Researchers at UCLA have managed to image a virus structure at the atomic level for the first time. They used cryo-electron microscopy to achieve a resolution of 3.3 angstroms, a few times the distance between the two hydrogen atoms in a water molecule. Cryo-electron microscopy works similar to regular electron microscopy, but with flash frozen samples. It makes it possible to create 3-D reconstructions of extremely small objects such as nano-machinery and viruses. Using this technique, the team discovered part of the membrane penetration mechanism that nonenveloped viruses, in this case Aquareovirus, use to enter a cell. They showed that the viruses use a membrane-insertion “finger” which connects to a hydrophobic pocket in order to infect the cell.
Press release: UCLA researchers use new microscope to ‘see’ atoms for first time…
Article abstract: 3.3 Å Cryo-EM Structure of a Nonenveloped Virus Reveals a Priming Mechanism for Cell Entry…