Back from coffee break, Prof Kelch (UMass Med) describing motor mechanics of a capsid-stuffing viral DNA translocase

Stuffing DNA in to the capsid generates pressure, the virus resists using 'decoration proteins' that staple capsid together at threefold vertices

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@BlayneyAJ ok my bad so we stuff virus's DNA in it's capsid...right? And why do we do that?

@abbasijawi you got it right the first time! The virus has a bunch of DNA. The tighter it can pack it in, the less energy needs to be spent building each capsid, and the more it can reproduce.

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