Xiaoyu Shi – Experimental Biophysics Candidate Seminar

Structure Mapping of Biological Complexes Using Super-Resolution Microscopy

Cellular processes are orchestrated by a large number of biomolecules in a spatially and temporally coordinated manner within a tiny biological complex. Super-resolution microscopy revealed the underlying organizational principles and their functional relevance that could not be resolved by conventional light microcopy. The first half of the talk will uncover how highly packed ciliary transition zone architecture was elucidated using two-color 3D super-resolution microscopy Stochastic Optical Reconstruction Microscopy(STORM). Transition zone is the traffic gate of the cilium, which is the signaling antenna of a cell. This super-resolution study deciphered the molecular mechanism of ciliary signaling regulation with the spatial relationships between the TZ, signal transducers, and transport particles. The second half of the talk is a story about how I developed Post-expansion Labeling STORM(PLa-ExSTORM), which enabled imaging beyond the super-resolution limits. This method achieved 5 nm imaging resolution by combining Expansion Microscopy with STORM. PLa-ExSTORM opens a door to interrogate structure-function relationships of biological structures at molecular scale.