中国物理B ›› 2018, Vol. 27 ›› Issue (5): 58703-058703.doi: 10.1088/1674-1056/27/5/058703

所属专题: TOPICAL REVIEW — Electron microscopy methods for emergent materials and life sciences

• SPECIAL TOPIC—Recent advances in thermoelectric materials and devices • 上一篇    下一篇

Structural biology revolution led by technical breakthroughs in cryo-electron microscopy

Chang-Cheng Yin(尹长城)   

  1. Department of Biophysics, College of Basic Medicine, Peking University Health Science Center, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China
  • 收稿日期:2017-12-14 修回日期:2018-02-22 出版日期:2018-05-05 发布日期:2018-05-05
  • 通讯作者: Chang-Cheng Yin E-mail:ccyin@hsc.pku.edu.cn
  • 基金资助:
    Project supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant No.2017YFA0504700) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos.31570732 and 31770785).

Structural biology revolution led by technical breakthroughs in cryo-electron microscopy

Chang-Cheng Yin(尹长城)   

  1. Department of Biophysics, College of Basic Medicine, Peking University Health Science Center, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China
  • Received:2017-12-14 Revised:2018-02-22 Online:2018-05-05 Published:2018-05-05
  • Contact: Chang-Cheng Yin E-mail:ccyin@hsc.pku.edu.cn
  • Supported by:
    Project supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant No.2017YFA0504700) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos.31570732 and 31770785).

摘要: Recent technical breakthroughs in cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) revolutionized structural biology, which led to the 2017 Nobel Prize in chemistry being awarded to three scientists, Jacques Dubochet, Joachim Frank, and Richard Henderson, who made groundbreaking contributions to the development of cryo-EM. In this review, I will give a comprehensive review of the developmental history of cryo-EM, the technical aspects of the breakthrough in cryo-EM leading to the structural biology revolution, including electron microscopy, image recording devices and image processing algorithms, and the major scientific achievements by Chinese researchers employing cryo-EM, covering protein complexes involved in or related to gene expression and regulation, protein synthesis and degradation, membrane proteins, immunity, and viruses. Finally, I will give a perspective outlook on the development of cryo-EM in the future.

关键词: cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), structural biology, protein molecular machinery

Abstract: Recent technical breakthroughs in cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) revolutionized structural biology, which led to the 2017 Nobel Prize in chemistry being awarded to three scientists, Jacques Dubochet, Joachim Frank, and Richard Henderson, who made groundbreaking contributions to the development of cryo-EM. In this review, I will give a comprehensive review of the developmental history of cryo-EM, the technical aspects of the breakthrough in cryo-EM leading to the structural biology revolution, including electron microscopy, image recording devices and image processing algorithms, and the major scientific achievements by Chinese researchers employing cryo-EM, covering protein complexes involved in or related to gene expression and regulation, protein synthesis and degradation, membrane proteins, immunity, and viruses. Finally, I will give a perspective outlook on the development of cryo-EM in the future.

Key words: cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), structural biology, protein molecular machinery

中图分类号:  (Biophysical techniques (research methods))

  • 87.80.-y
87.64.Ee (Electron microscopy) 87.15.B- (Structure of biomolecules)