Some applications of the phased translation function in macromolecular structure determination

Area of Science:

• Crystallography
• Structural Biology
• Computational Chemistry

Background:

• The phased translation function was introduced in 1976 but has seen limited application in macromolecular structure determination.
• Molecular replacement is a key technique for solving the phase problem in crystallography.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the versatility of the phased translation function in various crystallographic applications.
• To report on optimal results obtained using this method for protein structure determination.
• To compare its performance against other commonly used translation functions.

Main Methods:

• Application of the phased translation function for molecular replacement.
• Utilizing the function to position oriented fragments.
• Employing the function to locate independent components relative to a crystallographic origin.
• Using the function to differentiate between enantiomorphic space groups.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated versatility of the phased translation function across multiple applications.
• Successful protein structure determination using the phased translation function.
• Effective positioning of oriented fragments and locating components.
• Accurate selection between enantiomorphic space groups.

Conclusions:

• The phased translation function is a valuable, though underused, tool in macromolecular crystallography.
• Its ease of application and versatility warrant wider adoption for protein structure determination.
• The method provides reliable solutions for fragment positioning, component location, and space group determination.