Novel insights on the progression of intermediate viral forms in the morphogenesis of vaccinia virus.
Morphogenesis of vaccinia virus (VACV) is a complex structural process in which the capture of all cytoplasmic stages is difficult due to the rapid transition between the different viral forms. Taking advantage of two VACV mutants (M65 and M101) with defined genetic alterations, we described by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of ultrathin sections novel potential transition viral forms (Ts) with reorganization of the immature virus (IV) membrane and construction of the internal core, and illustrated the envelopment steps from the mature virus (MV) to the wrapped virus (WV) stages. Our observations allowed us to propose a sequence of structural events for VACV assembly that provides key clues about VACV morphogenesis.
Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología, CSIC, 28049 Madrid, Spain.
Victoria
V
Cepeda
Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología, CSIC, 28049 Madrid, Spain. Electronic address: mesteban@cnb.csic.es.
Mariano
M
Esteban
D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D014616:Vaccinia virus / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D014771:Virion / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D019065:Virus Assembly
Transmission electron microscopy (TEM); Vaccinia virus; Viral morphogenesis