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Turner J, Abbott S, Fonseca N, Pye R, Carrijo L, Duraisamy AK, Salih O, Wang Z, Kleywegt GJ, Morris KL, Patwardhan A, Burley SK, Crichlow G, Feng Z, Flatt JW, Ghosh S, Hudson BP, Lawson CL, Liang Y, Peisach E, Persikova I, Sekharan M, Shao C, Young J, Velankar S, Armstrong D, Bage M, Bueno WM, Evans G, Gaborova R, Ganguly S, Gupta D, Harrus D, Tanweer A, Bansal M, Rangannan V, Kurisu G, Cho H, Ikegawa Y, Kengaku Y, Kim JY, Niwa S, Sato J, Takuwa A, Yu J, Hoch JC, Baskaran K, Xu W, Zhang W, Ma X. EMDB-the Electron Microscopy Data Bank. Nucleic Acids Res 2024; 52:D456-D465. [PMID: 37994703 PMCID: PMC10767987 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkad1019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2023] [Revised: 10/18/2023] [Accepted: 10/20/2023] [Indexed: 11/24/2023] Open
Abstract
The Electron Microscopy Data Bank (EMDB) is the global public archive of three-dimensional electron microscopy (3DEM) maps of biological specimens derived from transmission electron microscopy experiments. As of 2021, EMDB is managed by the Worldwide Protein Data Bank consortium (wwPDB; wwpdb.org) as a wwPDB Core Archive, and the EMDB team is a core member of the consortium. Today, EMDB houses over 30 000 entries with maps containing macromolecules, complexes, viruses, organelles and cells. Herein, we provide an overview of the rapidly growing EMDB archive, including its current holdings, recent updates, and future plans.
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2
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Thorne RE. Determining biomolecular structures near room temperature using X-ray crystallography: concepts, methods and future optimization. Acta Crystallogr D Struct Biol 2023; 79:78-94. [PMID: 36601809 PMCID: PMC9815097 DOI: 10.1107/s2059798322011652] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2022] [Accepted: 12/04/2022] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
For roughly two decades, cryocrystallography has been the overwhelmingly dominant method for determining high-resolution biomolecular structures. Competition from single-particle cryo-electron microscopy and micro-electron diffraction, increased interest in functionally relevant information that may be missing or corrupted in structures determined at cryogenic temperature, and interest in time-resolved studies of the biomolecular response to chemical and optical stimuli have driven renewed interest in data collection at room temperature and, more generally, at temperatures from the protein-solvent glass transition near 200 K to ∼350 K. Fischer has recently reviewed practical methods for room-temperature data collection and analysis [Fischer (2021), Q. Rev. Biophys. 54, e1]. Here, the key advantages and physical principles of, and methods for, crystallographic data collection at noncryogenic temperatures and some factors relevant to interpreting the resulting data are discussed. For room-temperature data collection to realize its potential within the structural biology toolkit, streamlined and standardized methods for delivering crystals prepared in the home laboratory to the synchrotron and for automated handling and data collection, similar to those for cryocrystallography, should be implemented.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert E. Thorne
- Physics Department, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
- MiTeGen LLC, PO Box 3867, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA
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3
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Miller JG, Hughes SA, Modlin C, Conticello VP. Structures of synthetic helical filaments and tubes based on peptide and peptido-mimetic polymers. Q Rev Biophys 2022; 55:1-103. [PMID: 35307042 DOI: 10.1017/s0033583522000014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
AbstractSynthetic peptide and peptido-mimetic filaments and tubes represent a diverse class of nanomaterials with a broad range of potential applications, such as drug delivery, vaccine development, synthetic catalyst design, encapsulation, and energy transduction. The structures of these filaments comprise supramolecular polymers based on helical arrangements of subunits that can be derived from self-assembly of monomers based on diverse structural motifs. In recent years, structural analyses of these materials at near-atomic resolution (NAR) have yielded critical insights into the relationship between sequence, local conformation, and higher-order structure and morphology. This structural information offers the opportunity for development of new tools to facilitate the predictable and reproduciblede novodesign of synthetic helical filaments. However, these studies have also revealed several significant impediments to the latter process – most notably, the common occurrence of structural polymorphism due to the lability of helical symmetry in structural space. This article summarizes the current state of knowledge on the structures of designed peptide and peptido-mimetic filamentous assemblies, with a focus on structures that have been solved to NAR for which reliable atomic models are available.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessalyn G Miller
- Department of Chemistry, Emory University, 1515 Dickey Drive, Atlanta, GA30322
| | - Spencer A Hughes
- Department of Chemistry, Emory University, 1515 Dickey Drive, Atlanta, GA30322
| | - Charles Modlin
- Department of Chemistry, Emory University, 1515 Dickey Drive, Atlanta, GA30322
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4
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Yamashita K, Palmer CM, Burnley T, Murshudov GN. Cryo-EM single-particle structure refinement and map calculation using Servalcat. Acta Crystallogr D Struct Biol 2021; 77:1282-1291. [PMID: 34605431 PMCID: PMC8489229 DOI: 10.1107/s2059798321009475] [Citation(s) in RCA: 100] [Impact Index Per Article: 33.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2021] [Accepted: 09/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
In 2020, cryo-EM single-particle analysis achieved true atomic resolution thanks to technological developments in hardware and software. The number of high-resolution reconstructions continues to grow, increasing the importance of the accurate determination of atomic coordinates. Here, a new Python package and program called Servalcat is presented that is designed to facilitate atomic model refinement. Servalcat implements a refinement pipeline using the program REFMAC5 from the CCP4 package. After the refinement, Servalcat calculates a weighted Fo - Fc difference map, which is derived from Bayesian statistics. This map helps manual and automatic model building in real space, as is common practice in crystallography. The Fo - Fc map helps in the visualization of weak features including hydrogen densities. Although hydrogen densities are weak, they are stronger than in the electron-density maps produced by X-ray crystallography, and some H atoms are even visible at ∼1.8 Å resolution. Servalcat also facilitates atomic model refinement under symmetry constraints. If point-group symmetry has been applied to the map during reconstruction, the asymmetric unit model is refined with the appropriate symmetry constraints.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keitaro Yamashita
- MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Francis Crick Avenue, Cambridge CB2 0QH, United Kingdom
| | - Colin M. Palmer
- Scientific Computing Department, UKRI Science and Technology Facilities Council, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Campus, Didcot OX11 0FA, United Kingdom
| | - Tom Burnley
- Scientific Computing Department, UKRI Science and Technology Facilities Council, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Campus, Didcot OX11 0FA, United Kingdom
| | - Garib N. Murshudov
- MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Francis Crick Avenue, Cambridge CB2 0QH, United Kingdom
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5
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Zielinski M, Röder C, Schröder GF. Challenges in sample preparation and structure determination of amyloids by cryo-EM. J Biol Chem 2021; 297:100938. [PMID: 34224730 PMCID: PMC8335658 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2021.100938] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2021] [Revised: 06/28/2021] [Accepted: 07/01/2021] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Amyloids share a common architecture but play disparate biological roles in processes ranging from bacterial defense mechanisms to protein misfolding diseases. Their structures are highly polymorphic, which makes them difficult to study by X-ray diffraction or NMR spectroscopy. Our understanding of amyloid structures is due in large part to recent advances in the field of cryo-EM, which allows for determining the polymorphs separately. In this review, we highlight the main stepping stones leading to the substantial number of high-resolution amyloid fibril structures known today as well as recent developments regarding automation and software in cryo-EM. We discuss that sample preparation should move closer to physiological conditions to understand how amyloid aggregation and disease are linked. We further highlight new approaches to address heterogeneity and polymorphism of amyloid fibrils in EM image processing and give an outlook to the upcoming challenges in researching the structural biology of amyloids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mara Zielinski
- Institute of Biological Information Processing, Structural Biochemistry (IBI-7) and JuStruct, Jülich Center for Structural Biology, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Christine Röder
- Institute of Biological Information Processing, Structural Biochemistry (IBI-7) and JuStruct, Jülich Center for Structural Biology, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany; Institut für Physikalische Biologie, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Gunnar F Schröder
- Institute of Biological Information Processing, Structural Biochemistry (IBI-7) and JuStruct, Jülich Center for Structural Biology, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany; Physics Department, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany.
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6
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Minor W, Jaskolski M, Martin SJ, Dauter Z. Dr. Alexander Wlodawer-celebrating five decades of service to the structural biology community. FEBS J 2021; 288:4160-4164. [PMID: 34286923 DOI: 10.1111/febs.16064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2021] [Accepted: 06/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
This 75th birthday tribute to our Editorial Board member Alexander Wlodawer recounts his decades-long service to the community of structural biology researchers. His former and current colleagues tell the story of his upbringing and education, followed by an account of his dedication to quality and rigor in crystallography and structural science. The FEBS Journal Editor-in-Chief Seamus Martin further highlights Alex's outstanding contributions to the journal's success over many years.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wladek Minor
- Department of Molecular Physiology and Biological Physics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
| | - Mariusz Jaskolski
- Department of Crystallography, Faculty of Chemistry, A. Mickiewicz University and Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poznan, Poland
| | - Seamus J Martin
- Department of Genetics, The Smurfit Institute, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Zbigniew Dauter
- Center for Structural Biology, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD, USA
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7
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Abstract
The goal of structural biology is to understand biological macromolecules in as much detail as possible. Depending on the resolution of the structure obtained, insights will range from understanding interactions at the level of proteins, domains, or atoms. The three mainstay structural biology techniques are X-ray crystallography, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) imaging, and cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM). Cryo-EM has rapidly gained popularity in recent years due to a combination of hardware and software advances, leading to the so-called Resolution Revolution (Kühlbrandt, 2014).
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Affiliation(s)
- Yong Zi Tan
- Molecular Medicine Program, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON M5G 0A4, Canada
| | - Bridget Carragher
- National Resource for Automated Molecular Microscopy, Simons Electron Microscopy Center, New York Structural Biology Center, New York, NY 10027, USA; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA.
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8
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Resolving individual atoms of protein complex by cryo-electron microscopy. Cell Res 2020; 30:1136-1139. [PMID: 33139928 PMCID: PMC7605492 DOI: 10.1038/s41422-020-00432-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2020] [Accepted: 10/12/2020] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
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9
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Afonine PV, Klaholz BP, Moriarty NW, Poon BK, Sobolev OV, Terwilliger TC, Adams PD, Urzhumtsev A. New tools for the analysis and validation of cryo-EM maps and atomic models. Acta Crystallogr D Struct Biol 2018; 74:814-840. [PMID: 30198894 PMCID: PMC6130467 DOI: 10.1107/s2059798318009324] [Citation(s) in RCA: 464] [Impact Index Per Article: 77.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2017] [Accepted: 06/27/2018] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent advances in the field of electron cryomicroscopy (cryo-EM) have resulted in a rapidly increasing number of atomic models of biomacromolecules that have been solved using this technique and deposited in the Protein Data Bank and the Electron Microscopy Data Bank. Similar to macromolecular crystallography, validation tools for these models and maps are required. While some of these validation tools may be borrowed from crystallography, new methods specifically designed for cryo-EM validation are required. Here, new computational methods and tools implemented in PHENIX are discussed, including d99 to estimate resolution, phenix.auto_sharpen to improve maps and phenix.mtriage to analyze cryo-EM maps. It is suggested that cryo-EM half-maps and masks should be deposited to facilitate the evaluation and validation of cryo-EM-derived atomic models and maps. The application of these tools to deposited cryo-EM atomic models and maps is also presented.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pavel V. Afonine
- Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- Department of Physics and International Centre for Quantum and Molecular Structures, Shanghai University, Shanghai, 200444, People’s Republic of China
| | - Bruno P. Klaholz
- Centre for Integrative Biology, Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, CNRS–INSERM–UdS, 1 Rue Laurent Fries, BP 10142, 67404 Illkirch, France
| | - Nigel W. Moriarty
- Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Billy K. Poon
- Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Oleg V. Sobolev
- Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Thomas C. Terwilliger
- Bioscience Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA
- New Mexico Consortium, Los Alamos, NM 87544, USA
| | - Paul D. Adams
- Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Alexandre Urzhumtsev
- Centre for Integrative Biology, Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, CNRS–INSERM–UdS, 1 Rue Laurent Fries, BP 10142, 67404 Illkirch, France
- Faculté des Sciences et Technologies, Université de Lorraine, BP 239, 54506 Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy, France
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10
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Afonine PV, Poon BK, Read RJ, Sobolev OV, Terwilliger TC, Urzhumtsev A, Adams PD. Real-space refinement in PHENIX for cryo-EM and crystallography. Acta Crystallogr D Struct Biol 2018; 74:531-544. [PMID: 29872004 PMCID: PMC6096492 DOI: 10.1107/s2059798318006551] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1606] [Impact Index Per Article: 267.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2018] [Accepted: 04/27/2018] [Indexed: 02/23/2023] Open
Abstract
This article describes the implementation of real-space refinement in the phenix.real_space_refine program from the PHENIX suite. The use of a simplified refinement target function enables very fast calculation, which in turn makes it possible to identify optimal data-restraint weights as part of routine refinements with little runtime cost. Refinement of atomic models against low-resolution data benefits from the inclusion of as much additional information as is available. In addition to standard restraints on covalent geometry, phenix.real_space_refine makes use of extra information such as secondary-structure and rotamer-specific restraints, as well as restraints or constraints on internal molecular symmetry. The re-refinement of 385 cryo-EM-derived models available in the Protein Data Bank at resolutions of 6 Å or better shows significant improvement of the models and of the fit of these models to the target maps.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pavel V. Afonine
- Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- Department of Physics and International Centre for Quantum and Molecular Structures, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, People’s Republic of China
| | - Billy K. Poon
- Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Randy J. Read
- Cambridge Institute for Medical Research, University of Cambridge, Wellcome Trust/MRC Building, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 0XY, England
| | - Oleg V. Sobolev
- Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Thomas C. Terwilliger
- Bioscience Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA
- New Mexico Consortium, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA
| | - Alexandre Urzhumtsev
- Faculté des Sciences et Technologies, Université de Lorraine, BP 239, 54506 Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy, France
- Centre for Integrative Biology, IGBMC, CNRS–INSERM–UdS, 1 Rue Laurent Fries, BP 10142, 67404 Illkirch, France
| | - Paul D. Adams
- Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, California, USA
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Nicholls RA, Tykac M, Kovalevskiy O, Murshudov GN. Current approaches for the fitting and refinement of atomic models into cryo-EM maps using CCP-EM. Acta Crystallogr D Struct Biol 2018; 74:492-505. [PMID: 29872001 PMCID: PMC6096485 DOI: 10.1107/s2059798318007313] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2018] [Accepted: 05/15/2018] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent advances in instrumentation and software have resulted in cryo-EM rapidly becoming the method of choice for structural biologists, especially for those studying the three-dimensional structures of very large macromolecular complexes. In this contribution, the tools available for macromolecular structure refinement into cryo-EM reconstructions that are available via CCP-EM are reviewed, specifically focusing on REFMAC5 and related tools. Whilst originally designed with a view to refinement against X-ray diffraction data, some of these tools have been able to be repurposed for cryo-EM owing to the same principles being applicable to refinement against cryo-EM maps. Since both techniques are used to elucidate macromolecular structures, tools encapsulating prior knowledge about macromolecules can easily be transferred. However, there are some significant qualitative differences that must be acknowledged and accounted for; relevant differences between these techniques are highlighted. The importance of phases is considered and the potential utility of replacing inaccurate amplitudes with their expectations is justified. More pragmatically, an upper bound on the correlation between observed and calculated Fourier coefficients, expressed in terms of the Fourier shell correlation between half-maps, is demonstrated. The importance of selecting appropriate levels of map blurring/sharpening is emphasized, which may be facilitated by considering the behaviour of the average map amplitude at different resolutions, as well as the utility of simultaneously viewing multiple blurred/sharpened maps. Features that are important for the purposes of computational efficiency are discussed, notably the Divide and Conquer pipeline for the parallel refinement of large macromolecular complexes. Techniques that have recently been developed or improved in Coot to facilitate and expedite the building, fitting and refinement of atomic models into cryo-EM maps are summarized. Finally, a tool for symmetry identification from a given map or coordinate set, ProSHADE, which can identify the point group of a map and thus may be used during deposition as well as during molecular visualization, is introduced.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert A. Nicholls
- Structural Studies, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Francis Crick Avenue, Cambridge CB2 0QH, England
| | - Michal Tykac
- Structural Studies, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Francis Crick Avenue, Cambridge CB2 0QH, England
| | - Oleg Kovalevskiy
- Structural Studies, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Francis Crick Avenue, Cambridge CB2 0QH, England
| | - Garib N. Murshudov
- Structural Studies, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Francis Crick Avenue, Cambridge CB2 0QH, England
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12
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Rupp B. Against Method: Table 1-Cui Bono? Structure 2018; 26:919-923. [PMID: 29861344 DOI: 10.1016/j.str.2018.04.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2017] [Revised: 03/20/2018] [Accepted: 04/18/2018] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The almost universally required "Table 1," summarizing data-collection and data-processing statistics, has in its present form outlived its usefulness in almost all publications of biomolecular crystal structure reports. Information contained in "Table 1" is insufficient to evaluate or repeat the experiment; is redundant with information extractable from deposited diffraction data; and includes data items whose meaning is under increased scrutiny in the crystallographic community. Direct and consistent extraction and analysis of data quality metrics from preferably unmerged intensity data with graphical presentation of reciprocal space features, including impact on map and model features, should replace "Table 1."
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Affiliation(s)
- Bernhard Rupp
- k.-k.Hofkristallamt, San Diego, CA 92084, USA; Division of Genetic Epidemiology, Medical University Innsbruck, Schöpfstraße 41, Innsbruck, Tyrol 6020, Austria.
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13
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Towards Generalized Noise-Level Dependent Crystallographic Symmetry Classifications of More or Less Periodic Crystal Patterns. Symmetry (Basel) 2018. [DOI: 10.3390/sym10050133] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
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14
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Neumann P, Dickmanns A, Ficner R. Validating Resolution Revolution. Structure 2018; 26:785-795.e4. [PMID: 29606592 DOI: 10.1016/j.str.2018.03.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2017] [Revised: 12/18/2017] [Accepted: 01/02/2018] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Recent advances in instrumentation and image-processing software have resulted in a resolution revolution in cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) and a surge in the popularity of this technique. However, despite technical progress and hundreds of structures determined so far, development of standards assessing the agreement between the cryo-EM map and the respective model has fallen behind. Here we establish a validation procedure evaluating this agreement and applied it to a set of 565 cryo-EM structures. Analysis of the results revealed that three-quarters of the validated structures exhibit moderate or low agreement between the map and the corresponding model, mostly due to limited structural features possessed by these maps. Model re-refinement significantly improved the agreement for only one-fifth of the structures, reaffirming the necessity to re-evaluate map resolution. The presented procedure provides an approach to re-estimate the resolution of cryo-EM map areas interpreted by the model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Piotr Neumann
- Department of Molecular Structural Biology, Institute of Microbiology & Genetics, GZMB, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 11, 37077 Göttingen, Germany.
| | - Achim Dickmanns
- Department of Molecular Structural Biology, Institute of Microbiology & Genetics, GZMB, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 11, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Ralf Ficner
- Department of Molecular Structural Biology, Institute of Microbiology & Genetics, GZMB, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 11, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
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15
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Wang J. Determination of chemical identity and occupancy from experimental density maps. Protein Sci 2017; 27:411-420. [PMID: 29027293 DOI: 10.1002/pro.3325] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2017] [Revised: 10/11/2017] [Accepted: 10/11/2017] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Three basic electronic properties of molecules, electron density (ED), charge density (CD), and electrostatic potentials (ESP), are dependent on both atomic mobility and occupancy of components in the molecules. Small protein subunits may bind large macromolecular complexes with a reduced occupancy or an increased atomic mobility or both due to affinity-based functional regulation, and so may substrates, products, cofactors, ions or solvent molecule to the active sites of enzymes. A quantitative theory is presented in this study that describes the dependence of atomic functions on atomic B-factor in Fourier transforms of the corresponding maps. An application of this theory is described to an experimental ED map at 1.73-Å resolution, and to an experimental CD map at 2.2-Å resolution. All the three density functions are linearly proportional to occupancy when the structure factor F(000) term of Fourier transforms of experimental density maps is included. Upon application of this theory to both experimental CD and ESP maps recently reported for photosystem II-light harvesting complex II supercomplex at 3.2-Å resolution, the occupancy of two extrinsic protein subunits PsbQ and PsbP is determined to be 20.4 ± 0.2%, and the negative mean ESP value of vitreous ice displaced by the supercomplex on electron scattering path is estimated to be 3% of the mean ESP value of protein α-helices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jimin Wang
- Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, 06520
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16
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Wlodawer A, Li M, Dauter Z. High-Resolution Cryo-EM Maps and Models: A Crystallographer's Perspective. Structure 2017; 25:1589-1597.e1. [PMID: 28867613 PMCID: PMC5657611 DOI: 10.1016/j.str.2017.07.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2017] [Revised: 07/17/2017] [Accepted: 07/26/2017] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
The appearance of ten high-resolution cryoelectron microscopy (cryo-EM) maps of proteins, ribosomes, and viruses was compared with the experimentally phased crystallographic electron density maps of four proteins. We found that maps calculated at a similar resolution by the two techniques are quite comparable in their appearance, although cryo-EM maps, even when sharpened, seem to be a little less detailed. An analysis of models fitted to the cryo-EM maps indicated the presence of significant problems in almost all of them, including incorrect geometry, clashes between atoms, and discrepancies between the map density and the fitted models. In particular, the treatment of the atomic displacement (B) factors was meaningless in almost all analyzed cryo-EM models. Stricter cryo-EM structure deposition standards and their better enforcement are needed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Wlodawer
- Protein Structure Section, Macromolecular Crystallography Laboratory, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD 21702, USA.
| | - Mi Li
- Protein Structure Section, Macromolecular Crystallography Laboratory, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD 21702, USA; Basic Science Program, Leidos Biomedical Research, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
| | - Zbigniew Dauter
- Synchrotron Radiation Research Section, Macromolecular Crystallography Laboratory, NCI, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL 60439, USA
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Chiu W, Holton J, Langan P, Sauter NK, Schlichting I, Terwilliger T, Martin JL, Read RJ, Wakatsuki S. Responses to `Atomic resolution': a badly abused term in structural biology. ACTA CRYSTALLOGRAPHICA SECTION D-STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY 2017; 73:381-383. [PMID: 28375150 DOI: 10.1107/s205979831700417x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Wah Chiu
- The Verna and Marrs McLean Department of Biochemistry, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - James Holton
- Molecular Biophysics & Integrated Bioimaging Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, USA
| | - Paul Langan
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA
| | - Nicholas K Sauter
- Molecular Biophysics & Integrated Bioimaging Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, USA
| | - Ilme Schlichting
- Department of Biomolecular Mechanisms, Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Tom Terwilliger
- Bioscience Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico, USA
| | - Jennifer L Martin
- The Eskitis Drug Discovery Institute, N27, Griffith University, Nathan, Australia
| | - Randy J Read
- Cambridge Institute for Medical Research, Department of Haematology, University of Cambridge, Wellcome Trust/MRC Building, Hills Road, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Soichi Wakatsuki
- Photon Science, SLAC and Structural Biology, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Menlo Park, USA
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