Online tutorial

Structural volume data

An introduction

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Time to complete:

1 hour


Written by:

  • Martyn Winn
  • Ingvar Lagerstedt

Last reviewed:

October 2020


Creative Commons

All materials are free cultural works licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license, except where further licensing details are provided.


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This course provides a basic introduction to volume matching techniques in the field of structural bioinformatics. It explains the use of electron microscopy (EM) and electron tomography (ET) data in creating 3D volume maps of proteins, and the approaches that can be used to compare volumes. It describes how volume matching can be used to find similar structures, or to highlight specific differences between related structures.

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Who is this course for?

This module is suitable for those with knowledge of modern structural bioinformatics techniques. An appreciation for advanced modelling techniques would also be useful.

This e-learning training module was developed as part of the BioMedBridges project, funded by FP7 Capacities Specific Programme, grant agreement no. 284209.

What will I achieve?

By the end of the course you will be able to:

  • Describe what structural volume data is
  • Appreciate the value of volume data even in the absence of atomic coordinates
  • List the variety of methods available to compare volumes

What resources do I need?

There are no specific resources required to complete this course.

DOI: 10.6019/TOL.str-vol-c.2015.00001.1

Course contents