and well-resolved diffraction patterns are the dream of every protein crystallographer. Crystals of biological macromolecules possessing these characteristics can be prepared within a medium in which mass transport is restricted to diffusion. Chemical gels (like polysiloxane) and physical gels (such as agarose) provide such an environment and are therefore suitable for the crystallisation of biological macromolecules. Instructions for the preparation of each type of gel are given to urge crystal growers to apply diffusive media for enhancing crystallographic quality of their crystals. Examples of quality enhancement achieved with silica and agarose gels are given. Results obtained with other substances forming gel-like media (such as lipidic phases and cellulose derivatives) are presented. Finally, the use of gels in combination with capillary tubes for counter-diffusion experiments is discussed. Methods and techniques implemented with proteins can also be applied to nucleic acids and nucleoprotein assemblies such as viruses.

A high resolution diffracting crystal form of the complex between yeast tRNAAsp and aspartyl-tRNA synthetase

Three new crystal forms of the complex between yeast tRNAAsp and aspartyl-tRNA synthetase have been produced. The best crystals, obtained after modifying both purification and crystallization conditions, belong to space group P2(1)2(1)2(1) and diffract to 2.7 A. Unit cell parameters are a = 210.4 A, b = 145.3 A and c = 86.0 A (1 A = 0.1 nm), with one dimeric enzyme and two tRNA molecules in the asymmetric unit.

Additives for the crystallization of proteins and nucleic acids

Numerous molecules have been described in literature as additives that were indispensable either for nucleation or growth of macromolecular crystals. In some cases, such additives were shown to improve the quality of the X-ray diffraction and to extend diffraction limits. We have investigated the effects of more than fifty compounds, belonging to several chemical families, on the crystallization of four model proteins (hen and turkey egg-white lysozymes, thaumatin, and aspartyl-tRNA synthetase from Thermus thermophilus). In addition, we have studied the crystallization of a ribonucleic acid from yeast, the transfer RNA specific for phenylalanine in the presence of synthetic polyamines. Crystals grown in the presence of the additives were optically evaluated and X-ray diffraction analyses were performed on selective crystals to compare their space group, cell parameters, and diffraction limit with those of controls. Whereas no changes in space group nor cell parameters were observed for the model proteins, significant improvements in diffraction limit were found when the transfer RNA was crystallized with certain synthetic polyamines.

Characterization of protein and virus crystals by quasi-planar wave X-ray topography: a comparison between crystals grown in solution and in agarose gel

Quasi-planar wave reflection profile and X-ray topography studies have been done to characterize the mosaicity of solution- and gel-grown crystals of three proteins, turkey egg-white (TEW) lysozyme, thaumatin, and a bacterial aspartyl-tRNA synthetase (AspRS) as well as of one virus, tomato bushy stunt virus (TBSV). These materials are representative of a large range of molecular weight, overall particle shapes, crystals habits, packings, and solvent contents. Measurements of the full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) of reflections show that these different crystals have all a weak mosaicity. Topographs display the same features as those of the well-studied hen egg-white (HEW) lysozyme crystals: misorientation generated at the seed level for TEW lysozyme or thaumatin crystals and/or strains at growth sector boundaries for AspRS crystals. No growth defects are evidenced for TBSV crystals. For the study of crystals diffracting at lower resolution (AspRS and virus), a less absorbant sample holder, which facilitates crystal positioning in the X-ray beam, has been developed. The results obtained for solution- and gel-grown crystals do not show important differences. However, for TEW lysozyme and thaumatin crystals, one notices a larger dispersion of results in the solution case and an overall tendency for improved reproducibility of quality for gel-grown crystals.

Containerless protein crystallization in floating drops: application to crystal growth monitoring under reduced nucleation conditions

Abstract A micromethod was developed for the batch crystallization of proteins under conditions were the solution has no contact with the container walls. Drops of crystallization solutions (5 to 100 μl) are placed at the interface between two layers of inert and non-miscible silicone fluids contained in square glass or plastic cuvettes. The densities of the fluids are either lower or higher than those of the major precipitating agents of macromolecules, including aqueous solutions containing salts, polyethylene glycols or alcohols. Several proteins and a spherical plant virus were crystallized in the temperature range 4°C–20°C using this set-up. A thermostated device was built for the dynamic control of the temperature of crystallization drops and the monitoring of crystal growth by video-microscopy. In all cases, the habit of the crystals grown in floating drops are identical to those of controls grown in sealed glass tubes without silicone fluid. The comparison of the number of crystals in drops kept under one layer of fluid and in floating drops of the same volume indicates that heterogeneous nucleation is minimized when protein crystallization is performed in floating drops. The advantages and limitations of this novel containerless crystallization method are discussed.