Exploring molecular landscapes inside cells with in situ cryo-electron tomography

Microbiology Seminar Series

  • Date: May 14, 2018
  • Time: 02:15 PM (Local Time Germany)
  • Speaker: Dr. Ben Engel
  • Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Department of Molecular Structural Biology, Martinsried
  • Location: MPI for Terrestrial Microbiology
  • Room: Lecture hall
  • Host: Dr. Tobias Erb
  • Contact: toerb@mpi-marburg.mpg.de

We are leveraging new advances in cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) to investigate macromolecular complexes within the native cellular environment. Thin slices of vitrified Chlamydomonas reinhardtii cells are prepared by cryo-focused ion beam (cryo-FIB) milling and then imaged by state-of-the-art cryo-ET. The resulting 3D views of cellular volumes have provided new insights into the molecular organization of organelles. In this talk, I will provide an overview of some of our recent studies, touching on proteasome-rich degradation centers, the nuclear pore complex, Golgi COPI coats, and the molecular organization of the chloroplast’s thylakoid membranes and pyrenoid.


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