Making protein structure coordinates available

Virtually all journals publishing macromolecular structures now subscribe to the rules of the Commission on Biological Molecules of the IUCr (Acta Cryst.(1989) A45, 658), which require concurrent Protein Data Bank (PDB) deposition of the coordinates, with a possibility of putting them on hold for up to one year (four years for the primary data). Recently, I found papers not accompanied by coordinates in Cell, Nature, Nature Structural Biology, and Biochemistry. Letters to the editors of the former two journals went unanswered, while those of the latter produced responses and deposition of the coordinates. If the major journals which publish crystal structures would agree not to accept papers from authors who published there previously, and did not deposit the coordinates, the problem would disappear. If we write to the editors when we spot the problems, maybe they will act. The current policy may have outlived its usefulness. Delay in the release of coordinates is in most cases unnecessary, and often counterproductive. What justification is there for delays in releases of 19 sets of coordinates of lysozyme currently showing hold status in the PDB? The two common explanations for withholding coordinates are the desire of the original team to have time for full interpretation of their results, or the need to protect commercially valuable information. Modern methods of structure interpretation make the first argument largely obsolete. The commercial argument is perhaps valid for research supported by companies, but should not be invoked for results of research supported by public agencies. Since the funding agencies have adopted IUCr recommendations, it is unlikely that they will disallow holds unless these recommendations get changed. I would like to urge a change in the rules governing deposition of the coordinates, such that the maximum time of the hold would not exceed three months from the date of publication for the coordinates, and 1 year for the original data. This short delay in data release would still allow the authors exclusive time to analyze the results.