EAGER: Pilot Studies for Representing and Archiving Integrative Structural Models of Macromolecular Machines and Supporting Data

Rutgers University New Brunswick, New Brunswick NJ

Investigators

Abstract

New techniques have emerged that allow the determination of the three dimensional structures of very large macromolecular assemblies. These larger biological systems play key roles in basic molecular biology, photosynthesis, nanotechnology, and health. Rather than relying on a single technique, the three dimensional structures of these molecular machines are being determined by integrating results from many different kinds of experiments using computational methods. In order to allow these integrative, or hybrid, models to enable future research by the broad community of scientists and also provide for the development of new educational platforms, it is essential to develop a way to archive these data and make them easily accessible. Several steps are necessary to achieve this goal. Current archiving of macromolecular structures depends on the fixed spatial positions of atoms; therefore the existing representation of these models must be extended to include both non-atomistic and spatio-temporal models. A new infrastructure will be developed that allows for the federation of different experimental repositories hosting data sets contributing to these integrative models. Once this infrastructure is developed, it will be necessary to prototype a system for depositing and archiving these new integrative models and supporting data.