Protein crystallization in the structural genomics era.

There are five broad areas where noteworthy advances have occurred in the field of macromolecular crystallization in the past 10 years, though some areas have seen the major part of those advances in only the last two years. This is largely a consequence of the international structural genomics initiative and its early results. The five areas are: (1) Physical studies and characterization of the protein crystallization process; (2) Development of new practical approaches and procedures; (3) The implementation of protein engineering by genetic means to enhance both purification and crystallization; (4) The creation of new screening conditions based on information and databases emerging from structural genomics; and (5) Development and implementation of automation, robotics, and mass screening of crystallization conditions using very small amounts of protein. A brief summary is provided here of the progress in the past few years and the influence of the structural genomics project.