RT Journal Article
T1 Local computational methods to improve the interpretability and analysis of cryo-EM maps
A1 Kaur, Satinder
A1 Gómez Blanco, Josué
A1 Khalifa, Ahmad A. Z
A1 Adinarayanan, Swathi
A1 Sánchez García, Rubén
A1 Wrapp, Daniel
A1 McLellan, Jason S.
A1 Bui, Khanh Huy
A1 Vargas Balbuena, Javier
AB Cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) maps usually show heterogeneous distributions of B-factors and electron density occupancies and are typically B-factor sharpened to improve their contrast and interpretability at high-resolutions. However, 'over-sharpening' due to the application of a single global B-factor can distort processed maps causing connected densities to appear broken and disconnected. This issue limits the interpretability of cryo-EM maps, i.e. ab initio modelling. In this work, we propose 1) approaches to enhance high-resolution features of cryo-EM maps, while preventing map distortions and 2) methods to obtain local B-factors and electron density occupancy maps. These algorithms have as common link the use of the spiral phase transformation and are called LocSpiral, LocBSharpen, LocBFactor and LocOccupancy. Our results, which include improved maps of recent SARS-CoV-2 structures, show that our methods can improve the interpretability and analysis of obtained reconstructions. Here, the authors present two local methods for analyzing cryo-EM maps: LocSpiral and LocBSharpen that enhance high-resolution features of cryoEM maps, while preventing map distortions. They also introduce LocBFactor and LocOccupancy, which allow obtaining local B-factors and electron density occupancy maps from cryo-EM reconstructions and the authors demonstrate that these methods improve the interpretability and analysis of cryo-EM maps using different test cases among them recent SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein structures.
PB Nature Research
YR 2021
FD 2021-02-23
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/129688
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/129688
LA eng
NO Kaur, S., Gomez-Blanco, J., Khalifa, A.A.Z. et al. Local computational methods to improve the interpretability and analysis of cryo-EM maps. Nat Commun 12, 1240 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-21509-5
NO © The Author(s) 2021.The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-21509-5.RGPIN-2018-04813.RYC2018-024087-I.
NO Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
NO Ministerio de Ciencia Innovación y Universidades (España)
NO European Commission
NO Agencia Estatal de Investigación
DS Docta Complutense
RD 20 ene 2026