Solid-state NMR-based Integrative Structural Methods for Protein and Viral Assemblies

Abstract

Viruses and other protein assemblies are made of symmetric arrangements of biological macromolecules such as proteins, polynucleic acids, and fatty acids. In order to obtain an atomic resolution view of the complete structures of such systems a set of structural tools must be used. Those include predominantly X-ray crystallography, cryo-electron microscopy, solution- and solid-state NMR. Additional techniques such as small angle scattering and molecular dynamics may aid and complement those methods. Each of the techniques has advantages and drawbacks and when integrated together provide a more comprehensive and accurate description of complex biological systems. Solid-state NMR has emerged as a highly useful technique to study complex biomolecular assemblies with many applications to viruses, virus like particles, and protein assemblies. We demonstrate in this chapter how the combination of solid-state NMR with additional structural biology techniques can enrich and complement the atomic-resolution structural description of such systems.