Science & Tech · Science & Environment · 4 hrs ago
Researchers map the first 3D vault structure from bacterial life
Researchers mapped a vault-like structure from bacterial life using a protein from a bacteriophage, a virus that infects bacteria.
Vaults are large, hollow protein structures found in organisms including humans, but their purpose in cells remains uncertain despite decades of study.
The team searched billions of predicted protein sequences and tested candidate proteins in the lab.
One phage-derived protein, called L05, formed a particle made of 96 copies of the same protein.
The structure was smaller in length than mammalian vaults but enclosed about 25 percent more volume.
The finding offers a new way to study vaults and could help trace their evolution across living things.
The team also used Claude to help with the research, including analyzing microscope data, and developed a purification process that took about 90 minutes instead of roughly three days.
Researchers mapped the first three-dimensional structure of a vault particle linked to bacterial life.
The structure came from a bacteriophage protein called L05 and contains 96 copies of that protein.
The particle measures about 54 nanometers long and 45 nanometers wide, with a mass of roughly 9.5 megadaltons.
The findings reveal vault-like structures among bacteria and bacteriophages and may help researchers investigate vaults in human cells.
The biological purpose of vault particles remains uncertain.
- Who
- Anthropic’s biology research team conducted the study.
- What
- Researchers mapped a three-dimensional vault particle assembled from a bacteriophage protein.
- When
- Published November 4, 2026.
- Where
- Not stated
- Why
- To investigate vault structures and their evolutionary history; their biological purpose remains uncertain.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Leonard Rome and Nancy Kedersha first identified vault particles.
Researchers searched approximately 15 billion predicted protein sequences and identified potential vault proteins across 29 major bacterial groups and four groups of archaea.
Laboratory experiments found that seven of 15 successfully produced proteins assembled into vault-like particles.
Researchers used cryo-EM to confirm four candidate structures and selected the phage-derived L05 protein for detailed analysis.
- Protein copies
- 96 copies of L05
- Particle dimensions
- Approximately 54 nanometers long and 45 nanometers wide
- Molecular mass
- Roughly 9.5 megadaltons
- Protein search
- Approximately 15 billion predicted sequences
- Candidate groups
- 29 major bacterial groups and four groups of archaea
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We’re sharing how our biology research team worked with Claude to map the first 3D structure of a vault particle from bacterial life.
Vault particles are a longstanding mystery.
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We’re sharing how our biology research team worked with Claude to map the first 3D structure of a vault particle from bacterial life. Vault particles are a longstanding mystery. They are barrel-shaped objects, among the largest protein structures found in our cells. They were