• Popular
    • Medicine
    • Radiology
    • Cardiology
    • Surgery
    • Nanomedicine
    • Military Medicine
    • Rehab
  • Categories
    • Exclusive
    • A-D
      • Anesthesiology
      • Art
      • Cardiac Surgery
      • Cardiology
      • Critical Care
      • Dentistry
      • Dermatology
      • Diagnostics
    • E-I
      • Emergency Medicine
      • ENT
      • Genetics
      • Geriatrics
      • GI
      • Informatics
    • M-N
      • Medicine
      • Military Medicine
      • Nanomedicine
      • Net News
      • Neurology
      • Neurosurgery
      • Nuclear Medicine
    • O-P
      • Ob/Gyn
      • Oncology
      • Ophthalmology
      • Orthopedic Surgery
      • Pathology
      • Pediatrics
      • Plastic Surgery
      • Psychiatry
      • Public Health
    • R-V
      • Radiation Oncology
      • Radiology
      • Rehab
      • Reproductive Medicine
      • Space Medicine
      • Sports Medicine
      • Surgery
      • Thoracic Surgery
      • Urology
      • Vascular Surgery
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • Submit PR
  • About
  • Follow
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Linkedin
    • Youtube
    • Instagram
    • RSS
  • Submit PR
  • Log in
Medgadget
Medgadget
  • Popular
    • Medicine
      Flexible Sensors Detect Heavy Metals in Sweat

      Flexible Sensors Detect Heavy Metals in Sweat

      Nanopore Sensor to Study Protein Aggregation in Neurodegeneration

      Nanopore Sensor to Study Protein Aggregation in Neurodegeneration

      Biobots Use Optogenetic Muscle Actuators for Movement

      Biobots Use Optogenetic Muscle Actuators for Movement

      Exciting Medtech at the Healthcareᐩ Expo Taiwan

      Exciting Medtech at the Healthcareᐩ Expo Taiwan

    • Radiology
      Ultrasound Tornado Rapidly Disrupts Blood Clots

      Ultrasound Tornado Rapidly Disrupts Blood Clots

      Exciting Medtech at the Healthcareᐩ Expo Taiwan

      Exciting Medtech at the Healthcareᐩ Expo Taiwan

      Fluorescence Imaging System Illuminates Tumor Depth

      Fluorescence Imaging System Illuminates Tumor Depth

      Soft Robot Grows Like a Plant to Travel Through Tight Spaces

      Soft Robot Grows Like a Plant to Travel Through Tight Spaces

    • Cardiology
      Belt Monitors Heart Failure Patients

      Belt Monitors Heart Failure Patients

      Camera Measures Blood Pressure with Quick Look

      Camera Measures Blood Pressure with Quick Look

      Monitoring Congestive Heart Failure Through Speech: Interview with Tamir Tal, CEO of Cordio Medical

      Monitoring Congestive Heart Failure Through Speech: Interview with Tamir Tal, CEO of Cordio Medical

      Device Measures Hemoglobin More Accurately in Dark Skin

      Device Measures Hemoglobin More Accurately in Dark Skin

    • Surgery
      Microneedle Bandage for Hemostatic Control

      Microneedle Bandage for Hemostatic Control

      Biobots Use Optogenetic Muscle Actuators for Movement

      Biobots Use Optogenetic Muscle Actuators for Movement

      Implantable Device Adheres to Muscle, Treats Atrophy

      Implantable Device Adheres to Muscle, Treats Atrophy

      Device Measures Hemoglobin More Accurately in Dark Skin

      Device Measures Hemoglobin More Accurately in Dark Skin

    • Nanomedicine
      Extra Hot Nanoparticles for Cancer Therapy

      Extra Hot Nanoparticles for Cancer Therapy

      Making Tumors Tastier for the Immune System

      Making Tumors Tastier for the Immune System

      Improved Membrane Coating for Anti-Cancer Nanoparticles

      Improved Membrane Coating for Anti-Cancer Nanoparticles

      Magnetic Bacteria Target Tumors

      Magnetic Bacteria Target Tumors

    • Military Medicine
      Device Measures Hemoglobin More Accurately in Dark Skin

      Device Measures Hemoglobin More Accurately in Dark Skin

      Fingertip Sensor Measures Lithium Levels in Sweat

      Fingertip Sensor Measures Lithium Levels in Sweat

      Fabric Makes Electricity from Movement to Power Wearables

      Fabric Makes Electricity from Movement to Power Wearables

      Wearable Uses Microneedles to Track Metabolism

      Wearable Uses Microneedles to Track Metabolism

    • Rehab
      Smart Walking Stick for Visually Impaired People

      Smart Walking Stick for Visually Impaired People

      Implantable Device Adheres to Muscle, Treats Atrophy

      Implantable Device Adheres to Muscle, Treats Atrophy

      Non-Invasive Spinal Modulation for Cerebral Palsy

      Non-Invasive Spinal Modulation for Cerebral Palsy

      Implanted Magnets for Prosthetic Control

      Implanted Magnets for Prosthetic Control

  • Categories
    • Exclusive
    • A-D
      • Anesthesiology
      • Art
      • Cardiac Surgery
      • Cardiology
      • Critical Care
      • Dentistry
      • Dermatology
      • Diagnostics
    • E-I
      • Emergency Medicine
      • ENT
      • Genetics
      • Geriatrics
      • GI
      • Informatics
    • M-N
      • Medicine
      • Military Medicine
      • Nanomedicine
      • Net News
      • Neurology
      • Neurosurgery
      • Nuclear Medicine
    • O-P
      • Ob/Gyn
      • Oncology
      • Ophthalmology
      • Orthopedic Surgery
      • Pathology
      • Pediatrics
      • Plastic Surgery
      • Psychiatry
      • Public Health
    • R-V
      • Radiation Oncology
      • Radiology
      • Rehab
      • Reproductive Medicine
      • Space Medicine
      • Sports Medicine
      • Surgery
      • Thoracic Surgery
      • Urology
      • Vascular Surgery
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • Submit PR
  • About
  • Log in
  • Submit PR
  • Follow
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Linkedin
    • Youtube
    • Instagram
    • RSS

Learning What’s Under the Hood of a Virus

January 5th, 2009 Medgadget Editors News

A collaboration between investigators at Purdue University and Catholic University of America has uncovered the mechanism behind a critical movement that some pathogenic viruses, including herpes, exhibit.

Parts of the motor move in sequence like the pistons in a car’s engine, progressively drawing the genetic material into the virus’s head, or capsid, said Michael Rossmann, Purdue’s Hanley Distinguished Professor of Biological Sciences.
The motor is needed to insert DNA into the capsid of the T4 virus, which is called a bacteriophage because it infects bacteria. The same kind of motor, however, also is likely present in other viruses, including the human herpes virus.
"Molecular motors in double-stranded DNA viruses have never been shown in such detail before," said Siyang Sun, a postdoctoral research associate working in Rossmann’s lab.
Other researchers have determined that the T4 molecular motor is the strongest yet discovered in viruses and proportionately twice as powerful as an automotive engine. The motors generate 20 times the force produced by the protein myosin, one of the two proteins responsible for the contraction and strength of muscles.
The virus consists of a head and tail portion. The DNA-packaging motor is located in the same place where the tail eventually connects to the head. Most of the motor falls off after the packaging step is completed, allowing the tail to attach to the capsid. The DNA is a complete record of a virus’s properties, and the capsid protects this record from damage and ensures that the virus can reproduce by infecting a host organism.
Sun determined that the packaging motor is made of two ringlike structures, and both of these discs contain five segments made of a protein called gp17, for gene product 17. The researchers determined the atomic structure of these protein segments using a procedure called X-ray crystallography. They also used another technique called cryo-electron microscopy, which enabled them to see a more distant, overall design of the motor’s ringlike structure.
One disc sits on top of the other, and each of the five segments of the top disc shares a gp17 protein with a corresponding segment in the bottom disc. The gp17 proteins have two segments, or domains, one segment in the lower disc and the other segment in the upper disc.
The lower disc first attaches to the DNA and is then drawn upward by the upper disc, pushing the DNA into the virus’s capsid in the process. The top disc of the motor pulls the lower disc upward using electrostatic forces generated between oppositely charged objects, Rossmann said.
"These findings determined the relationship between the motor and DNA," Rossmann said.
The research data also showed that the motor is dynamic and apparently exists in two states: relaxed and tensed, the latter likely occurring when the top disk has attracted the lower disc.

More from Purdue: Biologists learn structure, mechanism of powerful ‘molecular motor’ in virus …
Image: The image shows a cross section of the virus head, or capsid, and an artist’s interpretation of the motor as it packages DNA into the virus. The hands represent the five segments of the ringlike structures. Each hand takes a turn grabbing the DNA and moving it into the head until the head is full. [The journal Cell, Dec. 26, 2008; Steven McQuinn, independent science artist, and Venigalla Rao, The Catholic University of America.]

Medgadget Editors

Medical technologies transform the world! Join us and see the progress in real time. At Medgadget, we report the latest technology news, interview leaders in the field, and file dispatches from medical events around the world since 2004.

Sponsored
C-mo Medical Solutions extends seed investment round to €4.8 million to transform cough monitoring

C-mo Medical Solutions extends seed investment round to €4.8 million to transform cough monitoring

New Clarius Power Fan HD3 Delivers a First for Handheld Ultrasound: Continuous Scanning

New Clarius Power Fan HD3 Delivers a First for Handheld Ultrasound: Continuous Scanning

Fluidx Unveils New Embolic for Neurovascular Use

Fluidx Unveils New Embolic for Neurovascular Use

Annalise.ai and Nuance Communications (a Microsoft Company) Announce Key Partnership to Improve Patient Outcomes with Workflow-Integrated AI

Annalise.ai and Nuance Communications (a Microsoft Company) Announce Key Partnership to Improve Patient Outcomes with Workflow-Integrated AI

PT Genie Unveils New Brand Identity Reflecting Company’s Transformation and Focus on the Global Future of AI and Machine Learning in Digital Healthcare

interviews & reviews
Balance Boards to Stay Active in the Offfice: Interview with Joel Heath, CEO of FluidStance 

Balance Boards to Stay Active in the Offfice: Interview with Joel Heath, CEO of FluidStance 

Exciting Medtech at the Healthcareᐩ Expo Taiwan

Exciting Medtech at the Healthcareᐩ Expo Taiwan

Medgadget Visits Healthcareᐩ Expo Taiwan

Medgadget Visits Healthcareᐩ Expo Taiwan

Diabetes Management Tech for Type II patients: Interview with Jeffrey Brewer, CEO of Bigfoot Biomedical

Diabetes Management Tech for Type II patients: Interview with Jeffrey Brewer, CEO of Bigfoot Biomedical

Monitoring Congestive Heart Failure Through Speech: Interview with Tamir Tal, CEO of Cordio Medical

Monitoring Congestive Heart Failure Through Speech: Interview with Tamir Tal, CEO of Cordio Medical

In-Office Pediatric Ear Tube Procedures: Interview with Preceptis Medical's Greg Mielke

In-Office Pediatric Ear Tube Procedures: Interview with Preceptis Medical's Greg Mielke

Symani Microsurgical Robotic System: Interview with Mark Toland, CEO of Medical Microinstruments

Symani Microsurgical Robotic System: Interview with Mark Toland, CEO of Medical Microinstruments

  • Subscribe
  • Contact us
  • Submit
  • About
  • Back to top
Medgadget

Medical technologies transform the world! Join us and see the progress in real time. At Medgadget, we report the latest technology news, interview leaders in the field, and file dispatches from medical events around the world since 2004.

  • About
  • Editorial policies
  • Contact
  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy
  • Submit press release
  • Advertise
© Medgadget, Inc. All rights reserved. | The Medical Revolution Will Be Blogged.
Please support this website by adding us to your whitelist in your ad blocker. Ads are what helps us bring you premium content! Thank you!
Posting....
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • Email