AlphaFold database adds 8,000 viral protein complexes for pandemic preparedness

September 24, 2026 at 08:52 PM2 min

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Researchers added more than 8,000 virus protein dimers to the AlphaFold Protein Structure Database on September 24, 2026. The additions cover 23 virus families with human-infecting members and launch a pandemic preparedness portal within the database. The move addresses a blind spot in structural coverage of viral proteins, which often act in complexes.

Key Facts

The AlphaFold Protein Structure Database added more than 8,000 virus protein dimers on September 24, 2026.
The added proteins come from 23 virus families, all with human-infecting members, including mpox, measles and hepatitis B viruses.
Researchers analysed sequences of 41,774 proteins from around 2,800 viruses to generate the predictions.
The database is maintained by the European Molecular Biology Laboratory’s European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) in Hinxton, UK, and has more than three million users.
Earlier in 2026, the database added predicted structures for 1.7 million pairs of interacting proteins from 20 widely studied organisms.

Viral Protein Blind Spot

Viruses have been a blind spot in the AlphaFold database despite its coverage of most known proteins. High-quality entries are lacking for many individual viral proteins, such as those found in flaviviruses including Zika and dengue viruses. When some viruses replicate, their RNA is first translated into a polyprotein that is then cut into individual functional molecules. This makes it unclear from the genetic sequence where a viral protein begins and ends, leading to incomplete structure predictions.

Pandemic Preparedness Portal

The viral protein additions are part of the launch of a pandemic preparedness portal within the AlphaFold database. Researchers at the Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics in Geneva identified accurate sequences for thousands of viral proteins cut from polyproteins. Joe Grove, a molecular virologist at the University of Glasgow, UK, said many viral proteins act in concert with partners. The team used AlphaFold2 to predict structures for 40,746 homodimers and nearly 1.7 million heterodimers.