The Phantom Derivative (PhD) method [Giacovazzo (2015), Acta Cryst. A71, 483-512] has recently been described for ab initio and non-ab initio phasing. It is based on the random generation of structures with the same unit cell and the same space group as the target structure (called ancil structures), which are used to create derivatives devoid of experimental diffraction amplitudes. In this paper, the non-ab initio variant of the method was checked using phase sets obtained by molecular-replacement techniques as a starting point for phase extension and refinement. It has been shown that application of PhD is able to extend and refine phases in a way that is competitive with other electron-density modification techniques.
Keywords: Phantom Derivative method; molecular replacement; phase refinement; phasing.