Dissect the anatomy of icosahedral, rod-shaped, and bacteriophage virus structures in electron micrographs
Animation and microphotography illustrating the structural diversity of viruses.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Transcript
NARRATOR: Different viruses have different shapes. Some look roughly spherical under the electron microscope, but their exact geometry is an icosahedron, a figure with 20 triangular faces.
There are also rod-shaped viruses. The rod has two layers wrapped together. At the center is a strand of nucleic acid; the outside shell is protein spirally wound in a long helix.
Probably the most dramatically shaped viruses are called bacteriophages, or phages. The head of the phage is a hollow protein capsule that contains nucleic acid. Beneath that is a shaft called a sheath. Attached to the sheath are leglike tail fibers.
There are also rod-shaped viruses. The rod has two layers wrapped together. At the center is a strand of nucleic acid; the outside shell is protein spirally wound in a long helix.
Probably the most dramatically shaped viruses are called bacteriophages, or phages. The head of the phage is a hollow protein capsule that contains nucleic acid. Beneath that is a shaft called a sheath. Attached to the sheath are leglike tail fibers.