Solving the molecular structure of African horse sickness virus VP2 | Biophysics Workshops in South Africa

Solving the molecular structure of African horse sickness virus VP2

27 Nov 2024 (4:00 pm)

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27 Nov 2024 (5:00 pm)

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Abstract

African horse sickness virus (AHSV) is one of the most lethal viruses known to infect horses. Reverse genetics has been used in vaccine research and with the aid of structural insights, could further improve AHSV vaccines. With the structure of bluetongue virus being known, many of the structural AHSV proteins can be modelled with homology modelling. VP2, the receptor binding protein, is an exception, however. Previous whole virus CryoEM work revealed overall AHSV structure, but only up to 14 Å resolution. In order to model AHSV VP2, a combination of deep learning based protein folding and CryoEM was used to resolve the structure for the majority of recombinant AHSV VP2 up to 4 Å resolution.

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Speaker

Student speaker: Henk Britz

University of Pretoria

Malaria Parasite Molecular Laboratory

Henk completed his BSc at UP before working in animal diagnostics and vaccine manufacturing for two years. While working he became interested in agriculturally important animal viruses, AHSV especially. He completed his BSc Honours at UP’s Malaria Parasite Molecular Laboratory where his interest in structural biology became more focused. He is currently finishing his masters project on AHSV VP2 structure.

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About

The Biophysics in Africa Monthly Colloquium Series is a joint project of the African Light Source Foundation (AfLS), African Physical Society (AfPS), and the South African Institute of Physics (SAIP). SAIP is an adhering body of the International Union of Pure and Applied Biophysics (IUPAB). The colloquia are always on the last Wednesday of every month. In addition to participation by students and colleagues worldwide, we invite speakers from around the globe as well. For more information please feel free to contact us at colloquium.series@africanbiophysics.org