Current Situation and Prospect of EMDB/EMPIAR-China

In recent years, cryo-electron microscopy technology has rapidly developed and become a key method in the structural biology field. Moreover, the number of people engaged in cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) is increasing rapidly in China with attendant explosive growth in cryo-EM data. Therefore, to meet the academic demand for access to cryo-EM data and to promote the development of the structural biology field, the European Institute of Bioinformatics established the Electron Microscopy Data Bank (EMDB) in Europe. Furthermore, the Committee for the Study of Cryo-Electron Microscopy of the Chinese Society of Biophysics partnered with the European Bioinformatics Institute to establish a mirror site of the EMDB in China to aid researchers in conveniently uploading and downloading high-resolution electron microscopy data, to promote cryo-EM-related research efforts, and to enhance the international status of China’s basic research. This paper introduces aspects of the Chinese mirror website: the construction idea, structure, function realization, visualization tools, and running status. Furthermore, details of an analysis of the total visits to the website from the beginning of the website launch to October 30, 2019, are provided. Finally, future prospects of the Electron Microscope Database are assessed; briefly, we suggest it will play a crucial role in supporting and developing the field of structural biology.