Molecule of the Month

TheRCSB PDB Molecule of the Month by David S. Goodsell tells short stories about biomolecules of known structures. These stories may help us to understand the structure-function relationship of proteins and other molecules including DNA and RNA. Thanks to the students from the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences who read some of the stories and translated them into Chinese. Special thanks to Kun Wang who helped to coordinate this project.

Molecule of the Month written in 2000

• Jan – Myoglobin (Chinese) PDB entry [1MBN | 1MBO]
• Feb – Bacteriophage phiX174 PDB entry [1CD3]
• Mar – DNA Polymerase (Chinese) PDB entry [1TAU | 1KLN | 1ZQA]
• Apr – Collagen (Chinese) PDB entry [1CAG | 1BKV]
• May – Cytochrome c Oxidase (Chinese) PDB entry [1OCO | 1QLE]
• Jun – HIV-1 protease (Chinese) PDB entry [7HVP | 1HXB]
• Jul – Nucleosome PDB entry [1AOI | 1ZBB]
• Aug – Restriction Enzymes (Chinese) PDB entry [1ERI | 1RVA | 1RVC]
• Sep – Lysozyme PDB entry [1LYZ | 148L]
• Oct – Ribosomal Subunits PDB entry [1FFK | 1FKA | 1FJG]
• Nov – Rubisco (Chinese) PDB entry [1RLC | 8RUC | 9RUB]
• Dec – Pepsin (Chinese) PDB entry [5PEP | 3PSG]

Molecule of the Month written in 2001

• Jan – Alcohol Dehydrogenase PDB entry (Chinese) [6ADH | 1ADC | 1FKF]
• Feb – Insulin (Chinese) PDB entry [4INS | 2DTG]
• Mar – Transfer RNA (Chinese) PDB entry [4TNA | 1TTT]
• Apr – Aminoacyl-tRNA Synthetases PDB entry [ | 1FFY | 1GAX | 1EUQ | 1EIY | 1QF6]
• May – Cyclooxygenase PDB entry [1PTH]
• Jun – Myosin PDB entry [1B7T | 1BR1 | 2MYS | 1M8Q]
• Jul – Actin (Chinese) PDB entry [1ATN | 1M8Q | 1HLU]
• Aug – Poliovirus and Rhinovirus PDB entry [2PLV | 4RHV | 1BBT | 1DGI]
• Sep – Antibodies (Chinese) PDB entry [1IGT | 3HFM | 1C1E]
• Oct – Photosystem I PDB entry [1JB0 | 1PRC]
• Nov – DNA PDB entry [1BNA | 3BSE | 2DCG | 1ANA | 1AOI]
• Dec – Glycogen Phosphorylase PDB entry [8GPB | 1GPA]

Molecule of the Month written in 2002

• Jan – Thrombin (Chinese) PDB entry [1PPB | 1A0H | 2HGT]
• Feb – Nitrogenase (Chinese) PDB entry [1N2C]
• Mar – Bacteriorhodopsin PDB entry [1C3W | 1DZE]
• Apr – Anthrax Toxin (Chinese) PDB entry [1ACC | 1K90 | 1JKY]
• May – Penicillin-binding Proteins PDB entry [1HVB | 4BLM]
• Jun – Glutamine Synthetase (Chinese) PDB entry [1FPY]
• Jul – p53 Tumor Suppressor (Chinese) PDB entry [1OLG | 1TUP]
• Aug – Chaperones (Chinese) PDB entry [1AON | 1DKG | 1DKZ | 1FXK]
• Sep – Reverse Transcriptase (Chinese) PDB entry [2HMI | 1JLB]
• Oct – Dihydrofolate Reductase PDB entry [7DFR | 3DFR | 1DLS]
• Nov – Ferritin and Transferrin PDB entry [1FHA | 1H76 | 1CX8]
• Dec – Cytochrome c PDB entry [3CYT | 1KYO] (Chinese)

Molecule of the Month written in 2003

• Jan – Serum Albumin (Chinese) PDB entry [1E7I]
• Feb – Potassium Channels PDB entry [1K4C | 1F6G]
• Mar – lac Repressor (Chinese) PDB entry [1TLF | 1EFA | 1BGL | 1KRV | 1PV7]
• Apr – RNA polymerase (Chinese) PDB entry [2E2I | 1MSW]
• May – Hemoglobin (Chinese) PDB entry [1HHO | 2HHB | 2DHB | 2HBS]
• Jun – Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) (Chinese) PDB entry [1GFL | 1KYS]
• Jul – Src Tyrosine Kinase (Chinese) PDB entry [2SRC]
• Aug – Calmodulin PDB entry (Chinese) [3CLN | 1CFD | 2BBM]
• Sep – Estrogen Receptor PDB entry [1A52 | 1HCQ | 3ERT]
• Oct – Trypsin (Chinese) PDB entry [2PTN | 1TGS | 2PTC]
• Nov – Simian Virus 40 PDB entry [1SVA | 1N25 | 1GH6]
• Dec – Catabolite Activator Protein PDB entry [1CGP | 1LB2]

Molecule of the Month written in 2004

• Jan – Carbonic Anhydrase PDB entry [1CA2 | 1DDZ | 1THJ]
• Feb – Glycolytic Enzymes PDB entry [1IG8 | 4PFK | 6PFK | 4ALD | 2YPI | 3GPD | 3PGK | 1VPE | 3PGM | 2ONE | 1A3W | 1E0U]
• Mar – Calcium Pump (Chinese) PDB entry [1IWO | 1SU4]
• Apr – Growth Hormone PDB entry [1HGU]
• May – Serpins PDB entry [1K9O | 1EZX]
• Jun – Acetylcholinesterase PDB entry [1ACJ]
• Jul – DNA Ligase (Chinese) PDB entry [1dgs | 1A0I]
• Aug – Caspases PDB entry [1ICE | 1NW9 | 1PAU | 1K88 | 1F1J]
• Sep – Catalase PDB entry [8CAT | 1JKU]
• Oct – G Proteins (Chinese) PDB entry [1GG2 | 1CUL | 1TBG]
• Nov – Photosystem II PDB entry [1S5L | 1RWT]
• Dec – Ubiquitin (Chinese) PDB entry [1UBQ | 1F9J | 1R4N | 1FXT | 1LDK | 1FQK | 1FNT]

Molecule of the Month written in 2005

• Jan – Phenylalanine Hydroxylase PDB entry [2PAH]
• Feb – Major Histocompatibility Complex PDB entry [1HSA | 1DLH | 1BD2 | 1FYT]
• Mar – T-Cell Receptor PDB entry [1TCR | 1BD2 | 1FYT]
• Apr – Kinesin PDB entry [3KIN | 2NCD | 1BG2 | 2KIN]
• May – Self-splicing RNA (Chinese) PDB entry [1U6B | 1MME]
• Jun – Carotenoid Oxygenase (Chinese) PDB entry [1BIW]
• Jul – TATA-Binding Protein (Chinese) PDB entry [1YTB | 1VOL | 1YTF]
• Aug – Neurotrophins PDB entry [1BET | 1WWW | 1SG1]
• Sep – Cholera Toxin PDB entry [1XTC | 1LTB | 1PRT | 1MDT | 2AAI]
• Oct – Designer Proteins PDB entry [1GYS | 1COS]
• Nov – Acetylcholine Receptor PDB entry [2BG9]
• Dec – ATP Synthase (Chinese) PDB entry [1C17 | 1E79]

Molecule of the Month written in 2006

• Jan – Topoisomerases (Chinese) PDB entry [1A36 | 1A31 | 1BGW | 1EI1]
• Feb – Alpha-amylase PDB entry [1PPI]
• Mar – Tissue Factor PDB entry [1BOY | 1DAN]
• Apr – Hemagglutinin PDB entry [1RUZ | 1QU1 | 1QUF]
• May – Glucose Oxidase PDB entry [1GPE]
• Jun – Luciferase (Chinese) PDB entry [2D1S | 1BRL | 1VPR]
• Jul – Amyloid-beta Precursor Protein PDB entry [1IYT | 2BEG | 1FKN]
• Aug – AAA+ Proteases PDB entry [1G3L | 1SVM | 1NSF]
• Sep – Elongation Factors PDB entry [1TTT | 1EFU | 1DAR]
• Oct – Cytochrome p450 (Chinese) PDB entry [2J0D | 1EA1 | 3CPP | 1NOO]
• Nov – Fibrin PDB entry [1M1J | 2A45]
• Dec – Transposase (Chinese) PDB entry [1MUH | 1Z1G]

Molecule of the Month written in 2007

• Jan – Importins PDB entry [1QGK | 2BKU]
• Feb – Exosomes PDB entry [2NN6 | 2C37 | 2A1S | 1ST0]
• Mar – Zinc Fingers (Chinese) PDB entry [1TF6 | 1UN6]
• Apr – Clathrin PDB entry [1XI4]
• May – Aconitase and Iron Regulatory Protein 1 PDB entry [1C96 | 2B3Y | 2IPY]
• Jun – Fatty Acid Synthase (Chinese) PDB entry [2CF2 | 2UVB | 2FAE]
• Jul – Thymine Dimers PDB entry [1N4E | 1TTD | 1VAS | 1TEZ | 1YRS]
• Aug – Anabolic Steroids PDB entry [1D2S | 1FX0 | 1R4I]
• Sep – Citrate Synthase PDB entry [1CTS | 2CTS | 1NXG]
• Oct – Superoxide Dismutase PDB entry [2SOD | 1MSD | 3SDP | 1Q0D]
• Nov – Multidrug Resistance Transporters (Chinese) PDB entry [1ONJ | 2GFP | 1IWG |
• Dec – Oxidosqualene Cyclase PDB entry [1UMP]

Molecule of the Month written in 2008

• Jan – Circadian Clock Proteins PDB entry [1R8J | 1R5P | 2GBL]
• Feb – Small Interfering RNA (siRNA) (Chinese) PDB entry [2FFL | 1U04 | 1R9F]
• Mar – Cadherin PDB entry [1L3W | 1ITX | 1NCI]
• Apr – Adrenergic Receptors PDB entry [2RH1 | 2R4R]
• May – Prions PDB entry [1QM2 | 2RNM]
• Jun – Lactate Dehydrogenase PDB entry [3LDH | 1LTH]
• Jul – Dengue Virus PDB entry [1K4R | 1OK8 | 1L9K | 2J7W | 2VBC]
• Aug – Selenocysteine Synthase PDB entry [3BC8 | 2YYE | 1WB1 | 1GP1]
• Sep – Ribonuclease A PDB entry [5RSA | 2FK6 | 2EZ6 | 1DFJ]
• Oct – Poly(A) Polymerase (Chinese) PDB entry [1F5A | 2Q66 | 1CJV]
• Nov – Mechanosensitive Channels PDB entry [2OAU | 2VV5 | 2OAR]
• Dec – Hsp90 (Chinese) PDB entry [2CG9 | 2IOQ]

Molecule of the Month written in 2009

• Jan – Tobacco Mosaic Virus (Chinese) PDB entry [2TMV | 1EI7]
• Feb – Auxin and TIR1 Ubiquitin Ligase (Chinese) PDB entry [2P1Q | 1XMB]
• Mar – Hydrogenase PDB entry [2FRV | 1FEH | 3DAG | 1E08]
• Apr – Oct and Sox Transcription Factors (Chinese) PDB entry [1GT0]
• May – Influenza Neuraminidase PDB entry [1NN2 | 2BAT | 1NCA]
• Jun – Vaults PDB entry [2ZUO | 3DKT]
• Jul – beta-Secretase PDB entry [1PY1 | 1FKN]
• Aug – Sulfotransferases PDB entry [1AQU | 1T8U | 3ETS | 1XNJ]
• Sep – Xanthine Oxidoreductase PDB entry [1FO4 | 1R4U]
• Oct – Sodium-Potassium Pump PDB entry [2ZXE]
• Nov – Designed DNA Crystal PDB entry [3GBI | 309D]
• Dec – Antifreeze Proteins (Chinese) PDB entry [1KDF | 1WFB | 1EZG | 1EWW | 2PNE]

Molecule of the Month written in 2010

• Jan – Ribosome PDB entry [2QNH | 2WRN | 2WDK | 2WRI | 2B64]
• Feb – Enhanceosome PDB entry [1T2K | 2PI0 | 2O6G | 2O61]
• Mar – P-glycoprotein PDB entry [3G61]
• Apr – Concanavalin A and Circular Permutation PDB entry [3CNA | 2PEL | 1AJK | 1AJO | 1CPM]
• May – Parvoviruses (Chinese) PDB entry [1FPV | 4DPV | 1S58]
• Jun – Epidermal Growth Factor (Chinese) PDB entry [1EGF | 1NQL | 1IVO | 2JWA | 1M17 | 2GS6]
• Jul – Crystallins PDB entry [3L1E | 2WJ7 | 1BLB | 4GCR | 1HY1 | 1O9J | 3ADO]
• Aug – Interferons (Chinese) PDB entry [1ITF | 1AU1 | 1RFB | 1FG9]
• Sep – Isocitrate Dehydrogenase PDB entry [3BLW | 9ICD | 3LCB]
• Oct – Riboswitches PDB entry [1U8D | 2QBZ | 3IRW | 2Z75]
• Nov – Inteins PDB entry [1JVA | 1LWS | 1AM2]
• Dec – Adenovirus PDB entry [3IYN | 1VSZ]

Molecule of the Month written in 2011

• Jan – Nitric Oxide Synthase PDB entry [1NOD | 1TLL]
• Feb – Integrin PDB entry [1JV2 | 2K9J | 2VDO]
• Mar – Integrase (Chinese) PDB entry [3OS1 | 3OS0]
• Apr – Nanobodies PDB entry [1MEL]
• May – Cytochrome bc1 PDB entry [3H1J | 1VF5]
• Jun – Glucansucrase PDB entry [3HZ3 | 3AIC]
• Jul – DNA Methyltransferases (Chinese) PDB entry [2QRV | 3PT6 | 1MHT]
• Aug – Rhomboid Protease GlpG PDB entry [2IC8 | 2NRF | 3B4R]
• Sep – O-GlcNAc Transferase PDB entry [3PE4 | 1W3B | 2CBJ]
• Oct – PDB Pioneers PDB entry [1MBN | 2LYZ | 2DHB]
• Nov – Toll-like Receptors (Chinese) PDB entry [3FXI | 2Z7X | 3CIY | 2J67]
• Dec – Complex I PDB entry [3M9S | 2FUG | 3RKO]

Molecule of the Month written in 2012

• Jan – Messenger RNA Capping PDB entry [ | | ]
• Feb – Aminoglycoside Antibiotics PDB entry [ | | | | | ]
• Mar – Rhodopsin PDB entry [ | | ]
• Apr – Ras Protein (Chinese) PDB entry [ | ]
• May – Leptin (Chinese) PDB entry [ | | ]
• Jun – Sliding Clamps PDB entry [ | ]
• Jul – Hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HGPRT) PDB entry [ | ]
• Aug – cAMP-dependent Protein Kinase (PKA) (Chinese) PDB entry [ | | ]
• Sep – Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Complex PDB entry [ | | | ]
• Oct – Citric Acid Cycle (Chinese) PDB entry [ | | | | | | | ]
• Nov – Vitamin D Receptor PDB entry [ | | | ]
• Dec – ABO Blood Type Glycosyltransferase (Chinese) PDB entry [ | ]

Molecule of the Month written in 2013

• Jan – Transfer-Messenger RNA PDB entry [3IYR | 3J18 | 3J19]
• Feb – Proton-Gated Urea Channel PDB entry [3UX4 | 1e9Y]
• Mar – Erythrocruorin PDB entry [2GTL]
• Apr – Actinomycin PDB entry [173D | 1K4T]
• May – Dermcidin (Chinese) PDB entry [2YMK | 1DFN]
• Jun – Serotonin Receptor PDB entry [4IAR]
• Jul – HIV Capsid PDB entry [1E6J | 3MGE | 3P05]
• Aug – Ricin PDB entry []
• Sep – Designed Protein Cages PDB entry [3VDX | 4EGG | 3VCD]
• Oct – Proteasome PDB entry [4B4T | 3L5Q | 3NUF | 1FNT]
• Nov – SNARE Proteins PDB entry [1SFC | 1NSF |
• Dec – DNA Helicase PDB entry [4ESV | 4M4W] 3R8F]

Molecule of the Month written in 2014

• Jan – HIV Envelope Glycoprotein (Chinese) PDB entry [4NCO | 1GC1 | 2EZO]
• Feb – Broadly Neutralizing Antibodies (Chinese) PDB entry [4NCO | 3SM5 | 4FQI | 3SDY | 4MMV]
• Mar – Neurotransmitter Transporters PDB entry [4M48 | 2NWX | 3F3E]
• Apr – RecA and Rad51 PDB entry [3CMX | 1SZP | 1W36]
• May – Aquaporin (Chinese) PDB entry [1FQY]
• Jun – GFP-like Proteins (Chinese) PDB entry [1G7K]
• Jul – Microtubules (Chinese) PDB entry [3J2U | 1JFF | 1Z2B]
• Aug – Dynein PDB entry [3VKH]
• Sep – Apoptosomes (Chinese) PDB entry [3J2T | 3IZ8 | 3LQQ]
• Oct – PDB entry [ | | ]
• Nov – PDB entry [ | | ]
• Dec – PDB entry [ | | ]