Cellular structural biology as revealed by cryo-electron tomography

Rossitza N. Irobalieva, Bruno Martins, Ohad Medalia

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

45 Scopus citations

Abstract

Understanding the function of cellular machines requires a thorough analysis of the structural elementsthat underline their function. Electron microscopy (EM) has been pivotal in providing information about cellular ultrastructure, as well as macromolecular organization. Biological materials can be physically fixed by vitrification and imaged with cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) in a close-to-native condition. Using this technique, one can acquire three-dimensional (3D) information about the macromolecular architecture of cells, depict unique cellular states and reconstruct molecular networks. Technical advances over the last fewyears, such as improved sample preparation and electron detection methods, have been instrumental in obtaining data with unprecedented structural details. This presents an exciting opportunity to explore themolecular architecture of both individual cells and multicellular organisms at nanometer to subnanometer resolution. In this Commentary, we focus on the recent developments and in situ applications of cryo-ET to cell and structural biology.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)469-476
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Cell Science
Volume129
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Jan 2016

Keywords

  • Cryo-electron tomography
  • In situ structural determination
  • Macromolecular assemblies

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Cell Biology

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