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Updated: Oct 6, 2025
Author Spotlight: Investigating the Motion Dynamics of the Eukaryotic Replisome Components at the Single-Molecule Level
Published on: July 26, 2024
In silico reconstitution of DNA replication. Lessons from single-molecule imaging and cryo-tomography applied to
Julia F Greiwe1, Giulia Zanetti2, Thomas C R Miller3
1Macromolecular Machines Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London NW1 1AT, UK.
Abstract:
DNA replication has been reconstituted in vitro with yeast proteins, and the minimal system requires the coordinated assembly of 16 distinct replication factors, consisting of 42 polypeptides. To understand the molecular interplay between these factors at the single residue level, new structural biology tools are being developed. Inspired by advances in single-molecule fluorescence imaging and cryo-tomography, novel single-particle cryo-EM experiments have been used to characterise the structural mechanism for the loading of the replicative helicase. Here, we discuss how in silico reconstitution of single-particle cryo-EM data can help describe dynamic systems that are difficult to approach with conventional three-dimensional classification tools.
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