Investigating vault particles with Claude

Anthropic's biology research lab reports the first 3D structure of a vault particle found in prokaryotic cells, specifically from a bacteriophage that infects bacteria. Vault particles are large, hollow protein shells found across the tree of life, but their function remains unknown. The team used Claude throughout the research process: searching protein databases, designing DNA constructs, optimizing isolation methods, and processing cryo-EM data. The prokaryotic vault is built from 96 copies of a single protein called L05, compared to 78 copies in human vaults, and has a distinct structure with tiered dome-like caps. The team also engineered larger vaults by duplicating protein segments, demonstrating how vaults could have evolved size changes. The optimized purification method reduced the time from days to about 90 minutes, and a first structural model was ready in 34 hours instead of weeks. Despite the progress, the biological function of vaults remains unresolved, and the team acknowledges both the benefits and limitations of working with Claude, including errors that cost time but overall accelerated the research.

(Source：Anthropic)