scholarly journals Structural Study of Heterogeneous Biological Samples by Cryoelectron Microscopy and Image Processing

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. E. White ◽  
A. Ignatiou ◽  
D. K. Clare ◽  
E. V. Orlova
Keyword(s):  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Particle Analysis ◽  
Biological Macromolecules ◽  
Structural Studies ◽  
Structural Variations ◽  
Conformational States ◽  
Basic Principles ◽  
Computing Power ◽  
Living Organisms ◽  
Multiple Conformations

In living organisms, biological macromolecules are intrinsically flexible and naturally exist in multiple conformations. Modern electron microscopy, especially at liquid nitrogen temperatures (cryo-EM), is able to visualise biocomplexes in nearly native conditions and in multiple conformational states. The advances made during the last decade in electronic technology and software development have led to the revelation of structural variations in complexes and also improved the resolution of EM structures. Nowadays, structural studies based on single particle analysis (SPA) suggests several approaches for the separation of different conformational states and therefore disclosure of the mechanisms for functioning of complexes. The task of resolving different states requires the examination of large datasets, sophisticated programs, and significant computing power. Some methods are based on analysis of two-dimensional images, while others are based on three-dimensional studies. In this review, we describe the basic principles implemented in the various techniques that are currently used in the analysis of structural conformations and provide some examples of successful applications of these methods in structural studies of biologically significant complexes.

scholarly journals The Resolution in X-ray Crystallography and Single-Particle Cryogenic Electron Microscopy

Crystals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 580
Author(s):  
Victor R.A. Dubach ◽  
Albert Guskov
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Single Particle ◽  
Signal To Noise Ratio ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Particle Analysis ◽  
Biological Macromolecules ◽  
Single Particle Analysis ◽  
X Ray ◽  
X Ray Crystallography ◽  
The Fourier Transform

X-ray crystallography and single-particle analysis cryogenic electron microscopy are essential techniques for uncovering the three-dimensional structures of biological macromolecules. Both techniques rely on the Fourier transform to calculate experimental maps. However, one of the crucial parameters, resolution, is rather broadly defined. Here, the methods to determine the resolution in X-ray crystallography and single-particle analysis are summarized. In X-ray crystallography, it is becoming increasingly more common to include reflections discarded previously by traditionally used standards, allowing for the inclusion of incomplete and anisotropic reflections into the refinement process. In general, the resolution is the smallest lattice spacing given by Bragg’s law for a particular set of X-ray diffraction intensities; however, typically the resolution is truncated by the user during the data processing based on certain parameters and later it is used during refinement. However, at which resolution to perform such a truncation is not always clear and this makes it very confusing for the novices entering the structural biology field. Furthermore, it is argued that the effective resolution should be also reported as it is a more descriptive measure accounting for anisotropy and incompleteness of the data. In single particle cryo-EM, the situation is not much better, as multiple ways exist to determine the resolution, such as Fourier shell correlation, spectral signal-to-noise ratio and the Fourier neighbor correlation. The most widely accepted is the Fourier shell correlation using a threshold of 0.143 to define the resolution (so-called “gold-standard”), although it is still debated whether this is the correct threshold. Besides, the resolution obtained from the Fourier shell correlation is an estimate of varying resolution across the density map. In reality, the interpretability of the map is more important than the numerical value of the resolution.

scholarly journals Ion Channels in Microbes

2008 ◽  
Vol 88 (4) ◽  
pp. 1449-1490 ◽  
Author(s):  
Boris Martinac ◽  
Yoshiro Saimi ◽  
Ching Kung
Keyword(s):  
Ion Channels ◽  
Biological Macromolecules ◽  
Structural Studies ◽  
Cellular Membranes ◽  
Genome Sequences ◽  
Microbial Cells ◽  
Laboratory Environment ◽  
Evolutionary Relatedness ◽  
Living Organisms ◽  
Multicellular Organisms

Studies of ion channels have for long been dominated by the animalcentric, if not anthropocentric, view of physiology. The structures and activities of ion channels had, however, evolved long before the appearance of complex multicellular organisms on earth. The diversity of ion channels existing in cellular membranes of prokaryotes is a good example. Although at first it may appear as a paradox that most of what we know about the structure of eukaryotic ion channels is based on the structure of bacterial channels, this should not be surprising given the evolutionary relatedness of all living organisms and suitability of microbial cells for structural studies of biological macromolecules in a laboratory environment. Genome sequences of the human as well as various microbial, plant, and animal organisms unambiguously established the evolutionary links, whereas crystallographic studies of the structures of major types of ion channels published over the last decade clearly demonstrated the advantage of using microbes as experimental organisms. The purpose of this review is not only to provide an account of acquired knowledge on microbial ion channels but also to show that the study of microbes and their ion channels may also hold a key to solving unresolved molecular mysteries in the future.

scholarly journals Survey of the analysis of continuous conformational variability of biological macromolecules by electron microscopy

2019 ◽  
Vol 75 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. O. S. Sorzano ◽  
A. Jiménez ◽  
J. Mota ◽  
J. L. Vilas ◽  
D. Maluenda ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Image Processing ◽  
High Resolution ◽  
Conformational Changes ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Particle Analysis ◽  
Biological Macromolecules ◽  
Single Particle Analysis ◽  
Conformational Variability ◽  
Established Technique

Single-particle analysis by electron microscopy is a well established technique for analyzing the three-dimensional structures of biological macromolecules. Besides its ability to produce high-resolution structures, it also provides insights into the dynamic behavior of the structures by elucidating their conformational variability. Here, the different image-processing methods currently available to study continuous conformational changes are reviewed.

scholarly journals Surfactants: physicochemical interactions with biological macromolecules

2021 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 523-535 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Aguirre-Ramírez ◽  
H. Silva-Jiménez ◽  
I. M. Banat ◽  
M. A. Díaz De Rienzo
Keyword(s):  
Pharmaceutical Industry ◽  
Electrostatic Interactions ◽  
The Other ◽  
Biological Macromolecules ◽  
Basic Principles ◽  
Environmental Processes ◽  
Physicochemical Interactions ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Living Organisms ◽  
Cellular Components

AbstractMacromolecules are essential cellular components in biological systems responsible for performing a large number of functions that are necessary for growth and perseverance of living organisms. Proteins, lipids and carbohydrates are three major classes of biological macromolecules. To predict the structure, function, and behaviour of any cluster of macromolecules, it is necessary to understand the interaction between them and other components through basic principles of chemistry and physics. An important number of macromolecules are present in mixtures with surfactants, where a combination of hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions is responsible for the specific properties of any solution. It has been demonstrated that surfactants can help the formation of helices in some proteins thereby promoting protein structure formation. On the other hand, there is extensive research towards the use of surfactants to solubilize drugs and pharmaceuticals; therefore, it is evident that the interaction between surfactants with macromolecules is important for many applications which includes environmental processes and the pharmaceutical industry. In this review, we describe the properties of different types of surfactants that are relevant for their physicochemical interactions with biological macromolecules, from macromolecules–surfactant complexes to hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions.

scholarly journals Directed evolution of bacteriorhodopsin for applications in bioelectronics

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (84) ◽  
pp. 20130197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole L. Wagner ◽  
Jordan A. Greco ◽  
Matthew J. Ranaghan ◽  
Robert R. Birge
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Engineering ◽  
Directed Evolution ◽  
Proton Pump ◽  
Comparative Advantage ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Great Promise ◽  
Biological Macromolecules ◽  
Optical Memories ◽  
Device Applications ◽  
Living Organisms

In nature, biological systems gradually evolve through complex, algorithmic processes involving mutation and differential selection. Evolution has optimized biological macromolecules for a variety of functions to provide a comparative advantage. However, nature does not optimize molecules for use in human-made devices, as it would gain no survival advantage in such cooperation. Recent advancements in genetic engineering, most notably directed evolution, have allowed for the stepwise manipulation of the properties of living organisms, promoting the expansion of protein-based devices in nanotechnology. In this review, we highlight the use of directed evolution to optimize photoactive proteins, with an emphasis on bacteriorhodopsin (BR), for device applications. BR, a highly stable light-activated proton pump, has shown great promise in three-dimensional optical memories, real-time holographic processors and artificial retinas.

scholarly journals Quantitative analysis of 3D alignment quality: its impact on soft-validation, particle pruning and homogeneity analysis

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Vargas ◽  
R. Melero ◽  
J. Gómez-Blanco ◽  
J. M. Carazo ◽  
C. O. S. Sorzano
Keyword(s):  
Signal To Noise Ratio ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Particle Analysis ◽  
Biological Macromolecules ◽  
Single Particles ◽  
Homogeneity Analysis ◽  
Cryo Electron Microscopy ◽  
Alignment Process ◽  
Projection Images ◽  
Map Resolution

AbstractSingle Particle Analysis using cryo-electron microscopy is a structural biology technique to capture the three-dimensional conformation of biological macromolecules. The projection images used to construct the 3D density map are characterized by a very low signal-to-noise ratio to minimize radiation damage in the samples. As a consequence, the 3D alignment process is a challenging and error prone task and this job usually determines the success or failure of the macromolecule reconstruction. In this work, we present a soft-alignment validation approach, which can quantify the alignment precision and accuracy as well as the data homogeneity of the single particles when they are confronted with the resultant reconstructed 3DEM map. We have also applied this method to data homogeneity analysis and particle pruning, improving the data quality and as a consequence the final map resolution.

scholarly journals Snapshots of single particles from single cells using electron microscopy

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiunan Yi ◽  
Eric J. Verbeke ◽  
Yiran Chang ◽  
Daniel J. Dickinson ◽  
David W. Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Single Particle ◽  
Protein Complexes ◽  
Signal To Noise Ratio ◽  
Single Cells ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Particle Analysis ◽  
Biological Macromolecules ◽  
Single Particle Analysis ◽  
Whole Cells

AbstractCryo-electron microscopy has become an indispensable tool for structural studies of biological macromolecules. There are two predominant methods for studying the architectures of multi-protein complexes: (1) single particle analysis of purified samples and (2) tomography of whole cells or cell sections. The former can produce high-resolution structures but is limited to highly purified samples, while the latter can capture proteins in their native state but is hindered by a low signal-to-noise ratio and results in lower-resolution structures. Here, we present a method combining microfluidic single cell extraction with single particle analysis by electron microscopy to characterize protein complexes from individual C. elegans embryos. Using this approach, we uncover three-dimensional structures of ribosomes directly from single embryo extracts. In addition, we investigate structural dynamics during development by counting the number of ribosomes per polysome in early and late embyros. This approach has significant potential applications for counting protein complexes and studying protein architectures from single cells in developmental, evolutionary and disease contexts.

Ribosome Structural Organization

1974 ◽  
Vol 32 ◽  
pp. 332-333
Author(s):  
James A. Lake
Keyword(s):  
Ribosomal Proteins ◽  
Structural Organization ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Small Subunit ◽  
Structural Studies ◽  
X Ray Diffraction ◽  
Specific Antibodies ◽  
X Ray ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Complete Sequences

The understanding of ribosome structure has advanced considerably in the last several years. Biochemists have characterized the constituent proteins and rRNA's of ribosomes. Complete sequences have been determined for some ribosomal proteins and specific antibodies have been prepared against all E. coli small subunit proteins. In addition, a number of naturally occuring systems of three dimensional ribosome crystals which are suitable for structural studies have been observed in eukaryotes. Although the crystals are, in general, too small for X-ray diffraction, their size is ideal for electron microscopy.

Angular Calibration of Ribosomal Subuntts in Factor Space

1990 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 462-463
Author(s):  
Minakhi Pujari ◽  
Joachim Frank
Keyword(s):  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Carbon Layer ◽  
Uranyl Acetate ◽  
Particle Analysis ◽  
Factor Space ◽  
Multivariate Statistical ◽  
Ribosomal Subunits ◽  
Layer Method ◽  
Dimensional Reconstruction ◽  
Number Of Particles

In single-particle analysis of macromolecule images with the electron microscope, variations of projections are often observed that can be attributed to the changes of the particle’s orientation on the specimen grid (“rocking”). In the multivariate statistical analysis (MSA) of such projections, a single factor is often found that expresses a large portion of these variations. Successful angle calibration of this “rocking factor” would mean that correct angles can be assigned to a large number of particles, thus facilitating three-dimensional reconstruction.In a study to explore angle calibration in factor space, we used 40S ribosomal subunits, which are known to rock around an axis approximately coincident with their long axis. We analyzed micrographs of a field of these particles, taken with 20° tilt and without tilt, using the standard methods of alignment and MSA. The specimen was prepared with the double carbon-layer method, using uranyl acetate for negative staining. In the MSA analysis, the untilted-particle projections were used as active, the tilted-particle projections as inactive objects. Upon tilting, those particles whose rocking axes are parallel to the tilt axis will change their appearance in the same way as under the influence of rocking. Therefore, each vector, in factor space, joining a tilted and untilted projection of the same particle can be regarded as a local 20-degree calibration bar.

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