scholarly journals Skeletal muscle triad junction ultrastructure by Focused-Ion-Beam milling of muscle and Cryo-Electron Tomography

2015 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terence Wagenknecht ◽  
Chyongere Hsieh ◽  
Michael Marko

Cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) has emerged as perhaps the only practical technique for revealing nanometer-level three-dimensional structural details of subcellular macromolecular complexes in their native context, inside the cell. As currently practiced, the specimen should be 0.1- 0.2 microns in thickness to achieve optimal resolution. Thus, application of cryo-ET to intact frozen (vitreous) tissues, such as skeletal muscle, requires that they be sectioned. Cryo-ultramicrotomy is notoriously difficult and artifact-prone when applied to frozen cells and tissue, but a new technique, focused ion beam milling (cryo-FIB), shows great promise for “thinning” frozen biological specimens. Here we describe our initial results in applying cryo-FIB and cryo-ET to triad junctions of skeletal muscle.

Author(s):  
Tobias Zachs ◽  
Andreas Schertel ◽  
João Medeiros ◽  
Gregor L Weiss ◽  
Jannik Hugener ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gong-Her Wu ◽  
Patrick G. Mitchell ◽  
Jesus G. Galaz-Montoya ◽  
Corey W. Hecksel ◽  
Emily M. Sontag ◽  
...  

SUMMARYThree-dimensional (3D) visualization of vitrified cells can uncover structures of subcellular complexes without chemical fixation or staining. Here, we present a pipeline integrating three imaging modalities to visualize the same specimen at cryogenic temperature at different scales: cryo-fluorescence confocal microscopy, volume cryo-focused ion beam scanning electron microscopy, and transmission cryo-electron tomography. Our proof-of-concept benchmark revealed the 3D distribution of organelles and subcellular structures in whole heat-shocked yeast cells, including the ultrastructure of protein inclusions that recruit fluorescently-labelled chaperone Hsp104. Since our workflow efficiently integrates imaging at three different scales and can be applied to other types of cells, it could be used for large-scale phenotypic studies of frozen-hydrated specimens in a variety of healthy and diseased conditions with and without treatments.


2014 ◽  
Vol 106 (2) ◽  
pp. 600a ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Villa ◽  
Miroslava Schaffer ◽  
Jürgen M. Plitzko ◽  
Wolfgang Baumeister

2014 ◽  
Vol 20 (S3) ◽  
pp. 1222-1223
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Villa ◽  
Miroslava Schaffer ◽  
Ben Engel ◽  
Jürgen Plitzko ◽  
Wolfgang Baumeister

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 2041-2070 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felix R. Wagner ◽  
Reika Watanabe ◽  
Ruud Schampers ◽  
Digvijay Singh ◽  
Hans Persoon ◽  
...  

eLife ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin D Engel ◽  
Miroslava Schaffer ◽  
Luis Kuhn Cuellar ◽  
Elizabeth Villa ◽  
Jürgen M Plitzko ◽  
...  

Chloroplast function is orchestrated by the organelle's intricate architecture. By combining cryo-focused ion beam milling of vitreous Chlamydomonas cells with cryo-electron tomography, we acquired three-dimensional structures of the chloroplast in its native state within the cell. Chloroplast envelope inner membrane invaginations were frequently found in close association with thylakoid tips, and the tips of multiple thylakoid stacks converged at dynamic sites on the chloroplast envelope, implicating lipid transport in thylakoid biogenesis. Subtomogram averaging and nearest neighbor analysis revealed that RuBisCO complexes were hexagonally packed within the pyrenoid, with ∼15 nm between their centers. Thylakoid stacks and the pyrenoid were connected by cylindrical pyrenoid tubules, physically bridging the sites of light-dependent photosynthesis and light-independent carbon fixation. Multiple parallel minitubules were bundled within each pyrenoid tubule, possibly serving as conduits for the targeted one-dimensional diffusion of small molecules such as ATP and sugars between the chloroplast stroma and the pyrenoid matrix.


2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jie E Yang ◽  
Matthew R Larson ◽  
Bryan S Sibert ◽  
Joseph Y Kim ◽  
Daniel Parrell ◽  
...  

Imaging large fields of view while preserving high-resolution structural information remains a challenge in low-dose cryo-electron tomography. Here, we present robust tools for montage electron tomography tailored for vitrified specimens. The integration of correlative cryo-fluorescence microscopy, focused-ion beam milling, and micropatterning produces contextual three-dimensional architecture of cells. Montage tilt series may be processed in their entirety or as individual tiles suitable for sub-tomogram averaging, enabling efficient data processing and analysis.


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