Ref HAL: in2p3-00148956_v1
PMID 17501583
Ref Arxiv: cond-mat/0611623
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.98.185502
WoS: 000246210200039
Ref. & Cit.: NASA ADS
Exporter : BibTex | endNote
30 Citations
Résumé:

We apply Landau theory of crystallization to explain and to classify the capsid structures of small viruses with spherical topology and icosahedral symmetry. We develop an explicit method which predicts the positions of centers of mass for the proteins constituting viral capsid shell. Corresponding density distribution function which generates the positions has universal form without any fitting parameter. The theory describes in a uniform way both the structures satisfying the well-known Caspar and Klug geometrical model for capsid construction and those violating it. The quasiequivalence of protein environments in viral capsid and peculiarities of the assembly thermodynamics are also discussed.