A study conducted at the Center for Research in Biology of Bacteria and Bacteriophages (CEPID B3) was recognized among the best posters presented at the 55th Annual Meeting of the Brazilian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (SBBq), held from May 16 to 19 in Águas de Lindóia (SP). The award was granted to master’s student Josué Manuel Lopez Sisley, from the Laboratory of Biochemistry of Bacterial Complexes at Unicamp, under the supervision of researcher Leonardo Talachia Rosa and co-supervision of Germán Sgro, research leader at the Laboratory of Structural Studies of Macromolecules (FCF-USP RP).

The award-winning research investigates, at high resolution, the structure of bacteriophage ZC01 – a virus capable of infecting the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a pathogen associated with hospital-acquired infections and known for its resistance to multiple antibiotics, which has recently gained media attention due to the alleged contamination of cleaning products. In the context of the global rise of antimicrobial resistance, studies on bacteriophages have gained prominence as promising alternatives for combating bacterial infections.

The work combines different structural biology approaches, including cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), X-ray crystallography, and computational modeling. This integrated strategy enabled the initial characterization of the virus’s architecture, including structures such as the capsid, tail, and portal complex – the latter being essential for injecting genetic material into the host cell.

“We used cryo-EM to analyze these structures at high resolution, contributing to the understanding of the biology and molecular architecture of bacteriophages”, explained Lopez Sisley. According to him, the study also involved the production and purification of viral proteins, as well as the optimization of experimental conditions to obtain more precise structural data. The results obtained so far demonstrate the feasibility of producing viral particles at high concentration, as well as obtaining samples suitable for advanced structural analyses.

Although some steps still require further optimization, the award-winning study establishes a solid foundation for future high-resolution investigations. The expectation is that these findings will contribute not only to understanding the structural organization of bacteriophages but also to the development of therapeutic strategies against bacterial infections based on these viruses.