Metal–organic frameworks(MOFs) are crystalline porous materials with tunable properties, exhibiting great potential in gas adsorption, separation and catalysis.[1,2]It is challenging to visualize MOFs with transmissi...Metal–organic frameworks(MOFs) are crystalline porous materials with tunable properties, exhibiting great potential in gas adsorption, separation and catalysis.[1,2]It is challenging to visualize MOFs with transmission electron microscopy(TEM) due to their inherent instability under electron beam irradiation. Here, we employ cryo-electron microscopy(cryoEM) to capture images of MOF ZIF-8, revealing inverted-space structural information at a resolution of up to about 1.7A and enhancing its critical electron dose to around 20 e^(-)/A^(2). In addition, it is confirmed by electron-beam irradiation experiments that the high voltage could effectively mitigate the radiolysis, and the structure of ZIF-8 is more stable along the [100] direction under electron beam irradiation. Meanwhile, since the high-resolution electron microscope images are modulated by contrast transfer function(CTF) and it is difficult to determine the positions corresponding to the atomic columns directly from the images. We employ image deconvolution to eliminate the impact of CTF and obtain the structural images of ZIF-8. As a result, the heavy atom Zn and the organic imidazole ring within the organic framework can be distinguished from structural images.展开更多
Heterogeneity of biological samples is usually considered a major obstacle for three-dimensional (3D) structure determination of macromolecular complexes. Heterogeneity may occur at the level of composition or conform...Heterogeneity of biological samples is usually considered a major obstacle for three-dimensional (3D) structure determination of macromolecular complexes. Heterogeneity may occur at the level of composition or conformational variability of complexes and affects most 3D structure determination methods that rely on signal averaging. Here, an approach is described that allows sorting structural states based on a 3D statistical approach, the 3D sampling and classification (3D-SC) of 3D structures derived from single particles imaged by cryo electron microscopy (cryo-EM). The method is based on jackknifing & bootstrapping of 3D sub-ensembles and 3D multivariate statistical analysis followed by 3D classification. The robustness of the statistical sorting procedure is corroborated using model data from an RNA polymerase structure and experimental data from a ribosome complex. It allows resolving multiple states within heterogeneous complexes that thus become amendable for a structural analysis despite of their highly flexible nature. The method has important implications for high-resolution structural studies and allows describing structure ensembles to provide insights into the dynamics of multi-component macromolecular assemblies.展开更多
The cell mechanical features are largely regulated by actin cytokeleton. By analyzing the mechanical features, it is possible to evaluate the characteristics of the complicated actin cytoskeleton in diverse cell types...The cell mechanical features are largely regulated by actin cytokeleton. By analyzing the mechanical features, it is possible to evaluate the characteristics of the complicated actin cytoskeleton in diverse cell types. In this study, we examined the sub-membrane mechanical structures of normal fibroblasts TIG-1 cells, and cervical cancer Hela cells using local elasticity mapping method of atomic force microscope. Especially we aimed at clarifying the regulatory mechanisms of sub-membrane actin structures in these cells by activation of actomyosin formation using calyculin A. This technique revealed that TIG-1 and Hela cells bore clearly different sub-membrane mechanical structures. TIG-1 cells had aligned stiff filamentous structures, whereas Hela cells had crooked and relatively soft filaments. The surface stiffness of TIG-1 cells increased slightly by actomyosin formation due to stiffness increase of the aligned filamentous structures. On the other hand, the surface stiffness of Hela cells increased by actomyosin formation due to upregulation of the apical actin filaments. Therefore, the structural and regulatory differences of the apical actin filaments could be demonstrated by atomic force microscopy elasticity mapping analysis.展开更多
Recent technical breakthroughs in cryo-electron microscopy（cryo-EM） revolutionized structural biology, which led to the 2017 Nobel Prize in chemistry being awarded to three scientists, Jacques Dubochet, Joachim Fran...Recent technical breakthroughs in cryo-electron microscopy（cryo-EM） revolutionized structural biology, which led to the 2017 Nobel Prize in chemistry being awarded to three scientists, Jacques Dubochet, Joachim Frank, and Richard Henderson, who made groundbreaking contributions to the development of cryo-EM. In this review, I will give a comprehensive review of the developmental history of cryo-EM, the technical aspects of the breakthrough in cryo-EM leading to the structural biology revolution, including electron microscopy, image recording devices and image processing algorithms,and the major scientific achievements by Chinese researchers employing cryo-EM, covering protein complexes involved in or related to gene expression and regulation, protein synthesis and degradation, membrane proteins, immunity, and viruses.Finally, I will give a perspective outlook on the development of cryo-EM in the future.展开更多
Traditionally,optical microscopy is used to visualize the morphological features of pathogenic bacteria,of which the features are further used for the detection and ident ification of the bacteria.However,due to the r...Traditionally,optical microscopy is used to visualize the morphological features of pathogenic bacteria,of which the features are further used for the detection and ident ification of the bacteria.However,due to the resolution limitation of conventional optical microscopy as well as the lack of standard pattern library for bacteria identification,the ffectiveness of this optical microscopy-based method is limited.Here,we reported a pilot study on a combined use of Structured Illumination Microscopy(SIM)with machine learning for rapid bacteria identification.After applying machine learning to the SIM image datasets from three model bacteria(including Escherichia coli,Mycobacterium smegmatis,and Pseudomonas aeruginosa),we obtained a classifcation accuracy of up to 98%.This study points out a promising possibility for rapid bacterial identification by morphological features.展开更多
Cryo-electron microscopy makes use of transmission electron microscopy to image vitrified biological samples and reconstruct their three-dimensional structures from two-dimensional projections via computational approa...Cryo-electron microscopy makes use of transmission electron microscopy to image vitrified biological samples and reconstruct their three-dimensional structures from two-dimensional projections via computational approaches. After over40 years of development, this technique is now reaching its zenith and reforming the research paradigm of modern structural biology. It has been gradually taking over X-ray crystallography as the mainstream method. In this review, we briefly introduce the history of cryo-EM, recent technical development and its potential power to reveal dynamic structures. The technical barriers and possible approaches to tackle the upcoming challenges are discussed.展开更多
Large and well ordered two dimensional (2D) crystals of the light harvesting chlorophyll a/b protein complexes (LHC II) from cucumber and spinach chloroplasts were produced by the so called batch method. The two dimen...Large and well ordered two dimensional (2D) crystals of the light harvesting chlorophyll a/b protein complexes (LHC II) from cucumber and spinach chloroplasts were produced by the so called batch method. The two dimensional structures of these crystals were examined at about 1.5 nm resolution by electron microscopy and image processing. The projection maps showed that there were similar, but not identical, structure features between two different LHC II complexes. A comparison between 2D crystal formations of the two different LHC II complexes was done and some factors affecting 2D crystallization of the membrane proteins were analyzed. The relations of the structures of the LHC II complexes to their polypeptide components and Chl a/b ratio were also discussed.展开更多
Cryo-electron microscopy and image reconstruction were used to determine the three-dimensional structure of Infectious flacherie virus (IFV). 5047 particles were selected for the final reconstruction. The FSC curve sh...Cryo-electron microscopy and image reconstruction were used to determine the three-dimensional structure of Infectious flacherie virus (IFV). 5047 particles were selected for the final reconstruction. The FSC curve showed that the resolution of this capsid structure was 18 ·. The structure is a psuedo T=3 (P=3) icosahedral capsid with a diameter of 302.4 · and a single shell thickness of 15 ·. The density map showed that IFV has a smooth surface without any prominent protrude or depression. Comparison of the IFV structure with those of the insect picorna-like virus-Cricket paralysis virus (CrPV)and human picornavirus-Human rhinovirus 14 (HRV 14) revealed that the IFV structure resembles the CrPV structure. The "Rossmann canyon" is absent in both IFV and CrPV particles. The polypeptide topology of IFV VP2, IFV VP3 was predicted and the subunit location at the capsid surface was further analyzed.展开更多
Structured illumination microscopy(SIM)is one of the powerful super-resolution modalities in bioscience with the advantages of full-field imaging and high photon efficiency.However,artifact-free super-resolution image...Structured illumination microscopy(SIM)is one of the powerful super-resolution modalities in bioscience with the advantages of full-field imaging and high photon efficiency.However,artifact-free super-resolution image reconstruction requires precise knowledge about the illumination parameters.The sample-and environment-dependent on-the-fly experimental parameters need to be retrieved a posteriori from the acquired data,posing a major challenge for real-time,long-term live-cell imaging,where low photobleaching,phototoxicity,and light dose are a must.In this work,we present an efficient and robust SIM algorithm based on principal component analysis(PCA-SIM).PCA-SIM is based on the observation that the ideal phasor matrix of a SIM pattern is of rank one,leading to the low complexity,precise identification of noninteger pixel wave vector and pattern phase while rejecting components that are unrelated to the parameter estimation.We demonstrate that PCA-SIM achieves non-iteratively fast,accurate(below 0.01-pixel wave vector and 0.1%of 2 relative phase under typical noise level),and robust parameter estimation at low SNRs,which allows real-time super-resolution imaging of live cells in complicated experimental scenarios where other state-of-the-art methods inevitably fail.In particular,we provide the open-source MATLAB toolbox of our PCA-SIM algorithm and associated datasets.The combination of iteration-free reconstruction,robustness to noise,and limited computational complexity makes PCA-SIM a promising method for high-speed,long-term,artifact-free super-resolution imaging of live cells.展开更多
RNA molecules serve a wide range of functions that are closely linked to their structures.The basic structural units of RNA consist of single-and double-stranded regions.In order to carry out advanced functions such a...RNA molecules serve a wide range of functions that are closely linked to their structures.The basic structural units of RNA consist of single-and double-stranded regions.In order to carry out advanced functions such as catalysis and ligand binding,certain types of RNAs can adopt higher-order structures.The analysis of RNA structures has progressed alongside advancements in structural biology techniques,but it comes with its own set of challenges and corresponding solutions.In this review,we will discuss recent advances in RNA structure analysis techniques,including structural probing methods,X-ray crystallography,nuclear magnetic resonance,cryo-electron microscopy,and small-angle X-ray scattering.Often,a combination of multiple techniques is employed for the integrated analysis of RNA structures.We also survey important RNA structures that have been recently determined using various techniques.展开更多
基金Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.12074409 and 12374021)。
文摘Metal–organic frameworks(MOFs) are crystalline porous materials with tunable properties, exhibiting great potential in gas adsorption, separation and catalysis.[1,2]It is challenging to visualize MOFs with transmission electron microscopy(TEM) due to their inherent instability under electron beam irradiation. Here, we employ cryo-electron microscopy(cryoEM) to capture images of MOF ZIF-8, revealing inverted-space structural information at a resolution of up to about 1.7A and enhancing its critical electron dose to around 20 e^(-)/A^(2). In addition, it is confirmed by electron-beam irradiation experiments that the high voltage could effectively mitigate the radiolysis, and the structure of ZIF-8 is more stable along the [100] direction under electron beam irradiation. Meanwhile, since the high-resolution electron microscope images are modulated by contrast transfer function(CTF) and it is difficult to determine the positions corresponding to the atomic columns directly from the images. We employ image deconvolution to eliminate the impact of CTF and obtain the structural images of ZIF-8. As a result, the heavy atom Zn and the organic imidazole ring within the organic framework can be distinguished from structural images.
文摘Heterogeneity of biological samples is usually considered a major obstacle for three-dimensional (3D) structure determination of macromolecular complexes. Heterogeneity may occur at the level of composition or conformational variability of complexes and affects most 3D structure determination methods that rely on signal averaging. Here, an approach is described that allows sorting structural states based on a 3D statistical approach, the 3D sampling and classification (3D-SC) of 3D structures derived from single particles imaged by cryo electron microscopy (cryo-EM). The method is based on jackknifing & bootstrapping of 3D sub-ensembles and 3D multivariate statistical analysis followed by 3D classification. The robustness of the statistical sorting procedure is corroborated using model data from an RNA polymerase structure and experimental data from a ribosome complex. It allows resolving multiple states within heterogeneous complexes that thus become amendable for a structural analysis despite of their highly flexible nature. The method has important implications for high-resolution structural studies and allows describing structure ensembles to provide insights into the dynamics of multi-component macromolecular assemblies.
文摘The cell mechanical features are largely regulated by actin cytokeleton. By analyzing the mechanical features, it is possible to evaluate the characteristics of the complicated actin cytoskeleton in diverse cell types. In this study, we examined the sub-membrane mechanical structures of normal fibroblasts TIG-1 cells, and cervical cancer Hela cells using local elasticity mapping method of atomic force microscope. Especially we aimed at clarifying the regulatory mechanisms of sub-membrane actin structures in these cells by activation of actomyosin formation using calyculin A. This technique revealed that TIG-1 and Hela cells bore clearly different sub-membrane mechanical structures. TIG-1 cells had aligned stiff filamentous structures, whereas Hela cells had crooked and relatively soft filaments. The surface stiffness of TIG-1 cells increased slightly by actomyosin formation due to stiffness increase of the aligned filamentous structures. On the other hand, the surface stiffness of Hela cells increased by actomyosin formation due to upregulation of the apical actin filaments. Therefore, the structural and regulatory differences of the apical actin filaments could be demonstrated by atomic force microscopy elasticity mapping analysis.
基金Project supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China(Grant No.2017YFA0504700)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.31570732 and 31770785)
文摘Recent technical breakthroughs in cryo-electron microscopy（cryo-EM） revolutionized structural biology, which led to the 2017 Nobel Prize in chemistry being awarded to three scientists, Jacques Dubochet, Joachim Frank, and Richard Henderson, who made groundbreaking contributions to the development of cryo-EM. In this review, I will give a comprehensive review of the developmental history of cryo-EM, the technical aspects of the breakthrough in cryo-EM leading to the structural biology revolution, including electron microscopy, image recording devices and image processing algorithms,and the major scientific achievements by Chinese researchers employing cryo-EM, covering protein complexes involved in or related to gene expression and regulation, protein synthesis and degradation, membrane proteins, immunity, and viruses.Finally, I will give a perspective outlook on the development of cryo-EM in the future.
基金supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China(Grant No.2017-YFD0500303)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.31371106,91640105)+1 种基金the China Agriculture Research System(No.CARS-36)the Huazhong Agricultural University Scienti¯c and Technological Self-innovation Foundation(Program No.52204-13002).
文摘Traditionally,optical microscopy is used to visualize the morphological features of pathogenic bacteria,of which the features are further used for the detection and ident ification of the bacteria.However,due to the resolution limitation of conventional optical microscopy as well as the lack of standard pattern library for bacteria identification,the ffectiveness of this optical microscopy-based method is limited.Here,we reported a pilot study on a combined use of Structured Illumination Microscopy(SIM)with machine learning for rapid bacteria identification.After applying machine learning to the SIM image datasets from three model bacteria(including Escherichia coli,Mycobacterium smegmatis,and Pseudomonas aeruginosa),we obtained a classifcation accuracy of up to 98%.This study points out a promising possibility for rapid bacterial identification by morphological features.
文摘Cryo-electron microscopy makes use of transmission electron microscopy to image vitrified biological samples and reconstruct their three-dimensional structures from two-dimensional projections via computational approaches. After over40 years of development, this technique is now reaching its zenith and reforming the research paradigm of modern structural biology. It has been gradually taking over X-ray crystallography as the mainstream method. In this review, we briefly introduce the history of cryo-EM, recent technical development and its potential power to reveal dynamic structures. The technical barriers and possible approaches to tackle the upcoming challenges are discussed.
文摘Large and well ordered two dimensional (2D) crystals of the light harvesting chlorophyll a/b protein complexes (LHC II) from cucumber and spinach chloroplasts were produced by the so called batch method. The two dimensional structures of these crystals were examined at about 1.5 nm resolution by electron microscopy and image processing. The projection maps showed that there were similar, but not identical, structure features between two different LHC II complexes. A comparison between 2D crystal formations of the two different LHC II complexes was done and some factors affecting 2D crystallization of the membrane proteins were analyzed. The relations of the structures of the LHC II complexes to their polypeptide components and Chl a/b ratio were also discussed.
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 30370305)the National Basic Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2005CB121003)
文摘Cryo-electron microscopy and image reconstruction were used to determine the three-dimensional structure of Infectious flacherie virus (IFV). 5047 particles were selected for the final reconstruction. The FSC curve showed that the resolution of this capsid structure was 18 ·. The structure is a psuedo T=3 (P=3) icosahedral capsid with a diameter of 302.4 · and a single shell thickness of 15 ·. The density map showed that IFV has a smooth surface without any prominent protrude or depression. Comparison of the IFV structure with those of the insect picorna-like virus-Cricket paralysis virus (CrPV)and human picornavirus-Human rhinovirus 14 (HRV 14) revealed that the IFV structure resembles the CrPV structure. The "Rossmann canyon" is absent in both IFV and CrPV particles. The polypeptide topology of IFV VP2, IFV VP3 was predicted and the subunit location at the capsid surface was further analyzed.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(61905115,62105151,62175109,U21B2033)Leading Technology of Jiangsu Basic Research Plan(BK20192003)+2 种基金Youth Foundation of Jiangsu Province(BK20190445,BK20210338)Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(30920032101)Open Research Fund of Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Spectral Imaging&Intelligent Sense(JSGP202105).
文摘Structured illumination microscopy(SIM)is one of the powerful super-resolution modalities in bioscience with the advantages of full-field imaging and high photon efficiency.However,artifact-free super-resolution image reconstruction requires precise knowledge about the illumination parameters.The sample-and environment-dependent on-the-fly experimental parameters need to be retrieved a posteriori from the acquired data,posing a major challenge for real-time,long-term live-cell imaging,where low photobleaching,phototoxicity,and light dose are a must.In this work,we present an efficient and robust SIM algorithm based on principal component analysis(PCA-SIM).PCA-SIM is based on the observation that the ideal phasor matrix of a SIM pattern is of rank one,leading to the low complexity,precise identification of noninteger pixel wave vector and pattern phase while rejecting components that are unrelated to the parameter estimation.We demonstrate that PCA-SIM achieves non-iteratively fast,accurate(below 0.01-pixel wave vector and 0.1%of 2 relative phase under typical noise level),and robust parameter estimation at low SNRs,which allows real-time super-resolution imaging of live cells in complicated experimental scenarios where other state-of-the-art methods inevitably fail.In particular,we provide the open-source MATLAB toolbox of our PCA-SIM algorithm and associated datasets.The combination of iteration-free reconstruction,robustness to noise,and limited computational complexity makes PCA-SIM a promising method for high-speed,long-term,artifact-free super-resolution imaging of live cells.
基金National Key R&D Program of China(2021YFA1301500,2017YFA0504600,2022YFC2303700,2022YFA1302700,2022YFF1203100)National Natural Science Foundation of China(U1832215,32171191,91940302,32230018 and 32125007)+6 种基金Strategic Priority Research Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences(XDB37010201,XDB0490000)Center for Advanced Interdisciplinary Science and Biomedicine of IHM(QYPY20220019)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(WK9100000032 and WK9100000044)Guangdong Science and Technology Department(2022A1515010328,2020B1212060018 and 2020B1212030004)the Postdoctoral Foundation of Tsinghua-Peking Center for Life Sciences[to J.Z.]the Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Structural Biology[to Q.C.Z.]the Tsinghua-Peking Joint Center for Life Sciences[to Q.C.Z.].
文摘RNA molecules serve a wide range of functions that are closely linked to their structures.The basic structural units of RNA consist of single-and double-stranded regions.In order to carry out advanced functions such as catalysis and ligand binding,certain types of RNAs can adopt higher-order structures.The analysis of RNA structures has progressed alongside advancements in structural biology techniques,but it comes with its own set of challenges and corresponding solutions.In this review,we will discuss recent advances in RNA structure analysis techniques,including structural probing methods,X-ray crystallography,nuclear magnetic resonance,cryo-electron microscopy,and small-angle X-ray scattering.Often,a combination of multiple techniques is employed for the integrated analysis of RNA structures.We also survey important RNA structures that have been recently determined using various techniques.
