Imaging active site chemistry and protonation states: NMR crystallography of the tryptophan synthase α-aminoacrylate intermediate
Jacob B. Holmes, Viktoriia Liu, Bethany G. Caulkins, E. Hilario, Rittik K. Ghosh, Victoria N. Drago, Robert Young, Jennifer A. Romero, Adam D. Gill, Paul M. Bogie, Joana Paulino, Xiao-Ling Wang, Gwladys Rivière, Yuliana K. Bosken, Jochem Struppe, Alia Hassan, Jevgeni Guidoulianov, Barbara Perrone, Frédéric Mentink‐Vigier, Chia‐en A. Chang, Joanna Long, Richard J. Hooley, Timothy C. Mueser, Michael F. Dunn, Leonard J. Mueller
Abstract
Significance The determination of active site protonation states is critical for a full mechanistic understanding of enzymatic transformations. However, hydrogen atom positions are challenging to extract using the standard tools of structural biology. Here, we make use of a joint solid-state NMR, X-ray crystallography, and first-principles computational approach that enables the investigation of enzyme catalysis at this fine level of chemical detail. For tryptophan synthase, this allows us to peer along the reaction coordinates into and out of the α-aminoacrylate intermediate. Through this process, we are developing a high-resolution probe for structural biology that is keenly sensitive to hydrogen atom positions—complementing diffraction methods yet able to be applied under conditions of active catalysis in microcrystalline and non-crystalline materials.