Crystal structure of a monomeric retroviral protease solved by protein folding game players

This article explains an unusual solution to a decade old problem. M-PMV retroviral protease has proved elusive to researchers attempting to deduce its crystal structure. Without good approximate models, determination of actual crystal structure has not been successful. Foldit, a multiplayer computer game that allows players with no biochemical foreknowledge to attempt to solve crystal structures by creating the lowest ground state energy conformations, was used by competing groups in a race to solve the crystal structure of M-PMV. Remarkably, a a group succeeded in three weeks.