A novel approximation method of CTF amplitude correction for 3D single particle reconstruction

The typical resolution of three-dimensional reconstruction by cryo-EM single particle analysis is now being pushed up to and beyond the nanometer scale. Correction of the contrast transfer function (CTF) of electron microscopic images is essential for achieving such a high resolution. Various correction methods exist and are employed in popular reconstruction software packages. Here, we present a novel approximation method that corrects the amplitude modulation introduced by the contrast transfer function by convoluting the images with a piecewise continuous function. Our new approach can easily be implemented and incorporated into other packages. The implemented method yielded higher resolution reconstructions with data sets from both highly symmetric and asymmetric structures. It is an efficient alternative correction method that allows quick convergence of the 3D reconstruction and has a high tolerance for noisy images, thus easing a bottleneck in practical reconstruction of macromolecules. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.