AutoPROC– a framework for automated data processing
Clemens Vonrhein, G. Bricogne · Acta Crystallographica Section A Foundations of Crystallography · 2008
We present automated crystal structure determination platform, Auto-Rickshaw [1], that combines invoking of a number of macromolecular crystallographic software packages with several decision-making steps in between.A large number of structure solution paths are encoded in the system and the optimal path is selected by the decision-makers as the structure solution evolves.The Auto-Rickshaw phasing protocols include SAD, SIRAS, MAD, MR and MRSAD.The primary aim of the pipeline is to validate the crystallographic experiment at the synchrotron site while the crystal is still at or near the beamline.Thus, the system has been optimized for speed, so that typically within a few minutes the answer is provided whether the collected data will be of sufficient quality to allow successful structure determination.The EMBL-Hamburg beamline user have been successfully using this system for a little over three years.It is now available as a web serivce (http:// www.embl-hamburg.de/Auto-Rickshaw) in the structural biology community.An overview of the Auto-Rickshaw pipeline with its design, functionality, decision making and some examples and the way this platform is used as a feedback system for X-ray data collection or validation of X-ray experiment, will be discussed.