Exploring Complexes of Rhodopsin and Binding Partners in Virtual Reality

Protein structures are important for understanding biological processes on the most fundamental level. However, communicating 3D protein structures using 2D projections in publications or presentations does not deliver a complete representation of the important structural components, especially to scientists working outside of structural biology, to students, and to a lay audience.We present our latest structural work characterizing complexes of rhodopsin, the G protein-coupled photoreceptor in found in rod cells, and its binding partners based on structures solved by crystallography or structural models derived from sparse structural data, such as DEER spectroscopy distance measurements. In collaboration with Autodesk Research, we present in an accessible, immersive virtual reality environment to allow attendees to freely explore the important, highlighted structural features to be discussed. The presentation of pre-authored models generated in Autodesk's web-based Molecule Viewer is accessed by entering a URL into a web browser on a smartphone. These structural models can be accessed and explored in virtual reality on any smartphone using provided cardboard virtual reality devices.