Grant Jensen
Dean, College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Brigham Young University
Professor of Biology and Biophysics
California Institute of Technology
Date and time: September 29th, 2021
Wednesday, at 8am PT / 11am ET / 4pm BST / 5pm CEST / 11pm China
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Montage tomography of cryo-preserved specimens
Ariana Peck, Stephen D. Carter, Huanghao Mai, Songye Chen, Alister Burt, and Grant J. Jensen
Cryo-electron tomography reveals detailed views of macromolecules in situ, but the fields of view can be quite limited. Decades ago, montage tomography methods were developed to large areas of plastic sections, which are less radiation-sensitive than samples in vitreous ice. The dose sensitivity of vitreous samples has been considered prohibitive to montaging approaches, since portions of the sample must be exposed multiple times to allow image stitching. Taking advantage of several technical advances, we have now developed a montage data collection scheme that distributes the extra dose evenly throughout the specimen. We applied this method to image the thin edge of frozen-hydrated HeLa cells, and show that macromolecular details can be resolved across montage tomograms several microns across. Montage cryo-ET could be especially useful for imaging lamellae.
