Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 31, 2026

Determination of Molecular Structures of HIV Envelope Glycoproteins using Cryo-Electron Tomography and Automated Sub-tomogram Averaging
Published on: December 1, 2011
The molecular architecture of HIV
John A G Briggs1, Hans-Georg Kräusslich
1Structural and Computational Biology Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Heidelberg, Germany. john.briggs@embl.de
Abstract:
Assembly of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 is driven by oligomerization of the Gag polyprotein at the plasma membrane of an infected cell, leading to membrane envelopment and budding of an immature virus particle. Proteolytic cleavage of Gag at five positions subsequently causes a dramatic rearrangement of the interior virion organization to form an infectious particle. Within the mature virus, the genome is encased within a conical capsid core. Here, we describe the molecular architecture of the virus assembly site, the immature virus, the maturation intermediates and the mature virus core and highlight recent advances in our understanding of these processes from electron microscopy and X-ray crystallography studies.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Inhibitors of Virion Maturation and Assembly
Size and Structure of Viral Genomes
Retrovirus Life Cycles
Viral Structure
Introduction to Virus
Protein Complex Assembly
Many viruses self-assemble into a fully functional unit using the infected host cell to...

