Proline utilization A (PutA) is a high-hanging fruit of X-ray crystallography. PutA is a membrane-associated bifunctional flavoenzyme that catalyzes the 4-electron oxidation of proline to glutamate by the sequential activities of proline dehydrogenase and aldehyde dehydrogenase domains. PutAs are challenging crystallography targets because of their long polypeptide chain length (1000-1300 residues) and multidomain architecture. In this talk, I will present new crystal structures and SAXS analysis of two PutAs. Seven high resolution crystal structures of a 1004-residue minimalist PutA were determined using Hg SIRAS phasing, and the oligomeric state and quaternary structure were determined with SAXS [1]. The structures reveal an elaborate and dynamic tunnel system featuring a 75-Å long tunnel that links the two active sites. Also, a novel mechanism-based inactivation strategy allowed the trapping of the elusive PutA-quinone complex in the crystalline state. These structures provide insight into the mechanism of substrate channeling and how the enzyme changes conformation during the catalytic cycle. I will conclude by describing the first structure of a new type of PutA that contains an additional C-terminal domain of unknown function (CTDUF) that is not present in the smaller minimalist enzyme [2]. This larger PutA reveals an unexpectedly different structural solution to the problem of sequestering the reaction intermediate.

The elastic strain state in a 25 nm (In,Ga)As epitaxic film deposited on a (001) GaAs substrate includes a Poisson expansion perpendicular to the interface. This creates a tetragonally distorted lattice in the film which shifts high-order Laue-zone (HOLZ) lines in electron channeling patterns (ECP) from the film compared to ECP's from pure GaAs. The line shifts are predictable, thereby allowing measurement of elastic strains parallel and perpendicular to the film/ substrate interface independently. The technique appears to have an accuracy close to 0.2%.