Berkeley Screen: a set of 96 solutions for general macromolecular crystallization

Jose H Pereira; Ryan P McAndrew; Giovani P Tomaleri; Paul D Adams

doi:10.1107/S1600576717011347

Berkeley Screen: a set of 96 solutions for general macromolecular crystallization

J Appl Crystallogr. 2017 Sep 5;50(Pt 5):1352-1358. doi: 10.1107/S1600576717011347. eCollection 2017 Oct 1.

Authors

Jose H Pereira^{1

2}, Ryan P McAndrew^{1

2}, Giovani P Tomaleri², Paul D Adams^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
² Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA 94608, USA.
³ Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.

Abstract

Using statistical analysis of the Biological Macromolecular Crystallization Database, combined with previous knowledge about crystallization reagents, a crystallization screen called the Berkeley Screen has been created. Correlating crystallization conditions and high-resolution protein structures, it is possible to better understand the influence that a particular solution has on protein crystal formation. Ions and small molecules such as buffers and precipitants used in crystallization experiments were identified in electron density maps, highlighting the role of these chemicals in protein crystal packing. The Berkeley Screen has been extensively used to crystallize target proteins from the Joint BioEnergy Institute and the Collaborative Crystallography program at the Berkeley Center for Structural Biology, contributing to several Protein Data Bank entries and related publications. The Berkeley Screen provides the crystallographic community with an efficient set of solutions for general macromolecular crystallization trials, offering a valuable alternative to the existing commercially available screens.

Keywords: crystal growth; crystal packing; crystallization screens; ions and buffers; structural biology.

Grants and funding

This work was funded by Joint BioEnergy Institute was supported by the Office of Science, Office of Biological and Environmental Research, of the U.S. Department of Energy grant DE-AC02-05CH11231. The Advanced Light Source is supported by the Director, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, of the US Department of Energy grant DE-AC02-05CH11231.