Color Palettes

A “palette” or ordered series of colors is used to color items sequentially (rainbow) or by values such as density. The ten chains in PDB 5o3l (paired tau filament) have been colored with the commands shown as 2D labels in the images. The first two examples at left use predefined palettes (credit to www.ColorBrewer.org, color specifications and designs by Cynthia A. Brewer, Pennsylvania State University), whereas the third shows specifying colors individually.

B-factor Coloring

Atomic B-factor values are read from PDB and mmCIF input files and assigned as attributes that can be shown with coloring and used in atom specification. This example shows B-factor variation within a structure of the HIV-1 protease bound to an inhibitor (PDB 4hvp). For complete image setup, including positioning, color key, and label, see the command file bfactor.cxc.

Additional color key examples can be found in tutorials: Coloring by Electrostatic Potential, Coloring by Sequence Conservation

More images...