New Microscopy Technique Sheds Light on Fine Structures of Life

Jülich, 6 September 2016 – An international team of researchers including scientists from Jülich made use of an extremely high-resolution cryo-electron microscopy technique involving shock-frozen samples to create a model of the filaments of the bacterium Ignicoccus hospitalis in atomic detail. Amongst other things, its protein fibres are interesting because they resemble the flagellar system which many prokaryotes use for motility. The 3-D model could thus contribute to an improved understanding of these biological propulsion systems.

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