University of Queensland researchers have captured the first high-resolution images of the yellow fever virus (YFV), a potentially deadly viral disease transmitted by mosquitoes that affects the liver.
University of Queensland researchers have captured the first high-resolution images of the yellow fever virus (YFV), a potentially deadly viral disease transmitted by mosquitoes that affects the liver.
They’ve revealed structural differences between the vaccine strain (YFV-17D) and the virulent, disease-causing strains of the virus.
Dr Summa Bibby from UQ’s School of Chemistry and Molecular Bioscience said despite decades of research on yellow fever, this was the first time a complete 3D structure of a fully mature yellow fever virus particle had been recorded at near-atomic resolution.
“By utilising the well-established Binjari virus platform developed here at UQ, we combined yellow fever’s structural genes with the backbone of the harmless Binjari virus and produced virus particles that could be safely examined with a cryo-electron microscope,” Dr Bibby said.
Read More: University of Queensland
Image: Dr Summa Bibby (Photo Credit: The University of Queensland)
