IMAGING VIRUS PARTICLES W/ 300 KEV ELECTRON CRYOMICROSCOPE

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This project is aimed at evaluating the potential of a 300 keV electron cryomicroscope with a field emission gun and a liquid helium cryostage. Such an instrument is only available in Japan. We froze samples of P22 phage on EM grids in Houston and shipped them under liquid nitrogen to Dr. Y. Fujiyoshi s laboratory in Japan. Joanita Jakana and Wah Chiu performed the imaging in Japan. A few sets of quality images were obtained in a week of intensive work. Our subsequent computer analysis indicated that the damping of the computed transform of the images taken in Japan was not as steep as that of the 400 keV images taken with equivalent defocus in Houston. This preliminary data has provided the results needed to develop a grant proposal submitted to NSF for acquisition of such an instrument, which costs ~US$2 million, in the US. We have obtained a strong matching fund commitment from Baylor s administration to support this grant application. Notice of funding of $ 1 million from NSF has just been received today.