Abstract

Paramecium bursaria chlorella virus 1 (PBCV-1) (genus Chlorovirus, family Phycodnaviridae), infects certain unicellular, exsymbiotic, chlorella-like green algae [1]. The PBCV-1 virion (~1x10 Da) has a linear dsDNA genome (330kbp) and contains at least 100 different proteins [1, unpublished data]. A published cryo-electron microscopy and three-dimensional (3D) image reconstruction of PBCV-1 (26A resolution) revealed that the outer icosahedral glycoprotein capsid, with a maximum diameter of 1,900A along the five-fold axis, consists of 1680 trimeric capsomers (trimer) and 12 pentameric capsomers (pentamer) [2]. These capsomers are arranged on a T=169d (h=7, k=8) quasi-equivalent lattice. The trimers and pentamers are organized into 20 trisymmetrons (66 trimers) and 12 pentasymmetrons (30 trimers plus one central pentamer). In the present study, we have recorded new images, which have been used to compute a 3D image reconstruction of PBCV-1 at 15A resolution.

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