Ab initio protein phasing at 1.4 Å resolution: the new phasing approach of SIR2003-N

New algorithms for solving ab initio protein crystal structures have been identified and implemented in a modified version of the program SIR2002. They succeed in solving numerous protein structures diffracting at atomic resolution; the solution was also attained when data were cut at 1.4 Å resolution. The direct-space refinement procedure of SIR2003-N takes advantage of using the envelope of the protein, calculated during the phasing process from the current phases. The electron-density map is modified by assuming different weights for pixels within the envelope or out of it, so tentatively depleting the intensities of the false peaks. The map is then inverted and the resulting phase sets may improve their values. The new phasing strategy is also based on an optimal use of some figures of merit, one of which may be successfully applied in the early stages of the phasing process: only the most promising trials are submitted to the complete phasing procedure, so saving computing time. SIR2003-N has been successfully applied also in solving some protein structures diffracting at 1.4-1.5 Å resolution.