Biomaterial Database

Crystal structure of small protein crambin at 0.48 Å resolution. 2011

Andrea Schmidt, and Martha Teeter, and Edgar Weckert, and Victor S Lamzin

EMBL Hamburg, c/o DESY, Notkestrasse 85, D-22607 Hamburg, Germany. andrea@embl-hamburg.de

With the development of highly brilliant and extremely intense synchrotron X-ray sources, extreme high-resolution limits for biological samples are now becoming attainable. Here, a study is presented that sets the record in crystallographic resolution for a biological macromolecule. The structure of the small protein crambin was determined to 0.48 Å resolution on the PETRA II ring before its conversion to a dedicated synchrotron-radiation source. The results reveal a wealth of details in electron density and demonstrate the possibilities that are potentially offered by a high-energy source. The question now arises as to what the true limits are in terms of what can be seen at such high resolution. From what can be extrapolated from the results using crystals of crambin, this limit would be at approximately 0.40 Å, which approaches that for smaller compounds.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008958	Models, Molecular	Models used experimentally or theoretically to study molecular shape, electronic properties, or interactions; includes analogous molecules, computer-generated graphics, and mechanical structures.	Molecular Models,Model, Molecular,Molecular Model
D008969	Molecular Sequence Data	Descriptions of specific amino acid, carbohydrate, or nucleotide sequences which have appeared in the published literature and/or are deposited in and maintained by databanks such as GENBANK, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), National Biomedical Research Foundation (NBRF), or other sequence repositories.	Sequence Data, Molecular,Molecular Sequencing Data,Data, Molecular Sequence,Data, Molecular Sequencing,Sequencing Data, Molecular
D010940	Plant Proteins	Proteins found in plants (flowers, herbs, shrubs, trees, etc.). The concept does not include proteins found in vegetables for which PLANT PROTEINS, DIETARY is available.	Plant Protein,Protein, Plant,Proteins, Plant
D000595	Amino Acid Sequence	The order of amino acids as they occur in a polypeptide chain. This is referred to as the primary structure of proteins. It is of fundamental importance in determining PROTEIN CONFORMATION.	Protein Structure, Primary,Amino Acid Sequences,Sequence, Amino Acid,Sequences, Amino Acid,Primary Protein Structure,Primary Protein Structures,Protein Structures, Primary,Structure, Primary Protein,Structures, Primary Protein
D016415	Sequence Alignment	The arrangement of two or more amino acid or base sequences from an organism or organisms in such a way as to align areas of the sequences sharing common properties. The degree of relatedness or homology between the sequences is predicted computationally or statistically based on weights assigned to the elements aligned between the sequences. This in turn can serve as a potential indicator of the genetic relatedness between the organisms.	Sequence Homology Determination,Determination, Sequence Homology,Alignment, Sequence,Alignments, Sequence,Determinations, Sequence Homology,Sequence Alignments,Sequence Homology Determinations
D017434	Protein Structure, Tertiary	The level of protein structure in which combinations of secondary protein structures (ALPHA HELICES; BETA SHEETS; loop regions, and AMINO ACID MOTIFS) pack together to form folded shapes. Disulfide bridges between cysteines in two different parts of the polypeptide chain along with other interactions between the chains play a role in the formation and stabilization of tertiary structure.	Tertiary Protein Structure,Protein Structures, Tertiary,Tertiary Protein Structures
D018360	Crystallography, X-Ray	The study of crystal structure using X-RAY DIFFRACTION techniques. (McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 4th ed)	X-Ray Crystallography,Crystallography, X Ray,Crystallography, Xray,X Ray Crystallography,Xray Crystallography,Crystallographies, X Ray,X Ray Crystallographies
D031218	Crambe Plant	A plant genus of the family BRASSICACEAE. Members contain crambin.	Crambe abyssinica,Crambe Plants,Crambe abyssinicas,Plant, Crambe,Plants, Crambe,abyssinicas, Crambe