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Updated: Aug 19, 2026

Generation and Assembly of Virus-Specific Nucleocapsids of the Respiratory Syncytial Virus
Published on: July 27, 2021
Icosahedral packing of RNA viral genomes
Joseph Rudnick1, Robijn Bruinsma
1Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California Los Angeles, Box 951547, Los Angeles, California 90095-1547, USA.
Abstract:
Many spherelike RNA viruses package a portion of their genome in a manner that mirrors the icosahedral symmetry of the protein container, or capsid. Graph-theoretical constraints forbid exact realization of icosahedral symmetry. This paper explores the consequences of graph-theoretical constraints on quasi-icosahedral genome structures. A key result is the prediction that the genome organization is a Hamiltonian path or cycle and that the associated assembly scenario of such single-stranded spherelike RNA viruses resembles that of cylindrical RNA viruses, such as tobacco mosaic viruses.
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