{
  "id": 18851702,
  "title": "Cryo-EM structures of an Acinetobacter baumannii podovirus reveal a canonical capsid maturation",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/07/cryo-em-structures-of-an-acinetobacter-baumannii-podovirus-reveal-a",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-11-07T00:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "bioRxiv",
    "slug": "biorxiv",
    "url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.11.06.765006v1?rss=1"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Cryo-electron microscopy structures of the Acinetobacter baumannii podovirus AbP20 have unveiled a canonical capsid maturation mechanism. AbP20, which effectively infects the multidrug-resistant bacterium A. baumannii, was previously reported to possess five distinct structural subunits: capsid, portal, nozzle, fiber, and adaptor. The near-atomic resolution structures of AbP20 and its procapsid revealed a double-layered, concentric spherical architecture with a nearly 1:1 ratio of the scaffold and capsid proteins. The study also found that co-expressing the scaffold and capsid proteins of AbP20 led to the self-assembly of a DNA-free procapsid. Comparing the mature and apo-forms of the capsid unveiled a canonical model of conformational switch from procapsid to capsid. This research provides the first whole-atom structure of a podovirus infecting A. baumannii, offering a valuable reference for structure-based phage engineering and editing in precision medicine.",
  "summary": "Phages that hunting multidrug resistant bacteria represent a promising approach in precision medicine nowadays, including these infecting Acinetobacter baumannii. To data, a large number of A. baumannii phages has been isolated, however, complete structural information remains not adequately released. Previously, we reported a podovirus, AbP20, that infects A. baumannii with potent efficacy in…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}