SASBDB: Towards an automatically curated and validated repository for biological scattering data

Area of Science:

• Structural biology
• Biophysical techniques
• Nanostructure analysis

Background:

• Small-angle scattering (SAS) is crucial for studying biological macromolecules in solution.
• The increasing use of SAS in structural biology has led to a surge in publications with structural models.
• A centralized repository is needed for the growing volume of SAS data and models.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce the Small-Angle Scattering Biological Data Bank (SASBDB) as a global repository.
• To provide public access to SAS experimental data and associated structural models.
• To detail the organization, procedures, and user-relevant submission information for SASBDB.

Main Methods:

• Development and implementation of the SASBDB repository.
• Collection and curation of SAS experimental data, including primary data and models.
• Inclusion of experimental conditions, sample details, and instrument characteristics for each entry.

Main Results:

• SASBDB is a publicly accessible, free, and searchable repository.
• The database currently contains over 1,000 entries with more than 1,600 models.
• SASBDB facilitates data sharing and accessibility for the structural biology community.

Conclusions:

• SASBDB addresses the urgent need for a centralized repository for SAS data and models.
• The repository is rapidly expanding, supporting the structural biology field.
• Future developments include integration with systems like the Protein Data Bank's OneDep and expansion to new data types.