Structure and Physics of Viruses

Beschreibung

In the ten years since the publication of the first edition of this book, structural virology has undergone many important conceptual and technical advances. A technical revolution has allowed the determination of the molecular structures of many viruses at very high resolution by cryogenic electron microscopy. The dynamic nature of viral particles is being revealed and analysed by an increasing number of biophysical techniques, such as NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry as well as by all-atom molecular dynamics simulations. New advances in correlative microscopy are being applied to probe the structure and dynamics of viruses inside infected cells. The fight against the COVID-19 pandemia has also contributed to stimulate basic and applied research studies on the relationships between the structure and function of viruses.

Physical virology has come of age and offers approaches based on fundamental physics to study different aspects of the architecture, self-assembly, and material properties of viral particles. Atomic force microscopy and optical tweezers are probing the mechanical behavior of viral particles and unraveling their biological implications. High-speed atomic force microscopy is beginning to provide new detailed insights into virus assembly and dynamics. Powerful theoretical approaches and molecular dynamics simulations search for the physical underpinnings underlying viruses' structure and material properties. Structural virology and physical virology are merging with biochemical and biological approaches to provide a renewed and richer view of the relationships between the molecular structure, physical properties, and biological function of viruses. This interdisciplinary approach is also leading to important advances in the fight against viral diseases and to applications of virus-derived particles and virus components in biomedicine, biotechnology and nanotechnology.

Structure and Physics of Viruses, 2nd edition is an interdisciplinary textbook that takes an integrated approach to the rapidly merging and expanding fields of structural and physical virology. This new edition has been updated to include many important technical developments and conceptual advances in these research areas over the past decade. The content of the book has been kept basic enough to be useful to students and advanced enough to be useful to senior scientists. This book is aimed primarily at master's students, Ph.D. students and postdoctoral researchers with undergraduate degrees in biology, chemistry, physics or related sciences who are interested in viruses or are just starting to work with viruses. It also aims to provide an up-to-date overview of many important concepts, techniques, studies, and applications in structural and physical virology for established researchers working with viruses, regardless of their physical, chemical, or biological background and field of specialization.

The second edition of this book provides a completely updated account of the structure, dynamics, and physics of viral particles: from the moment they emerge by self-assembly from viral components produced in the infected cell, through their extracellular stage, until they recognize and infect a new host cell and cease to exist as they lose their physical integrity to initiate a new infectious cycle.

New insights into the structure of viruses, their physical properties, and mechanisms of action, derived from results obtained in the last decade, have been included, as well as other (bio)physical techniques to study the structure or dynamics of virus particles and components. These include, among many others, new advances in high-resolution electron cryomicroscopy; novel approaches in the use of electron cryotomography or the application of soft X-ray tomography to study viruses in the infected cell; high-speed atomic force microscopy to study virus assembly and dynamics; and the development of new antiviral drugs and vaccines. as well as of many nanomedical and nanotechnological applications of virus particles.

New chapters on the study of viruses inside infected cells and on  technological applications of modified viral particles have been included in this second edition. The book is still aimed primarily at Master's students, Ph.D. students, and postdoctoral researchers with degrees in biology, chemistry, physics or related scientific disciplines who have an interest in or are working with viruses. It provides an up-to-date overview of many important concepts, techniques, studies and applications in structural and physical virology for specialized researchers working with viruses, regardless of their field of specialization, covering the latest research together with fundamental concepts and well-established facts.

In short, this book is basic enough to be used by undergraduate and Ph.D. students, but advanced and up-to-date enough for experienced scientists with an interest in structural and/or physical virology.

Autor*in

Mauricio G. Mateu

Themen in »Structure and Physics of Viruses«

Virus Architecture Virus Function Virus Properties Viral Infection Virus Structure Nucleic Acid Packaging Physical Virology

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