Cryo-electron microscopy EPN/Grenoble BAG

ESRF is privileged to host two state-of-the-art microscopes. Our BAG unites the majority of local labs that utilise cryo-EM to address their diverse structural biology questions, including researchers from the EPN campus (IBS, ESRF, ILL and EMBL) and its vicinity (Cell & Plant Physiology Laboratory LPCV, Grenoble Institut des Neurosciences - GIN, Institute for Advanced Biosciences - IAB).
In a nutshell, approximately 30 teams would greatly benefit from Krios time, proposing a pool of about 100 different candidate samples. The high demand for EM beamtime is partially met by two Glacios microscopes available on the campus, currently charged with the pre-screening, but also frequently yielding satisfactory structural insights. Nonetheless, the use of a Krios is indispensable for challenging samples (with heterogeneity or limited concentration requiring a large number of images, small proteins, etc.). Only such “difficult cases” will be selected for Krios time at the BAG level.

欧洲同步辐射装置（ESRF）荣幸地配备两台顶尖级显微镜。我们的BAG联合了绝大多数采用冷冻电镜（cryo-electron microscopy，cryo-EM）解决各类结构生物学问题的本地实验室，成员涵盖EPN园区（含IBS、ESRF、ILL与EMBL）及周边地区的细胞与植物生理学实验室（LPCV）、格勒诺布尔神经科学研究所（GIN）、高等生物科学研究所（IAB）的研究人员。
简言之，约30个研究团队可通过Krios机时大幅受益，共提交了约100份不同的候选样本。校园内配备的两台Glacios显微镜在一定程度上缓解了电子显微镜束流时间的高需求压力：目前它们主要承担样本预筛选工作，同时也常能产出令人满意的结构解析结果。但对于异质性强、浓度偏低需大量成像、小型蛋白等挑战性样本而言，Krios显微镜的使用则不可或缺。因此，仅此类“疑难样本”才会在BAG层面获得Krios机时分配。