Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Virus Structure
Capsid/Nucleocapsid Symmetry;
Viral Genomes
Major components of a virion
1. viral genome
comprised of DNA or RNA
2. capsid or nucleocapsid
capsid: protein shell surrounding the viral
genome in a virus particle
nucleocapsid: a nucleic acid - protein assembly
packaged within the virion
3. envelope - host cell derived lipid bilayer containing
viral glycoproteins
the outer layer of many virus particles
Virion morphology:
- virion size
- virion shape
- capsid symmetry
- presence or absence of an envelope
•
Constraints on viral capsids
•
•
Helical
symmetry
Helical symmetry is described by:
- number of structural units per turn of
the helix ()
- the axial raise per structural unit ()
- the pitch of the helix (P)
P =
Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV)
= 16.3
= 0.14 nm
P= 2.3 nm
Icosahedral symmetry
Capsid may form a hollow sphere structure
1. DNA or RNA
-
2. linear or circular
-
3. segmented or non-segmented
-
4. double-stranded or single-stranded
-
-
Viruses with DNA genomes