Cellular electron cryo tomography and in situ sub-volume averaging reveal the context of microtubule-based processes.

Journal article

Electron cryo-tomography (cryoET) is currently the only technique that allows the direct observation of proteins in their native cellular environment. Sub-volume averaging of electron tomograms offers a route to increase the signal-to-noise of repetitive biological structures, such improving the information content and interpretability of tomograms. We discuss the potential for sub-volume averaging in highlighting and investigating specific processes in situ, focusing on microtubule structure and viral infection. We show that (i) in situ sub-volume averaging from single tomograms can guide and complement segmentation of biological features, (ii) the in situ determination of the structure of individual viruses is possible as they infect a cell, and (iii) novel, transient processes can be imaged with high levels of detail.

Authors: Grange, M; Vasishtan, D; Grünewald, K

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Journal: Journal of Structural Biology
• Volume: 197
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 181-190
• Publication date: 2016-06-01
• Acceptance date: 2016-06-28
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jsb.2016.06.024
• EISSN: 1095-8657
• ISSN: 1047-8477
• Pmid: 27374320
• Language: English
• Keywords: Sub-volume averaging; Electron cryo-microscopy; Adenovirus; Cellular architecture; Cytoskeleton; Retrograde transport; Viral entry; Endocytosis; Microtubules; in situ structure determination; Electron cryo-tomography; Virus trafficking; Dynein