In recent years, cryo electron microscopy (cryo-EM) technology has been transformed with the development of better instrumentation, direct electron detectors, improved methods for specimen preparation, and improved software for data analysis. Analyses using single-particle cryo-EM methods have enabled determination of structures of proteins with sizes smaller than 100 kDa and resolutions of ∼2 Å in some cases. The use of electron tomography combined with subvolume averaging is beginning to allow the visualization of macromolecular complexes in their native environment in unprecedented detail. As a result of these advances, solutions to many intractable challenges in structural and cell biology, such as analysis of highly dynamic soluble and membrane-embedded protein complexes or partially ordered protein aggregates, are now within reach. Recent reports of structural studies of G protein-coupled receptors, spliceosomes, and fibrillar specimens illustrate the progress that has been made using cryo-EM methods, and are the main focus of this review.

中文翻译：

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复杂大分子组装体低温电子显微镜领域的前沿。

近年来，随着更好的仪器，直接电子检测器，改进的样品制备方法以及改进的数据分析软件的发展，低温电子显微镜（cryo-EM）技术已经发生了转变。使用单颗粒冷冻EM方法进行的分析能够确定大小小于100 kDa且分辨率约为2Å的蛋白质的结构。电子断层扫描结合子体积平均的使用开始允许以前所未有的细节可视化其自然环境中的高分子复合物。这些进步的结果是，结构和细胞生物学中许多棘手挑战的解决方案，例如对高动态可溶性和膜嵌入蛋白复合物或部分有序蛋白聚集体的分析，都已触手可及。