2016 marks 10th anniversary of first crystal diffraction experiment at CMCF... click title for details!

Oct. 24, 2016

In 1999, the Canadian crystallography community submitted a proposal to the Canadian Light Source (CLS) to build the first crystallography beamline in Canada. This beamline, together with staff and infrastructure, was to be called the Canadian Macromolecular Crystallography Facility (CMCF). In 2005, thanks to the talent and dedication of CLS employees, construction of beamline 08ID-1 was completed. That same year, construction of a second crystallography beamline, 08B1-1, began and was completed in 2009. In 2011, this beamline saw its first remote experiments.

In 2006, ten years ago, the first CMCF experiment was performed. The structure depicted (PDB ID 2i1q) is from the article published with the resulting data (J. Biol. Chem. 281, 39380-7), and represents the structure of RadA recombinase in complex with calcium. This protein plays a critical role in DNA repair.

Since the first CMCF experiment in 2006, the CLS has become a hub of activity for Canadian crystallographers, supporting the work of the majority of the nation’s crystallography laboratories and several international researchers. The number of publications resulting from the work of dedicated researchers using the facility has risen steadily since its inception, with over 425 peer reviewed articles, 800 structures deposited in the Protein Data Bank and several patents and dissertations.

As time advances, so do the needs of the crystallography community. To this end, several exciting upgrades are being implemented. The beamlines’ goals include higher flux on both beamlines, micro-beam capabilities as well as much faster data collection and sample transfer times in order to meet tomorrow’s challenges. The CMCF sincerely thanks all of the dedicated researchers, CLS staff, Beamline Advisory Team and funding agencies for their constant and unwavering support.