On July 1, 1999, the Research Collaboratory for Structural Bioinformatics (RCSB) will assume the full responsibility for the Protein Data Bank (PDB). The end of the transition period, which was originally slated for October 31, 1999, has been accelerated based upon the success of the transition period to date.
All aspects of the project involving the RCSB, from deposition of structural data, through query and distribution, to long term archival and clean up of original data have proceeded smoothly and because of the cooperation of the RCSB and BNL staff.
Since January 27, 1999, over 800 structures have been deposited at the PDB and processed by the RCSB staff. Virtually all files were fully processed, reviewed by the depositors and put into final format within two weeks of submission. As a result, it has been possible to abandon the need for release of not-fully-processed files (Layer 1) in favor of higher quality data.

The data have been processed using the AutoDep Input Tool (ADIT), a Web-based tool developed by the RCSB. ADIT can also be used by depositors to check the format of a coordinate file, generate valdiation reports about the structure, and deposit the structure in the PDB. ADIT is now available for structure deposition at http://pdb.rutgers.edu/.

Query and distribution of the data are available at the RCSB Web site (http://www.rcsb.org) and ftp archive (ftp://ftp.rcsb.org). Virtually all PDB files designated for immediate distribution have been released within two weeks of submission with the majority of files released within one week. Both users and mirrors can access data from these sites. Phase I of the Web query interface (SearchLite) provides convenient search and analysis capabilities for one or more structures. Phases II and III, which incorporate advanced query options, will appear in the coming months. Mirror sites of the primary archive are currently available at Rutgers and NIST; sites in Europe and Asia are planned.

RCSB principals (left to right): Gary Gilliland, John Westbrook, Helen Berman, Phil Bourne, Phoebe Fagan and Peter Artzburger

Of the data in the PDB prior to the changeover of responsibilities, 2,300 entries have been reprocessed and put into the latest PDB format.

The RCSB is a consortium composed of Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey; the University of California at San Diego; and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The RCSB's PDB is supported by funds from the National Science Foundation, the Office of Biology and Environmental Research at the Department of Energy, and two units of the National Institutes of Health: The National Institute of General Medical Sciences and the National Library of Medicine.
Christine Zardecki

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