A next-generation computing platform for electron microscopy at Imperial College

在细胞中，蛋白质就像微小的分子机器，执行复杂的生物功能。许多蛋白质在大的组合中一起工作，因为它们是动态的，所以很难研究。为了观察蛋白质复合物的作用，我们使用了一种叫做低温电子显微镜的方法，在这种方法中，我们拍摄了成千上万的蛋白质快照，并用计算机将这些图像组合成一个三维模型。利用这些模型，我们可以了解蛋白质如何与结合伙伴相互作用，在细胞内完成它们的工作。计算是电子显微镜图像生成结构模型的重要组成部分。以前，研究人员使用办公桌上的个人电脑来处理数据。由于在这些计算中使用了大量的图像以及所涉及的计算机程序的复杂性，这已经不可能了。电脑游戏产业推动了图形计算技术的进步，我们用图形计算来处理蛋白质图像。这个方案是为伦敦帝国理工学院的一个计算平台，该平台结合了高性能文件存储系统和图形计算资源来处理低温电子显微镜数据。这个计算平台将使我们能够更快地解决更多的结构，并使研究人员能够使用这些数据更快地为新的实验提供信息。这项提案将支持帝国理工学院的结构生物学研究，旨在了解生命的规律。许多直接受益于这种计算设备的项目正在解决BBSRC在可持续农业、健康综合理解和数据驱动生物学方面的战略挑战。本提案中有一半的coi正在研究抗菌素耐药性机制背后的基本生物学过程。使用该计算平台生成的新结构模型将为发现改善人类健康的治疗方法奠定基础。

In a cell, proteins are like tiny molecular machines carrying out complex biological functions. Many proteins work together in large assemblies that are difficult to study because they are dynamic. To see protein complexes in action, we use a method called cryo electron microscopy in which we take hundreds of thousands of protein snapshots, and with a computer, combine these images to create a three-dimensional model. Using these models, we can understand how proteins interact with binding partners to do their jobs inside cells. Computing is an important part of generating structural models from electron microscopy pictures. Previously, researchers used individual computers at their desks to process data. This is no longer possible because of the large number of images used in these calculations and the complexity of the computer programmes involved. The computer gaming industry has driven technology advances in graphical computing which we use to process images of proteins. This proposal is for a computing platform that combines a high-performance file storage system with graphical computing resources to process cryo electron microscopy data at Imperial College London. This computing platform will allow us to solve more structures quicker and enable researchers use these data to inform new experiments faster. This proposal will support structural biology research at Imperial that works toward understanding the rules of life. Many of the projects that directly benefit from this computing equipment are tackling BBSRC strategic challenges in sustainable agriculture, an integrated understanding of health, and data-driven biology. Half of the CoIs on this proposal are researching the fundamental biological processes underlying antimicrobial resistance mechanisms. Together new structural models generated using this computing platform will lay the foundation for the discovery of therapeutics to improve human health.