Integration of Cryo-EM Model Building Software in <i>Scipion</i>

Abstract

Advances in cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) have made it possible to obtain structures of large biological macromolecules at near-atomic resolution. This "resolution revolution" has encouraged the use and development of modeling tools able to produce high-quality atomic models from cryo-EM density maps. Unfortunately, many practical problems appear when combining different packages in the same processing workflow, which make difficult the use of these tools by non-experts and, therefore, reduce their utility. We present here a major extension of the image processing framework <i>Scipion</i> that provides inter-package integration in the model building area and full tracking of the complete workflow, from image processing to structure validation.