NSRRC Activity Report 2022

A lthough cryogenic electron microscopy and serial femtosecond crystallography have witnessed considerable improvements, synchrotron macromolecular crystallography remains indispensable for determining the atomic structure of biomolecules ( e.g. , proteins, nucleic acids, and viruses). By relying on high-quality experimentally solved structures, researchers can understand the relationship between structure and activity for further application. Currently, three protein beamlines, namely TLS 15A1 , TPS 05A , and TPS 07A , are available to general and industrial users at the NSRRC. Other bio- related beamlines, such as those for small-angle X-ray scattering ( TPS 13A ), soft X-ray tomography ( TPS 24A ), transmission X-ray microscopy ( TPS 31A ), quick-scanning X-ray absorption spectroscopy ( TPS 44A ), white X-ray ( TLS 01A1 ), X-ray microscopy ( TLS 01B1 ), and infrared microspectroscopy ( TLS 14A1 ), can also be selected to meet the users’ requirements. Our user communities achieved numerous significant scientific milestones in 2022, and as a result, we selected six reports to feature in this Activity Report. The first report was by Min Zhu, who examined ancient fish fossils to identify the ancestor of jawed vertebrates. The second report was by Che Ma, who developed a novel mono-GlcNAc- decorated spike vaccine that can effectively combat SARS- CoV-2 variants. The third report was by Yeh Chen, who investigated the vital bacterial STING proteins involved in innate immunity in order to understand the viral defense mechanism. The fourth report was by Rey-Ting Guo, who developed a glyphosate-degrading enzyme called AKR4C17, which can be used in future transgenic crops. The fifth report was by Nei-Li Chan, who investigated how deoxypodophyllotoxin synthase, which is involved in the biosynthesis of podophyllotoxin, aids in the production of the antineoplastic drugs etoposide and teniposide. Finally, the sixth report was by Shang-Te Danny Hsu, who offered a brief introduction of how a powerful tool called BioSAXS can be used to examine protein structures and dynamics. (by Chun-Hsiang Huang) Life Science