Cryoelectron microscopy articles from across Nature Portfolio

An understudied subset of NOD-like receptors are involved in the reproductive system, and their dysfunction can cause infertility. The recently obtained structures of the core subcortical maternal complex assembled around one of them, NLRP5, provide important insight into this building block of early embryo cytoplasmic lattices.

The subcortical maternal complex (SCMC) maintains cleavage of early embryos. Here the authors identify 14-3-3 as a component of the SCMC and show that phosphorylation of TLE6 contributes to 14-3-3 recruitment and stabilization, ensuring mitotic entry in mouse zygotes.

Understanding the antibody response to influenza neuraminidase (NA) can identify protective epitopes. Here, the authors isolate an antibody from an H5N6 infected patient, characterize the epitope on the N6 tetramer, and show that it’s protective in female mice.

The design philosophy, implementation, optimization, and performance evaluation of a cloud-computing platform for data analysis and management in Cryo-EM single particle analysis to achieve a significant reduction in processing time and cost.

Vinca alkaloids, tubulin-binding agents that impair microtubule growth, are widely used in cancer treatment. Here, the authors show that resistance to these drugs is due to Hepatoma up-regulated protein (HURP) competitively binding to the same site on tubulin, countering the drug’s effects.

Kuhm et al. reveal how human guanylate-binding protein 1 (GBP1) dimers self-associate to coat bacterial pathogens and uncover a guanosine triphosphate hydrolase-dependent membrane-remodeling activity of GBP1 that is crucial for intracellular immunity

Bacteria can synthesize and secrete cellulosic polymers using membrane-associated multiprotein complexes consisting of cellulose synthases and accessory subunits. Here, Anso et al. use cryogenic electron microscopy to shed light on the mechanisms underlying accessory subunit recruitment and function within the Bcs macrocomplex for phosphoethanolamine-modified cellulose secretion in E. coli.

An understudied subset of NOD-like receptors are involved in the reproductive system, and their dysfunction can cause infertility. The recently obtained structures of the core subcortical maternal complex assembled around one of them, NLRP5, provide important insight into this building block of early embryo cytoplasmic lattices.

Developing new methods takes passion and a penchant for risk-taking.

Snowflakes, seashells and Romanesco broccoli are striking examples of fractal geometries in nature. A recent study published in Nature defines a set of molecular mechanisms for fractal assembly by identifying a nanometer-scale, regular fractal assembled from a native protein found in blue-green algae that likely arose as an evolutionary accident.