3.9 A structure of the nucleosome core particle determined by phase-plate cryo-EM.

ABSTRACT: The Volta phase plate is a recently developed electron cryo-microscopy (cryo-EM) device that enables contrast enhancement of biological samples. Here we have evaluated the potential of combining phase-plate imaging and single particle analysis to determine the structure of a small protein-DNA complex. To test the method, we made use of a 200 kDa Nucleosome Core Particle (NCP) reconstituted with 601 DNA for which a high-resolution X-ray crystal structure is known. We find that the phase plate provides a significant contrast enhancement that permits individual NCPs and DNA to be clearly identified in amorphous ice. The refined structure from 26,060 particles has an overall resolution of 3.9 Å and the density map exhibits structural features consistent with the estimated resolution, including

SUBMITTER: Chua EY 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5041491 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature