= E. Nogales
{c}
<E. Nogales> is the first author of a 1998 study resolving the structure of the alpha–beta <tubulin> <heterodimer>, the building block of <microtubules>. The researchers used <electron crystallography> of <zinc>-induced <tubulin> sheets to obtain a density map at 3.7 angstrom resolution and fit an atomic model to it.<Structure of the alpha beta tubulin dimer by E. Nogales and others>[Abstract; Nature 391, 199–203, 1998; deposited structure 1TUB]{ref}
The two related <protein> subunits had similar overall folds but occupied distinct positions in a <heterodimer>. The model identified a nucleotide-binding region and other structural regions relevant to interactions. It illustrates a practical strategy in <structural biology>: organize a difficult <protein> into a repeatable experimental specimen, measure its scattering or imaging signal, and test a molecular model against that evidence. The specimen here was an induced sheet, so interpreting it as the architecture of an intact cellular <microtubule> requires additional evidence.<Structure of the alpha beta tubulin dimer by E. Nogales and others>[Abstract: zinc-induced sheets, three structural domains and alpha/beta comparison; RCSB 1TUB experimental metadata]{ref}
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