PDB Database

Overview

RCSB PDB is the worldwide repository for 3D structural data of biological macromolecules. Search for structures, retrieve coordinates and metadata, perform sequence and structure similarity searches across 200,000+ experimentally determined structures and computed models.

When to Use This Skill

This skill should be used when:

• Searching for protein or nucleic acid 3D structures by text, sequence, or structural similarity
• Downloading coordinate files in PDB, mmCIF, or BinaryCIF formats
• Retrieving structural metadata, experimental methods, or quality metrics
• Performing batch operations across multiple structures
• Integrating PDB data into computational workflows for drug discovery, protein engineering, or structural biology research

Core Capabilities

1. Searching for Structures

Find PDB entries using various search criteria:

Text Search: Search by protein name, keywords, or descriptions

from rcsbapi.search import TextQuery
query = TextQuery("hemoglobin")
results = list(query())
print(f"Found {len(results)} structures")

Attribute Search: Query specific properties (organism, resolution, method, etc.)

from rcsbapi.search import AttributeQuery
from rcsbapi.search.attrs import rcsb_entity_source_organism

# Find human protein structures
query = AttributeQuery(
    attribute=rcsb_entity_source_organism.scientific_name,
    operator="exact_match",
    value="Homo sapiens"
)
results = list(query())

Sequence Similarity: Find structures similar to a given sequence

from rcsbapi.search import SequenceQuery

query = SequenceQuery(
    value="MTEYKLVVVGAGGVGKSALTIQLIQNHFVDEYDPTIEDSYRKQVVIDGETCLLDILDTAGQEEYSAMRDQYMRTGEGFLCVFAINNTKSFEDIHHYREQIKRVKDSEDVPMVLVGNKCDLPSRTVDTKQAQDLARSYGIPFIETSAKTRQGVDDAFYTLVREIRKHKEKMSKDGKKKKKKSKTKCVIM",
    evalue_cutoff=0.1,
    identity_cutoff=0.9
)
results = list(query())

Structure Similarity: Find structures with similar 3D geometry

from rcsbapi.search import StructSimilarityQuery

query = StructSimilarityQuery(
    structure_search_type="entry",
    entry_id="4HHB"  # Hemoglobin
)
results = list(query())

Combining Queries: Use logical operators to build complex searches

from rcsbapi.search import TextQuery, AttributeQuery
from rcsbapi.search.attrs import rcsb_entry_info

# High-resolution human proteins
query1 = AttributeQuery(
    attribute=rcsb_entity_source_organism.scientific_name,
    operator="exact_match",
    value="Homo sapiens"
)
query2 = AttributeQuery(
    attribute=rcsb_entry_info.resolution_combined,
    operator="less",
    value=2.0
)
combined_query = query1 & query2  # AND operation
results = list(combined_query())

2. Retrieving Structure Data

Access detailed information about specific PDB entries:

Basic Entry Information:

from rcsbapi.data import Schema, fetch

# Get entry-level data
entry_data = fetch("4HHB", schema=Schema.ENTRY)
print(entry_data["struct"]["title"])
print(entry_data["exptl"][0]["method"])

Polymer Entity Information:

# Get protein/nucleic acid information
entity_data = fetch("4HHB_1", schema=Schema.POLYMER_ENTITY)
print(entity_data["entity_poly"]["pdbx_seq_one_letter_code"])

Using GraphQL for Flexible Queries:

from rcsbapi.data import fetch

# Custom GraphQL query
query = """
{
  entry(entry_id: "4HHB") {
    struct {
      title
    }
    exptl {
      method
    }
    rcsb_entry_info {
      resolution_combined
      deposited_atom_count
    }
  }
}
"""
data = fetch(query_type="graphql", query=query)

3. Downloading Structure Files

Retrieve coordinate files in various formats:

Download Methods:

• PDB format (legacy text format): https://files.rcsb.org/download/{PDB_ID}.pdb
• mmCIF format (modern standard): https://files.rcsb.org/download/{PDB_ID}.cif
• BinaryCIF (compressed binary): Use ModelServer API for efficient access
• Biological assembly: https://files.rcsb.org/download/{PDB_ID}.pdb1 (for assembly 1)

Example Download:

import requests

pdb_id = "4HHB"

# Download PDB format
pdb_url = f"https://files.rcsb.org/download/{pdb_id}.pdb"
response = requests.get(pdb_url)
with open(f"{pdb_id}.pdb", "w") as f:
    f.write(response.text)

# Download mmCIF format
cif_url = f"https://files.rcsb.org/download/{pdb_id}.cif"
response = requests.get(cif_url)
with open(f"{pdb_id}.cif", "w") as f:
    f.write(response.text)

4. Working with Structure Data

Common operations with retrieved structures:

Parse and Analyze Coordinates: Use BioPython or other structural biology libraries to work with downloaded files:

from Bio.PDB import PDBParser

parser = PDBParser()
structure = parser.get_structure("protein", "4HHB.pdb")

# Iterate through atoms
for model in structure:
    for chain in model:
        for residue in chain:
            for atom in residue:
                print(atom.get_coord())

Extract Metadata:

from rcsbapi.data import fetch, Schema

# Get experimental details
data = fetch("4HHB", schema=Schema.ENTRY)

resolution = data.get("rcsb_entry_info", {}).get("resolution_combined")
method = data.get("exptl", [{}])[0].get("method")
deposition_date = data.get("rcsb_accession_info", {}).get("deposit_date")

print(f"Resolution: {resolution} Å")
print