Work

Single-particle reconstruction of biological macromolecules in electron microscopy – 30 years

Year: 2009

Type: review

Abstract: This essay gives the autho's personal account on the development of concepts underlying single-particle reconstruction, a technique in electron microscopy of macromolecular assemblies with a remarkable record of achievements as of late. The ribosome proved to be an ideal testing ground for the development of specimen preparation methods, cryo-EM techniques, and algorithms, with discoveries along the way as a rich reward. Increasingly, cryo-EM and single-particle reconstruction, in combination with classification techniques, is revealing dynamic information on functional molecular machines uninhibited by molecular contacts.

Source: Quarterly Reviews of Biophysics

DOI: 10.1017/s0033583509990059

Author: Joachim Frank

Institutions: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Columbia University

Language: English

Topic: Advanced Electron Microscopy Techniques and Applications

Subfield: Structural Biology

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: bronze

Funders: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of General Medical Sciences

Awards: Structural Analysis of Macromolecular Assemblies, STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS OF MACROMOLECULAR ASSEMBLY, G9000014357