Advances in domain and subunit localization technology for electron microscopy

The award of the 2017 Nobel Prize in chemistry, 'for developing cryo-electron microscopy for the high-resolution structure determination of biomolecules in solution', was recognition that this method, and electron microscopy more generally, represent powerful techniques in the scientific armamentarium for atomic level structural assessment. Technical advances in equipment, software, and sample preparation, have allowed for high-resolution structural determination of a range of complex biological machinery such that the position of individual atoms within these mega-structures can be determined. However, not all targets are amenable to attaining such high-resolution structures and some may only be resolved at so-called intermediate resolutions. In these cases, other tools are needed to correctly characterize the domain or subunit orientation and architecture. In this review, we will outline various methods that can provide additional information to help understand the macro-level organization of proteins/biomolecular complexes when high-resolution structural description is not available. In particular, we will discuss the recent development and use of a novel protein purification approach, known as the the PA tag/NZ-1 antibody system, which provides numberous beneficial properties, when used in electron microscopy experimentation.