Nano-org, a functional resource for single-molecule localisation microscopy data

Authors: S. Shirgill, D. J. Nieves, J. A. Pike, M. A. Ahmed, H. Abbott, M. H. H. Baragilly, K. Savoye, J. D. Worboys, K. S. Hazime, E. Bruggeman, A. Garcia, D. J. Williamson, P. Rubin-Delanchy, R. Peters, D. M. Davis, R. Henriques, S. F. Lee, D. M. Owen
Paper published in Nature Communications, September 2025
Publisher: Nature Publishing Group UK London

Abstract: The nanoscale organisation of proteins plays a key role in diverse cellular processes, including signalling, adhesion, and structural integrity. Single-molecule localisation microscopy (SMLM) is a super-resolution imaging technique that captures the spatial distributions of proteins in cells with nanometre precision, enabling detailed studies of protein clustering and architecture. However, comparing such data across experiments remains challenging due to a lack of curated, functional resources. Here we present a publicly accessible, curated, and functional resource, termed “nano-org”, containing SMLM data representing the nanoscale distributions of proteins in cells. Nano-org is searchable by comparing the statistical similarity of the datasets it contains. This unique functionality allows the resource to be used to understand the relationships of nanoscale architectures between proteins, cell types or conditions, supporting the development of the field of spatial nano-omics.