“Processing Cryo-Electron Tomograms with PyTom”

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

“Processing Cryo-Electron Tomograms with PyTom”

Thomas Hrabe, Ph.D. Student — Max-Planck Institut für Biochemie, Martinsried, Germany

We developed the modular toolbox PyTom that incorporates different scoring and sampling methods for sub-tomogram localization, alignment, and classification. Sub-tomogram alignment was improved by adaptively adjusting a bandpass filter and the angular increment to the current resolution.

For classification of sub-tomograms depicting structurally heterogeneous macromolecules, we merged simulated annealing and efficient local optimizers to classify previously aligned densities. Results and measured improvement of the resolution adaptive alignment and stochastic classification strategies are presented on simulations and experimental data.