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Rapid helix fitting to a map with find_helices_strands

Author(s)
Purpose
Usage
How find_helices_strands finds helices and strands in maps:
How find_helices_strands finds RNA and DNA helices in maps:
How trace_chain finds CA positions in maps:
Output files from find_helices_strands
Examples
Standard run of find_helices_strands:
Using find_helices_strands to bootstrap phenix.autobuild:
Possible Problems
Specific limitations and problems:
Literature
Additional information
List of all find_helices_strands keywords

Author(s)

  • find_helices_strands: Tom Terwilliger

Purpose

find_helices_strands is a command line tool for finding helices and strands in a map and building an model of the parts of a structure that have regular secondary structure. It can be used for protein, RNA, and DNA. An option is to use a rapid chain-tracing algorithm to build CA of proteins, followed by reconstruction of a full model.

Usage

How find_helices_strands finds helices and strands in maps:

find_helices_strands first identifies helical segments as rods of density at 5-8 A. Then it identifies helices at higher resolution keeping the overall locations of the helices fixed. Then it identifies the directions and CA positions of helices by noting the helical pattern of high-density points offset slightly along the helix axis from the main helical density (as used in "O" to identify helix direction). Finally model helices are fit to the density using the positions and orientations identified in the earlier steps. A similar procedure is used to identify strands. Then the helices and strands are combined into a single model.

How find_helices_strands finds RNA and DNA helices in maps:

find_helices_strands finds RNA and DNA helices differently than it finds helices in proteins. It uses a convolution search to find places in the asymmetric unit where an A-form RNA or B-form DNA helix can be placed. These are assembled into contiguous helical segments if possible. The resolution of this search is 4.5 A if you have resolution beyond 4.5 A, and the resolution of your data otherwise.

How trace_chain finds CA positions in maps:

The RESOLVE trace_chain algorithm places dummy atoms down the middle of all the tubes of density in a map, then it attempts to find sets of these atoms that may be CA atoms, where the atoms are spaced by 3.8 A and where there is strong density between each pair. This yields segments represented by CA atoms. Next PULCHRA ( Rotkiewicz P., Skolnick J.,Fast procedure for reconstruction of full-atom protein models from reduced representations. J Comput Chem. 2008 Jul 15;29(9):1460-5.) is used to reconstruct a full main-chain model. Finally RESOLVE is used to assemble all the resulting fragments into a model.

Output files from find_helices_strands

If you run find_helices_strands with my_map.mtz then you will get: my_map.mtz_helices_strands.pdb which is a PDB file containing helices from your structure.

Examples

Standard run of find_helices_strands:

Running the find_helices_strands is easy. From the command-line you can type:

phenix.find_helices_strands map_coeffs.mtz quick=True

If you want a more thorough run, then skip the "quick=True" flag. If you want (or need) to specify the column names from your mtz file, you will need to tell find_helices_strands what FP and PHIB are, in this format:

phenix.find_helices_strands map_coeffs.mtz \
labin="LABIN FP=2FOFCWT PHIB=PH2FOFCWT"
If you want to specify a sequence file, then in the last step find_helices_strands will try to align your sequence with the map and model:
phenix.find_helices_strands map_coeffs.mtz seq_file=seq.dat
If you want to use the trace_chain algorithm, then specify:
phenix.find_helices_strands map_coeffs.mtz seq_file=seq.dat trace_chain=True
Here is an example using data from the PHENIX examples library:
phenix.find_helices_strands $PHENIX/phenix_examples/p9-build/p9-resolve.mtz \
labin="FP=FP PHIB=PHIM FOM=FOMM" trace_chain=True
That should build a model using sample data in a few seconds. Now try:
phenix.find_helices_strands $PHENIX/phenix_examples/p9-build/p9-resolve.mtz \
trace_chain=True --gui
which should set up the gui and do the same thing.

Using find_helices_strands to bootstrap phenix.autobuild:

If you run phenix.autobuild at low resolution (3.5 A or lower) then your model may have strands built instead of helices. You can use find_helices_strands to help bootstrap autobuild model-building by providing the helical model from find_helices_strands to phenix.autobuild. Just run phenix.find_helices_strands with your best map map_coeffs.mtz. Then take the helical model map_coeffs.mtz_helices.pdb and pass it to phenix.autobuild with the keyword (in addition to your usual keywords for autobuild):

consider_main_chain_list=map_coeffs.mtz_helices.pdb
Then the AutoBuild wizard will treat your helical model just like one of the models that it builds, and merge it into the model as it is being assembled.

Possible Problems

Specific limitations and problems:

Literature

Additional information

List of all find_helices_strands keywords

------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
Legend: black bold - scope names
        black - parameter names
        red - parameter values
        blue - parameter help
        blue bold - scope help
        Parameter values:
          * means selected parameter (where multiple choices are available)
          False is No
          True is Yes
          None means not provided, not predefined, or left up to the program
          "%3d" is a Python style formatting descriptor
------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
find_helices_strands
   use_pdb_in_directly= False Use PDB input model directly
   output_dir= None Output directory
   seq_file= None Sequence file for sequence alignment
   compare_file= None PDB file for comparison only
   res_convolution= 4.5 high-resolution limit for convolution calculation.
                    (Applies to nucleic acids only)
   temp_dir= "temp_dir" Optional temporary work directory
   helices_only= False Find only helices (Applies only if trace_chain=False)
   strands_only= False Find only strands (Applies only if trace_chain=False)
   trace_chain= True Use resolve trace_chain algorithm
   helices_before_trace= None Find helices before running resolve trace_chain
                         algorithm
   strands_before_trace= None Find strands before running resolve trace_chain
                         algorithm
   pulchra= False Use PULCHRA to create all-atom model from CA model
   rho_cut_min= None Minimum rho/sigma at potential CA positions
   dist_ca_target= 3.8 Target CA-CA distance
   dist_ca_sep= 4.0 Max separation of CA atoms
   dist_ca_tol_max= None Maximum tolerance for CA-CA distances. Normally 0.8 A
                    for medium and 1.3 A for quick
   dist_ca_start= None Guess of tolerance for CA-CA distances. Set
                  automatically by default.
   dist_ca_tol= None Tolerance for CA-CA distances. Normally set automatically
                Typical values are 0.3-1.0 A A high number can be used to
                force a more thorough search. Compare with target_p_ratio
                which adjusts CA-CA tolerance to achieve a targeted ratio of
                nonamers to atoms.
   cutoff_trace= 0.000 The top cutoff_trace fraction of peaks in trace_chain
                 will be assumed to be non-protein, and all peaks near them
                 will be ignored. (Default = 0.00)
   ncut_trace_min= 0 The top ncut_trace_min peaks in trace_chain will be
                   assumed to be non-protein, and all peaks near them will be
                   ignored. (Default = 0)
   target_p_ratio= None Target ratio of nonamers found to atoms in a.u
                   default=3 for quick, 4 otherwise. This can be used as an
                   alternate method to adjust the thoroughness of trace_chain
                   searches. Differs from setting dist_ca_tol by adjusting
                   CA-CA tolerance to achieve the desired target ratio, while
                   dist_ca_tol=tol sets the tolerance directly to tol
   trace_ratio_long= 0.5 When setting tolerances for CA-CA distances in
                     trace_chain the upper bound will increase
                     trace_ratio_long as fast as the lower bound.
                     (Default=0.5)
   ratio_trace_extra= None Minimum ratio of dist between extra atoms added in
                      trace_chain to rad_sep_trace Default is 1.25 for
                      standard and 1.5 for quick
   rad_sep_trace= None Dummy atom separation in trace_chain Default is 0.6 A
                  for standard and 0.75 for quick Increased if resolution is
                  greater than 3 A Value of rad_mask_trace in resolve will be
                  rad_sep_trace*2
   fill_gaps= True Try to fill in gaps in trace_chain
   use_any_side= False Use any side chain that fits density in assembly
   cc_helix_min= None Minimum CC of low-res helical density to map to keep.
   group_ca_length= None Minimum length of a segment of helix or strand to
                    keep. (only applies if trace_chain=False)
   cc_strand_min= None Minimum CC of strand density to map to keep. (only
                  applies if trace_chain=False)
   quick= False Try to find structure quickly
   recycle= False Recycle CA positions in trace_chain
   optimize= True Try to optimize CA-CA tolerance in trace_chain to obtain
             nonamer ratio equal to target_p_ratio
   assemble= False Assemble model with resolve after trace_chain
   resolve_size= 12 Size of resolve to use. You may need a bigger size than in
                 other resolve applications
   coarse_grid= False Coarse_grid allows the use of a smaller resolve size
   verbose= False Verbose output
   raise_sorry= False Raise sorry if problems
   debug= False Debugging output
   dry_run= False Just read in and check parameter names
   mtz_label_prefix= None Prefix for column names, used by Coot. The GUI will
                     detect and set this automatically. It should not be
                     changed directly by users.
   delete_tmp_dir= False GUI setting, does not apply to command-line version
   job_title= None Job title in PHENIX GUI, not used on command line
   input_files
      mtz_in= None MTZ file with coefficients for a map
      map_coeff_labels= None If map coefficients cannot be identified
                        automatically from your MTZ file, you can specify the
                        label or labels for them. (Please separate labels with
                        blank space, MTZ columns grouped together separated by
                        commas with no blanks.) You can specify:
                        map_coeff_labels (e.g., FWT,PHIFWT) amplitudes and
                        phases (e.g., FP,SIGFP PHIB) or amplitudes, phases,
                        weights (e.g., FP,SIGFP PHIB FOM)
      labin= "" Labin line for MTZ file with map coefficients. Normally use
             instead map_coeff_labels. This is available for backward
             compatibility. You can specify: LABIN FP=myFP PHIB=myPHI
             FOM=myFOM where myFP is your column label for FP
      pdb_in= None Optional PDB file to be used for seeding trace_chain with CA
   output_files
      output_model= None Output PDB file
      output_log= None Output log file name. If you want to specify a
                  directory to put this file in then please use
                  "output_dir=myoutput_dir"
      gui_output_dir= None GUI parameter only
   crystal_info
      resolution= None high-resolution limit for map calculation
      chain_type= *PROTEIN DNA RNA Chain type (for identifying main-chain and
                  side-chain atoms)