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Direct visualization of single virus restoration after damage in real time

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Abstract

We use the nano-dissection capabilities of atomic force microscopy to induce structural alterations on individual virus capsids in liquid milieu. We fracture the protein shells either with single nanoindentations or by increasing the tip-sample interaction force in amplitude modulation dynamic mode. The normal behavior is that these cracks persist in time. However, in very rare occasions they self-recuperate to retrieve apparently unaltered virus particles. In this work, we show the topographical evolution of three of these exceptional events occurring in T7 bacteriophage capsids. Our data show that single nanoindentation produces a local recoverable fracture that corresponds to the deepening of a capsomer. In contrast, imaging in dynamic mode induced cracks that separate the virus morphological subunits. In both cases, the breakage patterns follow intratrimeric loci.

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Acknowledgements

PJP thanks FIS2014-59562-R, FIS2017-89549-R, FIS2015-71108-REDT from Fundación BBVA and “María de Maeztu” Program for Units of Excellence in R&D (MDM-2014-0377). JLC and CC acknowledge “Severo Ochoa” Centres of Excellence and JLC to BFU2014-54181.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Física de la Materia Condensada and Instituto de Física de la Materia Condensada IFIMAC, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049, Madrid, Spain

    Pedro J. de Pablo

  2. Centro Nacional de Biotecnología CNB, CSIC, 28049, Madrid, Spain

    Mercedes Hernando-Pérez, Carolina Carrasco & José L. Carrascosa

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  1. Pedro J. de Pablo
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  2. Mercedes Hernando-Pérez
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  4. José L. Carrascosa
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Correspondence to Pedro J. de Pablo or José L. Carrascosa.

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de Pablo, P.J., Hernando-Pérez, M., Carrasco, C. et al. Direct visualization of single virus restoration after damage in real time. J Biol Phys 44, 225–235 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10867-018-9492-9

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