On the need for an international effort to capture, share and use crystallisation screening data (failure and success)

Published

June 1, 2012

Author(s)

David Gallagher, Janet Newman, Evan E. Bolton, Jochen M?Dieckmann, Vincent J. Fazio, David Lovell, Joseph R. Luft, Thomas S. Peat, David Ratcliffe, Roger A. Sayle, Edward H. Snell, Kerry Taylor, Pascal Vallotton, Sameer Velankar, Frank V. Delft

Abstract

Crystallisation of biological macromolecules is seen by most structural biologists as a necessary evil, a means to the end, which is knowledge about a macromolecular structure. Crystallization remains largely a trial-and-error process, with extensive searches over chemical conditions. A large fraction of the information about the crystallization process, especially the failures along the way, is not recorded or is routinely discarded. We argue that retaining and processing this information can significantly enable further progress and make the field more scientific. To this end, we have initiated development of an ontology for biological crystallization, which is intended to facilitate data archiving, exchange and analysis using standardized terminology and semantics.

Citation

ACTA Crystallographica

Volume

F68

Pub Type

Journals

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.1107/S1744309112002618

Local Download

Keywords

Crystallisation, Protein, Screening

Citation

Gallagher, D. , Newman, J. , Bolton, E. , M?Dieckmann, J. , Fazio, V. , Lovell, D. , Luft, J. , Peat, T. , Ratcliffe, D. , Sayle, R. , Snell, E. , Taylor, K. , Vallotton, P. , Velankar, S. and Delft, F. (2012), On the need for an international effort to capture, share and use crystallisation screening data (failure and success), ACTA Crystallographica, [online], https://doi.org/10.1107/S1744309112002618, https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=909915 (Accessed October 15, 2025)