New microcrystal method determines structure of compound

FINDINGSWhen researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign discovered a small molecule that ’s created by cells in a completely new way, one of their first questions was what the molecule looked like. But none of the standard methods of determining molecular structure worked for them. So they teamed up with UCLA scientists who had developed a new approach to visualizing structure — cal led microcrystal electron diffraction, or MicroED. Using this approach helped the teams to confirm how the newly discovered molecular assembly pathway works.BACKGROUNDSome small molecules produced by bacteria have properties that make them useful in food, agriculture and medicine. Many of these small molecules are short proteins, or peptides, with various chemical modifications. While investigating one such peptide, Tg1A, researchers found that it didn ’t form by way of the cell’s normal assembly process. After being formed, Tg1A was broken, reassembled, extended and modified in a completely new way. To fully understand the new pathway, the team needed to visualize the three-dimensional structure of the peptide at different points in its forma tion.METHODThe standard way to determine a protein ’s structure, by X-ray crystallography, relies on scientists’ ability to isolate high concentrations of the protein, dissolve it in a liquid, and slowly grow it into large crystals. But in 2013, Tamir Gonen, now a professor of biological chemistry and physiology at the UCLA David...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news