Biomolecular Structural Biology

methods for determining atomic structures

Scientists use a variety of experimental methods to discover the inner workings of biological molecules. These include X-ray crystallography, NMR spectroscopy, and electron microscopy. Each method has specific advantages for the exploration of biological molecules.

Molecule of the Month Articles (8)

Discovering Biology Through Crystallography

(Coloring Book)

Quasisymmetry in Icosahedral Viruses

(Activity Page)

200 Icosahedral Viruses

(Poster)

Biological Assemblies

(Guide)

	Lysozyme Lysozyme attacks the cell walls of bacteria
	Myoglobin Myoglobin was the first protein to have its atomic structure determined, revealing how it stores oxygen in muscle cells.
	PDB Pioneers A dozen historic structures set the foundation for the PDB archive
	Pepsin Pepsin digests proteins in strong stomach acid
	Photoactive Yellow Protein Researchers use synchrotrons and X-ray lasers to reveal the rapid processes of light sensing.
	Ribonuclease A Ribonuclease cuts and controls RNA
	Selenocysteine Synthase Selenium is used in place of sulfur to build proteins for special tasks
	Trypsin An activated serine amino acid in trypsin cleaves protein chains

	Discovering Biology Through Crystallography Coloring Book Color the diverse 3D shapes studied by crystallographers. Created with support from the ACA. Available as a PDF and individual images.
	Quasisymmetry in Icosahedral Viruses Activity Page Build 3D paper models of several viruses to explore how quasisymmetry builds capsids with different sizes.
	200 Icosahedral Viruses Poster
	Biological Assemblies Guide
	Methods for Determining Structure Guide
	Resolution Guide
	R-value and R-free Guide
	Structure Factors and Electron Density Guide

	Myoglobin Geis highlights the hundreds of chemical bonds in the lattice of myoglobin.
	Myoglobin Fold Geis illustrated the structure of myoglobin, focusing on the folding pattern of the secondary structure of the protein. Unlike previous myoglobin Illustrations, this painting focuses on the tertiary structure of the molecule rather than the sequence or surface.
	Ribonuclease S Geis illustrates the structure of the ribonuclease S that highlights the dinucleotide RNA substrate in red and the four disulfide bonds in yellow.
	Trypsin Geis illustrates the structure of bovine trypsin, an enzyme that breaks down proteins, which was first revealed by X-ray crystallography in 1971 and further explored in 1974 (Krieger et al., 1974). This illustration was originally published in Scientific American (Stroud, 1984). Trypsin is a protease, an enzyme that catalyzes cleavage of polypeptide chains (Stroud, 1984). Geis' sketch depicts the structure with a ball-and-stick model and displays the sidechains of aspartic acid (Asp102), histidine (His57), and serine (Ser195), known as the catalytic triad.
	Crambin In Hendrickson and Teeter's molecular study in 1981, the crystal structure of crambin, a small seed storage protein, was determined based on the location of sulfur atoms in the protein. Using an artistic approach, Geis utilizes bright yellow shading and orange coloring to highlight the importance of these 6 sulfur atoms in this ball-and-stick representation. The backbone of the protein is depicted in blue.
	Myohemerythrin The colored print depicts the structure of myohemerythrin, which was first revealed by X-ray crystallography in 1975 (Hendrickson et al., 1975) and further refined in 1987 (Sheriff et al., 1987). Geis's illustration depicts the tertiary structure of the protein, highlighting the four anti-parallel alpha-helices and the presence of mu-oxo-diiron (iron atoms in red and oxygen atom in pink) located within the core of the macromolecule (Myohemerythrin).

Biomolecular Structural Biology

Molecule of the Month Articles (8)

Learning Resources (8)

Geis Digital Archive (6)