Millisecond mix-and-quench crystallography (MMQX) enables time-resolved studies of PEPCK with remote data collection

Abstract

Time-resolved crystallography of biomolecules in action has advanced rapidly as methods for serial crystallography have improved, but the large number of crystals and the complex experimental infrastructure that are required remain serious obstacles to its widespread application. Here, millisecond mix-and-quench crystallography (MMQX) has been developed, which yields millisecond time-resolved data using far fewer crystals and routine remote synchrotron data collection. To demonstrate the capabilities of MMQX, the conversion of oxaloacetic acid to phosphoenolpyruvate by phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) is observed with a time resolution of 40 ms. By lowering the entry barrier to time-resolved crystallography, MMQX should enable a broad expansion in structural studies of protein dynamics.

Keywords

• time-resolved crystallography
• enzymology
• protein structure
• structure determination
• x-ray crystallography
• enzyme mechanisms
• millisecond mix-and-quench crystallography
• protein dynamics
• structural biology