Methyl TROSY spectroscopy: A versatile NMR approach to study challenging biological systems

Abstract

A major goal in structural biology is to unravel how molecular machines function in detail. To that end, solution-state NMR spectroscopy is ideally suited as it is able to study biological assemblies in a near natural environment. Based on methyl TROSY methods, it is now possible to record high-quality data on complexes that are far over 100 kDa in molecular weight. In this review, we discuss the theoretical background of methyl TROSY spectroscopy, the information that can be extracted from methyl TROSY spectra and approaches that can be used to assign methyl resonances in large complexes. In addition, we touch upon insights that have been obtained for a number of challenging biological systems, including the 20S proteasome, the RNA exosome, molecular chaperones and G-protein-coupled receptors. We anticipate that methyl TROSY methods will be increasingly important in modern structural biology approaches, where information regarding static structures is complemented with insights into conformational changes and dynamic intermolecular interactions.

Keywords: Dynamics; Interactions; Isotope labeling; Large protein complex; Methyl groups; TROSY.