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(f"Method: {method}")
print(f"Deposited: {deposition_date}")5. Batch Operations
Process multiple structures efficiently:
from rcsbapi.data import fetch, Schema
pdb_ids = ["4HHB", "1MBN", "1GZX"] # Hemoglobin, myoglobin, etc.
results = {}
for pdb_id in pdb_ids:
try:
data = fetch(pdb_id, schema=Schema.ENTRY)
results[pdb_id] = {
"title": data["struct"]["title"],
"resolution": data.get("rcsb_entry_info", {}).get("resolution_combined"),
"organism": data.get("rcsb_entity_source_organism", [{}])[0].get("scientific_name")
}
except Exception as e:
print(f"Error fetching {pdb_id}: {e}")
# Display results
for pdb_id, info in results.items():
print(f"\n{pdb_id}: {info['title']}")
print(f" Resolution: {info['resolution']} Å")
print(f" Organism: {info['organism']}")Python Package Installation
Install the official RCSB PDB Python API client:
# Current recommended package
uv pip install rcsb-api
# For legacy code (deprecated, use rcsb-api instead)
uv pip install rcsbsearchapiThe rcsb-api package provides unified access to both Search and Data APIs through the rcsbapi.search and rcsbapi.data modules.
Common Use Cases
Drug Discovery
- Search for structures of drug targets
- Analyze ligand binding sites
- Compare protein-ligand complexes
- Identify similar binding pockets
Protein Engineering
- Find homologous structures for modeling
- Analyze sequence-structure relationships
- Compare mutant structures
- Study protein stability and dynamics
Structural Biology Research
- Download structures for computational analysis
- Build structure-based alignments
- Analyze structural features (secondary structure, domains)
- Compare experimental methods and quality metrics
Education and Visualization
- Retrieve structures for teaching
- Generate molecular visualizations
- Explore structure-function relationships
- Study evolutionary conservation
Key Concepts
PDB ID: Unique 4-character identifier (e.g., "4HHB") for each structure entry. AlphaFold and ModelArchive entries start with "AF_" or "MA_" prefixes.
mmCIF/PDBx: Modern file format that uses key-value structure, replacing legacy PDB format for large structures.
Biological Assembly: The functional form of a macromolecule, which may contain multiple copies of chains from the asymmetric unit.
Resolution: Measure of detail in crystallographic structures (lower values = higher detail). Typical range: 1.5-3.5 Å for high-quality structures.
Entity: A unique molecular component in a structure (protein chain, DNA, ligand, etc.).
Resources
This skill includes reference documentation in the references/ directory:
references/api_reference.md
Comprehensive API documentation covering:
- Detailed API endpoint specifications
- Advanced query patterns and examples
- Data schema reference
- Rate limiting and best practices
- Troubleshooting common issues
Use this reference when you need in-depth information about API capabilities, complex query construction, or detailed data schema information.
Additional Resources
- RCSB PDB Website: https://www.rcsb.org
- PDB-101 Educational Portal: https://pdb101.rcsb.org
- API Documentation: https://www.rcsb.org/docs/programmatic-access/web-apis-overview
- Python Package Docs: https://rcsbapi.readthedocs.io/
- Data API Documentation: https://data.rcsb.org/
- GitHub Repository: https://github.com/rcsb/py-rcsb-api