Molecular Visualization Tutorial
Molecular Visualization Tutorial
1
Introductions
• About me
– John “Scooter” Morris:
• RBVI Executive Director
• Adjunct Professor, Department of Pharmaceutical
Chemistry, UCSF
• 19 years in pharmaceutical industry (Genentech)
• 11 years at RBVI
2
Introductions
• Who are you?
– Biologists?
– Chemists?
– Bioinformaticists?
– Computer Scientists?
– Other Computational Sciences?
– Other?
3
Materials
• Handouts
• Downloads
– Chimera 1.10.1
– Data files
4
Agenda
• Demo
– …while Chimera installs.
• Introduction to UCSF Chimera
– Basic principals
• Hands on Tutorial
• Q&A
• Glimpse of the future (Chimera2)
5
Demo
• HIV Capsid
6
Molecular Visualization
• Data sources
• Representations
• Manipulations
• Analysis
• Modeling
7
Definitions
• modeling (model):
Function: verb
transitive verb
1 : to plan or form after a pattern : SHAPE
3 b : to produce a representation or simulation of <using a computer
to model a problem>
4 : to construct or fashion in imitation of a particular model <modeled
its constitution on that of the United States>
intransitive verb
1 : to design or imitate forms : make a pattern <enjoys modeling in
clay>
• visualization:
Function: noun
1 : formation of mental visual images
2 : the act or process of interpreting in visual terms or of putting into
visible form
8
Data sources
• Structure determinatation
– Xray crystallography
– NMR
– EM/Cryo EM
– Models (ab initio, homology)
• Volumetric data
– EM/Cryo EM
– Electron density
– Light microscopy
• Non-structural data sources
– Sequence data
– Pathway data
– Interaction data
– Expression data
9
Data sources
• Structure repositories
– Protein Databank: http://www.rcsb.org/
– Nucleic Acid Database (NDB): http://ndbserver.rutgers.edu/
– Structural Classification of Proteins (SCOP):
http://scop.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/scop/
– ModBase: http://modbase.compbio.ucsf.edu/
– Cambridge Structural Database (CSD):
http://www.ccdc.cam.ac.uk/products/csd/
– VIPER EM Database: http://mmtsb1.scripps.edu/emdb/
– EM Database: http://www.ebi.ac.uk/msd-srv/emsearch/index.html
– Uppsala Electron Density Server: http://eds.bmc.uu.se/eds/
10
Representations
• Wire
• (Ball &) stick
• Sphere (VDW)
• Secondary Structure
– Ribbon
– “Pipes & Planks”
• Surfaces
• Specialty
– “Worms”
– Nucleic acids
11
Combining Representations
12
Other Visual Displays
• Labeling
• Hydrogen bonds
• Geometric objects
• Distances
• Clipping
• Many others
– Chimera Gallery (http://www.cgl.ucsf.edu/chimera/ImageGallery)
– VMD Gallery (http://www.ks.uiuc.edu/Research/vmd/gallery/)
– BALLView (http://www.ball-project.org/Gallery/)
– PyMOL Images (http://pymol.sourceforge.net/pmimag.html)
13
Animation
• Presentation
– Overcome lack of stereo (provide 3D cues)
14
Animation
• Presentation
– Overcome lack of stereo (provide 3D cues)
– Demonstrate (possibly) hypothetical
interactions
• Morphing between conformations
• Molecular mechanisms
15
Animation
• Presentation
– Overcome lack of stereo (provide 3D cues)
– Demonstrate (possibly) hypothetical
interactions
• Morphing between conformations
• Molecular mechanisms
• Analytic
– MD movies
– Scanning multiple structures or conformations
16
Manipulations
• Selection
• Movement
• Focus
• Zoom
• Changing representations
• Labeling
• Alignment
• Modeling “lite”
– Bond adjustments
– Adding/deleting/changing residues
17
Modeling
• Homology modeling
– Uses similar molecules of known structure as a template to
derive molecular structure.
• Molecular mechanics
– Models atoms and spheres and bonds as springs
– Non-bonded atoms interact through van der Waals attraction,
steric repulsion, and electrostatic attraction/repulsion
– General goal is to minimize an energy equation (force field)
18
Modeling
• Molecular dynamics
– Models the motions of a molecular system, including
conformational transitions and local vibrations, using molecular
mechanics force fields
– Takes into account the thermodynamic environment
– May be used to compute both thermodynamic and kinetic
properties
– Result is an ensemble (i.e., a movie) of how the molecule moves
• Quantum (ab initio) modeling
– Structures are solved by approximating the Schrödinger
equation for all particles (nuclei and electrons) in the system.
(see http://cmm.info.nih.gov)
19
Applications of molecular visualization
• Computational chemistry
– Dynamic molecules
– Molecular interactions
• Microscopy
– Lower resolution, volumetric data
• Genomics
– Sequence-structure-function relationships
• Systems biology
– Broad view across variety of data
20
Scenarios of use
• Analysis
– Molecular dynamics
– Docking
– Sequence-structure relationships
– Low-resolution representations
• Viruses and large complexes
• Electron microscopy
– Structures in context
• Publication
– High-resolution images
– Animation
21
Molecular dynamics
• Crystallography determines the
conformation of molecules in crystalline
form
• Molecular mechanics describes the
physics of atomic forces
– Energy minimization finds local minima
– Molecular dynamics (MD) simulates motion of
molecules in solution
– Free energy perturbation computes binding
energy
22
Docking
• Molecular docking is used to screen ligand
databases to find lead compounds
– Rigid-receptor docking is faster, but assumes
that a single receptor conformation is
sufficient
– Flexible-receptor docking is more realistic, but
requires much more computational resources
23
Sequence-structure relationships
• There are still many more sequences
available than structures
• Sequence similarity is often used to infer
function
• Structure similarity is critical for
mechanism
• By viewing both sequences and structures
together, we can get a more
comprehensive view
24
Volumetric Data
• Structural experiments frequently yield
volumetric data
– X-ray crystallography
– Electron microscopy
– Tomography
• Viewing derived molecular structures with
experimental data is useful for:
– Consistency check between derived data and
experimental results
– Fitting modeled structures to experimental
results
25
Multiscale representations
• Molecular data are available at different
resolutions (scales)
• Viewing structural data at multiple scales
simultaneously provides context
• Example: Virus capsid display
– Take advantage of capsid symmetry
– Showing both shape and component proteins
more useful than either alone
26
Structures in context
• Protein similarity networks
• Pathways
• Protein interaction networks
27
Questions?
• Any other scenarios of interest?
28
Available Tools
• Visualization
– “Full featured” academic packages
• UCSF Chimera (http://chimera.ucsf.edu/)
• PyMOL (http://pymol.sourceforge.net/)
• VMD (http://www.ks.uiuc.edu/Research/vmd/)
– Viewers
• Jmol (http://jmol.sourceforge.net/)
• RasMol/Chime (http://www.openrasmol.org/)
• SwissProt PDB-Viewer (DeepView) (
http://www.expasy.org/spdbv/)
• RCSB Protein Workshop (http://www.rcsb.org/)
29
Available Tools
• Visualization
– Other useful tools
• Photoshop
• Renderer (POV-Ray or Renderman-based)
• Animation package (Maya)
• Stereo-capable workstation
30
Available Tools
• Analytical tools (partial list)
– PROCHECK (http://www.biochem.ucl.ac.uk/~roman/procheck/)
– Structure-Function Linkage Database (http://sfld.rbvi.ucsf.edu/)
– ExPASy (http://www.expasy.org/)
• Modeling tools
– Amber (http://amber.scripps.edu/)
– Charmm (http://www.charmm.org/)
– NAMD (http://www.ks.uiuc.edu/Research/namd/)
– Gaussian (http://www.gaussian.com/)
– ModBase (http://modbase.compbio.ucsf.edu/)
– Modeller (http://www.salilab.org/modeller/)
– DOCK (http://dock.compbio.ucsf.edu/)
– Many, many more (see http://cmm.info.nih.gov/)
31
Comparison of Visualization Packages
• Viewers
– Jmol
• best-in-class viewer
• web enabled
• scriptable
• input only
• compatible with RasMol scripts
• limited analytical capabilities
– mostly through Javascript wrappers
32
Comparison of Visualization Packages
• “Full Featured”
– PyMol
• best-in-class for peptidometics, speed
• single-screen interface (+command line)
• extensible
• some modeling capabilities
• good publication tools (built-in ray tracer)
• scriptable
33
Comparison of Visualization Packages
– VMD
• best-in-class for MD (integrated with NAMD) and
other analysis tools
• scriptable
• excellent stereo capabilities
• embedded ray tracer (Tachyon)
• extensible
– now supports Python, previously was only TCL/TK
34
Comparison of Visualization Packages
– Chimera
• best-in-class for visualizing very large structures
– multiscale extension
– volume viewer
• focus on extensibility, broad functionality
• primarily analytical interface
• familiar GUI interface (+command line)
• scriptable
• reasonable tools for publication & presentation
• embedded ray tracer (POV-Ray)
• excellent sequence/structure capabilities
• reasonable interface to modeling programs
35
Comparison of Visualization Packages
• Caveats
– Our focus is primarily on Chimera
– We are not users of other packages
– There is no “best” package for everything (in our
opinion)
– YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary)
• What we think is easy, you may think is hard
• What we think is hard, you may think is easy
– Choosing the best package for you
• Does what you need
• Good documentation
• Good support (either local or from the authors)
36
UCSF Chimera
• Target audience
– Scientists who need to analyze and model
molecular systems in some detail
– Scientists who want to develop new analytical
methods
– Scientists or educators who wish to
communicate biological concepts visually
• Organization
– Core features
– Additional tools
37
Chimera Core Features
• Concepts
– Graphical manipulation
– Chemical knowledge
• Hierarchy: Model→Chain→Residue→Atom
• Attributes available at model, residue, and atom
levels
– Selection - Action
– GUI/Command-line equivalence
• For core, not necessarily extensions
38
Core Features (cont.)
• Using the mouse
– Pointer over atom
• “Tooltip” with atom and residue information
– Left-button
• X-Y Rotation (on virtual sphere)
• Z Rotation (outside of virtual sphere)
– Middle-button
• X-Y Translation
– Right-button
• Scale
– Control+
• Left-button: select (click or drag)
• Middle-button: Z translation
39
Core Features (cont.)
• Useful tools
– Side View
• Helps locate model in Z direction
• Provides access to hither-and-yon clipping planes
40
Core Features (cont.)
• Useful tools
– Side View
• Helps locate model in Z direction
• Provides access to hither-and-yon clipping planes
– Selection Inspector
• Provides information about currently selected atom, residue, and model
(and bond, pseudo-bond, and surface)
• Short-cut to changing representation of selected item
41
Core Features (cont.)
• Useful tools
– Side View
• Helps locate model in Z direction
• Provides access to hither-and-yon clipping planes
– Selection Inspector
• Provides information about currently selected atom, residue,
and model (and bond, pseudo-bond, and surface)
• Short-cut to changing representation of selected item
– Model Panel
• Access to several attributes and actions of currently open
models
• Allows selective display of models
• Allows selection of models that will respond to mouse motion
(useful to move one model in relation to another)
42
Core Features (cont.)
• Useful tools
– Side View
• Helps locate model in Z direction
• Provides access to hither-and-yon clipping planes
– Selection Inspector
• Provides information about currently selected atom, residue, and model (and
bond, pseudo-bond, and surface)
• Short-cut to changing representation of selected item
– Model Panel
• Access to several attributes and actions of currently open models
• Allows selective display of models
• Allows selection of models that will respond to mouse motion (useful to
move one model in relation to another)
– Sequence
• Displays sequence of currently loaded structures
• Selection linked to structure
• Can display alignments
• Access to several sequence-related tools: CDD & Uniprot annotations,
BLAST PDB, sequence alignment calculations, modeling
43
Core Features (cont.)
• Selection methods
– Using mouse
• Control-click and control-drag
• Shift-control-click and shift-control-drag to add to selection
– By atom and residue names and types
– By higher order structure
• e.g., chains, ligands, solvent
– By spatial location
• e.g., within some distance of another selection
– By attribute values
• e.g., temperature factor, occupancy
– Can extend any selection with up-arrow: ↑
– NOTE: by default, if nothing is selected, everything is selected
44
Core Features (cont.)
• Actions
– Hide/show/delete parts of structure
– Change representations
– Change colors
– Display labels
– Show molecular surfaces
– Focus on parts of interest
45
Commonly used tools
• Depictions
– Nucleotides
– Rainbow coloring
• Structure analysis
– FindHBond
– Sequence
– Distances
• Utilities
– 2D Labels
– Reply Log
– Movie Recorder
46
Questions?
• Anything you want to see in particular?
47
Extending Chimera
• Incorporating user data
• Scripting
• Python extensions
48
Incorporating user data
• Chimera supports user-defined attributes
for atoms, residues and molecules
• Once defined, these attributes may be
used for selection and rendering using the
“Render by Attribute” extension
49
Scripting
• Scripting is executing a set of commands
from a file
– Useful for repetitive tasks
– Can serve as documentation
– Available in most visualization packages
• Chimera commands may be read in from a
file or typed directly in the command line
interface
• Chimera “Demo” extension combines
scripting with simple hypertext to create
illustrations
50
Questions?
51
Chimera Recent Additions
• Modeling
- Rotamers
- Fetch modeled structures from ModBase
- Web service interface to Modeller and IMP
- Web service interface to BLAST
• Animation and illustration
– Movies can now be rendered with POVray
– Scenes and Storyboards
• Volume visualization
– New tools for tomographic data
• Systems biology
– structureViz: links Cytoscape to Chimera
52
Visualization Directions
• Context
– Environment
– Systems biology
• Complexes
– Protein-protein
– Protein-nucleic acid
– Molecular machinery
• Motion
– Molecular transitions
– Machinery mechanisms
– Conceptual illustration
53
Visualization Directions
• Data sources
– Web services
– Multiple data types
54
The End
• Questions?
• Comments?
• Suggestions?
55
Backup Slides
• Detailed comparison charts
context/balloon help + - + - - - - +
user docs ++ + + OD + + + ++
programming docs + - - - + + - -
extensibility + - + + - + - -
source distrib + + + + - + - +
platforms W/M/U W/M/U W/M/U W/M/U W/M/U W/M/U M/U W/U