title: Crystal structure of a monomeric retroviral protease solved by protein folding game players.
abstract: Following the failure of a wide range of attempts to solve the crystal structure of M-PMV retroviral protease by molecular replacement, we challenged players of the protein folding game Foldit to produce accurate models of the protein. Remarkably, Foldit players were able to generate models of sufficient quality for successful molecular replacement and subsequent structure determination. The refined structure provides new insights for the design of antiretroviral drugs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.
authors.forename: Firas
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Khatib
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: DiMaio
authors.forename: Seth
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cooper
authors.forename: Maciej
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kazmierczyk
authors.forename: Miroslaw
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gilski
authors.forename: Szymon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Krzywda
authors.forename: Helena
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zabranska
authors.forename: Iva
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Pichova
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Thompson
authors.forename: Zoran
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Popović
authors.forename: Mariusz
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jaskolski
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Baker
mesh_terms: D018360:Crystallography, X-Ray; D008958:Models, Molecular; D010447:Peptide Hydrolases / Q000737:chemistry*; D011487:Protein Conformation; D017510:Protein Folding; D012190:Retroviridae / Q000201:enzymology*; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D014764:Viral Proteins; D010447:Peptide Hydrolases