Viral allies: shedding light on beneficial insect viruses.

杆状病毒是因对人类活动产生积极影响而被公认的罕见病毒。这些病毒感染多种昆虫，已广泛应用于生物研究、生物技术和农业病虫害防治。本项目旨在利用先进的结构、生化和成像方法阐明这些有益病毒的结构和组装。该项目预计将产生高分辨率模型，定义新的病毒谱系的特征，这是我们对病毒圈的理解的重大突破，并为未来基于杆状病毒的创新技术的发展奠定基础，例如用于可持续控制入侵昆虫的选择性生物杀虫剂。

Baculoviruses are rare examples of viruses recognised for their positive impact on human activities. These viruses infect a broad range of insects and have been widely used in biological research, biotechnology and agricultural pest control. This Project aims to elucidate the structure and assembly of these beneficial viruses using advanced structural, biochemical and imaging approaches. The Project is expected to generate high-resolution models that define hallmarks of a new viral lineage, a significant breakthrough in our understanding of the virosphere, and underpin the future development of innovative baculovirus-based technologies such as selective bioinsecticides for the sustainable control of invasive insects.