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Updated: Apr 30, 2026

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Published on: October 21, 2014
In cellulo structure determination of a novel cypovirus polyhedrin
Danny Axford1, Xiaoyun Ji2, David I Stuart1
1Diamond Light Source Ltd, Harwell Oxford, Didcot OX11 0DE, England.
None:
This work demonstrates that with the use of a microfocus synchrotron beam the structure of a novel viral polyhedrin could be successfully determined from microcrystals within cells, removing the preparatory step of sample isolation and maintaining a favourable biological environment. The data obtained are of high quality, comparable to that obtained from isolated crystals, and enabled a facile structure determination. A small but significant difference is observed between the unit-cell parameters and the mosaic spread of in cellulo and isolated crystals, suggesting that even these robust crystals are adversely affected by removal from the cell.
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