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Cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) continues its remarkable growth as a method for visualizing biological objects, which has been driven by advances across the entire pipeline. Developments in both single-particle analysis and in situ tomography have enabled more structures to be imaged and determined to better resolutions, at faster speeds, and with more scientists having improved access. This review highlights recent advances at each stageof the cryo-EM pipeline and provides examples of how these techniques have been used to investigate real-world problems, including antibody development against the SARS-CoV-2 spike during the recent COVID-19 pandemic.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev-biochem-032620-110705 | DOI Listing |
Plant Cell Physiol
September 2025
Biostructural Mechanism Laboratory, RIKEN SPring-8 Center, 1-1-1 Kouto, Sayo, Hyogo 679-5148, Japan.
Phycobilisome (PBS) is a water-soluble light-harvesting supercomplex found in cyanobacteria, glaucophytes, and rhodophytes. PBS interacts with photosynthetic reaction centers, specifically photosystems II and I (PSII and PSI), embedded in the thylakoid membrane. It is widely accepted that PBS predominantly associates with PSII, which functions as the initial complex in the linear electron transport chain.
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September 2025
Institute of Anatomy, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland. Electronic address:
Cryo-electron tomography (cryoET) provides 3D datasets of organelles and proteins at nanometer and sub-nanometer resolution. However, locating target proteins in live cells remains a significant challenge. Conventional labeling methods, such as fluorescent protein tagging and immunogold labeling, are unsuitable for small structures in vitrified samples at molecular resolution.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMol Pharmacol
August 2025
Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Biomedical Research Center Seltersberg, Justus Liebig University of Giessen, Giessen, Germany. Electronic address:
The myristoylated preS1 domain (myr-preS1) of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) large surface protein is essential for binding to the receptor protein, Na/taurocholate co-transporting polypeptide (NTCP), and for the subsequent internalization of the virus-receptor complex. NTCP, which is expressed in hepatocytes, plays a physiological role in hepatic bile acid transport. Recent cryo-electron microscopy structures of the myr-preS1-NTCP complex were used to analyze virus-receptor interactions at the molecular level.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLangmuir
September 2025
School of Light Industry Science and Engineering, Beijing Technology and Business University, Beijing 100048, People's Republic of China.
The study of the self-assembly of surfactants in aqueous solutions, though a traditional field, remains fascinating and full of novelty. In this article, the anionic perfluorodecanoic acid surfactant (PFA) is separately complexed with three hydroxyalkylamines (monoethanolamine (MEA), diethylamine (DEA), and triethanolamine (TEA)) in aqueous solutions. The transformation of aggregate morphologies from spherical unilamellar to nanotubes and then to spherical bilamellar is observed at room temperature, which is confirmed by cryo-transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProc Natl Acad Sci U S A
September 2025
Martin A. Fisher School of Physics, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA 02453.
Programmable self-assembly has recently enabled the creation of complex structures through precise control of the interparticle interactions and the particle geometries. Targeting ever more structurally complex, dynamic, and functional assemblies necessitates going beyond the design of the structure itself, to the measurement and control of the local flexibility of the intersubunit connections and its impact on the collective mechanics of the entire assembly. In this study, we demonstrate a method to infer the mechanical properties of multisubunit assemblies using cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) and RELION's multi-body refinement.
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