Structural glycobiology in the age of electron cryo-microscopy

Abstract

The methodology underpinning the construction, refinement, validation and analysis of atomic models of glycoproteins and protein-carbohydrate complexes has received a long-overdue boost in the last five years. This is a very timely development, as the resolution revolution in electron cryo-microscopy is now routinely delivering structures of key glycomedical importance, with a three-dimensional precision where X-ray crystallographic methods have traditionally floundered. This review will focus on the new software developments that have been introduced in the past two years, and their impact on the field of structural glycobiology in terms of published structures.