Mini Arabidopsis Multi-Start Puzzle, showing the structure from the first of five Zhang lab templates.
Mini Arabidopsis Multi-Start Puzzle is a beginner puzzle. This puzzle is an alignment puzzle.
This puzzle uses five structures generated by the an automatic folding server at the Zhang lab at the University of Michigan. These structures are called templates.
The puzzle starts with the protein in the shape of one of the five Zhang lab templates. Each time you reset the puzzle (via control+R), the next template is applied.
The alignment tool is available on this puzzle. With the alignment tool, you can use partial threading to apply the shape of one or more of the templates to part of the protein. See also The Alignment Tool.
Tools and strategies[]
Try all the templates with at least a brief shake and wiggle.
You can use bands to hold the protein together during the early wiggle.
The rebuild and remix tools can be used to find new shapes for parts of the protein. The recipes Tvdl enhanced DRW 3.0.1 and TvdL DRemixW 3.0.0 are good ways to use these tools, just be prepared to minimize the Foldit window and leave your computer running for a while
You can also mix and match the templates with partial threading.
You're also not required to use any of the templates. You can disregard the shapes and secondary structures from the templates and make your own totally new shape.
Technical stuff[]
Unlike many Foldit proteins, this one is not available in the Protein Data Bank.
You'll find it in the Uniprot archive as id Q3E7K4. The primary structure is listed, but there's no "tertiary" (three-dimensional) structure.
The paper cited in Uniprot was published in 2009, but the shape of this protein has never been determined.
The protein is from the plant Arabidopsis thaliana, or mouse-ear cress. It's believed to regulate the production of starches and proteins in the leaves of the plant.
This puzzle has been posted many times in Foldit. See Puzzle 443 (initial post) for lots of player solutions from 2011.