Membrane-containing viruses with icosahedrally symmetric capsids

    Research output: Contribution to journalReview Articlepeer-review

    Abstract

    Viruses with an icosahedrally symmetric protein capsid and a membrane infect hosts from all three domains of life. Similar architectural principles are shared by different viral families, as exemplified by double-stranded DNA viruses such as PRD1 and STIV. During virus assembly, the membrane lipids are selectively acquired from the host cell. The X-ray structure of bacteriophage PRD1 revealed that the lipids are asymmetrically distributed between the two leaflets and facet length is controlled by a tape-measure protein. In most membrane-containing viruses, viral and host membranes fuse during viral entry. In the best-understood systems of the alphaviruses, flaviviruses and herpes viruses, fusion is mediated by viral glycoproteins. Recent structural advances reveal how very different protein architectures can be used to form trimeric extensions that extend into the target cell membrane and then fold back to mediate fusion of the target and viral membranes.
    Original languageEnglish
    JournalCurrent Opinion in Structural Biology
    Volume17
    Pages (from-to)229-236
    Number of pages8
    ISSN0959-440X
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2007
    MoE publication typeA2 Review article in a scientific journal

    Fields of Science

    • 118 Biological sciences

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