Advances in the nanostructure characterization of biological hydrogels formed by the prion-like domain of EARLY FLOWERING 3
Abstract
Hydrogels exhibit traits of both liquids and solids, forming a 3D structural network with generally high water content, high porosity and increasing stability over time. However, probing the structure of hydrogels is challenging due to the semi-disordered nature of their internal molecular organization and the presence of multiple species with varying dynamics. Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) is well suited to study materials of this nature due to its ability to probe different length scales and to provide information as to the structure and conformation of different molecular species within the hydrogel. Here, we used the prion-like domain from the plant thermosensory protein EARLY FLOW-ERING 3 (ELF3) as a model hydrogel for structural characterization by SAXS. To overcome sample-handling challenges, we developed an X-ray-and vacuumcompatible sample cell for hydrogel manipulation that allows direct measurement in the X-ray beam. Furthermore, by using a three-component model, which gathers the scattering contributions from the different species in the hydrogel, which arise from individual and aggregated oligomers as well as from their stacking into a loose lamellar phase, we were able to satisfactorily fit the experimental data and provide a full description of the nanostructure of the ELF3 hydrogel.
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BibTeX
@article{hutin2026advances,
title = {{Advances in the nanostructure characterization of biological hydrogels formed by the prion-like domain of EARLY FLOWERING 3}},
author = {Stephanie Hutin and Pedro L O Filho and Anton M Popov and Petra Pernot and Chloe Zubieta and Mark D Tully},
journal = {Acta crystallographica Section D : Structural biology [1993-...]},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.1107/s2059798326006698},
url = {https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-05760443v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Advances in the nanostructure characterization of biological hydrogels formed by the prion-like domain of EARLY FLOWERING 3
AU - Stephanie Hutin
AU - Pedro L O Filho
AU - Anton M Popov
AU - Petra Pernot
AU - Chloe Zubieta
AU - Mark D Tully
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/29
JO - Acta crystallographica Section D : Structural biology [1993-...]
DO - 10.1107/s2059798326006698
UR - https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-05760443v1
AB - Hydrogels exhibit traits of both liquids and solids, forming a 3D structural network with generally high water content, high porosity and increasing stability over time. However, probing the structure of hydrogels is challenging due to the semi-disordered nature of their internal molecular organization and the presence of multiple species with varying dynamics. Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) is well suited to study materials of this nature due to its ability to probe different length scales and to provide information as to the structure and conformation of different molecular species within the hydrogel. Here, we used the prion-like domain from the plant thermosensory protein EARLY FLOW-ERING 3 (ELF3) as a model hydrogel for structural characterization by SAXS. To overcome sample-handling challenges, we developed an X-ray-and vacuumcompatible sample cell for hydrogel manipulation that allows direct measurement in the X-ray beam. Furthermore, by using a three-component model, which gathers the scattering contributions from the different species in the hydrogel, which arise from individual and aggregated oligomers as well as from their stacking into a loose lamellar phase, we were able to satisfactorily fit the experimental data and provide a full description of the nanostructure of the ELF3 hydrogel.
SN - 2059-7983
SN - 2059-7983
ER -