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Title
Membrane-containing virus particles exhibits mechanics of a composite material for genome protectionAuthor (from another institution)
Published Date
2018Publisher
Royal Society of ChemistryAbstract
The protection of the viral genome during extracellular transport is an absolute requirement for virus survival and replication. In addition to the almost universal proteinaceous capsids, certain viru ... [+]
The protection of the viral genome during extracellular transport is an absolute requirement for virus survival and replication. In addition to the almost universal proteinaceous capsids, certain viruses add a membrane layer that encloses their double-stranded (ds) DNA genome within the protein shell. Using the membrane-containing enterobacterial virus PRD1 as a prototype, and a combination of nanoindentation assays by atomic force microscopy and finite element modelling, we show that PRD1 provides a greater stability against mechanical stress than that achieved by the majority of dsDNA icosahedral viruses that lack a membrane. We propose that the combination of a stiff and brittle proteinaceous shell coupled with a soft and compliant membrane vesicle yields a tough composite nanomaterial well-suited to protect the viral DNA during extracellular transport. [-]
Publisher’s version
http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/c8nr00196kISSN
2040-3372Published at
Nanoscale Vol. 10. Nº 16. Pp. 7769–7779. Nanoscale. Published online April 16, 2018Document type
Article
Version
Published
Rights
© The Royal Society of Chemistry 2018Access
Open AccessCollections
- Articles - Engineering [486]
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