Consortium for operation of a protein crystallographic synchrotron beamline

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Synchrotron facilities provide a source of X-ray radiation that is both highly collimated and of much greater flux than can be attained on conventional X-ray sources. These factors have greatly benefited structural biologist, enabling the elucidation of large biologically, medically and industrially important macromolecules by X-ray diffraction methods. In addition, the development of Multiwavelength Anomalous Diffraction (MAD) techniques, which demand the use of synchrotron radiation, have revolutionized macromolecular structure determinations by significantly reducing the time needed to solve a protein structure. Thus, it is not surprising that the demand for access to synchrotron facilities by protein crystallographers has dramatically increased over the last few years. Given this trend, access to synchrotron facilities has become a precious commodity. Canadian scientists whose research requires synchrotron radiation had been in a rather difficult situation since Canada did not have a synchrotron facility until recently. This situation is changing with the Canadian Light Source (CLS) opening sometime in 2006, and anticipated full operation of the first protein crystallography beamline foreseen in 2007-8. Until then, however, Canadian synchrotron-based protein crystallography research must still be conducted outside of Canada. The Multi-User Access grant application is intended to providing funding for a Canadian consortium of protein crystallographers to access synchrotron facilities. To ensure continued access, we would maintain our current participation in the operation of a protein crystallography beam line capable of performing MAD experiments at the National Synchrotron Light Source, Brookhaven National Laboratories in Upton, New York until data collection capacity sufficient to satisfy need of Canadian crystallographers is developed at CLS.