Small-Angle Neutron Scattering for Structural Biology of Protein-RNA Complexes

This chapter deals with the applications of small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) for the structural study of protein-RNA complexes in solution. After a brief historical introduction, the basic theory and practical requirements (e.g., sample state) for SANS experiments will be treated. Next, model-free parameters, such as the molecular mass and the radius of gyration, which can be obtained without a priori structural information, will be introduced. A more detailed section on the specific properties of SANS (with respect to its sister technique, small-angle X-ray scattering), and their implications on possibilities and limits of model building and interpretation will be discussed with a focus on protein-RNA systems. A practical illustration of the information content of SANS data will be given by applying ab initio modeling to a tRNA-synthetase system of known high-resolution structure. Finally, two present state-of-the-art examples that combine SANS data with complementary structural biology techniques (NMR and crystallography) will be presented and possible future developments and applications will be discussed.