中国物理B ›› 2016, Vol. 25 ›› Issue (1): 18710-018710.doi: 10.1088/1674-1056/25/1/018710

所属专题: TOPICAL REVIEW — 8th IUPAP International Conference on Biological Physics

• TOPICAL REVIEW—8th IUPAP International Conference on Biological Physics • 上一篇    下一篇

Recent technical advancements enabled atomic resolution CryoEM

Xueming Li(李雪明)   

  1. School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
  • 收稿日期:2015-07-13 修回日期:2015-08-31 出版日期:2016-01-05 发布日期:2016-01-05
  • 通讯作者: Xueming Li E-mail:lixueming@tsinghua.edu.cn
  • 基金资助:

    Project supported by Tsinghua-Peking Joint Center for Life Sciences, China

Recent technical advancements enabled atomic resolution CryoEM

Xueming Li(李雪明)   

  1. School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
  • Received:2015-07-13 Revised:2015-08-31 Online:2016-01-05 Published:2016-01-05
  • Contact: Xueming Li E-mail:lixueming@tsinghua.edu.cn
  • Supported by:

    Project supported by Tsinghua-Peking Joint Center for Life Sciences, China

摘要:

With recent breakthroughs in camera and image processing technologies single-particle electron cryo-microscopy (CryoEM) has suddenly gained the attention of structural biologists as a powerful tool able to solve the atomic structures of biological complexes and assemblies. Compared with x-ray crystallography, CryoEM can be applied to partially flexible structures in solution and without the necessity of crystallization, which is especially important for large complexes and assemblies. This review briefly explains several key bottlenecks for atomic resolution CryoEM, and describes the corresponding solutions for these bottlenecks based on the recent technical advancements. The review also aims to provide an overview about the technical differences between its applications in biology and those in material science.

关键词: CryoEM, direct direction detector, electron counting, dose fractionation, three-dimensional classification

Abstract:

With recent breakthroughs in camera and image processing technologies single-particle electron cryo-microscopy (CryoEM) has suddenly gained the attention of structural biologists as a powerful tool able to solve the atomic structures of biological complexes and assemblies. Compared with x-ray crystallography, CryoEM can be applied to partially flexible structures in solution and without the necessity of crystallization, which is especially important for large complexes and assemblies. This review briefly explains several key bottlenecks for atomic resolution CryoEM, and describes the corresponding solutions for these bottlenecks based on the recent technical advancements. The review also aims to provide an overview about the technical differences between its applications in biology and those in material science.

Key words: CryoEM, direct direction detector, electron counting, dose fractionation, three-dimensional classification

中图分类号:  (Electron microscopy)

  • 87.64.Ee
87.80.-y (Biophysical techniques (research methods)) 87.15.B- (Structure of biomolecules)