Abstract

Normal mode analysis is an effective computational method for studying large-amplitude low-frequency molecular deformations that are ubiquitously involved in the functions of biological macromolecules, especially supermolecular complexes. The recent years have witnessed a substantial advance in methodology development in the field. This review is intended to summarize some of the important advances that enable one to simulate deformations of supermolecular complexes at expended resolution- and length-scales, with particular emphasis on the implications in structural refinement against lowto intermediate-resolution structural data such as those from electron cryomicroscopy and fibre diffraction.

Keywords: harmonic approximation, normal mode analysis, large-scale conformational change, structural refinement