Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
Nature Research congratulates the awardees of the 2017 Nobel Prize in Chemistry - Jacques Dubochet, Joachim Frank and Richard Henderson. Their pioneering work on the use of cryo-electron microscopy to solve high-resolution structures of biomolecules has provided unprecedented insights into the complexity of life. Here, we present a Collection of Research, Methods, Reviews and Comment pieces from Nature Research to celebrate the award.
Single-particle cryo-electron microscopy has enabled the structures of large proteins to be elucidated. This Perspective discusses technological improvements in this technique, focusing particularly on the past decade and likely future developments.
Single-particle cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) has emerged over the last two decades as a technique capable of studying the structure of challenging systems. The author of this Commentary discusses some of the major historical landmarks in cryo-EM that have led to its present success.
A high-resolution electron cryo-microscopy structure of the rat transient receptor potential (TRP) channel TRPV1 in its ‘closed’ state is presented; the overall structure of this ion channel is found to share some common features with voltage-gated ion channels, although several unique, TRP-specific features are also characterized.
The structures of AMPA receptors in complex with auxiliary proteins are resolved by cryo-electron microscopy, and reveal conformational and permeation pathway changes that are associated with activation and desensitization of ionotropic glutamate receptors.
The 3.7 Å cryo-electron microscopy structure of Zika virus is presented, revealing a typical flavivirus architecture; in contrast to the related flavivirus dengue virus, Zika virus is thermally stable at 40 °C, and this structural stability may be a feature that helps it to survive in semen, saliva and urine.
Single-particle electron cryo-microscopy analysis of the mechanotransduction channel NOMPC reveals that it contains a bundle of four helical spring-shaped ankyrin repeat domains that undergo motion, potentially allowing mechanical movement of the cytoskeleton to be coupled to the opening of the channel.
During protein synthesis within the ribosome, transfer RNAs (tRNAs) move sequentially through different sites as their attached amino acids are transferred onto the growing protein chain. Large conformational movements accompany this process. Here, a staggering 1.9 million electron cryomicroscopy images of the ribosome have been processed to visualize these changes. The results reveal that the ribosome functions as a Brownian machine that couples spontaneous changes driven by thermal energy to directed movement.