Near-atomic resolution cryo-EM for molecular virology

Electron cryo-microscopy (cryo-EM) is a technique in structural biology that is widely used to solve the three-dimensional structures of macromolecular assemblies, close to their biological and solution conditions. Recent improvements in cryo-EM and single-particle reconstruction methodologies have led to the determination of several virus structures at near-atomic resolution (3.3-4.6 A). These cryo-EM structures not only resolve the C alpha backbones and side-chain densities of viral capsid proteins, but also suggest functional roles that the protein domains and some key amino acid residues play. This paper reviews the recent advances in near-atomic-resolution cryo-EM for probing the mechanisms of virus assembly and morphogenesis.