In:
Acta Crystallographica Section D Biological Crystallography, International Union of Crystallography (IUCr), Vol. 70, No. 10 ( 2014-10-01), p. 2570-2582
Abstract:
Knowing the structure of multi-subunit complexes is critical to understand basic cellular functions. However, when crystals of these complexes can be obtained they rarely diffract beyond 3 Å resolution, which complicates X-ray structure determination and refinement. The crystal structure of RNA polymerase I, an essential cellular machine that synthesizes the precursor of ribosomal RNA in the nucleolus of eukaryotic cells, has recently been solved. Here, the crucial steps that were undertaken to build the atomic model of this multi-subunit enzyme are reported, emphasizing how simple crystallographic experiments can be used to extract relevant biological information. In particular, this report discusses the combination of poor molecular replacement and experimental phases, the application of multi-crystal averaging and the use of anomalous scatterers as sequence markers to guide tracing and to locate the active site. The methods outlined here will likely serve as a reference for future structural determination of large complexes at low resolution.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
1399-0047
DOI:
10.1107/S1399004714015788
DOI:
10.1107/S1399004714015788/tz5059sup1.pdf
Language:
Unknown
Publisher:
International Union of Crystallography (IUCr)
Publication Date:
2014
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2020492-9
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2968623-4
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