Daniel S. D. Larsson

Imaging single cells in a beam of live cyanobacteria with an X-ray laser

There exists a conspicuous gap of knowledge about the organization of life at mesoscopic levels. Ultra-fast coherent diffractive imaging with X-ray free-electron lasers can probe structures at the relevant length scales and may reach sub-nanometer resolution on micron-sized living cells. Here we show that we can introduce a beam of aerosolised cyanobacteria into the focus of the Linac Coherent Light Source and record diffraction patterns from individual living cells at very low noise levels and at high hit ratios. We obtain two-dimensional projection images directly from the diffraction patterns, and present the results as synthetic X-ray Nomarski images calculated from the complex-valued reconstructions. We further demonstrate that it is possible to record diffraction data to nanometer resolution on live cells with X-ray lasers. Extension to sub-nanometer resolution is within reach, although improvements in pulse parameters and X-ray area detectors will be necessary to unlock this potential.

Quasi-Deformations of sl2(F) Using Twisted Derivations

In this article we apply a method devised in Hartwig, Larsson, and Silvestrov (2006) and Larsson and Silvestrov (2005a) to the simple 3-dimensional Lie algebra 𝔰𝔩2(𝔽). One of the main points of this deformation method is that the deformed algebra comes endowed with a canonical twisted Jacobi identity. We show in the present article that when our deformation scheme is applied to 𝔰𝔩2(𝔽) we can, by choosing parameters suitably, deform 𝔰𝔩2(𝔽) into the Heisenberg Lie algebra and some other 3-dimensional Lie algebras in addition to more exotic types of algebras, this being in stark contrast to the classical deformation schemes where 𝔰𝔩2(𝔽) is rigid.

Virus Capsid Dissolution Studied by Microsecond Molecular Dynamics Simulations

Dissolution of many plant viruses is thought to start with swelling of the capsid caused by calcium removal following infection, but no high-resolution structures of swollen capsids exist. Here we have used microsecond all-atom molecular simulations to describe the dynamics of the capsid of satellite tobacco necrosis virus with and without the 92 structural calcium ions. The capsid expanded 2.5% upon removal of the calcium, in good agreement with experimental estimates. The water permeability of the native capsid was similar to that of a phospholipid membrane, but the permeability increased 10-fold after removing the calcium, predominantly between the 2-fold and 3-fold related subunits. The two calcium binding sites close to the icosahedral 3-fold symmetry axis were pivotal in the expansion and capsid-opening process, while the binding site on the 5-fold axis changed little structurally. These findings suggest that the dissociation of the capsid is initiated at the 3-fold axis.

Encapsulation of myoglobin in a cetyl trimethylammonium bromide micelle in vacuo: a simulation study.

A recently published paper describes encapsulation of myoglobin into cetyl trimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) micelles by electrospray ionization followed by detection using mass spectrometry [Sharon, M., et al. (2007) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 129, 8740-8746]. Here we present molecular dynamics simulations aimed at elucidating the structural transitions that accompany the encapsulation and dehydration processes. Myoglobin associates with CTAB surfactants in solution, but no complete reverse micelle is formed. Upon removal of most of the water and exposure of the system to vacuum, a stable protein-surfactant reverse micelle forms. The surfactants shield the protein to a large extent from dehydration-related conformational changes, in the same manner that a water shell does, as previously described by Patriksson et al. [(2007) Biochemistry 46, 933-945]. Solvated CTAB micelles undergo a rapid inversion when transported to the gas phase and form very stable reverse micelles, independent of the amount of water present.

Structural stability of electrosprayed proteins: temperature and hydration effects

Electrospray ionization is a gentle method for sample delivery, routinely used in gas-phase studies of proteins. It is crucial for structural investigations that the protein structure is preserved, and a good understanding of how structure is affected by the transition to the gas phase is needed for the tuning of experiments to meet that requirement. Small amounts of residual solvent have been shown to protect the protein, but temperature is important too, although it is not well understood how the latter affects structural details. Using molecular dynamics we have simulated four sparingly hydrated globular proteins (Trp-cage; Ctf, a C-terminal fragment of a bacterial ribosomal protein; ubiquitin; and lysozyme) in vacuum starting at temperatures ranging from 225 K to 425 K. For three of the proteins, our simulations show that a water layer corresponding to 3 A preserves the protein structure in vacuum, up to starting temperatures of 425 K. Only Ctf shows minor secondary structural changes at lower starting temperatures. The structural conservation stems mainly from interactions with the surrounding water. Temperature scales in simulations are not directly translatable into experiments, but the wide temperature range in which we find the proteins to be stable is reassuring for the success of future single particle imaging experiments. The water molecules aggregate in clusters and form patterns on the protein surface, maintaining a reproducible hydrogen bonding network. The simulations were performed mainly using OPLS-AA/L, with cross checks using AMBER03 and GROMOS96 53a6. Only minor differences between the results from the three different force fields were observed.

Molecular dynamics simulations of a membrane protein-micelle complex in vacuo.

We report the first molecular dynamics simulations of an integral membrane protein in a detergent micelle under vacuum conditions. To mimic the dehydration process in electrospray ionization, the N-terminal outer membrane protein A transmembrane domain (OmpA171) from Escherichia coli embedded in a dodecylphosphocholine (DPC) detergent micelle has been simulated with water shells of varying thickness. Removal of the water molecules leaves the membrane protein relatively unaffected by the vacuum conditions. The major structural change occurs in the surrounding micelle, where the DPC molecules structurally rearrange from a normal-phase micelle with DPC detergents radiating spherically from OmpA171 to a structure where the DPC molecules form a layered onion structure in which the head groups, which strive to interact with each other, form an intermediate layer between the inner layer of tail groups that are expelled to the surface, protruding into the void.

Coherent diffraction of single Rice Dwarf virus particles using hard X-rays at the Linac Coherent Light Source

Single particle diffractive imaging data from Rice Dwarf Virus (RDV) were recorded using the Coherent X-ray Imaging (CXI) instrument at the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS). RDV was chosen as it is a well-characterized model system, useful for proof-of-principle experiments, system optimization and algorithm development. RDV, an icosahedral virus of about 70 nm in diameter, was aerosolized and injected into the approximately 0.1 μm diameter focused hard X-ray beam at the CXI instrument of LCLS. Diffraction patterns from RDV with signal to 5.9 Ångström were recorded. The diffraction data are available through the Coherent X-ray Imaging Data Bank (CXIDB) as a resource for algorithm development, the contents of which are described here.

Screening for the Location of RNA using the Chloride Ion Distribution in Simulations of Virus Capsids.

The complete structure of the genomic material inside a virus capsid remains elusive, although a limited amount of symmetric nucleic acid can be resolved in the crystal structure of 17 icosahedral viruses. The negatively charged sugar-phosphate backbone of RNA and DNA as well as the large positive charge of the interior surface of the virus capsids suggest that electrostatic complementarity is an important factor in the packaging of the genomes in these viruses. To test how much packing information is encoded by the electrostatic and steric envelope of the capsid interior, we performed extensive all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of virus capsids with explicit water molecules and solvent ions. The model systems were two small plant viruses in which significant amounts of RNA has been observed by X-ray crystallography: satellite tobacco mosaic virus (STMV, 62% RNA visible) and satellite tobacco necrosis virus (STNV, 34% RNA visible). Simulations of half-capsids of these viruses with no RNA present revealed that the binding sites of RNA correlated well with regions populated by chloride ions, suggesting that it is possible to screen for the binding sites of nucleic acids by determining the equilibrium distribution of negative ions. By including the crystallographically resolved RNA in addition to ions, we predicted the localization of the unresolved RNA in the viruses. Both viruses showed a hot-spot for RNA binding at the 5-fold symmetry axis. The MD simulations were compared to predictions of the chloride density based on nonlinear Poisson-Boltzmann equation (PBE) calculations with mobile ions. Although the predictions are superficially similar, the PBE calculations overestimate the ion concentration close to the capsid surface and underestimate it far away, mainly because protein dynamics is not taken into account. Density maps from chloride screening can be used to aid in building atomic models of packaged virus genomes. Knowledge of the principles of genome packaging might be exploited for both antiviral therapy and technological applications.

Coherent soft X-ray diffraction imaging of coliphage PR772 at the Linac coherent light source

Single-particle diffraction from X-ray Free Electron Lasers offers the potential for molecular structure determination without the need for crystallization. In an effort to further develop the technique, we present a dataset of coherent soft X-ray diffraction images of Coliphage PR772 virus, collected at the Atomic Molecular Optics (AMO) beamline with pnCCD detectors in the LAMP instrument at the Linac Coherent Light Source. The diameter of PR772 ranges from 65–70 nm, which is considerably smaller than the previously reported ~600 nm diameter Mimivirus. This reflects continued progress in XFEL-based single-particle imaging towards the single molecular imaging regime. The data set contains significantly more single particle hits than collected in previous experiments, enabling the development of improved statistical analysis, reconstruction algorithms, and quantitative metrics to determine resolution and self-consistency.

Experimental strategies for imaging bioparticles with femtosecond hard X-ray pulses

Facilitating the very short and intense pulses from an X-ray laser for the purpose of imaging small bioparticles carries the potential for structure determination at atomic resolution without the need for crystallization. In this study, experimental strategies for this idea are explored based on data collected at the Linac Coherent Light Source from 40 nm virus particles injected into a hard X-ray beam.