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The Evolution and the Advantages of MicroED

Brent L Nannenga1, Guanhong Bu1, Dan Shi2

  • 1School for Engineering of Matter, Transport and Energy, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States.

Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences
|January 9, 2019
PubMed

Insights

Microcrystal electron diffraction (MicroED) offers high-resolution protein structure determination by integrating cryo-EM and crystallography. This review covers MicroED

Area of Science:

  • Structural Biology
  • Biophysics
  • Crystallography

Background:

  • Microcrystal electron diffraction (MicroED) combines cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) sample preparation with crystallography data analysis.
  • Initial concerns regarding MicroED focused on dynamic electron scattering inaccuracies.
  • MicroED has successfully determined numerous high-resolution protein crystal structures.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the advancements in MicroED data collection and processing techniques.
  • To discuss the nuances of multiple scattering in protein crystals versus inorganic materials.
  • To highlight the benefits of continuous rotation data collection in MicroED.

Main Methods:

  • Review of MicroED data collection strategies, including continuous rotation.
  • Analysis of electron scattering phenomena in crystalline samples.
  • Comparison of radiation doses in MicroED versus single-particle cryo-EM.

Main Results:

  • Electron scattering inaccuracies have been largely overcome through refined MicroED methods.
  • Continuous rotation data collection offers significant advantages for MicroED.
  • MicroED enables lower radiation doses due to the crystalline nature of samples, facilitating radiation damage studies.

Conclusions:

  • MicroED is a powerful technique for high-resolution structure determination of protein crystals.
  • Understanding and mitigating multiple scattering effects are crucial for accurate MicroED data.
  • The low-dose capabilities of MicroED are valuable for investigating radiation sensitivity in biological macromolecules.
Keywords:
Cryo-EMMicroEDcrystallographydynamic scatteringradiation damage

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