Elucidating the mechanism behind irreversible deformation of viral capsids

A. Arkhipov, W.H. Roos, G.J.L. Wuite, K. Schulten

Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Atomic force microscopy has recently provided highly precise measurements of mechanical properties of various viruses. However, molecular details underlying viral mechanics remain unresolved. Here we report atomic force microscopy nanoindentation experiments on T=4 hepatitis B virus (HBV) capsids combined with coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations, which permit interpretation of experimental results at the molecular level. The force response of the indented capsid recorded in simulations agrees with experimental observations. In both experiment and simulation, irreversible capsid deformation is observed for deep indentations. Simulations show the irreversibility to be due to local bending and shifting of capsid proteins, rather than their global rearrangement. These results emphasize the viability of large capsid deformations without significant changes of the mutual positions of HBV capsid proteins, in contrast to the stiffer capsids of other viruses, which exhibit more extensive contacts between their capsid proteins than seen in the case of HBV. © 2009 by the Biophysical Society.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2061-2069
Number of pages9
JournalBiophysical Journal
Volume97
Issue number7
Early online date1 Oct 2009
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 7 Oct 2009

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