Abstract
Ongoing progress in electron microscopy (EM) offers now an opening to visualize cells at the nanoscale by cryo-electron tomography (ET). Large protein complexes can be resolved at near-atomic resolution by single particle averaging. Some examples from mitochondria and chloroplasts illustrate the possibilities with an emphasis on the membrane organization. Cryo-ET performed on non-chemically fixed, unstained, ice-embedded material can visualize specific large membrane protein complexes. In combination with averaging methods, 3D structures were calculated of mitochondrial ATP synthase at 6 nm resolution and of chloroplast photosystem II at 3.5 nm.
Copyright 2010 Federation of European Biochemical Societies. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Publication types
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Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
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Review
MeSH terms
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Chloroplasts / metabolism
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Chloroplasts / ultrastructure
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Cryoelectron Microscopy / methods
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Electron Microscope Tomography / methods
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Membrane Proteins / metabolism
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Membrane Proteins / ultrastructure
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Microscopy, Electron / methods*
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Mitochondria / metabolism
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Mitochondria / ultrastructure
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Mitochondrial Proteins / metabolism
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Mitochondrial Proteins / ultrastructure
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Multiprotein Complexes / metabolism*
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Multiprotein Complexes / ultrastructure*
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Nanotechnology
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Organelles / metabolism*
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Organelles / ultrastructure*
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Photosystem II Protein Complex / metabolism
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Photosystem II Protein Complex / ultrastructure
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Protein Interaction Domains and Motifs
Substances
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Membrane Proteins
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Mitochondrial Proteins
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Multiprotein Complexes
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Photosystem II Protein Complex