Related Experiment Videos
Structural elements in adenovirus cores. Evidence for a "core shell" and linear structures in "relaxed" cores
Archives of Virology
|January 1, 1979
Summary
Adenovirus type 5 cores have an orderly DNA structure within a proposed "core shell" protein layer. This structure is a folded linear filament, revealed by freeze-fracture and biochemical treatments.
Area of Science:
- Virology
- Structural Biology
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Adenovirus type 5 is a significant human pathogen.
- Understanding viral core structure is crucial for developing antiviral strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To elucidate the structural organization of the adenovirus type 5 core.
- To investigate the role of protein V in core structure.
- To determine the arrangement of DNA within the viral core.
Main Methods:
- Freeze-fracture negative staining electron microscopy.
- Biochemical treatments including sodium deoxycholate (DOC), EGTA, high salt, and high pH.
- Circular dichroism (C.D.) spectroscopy.
Main Results:
- Freeze-fracture revealed virus cores with a granular surface, suggesting a protein V "core shell".
- Biochemical treatments induced relaxation of cores into filaments or rods.
- Circular dichroism indicated an orderly DNA arrangement in fresh cores, disrupted by high salt.
Conclusions:
- The adenovirus nucleocapsid is a linear structure, a filament folded into rods.
- Protein V forms a distinct "core shell" layer.
- The DNA within the core exhibits nucleosome-like organization.