Community recommendations on cryoEM data archiving and validation

Area of Science:

• Structural Biology
• Biophysics
• Data Science

Background:

• Cryo-electron microscopy (cryoEM) is a powerful technique for determining the 3D structure of biological macromolecules.
• Standardized data requirements are crucial for the reliable deposition, validation, and archiving of cryoEM structures.
• Previous efforts have highlighted the need for community consensus on best practices in cryoEM data management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To bring together experts to discuss and define data requirements for cryoEM structure deposition and validation.
• To focus on single-particle analysis (SPA) data, a widely used cryoEM method.
• To develop consensus recommendations for improving data quality, reproducibility, and accessibility in the field.

Main Methods:

• Convened a workshop at EMBL-EBI with 47 experts from relevant fields (data processing, model building, refinement, validation, archiving).
• Facilitated discussions on current challenges and future needs in cryoEM data management.
• Documented consensus recommendations and identified areas for future methods development.

Main Results:

• Generated a set of consensus recommendations for data deposition and validation in cryoEM, particularly for SPA.
• Identified key challenges and areas requiring further development in cryoEM data processing and archiving.
• Reported on the initial implementation status of some of the workshop's recommendations.

Conclusions:

• The workshop successfully established a consensus on essential data requirements for cryoEM structures.
• The recommendations aim to enhance the quality, integrity, and usability of structural data in the scientific community.
• Continued efforts in methods development and implementation are necessary to fully realize the benefits of standardized data practices.