中国物理B ›› 2018, Vol. 27 ›› Issue (6): 66801-066801.doi: 10.1088/1674-1056/27/6/066801

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

• TOPICAL REVIEW—Electron microscopy methods for the emergent materials and life sciences • 上一篇    下一篇

Towards dynamic structure of biological complexes at atomic resolution by cryo-EM

Kai Zhang(张凯)   

  1. The Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge CB2 0QH, United Kingdom
  • 收稿日期:2018-03-02 修回日期:2018-04-26 出版日期:2018-06-05 发布日期:2018-06-05
  • 通讯作者: Kai Zhang E-mail:kzhang@mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk

Towards dynamic structure of biological complexes at atomic resolution by cryo-EM

Kai Zhang(张凯)   

  1. The Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge CB2 0QH, United Kingdom
  • Received:2018-03-02 Revised:2018-04-26 Online:2018-06-05 Published:2018-06-05
  • Contact: Kai Zhang E-mail:kzhang@mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk

摘要:

Cryo-electron microscopy makes use of transmission electron microscopy to image vitrified biological samples and reconstruct their three-dimensional structures from two-dimensional projections via computational approaches. After over 40 years of development, this technique is now reaching its zenith and reforming the research paradigm of modern structural biology. It has been gradually taking over X-ray crystallography as the mainstream method. In this review, we briefly introduce the history of cryo-EM, recent technical development and its potential power to reveal dynamic structures. The technical barriers and possible approaches to tackle the upcoming challenges are discussed.

关键词: cryo-electron microscopy, protein complexes, three-dimensional reconstruction, dynamic structures, probabilistic conformational spaces

Abstract:

Cryo-electron microscopy makes use of transmission electron microscopy to image vitrified biological samples and reconstruct their three-dimensional structures from two-dimensional projections via computational approaches. After over 40 years of development, this technique is now reaching its zenith and reforming the research paradigm of modern structural biology. It has been gradually taking over X-ray crystallography as the mainstream method. In this review, we briefly introduce the history of cryo-EM, recent technical development and its potential power to reveal dynamic structures. The technical barriers and possible approaches to tackle the upcoming challenges are discussed.

Key words: cryo-electron microscopy, protein complexes, three-dimensional reconstruction, dynamic structures, probabilistic conformational spaces

中图分类号:  (Transmission electron microscopy (TEM))

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