A good catch: packaging the virus genome.
In tailed bacteriophages and herpesviruses, double-stranded DNA is packaged into a pre-existing protein shell, through a dedicated channel known as the portal. In a recent issue of Molecular Cell, Zheng et al. determined the structure of the bacteriophage P22 portal complex in pre- and postpackaging conformations, identifying structural changes that serve to retain the genome within the virus particle and prime it for injection into a new host.
Rixon
Frazer J
FJ
Medical Research Council Virology Unit, Church Street, Glasgow G11 5JR, UK. f.rixon@mrcvu.gla.ac.uk
D017100:Bacteriophage P22 / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D036022:Capsid Proteins / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000378:metabolism*
D036022:Capsid Proteins; D004279:DNA, Viral; C079841:portal protein, bacteriophage P22