title: Biophysics of viral infectivity: matching genome length with capsid size.
abstract: In this review, we discuss recent advances in biophysical virology, presenting experimental and theoretical studies on the physical properties of viruses. We focus on the double-stranded (ds) DNA bacteriophages as model systems for all of the dsDNA viruses both prokaryotic and eukaryotic. Recent studies demonstrate that the DNA packaged into a viral capsid is highly pressurized, which provides a force for the first step of passive injection of viral DNA into a bacterial cell. Moreover, specific studies on capsid strength show a strong correlation between genome length, and capsid size and robustness. The implications of these newly appreciated physical properties of a viral particle with respect to the infection process are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Center for Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: Elmar
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Nurmemmedov
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Castelnovo
authors.forename: Carlos Enrique
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Catalano
authors.forename: Alex
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Evilevitch
mesh_terms: D055592:Biophysical Phenomena; D001703:Biophysics; D002213:Capsid; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D016679:Genome, Viral; D014774:Virulence; D019065:Virus Assembly
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral