Christine Zardecki

The Protein Data Bank

The Protein Data Bank (PDB; http://www.rcsb.org/pdb/ ) is the single worldwide archive of structural data of biological macromolecules. This paper describes the goals of the PDB, the systems in place for data deposition and access, how to obtain further information, and near-term plans for the future development of the resource.

The RCSB Protein Data Bank: redesigned web site and web services

The RCSB Protein Data Bank (RCSB PDB) web site (http://www.pdb.org) has been redesigned to increase usability and to cater to a larger and more diverse user base. This article describes key enhancements and new features that fall into the following categories: (i) query and analysis tools for chemical structure searching, query refinement, tabulation and export of query results; (ii) web site customization and new structure alerts; (iii) pair-wise and representative protein structure alignments; (iv) visualization of large assemblies; (v) integration of structural data with the open access literature and binding affinity data; and (vi) web services and web widgets to facilitate integration of PDB data and tools with other resources. These improvements enable a range of new possibilities to analyze and understand structure data. The next generation of the RCSB PDB web site, as described here, provides a rich resource for research and education.

The RCSB Protein Data Bank: new resources for research and education

The Research Collaboratory for Structural Bioinformatics Protein Data Bank (RCSB PDB) develops tools and resources that provide a structural view of biology for research and education. The RCSB PDB web site (http://www.rcsb.org) uses the curated 3D macromolecular data contained in the PDB archive to offer unique methods to access, report and visualize data. Recent activities have focused on improving methods for simple and complex searches of PDB data, creating specialized access to chemical component data and providing domain-based structural alignments. New educational resources are offered at the PDB-101 educational view of the main web site such as Author Profiles that display a researcher’s PDB entries in a timeline. To promote different kinds of access to the RCSB PDB, Web Services have been expanded, and an RCSB PDB Mobile application for the iPhone/iPad has been released. These improvements enable new opportunities for analyzing and understanding structure data.

The RCSB Protein Data Bank: views of structural biology for basic and applied research and education.

The RCSB Protein Data Bank (RCSB PDB, http://www.rcsb.org) provides access to 3D structures of biological macromolecules and is one of the leading resources in biology and biomedicine worldwide. Our efforts over the past 2 years focused on enabling a deeper understanding of structural biology and providing new structural views of biology that support both basic and applied research and education. Herein, we describe recently introduced data annotations including integration with external biological resources, such as gene and drug databases, new visualization tools and improved support for the mobile web. We also describe access to data files, web services and open access software components to enable software developers to more effectively mine the PDB archive and related annotations. Our efforts are aimed at expanding the role of 3D structure in understanding biology and medicine.

The RCSB protein data bank: integrative view of protein, gene and 3D structural information

The Research Collaboratory for Structural Bioinformatics Protein Data Bank (RCSB PDB, http://rcsb.org), the US data center for the global PDB archive, makes PDB data freely available to all users, from structural biologists to computational biologists and beyond. New tools and resources have been added to the RCSB PDB web portal in support of a ‘Structural View of Biology.’ Recent developments have improved the User experience, including the high-speed NGL Viewer that provides 3D molecular visualization in any web browser, improved support for data file download and enhanced organization of website pages for query, reporting and individual structure exploration. Structure validation information is now visible for all archival entries. PDB data have been integrated with external biological resources, including chromosomal position within the human genome; protein modifications; and metabolic pathways. PDB-101 educational materials have been reorganized into a searchable website and expanded to include new features such as the Geis Digital Archive.

Trendspotting in the Protein Data Bank.

The Protein Data Bank (PDB) was established in 1971 as a repository for the three dimensional structures of biological macromolecules. Since then, more than 85 000 biological macromolecule structures have been determined and made available in the PDB archive. Through analysis of the corpus of data, it is possible to identify trends that can be used to inform us abou the future of structural biology and to plan the best ways to improve the management of the ever‐growing amount of PDB data.

The Nucleic Acid Database: A Resource for Nucleic Acid Science

The Nucleic Acid Database (NDB) distributes information about nucleic acid-containing structures. Here the information content of the database as well as the query capabilities are described. A summary of how the technology developed by this project has been used to develop other macromolecular databases is given.

The RCSB PDB “Molecule of the Month”: Inspiring a Molecular View of Biology

The Research Collaboratory for Structural Bioinformatics (RCSB) Molecule of the Month series provides a curated introduction to the 3-D biomolecular structures available in the Protein Data Bank archive and the tools that are available at the RCSB website for accessing and exploring them. A variety of educational materials, such as articles, videos, posters, hands-on activities, lesson plans, and curricula, build on this series for use in a variety of educational settings as a general introduction to key topics, such as enzyme action, protein synthesis, and viruses. The series and associated educational materials are freely available at www.rcsb.org.

Promoting a structural view of biology for varied audiences: an overview of RCSB PDB resources and experiences

The Research Collaboratory for Structural Bioinformatics Protein Data Bank (RCSB PDB) serves a community of users with diverse backgrounds and interests. In addition to processing, archiving and distributing structural data, it also develops educational resources and materials to enable people to utilize PDB data and to further a structural view of biology.

RCSB Protein Data Bank: Sustaining a living digital data resource that enables breakthroughs in scientific research and biomedical education

The Protein Data Bank (PDB) is one of two archival resources for experimental data central to biomedical research and education worldwide (the other key Primary Data Archive in biology being the International Nucleotide Sequence Database Collaboration). The PDB currently houses >134,000 atomic level biomolecular structures determined by crystallography, NMR spectroscopy, and 3D electron microscopy. It was established in 1971 as the first open‐access, digital‐data resource in biology, and is managed by the Worldwide Protein Data Bank partnership (wwPDB; wwpdb.org). US PDB operations are conducted by the RCSB Protein Data Bank (RCSB PDB; RCSB.org; Rutgers University and UC San Diego) and funded by NSF, NIH, and DoE. The RCSB PDB serves as the global Archive Keeper for the wwPDB. During calendar 2016, >591 million structure data files were downloaded from the PDB by Data Consumers working in every sovereign nation recognized by the United Nations. During this same period, the RCSB PDB processed >5300 new atomic level biomolecular structures plus experimental data and metadata coming into the archive from Data Depositors working in the Americas and Oceania. In addition, RCSB PDB served >1 million RCSB.org users worldwide with PDB data integrated with ∼40 external data resources providing rich structural views of fundamental biology, biomedicine, and energy sciences, and >600,000 PDB101.rcsb.org educational website users around the globe. RCSB PDB resources are described in detail together with metrics documenting the impact of access to PDB data on basic and applied research, clinical medicine, education, and the economy.