Electron microscopy of isolated dynein complexes and the power stroke mechanism

Abstract The electron microscopy technique has been greatly improved owing to the advances in instrumentation, techniques, and image processing. These advances and improvements have enabled a deeper understanding of the dynein force-generation mechanism. Although, when compared with X-ray crystallography, the resolution of electron microscopy is not sufficient for a discussion about the mechanism at the atomic level; the technique bridges the gap between functional analysis at the single molecule level achieved by using advanced light microscopes and X-ray crystallographic structural analysis with an atomic resolution. In this chapter, we focus our attention on the progress that has been made in electron microscopy, especially in the negative staining technique combined with single particle analysis on dynein molecules, and summarize the advantages of the electron microscopy techniques.