Lecture 3 Flashcards
What are the functions of structural proteins?
-Protection of the genome
-delivery of the genome
What do structural proteins have to do?
Structural proteins have to:
-Assembly of a stable, protective shell
-specific recognition and packaging of the nucleic acid genome
-Interaction with hist cell membranes to form the envelope
What do structural proteins participate in: Delivery of the genome explained
in order to deliver the genome, the structural proteins have to
-bind to host cell receptors
-uncoat the genome
-fusion with cell membrane (for enveloped viruses)
-need to transport of the genome to the appropriate site in the cell in the nucleus
What is a capsid?
comes from the latin capsa=box
protein shell surrounding the genome
what is the nucleocapsid?
core
nucleic acid with capsid around it: protein assembly with the virion
what is an envelope?
viral membrane
host cell-derived lipid bilayer that surrounds viral particles
what is a virion?
infectious viral particle
Virus particles are homostable or metastable?
they are metastable
-they must exist in 2 states:
they must protect the genome aka stable
they must come apart upon infection aka unstable
True or false: energy is put into the virus particle during uncoating
false
True or false: energy in put into the virus particle during assembly so that it can release viral particles when they find the right cell
True or false: metastability is the potential energy used for dissasembly of the cell provide the proper signal
true
viral particles themselves have not attainted minimum free energy conformation they are sort of spring loaded
How is metastability acheaved?
Stable structure:
Created by symmetrical arrangement of many identical proteins to provide maximal contact
Unstable structure:
Structure is not usually permanently bonded together
use non-covalent bonds
can be taken apart or loosened on infection to release or expose the genome
How do we learn about viral structure?
-electron microscopy
-x-ray crystallography
-electron cryomicroscopy (cryoEM) and tomography
-Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy aka NMR
Electron microscopy
-Biological materials have little inherent contrast - need to be stained
-Negative staining with electron-dense material (uranyl acetate, phosphotungstate), scatter electrons (1959)
-Resolution 50-75 Å (1 Å = 0.1 nm)
-you look at the scatter pattern
-Detailed structural interpretation is impossible
Cryo-EM
-Freeze viral particles in water
-Take a bunch of images
-3D reconstruction of viruses
you get better resolution and you can almost see the individual polypeptide chains
X-e=ray crystallography
-you make crystals
-bombard the crystal with x ray
-collect the diffraction pattern of those
-calculate the 3d structure of the protein or virion
excellent resolution
What did Watson and Crick discovered other than DNA structure?
symmetry in viruses!!!
- Identical protein subunits are distributed with helical
symmetry for rod-shaped viruses Platonic polyhedra symmetry for round viruses
- Platonic polyhedra symmetry for round viruses