Outcomes of the EMDataResource cryo-EM Ligand Modeling Challenge.

The EMDataResource Ligand Model Challenge aimed to assess the reliability and reproducibility of modeling ligands bound to protein and protein-nucleic acid complexes in cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) maps determined at near-atomic (1.9-2.5 Å) resolution. Three published maps were selected as targets: Escherichia coli beta-galactosidase with inhibitor, SARS-CoV-2 virus RNA-dependent RNA polymerase with covalently bound nucleotide analog and SARS-CoV-2 virus ion channel ORF3a with bound lipid. Sixty-one models were submitted from 17 independent research groups, each with supporting workflow details. The quality of submitted ligand models and surrounding atoms were analyzed by visual inspection and quantification of local map quality, model-to-map fit, geometry, energetics and contact scores. A composite rather than a single score was needed to assess macromolecule+ligand model quality. These observations lead us to recommend best practices for assessing cryo-EM structures of liganded macromolecules reported at near-atomic resolution.

Shift-field refinement of macromolecular atomic models.

The aim of crystallographic structure solution is typically to determine an atomic model which accurately accounts for an observed diffraction pattern. A key step in this process is the refinement of the parameters of an initial model, which is most often determined by molecular replacement using another structure which is broadly similar to the structure of interest. In macromolecular crystallography, the resolution of the data is typically insufficient to determine the positional and uncertainty parameters for each individual atom, and so stereochemical information is used to supplement the observational data. Here, a new approach to refinement is evaluated in which a `shift field' is determined which describes changes to model parameters affecting whole regions of the model rather than individual atoms only, with the size of the affected region being a key parameter of the calculation which can be changed in accordance with the resolution of the data. It is demonstrated that this approach can improve the radius of convergence of the refinement calculation while also dramatically reducing the calculation time.

Structural barriers to scientific progress.

Structural biases, which are intrinsic in the social structures in which we function, play a key role in maintaining boundaries between traditionally privileged and underprivileged groups; however, they are particularly difficult to identify from within those societies. Two instances are highlighted in which the social structures of science appear to have discouraged collaboration, to the disadvantage of software and data users. Possible links are suggested to the strongly hierarchical structure of science and other factors which may in turn also serve to maintain sex and/or gender disparities in participation in the scientific endeavour.

Features and development of Coot.

Coot is a molecular-graphics application for model building and validation of biological macromolecules. The program displays electron-density maps and atomic models and allows model manipulations such as idealization, real-space refinement, manual rotation/translation, rigid-body fitting, ligand search, solvation, mutations, rotamers and Ramachandran idealization. Furthermore, tools are provided for model validation as well as interfaces to external programs for refinement, validation and graphics. The software is designed to be easy to learn for novice users, which is achieved by ensuring that tools for common tasks are 'discoverable' through familiar user-interface elements (menus and toolbars) or by intuitive behaviour (mouse controls). Recent developments have focused on providing tools for expert users, with customisable key bindings, extensions and an extensive scripting interface. The software is under rapid development, but has already achieved very widespread use within the crystallographic community. The current state of the software is presented, with a description of the facilities available and of some of the underlying methods employed.

SPINE workshop on automated X-ray analysis: a progress report.

The Structural Proteomics In Europe (SPINE) consortium contained a workpackage to address the automated X-ray analysis of macromolecules. The aim of this workpackage was to increase the throughput of three-dimensional structures while maintaining the high quality of conventional analyses. SPINE was able to bring together developers of software with users from the partner laboratories. Here, the results of a workshop organized by the consortium to evaluate software developed in the member laboratories against a set of bacterial targets are described. The major emphasis was on molecular-replacement suites, where automation was most advanced. Data processing and analysis, use of experimental phases and model construction were also addressed, albeit at a lower level.

The new CCP4 Coordinate Library as a toolkit for the design of coordinate-related applications in protein crystallography.

The new CCP4 Coordinate Library is a development aiming to provide a common layer of coordinate-related functionality to the existing applications in the CCP4 suite, as well as a variety of tools that can simplify the design of new applications where they relate to atomic coordinates. The Library comprises a wide spectrum of useful functions, ranging from parsing coordinate formats and elementary editing operations on the coordinate hierarchy of biomolecules, to high-level functionality such as calculation of secondary structure, interatomic bonds, atomic contacts, symmetry transformations, structure superposition and many others. Most of the functions are available in a C++ object interface; however, a Fortran interface is provided for compatibility with older CCP4 applications. The paper describes the general principles of the Library design and the most important functionality. The Library, together with documentation, is available under the LGPL license from the CCP4 suite version 5.0 and higher.

Fast Fourier feature recognition.

Various approaches have been demonstrated for the automatic interpretation of crystallographic data in terms of atomic models. The use of a masked Fourier-based search function has some benefits for this task. The application and optimization of this procedure is discussed in detail. The search function also acquires a statistical significance when used with an appropriate electron-density target and weighting, giving rise to improved results at low resolutions. Methods are discussed for building a library of protein fragments suitable for use with this procedure. These methods are demonstrated with the construction of a statistical target for the identification of short helical fragments in the electron density.

General quadratic functions in real and reciprocal space and their application to likelihood phasing.

A general multivariate quadratic function of the structure factors is constructed and transformed to obtain a quadratic function of the continuous electron density. Two special cases, where structure factors are independent and where electron-density values are independent, are examined. These results are related to the new likelihood-based framework of Terwilliger [Terwilliger (1999), Acta Cryst. D55, pp. 1863-1871] for employing structural information which was previously exploited by means of conventional density-modification calculations. The treatment here involves different assumptions and highlights new features of Terwilliger's calculation. The generalization quadratic construction allows the generation of cross terms relating all reflections and electron densities. Other applications of this approach are considered.

Eigensystem analysis of the refinement of a small metalloprotein.

The eigenvalues and eigenvectors of the least-squares normal matrix for the full-matrix refinement problem contain a great deal of information about the quality of a model; in particular the precision of the model parameters and correlations between those parameters. They also allow the isolation of those parameters or combinations of parameters which are not determined by the available data. Since a protein refinement is usually under-determined without the application of geometric restraints, such indicators of the reliability of a model offer an important contribution to structural knowledge. Eigensystem analysis is applied to the normal matrices for the refinement of a small metalloprotein using two data sets and models determined at different resolutions. The eigenvalue spectra reveal considerable information about the conditioning of the problem as the resolution varies. In the case of a restrained refinement, it also provides information about the impact of various restraints on the refinement. Initial results support conclusions drawn from the free R factor. Examination of the eigenvectors provides information about which regions of the model are poorly determined. In the case of a restrained refinement, it is also possible to isolate places where X-ray and geometric restraints are in disagreement, usually indicating a problem in the model.

Density modification for macromolecular phase improvement.

Density modification provides a simple and largely automatic tool for improving phase estimates for observed structure factors. The phase information arises from a combination of the known structure factor magnitudes, the current phase estimates, and stereochemical information. The magnitudes, the current phase estimates, and stereochemical information. The addition of these phase information derived from theoretical sources renders new structures amenable to solution, and reduces the effort required to solve other structures. A diverse array of techniques which have been applied to the phase improvement problem are reviewed.

Error estimation and bias correction in phase-improvement calculations.

With the rise of Bayesian methods in crystallography, the error estimates attached to estimated phases are becoming as important as the phase estimates themselves. Phase improvement by density modification can cause problems in this environment because the quality of the resulting phases is usually overestimated. This problem is addressed by an extension of the gamma correction [Abrahams (1997). Acta Cryst. D53, 371-376] to arbitrary density-modification techniques. The degree to which the improved phases are biased by the features of the initial map is investigated in order to determine the limits of the resulting procedure and the quality of the phase-error estimates.

Miscellaneous algorithms for density modification.

Various algorithms are described, developed for the dm density modification package, which have not been described elsewhere. Methods are described for the following problems: determination of the absolute scale and overall temperature factor of a data set, by a method which is less dependent on data resolution than Wilson statistics; an efficient interpolation algorithm for averaging and its application to refinement of averaging operators; a method for the automatic determination of averaging masks.

Modified phased translation functions and their application to molecular-fragment location.

Direct methods at high resolution have depended on the resolution of atomic like features in the map. At data resolutions more typical for protein structures (2-3 A) individual atoms may not be resolved, so larger features must be identified. At one extreme the whole molecule may be located using the diffraction magnitudes alone by the molecular-replacement method. At the other extreme it is possible to locate individual residues in a well phased map. In this paper an intermediate problem is addressed: the location of multi-residue fragments on the basis of weak phase information. An agreement function based on the mean-squared difference between model and map over a masked region is shown to be more effective than a simple overlap integral, and may be efficiently calculated by Fourier methods. The techniques are compared using poorly phased electron-density maps at approximately 3 A for the proteins RNAse and O6-methylguanine-DNA-methyltransferase.

Phase combination and cross validation in iterated density-modification calculations.

A variety of density-modification techniques are now available for improving electron-density maps in accordance with known chemical information. This modification must, however, always be constrained by consistency with the experimental data. This is conventionally achieved by alternating cycles of map modification in real space with recombination with the experimental data in reciprocal space. The phase recombination is based upon the assumption that the density-modified map may be treated as a partial model of the structure which contains information independent of the experimentally derived phases. This assumption is shown to be incorrect, and an alternative procedure is investigated which as a side effect allows calculation of a free R factor.

Improvement of macromolecular electron-density maps by the simultaneous application of real and reciprocal space constraints.

A general scheme for the improvement of electron-density maps is described which combines information from real and reciprocal space. The use of Sayre's equation, solvent flattening and histogram matching within this scheme has been described previously [Main (1990). Acta Cryst. A46, 372-377]. Non-crystallographic symmetry averaging, the use of a partial structure and constraints on individual structure factors have now been added. A computer program, SQUASH, is described which applies all these constraints simultaneously. Its application to the maps of several structures has been successful, particularly so when non-crystallographic symmetry is present. Uninterpretable maps have been improved to the point where a significant amount of the structure can be recognized. Applying the constraints simultaneously is more powerful than applying them all in series.