After the Microscope: Long-Term Care of Electron Tomography Data

Cryogenic electron tomography (cryo-ET) produces datasets tremendously rich in information, with significant value beyond their originating study. Openly sharing such data enables validation of research findings, sparks further biological discoveries, and fuels development of improved software tools for data processing. Data sharing is complicated, however, by the size of cryo-ET datasets. Here we synthesize our experience archiving and sharing nearly 20 years’ worth of cryo-ET data from our own research group to highlight general challenges and solutions for democratizing cryo-ET data and making it Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable long-term.