US-Federal Republic of Germany Cooperative Research:        Crystal Structure of Plakalbumin
{'Code': '01090000', 'Directorate': {'Abbreviation': 'O/D', 'LongName': 'Office Of The Director'}, 'Division': {'Abbreviation': 'OISE', 'LongName': 'Office Of Internatl Science &Engineering'}}
{'SignBlockName': 'Christine French', 'PO_EMAI': None, 'PO_PHON': None}
This award supports Dr. H. Tonie Wright of Virginia Commonwealth                University for a three month visit to the laboratory of Dr. Robert              Huber of the Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry in Martinsried,              Federal Republic of Germany.  They share an interest in the structures          of a class of proteins called serpins, which includes antithrombin              III, alpha-1-proteinase inhibitor (API), and ovalbumin (the principal           protein constituent of egg white, and not a protease inhibitor.)  The           goal of their collaboration is to establish the degree of similarity            between the tertiary structures of plakalbumin (a cleavage product of           ovalbumin) and API.  The amino acid sequences of ovalbumin and API are          about thirty percent identical, and the many close sequence identities          among the other members of this protein family has supported the                assumption that these proteins share a common tertiary structure.               Dr. Huber has determined the crystal structure of API and refined it to         high resolution.  His laboratory is highly regarded for its success in          solving structures by means of the molecular replacement method and             other procedures and programs developed there.  Dr. Wright has been             determining the structure of plakalbumin and has recently produced an           electron density map using multiple isomorphous replacement (MIR)               data.  The resultant structure appears completely different from that           of API.  Since Dr. Wright heads a small x-ray crystallography group,            the collaborative arrangement with Dr. Huber's larger and more                  experienced laboratory offers access to equipment and an opportunity            to gain experience in methods not available in Virginia to resolve              this discrepancy.                                                                                                                                               Identities of sequence among proteins are used extensively to establish         evolutionary and functional relationships.  It has been known for some          time that proteins of widely divergent sequence can share common                structural features as a result of convergent evolution.  However, the          converse case, of common or similar structures in two proteins with no          relationship of tertiary structure, has long been considered impossible,        since sequence is the primary determinant of protein structure.  The            planned collaboration focuses on a discrepancy that, if confirmed,              would force a reconsideration of the relationship between amino acid            sequence identities and the folding of proteins, as well as the                 evolutionary relationships of the proteins in the serpin family.                Further interpretation, refinement and comparison of the plakalbumin            structure with that of API is necessary to determine whether this               significant discrepancy is real or whether some error or other                  explanation can be discovered to account for it.
{'FirstName': 'Harlan', 'LastName': 'Wright', 'PI_MID_INIT': 'T', 'PI_SUFX_NAME': None, 'PI_FULL_NAME': 'Harlan T Wright', 'EmailAddress': 'xrdproc@vcu.edu', 'NSF_ID': '000203320', 'StartDate': '06/01/1989', 'EndDate': None, 'RoleCode': 'Principal Investigator'}
{'Name': 'Virginia Commonwealth University', 'CityName': 'RICHMOND', 'ZipCode': '232849005', 'PhoneNumber': '8048286772', 'StreetAddress': '910 WEST FRANKLIN ST', 'StreetAddress2': None, 'CountryName': 'United States', 'StateName': 'Virginia', 'StateCode': 'VA', 'CONGRESSDISTRICT': '04', 'CONGRESS_DISTRICT_ORG': 'VA04', 'ORG_UEI_NUM': 'MLQFL4JSSAA9', 'ORG_LGL_BUS_NAME': 'VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY', 'ORG_PRNT_UEI_NUM': None}
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{'Code': '5936', 'Text': 'GERMANY (F.R.G.)'}
{'url': 'https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/download?DownloadFileName=1988&All=true', 'xml': '8822728.xml'}