One of the most dangerous "invisible enemies" of biological laboratories turned out not to be so invincible. Russian scientists have found a way to protect bacterial cultures from bacteriophage viruses, which can quickly infect and spoil laboratory samples. Details were revealed by the Skoltech press service.
We are talking about bacteriophages of the T1 genus. These are viruses that infect bacteria, not humans. For laboratories, they are dangerous because they can get into samples, multiply rapidly, and spoil work with bacterial cultures.
A bacteriophage from the T1 genus was previously found in the water of Parkovy Stream in Kaliningrad and named KanT1 – in honor of Immanuel Kant. Scientists were interested in why this virus is so tenacious and why it so easily spoils laboratory samples. To find out, they studied its genome in detail.
The work used conventional analysis methods, as well as the artificial intelligence system AlphaFold3. It helps predict what proteins look like in three-dimensional form.
Using this analysis, scientists found a previously unknown protein in the virus. It contained a special structure – the SH3 domain.
Previously, such structures were found in viruses that attack other types of bacteria – with a thicker and stronger cell wall. But E. coli does not belong to such bacteria, so the discovery was unexpected.
Scientists suggest that this protein helps T1 viruses destroy bacterial cells faster from the inside. This may explain their tenacity and aggressiveness.
It is expected that the discovery will facilitate the work of scientists with bacteria and viruses and help avoid situations where experiments are disrupted due to contamination of laboratory cultures.