Structural clues for influenza virus assembly and disassembly

Thursday, September 10, 2020 - 08:01 in Biology & Nature

The influenza A virus is surrounded by a lipid bilayer that forms the outermost layer much like the plasma membranes on our own cells. Immediately under this lipid bilayer is a dense protein layer formed from M1 matrix protein. It has been thought that formation of this protein layer plays a crucial role in virus assembly, but how it might do this has remained unanswered. John Briggs' group, in the LMB's Structural Studies Division, has now uncovered the detailed structure and arrangement of M1 proteins within a virus particle, providing new clues to how the influenza virus is assembled and disassembled.

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