Phasing at resolution higher than the experimental resolution

Acta Crystallogr D Biol Crystallogr. 2005 May;61(Pt 5):556-65. doi: 10.1107/S090744490500404X. Epub 2005 Apr 20.

Abstract

Limited experimental resolution is a unavoidable feature in macromolecular crystallography: it may hinder or make difficult the determination of the crystal structure. A novel procedure is presented which from an approximate electron-density map extrapolates the moduli and phases of non-measured reflections beyond and behind the experimental resolution limit. Applications to a set of test structures show that the extrapolation can be successfully accomplished. As a consequence, the phase estimates of the observed reflections are subsequently improved and the interpretability of the corresponding electron-density map increases. The use of the extrapolated values for the non-measured reflections provides additional information for the map, which shows a resolution higher than the experimental resolution.

MeSH terms

  • Algorithms
  • Crystallography, X-Ray / methods*
  • Crystallography, X-Ray / statistics & numerical data
  • Electrons
  • Fourier Analysis
  • Software
  • X-Ray Diffraction / statistics & numerical data