title: A good catch: packaging the virus genome.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Council Virology Unit, Church Street, Glasgow G11 5JR, UK. f.rixon@mrcvu.gla.ac.uk
authors.forename: Frazer J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Rixon
mesh_terms: D017100:Bacteriophage P22 / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D036022:Capsid Proteins / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D036022:Capsid Proteins; D004279:DNA, Viral; C079841:portal protein, bacteriophage P22