5APC

Hen Egg White Lysozyme illuminated with 0.4THz radiation


Experimental Data Snapshot

  • Method: X-RAY DIFFRACTION
  • Resolution: 1.70 Å
  • R-Value Free: 0.197 
  • R-Value Work: 0.172 
  • R-Value Observed: 0.174 

wwPDB Validation   3D Report Full Report


This is version 1.3 of the entry. See complete history


Literature

Terahertz Radiation Induces Non-Thermal Structural Changes Associated with Frohlich Condensation in a Protein Crystal

Lundholm, I.Rodilla, H.Wahlgren, W.Y.Duelli, A.Bourenkov, G.Vukusic, J.Friedman, R.Stake, J.Schneider, T.Katona, G.

(2015) Struct Dyn 2: 54702

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4931825
  • Primary Citation of Related Structures:  
    5APC, 5APD, 5APE, 5APF

  • PubMed Abstract: 

    Whether long-range quantum coherent states could exist in biological systems, and beyond low-temperature regimes where quantum physics is known to be applicable, has been the subject to debate for decades. It was proposed by Fröhlich that vibrational modes within protein molecules can order and condense into a lowest-frequency vibrational mode in a process similar to Bose-Einstein condensation, and thus that macroscopic coherence could potentially be observed in biological systems. Despite the prediction of these so-called Fröhlich condensates almost five decades ago, experimental evidence thereof has been lacking. Here, we present the first experimental observation of Fröhlich condensation in a protein structure. To that end, and to overcome the challenges associated with probing low-frequency molecular vibrations in proteins (which has hampered understanding of their role in proteins' function), we combined terahertz techniques with a highly sensitive X-ray crystallographic method to visualize low-frequency vibrational modes in the protein structure of hen-egg white lysozyme. We found that 0.4 THz electromagnetic radiation induces non-thermal changes in electron density. In particular, we observed a local increase of electron density in a long α-helix motif consistent with a subtle longitudinal compression of the helix. These observed electron density changes occur at a low absorption rate indicating that thermalization of terahertz photons happens on a micro- to milli-second time scale, which is much slower than the expected nanosecond time scale due to damping of delocalized low frequency vibrations. Our analyses show that the micro- to milli-second lifetime of the vibration can only be explained by Fröhlich condensation, a phenomenon predicted almost half a century ago, yet never experimentally confirmed.


  • Organizational Affiliation

    Department of Chemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Gothenburg , Gothenburg, Sweden.


Macromolecules
Find similar proteins by:  (by identity cutoff)  |  3D Structure
Entity ID: 1
MoleculeChains Sequence LengthOrganismDetailsImage
LYSOZYME C129Gallus gallusMutation(s): 0 
EC: 3.2.1.17
UniProt
Find proteins for P00698 (Gallus gallus)
Explore P00698 
Go to UniProtKB:  P00698
Entity Groups  
Sequence Clusters30% Identity50% Identity70% Identity90% Identity95% Identity100% Identity
UniProt GroupP00698
Sequence Annotations
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  • Reference Sequence
Small Molecules
Ligands 1 Unique
IDChains Name / Formula / InChI Key2D Diagram3D Interactions
NA
Query on NA

Download Ideal Coordinates CCD File 
B [auth A]SODIUM ION
Na
FKNQFGJONOIPTF-UHFFFAOYSA-N
Experimental Data & Validation

Experimental Data

  • Method: X-RAY DIFFRACTION
  • Resolution: 1.70 Å
  • R-Value Free: 0.197 
  • R-Value Work: 0.172 
  • R-Value Observed: 0.174 
  • Space Group: P 43 21 2
Unit Cell:
Length ( Å )Angle ( ˚ )
a = 79.35α = 90
b = 79.35β = 90
c = 37.42γ = 90
Software Package:
Software NamePurpose
REFMACrefinement
XDSdata reduction
XSCALEdata scaling
PHASERphasing

Structure Validation

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Entry History 

Deposition Data

Revision History  (Full details and data files)

  • Version 1.0: 2016-01-13
    Type: Initial release
  • Version 1.1: 2016-02-03
    Changes: Database references
  • Version 1.2: 2018-03-07
    Changes: Data collection
  • Version 1.3: 2024-11-20
    Changes: Data collection, Database references, Derived calculations, Other, Structure summary