Since the days of the first acknowledged microscopist, Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, the 'animalcules', that is, bacteria and other microbes have been subject to increasingly detailed visualization. With the currently most sophisticated molecular imaging method; cryo electron tomography (Cryo-ET), we are reaching the milestone of being able to image an entire organism in a single dataset at nanometer resolution. Cryo-ET will enable the next revolution in our understanding of bacterial cells, their ultra-structure and intricate molecular nanomachines. Here, we highlight recent research discoveries based on constantly progressing technology developments. We discuss advantages and challenges of using Cryo-ET to visualize spatial structure of microorganisms and macromolecular complexes in their native environment.

中文翻译：

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探索细菌纳米宇宙。

自从第一位公认的显微镜学家安东尼·范·列文虎克 (Antonie van Leeuwenhoek) 出现以来，“动物”，即细菌和其他微生物，就被越来越详细地可视化了。采用目前最先进的分子成像方法；冷冻电子断层扫描 (Cryo-ET)，我们正在达到能够以纳米分辨率在单个数据集中对整个生物体进行成像的里程碑。Cryo-ET 将使我们对细菌细胞、它们的超结构和复杂的分子纳米机器的理解发生下一次革命。在这里，我们重点介绍基于不断进步的技术发展的最新研究发现。我们讨论了使用 Cryo-ET 来可视化微生物和大分子复合物在其原生环境中的空间结构的优势和挑战。