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Description
Tail spikes and surrounding structures of the virion of P22 , a bacteriophage . A virion is the infectious form of a virus as it exists outside of the host cell.

(Stereo pairs, cross-view)

This is the business end of P22's virion. These structures serve roles in containing viral DNA within the capsid , adhering to specific host cell surface structures, penetrating the cell's bilipid membrane, and triggering and guiding the virus' DNA strand into the cell. The chemical and approximate physical structure of these blobs are known, but current knowledge of the chemical and physical mechanisms by which they operate is sketchy.

The bottom two pairs would make nice coffee table stands.

Download for 1400 x 2500 px. version.

Rendered from a volumetric Cryo-EM (electron microscope) asymmetric reconstruction, after six-fold symmetry annular filtering , with Space Software .
Data source: EMD_1220, Macromolecular Structure Database.

With reference to each of the six blobs around the edge:

"The product of gene 9 (gp9) of Salmonella typhimurium bacteriophage P22 is a multifunctional structural protein. This protein is both a specific glycosidase which imparts the adsorption characteristics of the phage for its host and a protein which participates in a specific assembly reaction during phage morphogenesis ." Peter B. Berget and Anthony R. Poteete (MIT) in "Structure and Functions of the Bacteriophage P22 Tail Protein ", Journal of Virology, April 1980, p 234-243

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There are no restrictions on use of this image. Claiming to be the originator or owner, explicitly or implicitly, is bad karma . A link (if appropriate), a note to markdow30@gmail.com, and credit are appreciated but not required.

Description
Tail spikes and surrounding structures of the virion of P22 , a bacteriophage . A virion is the infectious form of a virus as it exists outside of the host cell.

(Stereo pairs, cross-view)

This is the business end of P22's virion. These structures serve roles in containing viral DNA within the capsid , adhering to specific host cell surface structures, penetrating the cell's bilipid membrane, and triggering and guiding the virus' DNA strand into the cell. The chemical and approximate physical structure of these blobs are known, but current knowledge of the chemical and physical mechanisms by which they operate is sketchy.

The bottom two pairs would make nice coffee table stands.

Download for 1400 x 2500 px. version.

Rendered from a volumetric Cryo-EM (electron microscope) asymmetric reconstruction, after six-fold symmetry annular filtering , with Space Software .
Data source: EMD_1220, Macromolecular Structure Database.

With reference to each of the six blobs around the edge:

"The product of gene 9 (gp9) of Salmonella typhimurium bacteriophage P22 is a multifunctional structural protein. This protein is both a specific glycosidase which imparts the adsorption characteristics of the phage for its host and a protein which participates in a specific assembly reaction during phage morphogenesis ." Peter B. Berget and Anthony R. Poteete (MIT) in "Structure and Functions of the Bacteriophage P22 Tail Protein ", Journal of Virology, April 1980, p 234-243

----------------------
There are no restrictions on use of this image. Claiming to be the originator or owner, explicitly or implicitly, is bad karma . A link (if appropriate), a note to markdow30@gmail.com, and credit are appreciated but not required.