Completed Cells, Biochemistry & Physiology Genetics & Molecular Biology

A Midlands Regional Cryo-EM facility

Funder MRC (part of UKRI)
Recipient organisation University of Leicester
Funding £3.7M
Period Jul 2017 — Jul 2022

In plain English

AI plain-English summary

Inside human cells, thousands of molecular machines—assemblies of proteins—carry out the essential tasks of life, from metabolism to DNA repair to cell division. Until recently, scientists could not see the detailed architecture of these large complexes. Traditional methods like X-ray crystallography fail when the machines are too big or flexible. A new generation of cameras and powerful computation now allows electron microscopy to image these structures at near-atomic resolution, a breakthrough that has transformed structural biology. This grant funds a high-end cryo-electron microscope to be operated as a regional facility in the Midlands. The instrument will serve a strong network of research partners whose work depends on seeing how these molecular machines are built and how they move. Understanding their precise shape and mechanism is fundamental science—it reveals the basic rules that underpin life. There is no immediate clinical or commercial application. But similar fundamental work on protein structures has repeatedly led to unexpected breakthroughs, including drugs that block viral enzymes or correct faulty cellular signals. A deeper view of how cells organise, replicate, and communicate will eventually open routes to new therapies for diseases where those processes go wrong.

View original technical description
Human cells are full of large protein assemblies that act as molecular machines to carry out the functions of the cell. These include machines that carry out metabolism; that regulate our genetic material; that manage the process of cell division; and finally the machines that make the machines themselves. Structural biologists seek to determine the structure and function of these machines. Through this, we not only gain an understanding of the mechanisms that underpin life, but also learn how to develop novel approaches to cure disease. The traditional techniques of structural biology have proven insufficient when studying large molecular assemblies. Recently, a breakthrough in new cameras and powerful computation has made it possible to use electron microscopy to determine the architectures of these machines. This circumvents the limitations of traditional methods and represents a revolution in structural biology. We are applying for a high-end cryo-electron microscope to be operated as a regional facility. We have a very strong network of partners in the Midlands whose research will be transformed by the new instrument. This will enable a detailed mechanistic understanding of many of the important processes of life including gene expression, DNA replication and repair, cellular organisation and communication.

View the original record at the funder ↗

Researchers

John Schwabe (Principal Investigator)

Related Research

Grants with similar aims, by meaning.

National Cryo-Electron Microscopy Facility
Molecular imaging of in situ cellular machinery by cryo focused ion beam milling
An electron cryo-microscopy resource for macromolecular structure determination in the University of Cambridge
Accelerating throughput at Scotland's national Cryo-EM centre - a next generation direct electron detector for SCMI.
A versatile focused ion beam milling microscope for in situ structural biology

Original classification

Intramural

Plain English summaries and category classifications on this site are generated by AI and may not perfectly reflect the original research.