Automated cryo-EM structure refinement using correlation-driven molecular dynamics
Abstract
We present a correlation-driven molecular dynamics (CDMD) method for automated refinement of atomistic models into cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) maps at resolutions ranging from near-atomic to subnanometer. It utilizes a chemically accurate force field and thermodynamic sampling to improve the real-space correlation between the modeled structure and the cryo-EM map. Our framework employs a gradual increase in resolution and map-model agreement as well as simulated annealing, and allows fully automated refinement without manual intervention or any additional rotamer- and backbone-specific restraints. Using multiple challenging systems covering a wide range of map resolutions, system sizes, starting model geometries and distances from the target state, we assess the quality of generated models in terms of both model accuracy and potential of overfitting. To provide an objective comparison, we apply several well-established methods across all examples and demonstrate that CDMD performs best in most cases.
Data availability
All structures generated or analyzed during this study are included in the supporting files. Refinement protocols and other methodologies are described in Materials and Methods.
Article and author information
Author details
Funding
Max-Planck-Gesellschaft (Open-access funding)
- Maxim Igaev
- Carsten Kutzner
- Lars V Bock
- Andrea C Vaiana
- Helmut Grubmüller
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (Open-access funding)
- Maxim Igaev
- Andrea C Vaiana
The funders had no role in study design, data collection and interpretation, or the decision to submit the work for publication.
Reviewing Editor
- Axel T Brunger, Stanford University, United States
Publication history
- Received: November 9, 2018
- Accepted: March 3, 2019
- Accepted Manuscript published: March 4, 2019 (version 1)
- Version of Record published: March 19, 2019 (version 2)
Copyright
© 2019, Igaev et al.
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License permitting unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.
Metrics
-
- 7,899
- Page views
-
- 916
- Downloads
-
- 41
- Citations
Article citation count generated by polling the highest count across the following sources: Crossref, Scopus, PubMed Central.
Download links
Downloads (link to download the article as PDF)
Open citations (links to open the citations from this article in various online reference manager services)
Cite this article (links to download the citations from this article in formats compatible with various reference manager tools)
Further reading
-
- Cell Biology
- Structural Biology and Molecular Biophysics
Dynein harnesses ATP hydrolysis to move cargo on microtubules in multiple biological contexts. Dynein meets a unique challenge in meiosis by moving chromosomes tethered to the nuclear envelope to facilitate homolog pairing essential for gametogenesis. Though processive dynein motility requires binding to an activating adaptor, the identity of the activating adaptor required for dynein to move meiotic chromosomes is unknown. We show that the meiosis-specific nuclear-envelope protein KASH5 is a dynein activating adaptor: KASH5 directly binds dynein using a mechanism conserved among activating adaptors and converts dynein into a processive motor. We map the dynein-binding surface of KASH5, identifying mutations that abrogate dynein binding in vitro and disrupt recruitment of the dynein machinery to the nuclear envelope in cultured cells and mouse spermatocytes in vivo. Our study identifies KASH5 as the first transmembrane dynein activating adaptor and provides molecular insights into how it activates dynein during meiosis.
-
- Structural Biology and Molecular Biophysics
The acidic luminal pH of lysosomes, maintained within a narrow range, is essential for proper degrative function of the organelle and is generated by the action of a V-type H+ ATPase, but other pathways for ion movement are required to dissipate the voltage generated by this process. ClC-7, a Cl-/H+ antiporter responsible for lysosomal Cl- permeability, is a candidate to contribute to the acidification process as part of this ‘counterion pathway’ The signaling lipid PI(3,5)P2 modulates lysosomal dynamics, including by regulating lysosomal ion channels, raising the possibility that it could contribute to lysosomal pH regulation. Here, we demonstrate that depleting PI(3,5)P2 by inhibiting the kinase PIKfyve causes lysosomal hyperacidification, primarily via an effect on ClC-7. We further show that PI(3,5)P2 directly inhibits ClC-7 transport and that this inhibition is eliminated in a disease-causing gain-of-function ClC-7 mutation. Together, these observations suggest an intimate role for ClC-7 in lysosomal pH regulation.