Last updated June 28, 2018 at 10:43 am
Highest-resolution image yet of any enveloped virus.
This high resolution image shows the structure of Zika virus. The three envelope glycoproteins are coloured in yellow, blue and red and the glycan is colored in green. Credit: Sevvana et al. [Click to expand]
The image, which appears in the journal Structure. It takes advantage of the latest electron microscopy techniques to show the atomic details virus structure.
The scientists took advantage of the Zika virus’s stability compared to its flavivirus cousins, such as dengue, Japanese encephalitis, and yellow fever viruses, allowing for a particularly accurate three-dimensional atomic model.
Images such as this help researchers study the virus surface to determine where drug molecules could attach to make vaccines and antiviral drugs interact with Zika.
“With the higher resolution, it is now possible to efficiently design vaccines and engineer anti-viral compounds that inhibit the virus,” says Michael G. Rossmann, a structural biologist at Purdue University.
