June 18-22, 2008

Annual Crystallization Course Draws More Than 40 Participants

Forty-five researchers from across the country and the world gathered at the NSLS to discuss and learn about membrane protein crystallization from leaders in the field at the annual “Crystallization: Focus on Membrane Proteins” workshop, held from June 18-22, 2008. Organized by Vivian Stojanoff (NSLS), and carried out by about 20 crystallization experts and volunteers, the sixth annual course included 10 hands-on tutorials for participants to choose from.

The purpose of the five-day course is to provide researchers from academia, government labs, and industry, as well as graduate students, with the necessary tools to obtain high-quality membrane protein crystals through conventional and non-conventional methods, including crystallization in the lipid cubic phase, gels, and oils. Hailing from as far as Korea, the participants were divided into groups of five according to their skills and interests, and then followed practical sessions during the course.

Participants in the 2008 “Crystallization: Focus on Membrane Proteins” workshop

“Since the first crystallization workshop in 2002, demand for this course has steadily increased,” Stojanoff said. “Most of this year's participants heard about the course from mailing lists and word of mouth.”

As in previous years, participants were encouraged to bring their own samples on which to test different methods. A couple actually obtained crystals from their proteins, Stojanoff said, an exceptional feat because membrane proteins are especially difficult to crystallize. Crystals were screened on beamlines X4A, X4C, and X6A.

“The hands-on aspect to this course is what makes it such a success,” Stojanoff said. “We want to provide a basic background for beginners in the field, but then give them the opportunity to develop skills in the lab.”

Experts in the academic and industrial crystallization field gave a series of talks and tutorials, including: Neer Asherie (Yeshiva University), “Quasielastic Light Scattering and Protein Crystallization;” Troy Burke (GE Healthcare), “Improved Purification Strategies;” Angie Cook (Douglas Instruments), “Microseeding in Screening Experiments;” Raimund Fromme (Arizona State University), “Photosystem I in a Giant Supercomplex with Ferridoxin;” Cory Gerdts (Emerald BioSystems), “The Microcapillary Protein Crystallization System;” Philip Laible, (Argonne National Laboratory), “Getting Down and Dirty with Detergents and Lipids: Quantitation and Protein Compatibility;” James Love (New York Consortium on Membrane Protein Structure, New York Structural Biology Group), “State-of-the-Art High-Throughput Membrane Protein Production;” Abel Moreno (Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico), “The Use of Gels and Magnetic Fields in Membrane Protein Crystallization;” Gwen Nneji (Birkbeck College, University of London), “Modified Methods for Crystallization;” Peter Nollert (Emerald BioSystems), “The Lipidic Cubic Phase as a Matrix for Membrane Protein Crystallization;” Michael Purdy (University of Virginia), “Membrane Protein Crystallization: It’s the Protein, Stupid!;” Vivian Stojanoff (NSLS), “Crystal Quality and Data Collection Strategies;” and Bert van den Berg (University of Massachusetts), “Practical Aspects of Membrane Protein Crystallization.”

Practical sessions were conducted by Christopher Kors (Argonne National Laboratory), Jean Jakoncic (NSLS-BNL), Seetharamam Jayaramam (Columbia University, New York Structural Biology Center), Daniel Thiel (Mitegen), Asherie, Burke, Cook, Fromme, Gerdts, Laible, Love, Moreno, Nneji, Nollert, Purdy, and van den Berg.

Travel grants were provided to five participants through the assistance of the International Union of Crystallography. Through Douglas Instruments, travel assistance was extended to two other participants.

One participant commented on the course survey: “The practical aspects of how to set things up was great and not something that you can get from reading papers.”

Stojanoff stressed her appreciation for the assistance received from the Organizing Committee, the NSLS staff, and the NSLS User Administration and Outreach Office, as well as from the New York Structural Biology Center and Case Center for Proteomics. Major sponsors included GE HealthCare, Qiagen, Emerald Biosystems, Douglas Instruments, Hampton Research, Precision Detectors – now a member of the Varian family, and Mitegen. Additional support was provided by Olympus America, Eppendorf, Anatrace, Jena Bioscience, and Triana.