A database of predicted structures for nearly every known protein on Earth is being upgraded to better represent some of the least-known and deadliest species: viruses.
Researchers added more than 8,000 virus protein dimers — pairs of interacting molecules — to the AlphaFold Protein Structure Database on 24 September. The resource contains predictions of the 3D structure of proteins, which are generated using the AlphaFold2 artificial-intelligence tool and made publicly available. The added proteins come from 23 virus families, all with human-infecting members, and are part of the launch of a ‘pandemic preparedness portal’ within the widely used and freely available AlphaFold database.
Earlier this year, researchers added predicted structures for 1.7 million pairs of interacting proteins from 20 widely studied organisms, including humans, mice and tuberculosis-causing bacteria. This marked the first time that protein complexes — such as enzymes comprising two identical protein strands — had been included in the AlphaFold database, which is maintained by the European Molecular Biology Laboratory’s European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) in Hinxton, UK.
“Many viral proteins do not act individually, they act in concert with partners,” says Joe Grove, a molecular virologist at the University of Glasgow, UK, who was part of the effort to add viral complexes to the database.
A database of predicted structures for nearly every known protein on Earth is being upgraded to better represent some of the least known and deadliest species: viruses.
— Flavian (@bullish1312) September 25, 2026
Researchers added more than 8,000 virus protein dimers — pairs of interacting molecules — to the AlphaFold… pic.twitter.com/jarQwaigzD
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