Mackay JP, Landsberg MJ, Whitten AE, Bond CS. Whaddaya Know: A Guide to Uncertainty and Subjectivity in Structural Biology.
Trends Biochem Sci 2017;
42:155-167. [PMID:
28089412 DOI:
10.1016/j.tibs.2016.11.002]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2016] [Revised: 10/20/2016] [Accepted: 11/01/2016] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
The methods of structural biology, while powerful, are technically complex. Although the Protein Data Bank (PDB) provides a repository that allows anyone to download any structure, many users would not appreciate the caveats that should be considered when examining a structure. Here, we describe several key uncertainties associated with the application of X-ray crystallography, NMR spectroscopy, single-particle electron microscopy (SPEM), and small-angle scattering (SAS) to biological macromolecules. The take-home message is that structures are not absolute truths - they are models that fit the experimental data and therefore have uncertainty and subjectivity associated with them. These uncertainties must be appreciated - careful reading of the associated paper, and any validation report provided by the structure database, is highly recommended.
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