X-ray eyes peer deeper into deadly pathogen

(Arizona State University) In a new study, researchers at the Biodesign Center for Applied Structural Discovery and their international colleagues examine a key membrane protein responsible for the tularemia bacterium's prodigious ability to infect the body and cause illness. This virulence factor, known as Flpp3, is examined in unprecedented detail with the aid of an X-ray free electron laser or XFEL, a massive and powerful X-ray accelerator located at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Stanford.
Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases - Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: news