Pilar Cossio (Flatiron Institute): Free-energy profiles from cryoEM particles

Title: Free-energy profiles from cryoEM particles

Speaker: Pilar Cossio, Flatiron Institute

Hosted by: Pratyush Tiwary

Abstract: 

Cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) is an experimental technique that measures single-particle projections of biomolecules. Although single-particle cryo-EM is widely used for 3D reconstruction, it has the potential to provide information about a biomolecule’s conformational variability, which leads to the underlying free-energy landscape of the system. However, cryo-EM images are challenging to analyze due to their low signal-to-noise ratio. To address these issues, we developed the cryo-BIFE method. This method uses a path collective variable together with a Bayesian approach to infer free-energy profiles and their uncertainties from cryo-EM raw images. We apply the method over a diverse set of synthetic and real systems, finding that the signal-to-noise ratio and pose estimate as key determinants to extracting accurate profiles.