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Updated: Jul 7, 2026

Generation and Assembly of Virus-Specific Nucleocapsids of the Respiratory Syncytial Virus
Published on: July 27, 2021
Theory of conformational transitions of viral shells
Thomas Guérin1, Robijn Bruinsma
1Ecole Polytechnique, 91128 Palaiseau, France.
Abstract:
We propose a continuum theory for the conformational transitions of viral shells. Conformational transitions of viral shells, as encountered during viral maturation, are associated with a soft mode instability of the capsid proteins [F. Tama and C. L. Brooks, J. Mol. Biol. 345(2), 299 (2005)]. The continuum theory presented here is an adaptation of the Ginzburg-Landau theory of soft-mode structural phase transitions of solids to viral shells. The theory predicts that the conformational transitions are characterized by a pronounced softening of the shell elasticity in the critical region. We demonstrate that the thermodynamics of the conformational transition can be probed quantitatively by a micromechanical atomic force microscope study. The external force can drive a capsid into a state of phase coexistence characterized by a highly nonlinear force deformation curve.
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