Viral self-assembly pathway and mechanical stress relaxation

Area of Science:

• Biophysics
• Structural Biology
• Computational Biology

Background:

• Viral structure is crucial for infectivity and is determined by the self-assembly of its protein components.
• Understanding viral assembly pathways is key to developing antiviral strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the role of spontaneous curvature in viral shell self-assembly.
• To explain the emergence of distinct viral shapes based on mechanical principles.

Main Methods:

• Application of standard thin-shell elasticity theory.
• Analysis of mechanical stress relaxation during curved surface growth.

Main Results:

• Spontaneous curvature prominently influences the viral shell assembly pathway.
• Mechanical stress can be relaxed in two distinct ways during early assembly, dependent on spontaneous curvature.
• This mechanism explains the prevalence of icosahedral (compact) and non-icosahedral (elongated) viral shapes.

Conclusions:

• Spontaneous curvature is a critical determinant of viral morphology.
• The mechanical behavior of viral shells during assembly provides a unified explanation for diverse viral architectures.