Self Fourier shell correlation: properties and application to cryo-ET

• Published in: Communications biology Vol. 7; no. 1; pp. 101 - 9
• Main Authors: Verbeke, Eric J., Gilles, Marc Aurèle, Bendory, Tamir, Singer, Amit
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 16.01.2024; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 631/114/1564; 631/535/1258; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Life Sciences; Microscopy
• ISSN: 2399-3642; 2399-3642
• DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-05724-y

The Fourier shell correlation (FSC) is a measure of the similarity between two signals computed over corresponding shells in the frequency domain and has broad applications in microscopy. In structural biology, the FSC is ubiquitous in methods for validation, resolution determination, and signal enhancement. Computing the FSC usually requires two independent measurements of the same underlying signal, which can be limiting for some applications. Here, we analyze and extend on an approach to estimate the FSC from a single measurement. In particular, we derive the necessary conditions required to estimate the FSC from downsampled versions of a single noisy measurement. These conditions reveal additional corrections which we implement to increase the applicability of the method. We then illustrate two applications of our approach, first as an estimate of the global resolution from a single 3-D structure and second as a data-driven method for denoising tomographic reconstructions in electron cryo-tomography. These results provide general guidelines for computing the FSC from a single measurement and suggest new applications of the FSC in microscopy. A method and justification for computing the Fourier shell correlation from a single measurement with broad application to microscopy.