CEM3DIP 2018: of macromolecular assemblies and cellular tomography

Structural Biology using Single Particle Cryo Electron Microscopy (SP CryoEM) has become a major tool for studying macromolecular assemblies. Visualising unprecedented details of cellular components, and solving in-situ protein structures are now possible with advancement in CryoEM methods. Developments in Field Emission Gun (FEG) Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) and other TEM hardware, CryoEM specimen preparation methods, automated data acquisition systems, Direct Electron Detectors and improved image processing software have led to regular < 4 to 3 Å resolution structures of asymmetric proteins/protein-DNA/RNA complexes larger than 80 kDa in size being routinely solved. These cutting edge CryoEM methods for structural biology are relatively new in India, with a very few groups currently working in this field. However, there is intense interest in the Indian scientific community, particularly among structural biologists, about applications of this technique, which makes this course timely. This EMBO course will deal with Single particle Cryo Electron Microscopy of biological macromolecular assemblies and Cryo Electron Tomography of Cellular structures.

After the immense success of the first CEM3DIP CryoEM course at IISER Thiruvananthapuram in 2016, this course will be taught for the second time in India at IIT Delhi and it will be the First CryoEM EMBO Practical course. This EMBO Practical Course will be of interest to molecular biologists, cell biologists, microbiologists, structural biologists (crystallographers), theoretical/computational biologists and biologists in many other areas. It is mainly aimed at advanced PhD students or postdoctoral researchers and faculties.

The principal themes and objectives of this EMBO Practical Course are:

1. To promote the newly developing field of macromolecular structure determination by CryoEM and Cellular Tomography in India and other EMBC member states.
2. To teach scientists (biologists, structural biologists etc.) wishing to determine macromolecular or cellular structure by cryo Electron Microscopy the basic principles and practical aspects of TEM in structural biology/structural cell biology.
3. To provide hands on practice on specimen preparation, Fourier transform in image analysis, image processing for three-dimensional reconstruction. 3D Image Processing of Macromolecular Assemblies and cellular Tomography.
4. The main objective of this EMBO Practical Course is to enable participants (at student, postdoc and laboratory PI level) to implement novel techniques learnt in this course, in their home laboratories and create an avalanche effect.