Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: In cryo-electron microscopy, a set of two-dimensional projections collected from different viewing directions may complicate image processing and subsequent model building if the distribution of these views is non-uniform. View distributions are traditionally represented as color-coded two-dimensional diagrams. However, such diagrams can introduce distortions, are cumbersome to manipulate, store, and compare across datasets; they do not provide a commonly accepted quantitative measure of uniformity. In this work, we propose a method to characterize these angular distributions quantitatively and to represent them as simple one-dimensional curves rather than two-dimensional colored diagrams. The suggested measures could be incorporated into databases such as the EMDB to provide a compact, standardized description of the angular distribution of particle views. Synopsis We propose a numerical measure to quantify the deviation of a cryo-EM 2D view distribution from the uniform one. This approach allows the traditional two-dimensional projection diagrams to be replaced, or completed with simple, easily generated curves that are straightforward to analyze.
Author: Alexandre G. Urzhumtsev
Language: English
Subfield: Structural Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
Awards: G1190173965, Par-delà les frontières, l'Université de Strasbourg, G2255650664, G2290062404, G2659019386, G2694206344, Façonner les talents en formation et en recherche à l'Université de Strasbourg, G2980570810, G3357951378, G3730343, G399734812, G4399195447, Integrative Molecular and Cellular Biology, G471331628, G4779185514, G6136357505, G6803667113, G7240651115, Network of regulatory RNAs across kingdoms and dynamical responses to biotic and abiotic stresses., National instrumentation in cryo electron microscopy, Infrastructure Française pour la Biologie Structurale Intégrée
OpenAlex ID: W7124722893