Nothing to sneeze at: a dynamic and integrative computational model of an influenza A virion.

ABSTRACT: The influenza virus is surrounded by an envelope composed of a lipid bilayer and integral membrane proteins. Understanding the structural dynamics of the membrane envelope provides biophysical insights into aspects of viral function, such as the wide-ranging survival times of the virion in different environments. We have combined experimental data from X-ray crystallography, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, cryo-electron microscopy, and lipidomics to build a model of the intact influenza A virion. This is the basis of microsecond-scale coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations of the virion, providing simulations at different temperatures and with varying lipid compositions. The presence of the Forssman glycolipid alters a number of biophysical properties of the virion, resulti

SUBMITTER: Reddy T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4353694 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature