![]() ![]() However, despite their enormous utility, structures stored at the PDB provide only a partial view of 3D structure. The simple visual analysis of 3D structures of protein or nucleic acids, as obtained from the experiments, has driven large number of successful studies in biochemistry. On a more practical note, protein three-dimensional (3D) structures are the basis for structure-based drug design. The study and prediction of protein–protein interaction networks is one of the growing fields in modern systems biology. Molecular recognition rules as defined by such structural knowledge powers the understanding of basic biological phenomena, like enzyme mechanisms and regulation, transport across membranes, the building of large structures like ribosomes, or viral capsids, or how DNA is read and transcription is controlled. At present, protein data bank (PDB) 1 holds more than 110,000 entries, including more than 100,000 proteins, 2,800 nucleic acids, alone or forming complexes, and approximately 20,000 small molecules complexed to macromolecules. Since initial structure determinations in the 50s, both in the protein and in the nucleic acid worlds, the increase in the knowledge of how macromolecular structures are built has been continuous. Biological function is based on molecular interactions, and these are a consequence of macromolecular structures. The study of the macromolecular structure is a key point in the understanding of biology. ![]()
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