Soft X‐ray tomograms provide a structural basis for whole‐cell modeling

Developing in silico models that accurately reflect a whole, functional cell is an ongoing challenge in biology. Current efforts bring together mathematical models, probabilistic models, visual representations, and data to create a multi‐scale description of cellular processes. A realistic whole‐cel...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The FASEB journal 2023-01, Vol.37 (1), p.e22681-n/a
Main Authors: Loconte, Valentina, Chen, Jian‐Hua, Vanslembrouck, Bieke, Ekman, Axel A., McDermott, Gerry, Le Gros, Mark A., Larabell, Carolyn A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
cell structure
Imaging, Three-Dimensional - methods
Organelles
soft X-ray tomography
subcellular organization
Tomography, X-Ray - methods
whole-cell modeling
X-Rays
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Summary:Developing in silico models that accurately reflect a whole, functional cell is an ongoing challenge in biology. Current efforts bring together mathematical models, probabilistic models, visual representations, and data to create a multi‐scale description of cellular processes. A realistic whole‐cell model requires imaging data since it provides spatial constraints and other critical cellular characteristics that are still impossible to obtain by calculation alone. This review introduces Soft X‐ray Tomography (SXT) as a powerful imaging technique to visualize and quantify the mesoscopic (~25 nm spatial scale) organelle landscape in whole cells. SXT generates three‐dimensional reconstructions of cellular ultrastructure and provides a measured structural framework for whole‐cell modeling. Combining SXT with data from disparate technologies at varying spatial resolutions provides further biochemical details and constraints for modeling cellular mechanisms. We conclude, based on the results discussed here, that SXT provides a foundational dataset for a broad spectrum of whole‐cell modeling experiments.
ISSN:0892-6638
1530-6860
DOI:10.1096/fj.202200253R