Crossword clues for capsid
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
1889 in biology, "pertaining to capsidae," a type of insect, from Latin capsa "box" (see case (n.2)).
Wiktionary
n. The outer protein shell of a virus.
WordNet
Wikipedia
A capsid is the protein shell of a virus. It consists of several oligomeric structural subunits made of protein called protomers. The observable 3-dimensional morphological subunits, which may or may not correspond to individual proteins, are called capsomeres. The capsid encloses the genetic material of the virus.
Capsids are broadly classified according to their structure. The majority of viruses have capsids with either helical or icosahedral structure. Some viruses, such as bacteriophages, have developed more complicated structures due to constraints of elasticity and electrostatics. The icosahedral shape, which has 20 equilateral triangular faces, approximates a sphere, while the helical shape is cylindrical. The capsid faces may consist of one or more proteins. For example, the foot-and-mouth disease virus capsid has faces consisting of three proteins named VP1–3.
Some viruses are enveloped, meaning that the capsid is coated with a lipid membrane known as the viral envelope. The envelope is acquired by the capsid from an intracellular membrane in the virus' host; examples include the inner nuclear membrane, the golgi membrane, and the cell's outer membrane.
Once the virus has infected a cell and begins replicating itself, new capsid subunits are synthesized according to the genetic material of the virus, using the protein biosynthesis mechanism of the cell. During the assembly process, a portal subunit is assembled at one vertex of the capsid. Through this portal, viral DNA or RNA is transported into the capsid.
Structural analyses of major capsid protein (MCP) architectures have been used to categorise viruses into families. For example, the bacteriophage PRD1, Paramecium bursaria Chlorella algal virus, and mammalian adenovirus have been placed in the same family.
Usage examples of "capsid".
We already know the structure of SHEVA’s capsid coat, how SHEVA crawls into human cells, which receptors it attaches to.
I've been isolating the RNA and the capsid proteins of the virus from all three outbreaks, and astonishingly enough, they are all identical.
He took her to one of the lab benches, where there was a complicated setup of exotic glassware, and began explaining how he was separating out the RNA and the capsid proteins from the Ebola virus.
He could begin work on the outer structure of that tantalizing icosahedral capsid — the protein overcoat worn by the carrier virus.
The computer began its breakdown: "This virus consists of a single molecule of RNA surrounded by a 27-mm-diameter protein capsid and a buoyant density in CsCl of l.
Then City infuses each mess of quasi-cancerous tissue with a metric shitload of carrier capsids, which deliver the real cellular control mechanisms to their target bodies.