Lack of Evidence to Support the Belief that Crystal Quaternary Structures are the same as Solution Quaternary Structures. Part 1: The Current State of Knowledge

In the introduction to this blog I said that "The fundamental starting point of this discussion is that the arrangements seen in protein crystals are not necessarily the native arrangements." Since then I have not found any examples where the crystal quaternary structure even resembles the native functional structure, although parts of the native protein-protein interfaces usually also participate in crystal contacts between proteins. Therefore I have tried to find the source of the belief that crystal quaternary structures reflect solution structures. This exploration brings with it mixed emotions. On the one hand comes the satisfaction of understanding the underlying truths. On the other hand there is some embarrassment at the human capacity to get it wrong. Over the coming weeks I will write further posts dealing with the historical roots of the belief, the use of NMR and SAXS to support crystal quaternary structures, the nature of forces within protein crystals and possibly other matters that emerge in the process. This is not a full review. In the future, scientific historians will no doubt provide a fuller picture of how a much-hoped-for result of 50 years ago was transformed into dogma. Click here to begin the exploration.