General Assembly & Release

Everything from Viral Assembly & Release slides

Generally, how do viruses assemble

All viruses make sub-assemblies from individual components, then come together sequentially to form capsids

Do bacteriophages have a simple or complex assembly line strategy

Complex, extensive

What do some larger viruses do to assemble their capsid

“Assisted assembly”, relying on non-structural proteins that act as scaffolds for assembly

• Parts of the capsid leave through pore & DNA gets packaged

• Scaffolding proteins include a protease that becomes activated to degrade the scaffold

What packaging signals do DNA viruses have

They contain sequences that are not found in host cell’s genome

What packing signals do RNA viruses have

They contain stem-loop structures

How are enveloped viruses released from host cell

Via budding

How are non-enveloped viruses release from host cell

Via lysis, as it shuts down cellular processes