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Virus caught 'red-handed' infecting cell
Friday January 11, 2013 06:12:11 PM,
IANS
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Washington: In a rare
first, scientists have captured images of a virus in the very act
of infecting an E. coli bug, and the structural changes that it
undergoes.
A virus must be able to find a suitable cell and then eject its
genetic material into its host to infect it. This robot-like
process has been observed in a virus called T7 and visualized by
Ian Molineux, professor of biology at the University of Texas
Health Science Centre-Austin, and colleagues.
Researchers used a combination of genetics and cryo-electron
tomography to image the infection process. It is similar to a CT
scan, but it is scaled to study objects a thousand times thinner
than human hair, the journal Science Express reports.
They show that when searching for its prey, the virus briefly
extends - like feelers - one or two of six ultra-thin fibres it
normally keeps folded at the base of its head, according to a
Texas statement.
Once a suitable host has been located, the virus behaves a bit
like a planetary rover, extending these fibres to walk randomly
across the surface of the cell and find an optimal site for
infection.
At the preferred infection site, the virus goes through a major
change in structure in which it ejects some of its proteins
through the bacterium's cell membrane, creating a path for the
virus's genetic material to enter the host.
After the viral DNA has been ejected, the protein path collapses
and the infected cell membrane reseals.
"Although many of these details are specific to T7," said Molineux,
"the overall process completely changes our understanding of how a
virus infects a cell."
For example, researchers now know that most of the fibres are
usually bound to the virus head rather than extended, as was
previously thought. This is also the first time that scientists
have made actual images showing how the virus's tail extends into
the host - the very action that allows it to infect a cell with
its DNA.
"I first hypothesized that T7 made an extended tail more than 10
years ago," said Molineux, "but this is the first irrefutable
experimental evidence for the idea and provides the first images
of what it looks like."
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