The Structure of Nudaurelia capensis beta Virus: the First Example of a Capsid with Icosahedral Surface Symmetry T = 4

Abstract

SUMMARY The three-dimensional reconstruction from electron micrographs of a virus isolated from larvae of the pine emperor moth, Nudaurelia capensis β virus, shows that its surface structure is based on the T = 4 icosahedral surface lattice. The 240 protein subunits are clustered in trimers with the four trimers per icosahedral face approximately planar but with deep grooves between adjacent faces.