Structure of a bacterial 30S ribosomal subunit at 5.5 A resolution.

The 30S ribosomal subunit binds messenger RNA and the anticodon stem-loop of transfer RNA during protein synthesis. A crystallographic analysis of the structure of the subunit from the bacterium Thermus thermophilus is presented. At a resolution of 5.5 A, the phosphate backbone of the ribosomal RNA is visible, as are the alpha-helices of the ribosomal proteins, enabling double-helical regions of RNA to be identified throughout the subunit, all seven of the small-subunit proteins of known crystal structure to be positioned in the electron density map, and the fold of the entire central domain of the small-subunit ribosomal RNA to be determined.     

Structure elucidation of polychlorinated biphenyls by X-ray analysis

Conclusion X-ray diffraction is a powerful structure specific method to study the molecular structure, especially for the structure-activity relationships. Combined with other methods, X-ray crystallography could make much more contributions to the environmental science.     

New protein fold revealed by a 2.3-A resolution crystal structure of nerve growth factor

Nerve growth factor (NGF) is a member of an expanding family of neurotrophic factors (including brain-derived neurotrophic factor and the neurotrophins) that control the development and survival of certain neuronal populations both in the peripheral and in the central nervous systems. Its biological effects are mediated by a high-affinity ligand-receptor interaction and a tyrosine kinase signalling pathway. A potential use for NGF and its relatives in the treatment of neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease requires an understanding of the structure-function relationships of NGF. NGF is a dimeric molecule, with 118 amino acids per protomer. We report the crystal structure of the murine NGF dimer at 2.3-A resolution, which reveals a novel protomer structure consisting of three antiparallel pairs of beta strands, together forming a flat surface. Two subunits associate through this surface, thus burying a total of 2,332 A. Four loop regions, which contain many of the variable residues observed between different NGF-related molecules, may determine the different receptor specificities. A clustering of positively charged side chains may provide a complementary interaction with the acidic low-affinity NGF receptor. The structure provides a model for rational design of analogues of NGF and its relatives and for testing the NGF-receptor recognition determinants critical for signal transduction.     

X-ray analysis of HIV-1 proteinase at 2.7 A resolution confirms structural homology among retroviral enzymes

Knowledge of the tertiary structure of the proteinase from human immunodeficiency virus HIV-1 is important to the design of inhibitors that might possess antiviral activity and thus be useful in the treatment of AIDS. The conserved Asp-Thr/Ser-Gly sequence in retroviral proteinases suggests that they exist as dimers similar to the ancestor proposed for the pepsins. Although this has been confirmed by X-ray analyses of Rous sarcoma virus and HIV-1 proteinases, these structures have overall folds that are similar to each other only where they are also similar to the pepsins. We now report a further X-ray analysis of a recombinant HIV-1 proteinase at 2.7 A resolution. The polypeptide chain adopts a fold in which the N- and C-terminal strands are organized together in a four-stranded beta-sheet. A helix precedes the single C-terminal strand, as in the Rous sarcoma virus proteinase and also in a synthetic HIV-1 proteinase, in which the cysteines have been replaced by alpha-aminobuytric acid. The structure reported here provides an explanation for the amino acid invariance amongst retroviral proteinases, but differs from that reported earlier in some residues that are candidates for substrate interactions at P3, and in the mode of intramolecular cleavage during processing of the polyprotein.     

氮化镓粉末的溶胶-凝胶法制备及其结构分析

目的 采用一种低成本、易操作的溶胶一凝胶法制备高质量的氮化镓粉末.方法 以氧化镓为镓源、柠檬酸为络合荆制备出前驱物溶胶,再将其在氨气气氛中氮化得到氮化镓粉末.结果 X射线衍射(XRD)、透射电镜(TEM)对其进行分析,结果 表明该粉末是六角纤锌矿结构的纳米GaN粉末;且由傅立叶红外光谱(FTIR)测出产物的吸收峰与氮化镓的横向光学晶格声子模式一致,由光致发光(PL)谱得到两条光致发光峰表明了所制备的GaN具有很好的光学性能.结论 多种测试结果 表明,用溶胶.凝胶法制备的氮化镓纳米粉体具有良好的性能.     

PbTiO3-CoFe2O4磁电材料样品库的同步辐射X射线衍射结构分析

用高分辨微区同步辐射X射线衍射研究了PbTiO3-CoFe2O4组合材料样品库晶嵌：结构随成分的变化，发现在80％PbTiO3成分附近存在着一个由外延应力引起的狭窄立方相区．分析表明，正是此相区的存在造成了该区域介电常数、非线性介电常数和磁电系数异常的增大．     

PbTiO_3-CoFe_2O_4磁电材料样品库的同步辐射X射线衍射结构分析

用高分辨微区同步辐射X射线衍射研究了PbTiO3-CoFe2O4组合材料样品库晶体结构随成分的变化,发现在80%PbTiO3成分附近存在着一个由外延应力引起的狭窄立方相区.分析表明,正是此相区的存在造成了该区域介电常数、非线性介电常数和磁电系数异常的增大.     

Structure of DNase I at 2.0 A resolution suggests a mechanism for binding to and cutting DNA

Bovine pancreatic deoxyribonuclease I (DNase I), an endonuclease that degrades double-stranded DNA in a nonspecific but sequence-dependent manner, has been used as a biochemical tool in various reactions, in particular as a probe for the structure of chromatin and for the helical periodicity of DNA on the nucleosome and in solution. Limited digestion by DNase I, termed DNase I 'footprinting', is routinely used to detect protected regions in DNA-protein complexes. Recently, we have solved the three-dimensional structure of this glycoprotein (relative molecular mass 30,400) by X-ray structure analysis at 2.5 A resolution and have subsequently refined it crystallographically at 2.0 A. Based on the refined structure and the binding of Ca2+-thymidine 3',5'-diphosphate (Ca-pTp) at the active site, we propose a mechanism of action and present a model for the interaction of DNase I with double-stranded DNA that involves the binding of an exposed loop region in the minor groove of B-DNA and electrostatic interactions of phosphates from both strands with arginine and lysine residues on either side of this loop. We explain DNase I cleavage patterns in terms of this model and discuss the consequences of the extended DNase I-DNA contact region for the interpretation of DNase I footprinting results.