The progenitor of canine parvovirus, shown here in glorious molecular
detail, once afflicted only cats and their relatives. But in the 1970s,
the cat virus reconfigured just two or three surface amino acids and
unleashed a plague upon dogs everywhere.
All viruses, whether they infect plants, animals or bacteria, are utterly dependednt on living host cells for reproduction. Thus, the surface stuctures of viruses are critical since they comprise the docking system by which viruses infect the cells of their hosts. This CSI depicts the molecular topography of the canine parvovirus and was obtained through the wonders of a X-ray crystalography, a technique that enables scientists to construct three-dimensional pictures of very small structures like viruses. That picture helps scientists understand how a particular virus works and can even provide clues to effective vaccines and possible synthetic prophylactics.
This picture is copyrighted by and was provided courtesy of Jean-Yves Sgro, an associate scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Institute for Molecular Virology.
