Integrative Approaches to Study Virus Structures.

A virus particle must work as a strongroom to protect its genome, but at the same time it must undergo dramatic conformational changes to infect the cell in order to replicate and assemble progeny. Thus, viruses are miniaturized wonders whose structural complexity requires investigation by a combination of different techniques that can tackle both static and dynamic processes. In this chapter, we will illustrate how major structural techniques such as X-ray crystallography and electron microscopy can be combined with other techniques to determine the structure of complex viruses.

Broad Adaptability of Coronavirus Adhesion Revealed from the Complementary Surface Affinity of Membrane and Spikes.

Coronavirus stands for a large family of viruses characterized by protruding spikes surrounding a lipidic membrane adorned with proteins. The present study explores the adhesion of transmissible gastroenteritis coronavirus (TGEV) particles on a variety of reference solid surfaces that emulate typical virus-surface interactions. Atomic force microscopy informs about trapping effectivity and the shape of the virus envelope on each surface, revealing that the deformation of TGEV particles spans from 20% to 50% in diameter.

Inline Raman Spectroscopy Provides Versatile Molecular Monitoring for Platelet Extracellular Vesicle Purification with Anion-Exchange Chromatography.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are relatively recently discovered biological nanoparticles that mediate intercellular communication. The development of new methods for the isolation and characterization of EVs is crucial to support further studies on these small and structurally heterogenous vesicles. New scalable production methods are also needed to meet the needs of future therapeutic applications.

sp. nov., a haloarchaeal species isolated from a bore core drilled in Hubei Province, PR China.

Eight colonies of live microbes were isolated from an extensively surface-sterilized halite sample which had been retrieved from a depth of 2000 m from a salt mine in the Qianjiang Depression, Hubei Province, PR China. The eight colonies, obtained after 4 weeks of incubation, were named JI20-1-JI20-8 and JI20-1 was selected as the type strain. The strains have been previously described, including a genomic analysis based on the complete genome for strain JI20-1 and draft genomes for the other strains.