Reducing cryoEM file storage using lossy image formats

Edward T Eng; Mykhailo Kopylov; Carl J Negro; Sarkis Dallaykan; William J Rice; Kelsey D Jordan; Kotaro Kelley; Bridget Carragher; Clinton S Potter

doi:10.1016/j.jsb.2019.04.013

Reducing cryoEM file storage using lossy image formats

J Struct Biol. 2019 Jul 1;207(1):49-55. doi: 10.1016/j.jsb.2019.04.013. Epub 2019 May 21.

Authors

Edward T Eng¹, Mykhailo Kopylov¹, Carl J Negro¹, Sarkis Dallaykan¹, William J Rice¹, Kelsey D Jordan¹, Kotaro Kelley¹, Bridget Carragher², Clinton S Potter³

Affiliations

¹ Simons Electron Microscopy Center, New York Structural Biology Center, 89 Convent Ave, New York, NY 10027, USA.
² Simons Electron Microscopy Center, New York Structural Biology Center, 89 Convent Ave, New York, NY 10027, USA; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA.
³ Simons Electron Microscopy Center, New York Structural Biology Center, 89 Convent Ave, New York, NY 10027, USA; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].

Abstract

Recent advances in instrumentation and software for cryoEM have increased the applicability and utility of this method. High levels of automation and faster data acquisition rates require hard decisions to be made regarding data retention. Here we investigate the efficacy of data compression applied to aligned summed movie files. Surprisingly, these images can be compressed using a standard lossy method that reduces file storage by 90-95% and yet can still be processed to provide sub-2 Å reconstructed maps. We do not advocate this as an archival method, but it may provide a useful means for retaining images as an historical record, especially at large facilities.

Keywords: Cryo electron microscopy (cryoEM); Data archiving; File format; Image data; Structural biology.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Automation
Cryoelectron Microscopy / methods*
Data Compression / methods*
Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / methods
Information Storage and Retrieval*
Software

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding