Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: Cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) has become a central method for determining structures of molecular assemblies, requiring reliable tools to interpret the density maps. Despite recent advances in AI-driven model building, at intermediate-to-low resolution (4-15 Å) accurate rigid-body fitting of existing atomic structures into cryo-EM maps remains an essential step in the modelling process. Here we present an updated version of our software package PowerFit. It performs an exhaustive translational and rotational search against the cryo-EM density map, implementing sensitive correlation functions. The updated release preserves the fitting accuracy and sensitivity of the original method while substantially improving the computational performance through modernised CPU and GPU implementations. In addition, to facilitate the interpretation of results, it provides an HTML report with interactive 3D visualisation using MolViewSpec. The same HTML report is used to generate the result page when using PowerFit via its web service. The report enables immediate inspection and validation of the results. The software’s accessibility has been enhanced by updating it from Python 2 to Python 3, enabling straightforward installation via the Python Package Index (PyPI) and simple integration into computational pipelines. PowerFit is freely available at https://github.com/haddocking/powerfit , as a web service at https://wenmr.science.uu.nl/powerfit or in JupyterLite directly in a web browser at https://www.bonvinlab.org/powerfit/jupyterlite.html . Highlights Accurate rigid-body fitting of existing atomic models remains an essential step in interpreting density maps at intermediate-to-low resolution. New, updated, much faster version of PowerFit preserving fitting accuracy and sensitivity. Modernised CPU and GPU implementations to improve performance. Interactive HTML report with 3D visualisation and validation of fitting results. Accessible through simplified PyPI installation, as a web service or in JupyterLite directly in a web browser. Graphical Abstract
Institutions: Utrecht University, Netherlands eScience Center
Language: English
Subfield: Structural Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7220380520