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FLEXIBILITY VERSUS STABILITY. "Conformational flexibility is also necessary for the rearrangements during the capsid maturation process. Thus, a fine balance is necessitated between this conformational polymorphism and stability of monomeric coat proteins." http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0042682215001920 View in LinkedIn

VERSATILE LEGO. "For most capsids with HK97-like coat proteins, chemically identical subunits occupy non-identical sites in the icosahedron. This relies on coat protein plasticity as well as a mechanism by which identical subunits can be “switched” into slightly different conformations required to occupy quasi-equivalent sites in the icosahedron, a process known as conformational switching." http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0042682215001920 View in LinkedIn

LATE FUNCTIONAL MODIFICATIONS. "In addition to the canonical HK97-like core, many coat proteins contain additional accessory domains or extended loops, likely imparting specific functions." http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0042682215001920 View in LinkedIn

CAPSID β-HINGE OF P22. "This hinge appears to direct motion of the A-domain during hexon symmetrization that occurs simultaneously with expansion. Finally, plug proteins (gp4, gp10 and gp26) close the portal protein channel and tailspike proteins (gp9) are added to complete the mature infectious phage." http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0042682215001920 View in LinkedIn

CAPSID MATURATION. "Considerable conformational rearrangements of coat protein N-arm, E-loop, and A-domain occur upon maturation. In P22 coat protein, the β-hinge has been shown to be the most dynamic region of the subunit during capsid maturation." http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0042682215001920 View in LinkedIn

PROCAPSID EMERGENCE. "Coat protein monomers are added to the growing edge, eventually producing a closed, spherical, precursor structure (“procapsid”) in which the coat proteins are organized with T=7 laevo quasi-symmetry. During assembly scaffolding protein catalyzes, stabilizes, and directs geometry of the procapsid." http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0042682215001920 View in LinkedIn

EVOLUTIONARY BENEFITS. "Clonal reproduction also provides several evolutionary benefits, including avoidance of the costs associated with sexual reproduction and a means by which adaptive genotypes can be replicated rapidly after colonization of new environments." http://www.pnas.org/content/112/29/8859.full View in LinkedIn

OTHER SPAWN. "These ancient cellular genes, encoding cellular proteins with the HK97-like fold, might have independently given rise to the viral proteins with different topologies and insertional domains. Adaptation to more complex environments of higher level organisms such as animal cells could have naturally led to acquisition of additional structures by way of insertions at locations of the loops of the HK97-like fold, as revealed in eukaryotic viruses such as herpesviruses. Such insertional domains could also give rise to auxiliary proteins by way of gene splicing such as the proposed case between BPP-1 and P22-like phages." http://www.aimspress.com/article/10.3934/biophy.2015.2.200/fulltext.html View in LinkedIn

MORE PLASTIC ADAPTATION. "Relying to various degrees on vegetative reproduction, the capacity to conserve or reverse gene regulation changes over cell divisions has clear potential for optimization of plasticity and acclimation in response to environmental variation encountered. Clonal plants may be one of the best examples of organisms taking advantage of epigenetic acclimation as an alternative to the slower mechanisms of adaptation through natural selection." http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11258-014-0430-z View in LinkedIn

GENE EVOLUTION. "The gene encoding one of these topologies might have evolved from the other through non-circular permutation in ancient cells through horizontal gene transfer—a rule for evolution in the prokaryotic world. In fact, although rare, non-circular permutation has been observed in cells, as exemplified by bacterial DNA methyltransferases." https://lnkd.in/dQSWuND View in LinkedIn