EMBO Practical Course 2013: Exploiting Anomalous Scattering in Macromolecular Structure Determination

 10 - 14 June 2013

ESRF & EMBL Grenoble Outstation - France

Venue: EPN European Photon and Neutron Science campus in Grenoble

 Organising Committee

ESRF Grenoble Daniele de Sanctis, Christoph Müller-Dieckmann, Gordon Leonard, Claudine Roméro
EMBL Grenoble Outstation Andrew McCarthy

Scope of the Course

The objective of the practical course is the education of young structural biologists in the field of Macromolecular Crystallography. Course sessions will cover the theoretical and practical aspects of the determination of the three dimensional structure of a biomacromolecule, from optimal diffraction data collection to experimental phasing. Besides the well established methods for phase determination like MAD/SAD and Molecular Replacement, special emphasis will be given to new methods like sulphurSAD (SSAD) and RIP (radiation damage induced phasing) as well as to automated structure determination.

Experimental phasing in protein crystallography is still one of the most challenging steps in structure determination and the exploitation of anomalous scatters in this step is the main approach. The key to success for such experiments consists in properly collecting diffraction data on a tuneable synchrotron beamline. Diffraction data need to be accurately processed and different software used to determine the position of the anomalous scatters and to calculate phase probability distribution. The course will make the students familiar with the methods of anomalous dispersion, in the data collection on a synchrotron beamline and in the software use in experimental phasing. Attention will also be given to new phasing methods (SSAD, RIP). Furthermore, practical session on the SR beamline will make participants familiar with the crystallography beamline and with the latest developments in data collection and automation.

Through a series of lectures, software demonstrations, practicals on the ESRF beamlines and tutorials, participants will get insights into all aspects of the structure determination process, including:

• beamline instrumentation
• good data collection practice and processing
• heavy atom substructure determination
• phasing

There will also be sessions focusing on automated structure solution procedures and newer methods which exploit small anomalous scattering signals from crystals of native macromolecules. 

A session will be dedicated to highlight structures that have been solved recently using anomalous dispersive techniques on the ESRF beamlines.

We look forward to welcoming you in Grenoble!

The Organisers 

Co-sponsors: 

Sponsors: