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Understanding protein structures in situ with cryo-electron tomography

Inside our cells, diverse proteins and nucleic acids work cooperatively to fulfill their biological functions. Although recent studies have significantly advanced our understanding of the structures and functions of individual macromolecules, it still remains largely unclear how their structures look inside cells, how they are spatially organized, and how they interact with their surrounding environment. We address these questions by directly visualizing intracellular environment at sub-nanometer resolution and analyzing protein structures in situ using cryo-electron tomography and subtomogram averaging. By integrating biochemical and cell biological approaches as complementary methods, we aim to understand mechanistic basis of cellular processes from a structural perspective.