Scientists discover DNA knot keeps viral genes tightly corked inside shell

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A donut-shaped twist or toroid of DNA (shown in red) wedges the viral genome tightly within the protein envelope of the bacteriophage. Credit: Credit: Jinghua TangUCSD
A donut-shaped twist, or toroid, of DNA (shown in red) wedges the viral genome tightly within the protein envelope of the bacteriophage. Credit: Credit: Jinghua Tang/UCSD

A novel twist of DNA may keep viral genes tightly wound within a capsule, waiting for ejection into a host, a high-resolution analysis of its structure has revealed.


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