Irina Kosheleva

Signal amplification and transduction in phytochrome photosensors

Sensory proteins must relay structural signals from the sensory site over large distances to regulatory output domains. Phytochromes are a major family of red-light-sensing kinases that control diverse cellular functions in plants, bacteria and fungi. Bacterial phytochromes consist of a photosensory core and a carboxy-terminal regulatory domain. Structures of photosensory cores are reported in the resting state and conformational responses to light activation have been proposed in the vicinity of the chromophore. However, the structure of the signalling state and the mechanism of downstream signal relay through the photosensory core remain elusive. Here we report crystal and solution structures of the resting and activated states of the photosensory core of the bacteriophytochrome from Deinococcus radiodurans. The structures show an open and closed form of the dimeric protein for the activated and resting states, respectively. This nanometre-scale rearrangement is controlled by refolding of an evolutionarily conserved ‘tongue’, which is in contact with the chromophore. The findings reveal an unusual mechanism in which atomic-scale conformational changes around the chromophore are first amplified into an ångstrom-scale distance change in the tongue, and further grow into a nanometre-scale conformational signal. The structural mechanism is a blueprint for understanding how phytochromes connect to the cellular signalling network.

BioCARS: a synchrotron resource for time-resolved X-ray science.

BioCARS, a NIH-supported national user facility for macromolecular time-resolved X-ray crystallography at the Advanced Photon Source (APS), has recently completed commissioning of an upgraded undulator-based beamline optimized for single-shot laser-pump X-ray-probe measurements with time resolution as short as 100 ps. The source consists of two in-line undulators with periods of 23 and 27 mm that together provide high-flux pink-beam capability at 12 keV as well as first-harmonic coverage from 6.8 to 19 keV. A high-heat-load chopper reduces the average power load on downstream components, thereby preserving the surface figure of a Kirkpatrick-Baez mirror system capable of focusing the X-ray beam to a spot size of 90 µm horizontal by 20 µm vertical. A high-speed chopper isolates single X-ray pulses at 1 kHz in both hybrid and 24-bunch modes of the APS storage ring. In hybrid mode each isolated X-ray pulse delivers up to ~4 × 10(10) photons to the sample, thereby achieving a time-averaged flux approaching that of fourth-generation X-FEL sources. A new high-power picosecond laser system delivers pulses tunable over the wavelength range 450-2000 nm. These pulses are synchronized to the storage-ring RF clock with long-term stability better than 10 ps RMS. Monochromatic experimental capability with Biosafety Level 3 certification has been retained.

Direct observation of cooperative protein structural dynamics of homodimeric hemoglobin from 100 ps to 10 ms with pump-probe X-ray solution scattering.

Proteins serve as molecular machines in performing their biological functions, but the detailed structural transitions are difficult to observe in their native aqueous environments in real time. For example, despite extensive studies, the solution-phase structures of the intermediates along the allosteric pathways for the transitions between the relaxed (R) and tense (T) forms have been elusive. In this work, we employed picosecond X-ray solution scattering and novel structural analysis to track the details of the structural dynamics of wild-type homodimeric hemoglobin (HbI) from the clam Scapharca inaequivalvis and its F97Y mutant over a wide time range from 100 ps to 56.2 ms. From kinetic analysis of the measured time-resolved X-ray solution scattering data, we identified three structurally distinct intermediates (I1, I2, and I3) and their kinetic pathways common for both the wild type and the mutant. The data revealed that the singly liganded and unliganded forms of each intermediate share the same structure, providing direct evidence that the ligand photolysis of only a single subunit induces the same structural change as the complete photolysis of both subunits does. In addition, by applying novel structural analysis to the scattering data, we elucidated the detailed structural changes in the protein, including changes in the heme–heme distance, the quaternary rotation angle of subunits, and interfacial water gain/loss. The earliest, R-like I1 intermediate is generated within 100 ps and transforms to the R-like I2 intermediate with a time constant of 3.2 ± 0.2 ns. Subsequently, the late, T-like I3 intermediate is formed via subunit rotation, a decrease in the heme–heme distance, and substantial gain of interfacial water and exhibits ligation-dependent formation kinetics with time constants of 730 ± 120 ns for the fully photolyzed form and 5.6 ± 0.8 μs for the partially photolyzed form. For the mutant, the overall kinetics are accelerated, and the formation of the T-like I3 intermediate involves interfacial water loss (instead of water entry) and lacks the contraction of the heme–heme distance, thus underscoring the dramatic effect of the F97Y mutation. The ability to keep track of the detailed movements of the protein in aqueous solution in real time provides new insights into the protein structural dynamics.

Kinetic modeling of the X-ray-induced damage to a metalloprotein.

It is well-known that biological samples undergo X-ray-induced degradation. One of the fastest occurring X-ray-induced processes involves redox modifications (reduction or oxidation) of redox-active cofactors in proteins. Here we analyze room-temperature data on the photoreduction of Mn ions in the oxygen-evolving complex (OEC) of photosystem II, one of the most radiation damage-sensitive proteins and a key constituent of natural photosynthesis in plants, green algae, and cyanobacteria. Time-resolved X-ray emission spectroscopy with wavelength-dispersive detection was used to collect data on the progression of X-ray-induced damage. A kinetic model was developed to fit experimental results, and the rate constant for the reduction of OEC Mn(III) and Mn(IV) ions by solvated electrons was determined. From this model, the possible kinetics of X-ray-induced damage at a variety of experimental conditions, such as different rates of dose deposition as well as different excitation wavelengths, can be inferred. We observed a trend of increasing dosage threshold prior to the onset of X-ray-induced damage with increasing rates of dose deposition. This trend suggests that experimentation with higher rates of dose deposition is beneficial for measurements of biological samples sensitive to radiation damage, particularly at pink beam and X-ray free electron laser sources.

Structural photoactivation of a full-length bacterial phytochrome

Time-resolved x-ray solution scattering reveals the conformational signaling mechanism of a bacterial phytochrome. Phytochromes are light sensor proteins found in plants, bacteria, and fungi. They function by converting a photon absorption event into a conformational signal that propagates from the chromophore through the entire protein. However, the structure of the photoactivated state and the conformational changes that lead to it are not known. We report time-resolved x-ray scattering of the full-length phytochrome from Deinococcus radiodurans on micro- and millisecond time scales. We identify a twist of the histidine kinase output domains with respect to the chromophore-binding domains as the dominant change between the photoactivated and resting states. The time-resolved data further show that the structural changes up to the microsecond time scales are small and localized in the chromophore-binding domains. The global structural change occurs within a few milliseconds, coinciding with the formation of the spectroscopic meta-Rc state. Our findings establish key elements of the signaling mechanism of full-length bacterial phytochromes.

Towards time-resolved serial crystallography in a microfluidic device

Serial methods for crystallography have the potential to enable dynamic structural studies of protein targets that have been resistant to single-crystal strategies. The use of serial data-collection strategies can circumvent challenges associated with radiation damage and repeated reaction initiation. This work utilizes a microfluidic crystallization platform for the serial time-resolved Laue diffraction analysis of macroscopic crystals of photoactive yellow protein (PYP). Reaction initiation was achieved via pulsed laser illumination, and the resultant electron-density difference maps clearly depict the expected pR(1)/pR(E46Q) and pR(2)/pR(CW) states at 10 µs and the pB1 intermediate at 1 ms. The strategies presented here have tremendous potential for extension to chemical triggering methods for reaction initiation and for extension to dynamic, multivariable analyses.

In situ serial Laue diffraction on a microfluidic crystallization device

Renewed interest in room-temperature diffraction has been prompted by the desire to observe structural dynamics of proteins as they function. Serial crystallography, an experimental strategy that aggregates small pieces of data from a large uniform pool of crystals, has been demonstrated at synchrotrons and X-ray free-electron lasers. This work utilizes a microfluidic crystallization platform for serial Laue diffraction from macroscopic crystals and proposes that a collection of small slices of Laue data from many individual crystals is a realistic solution to the difficulties in dynamic studies of irreversible biochemical reactions.

Time-Resolved X-Ray Solution Scattering Reveals the Structural Photoactivation of a Light-Oxygen-Voltage Photoreceptor

Light-oxygen-voltage (LOV) receptors are sensory proteins controlling a wide range of organismal adaptations in multiple kingdoms of life. Because of their modular nature, LOV domains are also attractive for use as optogenetic actuators. A flavin chromophore absorbs blue light, forms a bond with a proximal cysteine residue, and induces changes in the surroundings. There is a gap of knowledge on how this initial signal is relayed further through the sensor to the effector module. To characterize these conformational changes, we apply time-resolved X-ray scattering to the homodimeric LOV domain from Bacillus subtilis YtvA. We observe a global structural change in the LOV dimer synchronous with the formation of the chromophore photoproduct state. Using molecular modeling, this change is identified as splaying apart and relative rotation of the two monomers, which leads to an increased separation at the anchoring site of the effector modules.

Sequential conformational transitions and α-helical supercoiling regulate a sensor histidine kinase

Sensor histidine kinases are central to sensing in bacteria and in plants. They usually contain sensor, linker, and kinase modules and the structure of many of these components is known. However, it is unclear how the kinase module is structurally regulated. Here, we use nano- to millisecond time-resolved X-ray scattering to visualize the solution structural changes that occur when the light-sensitive model histidine kinase YF1 is activated by blue light. We find that the coiled coil linker and the attached histidine kinase domains undergo a left handed rotation within microseconds. In a much slower second step, the kinase domains rearrange internally. This structural mechanism presents a template for signal transduction in sensor histidine kinases.Sensor histidine kinases (SHK) consist of sensor, linker and kinase modules and different models for SHK signal transduction have been proposed. Here the authors present nano- to millisecond time-resolved X-ray scattering measurements, which reveal a structural mechanism for kinase domain activation in SHK.

Probing Cytochrome c Folding Transitions upon Phototriggered Environmental Perturbations Using Time-Resolved X-ray Scattering

Direct tracking of protein structural dynamics during folding-unfolding processes is important for understanding the roles of hierarchic structural factors in the formation of functional proteins. Using cytochrome c (cyt c) as a platform, we investigated its structural dynamics during folding processes triggered by local environmental changes (i.e., pH or heme iron center oxidation/spin/ligation states) with time-resolved X-ray solution scattering measurements. Starting from partially unfolded cyt c, a sudden pH drop initiated by light excitation of a photoacid caused a structural contraction in microseconds, followed by active site restructuring and unfolding in milliseconds. In contrast, the reduction of iron in the heme via photoinduced electron transfer did not affect conformational stability at short timescales (<1 ms), despite active site coordination geometry changes. These results demonstrate how different environmental perturbations can change the nature of interaction between the active site and protein conformation, even within the same metalloprotein, which will subsequently affect the folding structural dynamics.