Biology / Bio 1903 · Atom · ~20 seconds
Four Capsid Shape Classes
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Viral capsids fall into four shape classes: helical, icosahedral, enveloped, and head-and-tail, built from repeating protein subunits called capsomeres.
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Tobacco mosaic virus is helical, poliovirus is icosahedral, and bacteriophage T4 combines an icosahedral head with a helical tail.
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Capsid shape alone predicts neither a virus's disease nor its host species— it only helps sort viruses into families.