1
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Lander GC. Single particle cryo-EM map and model validation: It's not crystal clear. Curr Opin Struct Biol 2024; 89:102918. [PMID: 39293191 DOI: 10.1016/j.sbi.2024.102918] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2024] [Revised: 08/23/2024] [Accepted: 08/25/2024] [Indexed: 09/20/2024]
Abstract
The application of single particle cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) to structure determination continues to have a transformative impact on our understanding on biological systems. While there has been a great deal of algorithmic development focused on improving attainable resolutions and streamlining atomic model building, there has not been commensurate development of validation metrics to ensure the accuracy of our cryo-EM maps and models. This review emphasizes the persistent issues that currently complicate single particle cryo-EM structure validation, and highlights the metrics that are gaining broad acceptance by the community. This article aims to underscore the need for further development of validation criteria and the potential role of machine learning methodologies in confidently assessing the quality of cryo-EM structures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriel C Lander
- Dept. of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, Scripps Research, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
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2
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Villamayor-Belinchón L, Sharma P, Gordiyenko Y, Llácer JL, Hussain T. Structural basis of AUC codon discrimination during translation initiation in yeast. Nucleic Acids Res 2024:gkae737. [PMID: 39193907 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkae737] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2024] [Revised: 08/08/2024] [Accepted: 08/27/2024] [Indexed: 08/29/2024] Open
Abstract
In eukaryotic translation initiation, the 48S preinitiation complex (PIC) scans the 5' untranslated region of mRNAs to search for the cognate start codon (AUG) with assistance from various eukaryotic initiation factors (eIFs). Cognate start codon recognition is precise, rejecting near-cognate codons with a single base difference. However, the structural basis of discrimination of near-cognate start codons was not known. We have captured multiple yeast 48S PICs with a near-cognate AUC codon at the P-site, revealing that the AUC codon induces instability in the codon-anticodon at the P-site, leading to a disordered N-terminal tail of eIF1A. Following eIF1 dissociation, the N-terminal domain of eIF5 fails to occupy the vacant eIF1 position, and eIF2β becomes flexible. Consequently, 48S with an AUC codon is less favourable for initiation. Furthermore, we observe hitherto unreported metastable states of the eIF2-GTP-Met-tRNAMet ternary complex, where the eIF2β helix-turn-helix domain may facilitate eIF5 association by preventing eIF1 rebinding to 48S PIC. Finally, a swivelled head conformation of 48S PIC appears crucial for discriminating incorrect and selection of the correct codon-anticodon pair during translation initiation.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Prafful Sharma
- Developmental Biology and Genetics, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore-560012, India
| | | | - Jose L Llácer
- Instituto de Biomedicina de Valencia (IBV-CSIC), Valencia, 46010, Spain
- Centro para Investigación Biomédica en Red sobre Enfermedades Raras CIBERER-ISCIII, Valencia, Spain
| | - Tanweer Hussain
- Developmental Biology and Genetics, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore-560012, India
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3
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Zhu D, Cao W, Li J, Wu C, Cao D, Zhang X. Correction of preferred orientation-induced distortion in cryo-electron microscopy maps. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2024; 10:eadn0092. [PMID: 39058771 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adn0092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2023] [Accepted: 06/06/2024] [Indexed: 07/28/2024]
Abstract
Reconstruction maps of cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) exhibit distortion when the cryo-EM dataset is incomplete, usually caused by unevenly distributed orientations. Prior efforts had been attempted to address this preferred orientation problem using tilt-collection strategy and modifications to grids or to air-water interfaces. However, these approaches often require time-consuming experiments, and the effect was always protein dependent. Here, we developed a procedure containing removing misaligned particles and an iterative reconstruction method based on signal-to-noise ratio of Fourier component to correct this distortion by recovering missing data using a purely computational algorithm. This procedure called signal-to-noise ratio iterative reconstruction method (SIRM) was applied on incomplete datasets of various proteins to fix distortion in cryo-EM maps and to a more isotropic resolution. In addition, SIRM provides a better reference map for further reconstruction refinements, resulting in an improved alignment, which ultimately improves map quality and benefits model building.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dongjie Zhu
- National Laboratory of Biomacromolecules, CAS Center for Excellence in Biomacromolecules, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100101 Beijing, China
| | - Weili Cao
- National Laboratory of Biomacromolecules, CAS Center for Excellence in Biomacromolecules, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100101 Beijing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100049 Beijing, China
| | - Junxi Li
- National Laboratory of Biomacromolecules, CAS Center for Excellence in Biomacromolecules, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100101 Beijing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100049 Beijing, China
| | - Chunling Wu
- National Laboratory of Biomacromolecules, CAS Center for Excellence in Biomacromolecules, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100101 Beijing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100049 Beijing, China
| | - Duanfang Cao
- National Laboratory of Biomacromolecules, CAS Center for Excellence in Biomacromolecules, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100101 Beijing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100049 Beijing, China
| | - Xinzheng Zhang
- National Laboratory of Biomacromolecules, CAS Center for Excellence in Biomacromolecules, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100101 Beijing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100049 Beijing, China
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4
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Sanchez-Garcia R, Gaullier G, Cuadra-Troncoso JM, Vargas J. Cryo-EM Map Anisotropy Can Be Attenuated by Map Post-Processing and a New Method for Its Estimation. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:3959. [PMID: 38612769 PMCID: PMC11012471 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25073959] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2024] [Revised: 03/22/2024] [Accepted: 03/26/2024] [Indexed: 04/14/2024] Open
Abstract
One of the most important challenges in cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) is the substantial number of samples that exhibit preferred orientations, which leads to an uneven coverage of the projection sphere. As a result, the overall quality of the reconstructed maps can be severely affected, as manifested by the presence of anisotropy in the map resolution. Several methods have been proposed to measure the directional resolution of maps in tandem with experimental protocols to address the problem of preferential orientations in cryo-EM. Following these works, in this manuscript we identified one potential limitation that may affect most of the existing methods and we proposed an alternative approach to evaluate the presence of preferential orientations in cryo-EM reconstructions. In addition, we also showed that some of the most recently proposed cryo-EM map post-processing algorithms can attenuate map anisotropy, thus offering alternative visualization opportunities for cases affected by moderate levels of preferential orientations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruben Sanchez-Garcia
- Department of Statistics, University of Oxford, 24–29 St Giles’, Oxford OX1 3LB, UK
| | - Guillaume Gaullier
- Department of Chemistry—Ångström, Uppsala University, Box 523, SE 751 20 Uppsala, Sweden;
| | - Jose Manuel Cuadra-Troncoso
- Departamento de Inteligencia Artificial, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, C. Juan del Rosal 16, 28040 Madrid, Spain;
| | - Javier Vargas
- Departamento de Óptica, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Plaza de Ciencias 1, 28040 Madrid, Spain
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5
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Reina-Campos M, Monell A, Ferry A, Luna V, Cheung KP, Galletti G, Scharping NE, Takehara KK, Quon S, Boland B, Lin YH, Wong WH, Indralingam CS, Yeo GW, Chang JT, Heeg M, Goldrath AW. Functional Diversity of Memory CD8 T Cells is Spatiotemporally Imprinted. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.03.20.585130. [PMID: 38585842 PMCID: PMC10996520 DOI: 10.1101/2024.03.20.585130] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/09/2024]
Abstract
Tissue-resident memory CD8 T cells (TRM) kill infected cells and recruit additional immune cells to limit pathogen invasion at barrier sites. Small intestinal (SI) TRM cells consist of distinct subpopulations with higher expression of effector molecules or greater memory potential. We hypothesized that occupancy of diverse anatomical niches imprints these distinct TRM transcriptional programs. We leveraged human samples and a murine model of acute systemic viral infection to profile the location and transcriptome of pathogen-specific TRM cell differentiation at single-transcript resolution. We developed computational approaches to capture cellular locations along three anatomical axes of the small intestine and to visualize the spatiotemporal distribution of cell types and gene expression. TRM populations were spatially segregated: with more effector- and memory-like TRM preferentially localized at the villus tip or crypt, respectively. Modeling ligand-receptor activity revealed patterns of key cellular interactions and cytokine signaling pathways that initiate and maintain TRM differentiation and functional diversity, including different TGFβ sources. Alterations in the cellular networks induced by loss of TGFβRII expression revealed a model consistent with TGFβ promoting progressive TRM maturation towards the villus tip. Ultimately, we have developed a framework for the study of immune cell interactions with the spectrum of tissue cell types, revealing that T cell location and functional state are fundamentally intertwined.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miguel Reina-Campos
- Division of Biological Sciences, Department of Molecular Biology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Alexander Monell
- Division of Biological Sciences, Department of Molecular Biology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Amir Ferry
- Division of Biological Sciences, Department of Molecular Biology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Vida Luna
- Division of Biological Sciences, Department of Molecular Biology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Kitty P. Cheung
- Division of Biological Sciences, Department of Molecular Biology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Giovanni Galletti
- Division of Biological Sciences, Department of Molecular Biology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Nicole E. Scharping
- Division of Biological Sciences, Department of Molecular Biology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Kennidy K. Takehara
- Division of Biological Sciences, Department of Molecular Biology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Sara Quon
- Division of Biological Sciences, Department of Molecular Biology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Brigid Boland
- Department of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Yun Hsuan Lin
- Department of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - William H. Wong
- Department of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | | | - Gene W. Yeo
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - John T. Chang
- Department of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Maximilian Heeg
- Division of Biological Sciences, Department of Molecular Biology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Ananda W. Goldrath
- Division of Biological Sciences, Department of Molecular Biology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
- Allen Institute for Immunology, 615 Westlake Avenue N, Seattle, WA 98109, USA
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6
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Kleywegt GJ, Adams PD, Butcher SJ, Lawson CL, Rohou A, Rosenthal PB, Subramaniam S, Topf M, Abbott S, Baldwin PR, Berrisford JM, Bricogne G, Choudhary P, Croll TI, Danev R, Ganesan SJ, Grant T, Gutmanas A, Henderson R, Heymann JB, Huiskonen JT, Istrate A, Kato T, Lander GC, Lok SM, Ludtke SJ, Murshudov GN, Pye R, Pintilie GD, Richardson JS, Sachse C, Salih O, Scheres SHW, Schroeder GF, Sorzano COS, Stagg SM, Wang Z, Warshamanage R, Westbrook JD, Winn MD, Young JY, Burley SK, Hoch JC, Kurisu G, Morris K, Patwardhan A, Velankar S. Community recommendations on cryoEM data archiving and validation. IUCRJ 2024; 11:140-151. [PMID: 38358351 PMCID: PMC10916293 DOI: 10.1107/s2052252524001246] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2023] [Accepted: 02/06/2024] [Indexed: 02/16/2024]
Abstract
In January 2020, a workshop was held at EMBL-EBI (Hinxton, UK) to discuss data requirements for the deposition and validation of cryoEM structures, with a focus on single-particle analysis. The meeting was attended by 47 experts in data processing, model building and refinement, validation, and archiving of such structures. This report describes the workshop's motivation and history, the topics discussed, and the resulting consensus recommendations. Some challenges for future methods-development efforts in this area are also highlighted, as is the implementation to date of some of the recommendations.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Paul D. Adams
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA
- University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Maya Topf
- Birkbeck, University of London, London, United Kingdom
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Sai J. Ganesan
- University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Ryan Pye
- EMBL-EBI, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Zhe Wang
- EMBL-EBI, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | | | | | - Martyn D. Winn
- Science and Technology Facilities Council, Research Complex at Harwell, Oxon, United Kingdom
| | - Jasmine Y. Young
- RCSB Protein Data Bank, The State University of New Jersey, NJ, USA
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7
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Kleywegt GJ, Adams PD, Butcher SJ, Lawson CL, Rohou A, Rosenthal PB, Subramaniam S, Topf M, Abbott S, Baldwin PR, Berrisford JM, Bricogne G, Choudhary P, Croll TI, Danev R, Ganesan SJ, Grant T, Gutmanas A, Henderson R, Heymann JB, Huiskonen JT, Istrate A, Kato T, Lander GC, Lok SM, Ludtke SJ, Murshudov GN, Pye R, Pintilie GD, Richardson JS, Sachse C, Salih O, Scheres SHW, Schroeder GF, Sorzano COS, Stagg SM, Wang Z, Warshamanage R, Westbrook JD, Winn MD, Young JY, Burley SK, Hoch JC, Kurisu G, Morris K, Patwardhan A, Velankar S. Community recommendations on cryoEM data archiving and validation: Outcomes of a wwPDB/EMDB workshop on cryoEM data management, deposition and validation. ARXIV 2024:arXiv:2311.17640v3. [PMID: 38076521 PMCID: PMC10705588] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2023]
Abstract
In January 2020, a workshop was held at EMBL-EBI (Hinxton, UK) to discuss data requirements for deposition and validation of cryoEM structures, with a focus on single-particle analysis. The meeting was attended by 47 experts in data processing, model building and refinement, validation, and archiving of such structures. This report describes the workshop's motivation and history, the topics discussed, and consensus recommendations resulting from the workshop. Some challenges for future methods-development efforts in this area are also highlighted, as is the implementation to date of some of the recommendations.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Paul D Adams
- Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA and University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | | | - Catherine L Lawson
- RCSB Protein Data Bank, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, USA
| | | | | | | | - Maya Topf
- Birkbeck, University of London, London, UK
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Sai J Ganesan
- University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - John D Westbrook
- RCSB Protein Data Bank, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, USA
| | - Martyn D Winn
- Science and Technology Facilities Council, Research Complex at Harwell, Oxon, UK
| | - Jasmine Y Young
- RCSB Protein Data Bank, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, USA
| | - Stephen K Burley
- RCSB Protein Data Bank, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, USA
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8
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Aiyer S, Baldwin PR, Tan SM, Shan Z, Oh J, Mehrani A, Bowman ME, Louie G, Passos DO, Đorđević-Marquardt S, Mietzsch M, Hull JA, Hoshika S, Barad BA, Grotjahn DA, McKenna R, Agbandje-McKenna M, Benner SA, Noel JAP, Wang D, Tan YZ, Lyumkis D. Overcoming resolution attenuation during tilted cryo-EM data collection. Nat Commun 2024; 15:389. [PMID: 38195598 PMCID: PMC10776679 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-44555-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2023] [Accepted: 12/15/2023] [Indexed: 01/11/2024] Open
Abstract
Structural biology efforts using cryogenic electron microscopy are frequently stifled by specimens adopting "preferred orientations" on grids, leading to anisotropic map resolution and impeding structure determination. Tilting the specimen stage during data collection is a generalizable solution but has historically led to substantial resolution attenuation. Here, we develop updated data collection and image processing workflows and demonstrate, using multiple specimens, that resolution attenuation is negligible or significantly reduced across tilt angles. Reconstructions with and without the stage tilted as high as 60° are virtually indistinguishable. These strategies allowed the reconstruction to 3 Å resolution of a bacterial RNA polymerase with preferred orientation, containing an unnatural nucleotide for studying novel base pair recognition. Furthermore, we present a quantitative framework that allows cryo-EM practitioners to define an optimal tilt angle during data acquisition. These results reinforce the utility of employing stage tilt for data collection and provide quantitative metrics to obtain isotropic maps.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sriram Aiyer
- Laboratory of Genetics, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA
| | - Philip R Baldwin
- Laboratory of Genetics, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Shi Min Tan
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 16 Science Drive 4, Singapore, 117558, Singapore
| | - Zelin Shan
- Laboratory of Genetics, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA
| | - Juntaek Oh
- Division of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Skaggs School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
- College of Pharmacy, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, 02247, Republic of Korea
| | - Atousa Mehrani
- Laboratory of Genetics, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA
| | - Marianne E Bowman
- Jack H. Skirball Center for Chemical Biology and Proteomics, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA
| | - Gordon Louie
- Jack H. Skirball Center for Chemical Biology and Proteomics, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA
| | - Dario Oliveira Passos
- Laboratory of Genetics, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA
| | | | - Mario Mietzsch
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32610, USA
| | - Joshua A Hull
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32610, USA
| | - Shuichi Hoshika
- Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution, 13709 Progress Blvd Box 7, Alachua, FL, 32615, USA
| | - Benjamin A Barad
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA
| | - Danielle A Grotjahn
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA
| | - Robert McKenna
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32610, USA
| | - Mavis Agbandje-McKenna
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32610, USA
| | - Steven A Benner
- Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution, 13709 Progress Blvd Box 7, Alachua, FL, 32615, USA
| | - Joseph A P Noel
- Jack H. Skirball Center for Chemical Biology and Proteomics, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
| | - Dong Wang
- Division of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Skaggs School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
| | - Yong Zi Tan
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 16 Science Drive 4, Singapore, 117558, Singapore.
- Disease Intervention Technology Laboratory (DITL), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 8A Biomedical Grove, Singapore, 138648, Singapore.
- Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 61 Biopolis Drive, Proteos, Singapore, 138673, Republic of Singapore.
| | - Dmitry Lyumkis
- Laboratory of Genetics, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA.
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA.
- Graduate School of Biological Sciences, Section of Molecular Biology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA.
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9
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Vilas JL, Tagare HD. New measures of anisotropy of cryo-EM maps. Nat Methods 2023:10.1038/s41592-023-01874-3. [PMID: 37248387 DOI: 10.1038/s41592-023-01874-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2022] [Accepted: 04/05/2023] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
We propose two new measures of resolution anisotropy for cryogenic electron microscopy maps: Fourier shell occupancy (FSO), and the Bingham test (BT). FSO varies from 1 to 0, with 1 representing perfect isotropy, and lower values indicating increasing anisotropy. The threshold FSO = 0.5 occurs at Fourier shell correlation resolution. BT is a hypothesis test that complements the FSO to ensure the existence of anisotropy. FSO and BT allow visualization of resolution anisotropy. We illustrate their use with different experimental cryogenic electron microscopy maps.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jose-Luis Vilas
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
| | - Hemant D Tagare
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
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10
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Liu J, McRae EKS, Zhang M, Geary C, Andersen ES, Ren G. Tertiary structure of single-instant RNA molecule reveals folding landscape. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.05.19.541511. [PMID: 37292713 PMCID: PMC10245749 DOI: 10.1101/2023.05.19.541511] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
The folding of RNA and protein molecules during their synthesis is a crucial self-assembly process that nature employs to convert genetic information into the complex molecular machinery that supports life. Misfolding events are the cause of several diseases, and the folding pathway of central biomolecules, such as the ribosome, is strictly regulated by programmed maturation processes and folding chaperones. However, the dynamic folding processes are challenging to study because current structure determination methods heavily rely on averaging, and existing computational methods do not efficiently simulate non-equilibrium dynamics. Here we utilize individual-particle cryo-electron tomography (IPET) to investigate the folding landscape of a rationally designed RNA origami 6-helix bundle that undergoes slow maturation from a "young" to "mature" conformation. By optimizing the IPET imaging and electron dose conditions, we obtain 3D reconstructions of 120 individual particles at resolutions ranging from 23-35 Å, enabling us first-time to observe individual RNA helices and tertiary structures without averaging. Statistical analysis of 120 tertiary structures confirms the two main conformations and suggests a possible folding pathway driven by helix-helix compaction. Studies of the full conformational landscape reveal both trapped states, misfolded states, intermediate states, and fully compacted states. The study provides novel insight into RNA folding pathways and paves the way for future studies of the energy landscape of molecular machines and self-assembly processes.
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11
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Burley SK, Berman HM, Chiu W, Dai W, Flatt JW, Hudson BP, Kaelber JT, Khare SD, Kulczyk AW, Lawson CL, Pintilie GD, Sali A, Vallat B, Westbrook JD, Young JY, Zardecki C. Electron microscopy holdings of the Protein Data Bank: the impact of the resolution revolution, new validation tools, and implications for the future. Biophys Rev 2022; 14:1281-1301. [PMID: 36474933 PMCID: PMC9715422 DOI: 10.1007/s12551-022-01013-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2022] [Accepted: 11/06/2022] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
As a discipline, structural biology has been transformed by the three-dimensional electron microscopy (3DEM) "Resolution Revolution" made possible by convergence of robust cryo-preservation of vitrified biological materials, sample handling systems, and measurement stages operating a liquid nitrogen temperature, improvements in electron optics that preserve phase information at the atomic level, direct electron detectors (DEDs), high-speed computing with graphics processing units, and rapid advances in data acquisition and processing software. 3DEM structure information (atomic coordinates and related metadata) are archived in the open-access Protein Data Bank (PDB), which currently holds more than 11,000 3DEM structures of proteins and nucleic acids, and their complexes with one another and small-molecule ligands (~ 6% of the archive). Underlying experimental data (3DEM density maps and related metadata) are stored in the Electron Microscopy Data Bank (EMDB), which currently holds more than 21,000 3DEM density maps. After describing the history of the PDB and the Worldwide Protein Data Bank (wwPDB) partnership, which jointly manages both the PDB and EMDB archives, this review examines the origins of the resolution revolution and analyzes its impact on structural biology viewed through the lens of PDB holdings. Six areas of focus exemplifying the impact of 3DEM across the biosciences are discussed in detail (icosahedral viruses, ribosomes, integral membrane proteins, SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins, cryogenic electron tomography, and integrative structure determination combining 3DEM with complementary biophysical measurement techniques), followed by a review of 3DEM structure validation by the wwPDB that underscores the importance of community engagement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen K. Burley
- Research Collaboratory for Structural Bioinformatics Protein Data Bank, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854 USA
- Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854 USA
- Cancer Institute of New Jersey, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ 08901 USA
- Research Collaboratory for Structural Bioinformatics Protein Data Bank, San Diego Supercomputer Center, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093 USA
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 174 Frelinghuysen Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854 USA
| | - Helen M. Berman
- Research Collaboratory for Structural Bioinformatics Protein Data Bank, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854 USA
- Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854 USA
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 174 Frelinghuysen Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854 USA
| | - Wah Chiu
- Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA USA
- Division of CryoEM and Bioimaging, SSRL, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Stanford University, Menlo Park, CA USA
| | - Wei Dai
- Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854 USA
- Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854 USA
| | - Justin W. Flatt
- Research Collaboratory for Structural Bioinformatics Protein Data Bank, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854 USA
- Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854 USA
| | - Brian P. Hudson
- Research Collaboratory for Structural Bioinformatics Protein Data Bank, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854 USA
- Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854 USA
| | - Jason T. Kaelber
- Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854 USA
| | - Sagar D. Khare
- Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854 USA
- Cancer Institute of New Jersey, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ 08901 USA
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 174 Frelinghuysen Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854 USA
| | - Arkadiusz W. Kulczyk
- Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854 USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08901 USA
| | - Catherine L. Lawson
- Research Collaboratory for Structural Bioinformatics Protein Data Bank, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854 USA
- Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854 USA
| | | | - Andrej Sali
- Research Collaboratory for Structural Bioinformatics Protein Data Bank, Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Quantitative Biosciences Institute, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158 USA
| | - Brinda Vallat
- Research Collaboratory for Structural Bioinformatics Protein Data Bank, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854 USA
- Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854 USA
- Cancer Institute of New Jersey, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ 08901 USA
| | - John D. Westbrook
- Research Collaboratory for Structural Bioinformatics Protein Data Bank, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854 USA
- Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854 USA
- Cancer Institute of New Jersey, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ 08901 USA
| | - Jasmine Y. Young
- Research Collaboratory for Structural Bioinformatics Protein Data Bank, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854 USA
- Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854 USA
| | - Christine Zardecki
- Research Collaboratory for Structural Bioinformatics Protein Data Bank, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854 USA
- Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854 USA
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12
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Sorzano COS, Vilas JL, Ramírez-Aportela E, Krieger J, Del Hoyo D, Herreros D, Fernandez-Giménez E, Marchán D, Macías JR, Sánchez I, Del Caño L, Fonseca-Reyna Y, Conesa P, García-Mena A, Burguet J, García Condado J, Méndez García J, Martínez M, Muñoz-Barrutia A, Marabini R, Vargas J, Carazo JM. Image processing tools for the validation of CryoEM maps. Faraday Discuss 2022; 240:210-227. [PMID: 35861059 DOI: 10.1039/d2fd00059h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
The number of maps deposited in public databases (Electron Microscopy Data Bank, EMDB) determined by cryo-electron microscopy has quickly grown in recent years. With this rapid growth, it is critical to guarantee their quality. So far, map validation has primarily focused on the agreement between maps and models. From the image processing perspective, the validation has been mostly restricted to using two half-maps and the measurement of their internal consistency. In this article, we suggest that map validation can be taken much further from the point of view of image processing if 2D classes, particles, angles, coordinates, defoci, and micrographs are also provided. We present a progressive validation scheme that qualifies a result validation status from 0 to 5 and offers three optional qualifiers (A, W, and O) that can be added. The simplest validation state is 0, while the most complete would be 5AWO. This scheme has been implemented in a website https://biocomp.cnb.csic.es/EMValidationService/ to which reconstructed maps and their ESI can be uploaded.
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Affiliation(s)
- C O S Sorzano
- Natl. Center of Biotechnology, CSIC, c/Darwin, 3, 28049, Madrid, Spain.
| | - J L Vilas
- Natl. Center of Biotechnology, CSIC, c/Darwin, 3, 28049, Madrid, Spain.
| | | | - J Krieger
- Natl. Center of Biotechnology, CSIC, c/Darwin, 3, 28049, Madrid, Spain.
| | - D Del Hoyo
- Natl. Center of Biotechnology, CSIC, c/Darwin, 3, 28049, Madrid, Spain.
| | - D Herreros
- Natl. Center of Biotechnology, CSIC, c/Darwin, 3, 28049, Madrid, Spain.
| | | | - D Marchán
- Natl. Center of Biotechnology, CSIC, c/Darwin, 3, 28049, Madrid, Spain.
| | - J R Macías
- Natl. Center of Biotechnology, CSIC, c/Darwin, 3, 28049, Madrid, Spain.
| | - I Sánchez
- Natl. Center of Biotechnology, CSIC, c/Darwin, 3, 28049, Madrid, Spain.
| | - L Del Caño
- Natl. Center of Biotechnology, CSIC, c/Darwin, 3, 28049, Madrid, Spain.
| | - Y Fonseca-Reyna
- Natl. Center of Biotechnology, CSIC, c/Darwin, 3, 28049, Madrid, Spain.
| | - P Conesa
- Natl. Center of Biotechnology, CSIC, c/Darwin, 3, 28049, Madrid, Spain.
| | - A García-Mena
- Natl. Center of Biotechnology, CSIC, c/Darwin, 3, 28049, Madrid, Spain.
| | - J Burguet
- Depto. de Óptica, Univ. Complutense de Madrid, Pl. Ciencias, 1, 28040, Madrid, Spain
| | - J García Condado
- Biocruces Bizkaia Instituto Investigación Sanitaria, Cruces Plaza, 48903, Barakaldo, Bizkaia, Spain
| | | | - M Martínez
- Natl. Center of Biotechnology, CSIC, c/Darwin, 3, 28049, Madrid, Spain.
| | - A Muñoz-Barrutia
- Univ. Carlos III de Madrid, Avda. de la Universidad 30, 28911, Leganés, Madrid, Spain
| | - R Marabini
- Escuela Politécnica Superior, Univ. Autónoma de Madrid, CSIC, C. Francisco Tomás y Valiente, 11, 28049, Madrid, Spain
| | - J Vargas
- Depto. de Óptica, Univ. Complutense de Madrid, Pl. Ciencias, 1, 28040, Madrid, Spain
| | - J M Carazo
- Natl. Center of Biotechnology, CSIC, c/Darwin, 3, 28049, Madrid, Spain.
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13
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Abstract
Cryo-electron microscopy (CryoEM) has become a vital technique in structural biology. It is an interdisciplinary field that takes advantage of advances in biochemistry, physics, and image processing, among other disciplines. Innovations in these three basic pillars have contributed to the boosting of CryoEM in the past decade. This work reviews the main contributions in image processing to the current reconstruction workflow of single particle analysis (SPA) by CryoEM. Our review emphasizes the time evolution of the algorithms across the different steps of the workflow differentiating between two groups of approaches: analytical methods and deep learning algorithms. We present an analysis of the current state of the art. Finally, we discuss the emerging problems and challenges still to be addressed in the evolution of CryoEM image processing methods in SPA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jose Luis Vilas
- Biocomputing Unit, Centro
Nacional de Biotecnologia (CNB-CSIC), Darwin, 3, Campus Universidad Autonoma, 28049 Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain
| | - Jose Maria Carazo
- Biocomputing Unit, Centro
Nacional de Biotecnologia (CNB-CSIC), Darwin, 3, Campus Universidad Autonoma, 28049 Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain
| | - Carlos Oscar S. Sorzano
- Biocomputing Unit, Centro
Nacional de Biotecnologia (CNB-CSIC), Darwin, 3, Campus Universidad Autonoma, 28049 Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain
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14
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He J, Lin P, Chen J, Cao H, Huang SY. Model building of protein complexes from intermediate-resolution cryo-EM maps with deep learning-guided automatic assembly. Nat Commun 2022; 13:4066. [PMID: 35831370 PMCID: PMC9279371 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-31748-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2022] [Accepted: 06/30/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Advances in microscopy instruments and image processing algorithms have led to an increasing number of cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) maps. However, building accurate models into intermediate-resolution EM maps remains challenging and labor-intensive. Here, we propose an automatic model building method of multi-chain protein complexes from intermediate-resolution cryo-EM maps, named EMBuild, by integrating AlphaFold structure prediction, FFT-based global fitting, domain-based semi-flexible refinement, and graph-based iterative assembling on the main-chain probability map predicted by a deep convolutional network. EMBuild is extensively evaluated on diverse test sets of 47 single-particle EM maps at 4.0-8.0 Å resolution and 16 subtomogram averaging maps of cryo-ET data at 3.7-9.3 Å resolution, and compared with state-of-the-art approaches. We demonstrate that EMBuild is able to build high-quality complex structures that are comparably accurate to the manually built PDB structures from the cryo-EM maps. These results demonstrate the accuracy and reliability of EMBuild in automatic model building.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiahua He
- School of Physics and Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of MOE, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, 430074, China
| | - Peicong Lin
- School of Physics and Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of MOE, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, 430074, China
| | - Ji Chen
- School of Physics and Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of MOE, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, 430074, China
| | - Hong Cao
- School of Physics and Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of MOE, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, 430074, China
| | - Sheng-You Huang
- School of Physics and Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of MOE, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, 430074, China.
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15
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Tang TM, Tagare HD. Steerable Near-Quadrature Filter Pairs in Three Dimensions. SIAM JOURNAL ON IMAGING SCIENCES 2022; 15:670-700. [PMID: 36425343 PMCID: PMC9683347 DOI: 10.1137/21m143529x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Steerable filter pairs that are near quadrature have many image processing applications. This paper proposes a new methodology for designing such filters. The key idea is to design steerable filters by minimizing a departure-from-quadrature function. These minimizing filter pairs are almost exactly in quadrature. The polar part of the filters is nonnegative, monotonic, and highly focused around an axis, and asymptotically the filters achieve exact quadrature. These results are established by exploiting a relation between the filters and generalized Hilbert matrices. These near-quadrature filters closely approximate three dimensional Gabor filters. We experimentally verify the asymptotic mathematical results and further demonstrate the use of these filter pairs by efficient calculation of local Fourier shell correlation of cryogenic electron microscopy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tommy M Tang
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Yale University, New Haven, CT USA
| | - Hemant D Tagare
- Departments of Radiology amd Biomedical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, and Statistics and Data Science, Yale University New Haven, CT, USA
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16
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Wang Z, Patwardhan A, Kleywegt GJ. Validation analysis of EMDB entries. Acta Crystallogr D Struct Biol 2022; 78:542-552. [PMID: 35503203 PMCID: PMC9063848 DOI: 10.1107/s205979832200328x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2021] [Accepted: 03/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The Electron Microscopy Data Bank (EMDB) is the central archive of the electron cryo-microscopy (cryo-EM) community for storing and disseminating volume maps and tomograms. With input from the community, EMDB has developed new resources for the validation of cryo-EM structures, focusing on the quality of the volume data alone and that of the fit of any models, themselves archived in the Protein Data Bank (PDB), to the volume data. Based on recommendations from community experts, the validation resources are developed in a three-tiered system. Tier 1 covers an extensive and evolving set of validation metrics, including tried and tested metrics as well as more experimental ones, which are calculated for all EMDB entries and presented in the Validation Analysis (VA) web resource. This system is particularly useful for cryo-EM experts, both to validate individual structures and to assess the utility of new validation metrics. Tier 2 comprises a subset of the validation metrics covered by the VA resource that have been subjected to extensive testing and are considered to be useful for specialists as well as nonspecialists. These metrics are presented on the entry-specific web pages for the entire archive on the EMDB website. As more experience is gained with the metrics included in the VA resource, it is expected that consensus will emerge in the community regarding a subset that is suitable for inclusion in the tier 2 system. Tier 3, finally, consists of the validation reports and servers that are produced by the Worldwide Protein Data Bank (wwPDB) Consortium. Successful metrics from tier 2 will be proposed for inclusion in the wwPDB validation pipeline and reports. The details of the new resource are described, with an emphasis on the tier 1 system. The output of all three tiers is publicly available, either through the EMDB website (tiers 1 and 2) or through the wwPDB ftp sites (tier 3), although the content of all three will evolve over time (fastest for tier 1 and slowest for tier 3). It is our hope that these validation resources will help the cryo-EM community to obtain a better understanding of the quality and of the best ways to assess the quality of cryo-EM structures in EMDB and PDB.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhe Wang
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL–EBI), Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton CB10 1SD, United Kingdom
| | - Ardan Patwardhan
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL–EBI), Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton CB10 1SD, United Kingdom
| | - Gerard J. Kleywegt
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL–EBI), Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton CB10 1SD, United Kingdom
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17
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Sorzano COS, Jiménez-Moreno A, Maluenda D, Martínez M, Ramírez-Aportela E, Krieger J, Melero R, Cuervo A, Conesa J, Filipovic J, Conesa P, del Caño L, Fonseca YC, Jiménez-de la Morena J, Losana P, Sánchez-García R, Strelak D, Fernández-Giménez E, de Isidro-Gómez FP, Herreros D, Vilas JL, Marabini R, Carazo JM. On bias, variance, overfitting, gold standard and consensus in single-particle analysis by cryo-electron microscopy. Acta Crystallogr D Struct Biol 2022; 78:410-423. [PMID: 35362465 PMCID: PMC8972802 DOI: 10.1107/s2059798322001978] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2021] [Accepted: 02/18/2022] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Cryo-electron microscopy (cryoEM) has become a well established technique to elucidate the 3D structures of biological macromolecules. Projection images from thousands of macromolecules that are assumed to be structurally identical are combined into a single 3D map representing the Coulomb potential of the macromolecule under study. This article discusses possible caveats along the image-processing path and how to avoid them to obtain a reliable 3D structure. Some of these problems are very well known in the community. These may be referred to as sample-related (such as specimen denaturation at interfaces or non-uniform projection geometry leading to underrepresented projection directions). The rest are related to the algorithms used. While some have been discussed in depth in the literature, such as the use of an incorrect initial volume, others have received much less attention. However, they are fundamental in any data-analysis approach. Chiefly among them, instabilities in estimating many of the key parameters that are required for a correct 3D reconstruction that occur all along the processing workflow are referred to, which may significantly affect the reliability of the whole process. In the field, the term overfitting has been coined to refer to some particular kinds of artifacts. It is argued that overfitting is a statistical bias in key parameter-estimation steps in the 3D reconstruction process, including intrinsic algorithmic bias. It is also shown that common tools (Fourier shell correlation) and strategies (gold standard) that are normally used to detect or prevent overfitting do not fully protect against it. Alternatively, it is proposed that detecting the bias that leads to overfitting is much easier when addressed at the level of parameter estimation, rather than detecting it once the particle images have been combined into a 3D map. Comparing the results from multiple algorithms (or at least, independent executions of the same algorithm) can detect parameter bias. These multiple executions could then be averaged to give a lower variance estimate of the underlying parameters.
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Affiliation(s)
- C. O. S. Sorzano
- Biocomputing Unit, Centro Nacional de Biotecnologia (CNB-CSIC), Calle Darwin 3, 28049 Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain
| | - A. Jiménez-Moreno
- Biocomputing Unit, Centro Nacional de Biotecnologia (CNB-CSIC), Calle Darwin 3, 28049 Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain
| | - D. Maluenda
- Biocomputing Unit, Centro Nacional de Biotecnologia (CNB-CSIC), Calle Darwin 3, 28049 Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain
| | - M. Martínez
- Biocomputing Unit, Centro Nacional de Biotecnologia (CNB-CSIC), Calle Darwin 3, 28049 Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain
| | - E. Ramírez-Aportela
- Biocomputing Unit, Centro Nacional de Biotecnologia (CNB-CSIC), Calle Darwin 3, 28049 Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain
| | - J. Krieger
- Biocomputing Unit, Centro Nacional de Biotecnologia (CNB-CSIC), Calle Darwin 3, 28049 Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain
| | - R. Melero
- Biocomputing Unit, Centro Nacional de Biotecnologia (CNB-CSIC), Calle Darwin 3, 28049 Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain
| | - A. Cuervo
- Biocomputing Unit, Centro Nacional de Biotecnologia (CNB-CSIC), Calle Darwin 3, 28049 Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain
| | - J. Conesa
- Biocomputing Unit, Centro Nacional de Biotecnologia (CNB-CSIC), Calle Darwin 3, 28049 Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - P. Conesa
- Biocomputing Unit, Centro Nacional de Biotecnologia (CNB-CSIC), Calle Darwin 3, 28049 Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain
| | - L. del Caño
- Biocomputing Unit, Centro Nacional de Biotecnologia (CNB-CSIC), Calle Darwin 3, 28049 Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain
| | - Y. C. Fonseca
- Biocomputing Unit, Centro Nacional de Biotecnologia (CNB-CSIC), Calle Darwin 3, 28049 Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain
| | - J. Jiménez-de la Morena
- Biocomputing Unit, Centro Nacional de Biotecnologia (CNB-CSIC), Calle Darwin 3, 28049 Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain
| | - P. Losana
- Biocomputing Unit, Centro Nacional de Biotecnologia (CNB-CSIC), Calle Darwin 3, 28049 Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain
| | - R. Sánchez-García
- Biocomputing Unit, Centro Nacional de Biotecnologia (CNB-CSIC), Calle Darwin 3, 28049 Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain
| | - D. Strelak
- Biocomputing Unit, Centro Nacional de Biotecnologia (CNB-CSIC), Calle Darwin 3, 28049 Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain
- Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - E. Fernández-Giménez
- Biocomputing Unit, Centro Nacional de Biotecnologia (CNB-CSIC), Calle Darwin 3, 28049 Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain
| | - F. P. de Isidro-Gómez
- Biocomputing Unit, Centro Nacional de Biotecnologia (CNB-CSIC), Calle Darwin 3, 28049 Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain
| | - D. Herreros
- Biocomputing Unit, Centro Nacional de Biotecnologia (CNB-CSIC), Calle Darwin 3, 28049 Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain
| | - J. L. Vilas
- School of Engineering and Applied Science, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520-829, USA
| | - R. Marabini
- Escuela Politecnica Superior, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049 Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain
| | - J. M. Carazo
- Biocomputing Unit, Centro Nacional de Biotecnologia (CNB-CSIC), Calle Darwin 3, 28049 Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain
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18
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Advances in Xmipp for Cryo-Electron Microscopy: From Xmipp to Scipion. Molecules 2021; 26:molecules26206224. [PMID: 34684805 PMCID: PMC8537808 DOI: 10.3390/molecules26206224] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2021] [Revised: 09/28/2021] [Accepted: 09/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Xmipp is an open-source software package consisting of multiple programs for processing data originating from electron microscopy and electron tomography, designed and managed by the Biocomputing Unit of the Spanish National Center for Biotechnology, although with contributions from many other developers over the world. During its 25 years of existence, Xmipp underwent multiple changes and updates. While there were many publications related to new programs and functionality added to Xmipp, there is no single publication on the Xmipp as a package since 2013. In this article, we give an overview of the changes and new work since 2013, describe technologies and techniques used during the development, and take a peek at the future of the package.
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19
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Pursuing High-Resolution Structures of Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors: Lessons Learned from Five Decades. Molecules 2021; 26:molecules26195753. [PMID: 34641297 PMCID: PMC8510392 DOI: 10.3390/molecules26195753] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2021] [Revised: 09/19/2021] [Accepted: 09/20/2021] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Since their discovery, nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) have been extensively studied to understand their function, as well as the consequence of alterations leading to disease states. Importantly, these receptors represent pharmacological targets to treat a number of neurological and neurodegenerative disorders. Nevertheless, their therapeutic value has been limited by the absence of high-resolution structures that allow for the design of more specific and effective drugs. This article offers a comprehensive review of five decades of research pursuing high-resolution structures of nAChRs. We provide a historical perspective, from initial structural studies to the most recent X-ray and cryogenic electron microscopy (Cryo-EM) nAChR structures. We also discuss the most relevant structural features that emerged from these studies, as well as perspectives in the field.
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20
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Sorzano COS, Jiménez-Moreno A, Maluenda D, Ramírez-Aportela E, Martínez M, Cuervo A, Melero R, Conesa JJ, Sánchez-García R, Strelak D, Filipovic J, Fernández-Giménez E, de Isidro-Gómez F, Herreros D, Conesa P, Del Caño L, Fonseca Y, de la Morena JJ, Macías JR, Losana P, Marabini R, Carazo JM. Image Processing in Cryo-Electron Microscopy of Single Particles: The Power of Combining Methods. Methods Mol Biol 2021; 2305:257-289. [PMID: 33950394 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-1406-8_13] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Cryo-electron microscopy has established as a mature structural biology technique to elucidate the three-dimensional structure of biological macromolecules. The Coulomb potential of the sample is imaged by an electron beam, and fast semi-conductor detectors produce movies of the sample under study. These movies have to be further processed by a whole pipeline of image-processing algorithms that produce the final structure of the macromolecule. In this chapter, we illustrate this whole processing pipeline putting in value the strength of "meta algorithms," which are the combination of several algorithms, each one with different mathematical rationale, in order to distinguish correctly from incorrectly estimated parameters. We show how this strategy leads to superior performance of the whole pipeline as well as more confident assessments about the reconstructed structures. The "meta algorithms" strategy is common to many fields and, in particular, it has provided excellent results in bioinformatics. We illustrate this combination using the workflow engine, Scipion.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | - Ana Cuervo
- National Centre for Biotechnology (CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Robert Melero
- National Centre for Biotechnology (CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | | | | | - David Strelak
- National Centre for Biotechnology (CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | | | | | | | | | - Pablo Conesa
- National Centre for Biotechnology (CSIC), Madrid, Spain
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21
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Structure and function at the lipid-protein interface of a pentameric ligand-gated ion channel. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:2100164118. [PMID: 34083441 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2100164118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Although it has long been proposed that membrane proteins may contain tightly bound lipids, their identity, the structure of their binding sites, and their functional and structural relevance have remained elusive. To some extent, this is because tightly bound lipids are often located at the periphery of proteins, where the quality of density maps is usually poorer, and because they may be outcompeted by detergent molecules used during standard purification procedures. As a step toward characterizing natively bound lipids in the superfamily of pentameric ligand-gated ion channels (pLGICs), we applied single-particle cryogenic electron microscopy to fragments of native membrane obtained in the complete absence of detergent-solubilization steps. Because of the heterogeneous lipid composition of membranes in the secretory pathway of eukaryotic cells, we chose to study a bacterial pLGIC (ELIC) expressed in Escherichia coli's inner membrane. We obtained a three-dimensional reconstruction of unliganded ELIC (2.5-Å resolution) that shows clear evidence for two types of tightly bound lipid at the protein-bulk-membrane interface. One of them was consistent with a "regular" diacylated phospholipid, in the cytoplasmic leaflet, whereas the other one was consistent with the tetra-acylated structure of cardiolipin, in the periplasmic leaflet. Upon reconstitution in E. coli polar-lipid bilayers, ELIC retained the functional properties characteristic of members of this superfamily, and thus, the fitted atomic model is expected to represent the (long-debated) unliganded-closed, "resting" conformation of this ion channel. Notably, the addition of cardiolipin to phosphatidylcholine membranes restored the ion-channel activity that is largely lost in phosphatidylcholine-only bilayers.
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22
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Beckers M, Mann D, Sachse C. Structural interpretation of cryo-EM image reconstructions. PROGRESS IN BIOPHYSICS AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2021; 160:26-36. [PMID: 32735944 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2020.07.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2020] [Revised: 07/03/2020] [Accepted: 07/13/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The productivity of single-particle cryo-EM as a structure determination method has rapidly increased as many novel biological structures are being elucidated. The ultimate result of the cryo-EM experiment is an atomic model that should faithfully represent the computed image reconstruction. Although the principal approach of atomic model building and refinement from maps resembles that of the X-ray crystallographic methods, there are important differences due to the unique properties resulting from the 3D image reconstructions. In this review, we discuss the practiced work-flow from the cryo-EM image reconstruction to the atomic model. We give an overview of (i) resolution determination methods in cryo-EM including local and directional resolution variation, (ii) cryo-EM map contrast optimization including complementary map types that can help in identifying ambiguous density features, (iii) atomic model building and (iv) refinement in various resolution regimes including (v) their validation and (vi) discuss differences between X-ray and cryo-EM maps. Based on the methods originally developed for X-ray crystallography, the path from 3D image reconstruction to atomic coordinates has become an integral and important part of the cryo-EM structure determination work-flow that routinely delivers atomic models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maximilian Beckers
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Structural and Computational Biology Unit, Meyerhofstraße 1, 69117, Heidelberg, Germany; Candidate for Joint PhD Degree from EMBL and Heidelberg University, Faculty of Biosciences, Germany; Ernst-Ruska Centre for Microscopy and Spectroscopy with Electrons (ER-C-3/Structural Biology), Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425, Jülich, Germany; JuStruct: Jülich Center for Structural Biology, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425, Jülich, Germany
| | - Daniel Mann
- Ernst-Ruska Centre for Microscopy and Spectroscopy with Electrons (ER-C-3/Structural Biology), Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425, Jülich, Germany; JuStruct: Jülich Center for Structural Biology, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425, Jülich, Germany
| | - Carsten Sachse
- Ernst-Ruska Centre for Microscopy and Spectroscopy with Electrons (ER-C-3/Structural Biology), Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425, Jülich, Germany; JuStruct: Jülich Center for Structural Biology, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425, Jülich, Germany; Chemistry Department, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany.
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23
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Kaur S, Gomez-Blanco J, Khalifa AAZ, Adinarayanan S, Sanchez-Garcia R, Wrapp D, McLellan JS, Bui KH, Vargas J. Local computational methods to improve the interpretability and analysis of cryo-EM maps. Nat Commun 2021; 12:1240. [PMID: 33623015 PMCID: PMC7902670 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-21509-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2020] [Accepted: 01/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) maps usually show heterogeneous distributions of B-factors and electron density occupancies and are typically B-factor sharpened to improve their contrast and interpretability at high-resolutions. However, 'over-sharpening' due to the application of a single global B-factor can distort processed maps causing connected densities to appear broken and disconnected. This issue limits the interpretability of cryo-EM maps, i.e. ab initio modelling. In this work, we propose 1) approaches to enhance high-resolution features of cryo-EM maps, while preventing map distortions and 2) methods to obtain local B-factors and electron density occupancy maps. These algorithms have as common link the use of the spiral phase transformation and are called LocSpiral, LocBSharpen, LocBFactor and LocOccupancy. Our results, which include improved maps of recent SARS-CoV-2 structures, show that our methods can improve the interpretability and analysis of obtained reconstructions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Satinder Kaur
- Departament of Anatomy and Cell Biology, McGill University 3640 Rue University, Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Josue Gomez-Blanco
- Departament of Anatomy and Cell Biology, McGill University 3640 Rue University, Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Ahmad A Z Khalifa
- Departament of Anatomy and Cell Biology, McGill University 3640 Rue University, Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Swathi Adinarayanan
- Departament of Anatomy and Cell Biology, McGill University 3640 Rue University, Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Ruben Sanchez-Garcia
- Biocomputing Unit, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología-CSIC C/Darwin 3, Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain
| | - Daniel Wrapp
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Jason S McLellan
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Khanh Huy Bui
- Departament of Anatomy and Cell Biology, McGill University 3640 Rue University, Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Javier Vargas
- Departmento de Óptica, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
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24
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Ramírez-Aportela E, Maluenda D, Fonseca YC, Conesa P, Marabini R, Heymann JB, Carazo JM, Sorzano COS. FSC-Q: a CryoEM map-to-atomic model quality validation based on the local Fourier shell correlation. Nat Commun 2021; 12:42. [PMID: 33397925 PMCID: PMC7782520 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-20295-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2020] [Accepted: 11/23/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
In recent years, advances in cryoEM have dramatically increased the resolution of reconstructions and, with it, the number of solved atomic models. It is widely accepted that the quality of cryoEM maps varies locally; therefore, the evaluation of the maps-derived structural models must be done locally as well. In this article, a method for the local analysis of the map-to-model fit is presented. The algorithm uses a comparison of two local resolution maps. The first is the local FSC (Fourier shell correlation) between the full map and the model, while the second is calculated between the half maps normally used in typical single particle analysis workflows. We call the quality measure "FSC-Q", and it is a quantitative estimation of how much of the model is supported by the signal content of the map. Furthermore, we show that FSC-Q may be helpful to detect overfitting. It can be used to complement other methods, such as the Q-score method that estimates the resolvability of atoms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erney Ramírez-Aportela
- Biocomputing Unit, National Center for Biotechnology (CSIC), Darwin 3, Campus Univ. Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, 28049, Madrid, Spain.
| | - David Maluenda
- Biocomputing Unit, National Center for Biotechnology (CSIC), Darwin 3, Campus Univ. Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, 28049, Madrid, Spain
| | - Yunior C Fonseca
- Biocomputing Unit, National Center for Biotechnology (CSIC), Darwin 3, Campus Univ. Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, 28049, Madrid, Spain
| | - Pablo Conesa
- Biocomputing Unit, National Center for Biotechnology (CSIC), Darwin 3, Campus Univ. Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, 28049, Madrid, Spain
| | - Roberto Marabini
- Univ. Autónoma de Madrid, Campus Univ. Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, 28049, Madrid, Spain
| | - J Bernard Heymann
- Laboratory of Structural Biology Research, NIAMS, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Jose Maria Carazo
- Biocomputing Unit, National Center for Biotechnology (CSIC), Darwin 3, Campus Univ. Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, 28049, Madrid, Spain.
| | - Carlos Oscar S Sorzano
- Biocomputing Unit, National Center for Biotechnology (CSIC), Darwin 3, Campus Univ. Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, 28049, Madrid, Spain. .,Univ. CEU San Pablo, Campus Urb. Montepríncipe, Boadilla del Monte, 28668, Madrid, Spain.
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25
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Cryo-electron Microscopy Structure, Assembly, and Mechanics Show Morphogenesis and Evolution of Human Picobirnavirus. J Virol 2020; 94:JVI.01542-20. [PMID: 32938763 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.01542-20] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2020] [Accepted: 09/08/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite their diversity, most double-stranded-RNA (dsRNA) viruses share a specialized T=1 capsid built from dimers of a single protein that provides a platform for genome transcription and replication. This ubiquitous capsid remains structurally undisturbed throughout the viral cycle, isolating the genome to avoid triggering host defense mechanisms. Human picobirnavirus (hPBV) is a dsRNA virus frequently associated with gastroenteritis, although its pathogenicity is yet undefined. Here, we report the cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) structure of hPBV at 2.6-Å resolution. The capsid protein (CP) is arranged in a single-shelled, ∼380-Å-diameter T=1 capsid with a rough outer surface similar to that of dsRNA mycoviruses. The hPBV capsid is built of 60 quasisymmetric CP dimers (A and B) stabilized by domain swapping, and only the CP-A N-terminal basic region interacts with the packaged nucleic acids. hPBV CP has an α-helical domain with a fold similar to that of fungal partitivirus CP, with many domain insertions in its C-terminal half. In contrast to dsRNA mycoviruses, hPBV has an extracellular life cycle phase like complex reoviruses, which indicates that its own CP probably participates in cell entry. Using an in vitro reversible assembly/disassembly system of hPBV, we isolated tetramers as possible assembly intermediates. We used atomic force microscopy to characterize the biophysical properties of hPBV capsids with different cargos (host nucleic acids or proteins) and found that the CP N-terminal segment not only is involved in nucleic acid interaction/packaging but also modulates the mechanical behavior of the capsid in conjunction with the cargo.IMPORTANCE Despite intensive study, human virus sampling is still sparse, especially for viruses that cause mild or asymptomatic disease. Human picobirnavirus (hPBV) is a double-stranded-RNA virus, broadly dispersed in the human population, but its pathogenicity is uncertain. Here, we report the hPBV structure derived from cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) and reconstruction methods using three capsid protein variants (of different lengths and N-terminal amino acid compositions) that assemble as virus-like particles with distinct properties. The hPBV near-atomic structure reveals a quasisymmetric dimer as the structural subunit and tetramers as possible assembly intermediates that coassemble with nucleic acids. Our structural studies and atomic force microscopy analyses indicate that hPBV capsids are potentially excellent nanocages for gene therapy and targeted drug delivery in humans.
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26
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Tan YZ, Rubinstein JL. Through-grid wicking enables high-speed cryoEM specimen preparation. ACTA CRYSTALLOGRAPHICA SECTION D-STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY 2020; 76:1092-1103. [PMID: 33135680 DOI: 10.1107/s2059798320012474] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2020] [Accepted: 09/10/2020] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
Blotting times for conventional cryoEM specimen preparation complicate time-resolved studies and lead to some specimens adopting preferred orientations or denaturing at the air-water interface. Here, it is shown that solution sprayed onto one side of a holey cryoEM grid can be wicked through the grid by a glass-fiber filter held against the opposite side, often called the `back', of the grid, producing a film suitable for vitrification. This process can be completed in tens of milliseconds. Ultrasonic specimen application and through-grid wicking were combined in a high-speed specimen-preparation device that was named `Back-it-up' or BIU. The high liquid-absorption capacity of the glass fiber compared with self-wicking grids makes the method relatively insensitive to the amount of sample applied. Consequently, through-grid wicking produces large areas of ice that are suitable for cryoEM for both soluble and detergent-solubilized protein complexes. The speed of the device increases the number of views for a specimen that suffers from preferred orientations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yong Zi Tan
- Molecular Medicine Program, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - John L Rubinstein
- Molecular Medicine Program, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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27
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Melero R, Sorzano COS, Foster B, Vilas JL, Martínez M, Marabini R, Ramírez-Aportela E, Sanchez-Garcia R, Herreros D, del Caño L, Losana P, Fonseca-Reyna YC, Conesa P, Wrapp D, Chacon P, McLellan JS, Tagare HD, Carazo JM. Continuous flexibility analysis of SARS-CoV-2 spike prefusion structures. IUCRJ 2020; 7:S2052252520012725. [PMID: 33063791 PMCID: PMC7553147 DOI: 10.1107/s2052252520012725] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2020] [Accepted: 09/18/2020] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
Using a new consensus-based image-processing approach together with principal component analysis, the flexibility and conformational dynamics of the SARS-CoV-2 spike in the prefusion state have been analysed. These studies revealed concerted motions involving the receptor-binding domain (RBD), N-terminal domain, and subdomains 1 and 2 around the previously characterized 1-RBD-up state, which have been modeled as elastic deformations. It is shown that in this data set there are not well defined, stable spike conformations, but virtually a continuum of states. An ensemble map was obtained with minimum bias, from which the extremes of the change along the direction of maximal variance were modeled by flexible fitting. The results provide a warning of the potential image-processing classification instability of these complicated data sets, which has a direct impact on the interpretability of the results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roberto Melero
- Centro Nacional de Biotecnologia–CSIC, Calle Darwin 3, 28049 Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Brent Foster
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | - José-Luis Vilas
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | - Marta Martínez
- Centro Nacional de Biotecnologia–CSIC, Calle Darwin 3, 28049 Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain
| | - Roberto Marabini
- Centro Nacional de Biotecnologia–CSIC, Calle Darwin 3, 28049 Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain
- Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Calle Francisco Tomás y Valiente 11, 28049 Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Ruben Sanchez-Garcia
- Centro Nacional de Biotecnologia–CSIC, Calle Darwin 3, 28049 Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain
| | - David Herreros
- Centro Nacional de Biotecnologia–CSIC, Calle Darwin 3, 28049 Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain
| | - Laura del Caño
- Centro Nacional de Biotecnologia–CSIC, Calle Darwin 3, 28049 Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain
| | - Patricia Losana
- Centro Nacional de Biotecnologia–CSIC, Calle Darwin 3, 28049 Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Pablo Conesa
- Centro Nacional de Biotecnologia–CSIC, Calle Darwin 3, 28049 Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain
| | - Daniel Wrapp
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA
| | - Pablo Chacon
- Department of Biological Physical Chemistry, Instituto Rocasolano–CSIC, Calle de Serrano 119, 28006 Madrid, Spain
| | - Jason S. McLellan
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA
| | - Hemant D. Tagare
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | - Jose-Maria Carazo
- Centro Nacional de Biotecnologia–CSIC, Calle Darwin 3, 28049 Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain
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28
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Melero R, Sorzano COS, Foster B, Vilas JL, Martínez M, Marabini R, Ramírez-Aportela E, Sanchez-Garcia R, Herreros D, del Caño L, Losana P, Fonseca-Reyna YC, Conesa P, Wrapp D, Chacon P, McLellan JS, Tagare HD, Carazo JM. Continuous flexibility analysis of SARS-CoV-2 Spike prefusion structures. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2020:2020.07.08.191072. [PMID: 32676604 PMCID: PMC7359526 DOI: 10.1101/2020.07.08.191072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
With the help of novel processing workflows and algorithms, we have obtained a better understanding of the flexibility and conformational dynamics of the SARS-CoV-2 spike in the prefusion state. We have re-analyzed previous cryo-EM data combining 3D clustering approaches with ways to explore a continuous flexibility space based on 3D Principal Component Analysis. These advanced analyses revealed a concerted motion involving the receptor-binding domain (RBD), N-terminal domain (NTD), and subdomain 1 and 2 (SD1 & SD2) around the previously characterized 1-RBD-up state, which have been modeled as elastic deformations. We show that in this dataset there are not well-defined, stable, spike conformations, but virtually a continuum of states moving in a concerted fashion. We obtained an improved resolution ensemble map with minimum bias, from which we model by flexible fitting the extremes of the change along the direction of maximal variance. Moreover, a high-resolution structure of a recently described biochemically stabilized form of the spike is shown to greatly reduce the dynamics observed for the wild-type spike. Our results provide new detailed avenues to potentially restrain the spike dynamics for structure-based drug and vaccine design and at the same time give a warning of the potential image processing classification instability of these complicated datasets, having a direct impact on the interpretability of the results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roberto Melero
- Centro Nacional de Biotecnologia-CSIC, C/ Darwin, 3, 28049, Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Brent Foster
- Dept. of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | - José-Luis Vilas
- Dept. of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | - Marta Martínez
- Centro Nacional de Biotecnologia-CSIC, C/ Darwin, 3, 28049, Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain
| | - Roberto Marabini
- Centro Nacional de Biotecnologia-CSIC, C/ Darwin, 3, 28049, Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain
- Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, c/Tomás y Valiente, 11, 28049, Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Ruben Sanchez-Garcia
- Centro Nacional de Biotecnologia-CSIC, C/ Darwin, 3, 28049, Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain
| | - David Herreros
- Centro Nacional de Biotecnologia-CSIC, C/ Darwin, 3, 28049, Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain
| | - Laura del Caño
- Centro Nacional de Biotecnologia-CSIC, C/ Darwin, 3, 28049, Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain
| | - Patricia Losana
- Centro Nacional de Biotecnologia-CSIC, C/ Darwin, 3, 28049, Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Pablo Conesa
- Centro Nacional de Biotecnologia-CSIC, C/ Darwin, 3, 28049, Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain
| | - Daniel Wrapp
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA
| | - Pablo Chacon
- Instituto Rocasolano-CSIC, c/Serrano, 119, 28006, Madrid, Spain
| | - Jason S. McLellan
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA
| | - Hemant D. Tagare
- Dept. of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | - Jose-Maria Carazo
- Centro Nacional de Biotecnologia-CSIC, C/ Darwin, 3, 28049, Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain
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29
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Vilas JL, Heymann JB, Tagare HD, Ramirez-Aportela E, Carazo JM, Sorzano C. Local resolution estimates of cryoEM reconstructions. Curr Opin Struct Biol 2020; 64:74-78. [PMID: 32645578 DOI: 10.1016/j.sbi.2020.06.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2020] [Revised: 05/28/2020] [Accepted: 06/04/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The field of cryoEM has quickly advanced in last years with the new biochemical, technological, methodological and computational developments. It has allowed significant progresses in Structural Biology, typically reaching quasi-atomic resolutions in the reconstructed maps. However, this rapid advance has also generated new questions relevant to resolution estimates. The global resolution metrics and their criteria have been deeply discussed in the last decade, but despite that, it remains as an important issue in the field. Recently, the introduction of local resolution measurements has changed how cryoEM reconstructions are interpreted, providing information about the existence of heterogeneity, flexibility, and angular assignment errors, and using it as a tool to aid in modeling. In this review we revisit the concept of local resolution and the different algorithms in the current state of the art. However, the concept of local resolution is not uniquely defined, and each implementation measures different features. This may lead to inappropriate interpretation of local resolution maps. Hence, a set of good practices is provided in this review to avoid misleading and over-interpretation of the reconstructions.
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Affiliation(s)
- J L Vilas
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, United States
| | - J B Heymann
- Laboratory of Structural Biology Research, National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States
| | - H D Tagare
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, United States
| | - E Ramirez-Aportela
- Biocomputing Unit, Centro Nacional de Biotecnologia (CNB-CSIC), Campus Universidad Autonoma, 28049 Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain
| | - J M Carazo
- Biocomputing Unit, Centro Nacional de Biotecnologia (CNB-CSIC), Campus Universidad Autonoma, 28049 Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain
| | - Cos Sorzano
- Biocomputing Unit, Centro Nacional de Biotecnologia (CNB-CSIC), Campus Universidad Autonoma, 28049 Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain; Univ. San Pablo-CEU, Campus Urb. Monteprincipe, 28668 Boadilla del Monte, Madrid, Spain.
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