OMITMAP: An electron density map suitable for the examination of errors in a macromolecular model

A single-stage computer procedure to calculate an electron density map suitable to detect errors in a tentative macromolecular model has been developed. In this procedure, an atom of the tentative model does not contribute to the phases used to calculate electron density values at or near its current position, that is within the region containing it and a neighborhood surrounding that region. In this way, the phases used to calculate electron density values within a region are not biased by the model atoms contained within that region or its neighborhood. The number of atoms which are omitted for a given region is maintained at a small fraction of the total structure so that the phases used to calculate electron density values may still be a good approximation to the phases of the complete structure. The procedure was used to improve the model of the Fab portion of the mouse galactan-binding immunoglobulin J539 (IgA2, κ), which contains 431 residues.