You are viewing a single comment's thread from:
RE: What Biologists do all Day - Structural Biology AGAIN
Structural biology seems more fun than I’d imagine. Great shot of the protein crystals, microphotography is tricky work! I have a couple questions about those crystals. Are those “fuzz ball” crystals useless because you need a single large crystal to get a good defraction grating? Also are all the proteins the same composition,just with a different crystalline structure?
The "fuzz ball" crystals have no regular structure, which is absolutely necessary because only a symmetric crystal creates a pattern that can be used to calculate the actual structure.
I'm not sure what you mean by your last question.
We used the same protein (just different concentrations) and different pH/salt conditions. Some conditions produce nice, regular crystals, some don't. It depends on how fast the crystals grow (partly).
And structural biology is very, very tiring. It's not something I'd want to do all my life ^^
Hmm I think you answered my question with that last part. I’m not used to thinking about crystals made of proteins, so maybe my question about composition doesn’t even apply.
Here’s my thought process: minerals such as pyrite and marcasite are polymorphs of one another. This means they have the same composition (Fe-sulfide), but different crystalline structures. The difference in structure, caused by differences in growth conditions, distinguish the two as unique minerals.
When I saw your crystals, I thought, “maybe those proteins are polymorphs?” I’m not sure if polymorphs is even the right word to use tho 😅.
Thanks for the reply, interesting stuff!
Think I don't know enough about rocks to make give a good answer to this :'D