Abstract 1123 Non-Averaged Single-Molecule 3D Structures Reveal Molecular Motion in Solution via Individual-Particle Cryo-Electron Tomography (IPET)

Life is inherently dynamic, with cells and their components-including macromolecules and even atoms-constantly in motion. Although molecular dynamics (MD) simulations illustrate macromolecular structure in vibrations while nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) reveals coexisting structures, the primary techniques, such as X-ray crystallography and cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) single-particle analysis, often produce a static structure through immobilizing particles in crystalline lattices or selecting and averaging homogeneous subsets from a large pool of particles, which eliminate the molecular structura; variety, making it challenge to examine the full range of macromolecular flexibility.