Challenges and Approaches in Visualizing 3D Protein Structures in Molecular Animations for All Audiences

RCSB Protein Data Bank (RCSB PDB) provides access and tools for exploration, visualization, and analysis of >215,000 experimentally determined 3D structures from the Protein Data Bank (PDB) archive and >1 million Computed Structure Models (CSM) from AlphaFold DB and the ModelArchive. As part of its vision, the RCSB PDB builds and supports the broad PDB user community with a wide range of resources for understanding 3D biostructures. Many of these resources are accessible on the educational portal, PDB-101 (pdb101.rcsb.org). With ∼ 5 Million views, PDB-101 molecular animations illustrate to scientists and non-scientists PDB structures “in action” as they fulfill their functions in the cellular context. Examples of molecular animations hosted on the RCSB PDB YouTube channel include How Enzymes Work, Neuronal Signaling and Sodium Potassium Pump, and Penicillin and Antibiotic Resistance. This presentation will discuss the visualization approaches and challenges in creating animations for a narrative story geared for scientific outreach and education and highlighting the importance of structural data in health and disease.