Time-resolved x-ray crystallography capture of a slow reaction tetrahydrofolate intermediate.

ABSTRACT: Time-resolved crystallography is a powerful technique to elucidate molecular mechanisms at both spatial (angstroms) and temporal (picoseconds to seconds) resolutions. We recently discovered an unusually slow reaction at room temperature that occurs on the order of days: the in crystalline reverse oxidative decay of the chemically labile (6S)-5,6,7,8-tetrahydrofolate in complex with its producing enzyme Escherichia coli dihydrofolate reductase. Here, we report the critical analysis of a representative dataset at an intermediate reaction time point. A quinonoid-like intermediate state lying between tetrahydrofolate and dihydrofolate features a near coplanar geometry of the bicyclic pterin moiety, and a tetrahedral sp ³ C6 geometry is proposed based on the appa

SUBMITTER: Cao H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6397045 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature