title: Electron tomography of viruses.
abstract: Understanding the molecular architectures of enveloped and complex viruses is a challenging frontier in structural biology. In these viruses, the structural and compositional variation from one viral particle to another generally precludes the use of either crystallization or image averaging procedures that have been successfully implemented in the past for highly symmetric viruses. While advances in cryo electron tomography of unstained specimens provide new opportunities for identification and molecular averaging of individual subcomponents such as the surface glycoprotein spikes on purified viruses, electron tomography of stained and plunge-frozen cells is being used to visualize the cellular context of viral entry and replication. Here, we review recent developments in both areas as they relate to our understanding of the biology of heterogeneous and pleiomorphic viruses.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Cell Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, United States. ss1@nih.gov <ss1@nih.gov>
authors.forename: Sriram
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Subramaniam
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bartesaghi
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Adam E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Bennett
authors.forename: Rachid
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sougrat
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000737:chemistry / Q000648:ultrastructure; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D008854:Microscopy, Electron / Q000379:methods*; D008958:Models, Molecular; D014780:Viruses / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000276:immunology / Q000648:ultrastructure*
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral