Fibril activity may be key to a better understanding of foot-and-mouth disease

The CC0 Public Domain is a public domain.

Scientists could one day use the images of the vanishingly tiny structures created by the foot-and-mouth disease virus.

The interaction between components of the virus in test tube experiments under bio-secure conditions was observed in a new study published today.

The resulting images showed the formation of tube-like structures called fibrils, which emerged when the components were mixed.

The fibrils did not form when the virus was prevented from replicating.

The scientists concluded that the fibrils could play a key role in the virus's ability to replicate, a process that is not fully understood.

The findings could lead to new treatments for diseases caused by the virus.

Dr. Eleni-Anna Loundras is a senior author of the research and is currently a post-doctoral researcher at the Pirbright Institute.

She said, "These findings shed light on the key interactions and dynamics involved in these complicated viral replication complexes, which we still have much to learn about."

The model has helped us to identify areas that could be of interest to us.

Powerful microscope.

The researchers took the foot-and-mouth disease virus and observed its interactions under powerful electron microscopes at the Astbury Centre and the University of Glasgow. They created high-resolution images to show the fibril structures.

The production of fibrils was stopped, suggesting that these structures play a key role in virus reproduction.

Dr. Loundras said, "Our research shows that these fibrils have a function in lab experiments, but we don't know how important they are in a living cell." The function of these structures will be studied more in the future as technology improves.

The paper was the result of a really enjoyable collaboration between the two universities, and shows the impact of 'team science', said Professor Stonehouse.

The foot-and-mouth disease virus requires higher-order structures for genome replication. There is a DOI titled: 10.1038/s4 2003-020-02989-z.

The journal contains information about communications biology.

Fibril activity may be key to a better understanding of foot-and-mouth disease.

The document is copyrighted. Any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research cannot be reproduced without written permission. The content is not intended to be used for anything other than information purposes.