06/16/2008

Journal of Structural Biology Cover Article on X-ray Imaging of Cells at Advanced Light Source (ALS)

Summary

X-ray tomography has determined the structure of organelles in yeast cells during different stages of the cell cycle, providing for the first time three-dimensional images that show how the cells change during the cycle. The research is reported in the June issue of the Journal of Structural Biology, with selected images shown on the cover. The authors show that use of the soft X-rays at the ALS enables imaging of cellular components without having to expose the cells to potentially damaging staining reagents. They were able to determine how the yeast responds to changes in its environment. They note that the new X-ray microscope being commissioned at the ALS for biological studies will enable further improvements in spatial resolution that should reveal fine structure of microtubules and other components of the cell. This new imaging technique is ideally suited to imaging bioenergy-relevant organisms.

Principal Investigator(s)

Carolyn Larabell
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California-San Francisco