Modeling of structure and maturation of viral capsids

Viral envelopes (capsids) protect and transport the viral genome into the host cell. Studying the processes that occur during the maturation of viral envelopes is crucial, because only a mature virus can infect cells. The goal of this seminar is to discuss the structure and morphological transformations of viral envelopes that occur during their maturation or when environmental conditions change. A model of thin elastic envelopes with embedded point charges located at the centers of individual proteins is proposed. This approach allowed us to describe the deformation of capsomeres and changes in shape and size of the capsids of bacteriophages HK-97, P22, the omega and other viruses, as well as to describe the diversity of coronavirus envelope shapes.