The conduction pathway of potassium channels is water free under physiological conditions.

Ion conduction through potassium channels is a fundamental process of life. On the basis of crystallographic data, it was originally proposed that potassium ions and water molecules are transported through the selectivity filter in an alternating arrangement, suggesting a "water-mediated" knock-on mechanism. Later on, this view was challenged by results from molecular dynamics simulations that revealed a "direct" knock-on mechanism where ions are in direct contact. Using solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance techniques tailored to characterize the interaction between water molecules and the ion channel, we show here that the selectivity filter of a potassium channel is free of water under physiological conditions. Our results are fully consistent with the direct knock-on mechanism of ion conduction but contradict the previously proposed water-mediated knock-on mechanism

Studying Dynamics by Magic-Angle Spinning Solid-State NMR Spectroscopy: Principles and Applications to Biomolecules

International audienceMagic-angle spinning solid-state NMR spectroscopy is an important technique to study mo- lecular structure, dynamics and interactions, and is rapidly gaining importance in biomolecu- lar sciences. Here we provide an overview of experimental approaches to study molecular dy- namics by MAS solid-state NMR, with an emphasis on the underlying theoretical concepts and differences of MAS solid-state NMR compared to solution-state NMR. The theoretical foundations of nuclear spin relaxation are revisited, focusing on the particularities of spin re- laxation in solid samples under magic-angle spinning. We discuss the range of validity of Redfield theory, as well as the inherent multi-exponential behavior of relaxation in solids. Ex- perimental challenges for measuring relaxation parameters in MAS solid-state NMR and a few recently proposed relaxation approaches are discussed, which provide information about time scales and amplitudes of motions ranging from picoseconds to milliseconds. We also discuss the theoretical basis and experimental measurements of anisotropic interactions (chemical-shift anisotropies, dipolar and quadrupolar couplings), which give direct infor- mation about the amplitude of motions. The potential of combining relaxation data with such measurements of dynamically-averaged anisotropic interactions is discussed. Although the focus of this review is on the theoretical foundations of dynamics studies rather than their ap- plication, we close by discussing a small number of recent dynamics studies, where the dy- namic properties of proteins in crystals are compared to those in solution

Conformational Exchange Processes in Biological Systems: Detection by Solid-State NMR

International audienceWe review recent advances in methodologies to study microseconds-to-milliseconds exchange processes in biological molecules using magic-angle spinning solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (MAS ssNMR) spectroscopy. The particularities of MAS ssNMR, as compared to solution-state NMR, are elucidated using numerical simulations and experimental data. These simulations reveal the potential of MAS NMR to provide detailed insight into short-lived conformations of biological molecules. Recent studies of conformational exchange dynamics in microcrystalline ubiquitin are discussed

Intermolecular interactions and protein dynamics by solid-state NMR spectroscopy

Understanding the dynamics of interacting proteins is a crucial step toward describing many biophysical processes. Here we investigate the backbone dynamics for protein GB1 in two different assemblies: crystalline GB1 and the precipitated GB1–antibody complex with a molecular weight of more than 300 kDa. We perform these measurements on samples containing as little as eight nanomoles of GB1. From measurements of site-specific 15N relaxation rates including relaxation dispersion we obtain snapshots of dynamics spanning nine orders of magnitude in terms of the time scale. A comparison of measurements for GB1 in either environment reveals that while many of the dynamic features of the protein are conserved between them (in particular for the fast picosecond–nanosecond motions), much greater differences occur for slow motions with motions in the >500 ns range being more prevalent in the complex. The data suggest that GB1 can potentially undergo a small-amplitude overall anisotropic motion sampling the interaction interface in the complex

Atomic structure and handedness of the building block of a biological assembly.

Noncovalent supramolecular assemblies possess in general several unique subunit subunit interfaces.The basic building block of such an assembly consists of several subunits and contains all unique interfaces. Atomic-resolution structures of monomeric subunits are typically accessed by crystallography or solution NMR and fitted into electron microscopy density maps. However, the structure of the intact building block in the assembled state remains unknown with this hybrid approach. Here, we present the solid-state NMR atomic structure of the building block of the type III secretion system needle. The building block structure consists of a homotetrameric subunit complex with three unique supramolecular interfaces. Side-chain positions at the interfaces were solved at atomic detail. The high-resolution structure reveals unambiguously the helical handedness of the assembly, determined to be right-handed for the type III secretion system needle.Additionally, the axial rise per subunit could be extracted from the tetramer structure and independently validated by mass-per-length measurements

Protein resonance assignment by BSH‐CP‐based 3D solid‐state NMR experiments: A practical guide

Solid-state NMR (ssNMR) spectroscopy has evolved into a powerful method to obtain structural information and to study the dynamics of proteins at atomic resolution and under physiological conditions. The method is especially well suited to investigate insoluble and noncrystalline proteins that cannot be investigated easily by X-ray crystallography or solution NMR. To allow for detailed analysis of ssNMR data, the assignment of resonances to the protein atoms is essential. For this purpose, a set of three-dimensional (3D) spectra needs to be acquired. Band-selective homo-nuclear cross-polarization (BSH-CP) is an effective method for magnetization transfer between carbonyl carbon (CO) and alpha carbon (CA) atoms, which is an important transfer step in multidimensional ssNMR experiments. This tutorial describes the detailed procedure for the chemical shift assignment of the backbone atoms of 13C–15N-labeled proteins by BSH-CP-based 13C-detected ssNMR experiments. A set of six 3D experiments is used for unambiguous assignment of the protein backbone as well as certain side-chain resonances. The tutorial especially addresses scientists with little experience in the field of ssNMR and provides all the necessary information for protein assignment in an efficient, time-saving approach.European Research Council http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000781Max Planck Society http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100004189Leibniz‐Forschungsinstitut für Molekulare PharmakologiePeer Reviewe

Structural constraints for the Crh protein from solid-state NMR experiments

We demonstrate that short, medium and long-range constraints can be extracted from proton mediated, rare-spin detected correlation solid-state NMR experiments for the microcrystalline 10.4 × 2 kDa dimeric model protein Crh. Magnetization build-up curves from cross signals in NHHC and CHHC spectra deliver detailed information on side chain conformers and secondary structure for interactions between spin pairs. A large number of medium and long-range correlations can be observed in the spectra, and an analysis of the resolved signals reveals that the constraints cover the entire sequence, also including inter-monomer contacts between the two molecules forming the domain-swapped Crh dimer. Dynamic behavior is shown to have an impact on cross signals intensities, as indicated for mobile residues or regions by contacts predicted from the crystal structure, but absent in the spectra. Our work validates strategies involving proton distance measurements for large and complex proteins as the Crh dimer, and confirms the magnetization transfer properties previously described for small molecules in solid protein samples

Fractional deuteration applied to biomolecular solid-state NMR spectroscopy

Solid-state Nuclear Magnetic Resonance can provide detailed insight into structural and dynamical aspects of complex biomolecules. With increasing molecular size, advanced approaches for spectral simplification and the detection of medium to long-range contacts become of critical relevance. We have analyzed the protonation pattern of a membrane-embedded ion channel that was obtained from bacterial expression using protonated precursors and D2O medium. We find an overall reduction of 50% in protein protonation. High levels of deuteration at Hα and Hβ positions reduce spectral congestion in (1H,13C,15N) correlation experiments and generate a transfer profile in longitudinal mixing schemes that can be tuned to specific resonance frequencies. At the same time, residual protons are predominantly found at amino-acid side-chain positions enhancing the prospects for obtaining side-chain resonance assignments and for detecting medium to long-range contacts. Fractional deuteration thus provides a powerful means to aid the structural analysis of complex biomolecules by solid-state NMR