Job: Blob Picker

Blob-based picking.

Description

• Automatically picks particles by searching for Gaussian signals.

Input

• Aligned/motion-corrected micrographs

Common Parameters

• The Minimum and Maximum particle diameters (A) to pick are required to use the blob picker. It is recommended to underestimate the minimum diameter and overestimate the maximum diameter.

Output

• Particles

Notes and Limitations

Blob picking is a fast picking method but is generally the least accurate. This accuracy issue stems from being overambitious in micrographs featuring Gaussian shaped particles, and performing poorly on micrographs that lack Gaussian-like particles. The former is caused by the blob picker picking all Gaussians, regardless of whether they are particles or not. However, the incorrect particles can be filtered using a combination of the 2D Classification and Select 2D jobs.

Common Next Steps

• 2D Classification and Select 2D to generate templates for Template picking