X-ray studies of biological macromolecules at the Shubnikov Institute of Crystallography of the Russian Academy of Sciences

Abstract

The results of X-ray diffraction studies of a number of proteins and the carnation mottle virus performed over a period from 1970 to 2000 at the laboratory created by Academician B.K. Vainshtein at the Shubnikov Institute of Crystallography of the Russian Academy of Sciences are surveyed. The fundamental principles of the spatial organization of protein structures are considered. The characteristic features of the three-dimensional structures of a number of various proteins performing various functions are discussed including leghemoglobin, catalases, pyrophosphatases, pyridoxal-dependent enzymes, nucleotide depolymerases, proteases, and plant toxins. The results obtained for carnation mottle virus are summarized. The contribution of X-ray diffraction studies to the understanding of mechanisms of functioning of the above macromolecules and the first stages of the crystallographic studies of nucleic-acid fragments are discussed. The present state and the prospects of studies of three-dimensional structures of macromolecules are also considered.