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Single particle macromolecular structure determination via electron microscopy
Author(s) -
Thuman-Commike Pamela A
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
febs letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.593
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1873-3468
pISSN - 0014-5793
DOI - 10.1016/s0014-5793(01)02804-6
Subject(s) - macromolecule , cryo electron microscopy , single particle analysis , macromolecular substances , particle (ecology) , projection (relational algebra) , chemistry , biological system , chemical physics , computer science , algorithm , biology , biochemistry , ecology , aerosol , organic chemistry
Three‐dimensional structure determination of macromolecules and macromolecular complexes is an integral part of understanding biological functions. For large protein and macromolecular complexes structure determination is often performed using electron cryomicroscopy where projection images of individual macromolecular complexes are combined to produce a three‐dimensional reconstruction. Single particle methods have been devised to perform this structure determination for macromolecular complexes with little or no underlying symmetry. These computational methods generally involve an iterative process of aligning unique views of the macromolecular images followed by determination of the angular components that define those views. In this review, this structure determination process is described with the aim of clarifying a seemingly complex structural method.