This image shows the RNA-packaged procapsid (protein shell) of the cystovirus, the double-stranded RNA bacteriophage Phi-6, that is used as a model system for the assembly and packaging of viruses of the eukaryotes such as the Reoviridae. Bacteriophage is a virus that infects bacteria. The data were collected by cryo-electron microscopy and the 3D structure reconstructed by computational image processing. The electron density has been rendered as a surface and colored according to the radial distance from the center of the procapsid. The inner and less ordered layers of RNA are depicted in red, the outer RNA layers that follow the structure of the outermost protein shell are colored orange and yellow, and the protein shell is shown in green and blue colors. The dark blue turrets above the 5-fold vertices are the viral RNA-packaging NTPase motors. The 2D projection under the 3D reconstruction reveals channels in the protein shell that are covered by the motors. This bacteriophage is a model system for human pathogens like rotavirus that cause more than half a million deaths every year in children. Understanding the different stages in virus formation and how it packs its genetic material within the capsid may aid in developing therapeutics against the virus. Photographer: Daniel Nemecek, NIAMS Laboratory of Structural Biology, Alasdair Steven, Ph.D., Chief
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