A method for validating the accuracy of NMR protein structures

We present a method, Accuracy of NMR Structures using Random Coil Index and Rigidity (ANSURR), that measures the accuracy of NMR protein structures. It provides a residue-by-residue comparison of two measures of local rigidity: the Random Coil Index [RCI] (a measure of the extent to which backbone chemical shifts adopt random coil values); and local rigidity predicted by mathematical rigidity theory using the computational method Floppy Inclusion and Rigid Substructure Topology [FIRST], calculated from an NMR structural model. We compare RCI and FIRST using a correlation score (which assesses the location of secondary structure), and an RMSD score (which measures overall rigidity, and mainly assesses hydrogen bond correctness). We test the performance of ANSURR using: (a) structures refined in explicit solvent, which have much better RMSD score than unrefined structures, though similar correlation; (b) decoy structures generated for 89 NMR structures. The experimental NMR structures are usually better, though helical and sheet structures behave differently; (c) conventional predictors of structural accuracy such as number of restraints per residue, restraint violations, energy of structure, RMSD of the ensemble (precision of the calculation), Ramachandran distribution, and clashscore. Comparisons of NMR to crystal structures show that secondary structure is equally accurate in both, but crystal structures tend to be too rigid in loops, whereas NMR structures tend to be too floppy overall.