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Figure 1
The application of 2D template matching (2DTM) starts from a very blurred cryo-EM image that corresponds to the 2D projection of a complex 3D cellular environment. In this figure, that corresponds to a conceptual workflow from top to bottom. A cryo-EM grid is shown at the top, on which a certain sample is deposited (a 3D object). An image is then acquired at the microscope, corresponding to a 2D projection of the 3D sample, resulting in a blurred image. 2DTM is then represented by the magnifying glass, whose goal is to detect the presence of a certain protein in the blurred image. This identification task is achieved (at the bottom) thanks to our knowledge of the three-dimensional structure of the macromolecular complex under investigation, as if the magnifying glass was comparing the known (or predicted) 3D structure with the experimental 2D image.

IUCrJ
Volume 12| Part 2| March 2025| Pages 139-140
ISSN: 2052-2525
https://doi.org/10.1107/S2052252525001861