THE ATOMIC-STRUCTURE OF THE BLUETONGUE VIRUS CORE

The structure of the core particle of bluetongue virus has been determ ined by X-ray crystallography at a resolution approaching 3.5 Angstrom . This transcriptionally active compartment, 700 Angstrom in diameter, represents the largest molecular structure determined in such detail. The atomic structure Indicates how approximately 1,000 protein compon ents self-assemble, using both the classical mechanism of quasi-equiva lent contacts, which are achieved through triangulation, and a differe nt method, which we term geometrical quasi-equivalence.