View source for Converting AlphaFold3 CIF to PDB

The [https://alphafoldserver.com AlphaFold3 Server] predicts models only in the [[Mmcif format|mmCIF format]] (filename ending '''.cif'''). These files<ref name="best">Each job produces 5 .cif files. The file with a name ending &nbsp; _model_0.cif is one of those with the highest overall [https://alphafoldserver.com/faq pTM quality score]. The pTM quality score is in the corresponding '''_summary_confidences_0.json''' file. Open this file in a [[Help:Plain text editors|text editor]]. Look for the third-from-last line, which begins "ptm": (including the quotes) followed by the overall pTM confidence value. See the FAQ at the [https://alphafoldserver.com AlphaFold3 Server] for how to interpret pTM.</ref> can be visualized & analyzed using ''FirstGlance in Jmol '''version 4.6''''' (or later) available via '''[http://firstglance.jmol.org firstglance.jmol.org]'''. These mmCIF files can also be uploaded to [[iCn3D]], or displayed in [[PyMOL]] or [[ChimeraX]].

Only [http://firstglance.jmol.org FirstGlance in Jmol] and [[iCn3D]] automatically color AlphaFold-predicted models by confidence/[[pLDDT]] correctly ('''{{Font color|blue|blue for high confidence}}, {{Font color|red|red for low confidence}}'''). See [[How_to_predict_structures_with_AlphaFold#Visualizing_Predicted_Structures|Visualizing Predicted Structures]].

FirstGlance also makes it [[FirstGlance/How to get average pLDDT from AlphaFold models|easy to get the average pLDDT]] for any range of residues that you specify.

The original version of this article discussed a method for converting AlphaFold 3 .cif models to .pdb format. ''''That is no longer necessary.'''' ''FirstGlance in Jmol '''version 4.6''''' accepts AlphaFold 3 .cif files directly via drag and drop.

About 5% of the models in the [[wwPDB]] are available only in mmCIF format ("CIF-only"). These are more complicated than AlphaFold models, and are not yet supported by FirstGlance. Support is expected later in 2026.

==Conversion Procedure==

You do not need this procedure to make AlphaFold Server .cif files compatible with FirstGlance in Jmol (see above). You can drop those .cif files directly into the [http://firstglance.jmol.org FrontDoor of FirstGlance].

The procedure below could be used, for example, to convert molecular models in XYZ format to PDB format. Most* CIF-only models from the [[wwPDB]] can also be converted (see ''Caution'' below).
<ol>
<li> Get the Jmol.jar Java application running on your computer by following the instructions at [[Jmol/Application]].
<li> Create a working folder (directory), and put Jmol.jar in it.
<li> Get the .cif file to convert. If you have downloaded a .cif file from the [[wwPDB]], you can skip the next 3 steps.
  <ol type="a">
<li> Download the zip file from the [https://alphafoldserver.com AlphaFold3 Server].
<li> Double-click the zip file to unzip it.
<li> In the newly unzipped folder, find the file with a name ending '''_model_0.cif'''. Drag it into your working folder.<ref name="best">Each job produces 5 .cif files. The file with a name ending &nbsp; _model_0.cif is one of those with the highest overall [https://alphafoldserver.com/faq pTM quality score]. The pTM quality score is in the corresponding '''_summary_confidences_0.json''' file. Open this file in a [[Help:Plain text editors|text editor]]. Look for the third-from-last line, which begins "ptm": (including the quotes) followed by the overall pTM confidence value. See the FAQ at the [https://alphafoldserver.com AlphaFold3 Server] for how to interpret pTM.</ref>
  </ol>
<li> Double-click Jmol.jar to run it.
<li> Drag the .cif file and drop it into the black window of Jmol. The model should appear.
<li> In the white ''Jmol Script Console'', enter the command '''write jobname.pdb''', where ''jobname'' is a unique identifier for this model.
<li> Drag and drop ''jobname.pdb'' into [http://firstglance.jmol.org FirstGlance in Jmol].
</ol>

===Caution: Ligand Names May Be Wrong===

If your .cif file had 5-character ligand codes (instead of or in addition to 3-character ligand codes), conversion will truncate those 5-character codes to their first three characters.
(5-character ligand names were introduced after all 3-character codes were in use.)
For example, the ligand code [https://www.rcsb.org/ligand/A1EJM A1EJM] in [[9l63|9L63]] will be truncated to A1E in the converted PDB file. FirstGlance will handle it correctly except that under ''Ligands and Non-Standard Residues'' (in the Molecule Information Tab), '''the link (=?) will display the wrong chemical structure'''; namely, it will display ligand A1E instead of A1EJM.

To display the chemical structure of a ligand with a 5-character code, go to [http://rcsb.org RCSB.org] and enter the 5-character code into the search slot at the top, then press Enter.

To list all the ligand codes in your .cif file, after dropping the .cif file into the black window of Jmol.jar, enter these two '''bold commands''' in the white window (example is [[9dos]]):

<br>
<span style="color:magenta;">$</span> '''select hetero'''
<br>
94 atoms selected
<br>
<span style="color:magenta;">$</span> '''show residues'''
<br>
<span style="color:blue;">[GOL]501:A
<br>
[A1A8V]502:A
<br>
[A1A8V]501:B
<br>
[A1A8V]501:C
<br>
[A1A8V]501:D</span>

GOL is a 3-character ligand code (for glycerol), and A1A8V is a 5-character ligand code. "501:D" means residue number 501 in chain D.

==See Also==
*[[How to predict structures with AlphaFold]]
*[[AlphaFold/Index]]

==Notes==
<!--<nowiki>*</nowiki>Models with > 99,999 atoms or > 62 chains will not fit in the legacy PDB format.-->
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