Equilibrium Dynamics of a Biomolecular Complex Analyzed at Single-amino Acid Resolution by Cryo-electron Microscopy.
Luque, D., Ortega-Esteban, A., Valbuena, A., Luis Vilas, J., Rodriguez-Huete, A., Mateu, M.G., Caston, J.R.(2023) J Mol Biol 435: 168024-168024
- PubMed: 36828271 
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmb.2023.168024
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:  
7Z5D, 7Z5E, 7Z5F - PubMed Abstract: 
The biological function of macromolecular complexes depends not only on large-scale transitions between conformations, but also on small-scale conformational fluctuations at equilibrium. Information on the equilibrium dynamics of biomolecular complexes could, in principle, be obtained from local resolution (LR) data in cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) maps. However, this possibility had not been validated by comparing, for a same biomolecular complex, LR data with quantitative information on equilibrium dynamics obtained by an established solution technique. In this study we determined the cryo-EM structure of the minute virus of mice (MVM) capsid as a model biomolecular complex. The LR values obtained correlated with crystallographic B factors and with hydrogen/deuterium exchange (HDX) rates obtained by mass spectrometry (HDX-MS), a gold standard for determining equilibrium dynamics in solution. This result validated a LR-based cryo-EM approach to investigate, with high spatial resolution, the equilibrium dynamics of biomolecular complexes. As an application of this approach, we determined the cryo-EM structure of two mutant MVM capsids and compared their equilibrium dynamics with that of the wild-type MVM capsid. The results supported a previously suggested linkage between mechanical stiffening and impaired equilibrium dynamics of a virus particle. Cryo-EM is emerging as a powerful approach for simultaneously acquiring information on the atomic structure and local equilibrium dynamics of biomolecular complexes.
Organizational Affiliation: 
Spanish National Microbiology Centre, Institute of Health Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.