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Single-molecule tracking (SMT): a window into live-cell transcription biochemistry. Biochem Soc Trans 2023; 51:557-569. [PMID: 36876879 DOI: 10.1042/bst20221242] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2022] [Revised: 02/15/2023] [Accepted: 02/16/2023] [Indexed: 03/07/2023]
Abstract
How molecules interact governs how they move. Single-molecule tracking (SMT) thus provides a unique window into the dynamic interactions of biomolecules within live cells. Using transcription regulation as a case study, we describe how SMT works, what it can tell us about molecular biology, and how it has changed our perspective on the inner workings of the nucleus. We also describe what SMT cannot yet tell us and how new technical advances seek to overcome its limitations. This ongoing progress will be imperative to address outstanding questions about how dynamic molecular machines function in live cells.
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Milstein JN, Nino DF, Zhou X, Gradinaru CC. Single-molecule counting applied to the study of GPCR oligomerization. Biophys J 2022; 121:3175-3187. [PMID: 35927960 PMCID: PMC9463696 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2022.07.034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2022] [Revised: 06/29/2022] [Accepted: 07/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Single-molecule counting techniques enable a precise determination of the intracellular abundance and stoichiometry of proteins and macromolecular complexes. These details are often challenging to quantitatively assess yet are essential for our understanding of cellular function. Consider G-protein-coupled receptors-an expansive class of transmembrane signaling proteins that participate in many vital physiological functions making them a popular target for drug development. While early evidence for the role of oligomerization in receptor signaling came from ensemble biochemical and biophysical assays, innovations in single-molecule measurements are now driving a paradigm shift in our understanding of its relevance. Here, we review recent developments in single-molecule counting with a focus on photobleaching step counting and the emerging technique of quantitative single-molecule localization microscopy-with a particular emphasis on the potential for these techniques to advance our understanding of the role of oligomerization in G-protein-coupled receptor signaling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua N Milstein
- Department of Physics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Department of Chemical and Physical Sciences, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.
| | - Daniel F Nino
- Department of Chemical and Physical Sciences, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
| | - Xiaohan Zhou
- Department of Physics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Department of Chemical and Physical Sciences, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
| | - Claudiu C Gradinaru
- Department of Physics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Department of Chemical and Physical Sciences, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.
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Boka AP, Mukherjee A, Mir M. Single-molecule tracking technologies for quantifying the dynamics of gene regulation in cells, tissue and embryos. Development 2021; 148:272071. [PMID: 34490887 DOI: 10.1242/dev.199744] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
For decades, we have relied on population and time-averaged snapshots of dynamic molecular scale events to understand how genes are regulated during development and beyond. The advent of techniques to observe single-molecule kinetics in increasingly endogenous contexts, progressing from in vitro studies to living embryos, has revealed how much we have missed. Here, we provide an accessible overview of the rapidly expanding family of technologies for single-molecule tracking (SMT), with the goal of enabling the reader to critically analyse single-molecule studies, as well as to inspire the application of SMT to their own work. We start by overviewing the basics of and motivation for SMT experiments, and the trade-offs involved when optimizing parameters. We then cover key technologies, including fluorescent labelling, excitation and detection optics, localization and tracking algorithms, and data analysis. Finally, we provide a summary of selected recent applications of SMT to study the dynamics of gene regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alan P Boka
- Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics Graduate Group, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Apratim Mukherjee
- Center for Computational and Genomic Medicine, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Mustafa Mir
- Center for Computational and Genomic Medicine, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.,Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
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Zhang Z, Wang Y, Piestun R, Huang ZL. Characterizing and correcting camera noise in back-illuminated sCMOS cameras. OPTICS EXPRESS 2021; 29:6668-6690. [PMID: 33726183 DOI: 10.1364/oe.418684] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2020] [Accepted: 02/08/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
With promising properties of fast imaging speed, large field-of-view, relative low cost and many others, back-illuminated sCMOS cameras have been receiving intensive attention for low light level imaging in the past several years. However, due to the pixel-to-pixel difference of camera noise (called noise non-uniformity) in sCMOS cameras, researchers may hesitate to use them in some application fields, and sometimes wonder whether they should optimize the noise non-uniformity of their sCMOS cameras before using them in a specific application scenario. In this paper, we systematically characterize the impact of different types of sCMOS noise on image quality and perform corrections to these types of sCMOS noise using three representative algorithms (PURE, NCS and MLEsCMOS). We verify that it is possible to use appropriate correction methods to push the non-uniformity of major types of camera noise, including readout noise, offset, and photon response, to a satisfactory level for conventional microscopy and single molecule localization microscopy. We further find out that, after these corrections, global read noise becomes a major concern that limits the imaging performance of back-illuminated sCMOS cameras. We believe this study provides new insights into the understanding of camera noise in back-illuminated sCMOS cameras, and also provides useful information for future development of this promising camera technology.
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Desjardins K, Medjoubi K, Sacchi M, Popescu H, Gaudemer R, Belkhou R, Stanescu S, Swaraj S, Besson A, Vijayakumar J, Pautard S, Noureddine A, Mercère P, Da Silva P, Orsini F, Menneglier C, Jaouen N. Backside-illuminated scientific CMOS detector for soft X-ray resonant scattering and ptychography. JOURNAL OF SYNCHROTRON RADIATION 2020; 27:1577-1589. [PMID: 33147182 DOI: 10.1107/s160057752001262x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2020] [Accepted: 09/16/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The impressive progress in the performance of synchrotron radiation sources is nowadays driven by the so-called `ultimate storage ring' projects which promise an unprecedented improvement in brightness. Progress on the detector side has not always been at the same pace, especially as far as soft X-ray 2D detectors are concerned. While the most commonly used detectors are still based on microchannel plates or CCD technology, recent developments of CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor)-type detectors will play an ever more important role as 2D detectors in the soft X-ray range. This paper describes the capabilities and performance of a camera equipped with a newly commercialized backside-illuminated scientific CMOS (sCMOS-BSI) sensor, integrated in a vacuum environment, for soft X-ray experiments at synchrotron sources. The 4 Mpixel sensor reaches a frame rate of up to 48 frames s-1 while matching the requirements for X-ray experiments in terms of high-intensity linearity (>98%), good spatial homogeneity (<1%), high charge capacity (up to 80 ke-), and low readout noise (down to 2 e- r.m.s.) and dark current (3 e- per second per pixel). Performance evaluations in the soft X-ray range have been carried out at the METROLOGIE beamline of the SOLEIL synchrotron. The quantum efficiency, spatial resolution (24 line-pairs mm-1), energy resolution (<100 eV) and radiation damage versus the X-ray dose (<600 Gy) have been measured in the energy range from 40 to 2000 eV. In order to illustrate the capabilities of this new sCMOS-BSI sensor, several experiments have been performed at the SEXTANTS and HERMES soft X-ray beamlines of the SOLEIL synchrotron: acquisition of a coherent diffraction pattern from a pinhole at 186 eV, a scattering experiment from a nanostructured Co/Cu multilayer at 767 eV and ptychographic imaging in transmission at 706 eV.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Kadda Medjoubi
- Synchrotron SOLEIL, Saint-Aubin, Gif-sur-Yvette, 91192, France
| | - Maurizio Sacchi
- Synchrotron SOLEIL, Saint-Aubin, Gif-sur-Yvette, 91192, France
| | - Horia Popescu
- Synchrotron SOLEIL, Saint-Aubin, Gif-sur-Yvette, 91192, France
| | - Roland Gaudemer
- Synchrotron SOLEIL, Saint-Aubin, Gif-sur-Yvette, 91192, France
| | - Rachid Belkhou
- Synchrotron SOLEIL, Saint-Aubin, Gif-sur-Yvette, 91192, France
| | - Stefan Stanescu
- Synchrotron SOLEIL, Saint-Aubin, Gif-sur-Yvette, 91192, France
| | - Sufal Swaraj
- Synchrotron SOLEIL, Saint-Aubin, Gif-sur-Yvette, 91192, France
| | - Adrien Besson
- Synchrotron SOLEIL, Saint-Aubin, Gif-sur-Yvette, 91192, France
| | | | | | | | - Pascal Mercère
- Synchrotron SOLEIL, Saint-Aubin, Gif-sur-Yvette, 91192, France
| | - Paulo Da Silva
- Synchrotron SOLEIL, Saint-Aubin, Gif-sur-Yvette, 91192, France
| | - Fabienne Orsini
- Synchrotron SOLEIL, Saint-Aubin, Gif-sur-Yvette, 91192, France
| | | | - Nicolas Jaouen
- Synchrotron SOLEIL, Saint-Aubin, Gif-sur-Yvette, 91192, France
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