Structural Studies Division, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, CB2 0QH Cambridge, UK.
Structural Studies Division, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, CB2 0QH Cambridge, UK.
Structure. 2023 Nov 2;31(11):1297-1305. doi: 10.1016/j.str.2023.08.015. Epub 2023 Sep 11.
Biological function of macromolecules is closely tied to their cellular location, as well as to interactions with other molecules within the native environment of the cell. Therefore, to obtain detailed mechanistic insights into macromolecular functionality, one of the outstanding targets for structural biology is to produce an atomic-level understanding of the cell. One structural biology technique that has already been used to directly derive atomic models of macromolecules from cells, without any additional external information, is electron cryotomography (cryoET). In this perspective article, we discuss possible routes to chart the molecular landscape of the cell by advancing cryoET imaging as well as by embedding cryoET into correlative imaging workflows.
生物大分子的生物学功能与其在细胞中的位置密切相关，也与其在细胞内天然环境中与其他分子的相互作用有关。因此，为了深入了解生物大分子的功能机制，结构生物学的一个突出目标是获得对细胞的原子水平的理解。一种已经被用于直接从细胞中获得生物大分子原子模型的结构生物学技术是电子晶体学断层扫描（cryoET）。在这篇观点文章中，我们讨论了通过推进 cryoET 成像以及将 cryoET 嵌入相关成像工作流程来绘制细胞分子图谱的可能途径。
