Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 24, 2026

Advancing High-Resolution Imaging of Virus Assemblies in Liquid and Ice
Published on: July 20, 2022
Conformational landscape of a virus by single-particle X-ray scattering
Ahmad Hosseinizadeh1, Ghoncheh Mashayekhi1, Jeremy Copperman1
1Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.
Abstract:
Using a manifold-based analysis of experimental diffraction snapshots from an X-ray free electron laser, we determine the three-dimensional structure and conformational landscape of the PR772 virus to a detector-limited resolution of 9 nm. Our results indicate that a single conformational coordinate controls reorganization of the genome, growth of a tubular structure from a portal vertex and release of the genome. These results demonstrate that single-particle X-ray scattering has the potential to shed light on key biological processes.
Related Concept Videos
X-ray Diffraction of Biological Samples
According to Bragg's law, when X-rays strike the sample positioned on a stage, the rays are scattered by the electron clouds around the sample atoms. The X-ray diffraction or scattering is caused by constructive interference of the X-ray waves that reflect off the internal...
Cryo-electron Microscopy
X-ray Crystallography
Diffraction
Diffraction is the change in the direction of travel experienced by an electromagnetic wave when it encounters a physical barrier whose dimensions are comparable to those of the wavelength of the light. X-rays are electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths about as long as the distance between neighboring...
Size and Structure of Viral Genomes
Viral Structure

