Structure determination

B_net provides a measure of radiation damage suffered by protein crystals during X-ray crystallography.

Eukaryotes possess several clamp loaders comprising four common subunits and a fifth subunit unique to each complex. The RFC-A–E clamp loader loads the PCNA clamp at 3′-recessed structures for DNA replication. However, swapping a single subunit, Rad24, for RFC-A yields a clamp loader that prefers the 911 clamp and 5′-recessed DNA. Three new studies reveal detailed views of the clamp loading reaction and provide insights into substrate preferences of each loader.

High-resolution structural information is critical for rapid development of vaccines and therapeutics against emerging human pathogens. Structural biology methods have been at the forefront of research on SARS-CoV-2 since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. These technologies will continue to be powerful tools to fend off future public health threats.

Automated single-particle picking in electron cryo-microscopy data has seen important advances in the past couple of years and now enables computer-assisted particle selection even for challenging datasets. These advances have implications for streamlined and automated image processing, with potential benefits for improving the resolution of resulting structures.

Cryo-EM structures of Mas-related G-protein-coupled receptors (MRGPRs) that are involved in the allergic reaction and itch response reveal structural insights into their activation mechanism, and offer the potential to discover new therapeutic agents for pain and hypersensitivity reactions.

Deep Learning based approaches for protein structure prediction have sent shock waves through the structural biology community. We anticipate far-reaching and long-lasting impact.